JOHN CARROLL UNIVERSITY

Entrepreneurship Minor

Syllabus

ER 203

Principles of Entrepreneurship Spring – 2010

INSTRUCTOR: Mark Hauserman OFFICE PHONE: 216-397-4572

OFFICE: Muldoon Center; Boler School e-mail address: mhauserman@jcu.edu

OFFICE HOURS: M-W-F Noon to 12:50; by appointment

INSTRUCTOR: David Mascotti OFFICE PHONE: 216-397-4216

OFFICE: Dolan Science Center, W207 e-mail address: dmascotti@jcu.edu

OFFICE HOURS: TWF 10-11am; by appointment

COURSE DESCRIPTION

ER203 examines entrepreneurship as a historical, social, and individual force. Students explore the role of entrepreneurship in history, in society and at a personal level to begin to examine carefully whether a career as an entrepreneur would be a good choice for them. The course also extends the themes of creativity, innovation, and invention explored in ER101 and ER102 by putting their ideas to the test of feasibility. Students build a systematic approach to evaluating venture ideas and a thorough understanding of the process of taking worthy ideas to the next step of implementation. Students also consider moral and ethical dimensions related to new venture creation as part of feasibility and implementation analysis.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

Students completing this course should:

1) appreciate the role entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship have had in shaping the world and their potential impact society.

2) have reflected on their personal goals and characteristics as they relate to entrepreneurship and examined thoughtfully whether a career in entrepreneurship is for them.

3) be able to distinguish between good ideas and ideas with venture potential and capable of effectively communicating the difference.

4) be able to follow a thorough process of venture evaluation and make a well-reasoned, well-documented case for pursuing, or not pursuing, a new venture.

5) be able to thoroughly identify and effectively articulate the key steps in the implementation phase of a given new venture.

6) be aware of the moral aspects of new venture creation and capable of developing a well reasoned position on new venture ethics issues.

COURSE MATERIALS

Text: Kuratko. Entrepreneurship: A Contemporary Approach.  8^th Edition. 2009 Thomson Southwestern.

Web sites and Periodicals: Being entrepreneurial also means keeping up with new developments and new ideas. The Internet is a rich source of information about starting and running a business or social venture. The United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (http:\\usasbe.org) provides categorizes and provides numerous links to helpful sites. Other sites I like include Harvard Business School’s Working Knowledge (http://hbswk.hbs.edu/topics/entrepreneurship.htm) and www.changethis.org. The Blackboard site for this course includes a Discussion Board Thread on Internet web sites. You may contribute to the discussion board by identifying web sites you find relevant to entrepreneurship to earn bonus points for the course.

Newspapers and magazines are also constant sources of new information that can stimulate fresh ideas. I highly recommend you develop a habit of reading at least one periodical on a regular basis. Magazines targeted at entrepreneurs include Fast Company, Entrepreneurship Magazine, and Inc. The Wall Street Journal is an excellent newspaper, and you will find daily applications of topics we discuss in class in it. Other business oriented periodicals you may find helpful include Barons', Forbes, Business Week, Fortune, and The Economist.

Blackboard: The Blackboard site for this class is an integral part of the course. Many course materials and details on course requirements will be posted there. You should check this site regularly for announcements regarding assignments and other pertinent information.

EVALUATION

The general grading scheme is presented below. There will be two in-class examinations.

Proportion of

Evaluation Element Grade Grading Scale

Exams and Quizzes 30% A 92% C 72%

Participation 20% A- 89% C- 69%

Team Project/Presentation 35% B+ 87% D+ 67%

Individual papers and other 15% B 82% D 60%

B- 79% F < 60%

C+ 77%

We strongly recommend you not miss any regular exam. Only if you have a well-documented excused absence for an exam, will we consider offering you a make-up exam. Make-up exams may be similar in structure to your regular exam or completely different. Though we will not attempt to make a make-up exam more difficult than the regular exam, there is no guarantee it will be equally difficult. The exams will be worth 10% of the total grade, each.

There will be several quizzes during the semester. They may be announced or unannounced. We will drop your lowest quiz score from determination of your final grade. Any missed quiz will count as the dropped quiz. The cumulative average of the quizzes will be worth 10% of the total grade.

