Entrepreneurial Management and Change C, 10 points/15 ECTS Syllabus : Entrepreneurial Management and Change C Course code : FEUC19 Responsibility : Umeå School of Business Subject : Business Administration Level : C (Advanced) Course credit : 15 ECTS / 10 points Field of education: Social Sciences This is a course at the C-level in a Bsc-degree at Umeå University. The course can also be included in study programmes in Business Administration and Economics at Umeå School of Business. 1. Resolution to arrange the course The course is established by the Faculty of Social Sciences at Umeå University and the syllabus is confirmed by the Board of Umeå School of Business on May 29, 2006. The syllabus is valid from August 28, 2006. 2. Objective and contents The overall aim of this course is to provide students with an understanding of change in an organised setting. It will provide students with an ability to cope with and manage economic, political and institutional processes both inside the organisation and in its environment. In this context, it is important to develop an active approach in dealing with and creating change. This implies entrepreneurial management of opportunities that arise as a result of changes in the external environment as well as the creation and management of new organisational forms. The first module of this course will therefore deal with the concept of change and various approaches to change management, while the second module focuses on the concept of entrepreneurship and the role of entrepreneurial management in contemporary society. Module 1. Approaching Change, 5 points/7.5 ECTS A modern and perspectivistic view of approaching and implementing change in organisations, is that change cannot be rationally managed, and that organisation are no longer viewed as passive adjusters to external or internal demands arising from change. This module aims to problematise our views on organisational change through introducing and critically examining contributions from a number of alternative theoretical approaches to change. Consequently, the expected learning outcome is the student’s ability to understand, critically examine and reflect upon alternative approaches to change, thereby being well prepared to manage and implement change in business organisations. The module will begin by challenging the traditional, rational approach to management of strategic change which still occupies a dominating role in both business literature and in practice, with institutional, cognitive, and ecological approaches to change. These approaches provide us with an understanding of how managers define, interpret and interact with their business context, where mental models and taken-for-granted assumptions are viewed as shaping strategic action and interaction in changing contexts. The module then turns to internal political and cultural aspects of change, highlighting how programmed approaches to organisational change run the risk of being futile if they are not anchored with local conditions. The demands for actively ‘sensing’, interpreting and managing change in organizations, which poses a challenge to participants as they engage to cope with developments and at the same time provide opportunities to sustain existing capabilities and resources, will be particularly in focus. The module will also highlight issues of complexity in organisational change processes, as being jointly created by internal and external forces; issues which are enhanced by post-modern and critical approaches to change. Teaching methods The structure for the module consists in lectures, literature seminars, case analyses, and writing a term paper on ‘change in organizations’. Examination, see 5. below Module 2. Entrepreneurial Management, 5 points/7.5 ECTS This module approaches the issue of ”entrepreneurial management” as a way of handling everyday change as well as strategic issues. In the module, entrepreneurship is viewed as a change-oriented and opportunity focused style of management. As a result, entrepreneurial management is presented as an active approach towards the issues and problems connected to today’s business life. In order to define and capture the concept of entrepreneurial management, the module starts with a brief discussion of the current application and extension of entrepreneurship theory to new areas. The main focus is placed entrepreneurship in both growing and maturing firms, i.e. corporate entrepreneurship, but also on entrepreneurship in the public sector and social entrepreneurship. The discussion thus highlights innovations and strategies for change in a wide range of industries and situations. The organizational potential for entrepreneurial management is discussed in relation to how firms can organize internally to support innovation and entrepreneurship, but also in relation to external opportunities and challenges such as standard-setting and changing markets. Entrepreneurial management is also discussed in relation to the role of individuals (leaders and employees) within the entrepreneurial organization. After the course, students should have an understanding of recent developments in entrepreneurship theory towards entrepreneurial management. More specifically the learning outcomes are the following; • Students can demonstrate a detailed understanding of different characteristics of entrepreneurial management, of how entrepreneurship relates to organizational strategy and how internal and external factors support or hinder entrepreneurial management. • Students can analyze opportunities and preconditions for entrepreneurial activities and change processes in organizations, and based on this analysis evaluate the appropriateness of organizational strategies towards entrepreneurial management. • Students can communicate practical evaluations of entrepreneurial management based on scientific knowledge both orally and in written form. • Students can apply their own criteria of judgment in examination of their own or other’s potential for entrepreneurial management. Practical skills trained during the module: • Analytical and evaluative abilities • Presentation skills • Group work skills Teaching methods The core topics of the module will be covered by lectures, seminars and case studies. The students will also meet guest lecturers during the module. On several occasions, students will be asked to make oral and written presentations of assignments, case studies and term papers. They will be expected to take an active part in the classroom discussions, seminars and case studies. Guest lectures might be used in examination. Examination. The examination consists of several shorter written exams performed successively during the module. These exams test the student’s theoretical understanding of the topics at hand as well as the analytical ability. Seminar participation on the basis of small exams is required to pass the module. Students must alls pass each individual short exam. These exams and the seminar participation examination are graded individually, and are worth 70 percent of the module grade. The examination also includes a case-assignment (or a term paper) focusing on practical evaluation of entrepreneurial management in an actual organization. The written as well as the oral presentations of the cases are graded and are worth 30 percent of the module grade. Students must pass the case-assignment in order to pass the module. 