DupreeFall 2009

Welcome

To the first cross-disciplinary integrated team-taught course in your program. Our goal is to enhance your entrepreneurial mindset and lay the foundation of the business and entrepreneurial skills you will need to discover, pursue, and develop God’s call on your life in business. You have decided to explore a path lead by God according to how He has “wired you” rather than depending on others to provide for and direct your career path.

Entrepreneurship is a mindset, the ability to see opportunities in problems and challenges, to find and allocate the resources needed to meet the needs created by the problems, attract and inspire others to join you in your adventure, and, at the same time, assess the risk inherent in your path and find the courage to take that measured risk. You will and are seeing what others do not, thinking what other cannot, doing what others will not, trapped by their own “trained incapacity.”

While we can’t put in what God has left out, we can help you learn how to develop your entrepreneurial mind, we can teach you the skills you need to pursue the dreams that mindset creates.And we’ll bring you into contact with the people – students, faculty, and entrepreneurs who can help you, as no entrepreneur is a lone superhero. He or she is always part of a team meeting the needs of people by executing their vision given by God through their heart.

As the foundational course in your program we will examine the nature of entrepreneurship,and the role of entrepreneur in society, investigate the entrepreneurial process, and focus your thinking like a 6 joule laser. In coordination with ENTR 102 – Technology for the Entrepreneur and ENTR 103 – The Entrepreneurial Experience you will learn and apply a number of areas of knowledge: business functions, leadership, management, … and 6 key skills: opportunity identification; creative thinking; business planning, business communication and technology, introductory financial management; and team work.

Objectives – when you finish this course it is my hope that you will:

have an enhanced “entrepreneurial mind,” seeing opportunities others do not see, identifying necessary resources, assessing risk, and executing on those opportunities.

understand more clearly what entrepreneurship is and what the essential entrepreneurial characteristics are.

have a clearer, more comprehensive Christian worldview regarding how your chosen path of entrepreneurship fits into God’s creation.

experience more clarity regarding God’s call on your life and person.

understand core business functions such as marketing, management, finance, etc., which must be mastered for entrepreneurial success.

have a more completely developed framework and tools for enhanced creative thinking and problem solving.

be able to exercise greater personal responsibility with humble self-reliance as you transition from one educational stage to the next in your life.

be able to execute foundational business skills that you have learned in concept.

Entrepreneurship Core Competencies Assessment

Entrepreneurial thinking – ability to see opportunity, develop creative ways to exploit same, take and exercise personal responsibility, and understand God’s call as an entrepreneur. / $10 Start-up exercise / Competency 1
Personal Entrepreneurial TraitsBehaviors – associated with successful entrepreneurial performance: ethical leadership; self-awareness and self-assessment/management; finding and building a team. / DiSC, Entrepreneur Interview / Competency 2
Enterprise management – the concepts around which business decisions are made: management – planning & control; HRM; marketing management; and financial management. / Feasibility study / Competency 6
Communications and interpersonal skills – concepts & strategies needed to interact effectively: business communication; team work; & conflict management and resolution. / Elevator pitch / Competency 7
Economics – the principles concepts fundamental to entrepreneurship/small-business ownership: basic business functions and terminology, the role of the entrepreneur in society, and cost-profit relationships. / Feasibility study, $10 Start-up exercise / Competency 3

Office Hours:

Dr. James V. Dupree

Office:HAL 318H;Box #3004

Office phone:724-458-3354

Office hours:M 11:00-12:00, WF 1:00-5:00 p.m., 2:30-5:00 TTh

and by appointment.

My Expectations regarding:

Required texts – two books, one instrument, 2 DVDs, and a couple of freebies.

  • Creating the Enterprise, byWilliam B. Gartner, Marlene G. Bellamy, 1sted., Thomson South-Western, 2009.
  • The Entrepreneurial Vocation, by Sirico, Acton, 2002.
  • DVDs, two blank, purchase at bookstore or Walmart, preferably Re-writeable.
  • DiSC, from KeyGroup, purchased online with an individual credit card, $27.50. Please do so immediately.
  • Grasha-Reichmann Student Learning Style Inventory, an online learning inventory. Taken outside of class at Free.
  • Midas Marketing,Rob Slee, on reserve in Buhl Library – 5 copies. Free on reserve.

You will read several cases about entrepreneurs from this book throughout the semester.

Reserve readings are only available for reading in the library, in two-hour increments.

Taking Personal Responsibility for your Learning

  • I will do my best to provide course content in an interesting, engaging manner.
  • Please:

come to class prepared to share an informed opinion, to ask questions, etc.

treat this class as you would a job, understanding that due dates are to be met, attendance is expected and noted, and using the syllabus to plan your work and track your work.

