Postgraduate Course: The Entrepreneurial Manager (MBA) (BUST11194)
Course Outline
| School | Business School |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Course type | Standard |
Availability | Available to all students |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Credits | 10 |
| Home subject area | Business Studies |
Other subject area | None |
| Course website |
None |
Taught in Gaelic? | No |
| Course description | Entrepreneurship provides a new dimension to management, in which innovative owners and managers (entrepreneurs) exploit new opportunities to add value either to themselves (through founding their own new ventures) or to the organisation (by founding new lines of value within the organisation). The course will examine what entrepreneurship is, theories of entrepreneurship, and the scope of entrepreneurial studies in terms of their relevance to competitive advantage in different types of organisations.
A fundamental outcome of entrepreneurship is the creation of new value, usually through the creation of new products and services which lead to the start-up of a new firm. The course demonstrates that the start-up of a new firm is a process that can be managed and resourced and even planned for. To start a successful business an entrepreneur has to be motivated, has to have enterprising and managerial skills. Additionally, an entrepreneur needs an idea that is realistic and practical, and capable of producing reasonable profit margins. He or she requires access to resources to grow the business, not just finance but social resources too. Above all the entrepreneur needs to learn from mistakes, and practice entrepreneurship. Knowing how to minimise mistakes is an important quality of successful entrepreneurs.
Novice entrepreneurs who start their first business are preoccupied with survival, and commonly either eventually cease trading, or establish a business that remains profitable but small. Growing a business from small beginnings into a large enterprise is a difficult undertaking, and fewer than 4 per cent of new businesses ever grow into large ones. It takes special abilities to grow a business at a fast rate and a great deal of risk can be involved as high growth products or services often attract serious retaliation from competitors. The course examines high growth strategies in some detail and will discuss cases of entrepreneurs who have attained exceptional growth quickly. Professional management competence is an important element of success, but recent studies have established that growth itself can be an entrepreneurial process. Many entrepreneurs grow their business interests by starting a succession of businesses rather than a single one. These entrepreneurs are called habitual entrepreneurs and the course examines closely their styles of management.
Entrepreneurship remains an important element in the success of established businesses. The course demonstrates the relevance of entrepreneurship in large organisations and analyses how it can be integrated into more familiar approaches of corporate management. Many large firms have to react to new market opportunities, and have to develop mechanisms to develop new products and services. Many of these new lines of value arise from the activities of entrepreneurs within the organisation (intrapreneurs) or through the vision of entrepreneurial senior managers. New companies commonly spin out of large organisations. How larger firms can encourage innovation and entrepreneurship, and yet retain control remains a major challenge to modern companies. Entrepreneurship is also important to larger family businesses, which tend to survive for much longer periods than corporate companies. Family businesses need to renew themselves periodically to sustain profits. The family business model differs appreciably from that of the classic corporation, but ultimately it is still a common form of management as it helps to generate sustained private wealth for its family owners.
One aspect of entrepreneurship considered vital to national prosperity is its association with the commercialisation of innovation stemming from universities and the research of larger firms. Managing entrepreneurial innovation is complex and specialised, and involves the coordination of specialist networks and financial resources, such as formal and informal venture capital. It takes different management techniques to establish a successful commercialisation venture.
The need to become entrepreneurial is also strong in modern, large non business organisations. Many are forced to raise more funds as their existing public funds are insufficient. There is also recognition that governments cannot underpin all good causes. This has motivated many caring entrepreneurs to start charities of their own, some of which from small beginnings have grown into major world organisations. Social entrepreneurship has become an important field of management in recent years.
Overall, the course should lead to an appreciation that management without entrepreneurship is like "ying without yang".
This course, entitled "The Entrepreneurial Manager", will complement additional MBA options courses on entrepreneurship in Semester 2b, such as New Venture Creation and the proposed "Green Entrepreneurship". Entrepreneurship provides a critical dimension to management, in which innovative owners and managers (entrepreneurs) exploit new opportunities to add value either to themselves (through founding their own new ventures) or to the organisation (by founding new lines of value within the organisation).
The course will examine the nature of entrepreneurship, foundational theories of entrepreneurship and assess the practice of entrepreneurship from the viewpoint of the entrepreneur/manager. Such an approach has been successfully delivered at Harvard Business School, where entrepreneurship is made relevant to MBA students across various business settings, from new ventures to large corporations, in emphasising the role of the entrepreneurial manager. |
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | For Business School PG students only, or by special permission of the School. Please contact the course secretary. |
| Additional Costs | Text books |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | Accepted as visiting MBA student. |
| Displayed in Visiting Students Prospectus? | No |
Course Delivery Information
|
| Delivery period: 2013/14 Semester 2, Available to all students (SV1)
|
Learn enabled: Yes |
Quota: None |
|
Web Timetable |
Web Timetable |
| Course Start Date |
13/01/2014 |
| Breakdown of Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
100
(
Lecture Hours 20,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 2,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
78 )
|
| Additional Notes |
|
| Breakdown of Assessment Methods (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
|
| No Exam Information |
Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes
Knowledge and Understanding:
Overall the course should raise awareness of the importance of entrepreneurial management styles and techniques in both small and large organisations. The knowledge learnt will enable students to examine critically and question more traditional approaches to the study of management. Specific outcomes include an understanding of:
- why entrepreneurship is difficult to define, and various interpretations of what entrepreneurship means;
- the role of small firms in economy and society;
- theories of entrepreneurship and the formation of new firms;
- entrepreneurship, business growth and habitual entrepreneurs;
- financial, human and social capital and the growth of firms;
- entrepreneurship in larger organisations (innovation, corporate and social entrepreneurship).
Cognitive Skills:
By the end of the course students will have developed or enhanced:
- scholarship and desk research skills;
- the ability to assimilate, communicate and present critical evaluations of relevant sources of information.
Key Skills:
On completion of the assessed course work students should have enhanced:
- the ability to work in groups;
- presentation and communication skills.
Subject Specific Skills:
And gained insights into:
- how to start a business or develop new products and services in both small and large business contexts.
|
Assessment Information
Group written assignment 50%
- Profiling an entrepreneurial
manager (2500 words)
Individual written assignment 50%
- Enterprise value assessment
(2000 words)
|
Special Arrangements
| None |
Additional Information
| Academic description |
Not entered |
| Syllabus |
Not entered |
| Transferable skills |
Not entered |
| Reading list |
Not entered |
| Study Abroad |
Not entered |
| Study Pattern |
Not entered |
| Keywords | Ent Mgr (MBA) |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Mr Adam Bock
Tel: (0131 6)50 8246
Email: Adam.J.Bock@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Miss Rachel Allan
Tel: (0131 6)51 3757
Email: Rachel.Allan@ed.ac.uk |
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