Description
This detailed criteria concerning managing the new venture experiential learning.
1
ENT 5532: Managing the New Venture: Experiential Learning
Course Description
This course is designed to provide students an experiential learning opportunity in running a new
business. In particular, students will run the business that they started in ENT 5327. Students
will define and deliver products and services to real business customers and clients; negotiate
with suppliers, administrative agencies and other stakeholders; obtain financing for on-going
company operations; and be held accountable for cash flows and company budgets.
This is a real world experience, supplemented by classroom analysis and sharing of lessons
learned. Your role in this class should be active, not passive. The more effort you put in, the
more benefit you will take away from this course. Your success in this course will be determined
by your own initiatives, passion, energy, efforts, social network, and luck.
The course will be challenging and rewarding to you. You will also learn what you don’t know
and motive you to develop your action plan for creating a successful company after graduation.
It is expected that all students graduating from this course will create a new business (part-time
or full time) after graduation.
Learning Objectives
? To develop lead entrepreneur skills
? To develop an understanding of the challenges of managing a new business;
? To experience the ups and downs of running a new business;
? To provide an experiential learning experience in growing a new business.
Class Format and Activities
This is not a traditional “lecture” class. To a great extent this course will be a self-directed class.
The class will be organized into project teams of 2-5 persons/team. Each team must develop a
plan for the business and convince investors to fund the new startup. They must then execute the
plan and make real-time decisions under intense time pressure with insufficient information.
The instructor’s role is primarily to serve as the Chairman of the Board of each company,
guiding and critiquing management. He also acts as coach, advisor and consultant to the
operating companies. Every team is required to have a Mentor, who is an experienced executive
and entrepreneur. Mentors should be consulted weekly, and will be asked to provide a written
critique of the company to the instructor at the end of the semester.
2
An instructor will meet with every team on a weekly basis and monitor the progress of the new
business. Updated meeting schedules will be posted on Blackboard.
Resources
As with all new ventures, you (as entrepreneurs) are expected to raise the necessary funding from
your family and/or your friends.
IEI has established the IEI Startup Fund. You are eligible to apply to make an application to the
Fund. You will have an opportunity to present your business to the Board for funding and to
negotiate the terms. If your business got funded from IEI, you will be reimbursed for the
approved expenses.
1. You must be able to fund initial setup costs, that will be reimbursed only if you are
awarded an operating loan from IEI.
2. Students must be familiar with typical business software such as: Microsoft Word, for
producing documents; Microsoft Excel, for designing spreadsheets; Microsoft Power
Point, for designing presentations; and the use of the Internet.
Textbook: Entrepreneurship: Successfully Launching New Ventures (2nd or 3rd edition), by
Bruce R. Barringer R. Duane Ireland, Prentice Hall (2008, 2010), ISBN-10: 0130618551. (Not
required, just for your reference. This book covers lot of start-up cases of college students)
Grading
Final Business Operation Plan Ranking by Judges 10%
Weekly Response to changes weekly 20%
Company performance (profitability, sales, etc.) 50%
Accuracy of Reporting and Financial Records 20%
(Bonus: If your business continues in IEI Student Ventures until May 20%
Or if you gain the outsider funding of more than $20,000)
The distribution of points and grading scale for the course follow (Grades with “+” and “-” will
be given). All grades are determined at the Instructor’s discretion and are not negotiable.
100-96 A
95.9-90 A-
89.9-85 B+
84.9-80 B
79.9 – 75 B-
74.9 – 70 C+
69.9 – 65 C
3
64.9 – 60 C-
59.9-50.1 D
50 and below F
Peer Evaluations: At the conclusion of the course, the other members of your group will evaluate
your contribution to the company’s performance by submitting peer evaluations. Team members
who do not pull their own weight will receive lower scores than the team scores.
STATEMENT ON ACADEMIC DISHONESTY
UMKC and the Bloch School are governed by policies on academic dishonesty with which all
students are required to be familiar. The Bloch School supports the University policy on academic
dishonesty. Academic dishonesty includes: (a) cheating, (b) fabrications and falsifications, (c)
multiple submissions, (d) plagiarism, and (e) complicity in academic dishonesty. All such
policies will be adhered to in this course. Students are expected to warn fellow students who do not
appear to be observing proper ethical standards and to report violations of this to the Instructor.
Simply stated, cheating and/or dishonest behavior in any form will not be tolerated in this class;
all violations will be submitted to the appropriate Bloch School and / or UMKC parties. The
Instructor specifically reserves the right to discipline all students for academic dishonesty, in
conformity with the rules and regulations of the Bloch School and UMKC. Such action may
include lowering of grades or the assignment of a failing grade for the course itself.
