MSci Pharmacology / Course details

Year of entry: 2023

Course unit details:
Tools and Techniques for Enterprise

Course unit fact file
Unit code MCEL30001
Credit rating 10
Unit level Level 3
Teaching period(s) Semester 1
Offered by Alliance Manchester Business School
Available as a free choice unit? Yes

Overview

The unit examines the ways that entrepreneurs (or intrapraneurs) assess potential business opportunities using a range of simple business tools and models. The unit encourages students to make reasoned business decisions based on evidence available to them that may help them start their own businesses and/or increase their employability.   

Pre/co-requisites

This unit cannot be studied with MCEL30031.

Aims

The unit aims to:

  • To explore the role of entrepreneurs in society
  • To examine the processes involved in taking an idea and developing it into a business proposition
  • To understand the market for a business proposition and how to position the proposition within that market
  • To inspire students to passionately embrace enterprise as an essential component of their development

Syllabus

The unit focuses on analysing the steps needed to take an idea and shape it into a viable business proposition. The unit looks specifically at the entrepreneurial process - i.e. how an entrepreneur assesses an opportunity, the resources and the team available to develop a sustainable business strategy.

The importance of entrepreneurship (both economically and socially) is covered and reference is made to enterprise within existing organizations (denoted intrapreneurship).

The following will be covered:

Enterprise and the Knowledge Economy

The External Environment

Opportunity Recognition and Evaluation

Introduction to Marketing

Market Research Processes

Business Strategy

Business Models

Social Enterprise

Entrepreneurs, Resources and Teams

Teaching and learning methods

Lectures

The unit will be delivered as a series of lectures with case studies and in-class activities for students to work on both alone and in small informal groups.

Knowledge and understanding

Students should be able to:

 Identify the essential links between market requirements and product/service development.

Intellectual skills

Students should be able to:

Evaluate the importance of entrepreneurship and the role of enterprise creation in the modern economy.
Review and contrast the various methods by which technology can be commercialised and protected.
Demonstrate an understanding of technology transfer processes and mechanisms.
Critically evaluate the issues to be considered in founding a business.
Analyse the competitive environment and market requirements.

Practical skills

Students should be able to:

Perform an analysis using a number of information sources.
Express findings in a reasoned way to build a robust case leading to a logical conclusion.

Transferable skills and personal qualities

Students should be able to:

Report presentation – create a structured report with well justified and referenced points presented in a professional style.
Manage personal time resource effectively so as to deliver completed tasks to deadlines.

Employability skills

Other
A range of pertinent skills: time management, critical thinking, information literacy, report writing (distinct from essay writing) and making decisions based on incomplete evidence or information are required.

Assessment methods

Summative assessments: Business Report 1000 to 1500 words - 20%Examination 2 hours - 80%

Feedback methods

  • Attending lectures, joining discussions about case studies and doing short work tasks set within the lecture session.
  • Your lecturer will reply to brief individual questions at the end of each lecture session, if there are a few minutes to spare.
  • Your lecturer will provide brief replies to your e-mailed enquiry.
  • Your lecturer may feedback messages to the whole class via Blackboard if the point that you have raised could be of benefit to the whole class.

Recommended reading

Reading References

Main Texts

Enterprise: Entrepreneurship and Innovation: Concepts, Contexts and Commercialisation by Robin Lowe and Sue Marriott Butterworth Heinemann 2006

Recommended Reading

Exploring Corporate Strategy’ Gerry Johnson, Kevan Scholes, Richard Whittington,  Duncan Angwin, & Patrick Regnér10th edition (Pearson) 2014.

Marketing Research Essentials’ Carl McDaniel, Jr. & Roger Gates, 8th edition (Wiley) 2012.

Additional References

Marketing Management and Strategy’, Peter Doyle, Prentice Hall 4th Ed 2006

 

Study hours

Scheduled activity hours
Lectures 22
Independent study hours
Independent study 78

Teaching staff

Staff member Role
Lee Webster Unit coordinator

Additional notes

2nd year students are welcome to take this unit.

This unit runs in both semester one and semester two. Please choose only one semester in which you wish to take this unit.

Note: This unit should not be studied with MCEL30031.

 

For Academic Year 2022/23

Updated: March 2022

Approved by: March UG Committee

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