Faculty of Business and Law

Leicester Castle Business School

Our Mission	Our Vision	Our Values
To transform lives in our global community of students, staff and partners through outstanding education and researchTo go beyond business as usual by fostering creative, distinctive and pioneering solutions to real- world problems To promote the public good through critical analysis of the purpose of business and through active engagement in initiatives aimed at tackling business, social and community challenges	Through our unsurpassed commitment to the public good and Transformational scholarship, we will position ourselves as the definition of a 21st century global Business School	LEADERSHIP: Confidence and courage to shape a better futureINTEGRITY:                                           Taking personal pride in our work CREATIVITY:          Thinking beyond the usual and embracing ideas GLOBAL       MINDEDNESS: Finding    opportunities    in our diversity COMMUNITY:                Realising the purpose and power  of business

 

MODULE OUTLINE

1.      The teaching team

This module is led by William Murithi who has a broad knowledge of enterprise through academia and personal experience of establishing and growing businesses. Having been involved in Students in Free Enterprise Society (now Enactus) as well as run a business as a student, he is effectively placed to support and examine student business plans. His research interests are; Entrepreneurship, Strategy, strategic Entrepreneurship, Family Businesses, SMEs and Regional Development. Also students will be supervised or supported by experienced academic and professional staff within the enterprise team at the university.
 

2.      Module aims

The Entrepreneurship Project assumes that students will have a thorough understanding of business research, analysis, and financial acumen to enable the construction and delivery of a comprehensive business idea. Studies from an undergraduate and postgraduate level should be used (where appropriate) to show  a breadth of understanding to the areas required in the project, but also a depth of understanding in the entrepreneurial idea.
The Entrepreneurship Project does not require that the student already has a business or has studied a commercially based programme. Many students have strong creative ideas inspired by new opportunities, and the Entrepreneurship Project gives the student the time, and academic and commercial support, to develop and refine these ideas into a viable, structured, and comprehensive business plan.
Objectives and Learning Outcomes
By the end of this module students will:

1. Develop knowledge and practical experience of business plan creation.
2. Apply a range of management knowledge and skills to building a business.
3. Capacity for independent, self-managed work experience.
4. Presentation of the plan to mentors and academics.
5. Learn through reflection on practice and experience.

 

Skills	Introduced, Practiced, Assessed
Written communication	Introduced, Practiced, Assessed
Interpersonal communication	Introduced, Practiced, Assessed
Planning and organisation	Practiced, Assessed
Oral presentation	Introduced, Practiced, Assessed
Teamworking	Practiced
Adaptability	Introduced, Practiced, Assessed
Problem solving	Introduced, Practiced
Numeracy	Practiced, Assessed
Computer skills	Practiced, Assessed

 

6.      How it’s going to be taught

This module is primarily driven by the student in a semi-independent manner. An overview of the timeline is shown below.

Action	Date
Entrepreneurship Project Mentor and Academic Tutor allocated	Late September/October
Students submit the Entrepreneurship Project Proposal form for consideration by the Module Leader	Late September/October
Entrepreneurial Project start	September/October
Continue Mentor and Tutor meetings	September – December
Submit project to University	9th January 2020
Entrepreneurship Project formal presentation	W/C     16     (PG)     13thJanuary 2020

The Faculty is committed to providing an equal learning experience for every DMU student through the use of Universal Design for Learning (UDL). Examples of the ways in which we do this include a focus on flexible ways of learning, providing flexible study resources such as by recording lectures, and by using a variety of assessment methods.

7.      How this module relates to your programme of study

The skills and knowledge gained within previous modules should assist students in taking on the challenge of a semi-independent challenge, which is primarily driven by themselves.
 

