Entrepreneurship And Innovation

This topic introduces and defines entrepreneurship and discusses the characteristics of successful entrepreneurship. This topic also explains the four steps in entrepreneurial process as well as entrepreneurial motivation. Apart from that, entrepreneurial motivation is also discussed to further enhance our knowledge and as a guidance to all entrepreneur.

Topic Outcomes

At the end of this topic, you should be able :

1. Describe who is an entrepreneur and his importance

2. List the major characteristics of a successful entrepreneur

3. Identify the four steps in entrepreneurial process

4. Discuss entrepreneurial motivation

This topic discusses in detail on how to develop entrepreneurial competence. This topic will explain the importance of strategic orientation as part of entrepreneur strategy and also describes in detail about the business-level strategy and the importance of management team in launching a new venture.

Topic Outcomes

At the end of this topic, you should be able :

1. Define competitive advantages

2. Explain how to identify and build the core competencies

3. Discuss the strategic orientation

4. Explain the business level strategy

5. Analyse the importance of management team in launching a new venture

6. Analyse how the board of directors or board of advisors can be used to support in the management of a new venture.

This topic will highlights to student some entrepreneur’s common attitude and behaviour, including a desire for responsibility, a preference for moderate risk, confidence in their ability to succeed, desire for immediate feedback, leadership characteristics, motivation, high energy level, a future-directed orientation, skill at organising, and a valuing of achievement over money.

Topic Outcomes

At the end of this topic, you should be able :

1. Define opportunity

2. Explain the opportunity to start a business

3. Identify the leadership style, leadership characteristics of an entrepreneur, and entrepreneurial leadership skills

4. Explain self-reliance of entrepreneur

5. Explain effectuation and its implications, cognitive adaptability, learning from failure, grief recovery process and a dual process for grief

This topic introduces the fundamentals or basic concepts of the resource-based theory of entrepreneurship including the four attributes of resources necessary to achieve sustainable competitive advantage. The resource-based theory is efficient and practical because it focuses on the strengths, assets, and capabilities of entrepreneurs and their ventures. It incorporates market opportunity and competition into the model, but it emphasises resources.

Topic Outcomes

At the end of this topic, you should be able :

1. Identify the attributes of Strategic Resources such as, valuable resources, rare resources, hard-to-copy resources and non-substitutable resources

2. Discuss the resource types and how these resources influence success

3. Evaluate your preferred team role

4. Explain why some teams work and others do not

5. Identify types of networking

This topic discusses about how most entrepreneurial firms start their venture and creates an opportunity. Some firms decide to start a firm, searches for and recognises an opportunity then starts a business. While on the other hand, other entrepreneur recognises a problem or an opportunity gap and creates a business to fill it.

Topic Outcomes

At the end of this topic, you should be able :

1. Define opportunity

2. Describe the relationship between creativity and opportunity; Explain the source of opportunity

3. Identify the opportunity recognition

4. Understand opportunity analysis plan

For many entrepreneurs, the easiest part of launching a business is coming up with an idea for a new business concept or approach. As such this topic discusses in details about the important to conduct a feasibility analysis in order to determine whether an entrepreneur’s idea is a viable foundation for creating a successful business.

Topic Outcomes

At the end of this topic, you should be able :

1. Describe a model for assessing entrepreneurial opportunities and evaluating the strategies chosen

2. Discuss the steps involved in subjecting a business idea to a feasibility analysis

3. Determine the five-forces-model of competition

4. Identify the product or service feasibility analysis

5. Discuss the financial feasibility analysis

This topic exposed the learner to a business plan as it serves as a blueprint and guide for a proposed business project that one intends to undertake. Business planning is one of the management tools used to achieve business objectives. Therefore, this topic will guide entrepreneur to prepare a convincing business plan.

Topic Outcomes

At the end of this topic, you should be able :

1. Define what a business plan is, who prepares it, who reads it and how it is evaluated

2. Explain the scope and value of the business plan to investors, lenders, employees, suppliers and customers

3. Identify information needs and sources for each critical section of the business plan

4. Describe the elements of a solid business plan

This chapter focuses on the importance of creativity in the process of invention and innovation. Innovation is the key to the economic development of any company, region of a country, or country itself. Whilst creativity is at the core of invention and innovation, so too is the ability to spot market opportunities–and this is one very important role of the entrepreneur.

Topic Outcomes

At the end of this topic, you should be able :

1. Explain the differences between creativity and innovation

2. Describe why creativity and innovation are such integral parts of entrepreneurship

3. Explain the critical role of the entrepreneur in the process of innovation

4. Discuss the importance of innovation

5. Discuss the aspects of product planning and development process

This topic details the important of an entrepreneur to know the available sources of funding to help them to smoothen the flow of their business. These sources range from debt financing (commercial banks, finance companies, so forth) to equity (angel investors, venture capitalist).

Topic Outcomes

At the end of this topic, you should be able :

1. Explain the basic stages of venture funding

2. Identify the types of financing available

3. Discuss the nature of the venture-capital industry

4. Discuss the government grants, particularly small business innovation research grant

This topic focuses on the important for to an entrepreneur in managing cost and controlling debt. The business can making a profit and still run out the cash which means that bills go unpaid. Overall this topic tell entrepreneur the right way to evaluate and control debt, making sure debtors pay as quickly as possible–choosing credit customers carefully, invoicing promptly, setting credit limits and following up promptly on late payment.

Topic Outcomes

At the end of this topic, you should be able :

1. Explain the difference between profit and cash flow; Describe the information conveyed in a managing cost

2. Recognise that people are differ and those differences impact their intentions to grow a business

This topic will explore about the important of managing and sustaining growth. This topic described several important areas affecting the business venture right from managing employees in an organisation, managing international ventures to the issues about product, branding and intellectual property. Understanding each of these elements would help entrepreneur to improve their position in the competitive business environment.

Topic Outcomes

At the end of this topic, you should be able :

1. Recognise the importance of the human dimension in organisational growth

2. Describe how joint ventures can help an entrepreneur grow business

3. Identify the challenges of finding and maintaining, an effective joint venture relationship

4. Identify other types of international operations

5. Explain the importance of managing product, a brand and intellectual property when considering a strategy of expansion