  • Be sure you read, understand, and follow the GCC Honesty in Learning Policy and the Plagiarism policies.
  • Please choose to conduct yourself in an honorable and ethical manner, and if you have firsthand knowledge that another student is not, you will inform me so that I may take appropriate action.

Computer Etiquette in class

  • Your compute will be an integral part of this class. I anticipate you will become proficient it the various business applications to which you will be exposed.

You may access the Internet or other web sources if they are of immediate relevance to our discussion.

  • Emailing to the professor

You are welcomed to email me at any time (other than during class time) with any question.

Please place ENTR101 – Entrep. Mind at the beginning of the subject line of your email, this will assist me in responding more quickly.

  • While clever this is an inappropriate use of technology in class
  • These skills will be taught in a separate parallel seminar and evaluated (graded) in their application in this course.
  • Therefore as an entrepreneur “in training” I expect you will adhere to the following guidelines.

Use your computer for note-taking or other class relevant activities.

All use of your computer should be subtle and non-distracting to classmates.

  • Please do not:

E-mail, IM, etc., while in class.

Work on assignments not immediately relevant to class.

Surf the web while in class.

  • Violation of this policy is considered unprofessional behavior and may result in being banned from using your computer in class.
  • Judgment as to the appropriateness of your action is at my discretion and is not subject to debate.

Integrity

  • Success in life is built on trust and personal integrity.
  • Sometimes we may be tempted to do something that would be a violation of our Honesty in Learning policy.

Resist the temptation, because the consequences may be severe, ranging from receiving a zero for the related assignment to suspension or expulsion from the College. No one grade, including your grade for this class, is worth prostituting your personal integrity. Believe me!

  • Some examples of things to NOT do:

Use of someone else's ideas and presenting them as your own without giving proper credit. Anything from the Internet must be identified and referenced just as if you found it in a periodical or text. Be careful to document the source of any ideas or content that you use.

Procuring, seeking to procure, or using past or current work products of others and using them in place of your own original work.

You may of course review your own work and exams as frequently as you wish, whenever you wish online. You simply CANNOT make copies for purpose of study or any other reason.

Attendance

  • As noted, please treat the class as a job.

Absences are posted online weekly.

Please track your attendance.

  • As per College policy you have three (3) “free” unexcused absences as this class meets three times per week.

Unique to my classes, you also get one (1) “sick” day during the semester.

This means if you are sick and don’t come to class you don’t need any excuse of any kind, once.

Being late to class constitutes ½ of a miss. You are late if you are not seated when class begins.

  • Each additional unexcused absence over the total of four (3+1) reduces your final grade 5% or ½ grade.

Students with excess absences may be dropped involuntarily from the class. Please see your Crimson for details.

  • If you want an excused absence, just like an employer, you have to provide me with documentation justifying the absence. An email or oral explanation is insufficient.

If I don't have documentation, the absence is not excused.

The Student Life policy that students are to notify faculty when they are to miss class is an example of personally responsible behavior.

It however does NOT constitute an excused absence.

  • While there are legitimate excuses to miss class, there are no make-ups for missed assignments or quizzes.

Learning Disabilities

  • Some of us, I am one, have a learning impairment, something that makes it more difficult for us to learn than for others. [Difficulty getting up in the morning doesn’t qualify .]
  • If you believe you have such a condition, please contact Student Life and Learning for assistance.
  • Once this condition is verified, I will accommodate your needs as best I can, but I must have formal verification from the College before I can do so.
  • I note this policy both to encourage you to explore this possibility if you feel you have the need and to establish a policy for fair treatment of all students.

Assignments

Many of your assignments for this class will be coordinated with your 102 and 103 seminars. Some instruction and requirements will be covered in one course and applied to another. Guidance and instructions will be provided via WebCT for each of the following assignments. PLEASE NOTE that many of the assignments build on previous work rather than being separate assignments. This is to maximize your learning without maximizing you work effort. 

$10 Start-up

  • This assignment will be introduced about week 5. It is a small team exercise.

We will engage in some creativity, team building, and communication exercises to prepare you for this assignment.

Teams will be formed around the best ideas.

Weekly email memo progress reports will be sent to Dr. Columbus via email. Preparation of the memo will be rotated among team members.

The week you write the memo, you will include documentation of YOUR specific individual contribution to the team’s business.

  • Dr. Columbus will administer this assignment.
  • Details will be posted on WebCT the week before we begin.

Written assignments

You will create, research, and write a number of business documents as you complete various course assignments. Some will be individual exercises one a team exercise.Instructions for each of the following will be posted on WebCT.

  • Idea memo – Individual exercise

The business idea in summary, ½-1 page. Due day of 60-second pitches.

Teams will be built around the 4-6 best ideas. [You will have 60 seconds to “sell” your idea to your classmates. The top vote getters will become feasibility studies.]

  • Planning memo – Team exercise

This document lays out a timeline, task assignments with dues dates, etc., for your feasibility study.