3. Prerequisites Courses in Business Administration 60 ECTS credits. Students are required to have a minimum of 40 points from the A-and B-level courses in Business Administration. This corresponds to 60 ECTS- credits in basic courses in Business Administration (Management, Accounting, Financial Investments, Cost Accounting and Marketing). 4. Teaching methods The core topics of the course will be covered by lectures, seminars and case studies. The students will also meet guest lecturers during the course. On several occasions, students will be asked to make oral and written presentations of assignments, case studies and term papers. They will be expected to take an active part in the classroom discussions, seminars and case studies. Guest lectures might be used in examination. 5. Examination The examination consists of active participation at seminars, a written comprehensive examination (tentamen), and successful completion of group or individual assignments (where appropriate). Guest lectures might be used in examination. The following grading system will be used: Pass with distinction (Väl godkänd, VG), Pass (Godkänd, G) and Fail (Underkänd, U). To receive the grade Pass with distinction on the course, the student must have achieved at least 75% of the total of points on the separate modules or the equivalent Students who do not pass at the time of the normal written examination will be offered an opportunity to sit a further examination within 2-3 weeks. Beyond that, additional examination opportunities normally arise every academic year one-week prior to the start of the autumn term. When a student has failed an examination on two occations, he or she has a right to have another grading teacher. A written request should be handed to the director of studies no later than two weeks before the next examination opportunity. Grades on the course are awarded when students have passed all examinations and compulsory course elements. 6. Utilisation et cetera In cases where there are applicants from exchange programme or similar, the course language will be English. Otherwise, parts of the course may be taught in English. Information on language aspects can be obtained from the Student Counsellor. 7. Readings and other material Module 1. Approaching Change, 5 points/7.5 ECTS Textbook: Darwin, John, Johnson, Philip & McAuley, John (2001) Developing Strategies for Change. Harlow: Pearson. Compendium of Articles: Required readings for the module will also be selected from the list below. Please observe that minor additions to this list might be presented at course start. Bacharach, Samuel B, Peter Bamberger & William J. Sonnenstuhl (1996) ‘The organizational transformation process: The micropolitics of dissonance reduction and the alignment of logics of action’. Administrative Science Quarterly, 41, 477-506. Barrett, Frank, J, Gail Fann Thomas & Susan P. Hocevar (1995) ‘The central role of discourse in large-scale change: A social construction perspective.’ The Journal of Applied Behavioural Science, 31(1): 353-372. Brunsson, Karin (1998) ‘Non-learning organizations’. Scandinavian Journal of Management. 14(4): 421-432. Kotter, John P. (1995?) ‘Leading change: Why transformation efforts fail?’ Harvard Business Review March, James G. (1981) ‘Footnotes to organizational change’. Administrative Science Quarterly, 26: 563-577. Rhodes, Carl (1997) ‘Playing with words: Multiple representations of organizational learning stories’. Electronic Journal of Radical Organization theory, III (1) Tushman, Michael, L. & Charles A. O´Reilly (1996) ‘Ambidextrous organizations: Managing evolutionary and revolutionary change’. California Management Review, 38(4): 8-28 Van de Ven, Andrew H. & Marshall Scott Poole (1995) ’Explaining development and change in organizations’. Academy of Management Review, 20(3): 510-540 Module 2. Entrepreneurial Management, 5 points/7.5 ECTS Textbook: Morris, Michael A. & Kuratko, Donald F. (2003) Corporate Entrepreneurship: Entrepreneurial Development inside Organizations. Hinsdale: Dryden Press. Compendium of articles: Ahuja, Gautam & Lampert, Curba Morris (2001) ”Entreprenurship in the Large Corporation: A Longitudinal Study of How Established Firms Create Breakthrough Inventions.” Strategic Management Journal, 22, 521-543. Dess, Gregory G., Ireland, R.Duane, Zahra, Shaker A., Floyd, Steven W., Janney. Jay J., & Lane, Peter J. (2003) ”Emerging Issues in Corporate Entrepreneurship.” Journal of Management, 29 (3), 351-378 Garud, Raghu, Jain, Sanjay & Kumaraswamy, Arun (2002) “Institutional Entrepreneurship in the Sponsorship of Common Technological Standards: The Case of Sun Microsystems and Java.” Academy of Management Journal, 45 (1), 196-214. Gick, Wolfgang (2002) ”Schumpeter’s and Kirzner’s entrepreneur reconsidered: corporate entrepreneurship, subjectivism and the need for a theory of the firm.” In Nicolai J. Foss & Peter G. Klein (Eds.) Entrepreneurship and the Firm. Austrian Perspectives on Economic Organization. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 88-101. Hayter, James C. (2005) “Promoting corporate entrepreneurship through human resource management practices; A review of empirical research.” Human Resource Management Review, 15, 21-41. Hemingway, Christine A. (2005) “Personal Values as A catalyst for Corporate Social Entrepreneurship.” Journal of Business Ethics, 60, 233-249. Hostager, Todd J., Neil, Thomas C. Decker, Ronald L. & Lorentz, Richard D. (1998) ”Seeing environmental opportunities: effects of intrapreneurial ability, efficacy, motivation and desirability.” Journal of Organizational Change Management, 11 (1), 11-25. Shane, Scott (2000) ”Prior Knowledge and the Discovery of Entrepreneurial Opportunities.” Organization Science, 11 (4), 448-469. Weerawardena, Jay & Sullivan Mort, Gillian (2006) “Investigating social entrepreneurship: A multidimensional model.” Journal of World Business, 41, 21-35. Additional articles may be included at the beginning of the module. --------------- Umeå University, Umeå School of Business, SE-901 87 Umeå, Sweden.