FCS 3XX

FCS 330

Entrepreneurship in Family & Consumer Sciences

Credits: 3 (Lecture/Discussion)

Prerequisite: Junior Status, FCS, CTE major

Course Goals

This course provides students with economic, cultural, political, sociological, and psychological perspectives on the creation and evolution of entrepreneurial ventures. The course is designed with a focus on service-based businesses. It will provide a broad, practice-based experience in the process of creating and managing a small business in family and consumer science professions. Topics include introduction to the major concepts and fundamental principles involved in the management of a new business, including idea generation, market research, and product/service development. Other concepts in the entrepreneurial model include environmental influences, consumer behavior, feasibility studies, and the creation and execution of strategies for reaching objectives.

Course Objectives

Students taking this course will:

1. Acquire knowledge of the role of small business in the economy and the scope and trends of entrepreneurship.

2. Discover the factors involved in beginning a small enterprise, including creating a business plan and acquiring start-up capital.

3. Assess personal fitness for a career as entrepreneurs and small business managers.

4. Understand creative entrepreneurship in small businesses in family and consumer science professions; develop awareness of potential entrepreneurial opportunities and the place of the owner-manager in small firms.

5. Apply marketing, management, financial and ethical concepts to incidents involving starting and operating a smaller company.

6. Develop/demonstrate writing skills which meet university baccalaureate writing standards.

7. Develop/demonstrate critical thinking/analysis skills through case study analysis and group discussions.

FCS 330

Spring 2005

Entrepreneurship in Family & Consumer Sciences

Credits: 3 (Lecture)

Prerequisite: Junior Status, FCS, CTE major

Instructor: Dr. Barbara Frazier

Office: 3049 Kohrman Hall

Phone 269-387-3719

Email frazier@wmich.edu

Office Hours: Tuesday & Thursday 1:30-3:00 p.m. Other times by appointment.

Course Goals

Text

Required:

Zimmerer & Scarborough (4^th ed). Essentials of Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management. Prentice Hall.

Blake, Gary & Bly, Robert (1992). The Elements of Business Writing: A Guide to Writing Clear, Concise Letters, Memos, Reports, Proposals, and Other Business Documents. Longman Publishing

Other Resources (optional)

American Psychological Association (2001). Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (5^th ed). Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association.

(An earlier edition will suffice; you may also choose to use reference desk copy at Waldo Library)

You must have access to your Unified WMU (Bronco NetID) email account to access WebCT. Test and assignment scores, assignments and study guides will be posted on WebCT.

To access WebCT, go to

http://webct.wmich.edu/webct/public/home.pl?action=print_home

Course Objectives

Students taking this course will:

1. Acquire knowledge of the role of small business in the economy and the scope and trends of entrepreneurship.

2. Discover the factors involved in beginning a small enterprise, including creating a business plan and acquiring start-up capital.

3. Assess personal fitness for a career as entrepreneurs and small business managers.

5. Apply marketing, management, financial and ethical concepts to incidents involving starting and operating a smaller company.

6. Develop/demonstrate writing skills which meet university baccalaureate writing standards.

7. Develop/demonstrate critical thinking/analysis skills through case study analysis and group discussions.

Course Evaluation

Student progress toward goals will be evaluated based on the following:

	Points	Weight
Individual writing assignments (6 @ 50pts each)	300	30%
Business plan (Team Project)	100	10%
Discussion/Participation (peer reviews, in class writing activities, etc)	100	10%
Tests (3@100 each) To be taken on WebCT	300	30%
Final Exam (WebCT)	200	20%
Total	1000	100%
Grading Scale* Percentage Letter Grade 93-100% A 88-92% BA 80-87% B 75-79% CB 70-74% C 65-69% DC 60-64% D 59% and below E Subject to attendance Please note: Letter grades are given only for final grade.*	You may track your progress at any time during the semester by summing your total points earned to date, and calculating the percentage of total possible points to date.

Course Policies

The College of Education and the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences maintains a strong and sustained commitment to the diverse and unique nature of all learners and high expectations for their ability to learn and to apply their learning in meaningful ways.

