BPS 6370.OG1 Global MBA Online SPRING 2005

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

BPS 6370.OG1 Global MBA Online SPRING 2005

Class Meeting: Online
Office Hours: Mon/Wed 3:00 – 4:00 PM / Dr. Joseph C. Picken
SOM 4.212
Email:
Phone(UTD office): (972) 883-4986
Phone (McKinney office): (972) 562-5401

COURSE INFORMATION

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

This course has been designed to provide an overview of the entrepreneurship process by focusing on new venture creation from idea generation and opportunity recognition to feasibility analysis and business formation. The course will require you to integrate your current knowledge of business functions and apply techniques of business analysis from other courses to the analysis of venture opportunities.

The readings will provide a framework for understanding the entrepreneurial process and evaluating new venture opportunities, exploring the sources and processes of innovation, and developing an understanding of the various methods and techniques available for evaluating new business opportunities. Case studies will be used to explore the various steps involved in evaluating, creating and launching a new business venture, including assessing and acquiring the required resources, structuring the business, arranging financing, and managing the growing enterprise. We will also explore the identification, evaluation and acquisition of existing businesses, and the important activity of harvesting the value created by the entrepreneurial venture.

The two most important economic issues to be addressed with respect to a new venture idea are: (a) what is it worth (today and at some future point in time)?; (b) how much cash will it take to get to that future point? The ability to analyze historical financial information, develop multi-year financial projections in MS Excel, and conduct various valuation analyses is essential to the case analysis process.

Both group and individual assignments will be required, with individual assignments and class participation comprising approximately half of the final grade, and group activities accounting for the remainder. A group project focused on the identification and evaluation of a new business opportunity will comprise a major part of the course.

REQUIRED COURSE MATERIALS:

Stevenson, H.H.; Roberts, M.J.; Grousbeck, H.I. and Bhide, A.V. 1999. New Business Ventures & the Entrepreneur. Irwin-McGraw Hill, New York. ISBN 0-256-20477-2
Drucker, P.F. 1993. Innovation and Entrepreneurship. HarperBusiness, New York. ISBN 0-887-306-187. (paperback)
Bhide, A. 1996. The Questions Every Entrepreneur Must Answer. Harvard Business Review Nov-Dec 1996 (HBR 96603)
Zider, B. 1998. How Venture Capital Works (HBR Reprint 98611)

Textbooks and some other bookstore materials can be ordered online through MBS Direct Virtual Bookstore. They are also available at the UTD Bookstore and Off-Campus Books.

REQUIRED SKILLS AND CAPABILITIES:

It is expected that students will have a reasonable understanding of financial accounting and financial analysis, and a working knowledge of Microsoft Excel. Many of the case analyses will require the analysis of financial statements, the development of financial projections (including income statements, balance sheets and statements of cash flow) and the preparation of valuation analyses using MS Excel. Session 2 and the first written assignment will focus on developing or enhancing your skills in this area.

SELF INTRODUCTION

Each student should post a brief self-introduction on the WebCT discussion boardby 11:59 PM on January 13th(see example provided). This self-introduction will help to builda sense of community and will be utilized in the formation of groups.

Revised: January 21, 2005

BPS 6370.OG1

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

FORMATION OF GROUPS

Much of the work in this course will be performed in small groups (3-4 members). The group members will be collectively responsible for completing each of the group assignments, including the Business Opportunity and Analysis Project. The grades earned on group projects will be assigned equally to each group member, subject to adjustment based on the Peer Evaluation (see below). Students will have the opportunity to form their own groups during the first two weeks of the course, based on common interests and preferred group interaction times (see Self Introduction above). It is important that you select your groups to include a diverse set of skills and make sure that at least one member is proficient in accounting and spreadsheet analysis. A list of the members of each group (with name, email and telephone contact information) should be turned into the instructor by 11:59 PM on January 23rd. Anyone who has not joined a group prior to that time will be assigned to a group by the instructor.

