Course detail

Business Development Assessment

FP-BBDAEAcad. year: 2019/2020

Business development presents ideas, initiatives, and activities to drive business forward and improve existing performance and effectiveness of small company. This includes increasing revenue, expanding business growth, increasing profitability by building strategic partnerships and taking strategic business decisions such as selling a business or selling franchise rights. Business appraisal can help identify business growth and development opportunities or, on the contrary, lead to the finding that some parts of the business do not work or that there is a lack of alignment between the company's internal environment and the outside environment.
One of the biggest challenges in running a small business is when it comes to objectively assessing how a business is going. Business assessment provides a fair and impartial view that is needed to make strategic decisions about the direction of future business.
Business development activities cover a variety of functions and areas, including sales, marketing, project management, product management, and supplier management. Networks, negotiations, partnerships and cost-saving efforts are also involved. All these different areas and activities are managed and aligned with business development goals.

Language of instruction

English

Number of ECTS credits

5

Mode of study

Not applicable.

Learning outcomes of the course unit

Knowledge - the student knows the issues of life cycles of organizations that define the position of enterprises at a certain stage, knows and defines the various stages of the diagnostic process and their application, defines and critically selects appropriate intervention methods and techniques that can be used and applied in selected situations, knows the principles of development business entity relations with interested interest groups.
Skills - the student acquires and processes relevant information from the organization environment, evaluates the potential of the company development in relation to possible cooperation with partners and investors in the environment, elaborates potential directions of development of the company and elaborates them into concrete interventions and links them to the company's goals. to solve problems, to contribute constructively to problem-solving and decision-making, to conduct a discussion to solve the problem and to find solutions, effectively use teamwork and apply management and leadership principles.
Competence - the student is able to comprehensively evaluate the current functioning of the company, decides on the selection of the most suitable analyzes, methods and approaches for data collection, is able to identify problems and challenges related to the management of the company, decides and chooses appropriate interventions based on feedback of information diagnosis, selects and implements the best Interventions for change with regard to the goals of a small company, proposes steps, actions and activities, including their transfer into practice, interprets the results of analyzes and information, evaluates the impacts of development interventions, creates and develops a team for complex business development project solutions.

Prerequisites

This course is directly connected to the module of Competitiness and Communication of Small company in analyses used and assessing the development potential of the company.
An important part of the process of business assesment is collecting and analyzing data both inside and outside the company, so it is essential that students have the knowledge and skills of Applied Analytical Statistics and Market Research.

Co-requisites

Not applicable.

Planned learning activities and teaching methods

The course will use different forms of learning approaches, which will be evaluated as active participation in the processing of tasks and team discussions to meet the conditions. Teaching at lectures is based on students' active listening, but especially in the form of team discussions on selected topics given by the lecturers whose aim is to critically evaluate management approaches and principles of business development and evaluate the broader context of business environment development and their impact on entrepreneurial activity.
Teaching at seminars takes the form of individual and team solutions, including team discussions representing group interaction. Teaching at the exercises requires teamwork and team discussions with the teacher and other members, which will be held at the seminars every week. Participation in team discussions deepens the understanding of small business organizational development. Students acquire the necessary skills and competencies in the form of communication at the owner or manager level in the company, communication in the team to solve complex projects. Students train the ability to solve problems and challenges, critically analyze and evaluate specific approaches and apply them in the context of their own business, formulate and present their ideas clearly.

Assesment methods and criteria linked to learning outcomes

The student has to pass and meet three criteria, which are mutually interconnected and form the individual scores in the overall evaluation. The student must actively participate in solving and team discussions in case studies, workshops and presentation of the final semester project in the team.
Case studies and workshops (30%) - will take the form of processing and discussion at seminars and lectures.
Team semester project (40%) - will be implemented through teamwork of the final project and its presentation by all team members.
Written test (30%) - will be a comprehensive exam including materials and discussions from lectures.

Course curriculum

1. Week - Introduction and relevance of the issue, defining the concept of business development and growth of small businesses.
2. Week - Internal context as a stimulus for further development and growth. The members aspiration and motivation and Corporate Vision. Internal vs. external orientation.
3 Week - Life cycles and organizational development models of small businesses, recognition of growh pain, pyramid of organizational development.
4. Week - The process of small business development, open system model, diagnostics at the level of organization, teams and work of employees.
5. Week - Collection, analysis and feedback of information diagnostics, designing interventions, intervention and their effectiveness.
6. Week - Intervention in human processes and organizational process intervention, techno-structural intervention, development of organizational structures, interventions in Human Resource Management, Performance Management, Talent Development.
7. Week- Strategic Change Interventions, Transformational Change, Organizational Design, Integrated Strategic Change, Culture Change, Continuous Change, Dynamic Strategy Creation, Learning Organization.
8. Week - Strategic Alliances and Network Interventions, Mergers and Acquisitions. Building global and international companies.
9. Week - Measuring growth and development in small businesses, financial capital and sources of funding for further development and growth
10. Week - Written exam

Work placements

Not applicable.

Aims

The learning outcomes of the course is to connect and practical use the students' knowledge and skills gathering during their studies from managerial-economic areas with a comprehensive evaluation of the functioning of a small company. Through tool of Business Development Assessment, students will be able to identify issues and challenges related to the further direction of their activities and the consequent need for changes made both inside and outside the enterprise. Students diagnose the current functioning of the company and propose appropriate interventions with a view to further direction or improvement of current performance and efficiency.
The subject does not address the start-up phase or the preparation of a business plan for starting a business. Students can apply knowledge and skills in the area of multi-functional project teams responsible for organizational development related to the preparation and implementation of changes in larger enterprises, or as external consultants.

Specification of controlled education, way of implementation and compensation for absences

Attendance at lectures is optional and not controlled. Attendance at seminars is compulsory and controlled. The lecture is controlled by the student's personal presence through enrollment directly. The monitoring of individual activities is carried out in the form of evaluation of participation in processing individual and team tasks and discussions.

Recommended optional programme components

Not applicable.

Prerequisites and corequisites

Not applicable.

Basic literature

Not applicable.

Recommended reading

Not applicable.

Classification of course in study plans

  • Programme BAK-E Bachelor's

    branch BAK-ESBD , 3. year of study, summer semester, compulsory

Type of course unit

 

Lecture

20 hours, optionally

Teacher / Lecturer

Syllabus

The teaching at lectures has the character of basic principles and theory of the discipline. However, a group discussion on selected topics given by the lecturers aims to critically evaluate management approaches and principles of business development to evaluate the broader context of business environment development and their impact on business.

Exercise

10 hours, compulsory

Teacher / Lecturer

Syllabus

The teaching at seminars takes the form of individual and team solutions, including team discussions representing group interaction. Teaching at the exercises requires teamwork and team discussions with the teacher and other members, which will be held at the seminars every week. Students train the ability to solve problems and challenges, critically analyze and evaluate specific approaches and apply them in the context of their own business, formulate and present their ideas clearly. The seminar is focused on practical mastery of the subject matter discussed at lectures.