Understand business life cycles in relation to creating, buying and selling enterprises;

Understand decision making processes when creating, buying and selling businesses including aspects of due diligence;

Become familiar with ways of assessing the value of a business in strategic and economic terms;

Understand the broader context of entrepreneurship including corporate entrepreneurship (intrapreneurship);

Serve as an intellectual and practical platform for participants to proceed to further modes of study and/or embark on their own entrepreneurial journey;

The financial strategic and legal focus in this module will help develop students’ enterprising capabilities.

(LO1) Explain why a buoyant business transfer market is fundamental to an entrepreneurial economy;

(LO2) Elaborate on the theoretical and practical linkages between organisational succession and factors of the environment impacting corporate performance;

(LO3) Diagnose weaknesses in a firm’s selling proposition and identify areas of improvement;

(LO4) Identify which tools and techniques can be used to increase an enterprise’s valuation and what depreciates a valuation too using methodological research and objective decision making;

(LO5) Diagnose industrial sectoral changes and appreciate alternative choices and approaches for managing resources and processes within organisations.

(S1) Communication Skills: Students will have opportunities to develop written and oral communication skills through group discussions, in-class presentations and coursework. This will be assessed via the individual reflective journal and the final individual assessment.

(S2) Problem Solving and Decision Making: Students will be challenged to think critically about organisational issues and dilemmas. They will do this by gathering and synthesising information, analysing alternative perspectives and options and presenting a considered opinion or course of action in their course assessment.

(S3) Strategic and numeracy Skills: Students will learn different valuation techniques for determining the strategic and economic value of businesses. Students will have the opportunity to analyse and use strategic as well as financial and statistical data to support business decisions through their course work and on appropriate assignments.

(S4) Information and Communication Technology Skills: Students will have opportunities to improve their ICT skills. Students will demonstrate skills in the use of software applications including word processing, visual presentations, data bases, spreadsheets and using the internet for information searches in the course of researching and presenting coursework.

(S5) Group Working and Peer Feedback Skills: Some seminar work and in class assignments for students will require them to work in groups and manage the interaction and relationships with other group members. In doing so, they will gain experience in negotiation, persuasion, influencing and managing conflict. Students are asked to provide peer feedback and incorporate elements of self-reflection and group-reflection as a core part of their learning throughout the module.

(S6) Personal Effectiveness: This applies to all modules where students will be encouraged to think critically about theory and practice and to challenge and critique assumptions about the management of people and organisations. In doing so they will be able to recognise and consider issues such as ethical dilemmas, corporate social responsibility, organisational values, leadership approaches and styles. This will be assessed through attaining the appropriate level of critical engagement with theory and practice in programme assignments.

(S7) Time management. This applies to all modules of the programme and is relevant for planning scheduled work and meeting assessment deadlines. This will be evident in the students’ independent management of their assignments and coursework and by meeting coursework deadlines.

Hybrid delivery, with social distancing on campus.

1 hour online asynchronous learning per week x 6 weeks
1 hour online synchronous lecture per week x 6 weeks
2 hour face-to-face seminar every week x 6 weeks
1 hour face-to-face peer-to-peer learning every week (unscheduled) x 6 weeks
Self-directed learning x 120 hours

Designing viable business models and creating a strategic narrative for your business;

Business life cycles and decision processes on creating, buying and selling businesses including serial entrepreneurship;

Understanding strategic motivations for buying/selling decisions and strategic due diligence;

Determining the economic value of a business for sale;

Managing transition processes when taking over existing businesses (including family businesses);

Corporate entrepreneurship/intrapreneurship: opportunities of being entrepreneurial within a corporation.