school: school of business course number: busn318 course
TRANSCRIPT
STUDENT WARNING: This course syllabus is from a previous semester archive and serves only as a preparatory reference. Please use this syllabus as a reference only until the professor opens the classroom and you have access to the updated course syllabus. Please do NOT purchase any books or start any work based on this syllabus; this syllabus may NOT be the one that your individual instructor uses for a course that has not yet started. If you need to verify course textbooks, please refer to the online course description through your student portal. This syllabus is proprietary material of APUS.
School: School of Business Course Number: BUSN318
Course Name: Small Business Management Credit Hours:3
Length of Course:8 weeks Prerequisite: None
Please see the Lessons area in the classroom for additional course specific information
Table of Contents
Course Description Course Materials
Course Objectives Course Outline Course Delivery Method
Academic Services Policies Turnitin.com
Course Description (Catalog)
This course focuses on the unique aspects facing the small business, to include issues of strategy, marketing, personnel, operations, profitability, surviving in the market, financing, among other issues. Resource constraints are covered as a major topic.
(Note to Students: The course materials, assignments, learning outcomes, and expectations in this upper level undergraduate course assume that the student has completed all lower level general education and career planning coursework necessary to develop research, writing, and critical thinking skills. Students who have not fulfilled all general education requirements through courses or awarded transfer credit should strongly consider completing these requirements prior to registering for this course.
Course Materials
Required Text
Longenecker, J.G., Petty, J.W., Palich, L.E, and Hoy, F. (2012). Small Business Management: Launching
& Growing Entrepreneurial Ventures (16th
Edition). Mason, Ohio: South-Western-Cengage.
The VitalSource e-book is provided via the APUS Bookstore Please visit http://apus.libguides.com/bookstore for more information
STUDENT WARNING: This course syllabus is from a previous semester archive and serves only as a preparatory reference. Please use this syllabus as a reference only until the professor opens the classroom and you have access to the updated course syllabus. Please do NOT purchase any books or start any work based on this syllabus; this syllabus may NOT be the one that your individual instructor uses for a course that has not yet started. If you need to verify course textbooks, please refer to the online course description through your student portal. This syllabus is proprietary material of APUS.
Course Objectives
This course of instruction is intended to provide the student with a solid academic background to continue taking business courses, and for those students so inclined, the background needed to start, purchase, or franchise a small business. Upon completion of this course of study, the student will be able to:
1. Discuss, adapt, and apply management principles unique to small businesses. 2. Analyze and evaluate case studies representative of situations small business managers face. 3. Professionally interact with fellow students or business managers to solve complex small
business problems. 4. Complete a project that closely mimics projects often performed by small business managers.
Course Outline
Week Learning Objective(s)
1
From Concept to
Action
All Work Due
Sunday by Midnight
LO-1 Students will explain the nature of entrepreneurship and how it is related to small business. LO-
2 Students will identify motivators or rewards of entrepreneurial careers.
LO-3 Students will define competitive advantage.
LO-4 Students will discuss the importance of the sustainability of competitive advantage.
LO-5 Students will identify barriers to entry and describe how they affect opportunities.
LO-6 Students will describe change-based sources of entrepreneurial opportunity.
LO-7 Students will discuss the benefits of e-commerce to small firms. LO-
8 Students will explain the challenges that global enterprises face.
LO-9 Students will identify five factors that determine whether an idea is a good investment opportunity.
LO-10 Students will describe the characteristics of highly successful startups.
LO-11 Students will identify the major pros and cons of franchising.
LO-12 Students will outline the complex roles and relationships involved in a family business.
LO-13 Students will identify management practices that enable a family business to function effectively.
2
Starting to Build the
Plan
All Work Due
Sunday by Midnight
LO-1 Students will explain the need for a business plan from the perspectives of both internal and external users.
LO-2 Students will describe what determines how much planning an entrepreneur and a management team are likely to do.
LO-3 Students will list practical suggestions to follow in writing a business plan and outline the key sections of a business plan.
STUDENT WARNING: This course syllabus is from a previous semester archive and serves only as a preparatory reference. Please use this syllabus as a reference only until the professor opens the classroom and you have access to the updated course syllabus. Please do NOT purchase any books or start any work based on this syllabus; this syllabus may NOT be the one that your individual instructor uses for a course that has not yet started. If you need to verify course textbooks, please refer to the online course description through your student portal. This syllabus is proprietary material of APUS.
Week Learning Objective(s)
LO-4 Students will identify available sources of assistance in preparing a business plan.
LO-5 Students will describe small business marketing and the nature of the marketing research process.
LO-6 Students will define market segmentation and its related strategies.
LO-7 Students will explain the different methods of forecasting sales. LO-
8 Students will identify the components of a formal marketing plan.
LO-9 Students will describe the characteristics and value of a strong management team.
LO-10 Students will explain the common legal forms of organization used by small businesses and identify factors to consider in choosing among the primary legal forms of organization.
LO-11 Students will describe the unique features and restrictions of specialized organizational forms such as limited partnerships, S corporations, and limited liability companies.
LO-12 Students will explain the nature of strategic alliances and their uses in small businesses.
LO-13 Students will describe the effective use of boards of directors and advisory councils.
LO-13 Students will explain how different forms of organizations are taxed by the federal government.
3
Continuing to Build
the Plan
All Work Due
Sunday by Midnight
LO-1 Students will identify the factors affecting choice of a business location.
LO-2 Students will describe the attraction and challenges of a home-based business.
LO-3 Students will describe the purpose and content of the income statement and balance sheet. LO-
4 Students will compute a firm's cash flows.
LO-5 Students will forecast a new venture’s profitability.
LO-6 Students will estimate the assets needed and the financing required for a new venture. LO-
7 Students will describe how the nature of the firm affects its financing sources.
LO-8 Students will evaluate the choice between debt financing and equity financing. LO-
9 Students will describe various sources of financing available to small firms.
LO-10 Students will explain the importance of having an exit strategy and the options available for exiting.
LO-11 Students will explain how to value a firm being sold and how to decide on the method of payment.
LO-12 Students will provide advice on developing an effective exit strategy.
4
All Work Due Sunday by Midnight
LO-1 Measuring Progress
STUDENT WARNING: This course syllabus is from a previous semester archive and serves only as a preparatory reference. Please use this syllabus as a reference only until the professor opens the classroom and you have access to the updated course syllabus. Please do NOT purchase any books or start any work based on this syllabus; this syllabus may NOT be the one that your individual instructor uses for a course that has not yet started. If you need to verify course textbooks, please refer to the online course description through your student portal. This syllabus is proprietary material of APUS.
Week Learning Objective(s)
5
Small Business
Marketing
All Work Due
Sunday by Midnight
LO-1 Students will explain how customer satisfaction influences customer loyalty.
LO-2 Students will identify the key characteristics of consumer behavior.
LO-3 Students will explain product strategy and related concepts.
LO-4 Students will describe the components of a firm’s total product offering.
LO-5 Students will describe the legal environment affecting product decisions.
LO-6 Students will explain the role of distribution in marketing.
LO-7 Students will describe the major considerations in structuring a distribution system. LO-
8 Students will discuss the role of cost and demand factors in setting a price.
LO-9 Students will apply break-even analysis and markup pricing. LO-
10 Students will identify specific pricing strategies.
LO-11 Students will explain the benefits of credit, factors that affect credit extension, and types of credit.
LO-12 Students will describe the activities involved in managing credit.
LO-13 Students will describe the communication process and the factors determining a promotional mix.
LO-14 Students will discuss methods of determining the appropriate level of promotional expenditure.
LO-15 Students will describe personal selling activities.
LO-16 Students will identify advertising options for a small business.
LO-17 Students will describe sales promotional tools.
6
Operational
Management
All Work Due
Sunday by Midnight
LO-1 Students will discuss the distinctive features of small firm management.
LO-2 Students will identify the various kinds of plans and approaches to planning.
LO-3 Students will discuss the entrepreneur’s leadership role.
LO-4 Students will describe the nature and features of an organizational structure for small businesses.
LO-5 Students will discuss the ways in which control is exercised in a small firm.
LO-6 Students will describe the problem of time pressure and suggest solutions. LO-
7 Students will explain the various types of outside management assistance.
LO-8 Students will explain the importance of employee recruitment and list some sources that can be useful in finding suitable applicants.
STUDENT WARNING: This course syllabus is from a previous semester archive and serves only as a preparatory reference. Please use this syllabus as a reference only until the professor opens the classroom and you have access to the updated course syllabus. Please do NOT purchase any books or start any work based on this syllabus; this syllabus may NOT be the one that your individual instructor uses for a course that has not yet started. If you need to verify course textbooks, please refer to the online course description through your student portal. This syllabus is proprietary material of APUS.
Week Learning Objective(s)
LO-9 Students will identify the steps to take in evaluating job applicants.
LO-10 Students will describe the role of training for both managerial and non-managerial employees in a small firm.
LO-11 Students will explain the various types of compensation plans including the use of incentive plans.
LO-12 Students will discuss the human resource issues of employee leasing, legal protection, labor unions, and the formalizing of employer-employee relationships.
LO-13 Students will explain the key elements of total quality management (TQM) programs.
LO-14 Students will discuss the nature of the operations process for both products and services.
LO-15 Students will explain how reengineering and other methods of work improvement can increase productivity and make a firm more competitive.
LO-16 Students will discuss the importance of purchasing and the nature of key purchasing policies.
LO-17 Students will describe ways to control inventory and minimize inventory costs.
LO-18 Students will identify the kinds of ethical issues in small businesses and explain the special vulnerability of small firms.
LO-19 Students will describe practical approaches for building an ethical business. LO-
20 Students will explain the impact of social responsibilities on small businesses.
LO-21 Students will describe the special challenges of environmentalism and consumerism.
7
Financial
Management
All Work Due
Sunday by Midnight
LO-1 Students will identify the basic requirements for an accounting system. LO-
2 Students will explain two alternative accounting options.
LO-3 Students will describe the purpose of and procedure related to internal control. LO-
4 Students will evaluate a firm’s liquidity.
LO-5 Students will assess a firm’s operating profitability.
LO-6 Students will measure a firm’s use of debt or equity financing.
LO-7 Students will evaluate the rate of return earned on the owners’ investment. LO-
8 Students will describe the working-capital cycle of a small business.
LO-9 Students will identify the important issues in managing a firm’s cash flows.
LO-10 Students will explain the key issues in managing accounts receivable, inventory, and accounts payable.
STUDENT WARNING: This course syllabus is from a previous semester archive and serves only as a preparatory reference. Please use this syllabus as a reference only until the professor opens the classroom and you have access to the updated course syllabus. Please do NOT purchase any books or start any work based on this syllabus; this syllabus may NOT be the one that your individual instructor uses for a course that has not yet started. If you need to verify course textbooks, please refer to the online course description through your student portal. This syllabus is proprietary material of APUS.
Week Learning Objective(s)
LO-11 Students will discuss the techniques commonly used in making capital budgeting decisions.
LO-12 Students will determine the appropriate cost of capital to be used in discounted cash-flow techniques.
LO-13 Students will describe the capital budgeting practices of small firms.
LO-14 Students will define risk and explain the nature of risk.
LO-15 Students will explain how risk management can be used in coping with business risks.
LO-16 Students will describe the risks associated with different types of assets, both physical and human.
LO-17 Students will explain the basic principles used in evaluating an insurance program and the fundamental requirements for obtaining insurance.
LO-18 Students will identify the different types of insurance coverage.
8
Final Exam
Course Delivery Method
This course delivered via distance learning will enable students to complete academic work in a flexible manner, completely online. Course materials and access to an online learning management system will be made available to each student. Online assignments are due by Sunday evening of the week as noted and include Forum questions (accomplished in groups through a threaded forum), examination, and individual assignments submitted for review by the Faculty Member). Assigned faculty will support the students throughout this eight-week course.
Policies
Please see the Student Handbook to reference all University policies. Quick links to frequently asked question about policies are listed below.
Drop/Withdrawal Policy Plagiarism Policy Extension Process and Policy Disability Accommodations
Grading Scale Please see the Student Handbook to reference the University’s grading scale.
STUDENT WARNING: This course syllabus is from a previous semester archive and serves only as a preparatory reference. Please use this syllabus as a reference only until the professor opens the classroom and you have access to the updated course syllabus. Please do NOT purchase any books or start any work based on this syllabus; this syllabus may NOT be the one that your individual instructor uses for a course that has not yet started. If you need to verify course textbooks, please refer to the online course description through your student portal. This syllabus is proprietary material of APUS.
Citation and Reference Style Attention Please: Students will follow the APA Format as the sole citation and reference style used in written work submitted as part of coursework to the University. Assignments completed in a narrative essay or composition format must follow the citation style cited in the APA Format.
Late Assignments Students are expected to submit classroom assignments by the posted due date and to complete the course according to the published class schedule. The due date for each assignment is listed under each Assignment. As adults, students, and working professionals, I understand you must manage competing demands on your time. We all know that “life happens” but it is important to adhere as closely to the deadlines in the class as possible.
Should you need additional time to complete an assignment, please contact me before the due date so we can discuss the situation and determine an acceptable resolution. If arrangements are not made in advance, a late penalty of 10% will be assessed for any assignment submitted 1-7 days past the due date. Assignments will not be accepted after the 7th day. No work will be accepted past the final day of class.
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composition in your formal papers, keep e-mail layouts simple. The Sakai classroom may not fully support MIME or HTML encoded messages, which means that bold face, italics, underlining, and a variety of color-coding or other visual effects will not translate in your e-mail messages.
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Disclaimer Statement Course content may vary from the outline to meet the needs of this particular group.
Academic Services
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STUDENT WARNING: This course syllabus is from a previous semester archive and serves only as a preparatory reference. Please use this syllabus as a reference only until the professor opens the classroom and you have access to the updated course syllabus. Please do NOT purchase any books or start any work based on this syllabus; this syllabus may NOT be the one that your individual instructor uses for a course that has not yet started. If you need to verify course textbooks, please refer to the online course description through your student portal. This syllabus is proprietary material of APUS.
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Turnitin.com
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