Each team member will be responsible for a specific part of the feasibility study. See the TOC outline on pages 415-16.

  • Email – Individual exercise

Communications within the team and with Dr. Dupree and Dr. Columbus;

$10 – Start-up progress memos will be submitted approximately weekly once you begin your startup.

Each weekly memo will be written by a different team member.

  • Feasibility study – Team exercise

Your team will develop a feasibility study for your $10 – Startup.

Each team member will be primary person for one element of the study.

The research report assignment below explains that.

  • Research report – Individual exercise [ties back to planning memo]

Each team member will write a research report on their portion of the feasibility study. [These will be combined appropriately into the final document.]

See Appendix B, pages 417-418, for the topic areas under the headings of Industry/Market Analysis.

It will be graded on both writing quality and research quality. For example:

  • Use of Buhl online resources and discovery and use of entrepreneurial information sites. [See your text]
  • General internet information search [ties into your 102 library research lecture]
  • PowerPoint presentations

Start-up idea - each student will have 60 seconds to sell their idea to the class.

$10-Start-up results report at the end of the semester

Also feasibility study idea – each student will have 60 seconds to sell their idea and recruit 4 other students to join them.

  • Online edit exercises

Team members using WebCT, Word – Review, and other appropriate technologies will read, comment, and edit the various elements of the feasibility study.

Elevator Pitch – Individual exercise

  • A three-minute (180) pitch of a commercial or social enterprise idea, built from your idea memo/presentation exercise.

This is an idea you’d like to pursue. It may be related the feasibility study or other assignments, or something entirely new.

  • You will present in class and be entered into the campus-wide competition.

Rules, guidelines, etc., are available at

You will receive peer feedback.

You will receive a copy of your Pitch on DVD, will watch it, and evaluate it.

  • The Elevator Pitch competition is October 29th.

A written (2 pg) manuscript of your elevator pitch is due via electronic submission prior to class on Oct. 29th.

All winners of the competition receive an “A” for their elevator pitch assignment.

Anyone may still earn an “A” even if they do not place in the competition.

You also need to observe at least two other elevator pitches and complete evaluations on each.

Team processes

As part of your $10 Start-up and your feasibility study you will be working with other students. We want you to learn and practice effective team skills. So these exercises are built into your other assignments in order to not add onto your workload for the class.

  • Online collaboration

In conjunction with your commenting and editing of your team reports you will practice key collaboration skills: effective feedback, clarity in comments, etc.

We hope to enhance your ability to add to someone’s work, not simply critique it.

This will be explained and demonstrated in class.

  • Virtual meeting

At least twice your team will meet virtually, i.e., via the internet using one of the web-meeting tools you will learn.

A virtual meeting means your team is physically separated and can only communicate and interact through the technology.

This will be explained and demonstrated in class.

Portfolio/Documentation of Contribution

This is not an additional exercise but rather a project management tool, for which you receive a grade. The purpose of this exercise is to help you keep and use the content and exercises from class in the future. Often when we finish a course we misplace, toss, or in other ways lose track of notes, handouts, etc., just when we discover something from a past class would be very helpful. We hope to enhance your retention of key materials for your entire college career with this one initial exercise.

  • You will build a portfolio in which you will keep and submit selected exercises from this class.
  • Elements

Your DiSC profile with a brief analysis

Your learning analysis profile

Entrepreneur interview report [your 103 assignment]

Elevator pitch

2+ page memo documenting your contribution to your team’s $10 Startup.

Feasibility study

Feasibility study presentation slides

Course notes

Class Participation, Discussion

Entrepreneurs come in all types of personalities but they still need to communicate their ideas clearly to others. Hence there is a participation requirement.

  • You will receive a weekly participation grade posted online each Friday.
  • These points will be added together at the end of the semester and becomes your participation grade for the semester.
  • As an introductory entrepreneurship course there will be limited opportunity for class discussion and participation outside of specific class exercises and case study discussions.
  • Some criteria to help you gauge your participation:

$90-100 = EXCELLENT= comes prepared, contributes readily but doesn’t dominate, thoughtful contributions that advance discussion, respectful of others’ views, shows interest and participates when in small group discussion.

$80-89 = ABOVE AVERAGE= comes prepared, thoughtful comments when called on and sometimes without prompting, ideas less developed or cogent than above. Also shows respect for others’ ideas and actively participates when in small group.

$70-79 = AVERAGE= participates, not clear if prepared, may talk too much, comments rambling or tangential, interrupts with digressions, bluffs when unprepared.

$60-69 = BELOW AVERAGE= does not volunteer, minimal answers when called on – basically rote content, do show interest, take notes, listens attentively.

$0-59 = FAILING= not voluntarily participating, not able to respond when called on, unable to answer questions, not prepared, doesn’t participate in small group discussions, may be disruptive by distracting behavior or not present when group/team needs them.