8.      How this module enhances your employ-ability

This module provides students the ability to understand business from the perspective of the founding entrepreneur, rather than simply as an employee. Therefore this should enhance employ-ability factor in future job applications, going into working within family businesses, or establishing a business of their own.
DMU has great ambitions for its students and alumni and we want you to have opportunities that match your ambitions. We offer a wide range of work experiences and now we want to make these even better.
#DMUworks is our fresh new programme to fit around what students, alumni and employers need, focusing on work experience opportunities that may be short, long, based in the UK or abroad – with options to suit different circumstances and aspirations. You can find out and sign up for #DMUworks, Innovation Centre and Enactus Society opportunities on MyGateway.
You can also find out further information about our projects by visiting the following webpage:https://www.dmu.ac.uk/dmu-students/careers-and-employability/careers-and-employability.aspx

9.      Your responsibility

Students are expected to attend and participate in all timetabled activities, including lectures, seminars, workshops, and practical sessions. Students are also encouraged to fully participate in the academic and cultural life of the Faculty and University, including guest lectures, seminars, public debates and external visits.
As students, your responsibilities are:
Preparation: Complete the required readings before coming to each timetabled session on this module and to undertake the required follow-up work.
Participation: Participation in class is based on participation in class lecture/seminar, as well as group activities in class. To assist your engagement in class you should come prepared by writing down ideas, quotes, or concepts from the reading list that you find interesting as well as thought provoking. You should come prepared so that you can fully engage in class discussions and activities.
Respect: Throughout your studies it is important that you treat other students with respect as well as engaging in a respectful manner with academic staff. It is imperative that you listen to others and treat their contributions with respect, even if you disagree with them. In particular it is important that:

• You are respectful of your peers’ learning and resist talking through seminars, workshops and lectures.
• You do not answer your phone unless it is an emergency.
• If you are late, then please take the first available seat and settle yourself as quietly as possible.

The student charter  sets  out  commitments  from  the  university  to  students,  from students to the university, and from the Students’ Union to students. You can consult it at:
http://www.dmu.ac.uk/dmu-students/student-resources/student-charter/student- charter.aspx
The module teaching and assessment team will contribute to this environment by:

• Treating all students with respect.
• Welcoming diverse viewpoints, experiences, and interpretations of the class materials.
• Challenging your thinking, beliefs, and analysis of issues, concepts, and ideas in this class.

10.      Schedule

Action	Date
Introduction      Entrepreneurship     Project     Mentor     and Academic Tutor allocated	Late September/October 16th October
Entrepreneurial Project start	September/October
FaB       Networking        Session        @Innovation        Centerhttps://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/fab-networking-with- findabiz-leicester-tickets-74087005227?aff=ebapi	29th           October     201918:00 – 20:00 GMT
Students submit the Entrepreneurship Project Proposal form for consideration by the Module LeaderAnd submit a Gantt Chart with the proposal.   Students to Submit A signed Business Proposal on Turnitin	Late September/October  8th of November 2019
Attend the Leicestershire Entrepreneurship Day 10:00 make booking           though           mygateway.dmu.ac.uk          or https://lbf2019.ticketleap.com/leicestershire-entrepreneurship-day/dates/Nov-05-2019_at_1000AM	5th November 2019
Research Ethics application form (Signed copy)	15th of November 2019
Continue Mentor and Tutor meetings (at least 3 meetings)  And at least one meeting with the Enterprise team- consult with Mr Simon Baines (sbaines@dmu.ac.uk ), Enterprise Project manager , book an appointment through mygateway Careers and Employability Appointments- self-employment, freelancing and setting up a business https://mygateway.dmu.ac.uk/s/careers-and- employability/appointments/app/ – /topic/14?siteId=7	September                   – December 2019
Submit Business Plan Project and PPT Presentation slides Via turnitin to University	9th January 2020
Entrepreneurship Project formal presentation	W/C 16 13th January 2020

 

11.      Module Resource

Key Text:

• Allen, K. R. (2016) Launching New Ventures: An Entrepreneurial Approach (7th Ed). Cengage

Additional Texts:

• Burns, P. (2014) New Venture Creation. Basingstoke:
• Stokes,     &    Wilson,    N.    (2010)    Small   Business    Management   and Entrepreneurship (6th Ed).
• Hampshire:
• Halloran, J. W. & Moorman, J. (2006) Successful Business Planning for Entrepreneurs.
• Thomson, South Western.
• Katz, J. and Green, R.P. (2013) Entrepreneurial Small Business. McGraw Hill Higher Education.
• Leach, K. C. & Melicher, J. W. (2014) Entrepreneurial Finance (5e). Thomson South Western.
• Legge, J. & Hindle, K. (2004) Entrepreneurship: Context, Vision and Planning. Palgrave MacMillan.
• Ries, Eric (2011) The Lean Start-Up: How Constant Innovation Creates Radically Successful Businesses.
• Cedar, Jonathan (2016) How One Start Up Developed a Sales Model that Works in Emerging Markets. Harvard Business Review (07 September).

Recommended texts on Business Research Methods

• Quinlan Christina, Babin Barry, Carr Jon, Griffin Mitch, Zikmund William (2019) Business Research Methods, 2nd edition, Andover: Cengage Learning, ISBN: 1473760356, 9781473760356

12.      Blackboard and module communications

Important information relating to this module can be found on Blackboard. This includes information on the module, lecture and seminar materials, all communications and announcements, as well as the procedure for submitting assignments via TurnitinUK.
You can access Blackboard by going to this link: https://vle.dmu.ac.uk
Login using the same username and password that you have for access to the University’s computer services.
Further information on Blackboard can be accessed from the Centre for Enhancing Learning through Technology (CELT): http://celt.our.dmu.ac.uk/blackboard/
If you have any difficulties logging into any computer on campus, then you should contact the Help Desk located on the 1st floor of the Kimberlin Library. In addition, you might contact the ITMS helpline ( +44 (0)116 250 6050) or send an email to itmsservicedesk@dmu.ac.uk noting your name and degree programme).

13.      Assessment Briefs

Entrepreneurship Project Structure – Assessment 1
Executive Summary – 1000 words

1. Entrepreneurship Project objectives
2. Problem / Opportunity Statement
3. Market / Industry summary
4. Competitor summary
5. Funding and Financial projection summary Main body of report – 6000 words

A full description of the entrepreneurship research activities:

1. Problem and Opportunity Landscape
2. Problem that the venture seeks to solve
3. Existing landscape of solutions
4. Stakeholder mapping

Solution
a).  Idea or technology proposed
b).  Business Model for product/service delivery
c).  Market analysis and Segment structure d. Analysis of one, three, and five year customer base e. Prospect feedback
d).  Pricing model
e).  Competitor analysis

• Direct / Indirect
• Shifts in power and position

 
f).  Portfolio (Product / Service) analysis

• IP / technology / Patents

 
g).  Marketing Strategy

1. 1. Who are your customers?
   2. What do they buy now?
   3. Why do they buy?
   4. What will make them buy from you?

 
h).  Funding

1. 1. Crowd funding
   2. Incubators/Venture capital

 
i).  Financial analysis

1. 1. Cash flow
   2. Schedule for investor returns

 
j).  Skills requirements

1. 1. Functional skills
   2. Management skills

 
Conclusions – 1500 words

1. Draw conclusions arising from the project evaluation
2. Evaluate project viability

 
Recommendations – 1500 words

1. Future actions for potential investors
2. Further research required
3. Growth scenarios; three years, and five years

 
Appendices (not included in the word count)

1. References
2. 3+ Tutor meeting record forms
3. Tables, graphs, data not used elsewhere in the report

 

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All word counts are approximate, and are shown as a guide. This is an indicative structure which may alter depending on your topic.