4
Course Outline
Weekly Schedule and Tasks
Week 1 – During this week, students get acquainted, learn about what they might expect from
each other, assess their potential resources and match them against possible task demands. In
most cases, it is expected that students will work on the same businesses that they founded in
ENT 55327. In the first week student teams establish their preliminary goals and objectives.
Getting well acquainted, building trust and confidence, and learning to identify with the group in
this “team building” phase are important elements to future success, as will be demonstrated
later. Team members work together to figure out who will do what and how individual efforts
will be coordinated. An initial CEO is chosen and organizational policies and structure are
established.
Week 2 – Full-scale implementation of business operations begins at this point for all companies
as the student teams begin to run their businesses. Organizational structures, individual
responsibilities, and operational controls need to be discussed and modified. In some cases the
research and assumptions made will be validated and the students will need to deal with a variety
of operational demands. Others may find that their conclusions about the opportunity were
wrong and they will need to respond accordingly. Each team is asked to consider what problems
its business might face and develop contingency plans for the things that might go wrong.
Weeks 3-14 – During this period, the businesses become fully operational. Each team meets
weekly with the instructor for in-depth discussions of all of their internal and external
relationships. These sessions are intended to uncover major unresolved issues critical to the
company’s success and identify alternatives to minimize damage to the business. It is expected
that minor problems will have been identified by the teams themselves and delegated to the
appropriate team member for resolution. Key metrics for the businesses are developed, tracked
and used as the basis for tactical changes and revised projections. Any problems encountered
must be identified and discussed openly.
During this period most teams will do business with other companies outside the course and the
university. This exposure to the real world provides great insight into the diversity of
relationships that can develop and the range of people and styles that are encountered in the
business community.
Week 15– Final reports to the Board are prepared which include a review of activities and
lessons learned. These are written so that they will provide guidance to future companies that
attempt a similar venture. In addition team members will each submit their personal reflections
on the merits of the experience, including such matters as whether their expectations were met,
how their initial ideas or attitudes changed and suggestions to improve the experience for later
teams.
As part of the final presentation, each team reviews its final prognosis and negotiates an exit plan
for its business (move to IEI Student Ventures Program, pay back the loan, etc.). Final balance
sheets are submitted and the assets turned in to the IEI. If it is necessary to continue operations
5
for a limited period to liquidate non-cash inventory or complete obligations to customers, special
provisions are negotiated to allow that to occur without disruption.
If some team members wish to purchase the assets and continue the business as a private venture,
appropriate terms are negotiated with IEI to encourage their initiative.
doc_473979135.pdf
This detailed criteria concerning managing the new venture experiential learning.
1
ENT 5532: Managing the New Venture: Experiential Learning
Course Description
This course is designed to provide students an experiential learning opportunity in running a new
business. In particular, students will run the business that they started in ENT 5327. Students
will define and deliver products and services to real business customers and clients; negotiate
with suppliers, administrative agencies and other stakeholders; obtain financing for on-going
company operations; and be held accountable for cash flows and company budgets.
This is a real world experience, supplemented by classroom analysis and sharing of lessons
learned. Your role in this class should be active, not passive. The more effort you put in, the
more benefit you will take away from this course. Your success in this course will be determined
by your own initiatives, passion, energy, efforts, social network, and luck.
The course will be challenging and rewarding to you. You will also learn what you don’t know
and motive you to develop your action plan for creating a successful company after graduation.
It is expected that all students graduating from this course will create a new business (part-time
or full time) after graduation.
Learning Objectives
? To develop lead entrepreneur skills
? To develop an understanding of the challenges of managing a new business;
? To experience the ups and downs of running a new business;
? To provide an experiential learning experience in growing a new business.
Class Format and Activities
This is not a traditional “lecture” class. To a great extent this course will be a self-directed class.
The class will be organized into project teams of 2-5 persons/team. Each team must develop a
plan for the business and convince investors to fund the new startup. They must then execute the
plan and make real-time decisions under intense time pressure with insufficient information.
The instructor’s role is primarily to serve as the Chairman of the Board of each company,
guiding and critiquing management. He also acts as coach, advisor and consultant to the
operating companies. Every team is required to have a Mentor, who is an experienced executive
and entrepreneur. Mentors should be consulted weekly, and will be asked to provide a written
critique of the company to the instructor at the end of the semester.
2
An instructor will meet with every team on a weekly basis and monitor the progress of the new
business. Updated meeting schedules will be posted on Blackboard.
Resources
As with all new ventures, you (as entrepreneurs) are expected to raise the necessary funding from
your family and/or your friends.
IEI has established the IEI Startup Fund. You are eligible to apply to make an application to the
Fund. You will have an opportunity to present your business to the Board for funding and to
negotiate the terms. If your business got funded from IEI, you will be reimbursed for the
approved expenses.
1. You must be able to fund initial setup costs, that will be reimbursed only if you are
awarded an operating loan from IEI.