COURSE ACCESS AND NAVIGATION

This course is developed using a web course tool called WebCT. It is to be delivered entirely online. You will be notified by email about the course access information at the start of the course. You’ll need to have a UTD NetID and password (your UTD Unix/Email ID and password) to access the course. If you have not used a UTD NetID account yet, you can go to to initiate your account shortly before or at the start of the semester. Your UTD NetID is your WebCT ID to be used to log on to the UTD WebCT courses. For more information, please check out this NetID FAQs page. The URL for the course login page is: You can login to the course whenever you want. You are required to meet any deadlines for the assignments and exams and also any schedules for class activities or tasks the course requires. You should login to the course site regularly to check course updates, discussion board messages and so on.

You’ll access “My WebCT” page after you login. The page lists all the courses in which you are registered. You can click the course title to access the course Home page which displays several icon links. Clicking each icon link will take you to different subsidiary pages containing the course content elements or built-in course tools. Some navigation components such as the Navigation Bar with Course Menu on the left side, the Menu Bar and the path link on the top and the Action Menu on the content page can help you navigate within the course site.

To get started with a WebCT course, please see Getting started: Student WebCT Orientation. For more information about WebCT tool usage, please see the WebCT’s Student Help Index. Within the course site, you can always click HELP on the WebCT Menu Bar to find information and answers. You can also check out the Orientation Center to Online Learning and WebCT provided on the WebCT site. For more WebCT information and its learning resources, visit

If you have any problem with your UTD account or connection to the UTD WebCT server, you may email to: or call UTD computer help call center at: 972-883-2911. If you encounter any technical difficulties with the course, you can send an email to .

COMMUNICATIONS

WebCT built-in communication tools: There are four built-in communication tools to facilitate learning, communication and collaboration. A course conferencing system, the Discussion, allows the communications among all course participants. Discussion topics or groups can be set up for topic discussions and homework assignments. You can use course Mailtool to communicate privately with instructor and classmates. The Chat tool can be used for real time communication among course participants. Please see specific information for accessing Chat tool: Finally there is a Whiteboard tool also allows real-time interaction among course participants using a graphical interface. Instructor may schedule times to use the Chat and/or Whiteboard tools for office hours and/or class discussion sessions. Small groups may also use Chat for group discussions.

Interaction with Instructor: Instructor will communicate with students mainly using course Discussion board. Students may send personal concerns or questions to the instructor using course Email tool. Instructor will reply to student emails or Discussion board messages within 3 working days under normal circumstances.

MeetingPlace Conference System: UTD maintains a telephone conferencing system from Latitude Communications. Online instructors can use the system for class teleconference sessions during the semester. Participants can access a meeting by dialing a “972” area code number using any touch tone phone and entering a meeting code. If any teleconference is scheduled for the course, students will be posted for times and access instructions. A class teleconference is usually recorded and can be reviewed over the phone after the conference. Please see TeleConference Guide for general conference participation and review instructions.

While the online programs of the School of Management make regular use of the system for class discussions, conferencing is also available for smaller groups of students for group discussions. If a group wants to reserve a time slot during the workweek of Monday through Friday, please send an email one week in advance to with course name, student names and email addresses, choice of date, and start and end times. Once a reservation has been made, students will receive a confirmation and participation instructions.

You can check your grades by accessing “My Grade” icon on Student Tools page after the grade for each assessment task is released.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS

In addition to a confident level of computer and Internet literacy, certain minimum technical requirements must be met to enable a successful learning experience. Technical requirements include but not limited to:

Hardware

A Pentium processor or equivalent Mac system; Windows 98/Me/2000/XP or Mac OS 9.x or OS X 10.1.
Internet access with modem or preferably with other faster connections.
32 MB system Ram; 200 MB free disk space or sufficient storage
Sound card
CD-ROM capabilities

Software

Netscape Navigator 4.7x or higher (but 4.78, 4.79 and 6.0-6.1 not supported), or Internet Explorer 5.0 to 6.0 (but 5.5 SP1 not supported). See browser configuration info below.
MS Office 97/98 is the minimum standard. (Microsoft software is available at a nominal cost from UTD Microsoft Program. For more information, visit Global MBA Online Student Service web page at:
Virus detection/protection software such as McAfee
“Plug-ins” tools such as current version of RealPlayer/RealOne Player (available at: and Adobe Acrobat Reader (available at:
A zip file expansion tool such as WinZip or Stuffit Expander (available at:

Web Browser Configuration

For the WebCT courses to work properly, you need one of the WebCT supported browsers listed above with JavaScript enabled and cookie enabled. It is also important that you set the cache settings of your browser to verify web documents “Every Time”. The methods for configuring these settings vary among browsers. Please follow this web link provided by WebCT to tune-up your browser:

STUDENT EVALUATION: COURSE REQUIREMENTS & GRADING:

The course requirements are summarized in the Course Outline section. Supplemental materials may be provided or posted electronically. The course has been designed to allow flexible management of your time. There will be no quizzes or exams. Your grade will be based on group and individual written assignments, your contributions to Discussion Board and Teleconference discussions, and a major group project.

Teleconferences will be scheduled at appropriate intervals during the course to facilitate an interactive dialogue among the members of the class. Access numbers are 972-231-5379 (DFW) and 800-910-2280 (US). Meeting ID is 6370.

Discussion boards will be scheduled throughout the semester to provide for an interactive dialogue simulating class discussions. Discussion questions will be posted on Web CTby the Instructor at the beginning of each discussion period. Responses are due as indicated below. Student responses will be posted on WebCT and available for viewing by the entire class. Participation will be monitored and reflected in the Class Participation grade. Students are encouraged to pose additional questions for discussion as part of the weekly dialogue.

Theassignments, their due dates and page limits, and their relative weights in determining your final grade are summarized in the table below. The evaluation forms that will be used for each assignment are posted on WebCT.

Assignment / Due Date / Type / Length (pages) / Weight
Discussion Board #1 – Self Introduction (see template on WebCT) / 11:59 PM
Jan 13, 2005 / WebCT Discussion Post / 1 / Class Participation
Teleconference #1 – Financial Analysis & Projections / 7:00–8:30 PM Jan 20, 2005 / Teleconference
972-231-5379 / N/A / Class Participation
Written Assignment # 1 – Case Analysis: SplatterMatter Paintguns, Inc. / 11:59 PM
Jan 23, 2005 / Individual (outline form) / 3-4 + Excel Worksheet / 10%
Discussion Board #2: The DAG Group case / 11:59 PM
Jan 30, 2005 / WebCT Discussion Post / N/A / Class Participation
Written Assignment # 2 – Opportunities for Innovation / 11:59 PM
Feb 6, 2005 / Individual (essay form) / 4-5 / 10%
Teleconference #2 - Opportunities for Innovation / 7:00–8:30 PM Feb 10, 2005 / Teleconference
972-231-5379 / N/A / Class Participation
Written Assignment # 3 – Case Analysis: Ice Delights / 11:59 PM
Feb 13, 2005 / Group Project (outline form) / 5-7 / 10%
Written Assignment #4 – Case Analysis: Commercial Fixtures, Inc. / 11:59 PM
Feb 20, 2005 / Individual (outline form) / 3-4 + Excel Worksheet / 10%
Written Assignment # 5 – Business Opportunity Identification / 11:59 PM
Feb 27, 2005 / Group Project (essay form) / 7-10 / 5%
Teleconference #3 - Business Opportunity Analysis / 7:00–8:30 PM Mar 3, 2005 / Teleconference
972-231-5379 / N/A / Class Participation
Discussion Board #3: Heather Evans case / 11:59 PM
Mar 7, 2005 / WebCT Discussion Post / N/A / Class Participation
Written Assignment # 6 – Case Analysis: Onset Ventures / 11:59 PM
Mar 20, 2005 / Group Project (outline form) / 5-7 / 10%
Discussion Board #4: ArthroCare case / 11:59 PM
Mar 27, 2005 / WebCT Discussion Post / N/A / Class Participation
Written Assignment #7 – Case Analysis: Allen Lane / 11:59 PM
April 3, 2005 / Individual (outline form) / 5-7 / 10%
Teleconference #4 - Onset Ventures, Arthrocare, Allen Lane cases / 7:00–8:30 PM April 7, 2005 / Teleconference
972-231-5379 / N/A / Class Participation
Discussion Board #5: Grand Junction case / 11:59 PM
April 17, 2005 / WebCT Discussion Post / N/A / Class Participation
Written Assignment #8 – New Venture Business Plan / 11:59 PM
April 24, 2004 / Group Project (essay form) / 25-30 / 20%
Written Assignment #9 - Peer Evaluation Form –Submit using the WebCT assignment tool. / 11:59 PM
April 24, 2005 / Individual / 1 / Class Participation
Teleconference #5 -New Venture Business Plan Presentation / 7:00–9:30 PM April 28, 2005 / Teleconference
972-231-5379 / N/A / Included in WA#8
Class Participation(Discussion Boards & Teleconferences) / Individual / 15%
Overall Course Grade / 100%

