23716 - BUSINESS PLAN

Anno Accademico 2017/2018

  • Docente: Alessandra Raggi
  • Crediti formativi: 6
  • Lingua di insegnamento: Inglese

Conoscenze e abilità da conseguire

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.

Contenuti

The course is designed to introduce the students to basic principles of economical frameworks including the qualitative and quantitative information that contribute to the economic well-being and the subsequent financial evaluation of a company. The aims of this course are to enable students to:

  • make effective use of relevant terminology, concepts and methods, and recognise the strengths and limitations of the ideas used in business while evaluating qualitative and quantitative data in order to help build arguments and make informed judgements
  • develop knowledge and understanding of how the main types of businesses are organised and operated, and how their relations with other organisations, consumers, employees, owners, stakeholders, government and society are regulated
  • apply their knowledge and critical understanding to current environmental and tech issues/projects in a wide range of business contexts
  • develop knowledge and understanding of the market the business is competing in
  • develop skills of numeracy, literacy, enquiry, selection and use of relevant sources of information, interpretation and presentation
  • develop skills in working in team to create and present a proper Business Plan

Testi/Bibliografia

Cases, articles and material will be handed out during the course.

An additional and electing reading list will provided upon request.

Metodi didattici

Lectures and discussion: Lectures will highlight elements of the readings, provide an organizing framework for the topic of the day, and cover new material. Oral participation during the lecture sessions and case discussions will be very important. A substantial part of the benefit the student will derive from the class is a function of his/her willingness to expose his/her viewpoints and conclusions to the critical judgment of the class, as well as his/her ability to build upon and evaluate the judgments of his/her classmates.

Class participation: Active, meaningful contribution to class discussion largely determines the class participation grade for this course. The participation grade is not merely an attendance grade. Further, I have learnt from experience that cold calling really helps enhance learning outcomes for students. Therefore, I will cold call on you. If for some reason, you are not well prepared please feel free to tell me ahead of time on a case discussion day. You do not have to give me any reason for it. You can use this option once during the term on any case discussion day.

Quality is by far the most important criteria. The class participation grade is a grade that is built up through the student’s contribution of insightful comments. In fact, beyond a threshold level of participation, much higher weight is placed on the depth of ideas presented and their contribution towards gaining new insights in the class discussion. Linking of concepts presented in class to current business events is highly valued.

Guest speakers: Participation and quality of preparation for these meetings will count toward “class participation” grade.

Case preparation and analysis (Team Work Project): Cases will illustrate and expand the lectures, introduce new material, and allow for practice in management and leadership cases. These cases have been carefully selected to make a series of points. Some cases may not be particularly recent. This is because a case is a pedagogical device designed to make a point, and these cases have been proven to do so well. They are not intended to be a summary of current events in a particular industry or market.

“Bonus Track” (Optional): The best way I know to learn is by teaching! This “Bonus Track” is designed to do just that. In brief, the student will pick a topic that applies to the Business Planning domain, and is of special interest. He/She will then conduct some background research on it, and share his/her findings with the class conducting a real lecture. This will count as extra credits!

Modalità di verifica e valutazione dell'apprendimento

Evaluation of student performance in this course will be based on class participation, group project, teamwork presentations, and final oral test. Distribution of grades is based on the following percentages*:

  • 10%: Class Participation
  • 60%: Team Work Project (research, presentation and peer evaluation)
  • 30%: Final Test
  • “Bonus Track”: (from 2 to 3 points on the final grade)

Please note that to be fair to all students, full credit will not be given to any deliverable submitted past the due date.

Strumenti a supporto della didattica

The course will be held using different types of multi-media resources: audio, video, infographics, text, and animation. These resources aim to build a method to help learners develop learning strategies.

Orario di ricevimento

Consulta il sito web di Alessandra Raggi