MGMT 37 - Small Business Management (Entrepreneurship)

Spring 2009 -- Section #6209 Mondays 7:00 pm

Instructor: Annette Haugen

haugen.a@mccd.edu 384.6387
Office: V-34 Office Hours: Mondays 3:05-7:00, Wednesdays 11:00-12:50

Required Text: Entrepreneurship: Starting and Operating a Small Businessby Steve

Mariotti.

Course Description:
This course is designed to assist small business and prospective small business owners
through the utilization of an entrepreneur's business plan. Topics include the environment
and management of the small enterprise, legal considerations in starting a small business,
financing and insuring a business, as well as marketing and budgeting for a small business.
Students will use microcomputers in the decision-making and business-planning process.

Student Learning Outcomes:

A. Perform an analysis of the economic, legal, technological, social, competitive and global
environments to assess the business potential in the external environment in order to
distinguish between a business idea and a business opportunity;
B. Given a set of scenario variables, determine whether buying an existing business,
buying into a franchise, or creating a new business from scratch is the optimal choice
and select the appropriate legal form for the business (i.e., sole proprietorship,
partnership, corporation);
C. Prepare and analyze financial information associated with starting up a new business
and maintaining an existing business;
D. Write a business plan suitable for presentation to potential investors and/or financial
lending institutions and present it to an audience.

Academic Dishonesty:
Any sort of academic dishonesty (including cheating, plagiarism, sharing another student’s
work or otherwise dishonest behavior) will not be tolerated and could result in an “F” grade
or other disciplinary action. Copy and pasting directly from Internet sites is plagiarism! You
will be expected to use your own words and correctly cite sources used for papers, case
studies, etc.

Classroom Environment:
In consideration of others in the class, please turn your cellular phones to silent while class
is in session and refrain from stepping outside of class to make or take phone calls.
Distractions of other kinds, including talking or texting during lecture are considered
unacceptable and you may be asked to excuse yourself from the class.

Other Important Information:

If you have a verified physical, medical, psychological, or learning disability or perhaps you
feel you may have one of these disabilities which impacts your ability to carry out assigned
course work, please contact the Disabled Student Services (DSS) office. DSS staff will
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review your needs and determine what accommodations are necessary and appropriate. All
information and documentation is confidential. DSS is located in the Lesher Student
Services Bldg. Room 234, phone 384-6155.

Grading: Homework 100 pts

Participation 100 pts
Exams 100-150 pts
Projects 200 pts

Homework: You will be assigned reading and other assignments every class session. If
you have missed class, you will need to contact the instructor or another classmate to
complete the homework. Homework is due the following class session after it was
assigned. Please do not work on homework assignments while class is in session unless
otherwise directed by the instructor.

Participation: It is imperative that you come to all class sessions and actively participate
in discussions, activities, and in-class assignments in order to get the most out of this
course. Any student who misses two or more consecutive classes without notifying the
instructor may be dropped from the course.

We will have multiple guest speakers who are giving up their personal time to speak to you
about factors involved with starting up a business – it is important to show these individuals
respect and appreciation through taking notes, asking questions and being attentive. You
will start the semester with 100 participation points, and 6.25 pts are deducted for every
class session you miss. The deduction will DOUBLE to 12.5 points if you miss class on a
night when we have a guest speaker and you have not previously notified the instructor of
your VALID excuse. Students who come to class tardy more than once will have half of their
participation points deducted for every tardy day after the first occurrence.

Exams: Exams will be given to determine your understanding and retention of the topics
covered in class. A minimum of two and a maximum of three exams will be given. If you
are going to miss an exam, you must notify the instructor immediately. If the instructor
deems your excuse as VALID,

Projects Descriptions:
Case Study – You will be responsible for researching a successful entrepreneur and
submitting a 2-4 page summary of the product or service that this person provides (or
provided), what problem or opportunity they set out to solve, what risks they took, and
what strategies made lead to their success. You will be expected to cite your sources
appropriately.

Using the WWW as a Business Tool – You will submit a review of three existing websites
and how you can use these sites either to prepare to open your business, or as a business
resource to use during business operations.

Elevator Pitch – You will be responsible for luring potential investors into providing

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financial assistance to your product or idea with the creation of a three-minute elevator
pitch that will quickly engage listeners by telling them the benefits of your product or
service and why consumers will demand your product/service.

Business Plan – As the final project of the course, you will prepare an abbreviated
business plan which details the main points of your proposed business, your competitive
strategy, estimated financial information, and marketing basics.