Test and Assignment Make-ups

Tests and assignments cannot be made up except in extreme circumstances (work conflicts and vacations don’t qualify). Documentation of absence such as a letter from your doctor or the Dean of Students is required for permission to make up a test, or for acceptance of late work.

Submission of Assignments

Outside assignments and projects are due at the beginning of class on the announced date. Only assignments that are submitted in person directly to the instructor will be guaranteed credit. Assignments delivered to the FCS office, slipped under the office door, or delivered by someone other than the student who completed the assignment cannot be guaranteed credit. Assignments should not be emailed except with prior arrangement with the instructor. Assignments submitted after the due date without a documented excuse will be given reduced/no credit. Points for assignments will be reduced at a rate of 10% of possible points for each day late.

Grading Criteria

All assignments and projects will be evaluated according to published criteria. Assignments and projects must be typed or word-processed, error-free and stapled in the upper left corner. Please do not submit papers in binders or plastic covers or use sheet protectors, except where specifically instructed to do so.

Tests

The tests in this course consist of multiple choice questions, plus short answer and/or problems, and will be available on WebCt. You will need to take these tests within the specified time period on your own. The tests cover primarily material from the text, and assigned readings. You will need to study the textbook and read assigned articles carefully to maximize your performance on tests. Lectures are designed to familiarize you with the topics, but you will need to “fill in the blanks” through self-study.

Attendance Policy

Attendance is important to your final grade in this course. Students who do not attend class regularly will miss more than the lectures. I distribute assignments and make announcements in class that will not be available at other times. Attendance is defined as being present at the beginning of the class time, and remaining in class until it is over. I reserve the right to lower final letter grades based on attendance. More than two absences will probably result in a reduction in your final grade.

Retention of student work

Selected student work (writing assignments, business plans, poster presentations) may be held by the department for display and course review. Students should be sure to make and retain a copy of all work for their records.

If you require special accommodations due to a disability, please contact the instructor no later than January 15, 2005. You may also contact the office of Disabled Student Resources and Services at 387‑2116; http://www.dsrs.wmich.edu

Writing Intensive Component

This course fulfills the University’s baccalaureate writing requirement for Textile and Apparel Studies students. The purpose of such a course is to provide an opportunity for students to develop discipline-specific writing abilities that demonstrate the ability to:

q Think critically and reflectively about written material.

q Organize information

q Develop and support ideas and arguments.

q Analyze, synthesize and evaluate ideas in written form.

q Sustain the development of a point or idea over a span of at least 500 words.

q Signal the unfolding plan of a written passage by the use of organized paragraphs and transitional devices.

q Employ grammatical and mechanical conventions of standard written English.

Writing Assignments

A variety of different types of writing assignments are included in course activities:

q Reflective writing assignment

q Brief case analysis

q Business letter and email

q Business plan

All written assignments are subject to the following criteria for evaluation. Please refer to The Elements of Business Writing and Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association for elaboration of these criteria.

Unless otherwise specified in a specific assignment, all assignments must be word-processed, one-inch margins, in Times New Roman, Arial, Verdana.

Criteria	Weight given in evaluation
Content (Specific guidelines given for each assignment) Clearly addresses all topics/questions in the assignment; effectively presents facts to support opinions. Follows directions given in assignment. Uses principles and ideas presented in the text, course readings, lectures and class discussions.	30%
Communication Uses active voice; simple sentences and language; avoids unnecessary words, sentences and phrases; uses specific, concrete terms; written in a style appropriate to the context.	15%
Organization Material organized in a logical fashion; effective use of paragraphs, headings and subheadings.	15%
Grammar, Sentence Structure and Spelling For example: Subject and verb agreement; proper use of reflexive pronouns. Avoids sentence fragments and run-on sentences, dangling and misplaced modifiers. Appropriate use of punctuation, capitalization.	15%
Tone/professional language Uses modern business language; avoids use of antiquated phrases and clichés. Avoids wordy and redundant phrases, sexist language, sarcasm, and jargon. Uses positive rather than negative words.	15%
Format Employs appropriate format as specified in assignments. Uses professional font, margins and line spacing as specified in the assignment. Appropriate use of APA formatting	10%
Total	100%