Entrepreneurship Project Preparation

A well-researched business plan should demonstrate a thorough piece of quantitative or qualitative research and analysis. It shows commitment, perseverance, self-motivation, independent study, initiative and critical thinking; essential elements to establishing your competency in the future competitive world.
In preparation –

• Establish the context, background and/or importance of the topic
• Consider a problem, controversy or a commercial gap
• Establish the applicability of the entrepreneurship research
• List summary research questions
• Be able to defend the significance or value of the idea

Consideration –
Could you present your Entrepreneurship Project to a group of venture capitalists, answer detailed questions, defend the idea and expect investment?

 

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Here is the exam case study “Alpha Supermarkets”.
In the exam you will have to answer three online compulsory questions based on the case study.
Question to follow on the exam
Alpha Supermarkets
Background
Alpha is a successful company and one of the biggest supermarket chains in the UK, employing a large number of staff in stores across the country.  In the early part of the century, Alpha successfully increased its market share through a policy of lowering prices and improving customer service. It currently holds a dominant share of the UK market, but its plans to continue expanding in the UK have been halted and it is planning to close smaller, less profitable stores. The reason for this retrenchment is a combination of competition from the German ‘discounters’ Aldi and Lidl and static growth in the industry.
The organisation has undergone considerable change in order to improve its competitive position, placing greater emphasis on a customer-facing culture. As a senior human resource manager remarked, “2017 saw the evolution of a customer-focused business but with quality and price being very much the same across the sector, people and our service were seen as the differentiator. However, despite this the discounters are drawing us into a price war. We will need to rethink our whole business model”.
Delayering took place as part of a restructuring exercise in 2017; within the stores there are currently four levels: store manager, senior managers (mostly operational managers), section managers and general assistants. Each store is run by a store manager whose job it is to provide coaching, guidance and support to deliver the Alpha ‘standard’. As one store manager explained “my role is to mobilise the team with a goal, to be energetic and to be able to motivate people”.
There is a senior management team which includes operational managers responsible for departments and in an average sized store (employing around 400 staff) this would comprise five or six managers which typically would include the store manager, human resource manager, customer services manager and operations managers. The human resource function within the stores (all the bigger stores have their own HR manager) has undergone considerable change over the last five years, moving from a predominantly administrative role to a store-level senior management position. The role of the HR manager includes taking responsibility for the payroll and controllable expenses and ensuring that the store maintains productivity levels. This means focusing on people measures such as absence management, performance management, learning and development, resourcing and succession planning.
A recent change within Alpha has been the drive for consistency across stores, and all policies, procedures and processes are centrally determined and their implementation closely monitored. Each store is governed by the company routines handbook which provides detailed information on how every task is to be performed. All HR policies and procedures are highly centralised and controlled – the wage budget for example is fixed for each store and there is no local flexibility on pay – something which is a cause for great frustration in some of the stores where recruitment, retention and staff quality are on-going major problems. Although the stores cannot function without these routines, it is the way in which the rules and routines are implemented that is considered a key ingredient forsuccess. It is management, in particular store managers, who are responsible for how policies are implemented and their behaviour is therefore critical to a store’s performance.
Section managers occupy first line manager position within the store. Spans of control (the number of subordinates who report directly to a given manager or superior), are normally 12 general assistants to each section manager and in a large store there may be about 20 section managers covering different areas of the store. In addition to being responsible for the day-to-day running of their areas, section managers take responsibility for a range of people management tasks such as recruitment, training, performance appraisal, discipline and grievance issues, and pay enquiries. The nature of the job is very demanding – these staff have to work long hours, perform wide range of tasks and struggle to fill vacancies and absences on the shop floor. As one store manager, explained:
“Section managers have to work very hard…they are more task-oriented than the senior team…ideally section managers should spend 70-80 per cent of their time managing but they do not always do this because of the demands of the job … they often have to fill in for absent employees and vacant positions, as well as fulfil their routine tasks, such as conducting regular meetings and other administrative duties. It’s one of the more pressurised roles.”
This may partly explain why many stores face recruitment and retention difficulties with this position.
A research study was conducted on four stores in a single geographical region. The stores selected for the study were located in market towns with similar economic profiles, in other words, thedemographic, labour market and income patterns in these towns were comparable. A total of 43 section managers were interviewed using a structured questionnaire, representing two-thirds of the section managers’ population in those stores. Their views were sought on their job, the HR policies and practices, the way their senior managers behaved and more general attitudes towards their work. Some of the results are summarised in Table 1.1.
As Alpha is a highly centralised organisation with clear routines and policies, one would expect to find low levels of variation in terms of exercise of management discretion at store level. However, as Table 1.1 shows, there are wide variations in satisfaction with certain HR policies, such as influence over the job and in the way these managers themselves are managed, as well as variation in more general attitudes such as job satisfaction, motivation and commitment. In particular it is clear that Store C is out of line with the others. For example, in comparison to other stores, the section managers in Store C have a poor perception of the way senior managers carry out their people management roles (categorised under ‘leadership’ in the survey). For example only 18 percent of section managers in Store C feel their managers (i.e. senior managers) are good at responding to suggestions, compared to 82 percent in Store B, 60 percent in Store D and 27 percent in Store A.
Table 1.2 shows some key operational performance measures for the stores. It is clear that again Store C was the poorest performer in a number of key areas. For example, its expenses were 28% higher than the average and its profit contribution was 34% lower. It was particularly poor at managing wastage (shrinkage), which at the time was one of the key indicators used by Alpha. In contrast, Store B had expenses which were 2.4 percent lower than average and profits were 21 percent higher.

