STEN-2900-91 (Online)

Fundamentals of
Entrepreneurship

General Information

Class meetings Via Online Course Blackboard (Bb) – Announcements will follow

Non-synchronous: Live office hours. Pre-taped lectures will be

posted on Blackboard.

Instructor Dr. Jonathan Lee

Office hours T/Th at 10:30AM- E-mail [email protected]
12:00PM (preferred)
or by Appointment
Via Bb/Email/
Microsoft Team

Telephone 519-253-3000 Office Odette 430

Ext. 3098 (not available due to
(not available due to Covid-19)
Covid-19)

Secretary Dina Labelle

Office OB 405 E-mail [email protected]

The Odette School of Business and the University of Windsor sit on the Traditional
territory of the Three Fires confederacy of First Nations, comprised of the Ojibway, the
Odawa, and the Potawatomie.

Calendar Description

This is a survey course designed to introduce students from all faculties to

entrepreneurship as a career option. The entrepreneurial process will be explored through
a mix of lectures and case studies. Topics include the identification of profitable business
ideas, assessment of business opportunities, entry strategies, marshalling resources, and
the start-up process. (Prerequisite: 75-100 (STEN-1000). Business students must also
have completed 71-100 (MGMT-1000.)
Course Description
This course is an introduction to the field of entrepreneurship. It is a survey course in that it
spans the whole field covering its various facets at a rudimentary level. It aims to acquaint rather
than to develop skill and sophistication. This course is intended for students in their second year
of university from all disciplines who would like to explore the possibility of having a business of
their own or who may become employed by a small entrepreneurial firm. The promise of
entrepreneurship is compelling. Not only can you become master of your own fate, creating a
business provides jobs for others, builds personal wealth, and increases the wealth of the nation.

Over the next 6 weeks, the topics in this course will be explored in the following sequence:

 We first begin with an exploration of the cognitive foundations of entrepreneurship. The

focus will be on issues of both human and social capital.
 We then move on to the elements of opportunity. This course will stress the difference
between entrepreneurship and small business.
 Next, we examine theories regarding both the economic and psychological aspects of
entrepreneurship. We seek to understand why entrepreneurial settings differ from
established firm settings. In doing so, we hope to develop an entrepreneurial orientation
that will pervade your thinking in all future courses.
 Now that we have dissected the essence of entrepreneurship we next move to major
topics in entrepreneurship including marketing, finance, and growth strategies.
 The course concludes with an examination of a number of developments that are
important in entrepreneurship today. These include e-commerce, franchising, acquisition,
and global entrepreneurship.

Course Pre-requisites

It is your responsibility to withdraw from this course during the two week add/drop period if you
have NOT successfully passed the following pre-requisite courses:

75-100 ( STEN-1000, Introduction to Business) for both Business as well as non-Business

students. Business students must also have completed 71-100 (MGMT-1000, Business
Communications)

Failure to withdraw will result in your automatic withdrawal by the Registrar’s Office at any time
during the term. NOTE: The student is responsible for fees and tuition incurred for the course
until the withdrawal date.

Learning Objectives and Expected Outcomes

This course is designed to help students achieve certain objectives, and instill knowledge that
should be in their possession at its completion. At the end of the semester, this course should
create abilities concerning:

 A good understanding of the entrepreneurial process. This understanding is based on

a good knowledge of the fundamental concepts. Armed with such knowledge, you will
be in a position to pursue further advanced learning in the field to achieve skill and
sophistication.
  An understanding of the types of knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed to become
an entrepreneur. These will become apparent as we explore the cognitive and
psychological aspects of entrepreneurship and the multi-disciplinary nature of successful
venture teams.
 A field of entrepreneurship as a career option. You might commit to grassroots
entrepreneurship or simply seek employment in a young entrepreneurial firm.
 An appreciation of entrepreneurship as an important cornerstone of the modern
economy. Nearly every economy in the world is evolving towards a more
entrepreneurial orientation.

Beyond this, the course aims at implanting some entrepreneurial attitudes such as a willingness to
take risks; tolerance of uncertainty, ambiguity, and complexity; and preparedness to put a
network of people to work with you.

