TEACHINGGUIDELINES ENTREPRENEURSHIP101:AnIntroductorycourseonentrepreneurship

SUMMARY Highgrowth entrepreneurship is a new addition to the undergraduate and post graduatecurriculaincollegesandinstitutesacrossIndia. Case studies are effective tools to communicate the issues involved in building and growinganenterprise.Theyhighlightthecomplexitiesofarealbusinessandallowfor realtimeanalysesoftheentrepreneursproblemsanddecisionmakingprocess. Teaching style for a case evolves based on the instructors preferences and the background of the audience. Instructors already teaching businessrelated courses mightbemorefamiliarwiththecasebasedtechnique,butfacultyfromotherdisciplines likescienceandengineeringcanalsousethisteachingmethodeffectively. Theguidelinesthatareprovidedherearegeneralandaimtohelpfacultyusethecase methodforteachingentrepreneurshipgenerallyandmorespecificallyfordifferenttarget audiences.Apointtobearinmindisthateachcasecomeswithitsownteachingnotes thathelpsfacultytobringoutspecificissueshighlightedbythecase.Oftentheteaching notesdiscussdifferentteachingstrategiesaswell. GENERALGUIDELINESONTEACHINGACASE CasebaseddiscussionsaretheprimarytoolfortheEntrepreneurship101class.Case studiesallowstudentsandfacultytoactivelyengagewiththematerialandeachotherto workthroughissuesanddeveloptheirownsolutionstocomplexbusinessproblems.It helps students learn how to listen, question and respond in the classroom key elementsofentrepreneurshipeducation. Itneedstobeemphasizedthattheefficacyofthecasemethodislargelydependenton the preparation of the participants as well as the instructor. In the absence of such preparation, this method of teaching is likely to be ineffective. Wherever feasible, institutionsofferingthiscourseshouldorganizeasessiontointroducethecasemethod of teaching so that the participants are able to prepare for the classes in a more systematicfashion.Thissession,apartfromhighlightingthedecisionfocusofthecase method, should also emphasize the kind of preparation that is expected from participantsbeforecomingtotheclass.

Thecasesaredrawnfromavarietyofsettingsdomesticandinternational,successes andfailures, andstartupsandmaturedenterprises facingearly stageand/orgrowth issues.Basedonthesettingandthedecisiontheentrepreneurhasalreadytakenor needstomake,theauthorprovidesasetofquestionsfordiscussion. Whilemostcasestudiesdrawonaparticularsetofbusinessdecisions,theycanalsobe usedforhighlightingdifferentsituations/decisions.Theinstructorcanalwaysaddmore questionswhichtheauthormightnothaveraised. ThecaselistprovidedwithEntrepreneurship101arerecommendationsapplicabletoall target groups ranging from business school students, engineers, scientists and executives.Dependingontheaudience,theinstructormightneedtoprovideadditional conceptualinputthrougharticlesandreadingstobringtheclassuptotherequiredlevel. The instructor can also choose different approaches to initiate and facilitate a case discussion: Groupdiscussions Manyinstructorsfindthegroupparticipationmethodeffective.Studentsformgroupsof 4or5atthebeginningofthecourse.Adaybeforeeveryclass,thegroupsgettogether todiscussthesetofquestionsandissuesalongwitheverycase.Thegrouppreparation helpsbreakdowninhibitionamongthestudentsandresultsinvibrantclassroom discussionandaricherlearningexperience.Thequestionsgiveninthecaseorbythe instructorprovidethebasisofdiscussion.Thegroupsshouldbeencouragedtocomeup withtheirrecommendationsforthedecisionsthatthefirmneedstotakealongwiththe analysis/logicofthoserecommendations. Intheclassroom,theinstructorcanapproachthecaseby: Settingupaframework For agroup unfamiliar with different analytical frameworks for analyzingcase questions, giving an overview of these frameworks may help stimulate discussion. Depending on the background and level of preparation of the audience,theinstructor canchoosetostartwithanintroductiononthecase, provideananalyticaloverviewandthenopenthefloorfordiscussion. Gettingstraighttothecasequestionsandfacts Alternately,he/shecanjumprightintothecasebyaskingspecificquestionson thecaseandthenbackupintothesummaryfromtheindividualpointsraised.An 2

analyticalframeworkcanbegeneratedthroughthesummaryofkeyissues.The instructorcanalsoevolveaframeworkafterdiscussingmorethanonecaseona similar theme when the participants have been exposed to more than one context. In other words, the instructor has a choice to movefrom a generic framework to a specificdecisioncontextorgenerateagenericanalyticalframeworkonthebasisofthe learningfromspecificsituations. Asfaraspossiblecasebasedteachingshouldbesupplementedby: Interactiveclassroomexercises Visitstoenterprises Interactionwithentrepreneurs

