Principles of Management and Entrepreneurship in IT (BIT451MS)

Management fundamentals, organization design, entrepreneurship, business planning, and IT product marketing/technology transfer.

1. Unit 1: Introduction to Management Principles and Functions3 hrs

   • Concept and scope of management
   • Levels, principles, and functions of management
   • Roles and skills of managers
   • Women in organizational hierarchy and leadership

2. Unit 2: Organization Design and Decentralization3 hrs

   • Concept, principles, and benefits of organizing
   • Approaches to organization structure and design
   • Departmentation methods
   • Formal and informal organizations
   • Authority, responsibility, and delegation
   • Decentralization of authority

3. Unit 3: The Foundation of Entrepreneurship5 hrs

   • The world of the entrepreneur: definition and entrepreneurial mindset
   • Benefits and potential drawbacks of entrepreneurship
   • Behind the boom: factors driving the entrepreneurial fire
   • Cultural diversity of entrepreneurship
   • The ten deadly mistakes of entrepreneurship and how to avoid the pitfalls

4. Unit 4: Feasibility Analysis and Crafting Winning Business Plans5 hrs

   • Conducting a comprehensive feasibility analysis (Product/Service, Financial, Industry)
   • Why develop a business plan: strategic and funding imperatives
   • Elements and structural outline of a professional business plan
   • Making the business plan pitch and executive presentation
   • Standard business plan formatting guidelines

5. Unit 5: Forms of Business Ownership and Franchising4 hrs

   • Sole proprietorship, partnership, and corporation structures
   • Other forms of ownership (LLCs, Joint Ventures)
   • Types of franchising
   • Benefits and drawbacks of buying a franchise
   • The right way to evaluate and acquire a franchise

6. Unit 6: Building a Powerful Marketing Plan4 hrs

   • Building a guerrilla marketing plan
   • Pinpointing the target market and market segmentation
   • Determining customer needs and wants through market research
   • Plotting guerrilla marketing strategies on a bootstrap budget
   • Marketing on the World Wide Web and the modern marketing mix (4Ps/4Cs)

7. Unit 7: Choosing the Right Location and Layout4 hrs

   • Location as a source of competitive advantage
   • Location criteria and options for service, retail, and manufacturing businesses
   • Layout optimization: maximizing revenues, increasing operational efficiency, and reducing costs

8. Unit 8: E-Commerce and the Entrepreneur5 hrs

   • Benefits of selling on the Web for startups
   • Factors to consider before launching into e-commerce
   • Twelve myths of e-commerce
   • Strategies for successful e-commerce execution
   • Designing a high-converting web storefront
   • Tracking web results and web analytics
   • Ensuring customer privacy and transaction security

9. Unit 9: Entrepreneur of IT and Technology Transfer8 hrs

   • Marketing Information Technology products
   • Technological life cycle and adoption curves
   • Classification of buyers in the IT market
   • Technological SWOT analysis and techno-ready marketing
   • How and why customers adopt information technology innovations
   • Issues in technology management and intellectual property protection
   • Mechanisms and modes of international technology transfer to developing nations
   • Information technology as the wealth of nations
   • Case study and student presentations based on Chapters 8 & 9 [4 Hrs]