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BA 467 - New Venture Laboratory
DRAFT VERSION Spring 2005
[Schedule]
Dr Justin Craig
Bexell 400C
Phone: (541) 737-6061
Email: justincraig@bus.oregonstate.edu
Office Hours: Monday: 12.00 pm – 1.00 pm
Tuesday: 4.00 pm –5.00 pm
Wednesday: 12.00 pm – 1.00 pm
(and by appointment)
Teaching Assistant: Stephen Snider: sniderst@onid.orst.edu
Course Description
This course provides a dynamic, practical, hands-on approach that encourages students to immerse themselves in the vision, research, and planning aspects of a new venture. It is designed to teach students how to research, develop, and write detailed Business Plans which can be used to create successful businesses. Students will learn effective entrepreneurial practice from the perspective of the founder that can make a difference in the ultimate success or failure of the entrepreneurial process.
The course centers on the business planning process—opportunity recognition, business concept development, feasibility testing, and the Business Plan. The Business Plan will include five major sections: Management and Organization Plan, Product/Service Plan, Marketing Plan, Financial Plan, and Operating Plan. Students gain the knowledge, skills, concepts, and strategies relevant for start-up and early-stage entrepreneurs.
Students experience all aspects of planning a new venture from determining their personal vision to conducting market analysis to testing financial feasibility, drawing from the whole spectrum of business and management. This course demonstrates why good planning leads to successful business performance. Students gain insight in how the various pieces of the business’s puzzle fit together and why the different aspects need to be managed in harmony for the venture to operate successfully.
A purpose of the course is to present the basic
concepts and tools of business analysis, and to instill the methods of crafting
a well-conceived plan and executing it competently. The student will be called
on to probe, question, and evaluate all aspects of a potential venture’s
external and internal situation. He or she will learn to tell the difference
between winning plans and mediocre plans, and become more skilled in spotting
ways to improve a venture’s strategy or its execution. In the midst of all
this, another purpose is accomplished: to help the student synthesize what he
or she has learned in prior business courses. Dealing with the grand sweep of
how to manage all the pieces of a business makes this course an integrative course in which the student
reaches back to use concepts and techniques covered in previous courses. For
perhaps the first time, the student will see how the various pieces of the
business puzzle fit together and why the different parts of a business need to
be managed in harmony for the new venture to operate in winning fashion.
The
principle themes of this course involve:
(1) understanding entrepreneurs; why some are successful
while others struggle,
(2) understanding how various pieces of a business—opportunity
recognition, accounting, finance, marketing, production, and management—work
together to create companies,
(3) understanding the industry and competitive environment
in which a business operates,
(4) knowing the venture’s long-term direction and strategy,
and
(5) developing a business plan around a chosen concept.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to:
·
Evaluate
a business idea in comparison with both personal criteria and business
criteria.
· Research, recognize, and assess business opportunities. Students will be able to identify how successful entrepreneurs and investors create, find, and differentiate profitable and durable operations from just “other good ideas”, and how opportunities evolve over time.
· Evaluate the potential success of a new venture.
·
Develop the
ability to think strategically about a company, its present business position,
its long-term direction, its resources and competitive capabilities, the
caliber of its strategy, and its opportunities for gaining sustainable
competitive advantage.
·
Conduct
strategic analysis in a variety of industries and competitive situations.
·
Integrate
the knowledge gained in earlier core courses in the curriculum, show how the
various pieces of the business puzzle fit together, and demonstrate why the
different parts of a business need to be managed in harmony for the venture to
operate in a winning fashion.
· Understand cause – effect relationship in business area operations.
· Identify steps and resources that must be taken to launch a business and formulate an integrated, written business plan.
Expectations and Assignments
Students will be required to write an individual or group business plan on a concept of their choosing. The majority of the grade will be given for the completed business plan due Friday of Week 10. Students will also be responsible for presenting their business plan to the class. A major aspect of the course will be reporting to the class each week on your thoughts, ideas, and research concerning your project and how you will implement it.
Grade Determination:
|
A 94-100 A- 90-93 B+ 87-89 B 83-86 B- 80-82 C+ 77-79 C 73-76 C- 70-72 D+ 67-69 D 63-66 D- 60-62 F 59 and below |
Grades will be determined from the following: Participation 100 points Business Plan 300 points Presentation 50 points Assignments 50 points (must be completed on time) TOTAL 500 points |
Required Texts:
1) Planning and Growing a Business Venture, Venture Planning Field Guide.
ISBN: 0-944303-35-8.,
2) Planning and Growing a Business Venture, Venture Planning Workbook.
ISBN: 0-944303-36-6,
3) Business
ACADEMIC
DISHONESTY: Academic dishonesty in
any form - plagiarism, cheating, etc. will result in a disciplinary
action. The severity of a penalty will
depend upon the nature, extent, and frequency of the violation and may be found
in the college guide and appropriate the student handbook.