The Global Entrepreneurship Focus Area will provide you with exposure and direct experience on how to be a successful entrepreneur, and/or how to apply indepth entrepreneurial skills to the corporate or not-for-profit arenas. This Focus Area will provide broad-based exposure to the various aspects of this business specialty through coursework on:


Global Entrepreneurship

Courses

GF-4425 Risk Management for Entrepreneurs

This is a practically oriented course that  provides participants with a number of tolls necessary for the successful operation of a business.  The course begins with a brief introduction to the risk management process and to commercial insurance concepts.  After the introduction, nine specific topics will be addressed.  Each topic will require participants to read materials and to access the Internet for additional information.  Internet resources will be emphasized not only because of their ease of use but also to identify websites that can be used for years to come.

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GF-5421 Entrepreneurship - Valuation of the Private Firm

This course is for entrepreneurs and venture  financiers who desire to learn how non-public firms are valued. The course consists of lectures, in-class presentations by guest experts, in-class presentations by students, written examinations, team projects, and various assigned readings. Lectures will cover a review of financial theory and analytical techniques as they relate to valuation, a review of the various types of valuations mandated by law, and circumstance and the identification of the appropriate valuation techniques to apply in each circumstance. Students will be required to develop an understanding of the importance of the firms qualitative characteristics and the contribution qualitative firm characteristics make to firm value such as: (1) firm strategy; (2) firm management; (3) the firms product and/or technology; and (4) the firms ability to execute on its strategy.  Students will prepare a team generated valuation report and will learn how to value a firm by observing and valuing different relevant components of value. These components are: (1) the value of free cash flow (i.e., the value of an on going operating business); (2) the value of any control discounts or premiums; (3) the magnitude of any marketability or size discounts; and (4) the value of intellectual property or technology. Overall, the student should become more competent in using financial techniques to analyze a firms value and the student should develop a strong sense as to how qualitative aspects of a firms operation and performance can and should be considered when assessing firm value.  This course is not offered every trimester.

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GF-5422 Global Business Plan

The guiding framework for a global enterprise and  an essential tool for the global entrepreneur is a well-developed, comprehensive business plan. The process of creating a business plan provides an in-depth view of the complex inter-dependency of the functional elements of a viable organization: marketing, finance, management & leadership and systems & operations.  This course, via classroom lecture, case study, guest presentations by practitioners (venture capitalists, intellectual property attorneys, angel investors, marketing professionals) provides a capstone global learning experience to synthesize and apply fundamental concepts and principles from across a wide graduate business education spectrum.  The main course deliverable is a fully-formed business plan that represents both a productive planning tool for the student entrepreneur-to-be as well as a robust learning experience to tie together many important elements of a graduate business experience.

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GF-5424 Global Family Business

This course will explore and analyze family  business continuity challenges and best management, family and governance practices for the effective leadership of family-owned businesses.  Since the focus is on pragmatic, action-oriented, management, governance and family/business leadership skills, the course will be taught primarily through live and written cases, discussions, lectures and a study/consultation experience with a family business.

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GF-5425 Entrepreneurial Financing and Forecasting

This course focuses on finance concepts as applied in the real world by entrepreneurs. From the firm perspective, the course covers topics relevant to entrepreneurial finance, including financial statements, forecasting of key financial variables, funding plans and venture capital. The course will prepare prospective general managers of entrepreneurial companies on how to make the financial decisions involved with building high-risk, high-growth enterprises. It prepares business-minded students for careers focused on entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship. Through the use of case study analysis, combined with readings from assigned sources and exercises, students will come to understand aspects in finance that are critical to the entrepreneurial venture. Students will be prepared to deal with the various financing and forecasting issues pertinent to closely held non-public firms. These skills are aimed at preparing the student to better deal with venture capitalists, angel investors, investment bankers, and other financial stakeholders.  This course is not offered every trimester.

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GF-5426 Social Entrepreneurship and Enterprise

The goal of this course is to offer a variety of  opportunities for students to learn about social entrepreneurship and engage students in learning the contributors to high performing social enterprises.  Students will explore stories of established social enterprises through books and case studies to uncover common themes and approaches.  In additional, students will engage in experience exercises and class discussions for full emersion into the mindset of socially oriented business and activities.  The objective is to acquire needed skills and knowledge for building and leading social enterprises. Students will apply their knowledge learned in other global MBA courses in a creative and interdisciplinary way by evaluating other social efforts made by existing organizations, and by testing the feasibility of a new social enterprise idea.  This course will attract students who are contemplating leading a social enterprise, interested in consulting to social enterprises, planning to serve as an advisor or volunteer in an organization, or funding social efforts or nonprofit organizations.

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