Syllabus
Title
1122 Understanding Business/Business Planning
Instructors
Richard Olbrecht, MSc (WU)
Type
PI
Weekly hours
2
Language of instruction
Englisch
Registration
11/26/20 to 11/30/20
Registration via LPIS
Registration via LPIS
Notes to the course
Subject(s) Bachelor Programs
Dates
Day | Date | Time | Room |
---|---|---|---|
Tuesday | 12/01/20 | 03:00 PM - 05:30 PM | Online-Einheit |
Thursday | 12/03/20 | 03:00 PM - 05:30 PM | Online-Einheit |
Thursday | 12/10/20 | 03:00 PM - 05:30 PM | Online-Einheit |
Tuesday | 12/15/20 | 05:30 PM - 08:00 PM | Online-Einheit |
Thursday | 12/17/20 | 03:00 PM - 05:30 PM | Online-Einheit |
Tuesday | 12/22/20 | 05:30 PM - 08:00 PM | Online-Einheit |
Thursday | 01/07/21 | 03:00 PM - 05:30 PM | Online-Einheit |
Tuesday | 01/12/21 | 05:30 PM - 08:00 PM | Online-Einheit |
Thursday | 01/14/21 | 03:00 PM - 05:30 PM | Online-Einheit |
Tuesday | 01/19/21 | 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM | Online-Einheit |
Tuesday | 01/19/21 | 04:00 PM - 07:00 PM | Online-Einheit |
Thursday | 01/21/21 | 10:00 AM - 02:30 PM | Online-Einheit |
The course will be held fully online if physical distancing measures are still in place. For this purpose, appropriate ICT tools will be used (Microsoft Teams, Learn@WU, …)
In this course, students are exposed to the most important aspects of a new business venture from an academic and practical perspective.
The course is structured along the process phases of:
- opportunity recognition/evaluation (ideation, market analysis, competition, etc.)
- strategic opportunity exploitation (strategy, business model, etc.)
- operational opportunity exploitation (finance, organization, marketing, etc.)
In workshops with industry experts and faculty members, students will get input on all these phases and develop a pitch deck for a new venture based on their own business ideas.
- Students gained first insights on how entrepreneurs spot market opportunities for new businesses, and how to exploit such opportunities.
- Students have understood business planning as the process of determining a commercial enterprise’s objectives, strategies and activities to ensure its viability from the perspective of all involved stakeholders
- Students are able to apply basic business planning techniques and they understand how these techniques relate to each other in enabling professional business planning:
- Students know how to conduct simple market analyses (market size, segmentation, trends, market growth, product life-cycle)
- Students can apply simple strategic/competitive analysis tools
- Students know the most common types of legal structures of businesses and why their choice is important
- Students know the basics of how to obtain debt and equity financing for a new or an established business
- Students can translate planned business activities into planned/projected cash flow and income statements
- Students are able to do simple breakeven analysis
- Students understand how different planning/forecasting tools (sales forecasts, cash flow forecasts, planned operations) relate to each other
Students need to attend at least 80% of the classes in order to pass the course successfully.
Please note that attendance is mandatory during the first two sessions!
- The course follows a problem-based learning approach
- Students are assigned to teams of 4 students and work together on a pitch deck
- They get input regarding the different elements and their interplay by lecturers and experts
- In coaching and co-working sessions they get individual feedback on their (preliminary) pitch decks
- At the end of the semester, they present their business ideas in a pitch in front of a jury
The final grade depends on:
- 25% Mid-term pitch deck (team assignment, subject to peer-rating)
- 25% Final pitch deck (team assignment, subject to peer-rating)
- 20% Pitch presentation (team assignment, subject to peer-rating)
- 10% Reflection paper (individual assignment)
- 20% In-class participation (individual assignment)
Last edited: 2020-12-01
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