Bachelor of Commerce (BComm) Assurance of Learning (AoL) Course Outcomes

Each Odette Program has learning outcomes as does each course. Together, these define
the knowledge, skills and values possessed by our graduates. Rubrics for each program
learning outcome are available on the Odette School of Business Course Policies
document on the Blackboard site for this course. This course contributes to the following
BComm program learning outcomes through the course learning outcomes listed below:

STEN-2900 Assurance of Learning Competencies and Course Learning Outcomes

B Comm. Program
Competencies STEN-2900 (PDC) Course Learning Tested using
Outcomes
1.1 Business Acumen Identify and explain the position Project reports
Graduating students are expected to possess and role of the entrepreneur to and/or exams.
competency in business acumen. This will be sustain and grow local and global
demonstrated by their ability to evaluate, business environments.
categorize, and explain in depth relevant
relationships of technical knowledge in
various business functions to managing
business conducted in an ambiguous, complex,
and unpredictable environment.
2.1 Critical Thinking Identify a specific business Project reports
Graduating students are expected to possess problem, salient facts, and select and/or exams.
competency in critical thinking. This will be the most appropriate opportunity
demonstrated by their ability to synthesize to provide a business solution.
models of thinking with personal experience to
make decisions to assess the quality of Synthesize and apply knowledge
available evidence, and propose ways to and experience gained from
reduce the detrimental effects of, or harness exposure to other disciplines.
legitimate benefits from diverse perspectives
and knowledge in an actual or simulated
workplace environment.
Textbook and Other Materials

 Good, Walter & Mayhew, Wendy. Building Your Dream, A Canadian Guide to Starting
Your Own Business, (10th edition) McGraw-Hill Ryerson, 2017.

 Kuratko, Donald F. Entrepreneurship: Theory Process Practice, (9th edition) South-Western,

2012 (Optional).

Course Website

Please check Blackboard Learn (https://blackboard.uwindsor.ca/) frequently for announcements,

course materials and your grades. Forms for group project contributions are also available on
Blackboard Learn.

There are NO digital resource required for this course. The assignment of digital learning
resources at the University of Windsor is governed by a policy entitled “The Use of Digital
Learning Resources for Instructional and Assessment Purposes,” which can be reviewed at:
http://www1.uwindsor.ca/provost/sites/uwindsor.ca.provost/files/Digital%20Learning%20Resource
%20Policy%20FINAL.pdf.

Should you have any concerns about the assignment of digital learning resources for this course,
please let the Associate Dean responsible for undergraduate programs in your Faculty know in
writing, as the University regularly reviews this policy based on campus community feedback.
WEEKLY SCHEDULE

Week Dates , Topics & Assignments

Week Course Introduction

1 Chapter 1: Assessing Your Potential For
Week of May 10 And
An Entrepreneurial Career
Overview

Chapter 2 : Exploring Business Ideas

Group Formation
and Opportunities

2 Week of May 17 Chapter 2 : Exploring Business Ideas and Business Model Canvas
Opportunities (BMC)

Business Model Canvas

Chapter 3: Market Feasibility Study
(BMC)

o
Chapter 4: Cost and Profitability
3 Week of May 24 Chapter 5: Business Plan
Assessment

Business Plan Project Idea Due.

Chapter 6: Legal Considerations SUBMIT to SafeAssign BEFORE 6 pm on
Friday, June 5

Midterm: Chapters 1-5

Week of May 31 Chapter 7: Financing Your Business and On Wednesday, June 2, 7:00pm-
4
Accounting Practices 9:00pm ONLINE Via Course Bb-
Announcement will be made

Week of June 7
5 Chapter 8: Marketing Chapter 9: Sales

(Business Plan Project Due to

SafeAssign June 10, Thursday, BEFORE
Chapter 10: Buying a Business 11 PM)

6
Week of June 14
Chapter 11: Buying a Franchise Chapter 11: Buying a Franchise

Final Exam is comprehensive: Focus on Chapters 6-11 and Lectures; however, it will
Final Exam: As scheduled by the University via
also include earlier chapters; thus, comprehensive chapters 1-11, supplementary
ONLINE course Bb
material and all items posted on course Bb.
 ASSIGNMENTS AND WEIGHTS

ASSIGNMENT INDIVIDUAL/ GROUP WEIGHT DUE TIME/DATE

Midterm Individual 35% June 2, 7pm-9pm

Set by the
Final Exam Individual 40%
University
Business Plan June 10, 11pm
Group 25%
Project/Presentation via SafeAssign

DEEP DIVE PROJECT (BUSINESS PLAN PROJECT)

GROUP WILL DO BMC + BUSINESS PLAN

The basic structure of this course in Fundamentals of Entrepreneurship is to move students to

become more oriented and proficient in entrepreneurial activities. As a key step, a demonstrated
capability in opportunity recognition and realization is a must. Certainly, the best way to learn
about new venture formation is to actually create one. But, this is impossible to do in one
semester as a student while undertaking many other activities, both within this course and across
the others. Therefore, we will settle for the next best thing, performing the preparatory steps
involved in forming a new venture--up to preparing a completed Business Model Canvas and
condensed business plan.
The project will be completed in your groups. Start discussions early and move fast. This project
requires considerable reflection and supporting research. Do not leave the project until the last
weeks of the semester. The report is due electronically to SafeAssign, Blackboard. Late
submissions will NOT be accepted.