Developmentofabusinessplanasapartofthecoursealsoprovidesparticipantswith significantinsightsintostartingandbuildinganenterprise. GUIDELINESFORTEACHINGDIFFERENTAUDIENCES Someguidelinesmightbehelpfulfordifferentsituations,dependingonthebackground andthelevelofpreparationoftheaudience. Scenario1:Science/EngineeringB.Tech/M.Techstudents Theassumptionisthatthisgroupwillhavelimitedknowledgeofdoingbusinessand alsolessfamiliaritywithbusinessconceptsusedincasestudies,suchasfinancial, marketing,andstrategyterms.Thismightinhibitlivelydiscussioninclasscomparedto businessschoolstudentswherethereismorefamiliaritywithconcepts. Inordertostimulatethisgroup,theinstructorwillhaveto:

Provideaframeworkgiveanoverviewofthecasewithafewoverarching questionstoinvokeresponses. Encouragestudentstosummarizethecasebyraisingwhattheythinkarethe keyissues/challenges/potentialsolutions. Writedownthepointsonthewhite/blackboard. Pacethepresentationsothateachconceptandpointismadeclearandleave enoughtimeforQ&A.

Toensurethattheparticipantsarefullyabletounderstandthecase,theinstructormight needtoprovideadditionalconceptualinputforcertaintopics.Forexample,provide readings/articlesonhowtoreadabalancesheet,definemarketingterms,orhighlight thedifferentkindsoffinanceavailable.Thesetoolswillallowstudentstounderstand exactlywhattheyarereadingandbetterpreparethemtodiscusstheproblemsoutlined inthecase. Scenario2:Businessschool/managementstudents Theassumptionisthatthisgroupisveryfamiliarwithbusinessconceptsandmore readytogodirectlyintothecaseanalysiswithlessneedofanoverview.Thoughmany inthisgroupwillhavehadsomeworkexperience,theemphasisshouldbetoencourage themtobepracticalandproblemorientedratherthanconceptual. Theinstructorcanapproachthediscussionintwoways: First,he/shecanprovideaframeworkintroducethecase,provideasetof questionsandencouragestudentstogivetheirinput.Thismayworkbetterin situationswherestudentsarenotexposedtocasebasedteaching. Alternately,theinstructorcanjumpdirectlyintothecaseandopenthefloorfor discussionbyaskingspecificquestions.Thisapproachinvolvessynthesizing randompointsmadebythestudents,writingthemonthewhite/blackboardand thendrawingupasummaryforthetopicbeingdiscussed.Thismethodis preferableinsituationswhereparticipantshavebeenexposedtothecase methodofteaching. Sincetimingisessential,theinstructorwillhavetoensurethatusingeithermethod thereisenoughtimeforQ&Aandsummarizing.Sometimestheteachingnoteswith eachcaseprovideguidelinesfortheamountoftimetheinstructorshoulddevotetothe discussionofeachissuesothattheclasstimeisappropriatelyused.However,like otherelementsoftheteachingnote,theinstructorshouldadapttheseguidelinesto his/herspecificcontext.

Scenario3:Executives&Professionals

Entrepreneurship101attheexecutiveeducationlevelwillhaveamixofpeoplesome veryfamiliarwithbusinessconceptsandotherswhomightbeengineers,scientistsetc. Sincetheywillbeexecutivesandprofessionalswithdifferentknowledgebases,the importantthingwillbetoleveragetheirexperiencetoenhancetheclassdiscussion. Theinstructorwillhavetofigureoutifanyparticipantshavedealtwithsimilarissues referredtointhecaseandencouragethemtosharetheirexperiencetoaddtothe diversity. Inordertobringthediverseaudienceuptothesamelevel,theinstructormightneedto provideadditionalreadingsandconceptualinputforcertaintopics. Todiscussthecase,thefacultycan:

Provideananalyticalframeworkintroducethecaseandprovideasetof questionsfordiscussion Provideotherconceptualinputsifnecessaryforunderstandingthecase Getsuggestions/feedbackfromtheparticipants Notethemdownonthewhite/blackboard Balancethediscussionbecausesomepeoplemighthavealotofpractical experiencetoshareandothersmightnotbeabletokeeppaceifconceptsare justskimmedover

GENERALGUIDELINESTOHELPPREPAREFORTHECLASS

Preparationisessential.Setasideadequatetimetoprepareforeachclass. Askafellowfacultymembertoauditorsitinduringyourfirstorsecondclassto giveyoufeedback.Nothinglikelearningfrompeers.Alternately,youcanrecord theclassproceedingsandusethatasatooltoenhancefurtherdiscussionsand alsocreatecontentfortrainingotherfacultymembers.

Instructorsteachingnonresidentstudentsorshorttermcoursesshould encourageparticipantstosendthemselvesanemailsummarizingthekeypoints aftereveryclass.Thiswillhelpthemtorememberthecontextandthemain pointsoncethecourseisoverandtheygetbacktowork.

Keepalearningdiaryforyourself.Aftereachclass,jotdownnotesaboutthe discussion.Recordbothgoodandbadresults.Thishelpsyouimprovethe 5

contentandstyleofdelivery,chartthecourseforfuturediscussion,andalso figureoutthetimerequiredtodiscusseachsegment.