Business Administration 310 Spring, 2002
Ripon College
Assistant Professor and
COURSE INFORMATION
Course Objective:
The line between for-profit and not-for-profit enterprise has become increasingly
blurred. Traditional non-profits such
as art museums, schools, and community-based organizations must be well managed
to effectively serve their constituencies. Further, their very survival can be dependent
on effective fiscal management. Other
non-profits have discovered that business-related subsidiaries can generate
revenue for the organization as government resources have dwindled. Many of these organizations have become extremely
creative about incorporating entrepreneurial strategies into their overall
strategic plans.
So this course will focus on four things:
Ř
A study of the world of philanthropy
including history and current practices
Ř
Corporate social responsibility
and ethics
Ř
An introduction to the world
of non-profit organizations (their purposes, opportunities and challenges)
Ř The application of business and entrepreneurial models to community problems and the needs of non-profit organizations.
Textbooks: McIntosh, Leipziger, Jones and Coleman, Corporate
Citizenship, First Edition, 1998. We
will use this book when we discuss corporate social responsibility.
Brinkerhoff,
Peter C., Social Entrepreneurship, The Art of Mission-Based Venture Development,
First Edition, 2000. This book will
come into play as we discuss venture creation by non-profit organizations,
especially business planning.
Internet
Resources: From
time to time, you will be given web site addresses for futher information
and research.
Instructor’s
Office: 315 Todd Wehr Phone: 748-8392
(college) or 748-8405 (business)
Hours:
Monday-4:30-6:00pm; Tuesdays-10:00am -noon; Thursdays: 10:00am-noon
By appointment at other times - I am pretty accessible if you
leave messages.
Because
I still have another life in the private sector, it is sometimes necessary
for me to change my office hours. Changes
will be posted outside of my office by Monday of each week. I am happy to schedule appointments, especially
when I am unable to keep my office hours.
The
business office phone number is the best place to leave voice mail. The phone number provided rings in my office
and in my home. Feel free to call
any time after 8:00 am and before 9:00 pm.
Office
Policy: I encourage you to see me to discuss your ideas,
especially if you need technical assistance on any aspect of your course assignments.
I encourage you to bring questions to class, since others may benefit
from the ensuing discussions.
Attendance
Policy: I strongly recommend that you attend all classes.
Because the class meets only twice per week, a missed class will be
somewhat difficult to make up. Beyond "officially reported absences"
(medical problems, travel with College groups, etc.), make every effort to
attend each class meeting.
Classroom
Activities: There
will be minimal lecture in this class. Instead,
we will be doing many group and individual projects. These "hands on" activities are a
great way to experience the world of business management and I think we will
have a lot of fun. Many of them will
involve “service learning” which is applying business management and other
skills to mission-based community organizations. We will also use case studies to help to understand concepts presented
in class.
Assignments:
Assigned
Reading: I hope
to "lecture" in class as little as possible. "Hands on" activities are far more
interesting and educational than regurgitation of the reading material. I will lecture when there is material that
is critical to understanding and executing assignments. HOWEVER, this means that everyone must keep
up with the reading. Group and individual
in-class projects will fall flat if you do not have the context with which
to respond to them.
Interview
Project: Early
in the semester, each student will interview a business, in order to find
out if they are involved in corporate social responsibility. For example, a student might interview a local
business to find out whether the business manager feels that the business
is "socially responsible" and what sorts of things that means to
the business. You will be asked to
indicate whether you feel the business in question is "socially responsible." Each oral presentation with written report
will be worth 10% of your grade. It
might also be advantageous to speak to this interviewee about needs that could
turn into individual or group projects.
Community
Board Meeting Project: You
will also be asked to attend a board meeting of a community-based organization,
and record your observations. This
written report will also be worth 10% of your grade.
Case
Studies: I believe
that case studies are one of the best ways to learn business concepts.
Both books contain case studies, and I have others that may be assigned
during the semester. Case study assignments may be individual or
group, and may be assigned for oral or written presentation(s). Case studies and other written assignments
will comprise 20% of your grade.
Class
Project: Your primary written assignment for the semester
will be a complete and comprehensive project of your choice. This can be a group or an individual project.
By mid-semester, you will need to propose a project and have it approved.
Your proposal should include the nature of your project and the project
“team”. Because this is a large project, which will encompass 40% of your
grade, it must be started early and developed in stages. You can work on any project that interests
you, provided that it is substantial, and will provide a complete and thorough
analysis of a business situation that involves non-profits, or community development.
The larger your “team” the more substantial the project should be.
It
will be impossible for you to complete this task well if it is done only in
the final weeks of the class. If you
choose a team project, a portion of your grade will be based on peer evaluation
of your contributions to the project. Therefore
it is also important that you fully participate in the group efforts both
inside and outside of class.
Examples
of final projects could include (but not be limited to):
·
Identification of a community need and development
of a business plan/proposal to address the need
·
Working on business planning, operations planning,
financial forecasting, market research of other projects for a local non-profit
organization or government entity
·
Conduct a "social responsibility" audit
for a business
·
Research project on any related topic
·
Other project as identified by student and approved
Class
Participation: The other
20% of your grade will be class participation. I will be especially interested in full participation during in-class
case study and other discussion. If
we run short of class time for some of the activities, they may become homework.
If so, grades for these will become part of your class participation
grade.
Grading
Procedures:
The
+/- grading system adopted by faculty vote in 1978 will be used in this course.
The
following table will serve as my guide when deciding your overall grade:
A
92% and above
C 72 to 78
A-
90 to 92
C- 70 to 72
B +
88 to 90
D+ 68 to 70
B
82 to 88
D 62 to 68
B-
80 to 82
D- 60 to 62
C+
78 to 80
F Below 60%
Tentative
Class Schedule:
Non-Profit Organizations & Philanthropy
- History, Purposes, Challenges
January
22 & 24 Introductions
and Review of Syllabus
What is Philanthropy?
What is a Non-Profit Organization?
What is Social Entrepreneurship?
Introduction to Social Responsibility
Ethics and Values in Business and Society
– Christine Bellon, Philosophy
Reading: SE Chapter
1
CC Introduction
Social Responsibility
January
29 Tour and presentation
Ripon Area Service Center
January 31 Role
of Social Responsibility Today
Reading: CC - Chapter One
Written
Assignment: Management Exercises due
Feb. 5
Corporate
Citizenship p.27-31
Assignment: Identify interview candidate and plan interviews
(due February 19)
February
5
Corporate Citizenship and Philanthropy
David Williams, VP Development Ripon
College
February
7 Kathryn Dunn – Helen Bader Foundation
Reading CC - Chapter Two
Written
Assignment: Management Exercises due
Feb. 12
Corporate
Citizenship p.55-56
February
12
Corporate Strategy and Citizenship
MANAGEMENT
INTERVIEWS DUE – ORAL AND WRITTEN REPORTS
February
14 Reading CC - Chapter
Three and Four
Written
Assignment: Management Exercises
Corporate
Citizenship p.180-183 due Feb. 19
Additional
Assignment: Bring Preliminary Project
Ideas to Class
February
19 Managing Corporate Citizenship
Reading CC – Chapter Five and Six
Review of Management Exercises
Social Audits
Assignment: Interview Social Entrepreneurs –
Due April 2
February
21 Bill Haljun
– Big Ideas – Business with a conscience
February
26 Social Entrepreneurship
Tony Beregszazi – Advocap
– Community needs assessments
Reading: SE - Chapter 2
& 3
February
28 What
is an Entrepreneur?
What is a "Social" Entrepreneur?"
Tom Avery – turning community needs into businesses
March
5
Feasibility
Studies for Social Entrepreneurs
Reading SE – Chapter 4 & 5
March
7 Market Research and feasibility studies
Computer lab
– getting data for grants
March
12 Karen Gotzler – Urban Economic Development Association
Non-Profit Business Planning
March
14 Business Planning for Social Entrepreneurs
Reading SE
– Chapter 6
SPRING BREAK
March
26
Financial Projections for Social Entrepreneurs
Reading SE
– Chapter 7
March
28 Tour – Advocap – Fond du Lac
April
2
SOCIAL ENTREPRENEUR ORAL AND WRITTEN
PRESENTATIONS
April
4 SOCIAL ENTREPRENEUR
ORAL AND WRITTEN PRESENTATIONS
April
9 Business Planning, continued
Reading SE – Chapter 8
April 11 Business Planning, continued
Hands on Financials
April 16 Managing a Socially Responsible
Enterprise
Guest Speaker – Non-Profit Executive
SE – Chapter 9 & 10
April 18 Dorian Des Lauriers –
Managing a Business as though there is a
tomorrow
April
23 Final check
on project progress
April
25 Reverend Michael Dudley – financing social entrepreneurship
April 30
Conclusions – Are you a social entrepreneur?
PROJECTS DUE
May
2 and 7 PROJECT REPORTS