The instructor MUST approve the topic for the entrepreneurial project The project will be
delivered in two forms: as a written report and as oral presentation recording. The report should
be a maximum of 20 pages in length, single-spaced with 1-inch margins in a 1 2-font type, NOT
including the title page and references but including all appendices. Any project exceeding the
maximum page count will receive a one-grade deduction for each page or part of a page longer
than the limit.

The report should be structured to provide an overview of the opportunity, the need that is being
answered and the means by which the opportunity realization will occur. The report should be
directed to a possible investor, pointing out the resource requirements (the seed funding) required
to carry the venture to the next phase of development (usually a completed feasibility study) and
expected revenues and expenses, including growth expectations, opportunities for leverage and
how investors will . The assessment of proposals will be the viability of the opportunity, the depth
and integration of the plan (including the supporting research), and the quality of presentation.
Make use of the textbook and supporting materials to structure the report but also outside
research to establish the opportunity and its economic potential, provide a competitive audit,
establish revenues and expenses and provide an overview of what key factors are essential to
success including the resources and competencies that your group has, what you need to hire, and
what you would contract out or seek an alliance partner to do.

Refer to next page for Deep Dive Report Rubric

 Rubric for Deep Dive Report (Business Plan Project)

Letter Grade
Odette Grading Policy
Comments
Criteria
(Weight %)

Form + Style (20 %)

 Grammar, spelling + readability
 Effective use of statements
 Professional appearance, e.g., page
numbers and titles for tables, charts +
appendices
 Integration between sections of report

Business Model Canvas (BMC) (20%)

 Correct Application of BMC
 Completeness of the 9 building blocks
 Content Quality of 9 building blocks
 Integration of deep dive progress report
with changes made to BMC.
 Discussion of pivots made during the
course of the semester.
 Practicality of the business and
suggestions made.
 Additional insightful evidence-based
development of BMC.

Business Plan (60%)

 Refer to Figure 5.2 (p. 143-144) in the
Textbook.
 Coverage and Quality of the following:
1) Letter of Transmittal
2) Title Page
3) Table of Contents
4) Executive Summary & Fact Sheet
5) Body of the Plan Containing:
 Company and Industry
 Product/Service Offering
 Market Analysis
 Your Marketing Plan
 Your Development Plan
 Your Production/Operations Plan
 Your Management Team
 Your Implementation Schedule
 Your Financial Plan (refer to Chapter 5
for details)
6) Appendices

TOTAL:
PEER EVALUATIONS AND CONTRIBUTIONS

A peer evaluation will be applied to group marks when I calculate individual marks. Evidence of
superior contribution, or lack of contribution, will be taken into consideration. The evaluation is
attached.

Odette School of Business Policies

Refer to the Odette School of Business Course Policies document for specific information on all
the below subjects.

 Academic Integrity and Code of Conduct

 Missed Exams and Late Assignments
 Registration, Adding and Dropping Courses
 Odette School of Business Grade Conversion Scale
 Odette School of Business Grading Policy
 Student Evaluation of Teaching (SET)

This Course Policies document is available electronically on each course Blackboard Learn site
and in paper form outside each Area Secretary office on the 4 th floor of the Odette building.

Secondary data use, evaluation, focus groups and interviews – REB Approved

This course can be expected to be evaluated as part of either an internal or external quality
assurance process and reporting requirements to funding agencies, and as research data for
scholarly use. As student in this course your online student data (e.g. data from Blackboard) will
be used for evaluating the course delivery and your engagement in the various aspects of the
course. This will only occur after final grades have been submitted and approved so it will not
have an effect on your grade. This course data provides information about your individual course
usage and activity during the time that you are enrolled in the course. Your anonymized,
aggregated data may also be used in the future in reports, articles or presentations.

During the final weeks of the course you may also be invited to participate in further research
about the course. If you decide to participate you may be asked to fill out anonymous online
questionnaires that solicit your impressions about the course design and student learning in the
course. The survey participation is voluntary and no questions of a personal nature will be asked,
your participation will have no effect on your grade and your instructor will not know who
participated in the survey.

Finally, at the end of the survey you may also be asked if you want to participate in a focus group
or in interviews after final grades have been assigned in order to gather yours and other student
opinions about specific course delivery methods and technologies used.

