CA382

brighton Business School

Moulsecoomb Modular Scheme

Title: / Social Enterprise: New Business Planning
Level: / 3
Credit Rating: / 20 / Subject Area: / Multi-disciplinary
Module Type: / Double / Semester Offered: / 1 through 2
Course(s) for which module is acceptable and status in course:
Final Year Optional Module for courses satisfying Pre-Requisites below:
Pre-Requisites
Successful completion of level 2
AIMS:
The module aims to
·  Provide students with the opportunity to work with a local social enterprise in aiding the development of a business plan.
·  Inculcate and implement an entrepreneurial team spirit that cuts across the range business studies disciplines.
·  Offer students the opportunity of exploring the issues and needs of the community and voluntary sector as it moves towards developing commercial streams of income.
Learning Outcomes:
On completion of this module students should be able to:
·  Differentiate the business and voluntary environment, identify and apply appropriate tools and concepts that are specific to and transcend both sectors
·  Apply marketing research tools to identify/evaluate market opportunities.
·  Develop marketing communications strategies via positioning, branding and promoting the social enterprise.
·  Identify the legal requirements for governance.
·  Evaluate the legal obligations and IPR issues applicable to alternative organisational forms
·  Utilise financial and information systems for organisational control and planning.
·  Identify the appropriate human resource management issues that can arise from employing full, part-time and voluntary staff.
·  Demonstrate an understanding of the interaction between legal, financial and marketing aspects of starting a business
Content:
Semester one will involve the delivery of 8 workshops covering the issues and needs of the community voluntary sector coupled with a review of the business disciplines required to write a business plan that is relevant to this sector. Semester two will involve working with a local social enterprise in developing and producing a business plan that will help launch a commercial product or service, providing an income to supplement current grant funding.
Semester 1
Workshop (2 hrs) (weeks 1 – 8)
Introduction and review of the social enterprise environment
An overview of the requirements of writing a business plan for a social enterprise context
Creativity techniques to help identify new products/services
Marketing research required to investigate market potential
Legal implications for forming a social enterprise and launching a new product/service
Managing human resources in a social enterprise context
Financial implications in a social enterprise context
Writing a marketing plan for the launch of a new product/service
Semester 2
In cooperation with Community University Project Partnership (CUPP) and the Brighton and Hove Business Community Partnership (BHBCP) a group of students will be formed to work with a local community-voluntary sector organisation or fledgling social enterprise. To research and then write a business plan to help launch a new product or service.
In week 14 students will pitch their business plan and hand in the report.
Teaching & Learning Strategies:
The module is run using workshops so that the practical nature of business planning is ingrained and encouraged within student learning. The emphasis on self-study is to enable individual students (for the literature review) and student teams the time to research in-depth a relevant business plan.
At some point during weeks 8 – 13 of semester 2, each tutor will offer a one hour consultancy session for all students to attend. The module leader however will be available for 30 minutes each week to meet with students and or visit the client involved.
The course content and delivery will also be supported through the appointment of an ‘entrepreneur in residence’ in a similar model to CA380 and also with the support from colleagues in CUPP.
In week 14 students will be expected to pitch their business plan and submit the report itself.
Lectures: 0 Open Learning: 0
Consultancy: 12 Self Study: 109
Workshops: 19 Assessment: 60
Total: 200
Learning SUPPORT:
Indicative reading:
The latest editions of:
Alter, S.A., Managing the Double Bottom Line: Business Planning Guide and Workbook Set, Pact Publications
Berry, A. and Jarvis R., Accounting in a Business Context, Thomson Learning
Bainbridge, D.I., Intellectual Property, Longmans.
Barrow, C. The complete small business guide: sources of information for new and small businesses, London : BBC Books.
Barrow, P., The Best-Laid Business Plans, Virgin Books
Dine, J.,Company Law, Palgrave.
DTI, Social Enterprise: a strategy for success, (www.sbs.gov.uk/socialenterprise).
Fairweather, M. & Border, R., Setting up a Limited Company, Cavendish.
Hussey, D. & Perrin, R., How to manage a voluntary organisation : the essential guide for the not-for-profit sector, London, Kogan Page.
Jackson, A.C. & Donovan, F., Managing to survive : managerial practice in not-for-profit organisations, Buckingham, Open University Press.
Kenny, B. & Dyson, K., Marketing in small businesses, Routledge
Kinnell, M. & MacDougall, M., Marketing in the not-for-profit sector, Butterworth-
Heinemann.
Kotler, P., Roberto, N. & ee, N., Social Marketing: Improving Quality of Life, Sage.
Leadbeater, C., The Rise of the Social Entrepreneur, Demos.
Macintyre, E., Business Law, Pearson.
McCurley, S., & Lynch, R., Essential Volunteer Management. The Directory of Social Change.
Mullins, L.J., Management and Organisational Behaviour, FT/Prentice Hall.
Price, A., Human Resource Management in a Business Context. Thomson Learning.
Priddis, J.,Start Your Business Step by Step, Essential Business Guide Ltd
West, E., Companies Limited by Guarantee, Jordons.
Journals
Journal of small business and enterprise development
Social Innovation Review
Social Enterprise
Thompson, J.L. (2002) The World of the Social Entrepreneur, The International Journal of Public Sector Management, Vol. 15 No. 5, 2002, pp. 412-431 (via Emerald).
Web sites
www.seo-online.org.uk/html/home.asp
www.can-online.org.uk/
www.sesep.org.uk/
www.socialedge.org/
Halsbury Laws (on-line legal encyclopedia)
ASSESSMENT
In semester 1 Students will write an individual literature review based upon aspects of the social enterprise environment (3000 words worth 10 CATS and 50% of the final mark). Students will attend classes in semester 1 either with ca380 students or on their own (dependent upon numbers).
In the second semester the assessment will normally involve a group of 4 students with a formative non summative/pass-fail presentation (circa 20minutes involving a group of local social entrepreneurs) of a draft business plan that will help inform the submission one week later of the final plan (4000 words for the final 10 CATS and 50% of the final mark).
To help ensure that students fully participate a form of peer review of the distribution of the tutor’s mark will take place, whereby, each submission of course work will also be accompanied by a an agreed signed statement from all members stating to what extent in % terms each contributed. It would be expected that in most cases each student will agree with his/her peers a contribution of 100%. If less than 100%, for example 80%, that particular student will be awarded 80% of the mark attributable to that particular assessment. Any disputes will be dealt with by the module leader as is the case with all group coursework within BBS.
Brief Description of the MODULE
The course comprise 8 interrelated workshops in semester one, introducing students to the context of social enterprise and how the business planning requirements will need to be adjusted for this context. Semester two will then involving working with a local organisation that is either grant funded or wishes to diversify and investigate commercial income ventures. Alternatively it could be a fledgling social enterprise that lacks the skill set to write their own business plan. It would be intended to appoint a ‘social entrepreneur in residence’ who would attend most of the taught classes to input their experiences and to also be involved in assessing the business pitch in semester two, jointly with the tutors.
Area Examination Board: / External Examiner: / N.O’Regan
Faculty: / Brighton Business School; MIS. / Site where delivered: / Moulsecoomb
Module Writer(s): / Clifford Conway, Jo Johnson, Sian Eggert, Lyvia Royd-Taylor, Lucy Jones and Juliet Millican (CUPP)
Date of First Approval: / 2008 / Date of Last Revision: / 2012
Version Number / 3