MBM2275 - Starting and Growing Your Own Business

Objectives:

On successful completion of the module, students will be able to:

1 Systematically understand and use a variety of strategic models to develop and evaluate business start-up ideas.
2 Explore and critically assess the impact of various environmental/ market/ competitor factors upon the development of a new business.
3 Create a detailed and viable business plan.
4 Present their proposal effectively, creatively and appropriately for their audience.

Content:

This module will be delivered by a mix of academics and guest speakers with practical, business start-up expertise. The fundamentals of the theoretical knowledge-base will be delivered by the academic input while the guest speakers will provide the cutting-edge and practical material creating a coherent and rigorous ‘enterprise culture’. In practice, sessions will be jointly delivered by academics and guests where possible thereby facilitating staff development opportunities as well as highlighting to students the linkages between theory and practice. The key difference of this module is the applied nature of the material: theoretical models will be presented, used and critiqued as practical tools in the development of viable business start-ups and in nurturing and growing small businesses.

The detailed module content will therefore vary according to the available expertise and contemporary factors affecting business start-ups and will include a broad coverage of topics such as (but not limited to):
• Idea generation and creativity.
• Market potential analysis.
• Marketing segmentation, targeting and positioning
• Business planning and understanding the competitive environment.
• Financial issues.
• Legal context and basic of employment law
• A Business Start-Up Simulation Game

Objective 4 is formally assessed by a written Business Plan only but there will also be an optional opportunity for students to take part in various non-assessed forms of communication such as poster presentations, developing promotional material and a Dragon’s Den style competition.

Learning and Teaching Information:

Delivery of this module will be in the form of 2-hour workshops which involve a mix of theory and practice. The input of guest speakers and academic experts will be co-ordinate and monitored by the module co-ordinator.

Each student will be expected to develop a business start-up idea to which the various tools and models can be applied producing a progressively more robust and considered business plan throughout the course.

A marking panel including an external member from the business community will judge and offer advice concerning the students’ business plans in a Dragon’s Den style competition.

2-hour Workshops x 10
Contact hours: 20
Number of Groups: one

Assessment: