This course consists of a 1x1.5 hour weekly lecture (Tuesday 4pm – 5:30pm) and a 1x2 hour weekly tutorial. Lectures commence in week one of the semester while tutorials commence in week two.

For a detailed outline of the course timetable by dates and topics, please refer to the additional course information on the myuni course
website.

The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from the Course Planner at https://access.adelaide.edu.au/courses/search.asp

 

Small firms and family businesses make a significant contribution to the economic development of national economies around the world. According to latest statistics, 96 percent of Australian private sector enterprises are small firms while approximately 67 percent are family-controlled businesses. Just as a small firm is not a little ‘big’ firm, an unlisted privately-owned family business is not a ‘clone’ of a publicly-listed business. Therefore it is important to have an understanding of the issues faced in growing and managing a firm from the small and family business perspectives.

As a consequence, the overarching objective of this course is for students to understand how business-related issues (such as marketing, management, finance, law and accounting) are applied and / or addressed in the small and family business contexts.

COMMENCEMENT Common pathways in which an individual becomes a small firm or family business owner	GROWTH Issues that owners need to address when growing a small firm or family business	EXIT Ways in which an owner of a small firm or family business ceases to be an owner
Topic 2: Getting into business: new ventures, franchises, and purchasing or inheriting a business	Topic 3: Strategic planning and business plans Topic 4: Marketing: product, price and promotion decisions Topic 5: Financing the business Topic 6: Legal issues Topic 7: Managing growth & transition Topic 8: Accounting issues Topic 9: Taxation issues	Topic 10: Exit – part 1 (succession & next gen) Topic 11: Exit – part 2 (decline & closure or turnaround and/or sale)
F O U N D A T I O N: TOPIC 1 - Definition, characteristics and significance of small firms and family businesses

On successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

1. Discuss the issues that need to be considered and addressed as small firms and family businesses transition through the lifecycles of their business, ownership and family sub-systems;

2. Integrate the course concepts to critically assess the appropriateness of a range of interrelated decisions associated with managing and growing small firms and family businesses;

3. Critically review the accounting, financing, legal, management and taxation options available to small firms and family businesses with reference to the objectives and needs of the business, the owners and the family;  

4. Collaborate effectively with others in diverse groups.

There are three primary resources which are required for this course:

a) Prescribed text book: Schaper, M., Volery, T., Weber, P. & Lewis, K. (2014), Entrepreneurship and Small Business (4th Asia-Pacific Edition), Wiley, Milton, Qld.
Textbooks will be available for purchase from the University’s Unibook store. Alternatively you can purchase an e-book version of the text at a significantly discounted rate. The e-book version has the following features:

• Available on your laptop, smartphone, tablet or online
• Permanent access – never expires
• Use the search function to locate key concepts
• Create your own colour-coded highlights as you revise
• Share notes with your friends
  
  For more information, please visit: http://www.wileydirect.com.au/buy/entrepreneurship-small-business-4th-asia-pacific-edition/

b) Additional readings: some of the readings for this course have been taken from alternative sources. These are listed in the detailed course timetable. Rather than students having to purchase these texts (or borrow and photocopy the relevant sections from the library), electronic copies of these readings will be made available for download from the course’s MyUni website.

c) Mikes Bikes (Intro) – in order for students to get a realistic ‘experience’ in managing a small business, this course uses an online business simulation game. Each student will be provided a licence to the online game and will be allocated to a group where together students will manage their company and compete with other groups in the class. More details about this online simulation game is provided in the additional course information (via Myuni Course Website) and during the semester in lectures.

Other reading resources which students may find useful include: 

• Burns, P. (2011), Entrepreneurship & Small Business: Start-up, Growth and Maturity (3rd Ed), Palgrave Macmillan, New York.
• Hatton, T. (2011), Small Business Management: Entrepreneurship and Beyond, South-Western.
• Mazzarol, T. (2011), Small Business Management: An Applied Approach (2nd ed.), Tilde University Press, Prahran, Victoria.
• Longenecker, J.G., Petty, J.M., Palich, L.E. & Moore, C.W. (2009), Small Business Management (15th Ed), South-Western.
• Scarborough, N.M. (2012), Effective Small Business Management: An Entrepreneurial Approach (10th Ed), Pearson, New Jersey. 

Please make sure to check the course’s MyUni website regularly as this will be the main method in which I communicate to students and make additional information and resources available.

This course contains three main avenues for learning (apart from assessment). These are:

1. The weekly 1.5-hour lecture (commencing week 1): Lectures provide students with an overview of how business-related issues (such as marketing, management, finance, law and accounting) are applied and / or addressed in the small and family business contexts. The material covered in lectures will be discussed in tutorials held in the following week. The format of the lectures will vary from week to week as we will also have guest presenters from industry, DVD case studies of small business start-ups, as well as the course tests (see assessment summary for more information).

