ABM 3104 AGRIBUSINESS SMALL ENTERPRISE MANAGEMENT

  1. INSTRUCTOR(s):Ms. Alice Turinawe (B. Agribusiness management. M.Sc. Agricultural and Applied Economics)
  1. COURSE TYPE AND LOCATION: Core for B. Agribusiness Management II.

Location: Faculty of agriculture

  1. COURSE STRUCTURE

3 Credit Units: 30 lecture hours (2 contact hours per week for 15 study weeks) and 30 tutorial hours (1 contact hour per week for 15 study weeks)

  1. COURSE DESCRIPTION:

Students undertaking this course will be introduced to the concepts and dynamics of small business management. Areas to be covered include: Definitions of small agribusiness, weakness of small business, small business in the global economy. Entrepreneurship: definition and development. New ventures and the business plan, the needs for planning in agribusiness management, evaluating an existing business, franchises, women in franchising. Gender (e.g. participation, constraints of men and women) and small enterprise management.Gender issues in micro-enterprise development. Business location, the varying importance of location, marketing research in business site selection, selecting a business location.Financing a small business enterprise, estimating money needs, equity capital versus debt capital. Marketing research and marketing channels. Pricing, promotion, service and global marketing.

  1. COURSE OBJECTIVES

The general objective of the small enterprise management course is to provide students with sound business knowledge that will allow them to successfully open, revitalize, stabilize, or expand a small business.

Specifically, this course will equip students with knowledge and skills to:

  1. Appreciate the problems small business units face and the business environment under which they operate.
  2. Initiate, organize and manage small business projects efficiently.
  3. Effectively communicate and administer small business units.
  4. Develop a business plan that will keep them on course as small business managers.
  1. RECOMMENDED REFERENCES FOR READING
  1. BaumbackC.M.and Lawyer K. (1979). How to Organize and Operate a Small Business, Prentice-Hall Inc., London.
  2. Ivancevich John. (1982). Successful small Business Management. Business Publications Inc, Texas, USA.
  3. Michael Cross, et al. (1993). Small Business Survival Guide, Prentice Hall, New Jersey.
  4. Siropolis Nicholas. (1994). Small Business Management, Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, USA.
  5. Stokes David. (1998). SmallEnterprise Management- A case study approach, 3rd Edition, Pitman publishing, London.

8. COURSE CONTENT, METHODS OF INSTRUCTION, TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT REQUIRED

TOPIC / CONTENT / METHOD OF INSTRUCTION/TIME ALLOCATED / TOOLS / EQUIPMENT NEEDED
Introduction to agribusiness small enterprise management /
  • Small and medium businesses: Definition
  • Advantages and disadvantages of small scale business enterprises
  • Why small firms continue to operate along side large scale firms
  • Tutorial 1: The case for small scale enterprises
/ Lecture (2 hrs)
Tutorial (2 hours) / Chalk / BB or Markers / Flip charts
Role of Small business units /
  • Small Scale enterprises in an economy
  • Problems faced by the small scale enterprise sector
  • Tutorial 2: Economic contributions of small business
/ Interactive lecture (2 hrs)
Tutorial (2 hours) / Chalk / BB or Markers / Flip charts, Projector
Growth of the small firm sector /
  • Entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial traits
  • Motivations for starting a small business
  • Justifying a new business
/ Interactive lecture (2 hrs) / Chalk / BB or Markers / Flip charts, Projector
Growth of the small firm sector /
  • Entry to the market: Barriers to entry for small businesses
  • Starting up a new business
  • Tutorial 3: Buying an existing business
/ Interactive lecture (1 hrs)
Tutorial (2 hours)
Franchising in small businesses /
  • Types of franchising
  • The typical stages of setting up a franchise
/ Lecture (1 hr)
Franchising in small businesses /
  • Advantages and disadvantages of franchising to franchisees and franchisors
  • Tutorial 4: Franchising systems
/ Interactive lecture (2 hrs)
Tutorial (2 hrs) / Chalk / BB or Markers / Flip charts, Projector
New ventures and the business /
  • The need for planning in small enterprise management
/ Interactive lecture (2 hrs)
New ventures and the business plan /
  • When to draw up a business plan
  • Tutorial 5: How to make the business plan
  • Assignment 1: Making business plans in groups
/ Lecture (2 hrs)
Tutorial (2 hours) / Chalk / BB or Markers / Flip charts, Projector
Gender issues in small-enterprise development /
  • Participation constraints of men and women
  • Characteristics of women-headed micro-enterprises
  • Tutorial 6:Key gender issues in entrepreneurship development for women
  • Class presentation 1: Group presentation of business plans
/ Interactive lecture (2 hrs)
Tutorial (2 hours)
Presentation (2 hours / Chalk / BB or Markers / Flip charts
Business location /
  • The varying importance of location,
  • Marketing research in business site selection
  • Tutorial 7: Deciding on the particular community to locate a business
  • Choosing a site within that community.
  • Factors/characteristics to consider in selecting a small business location
  • Basic factors to consider in business site selection
  • Class presentation 2: Group presentation of business plans.
/ Interactive lecture (2 hrs)
Tutorial (2 hours)
Presentation (2 hours) / Chalk / BB or Markers / Flip charts
Financing a small business enterprise /
  • Initial Capital Requirements; estimating money needs
  • Kinds of capital
Sources of Funds:
  • Tutorial 8: equity Vs debt financing
/ Lecture (2 hrs)
Tutorial (2 hours)
Financing a small business enterprise /
  • Financing small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Uganda
  • Tutorial 9: Difficulties in accessing financing from formal sources in Uganda
/ Interactive lecture (1 hr)
Tutorial (2 hours) / Chalk / BB or Markers / Flip charts
Marketing research and marketing channels /
  • How small businesses’ marketing approach differs from that of large firms
  • Target marketing
Identification of Target markets
  • Tutorial 10: Entrepreneurial marketing
/ Interactive lecture (2 hrs)
Tutorial (2 hours)
Marketing research and marketing channels / Identifying targets other than the new customers. / Interactive lecture (1) hrs) / Chalk / BB or Markers / Flip charts
Pricing / Importance of a competitive price mechanism
Costs-marketing Math
Customers- Demand analysis
  • Tutorial 11: Pricing methods
/ Interactive lecture (2 hrs)
Tutorial (2 hours) / Chalk / BB or Markers / Flip charts
Promotion, and service /
  • Advertising
  • Public Relations
  • Sales promotions
  • Direct marketing
  • Tutorial 12: Personal selling
/ Interactive lecture (2 hrs)
Tutorial (2 hours) / Chalk / BB or Markers / Flip charts, Projector
Global marketing. / Emerging trends and challenges
International marketing
Tutorial 13: Establishing small business in foreign countries / Interactive lecture (2 hr)
Tutorial (2 hours) / Chalk / BB or Markers / Flip charts
16-17 /
  • Revision Time
Final Examination

9. SUMMARY OF TIME NEEDED

Interactive lectures covering theory 30 hrs

Tutorials (and assignments) 26 hrs

Class Presentations 4 hrs

10. COURSE ASSESSMENT:

Continuous assessment (Quizzes): / There will be 2 Quizzes arising from tutorials and assignments any time during lecture sessions / 10%
Continuous assessment (Write-ups and presentation ) / Students will form groups and write an assignment as given by the instructor / 10%
Continuous assessment (Tests): / There will be two tests during week 7 and 13 of the semester / 20%
University Examination: / Final examination during week 16-17 of the semester / 60%