23716 - Business Plan

Academic Year 2021/2022

Learning outcomes

The aim of the course is to understand and be able to structure a business plan. The course provides elements of decision-making as well as methods and techniques to analyze different scenarios and plan strategic decisions. At the end of the course students will be able to: Evaluate entrepreneurial opportunities; - Understand the functions of the business plan; - Analyze the competition, define the value proposition and the marketing plan.

Course contents

1. The economic analysis of circular economies; 2. Theories of production, structural change, industrial development and sustainability; 3. The circular economy perspective: theories, policies and strategies, strategic planning and business models; 4. Sustainability assessments.

Readings/Bibliography

“Attending students” – i.e., students joining lectures with regular frequency – will receive the list of readings to be studied during the course.

“Not-attending students”
– i.e., students studying on their own without joining lectures with regular frequency – are required to study the following textbook:

Tonelli Marcello, Cristoni Nicolò (2020). Strategic Management and the Circular Economy, Routledge. (Chapters to be studied: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12)

Teaching methods

For “attending students”: blended teaching involving frontal lectures, presentations by students, laboratory activities and participation in classroom discussions.

For “not-attending students”: individual study of the book (see below “Assessment methods for not-attending students”)

Students are required within one week from the beginning of the course to decide whether to be “attending students” or not.

Assessment methods

i) Assessment for “attending students”:

Exam component I: Written exam (multiple choice questions) on the topics covered during the classes. The written exam will be scheduled for the middle of the course, and it accounts for 70% of the final grade. To get prepared for the written exam, students are required to study the course slides and the readings provided by the lecturers.

Exam component II: Laboratory activities, including presentations and discussions, during the second part of the course. It accounts for the 30% of the final grade.

Further detailed information will be provided to the student by the lecturers at the beginning and during the course.

ii) Assessment for “not-attending students”:

Not-attending students will take a written exam (multiple choice questions) at the end of the course accounting for 100% of the mark. This exam is based on the study of the following textbook:

Tonelli Marcello, Cristoni Nicolò (2020). Strategic Management and the Circular Economy, Routledge. (Chapters to be studied: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12)

Teaching tools

Frontal teaching delivered with the support of PPT presentations and papers, readings and further material provided by the lecturers. Active participation in discussion and classwork is required.

Office hours

See the website of Marco Rodolfo Di Tommaso

SDGs

Quality education Industry, innovation and infrastructure Responsible consumption and production Climate Action

This teaching activity contributes to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN 2030 Agenda.