98766 - BUSINESS PLANNING

Learning outcomes

The aim of the course is to provide a critical understanding of the main issues related to conceptualizing, developing, writing, and assessing business plans in a corporate and start-up context. The course offers theoretical insights drawn from entrepreneurship, strategic management and innovation literature, and practical methods and techniques for effective business planning. At the end of the course students will be able to: - Understand the contents and functions of business plans; - Structure and write a business plan; - Analyze the industry, market, competition, define the value proposition, the supply chain configuration, and the marketing plan; - Make judgments about the completeness and consistency of business plans; - Present their own evaluation and analysis of business ideas, and pitch a business idea effectively.

Course contents

Building on entrepreneurship, strategic management and innovation literature, this course aims at providing a broad and critical understanding of the main issues related to conceptualizing, developing and managing business plans to exploit potential market opportunities, either within a start-up or a corporate context.

The course is set up as to provide both theoretical and practical insights on effective business planning, both regarding its qualitative (e.g., value proposition) and quantitative aspects (e.g., financial and economic planning).

At the end of the course, students are expected to have gained the following achievements and abilities:

Knowledge and understanding:

• Know the contents for an excellent business plan;
• Understand the functions of different types of business planning activities and tools;
• Describe the conceptual frameworks and analytical tools for strategic planning.

Applying knowledge and understanding:

• Structure and write a business plan;
• Analyze the market and the competition;
• Define the value proposition;
• Define the organizational and supply chain configuration;
• Draw up financial and economic statements.

Making judgements:

• Evaluate the completeness of a business plan;
• Compare and evaluate different possible value propositions;
• Compare and evaluate different organizational and supply chain configurations;
• Evaluate the financial and economic sustainability of a project.

Communication:

• Presenting own evaluation and analysis of ideas and projects, orally and in writing;
• Pitching a business idea effectively.

Lifelong learning skills:

• Developing competences in retrieving data about firm-level financial, economic, innovation performances, or regional statistics;
• Improving competencies in the use of informatic tools, such as presentation, writing and calculation electronic tools;
• Presenting own contribution and participate to the work of a diverse team.

Contents of the course

The course will cover the following key contents:

- Planning or not planning? Business planning and the lean start-up approach

- Analysis of the market

- Analysis of competition

- The creation of value

- Defining the organizational and supply chain configuration

- Evaluating revenues, costs, and profitability

- Evaluating financial structure and viability

- Pitching a business idea

The detailed overview of contents will be provided to students in the syllabus of the course (available in the UNIBO repository “Virtuale”).

Readings/Bibliography

ATTENDING STUDENTS

Students can choose among one of the following books:

• C. Parolini, Business Planning. Dall’idea al progetto imprenditoriale, Pearson Education, 2020 (3rd edition)
• B.R. Barringer, Preparing Effective Business Plans, Pearson Education, 2014

  In addition, students are required to study the additional compulsory teaching materials uploaded on the course online platform (see syllabus for details)

  NON-ATTENDING STUDENTS

  Students can choose among one of the following books:

• C. Parolini, Business Planning. Dall’idea al progetto imprenditoriale, Pearson Education, 2020 (3rd edition)
• B.R. Barringer, Preparing Effective Business Plans, Pearson Education, 2014

In addition, students are required to study slides and additional compulsory and optional teaching materials uploaded on the course online platform (see syllabus for details)

Teaching methods

The course includes different teaching and learning methodologies:

• Traditional lectures
• Flipped classroom
• Case studies
• Guest speakers’ talks
• Exercises
• Group assignment

Effective teaching during this course requires attending students’ active participation during the classes and requiring practical activities to be carried out partially in the classroom, partially outside the classroom (e.g., group assignment). For all the activities, students can benefit of the teacher’s or the teaching assistant’s supervision.

Assessment methods

ATTENDING STUDENTS

In line with the aims of the course, different assessment methods are used to evaluate the students’ achievement of different competences:

• Group assignment
• Group presentation
• Individual participation to group work
• Written individual exam

NON-ATTENDING STUDENTS

In line with the aims of the course, the students’ achievement of different competences will be assessed through a written and oral individual exam.

For both attending and non-attending students, the assessment will take into account the extent of student’s preparation on the topics covered by the course and the use of an appropriate language. Students will pass the exam according to the following overall levels:

Preparation on a very limited number of topics covered in the course and analytical skills that emerge only with the help of the teacher, expressed in an overall correct language (mark: 18-19);

Preparation on a limited number of topics covered in the course and ability to autonomous analysis only on purely executive matters, expression in correct language (mark: 20-24);

Preparation on a large number of topics covered in the course, ability to make independent choices of critical analysis, mastery of specific terminology (mark: 25-29);

Exhaustive preparation on the topics covered in the course, ability to make independent choices of critical analysis and connection, full mastery of specific terminology and ability to argue and self-reflection (30-30L).

Teaching tools

Slides used during classes

Journal and magazine articles, business plans, exercises, case studies

Interaction with entrepreneurs and managers presenting during the course

Office hours

See the website of Daniela Bolzani