Entrepreneurial Management Course of MBA at Hitotsubashi University
ICS , Graduate School of International Corporate Strategy
[Term 3 & 4] Entrepreneurial Management (M. Korver) (2009/Term 3&4 (Spring&Summer))
This course covers the process of identifying and assessing entrepreneurial opportunities, then conceptualizing and planning an enterprise tasked to capitalize on such an opportunity. Students will work in teams to pick an attractive entrepreneurial opportunity (viz., a new technology, new business area, or innovation in an existing market) and develop a business plan, working through issues of opportunity identification and analysis, management team-building and organization, competitive strategy, marketing and sales, and identifying and obtaining necessary resources. We will introduce frameworks necessary to identify and analyze entrepreneurial opportunities and the elements of companies that can quickly define and dominate an existing or new category of business through innovative strategies or disruptive technology.
Course Structure
The course is designed to provide students with the opportunity to gain practical knowledge in how to identify entrepreneurial opportunities and, with limited resources, transform them into successful enterprises. This knowledge will be gained by:
(1) Studying cases of both successful and unsuccessful entrepreneurial ventures
(2) Learning about and applying analytical frameworks to issues commonly faced by entrepreneurs
(3) Examining in detail what a business plan is designed to do, what it contains, how it is developed and written, what are its uses, how to analyze and evaluate the business plan, and what investors look for in a business plan
(4) Providing an environment where students can collaborate to create their own winning business plans as members of entrepreneurial management teams
(5) Interacting with business plan contest judges and hands-on faculty who have deep and recent experience starting and building companies
Teaching Method
The course consists of two sections. Term 3 (Spring) will primarily cover the items (1) through (3) in the previous paragraph and will culminate in a mid-term examination. Term 4 (Summer) will primarily cover items (4) and (5) and will culminate in a business plan competition. Accordingly, the first section consists of regularly scheduled sessions with a mixture of case studies, lectures, and class discussion. Term 4 (Summer) consists of out-of-class collaboration by the team members on development of a business plan with periodic feedback from the faculty. In addition, guest lectures may be scheduled from time-to-time. The details of the business plan competition will be announced during the first class.