2. Students must be familiar with typical business software such as: Microsoft Word, for
producing documents; Microsoft Excel, for designing spreadsheets; Microsoft Power
Point, for designing presentations; and the use of the Internet.
Textbook: Entrepreneurship: Successfully Launching New Ventures (2nd or 3rd edition), by
Bruce R. Barringer R. Duane Ireland, Prentice Hall (2008, 2010), ISBN-10: 0130618551. (Not
required, just for your reference. This book covers lot of start-up cases of college students)
Grading
Final Business Operation Plan Ranking by Judges 10%
Weekly Response to changes weekly 20%
Company performance (profitability, sales, etc.) 50%
Accuracy of Reporting and Financial Records 20%
(Bonus: If your business continues in IEI Student Ventures until May 20%
Or if you gain the outsider funding of more than $20,000)
The distribution of points and grading scale for the course follow (Grades with “+” and “-” will
be given). All grades are determined at the Instructor’s discretion and are not negotiable.
100-96 A
95.9-90 A-
89.9-85 B+
84.9-80 B
79.9 – 75 B-
74.9 – 70 C+
69.9 – 65 C
3
64.9 – 60 C-
59.9-50.1 D
50 and below F
Peer Evaluations: At the conclusion of the course, the other members of your group will evaluate
your contribution to the company’s performance by submitting peer evaluations. Team members
who do not pull their own weight will receive lower scores than the team scores.
STATEMENT ON ACADEMIC DISHONESTY
UMKC and the Bloch School are governed by policies on academic dishonesty with which all
students are required to be familiar. The Bloch School supports the University policy on academic
dishonesty. Academic dishonesty includes: (a) cheating, (b) fabrications and falsifications, (c)
multiple submissions, (d) plagiarism, and (e) complicity in academic dishonesty. All such
policies will be adhered to in this course. Students are expected to warn fellow students who do not
appear to be observing proper ethical standards and to report violations of this to the Instructor.
Simply stated, cheating and/or dishonest behavior in any form will not be tolerated in this class;
all violations will be submitted to the appropriate Bloch School and / or UMKC parties. The
Instructor specifically reserves the right to discipline all students for academic dishonesty, in
conformity with the rules and regulations of the Bloch School and UMKC. Such action may
include lowering of grades or the assignment of a failing grade for the course itself.
4
Course Outline
Weekly Schedule and Tasks
Week 1 – During this week, students get acquainted, learn about what they might expect from
each other, assess their potential resources and match them against possible task demands. In
most cases, it is expected that students will work on the same businesses that they founded in
ENT 55327. In the first week student teams establish their preliminary goals and objectives.
Getting well acquainted, building trust and confidence, and learning to identify with the group in
this “team building” phase are important elements to future success, as will be demonstrated
later. Team members work together to figure out who will do what and how individual efforts
will be coordinated. An initial CEO is chosen and organizational policies and structure are
established.
Week 2 – Full-scale implementation of business operations begins at this point for all companies
as the student teams begin to run their businesses. Organizational structures, individual
responsibilities, and operational controls need to be discussed and modified. In some cases the
research and assumptions made will be validated and the students will need to deal with a variety
of operational demands. Others may find that their conclusions about the opportunity were
wrong and they will need to respond accordingly. Each team is asked to consider what problems
its business might face and develop contingency plans for the things that might go wrong.
Weeks 3-14 – During this period, the businesses become fully operational. Each team meets
weekly with the instructor for in-depth discussions of all of their internal and external
relationships. These sessions are intended to uncover major unresolved issues critical to the
company’s success and identify alternatives to minimize damage to the business. It is expected
that minor problems will have been identified by the teams themselves and delegated to the
appropriate team member for resolution. Key metrics for the businesses are developed, tracked
and used as the basis for tactical changes and revised projections. Any problems encountered
must be identified and discussed openly.
During this period most teams will do business with other companies outside the course and the
university. This exposure to the real world provides great insight into the diversity of
relationships that can develop and the range of people and styles that are encountered in the
business community.
Week 15– Final reports to the Board are prepared which include a review of activities and
lessons learned. These are written so that they will provide guidance to future companies that
attempt a similar venture. In addition team members will each submit their personal reflections
on the merits of the experience, including such matters as whether their expectations were met,
how their initial ideas or attitudes changed and suggestions to improve the experience for later
teams.
As part of the final presentation, each team reviews its final prognosis and negotiates an exit plan
for its business (move to IEI Student Ventures Program, pay back the loan, etc.). Final balance
sheets are submitted and the assets turned in to the IEI. If it is necessary to continue operations
5
for a limited period to liquidate non-cash inventory or complete obligations to customers, special
provisions are negotiated to allow that to occur without disruption.
If some team members wish to purchase the assets and continue the business as a private venture,
appropriate terms are negotiated with IEI to encourage their initiative.
doc_473979135.pdf