2. The weekly 2-hour tutorial (commencing week 2): tutorial class discussion provides students with the opportunity to clarify concepts and principles introduced in the lectures. Students should come prepared for each tutorial class. This includes undertaking the prescribed reading and attempting the discussion questions for that topic. During the final 30 minutes of each tutorial, there will be opportunities for
students to meet up with their allocated group members to work on the Mike’s Bikes online simulation game (see point 3 below).

3. MikesBikes online simulation game: – a weekly activity to give students to get a realistic ‘experience’ in managing a small business in a competitive environment. Students will be allocated to a group of 5 students and collectively will manage a virtual business and compete with other groups in the course.

The university expects full-time students (i.e. those taking 12 units per semester) to devote a total of 48 hours per week to their studies. This means that you are expected to commit approximately 9 hours (for a 3 unit course) of private study outside of your weekly 3.5 hours of classes (i.e. 8.5 hours private study + 3.5 hours of lecture & tutorials = 12 hours per week).

A role will be taken at each tutorial class, and student participation at these classes will form part of the overall assessment as outlined in the assessment summary below.

Please refer to the detailed course timetable which is contained on the last page of the additional course information available from the MyUni course website.

Assessment Task	Weighting	Learning Outcome
Tutorial participation	10%	1,2,3,4
Tests (2 in total)	60%	1,2,3
MikesBikes Online Simulation Game	30%	2,4
Total

• To pass this course students must achieve 50% of the overall course assessment.
• All assessment tasks are compulsory and none are redeemable.
• The tests are conducted under closed book conditions and no materials whatsoever will be permitted to be taken into the test (with the exception of a calculator that cannot store text). Dictionaries of any kind are NOT permitted. 

Tutorial Participation (10%)

In order to encourage class discussion and give students the opportunity to demonstrate an understanding of the prescribed readings and the discussion questions, 10 percent of assessment will be based on class participation. A total of 10 tutorials will be assessed (1 mark per assessed tute x 10 tutes = 10%). For each of the assessed tutorials, each student will be awarded 0, ½ or 1 mark.

When determining participation marks, tutors will be taking the following into account the following criteria:

Student…
- Comes prepared: refers to notes, introduces ideas and questions from the week’s text
- Contributes ideas: adds new ideas, suggests new connections, raises relevant issues
- Asks questions of clarification: re concepts, terminology, expectations
- Facilitates peer interaction: builds on others’ ideas, uses humour positively, stays on track
- Expresses ideas clearly: ideas are understood by others, pace and volume appropriate.


Tests (60%)

The in-lecture tests are an opportunity to assess your understanding of the concepts taught throughout the course. The timing of the two tests are indicated in the topic schedule (page 10) and will be held during the lecture timeslot.

The second test will be longer in duration as it covers more course topics. The test will be conducted under closed book conditions (no material or dictionaries permitted). Further details regarding the tests (including format) will be communicated via MyUni.


MikesBikes Online Simulation Game (30%)

This online simulation game provide a ‘real-world’ hands-on experience of some of the issues that owners face when managing and growing a small business in a competitive environment. This assessment is undertaken as a group exercise which will run throughout the semester. In the third week of tutorials, students will be allocated into groups of four. MikesBikes Online Simulation Game is a general business simulation developed to suit those with little, to no prior business experience. Each group will compete against others in their ‘world’ (total of 7 groups per world) under a business name of their choosing. Initially groups are given the responsibility of Pricing and Promotion for a single product. As the simulation progresses, more decisions and additional products are added. Eventually each group is given full control (as CEO) over their own Bicycle Manufacturing Company. The challenge is to build their firm into the leading player in the market. As part of this online competitive game, students will analyse real market and financial reports, and collaborate with each other to create their own cross-functional strategic plan. As MikesBikes uses a dynamic-competitive marketplace, students must adapt to the changing market and demands of consumers, while also considering external forces - reinforcing the importance of planning and evaluation.

This assessment piece is conducted over a total of 8 weeks and is marked out of 30 as follows:

- 14 marks awarded for improving the shareholder value of your company each week (each rollover). Assessed from the 2nd rollover of the game, 2 marks will awarded each rollover for improving the value of your company compared to the previous rollover (7 assessable rollovers x 2 marks per rollover = 14 marks).
- 16 marks awarded according to overall improvement in shareholder value of your company during the game relative to your competitors (i.e. other companies in the world you were allocated to).

Some groups may start poorly but enact a significant turnaround by the end of the course. Such groups may be awarded (at the course co-ordinator’s discretion) bonus marks (to a maximum mark of 30 / 30). So, even if you group starts poorly, don’t give up as significant turnarounds may attract bonus marks.

Moderation of group mark: at the end of the game, each student will be required to submit a confidential evaluation (peer assessment) of the group work effectiveness of each member of their group. Each student’s group work effectiveness score will be compared to that of their group. Students who have an average group work effectiveness score greater than that of their group will have their overall MikesBikes mark increased. Conversely, students who have an average effectiveness score lower than that of their group will have
their overall Mikes Bikes mark decreased.

More information about how to play the game, and the group work moderation process, will be made available to students during the semester.