Peer Evaluation Process

A peer evaluation process will be utilized to adjust individual grades on all group assignments. The peer evaluation form (form provided on WebCT course site under the Peer Evaluation assignment link and also linked at the end of this syllabus) will be completed individually and turned in as WA#9 on April 24th.

Guidelines for Written Assignments

Evaluation:Eighty-fivepercent (85%) of your grade will be based on group and individual written assignments. Fifteen percent (15%) of your grade will be based on participation in scheduled teleconferences and discussion board postings. Particular care should be taken to fully address the requirements for each paper detailed in the assignment. A written evaluation and critique will be provided on all graded papers. Written assignments will be evaluated on multiple factors, including (a) clear and direct response to the case questions provided; (b) critical evaluation and effective insights into the case situation; (c) demonstrated ability to apply the course concepts and frameworks in your analysis; (d) logical conclusions and effective recommendations as required; and (e) effective communications.
Identification of Assignments. All submitted assignments should be identified as follows: (a) a header on each page of the paper or spreadsheet should include your name and/or Group ID; (b) the file name should identify the course, assignment number and your name and/or Group ID. For example, “BPS 6370_2_JSmith.doc” would identify John Smith’s Written Assignment #2. Failure to properly identify your work will impact your grade.
Format. Written assignments will be submittedin MS Word, MS Excel or MS Powerpoint format, as appropriate. Each assignment should comply with the specified page length guidelines specified. The use of charts and exhibits is encouraged, to the extent that they help you make your points. Cover pages, charts or exhibits, and lists of references will not be included in the page count. Charts and exhibits should be numbered and appropriately referenced in the body of the document. A list of references should be attached as required. The manuscript should use 11-12 point type, double-spaced, with 1” margins all around. Appropriate titles and section headings should be used. Number the pages and put the course number and your name(s) and group ID in a header at the top of each page.
Outline Form Response. Some assignments specify an outline form response. I will expect a statement of the question followed by a bulleted or numbered list of the key items in your response.
Essay Form Response. Some assignments specify an essay form response. I will expect a well organized paper that addresses the case questions and uses section headings, bulleted lists, charts and exhibits as appropriate to clearly communicate your message.
Assignment Submission Instructions: Individual and Group Assignments will be submitted by using the Assignment DropBox tool on the course site. Please see the Assignments icon on the designated page. You can click each assignment name link and follow the on-screen instructions to upload your file(s) and submit it. Please refer to the Help menu or the WebCT Student Guide for more information on using this tool. PLEASE NOTE: each assignment link can only be used for submission for one time and will be deactivated after the assignment due time. A Late Assignment drop box will be provided for late assignments. Group assignments are to be submitted only by one member of the group. This group member will receive the results and feedback on the assignment and will be responsible for sharing them with the other members of the group.
Due Dates and Late Paper Policy: Written assignments are due on or before the scheduled time on the date assigned. Group assignments will not be accepted late. Individual late papers turned in within one week after the due date will be graded, but 10 points will be deducted; papers turned in within two weeks will be graded, but 15 points will be deducted. Late papers received more than two weeks after the due date will receive a zero. Exceptions may be made if prior arrangements are made and circumstances warrant.

Case Analysis Guidelines