Course Resources Archive

This module provides students with the opportunity to develop the practical and integrative skills necessary for the creation of a business plan. With tutorial guidance, small groups of students will select an entrepreneurial idea and develop it into a written business plan, which must be thoroughly researched and include three years' sales and financial forecasts. At the end of the module, the plan is submitted in the form of a funding request.

The module covers the full range of issues in establishing a business. This includes business plans and planning; business ideas and opportunities; enterprise start-up; market analysis; sales forecasting; legal forms of business; profit and loss, cash flow and balance sheet forecasting; breakeven analysis; sensitivity analysis; sources of funds; funding strategies; bank lending; venture capital; accounting for VAT and PAYE; enterprise growth and growth strategies; operations planning; franchising; exit strategies; risk analysis; contingency planning.

i. Knowledge and Understanding
By the end of the module, students should be able to:
1) Evaluate the process of, and management issues in, the start-up of a new venture
2) Assess the factors contributing to the success or failure of a new venture
3) Critically evaluate the constraints on, and risks of, small business development and be able to formulate recommendations for managing these aspects.
4) Discuss issues surrounding the funding and financial management of new and developing businesses
5) Undertake a detailed appraisal of a particular business opportunity through the medium of compiling and evaluating a business proposal
6) Formulate appropriate plans for the training and development of self and others in small business situations and contexts.
7) Identify and access support services for small firms provided locally and nationally.

ii. Skills
By the end of the module students should have developed skills in:
1) Communication and literacy, through the conducting of primary research, the analysis of published materials, presentations and the preparation of a business plan
2) Literacy through the preparation of reports and analysis of published materials.
3) Application of numerical techniques through the analysis of data from a variety of sources and the formulation of quantitative forecasts.
4) Independent learning and working through the personal management of time, research and writing.
5) Working with others through the management of a complex and intensive group project.

Staff/student contact time: approx 20%
Student directed study: approx 80%

The Library Catalogue contains full details of the current reading list for this module. Further details may also be found in the Module Guide.