The Team Project will be to develop a complete business opportunity proposal. The class will divide into 4 teams of two members each. Membership in teams will be determined by an in class recruiting process. Each individual will have the opportunity to recruit team members to work on his/her venture idea. Individuals may choose to work on their own venture project or to work in a team. Individuals unable to recruit team members will be encouraged to join a team. However, in certain circumstances an individual willing to complete all of the team work on their project may work alone.

To determine the grades for the team project/presentation, the intermediate and final team project papers and presentations will be evaluated according to announced criteria. We will also use team self-evaluations and team-leader reported time logs to arrive at your grades. Due dates for team assignments are indicated in the course outline.

Specific individual paper and other assignments will be handed out in class and due dates identified either on the assignment or announced in class. It is your responsibility to know the due date for any paper, project, or presentation.

****WE WILL NOT ACCEPT LATE PAPERS OR PROJECTS OR ARRANGE FOR ALTERNATIVE PRESENTATION TIMES, AND THERE WILL BE NO MAKE-UP WORK FOR ANY PAPER OR PROJECT ASSIGNMENT ****.

ATTENDANCE AND PARTICIPATION POLICY

You are an important part of this class. You are expected to come to class and to be an active participant in class. There will be many opportunities to share your knowledge and ideas with others in this class. We expect you to contribute to the learning environment and to the learning of other class members in this course. We will evaluate your participation and consider it in determining the final course grade. We expect you to come to class well prepared. This means reading assigned materials, answering questions that apply to the readings, and preparing any assigned class papers or projects on time. Since you cannot contribute to the class learning if you are not in class. We strongly encourage you to come to every class session. Poor attendance will significantly influence your participation grade.

ACADEMIC DISHONESTY

Incidents of academic dishonesty - including any form of cheating or plagiarism - will be dealt with according to the Student Code of Conduct in the Student Handbook.

Course Outline

Week	Chapter	Topics
Week 1	1	Introduction to Entrepreneurship. The importance of entrepreneurs in economic and social development.
Week 2	1 2	Defining entrepreneurship, exploring the history and process of entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurial mindset and motivation. Profiles of successful entrepreneurs. Reflecting on and evaluating your entrepreneurial spirit. Entrepreneurship aptitude and attitude tests.
Week 3	4	Responsibility and the entrepreneur. Morality vs. legality. Ethical dilemmas and frameworks for ethical reasoning. Ethical leadership.
Week 4	5	Ideas vs. Opportunities. Methods for evaluating business opportunities. Review Idea Notebooks/Creativity Journals for project possibilities.
Week 5	6	Review the Idea Screening Tool Expanding on the screening tool to develop detailed feasibility analysis. Articulating feasibility.

Week 6	7	Exam 1 Assessing the legal conditions facing a proposed venture. Legal forms of organization. Defining the forms and comparing their features. Legal issues for entrepreneurs – especially intellectual property rights, contract enforcement, and protecting personal assets.
Week 7	8 9	Where’s the money come from to get a business off the ground? Once it’s off the ground where’s the money come from to sustain it? The piggy bank, friends and family, financial institutions, angels, and pigs (vcs) What is marketing and where does it start in for an entrepreneur?
Week 8	10	Evaluating the industry, the regulatory environment, community impact of the venture. Conducting market research for a new venture. Defining a market and evaluating new venture potential.
Week 9	11	Financial considerations for Entrepreneurial ventures. Explain the principal financial statements for any entrepreneurial venture. Cash flow and income aren’t the same thing and why that matters. Initial Group Presentations (Market analysis – Groups present more detailed research developed based on Chapters 8 and 9 for a venture idea)
Week 10	12	What is a business plan and why do businesses need them?
Week 11	12	The structure of a business plan. Keys to writing and presenting business plans.
Week 12	12	Understanding business plans from the perspectives varied audiences.
Week 13		Exam 2
Week 14	13	Entrepreneurial growth. Keys to building a sustainable model.
Week 15		Final Group Presentations (Venture Proposal)