Tracking Group Member Contribution

The general outcome of the vast majority of group projects is that team members agree, on balance, work
has been contributed in a comparable fashion. The preceding statement leaves open to interpretation
possible differences in talent and abilities, schedules, interests, and personal commitments, and their impact
on the completed work. As well, on a number of occasions, group members exhibit unequal expectations
and abilities to work. Groups that work well, by definition, communicate and cooperate effectively.

However, in very rare instances, a group member does shirk his or her work requirements completely or
nearly completely. A form has been devised to capture the outliers and to provide a means of resolving the
injustice of granting the same grade to all members of a group. Grade for the group assignment will be
affected by the degree to which contribution nears or equals none. As an alternative to utilization of this
form, the group (with the support of the majority of the group members) can elect to simply ‘fire’ a group
member who is not contributing by leaving the name out from the material to be submitted. Instructors must
be notified as soon as the decision is made. In response, instructors will have the option to give a grade of
‘F’ to the ‘free-rider’ or provide an alternative case to complete on their own.

This form is not intended, nor will it be used, for punishing individuals who simply did not work well together
— because of personality clashes or the poor planning of those involved. Moreover, a failure to
communicate with the instructor early enough in the term so as to deal with a member or members who are
not properly contributing to group-work will be viewed as a failure of all.

This form and the remedy attached to it, to be fairly applied, require a full audit of all those who contributed
to group work. Therefore, every member of the group will be held accountable, if claims are forwarded of
egregiously unequal contributions to group work. No statement will be taken as truth without confirmation.
As a result, all group members are encouraged to interact in ways that are open to audit. In other words, e-
mails and meeting attendance, for example, will be important methods for tracking contributions. As well,
make clear, from the beginning, the expectations and abilities of those involved.

Contribution will be judged according to two basic modes: participation and performance. Participation will
be measured in the following ways: regular attendance at meetings; punctuality; engagement in group
discussions; preparation for group meetings; contributions to data collection, analysis and report writing.
Performance will be gauged in the following manner: work delegated by the group that is completed in a
timely fashion, contributions of personal-best quality written work and/or ideas, completion of a comparable
amount of work in supporting the projects, and cooperation with other group members.

If problems with contribution occur and cannot be rectified, all members of a group must fill in and separately
submit the attached forms for the written group assignments. Groups that are working relatively well will
simply submit their reports without the forms. The understanding is that the grade will be shared equally. For
those groups with a fundamental “free rider” problem, an audit will be triggered in instances in which three or
more group members are unwilling to share the grades equally. However, to reiterate, no action can be fairly
taken if the situation is allowed to persist without communication with the instructor. Oftentimes, face-to-face
discussion can reverse the situation.

It is important that you track your contributions. The total contributions by the offending member(s) must be
either northing or very small. Hand in your log-sheet directly to you instructor. As long as the required steps
were taken prior to receipt of this form—namely an attempt to rectify the problem by the group and next with
the instructor—a group audit will be undertaken and corrective measures applied as warranted.
Appendix 1: Group Forms

Student Name: ________________________________

Fundamentals of Entrepreneurship (STEN-2900)

Group Member Contributions Form (Deep Dive/Business Plan Project)

As a reminder, the total contributions by the offending member(s) must be either nothing or very small.
Hand in this log-sheet directly to the professor. As long as the required steps were taken prior to receipt of
this form, a group-work audit will be undertaken and corrective measures applied, as warranted.

Date Your Total Contributions (include comments and supporting information)

Student Name: ________________________________

Mental Health Resources:

“Feeling Overwhelmed? From time to time, students face obstacles that can affect academic
performance.

If you experience difficulties and need help, it is important to reach out to someone. For help
addressing

mental or physical health concerns on campus, contact (519) 253-3000:

• Student Health Services at ext. 7002 (http://www.uwindsor.ca/studenthealthservices/)

• Student Counselling Centre at ext. 4616 (http://www.uwindsor.ca/studentcounselling/)

• Peer Support Centre at ext. 4551

7/24 Hour Support is Available

My Student Support Program (MySSP) is an immediate and fully confidential 24/7 mental health
support

that can be accessed for free through chat, online, and telephone. This service is available to all
University

of Windsor students and offered in over 30 languages.

• Call: 1-844-451-9700, visit https://keepmesafe.myissp.com/ or download the My SSP app:

Apple

App Store/Google Play.

• A full list of on- and off-campus resources is available at http://www.uwindsor.ca/wellness.

Should

you need to request alternative accommodation contact your instructor, head or associate dean.