Table 1.1 Section managers’ satisfaction with aspects of HR policy and practice: four stores compared. Percentage of respondents who said ‘very satisfied’ or ‘satisfied’ (number of respondents = 43)

	Store A	Store B	Store C	Store D
(a) HR policies
·         Training	46	82	36	90
·         Career opportunities	64	91	55	70
·         Pay	46	64	9	60
·         Appraisal	50	82	64	90
(b) Controlling
·         Job influence	82	82	36	100
·         Sharing knowledge (% good)	64	82	18	70
(3) Leadership
Chance to comment on  changes	53	72	18	30
Respond to suggestions	27	82	18	60
Deal with problems	73	82	55	70
Treating employees fairly	64	100	64	70
Provide coaching/ guidance (% to a great extent)	46	55	27	40
Respect received from your boss	100	91	64	90
(d) Outcomes
Job satisfaction	64	73	64	80
Motivation (% motivated)	55	46	36	40
Advocacy (% proud to tell people who I work for)	91	73	46	90

Table 1.2 Alpha performance data (2017-18) Percentage variation from regional average (20 stores)

	Store A	Store B	Store C	Store D
Availability	-0.1	0.6	-0.8	0.3
Waste/known loss	-5.5	4.7	-11.8	7.1
Shrinkage/Unknown loss	5.4	63.5	-59.5	44.6
Operating expenses as % of sales	2.4	2.4	-28.2	-11.7
Payroll costs as a % of sales	-4.3	14.8	4.3	0.1
Profit contribution	-13.0	21.4	-33.7	-0.1
Turnover £million	42.6	71.1	48.7	54.8
Please note: Positive figures show better than average performance, while negative figures show worse than average performance

Answer ALL THREE questions. In answering the questions, you must use relevant concepts, perspectives and theories from the literature to support your argument.
End of Case Study
You are expected to support your answers with reference to relevant theory, which means that you will use in-text citations.
Make sure when you answering questions from case study you should not just simply describing because this is something that happens with case studies you find students if a question is like for example what are the problems in the case study just basically listing the problems indicate we get you know No marks what we’re looking for is analysis and relevant theory.
CASE STUDY ANALYSIS GRID

Issues /problems you have identified in the case (one row for each)	Evidence – how do you know they are issues?	Actions/recommendations (what would you do to address these issues?)	Relevant theory any theories or concepts you have come across in your reading that might be relevant  (where you have a fairly detailed reference in mind, include your source/page number
1.
2.
3.
4.

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