Strategic Management (SGM)

Courses

SGM 0827. Creativity and Organizational Innovation. 3 Credit Hours.

Being creative is about solving problems or approaching opportunities in novel and valuable ways. This course is designed to help ALL students better harness their full creative potential - whether you think: "I am not creative" or "I already have more ideas than I can handle", this class will help you come up with more creative ideas that offer more value and have greater impact on the world. Although creativity has been studied by nearly every professional domain, this course focuses on creativity as a driver of organizational innovation - from non-profits to small businesses and large corporations to students' own entrepreneurial startups, creativity and innovation are critical to providing value and ensuring long-term survival. Throughout this course students will develop important life skills while learning to creatively solve problems through a number of real-world innovation challenges. No matter what career or profession you are going into, being more creative and appreciating how and why modern organizations function the way that they do will help you to be more valuable, more employable, more innovative, and more entrepreneurial.

Course Attributes: GB

Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.

SGM 2525. Management Consulting: Principles and Practices. 3 Credit Hours.

Whether your goal as a management consultant is to join a dedicated firm, operate in-house, or launch your own practice, the factors for success are similar. This course focuses on the skills (hard and soft), methods, and practices of successful consultants. Consulting is highly practical; therefore, the course includes many practical exercises with content from experts in the field. Research projects and project simulations will be evaluated by senior practitioners from industry, including the course instructor. A personal assessment and individual development plan will help you identify and map the best path to a career in consulting. [Note: This course would also benefit aspiring entrepreneurs and students preparing for the capstone.]

Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.

SGM 3001. Becoming a Manager: Building, Leading, and Managing New and Small Businesses. 3 Credit Hours.

This course is designed to introduce students with limited or no business background to the critical business management skills and tools needed to run a small enterprise or to launch a new venture and become a successful entrepreneur. Whether you want to become a manager, build a consulting or freelance business, start a new for-profit or non-profit venture, or simply want to be more successful working in any organization, understanding the fundamentals of management will help you achieve these goals. Traditional as well as cutting edge management principles will be discussed and students will learn to develop marketing plans, staffing and operational plans, and to analyze the financial viability of various business ideas. NOTE: Business students are not eligible to register for this course and should consider SGM 3503 instead.

College Restrictions: May not be enrolled in one of the following Colleges: Business & Mngmnt, Fox School.

Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.

SGM 3002. Be Your Own Boss: Planning to Start Your Own Business. 3 Credit Hours.

It's a fact: Entrepreneurs report greater satisfaction with their work. Chief among the reasons for this is the freedom to determine their own destiny and the appreciation of having a direct impact with their work. In the current economic climate, more and more students are finding entrepreneurial career paths offer them better or complementary options to traditional employment. This course provides students with an understanding of how to research, write, and present effective business plans. The business plan is a critical strategic document used to plan the launch, pivot, or growth of an enterprise. Students will learn about the interrelationship among the various aspects of the plan including the industry, target market, competition, marketing strategy, human resources, financial resources, and management team among others. Students will also learn about presenting the business plan as they engage in mock presentations to local entrepreneurs and venture capital investors.

NOTE: We recommend that non-business students take both an 'Entrepreneurial Thinking' and 'Entrepreneurial Management' course prior to taking SGM 3002 since students should have a feasible business idea prior to class start. Students who do not meet these criteria may be required to complete additional supplementary work and may want to contact the professor to find out if they are sufficiently prepared to take this course. Students cannot receive credit for both SGM 3002 and SGM 4596; Fox Entrepreneurship Majors should take SGM 4596 instead of this course.

Field of Study Restrictions: May not be enrolled in one of the following Majors: Entrprnrship & Innovation Mgt, Entrepreneurship.

Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.

SGM 3501. Entrepreneurial and Innovative Thinking. 3 Credit Hours.

Thinking like an entrepreneur is about seeing opportunities and passionately pursuing them. Anyone can be entrepreneurial -- whether you start the next Facebook, take control of your work-life balance with a lifestyle business, have an impact on the world with a social venture, or drive change and innovation in an existing company. The goal of this course is not to teach students to start a venture nor to manage a business (this is covered in later courses) but to help you understand the hidden value of your ideas. By highlighting the impact of various types of innovation in driving the development of industries and technological fields, we demonstrate the importance of strategy, competitive advantage, core competencies, and value chains to organizations and industries. By training students to identify opportunities and creatively solve problems, we help develop invaluable skills and perspectives that will make anyone more successful in their professional life. Finally, by showing students all the options that entrepreneurship offers as a potential career path, we begin the process of training you to become a successful entrepreneur.

Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.

SGM 3503. Lean Startup: Fast and Inexpensive Ways to Test and Launch Your Ideas. 3 Credit Hours.

Have an idea for a new product or service? Want to start your own business, non-profit, or social-impact venture? Ready to innovate in existing organizations? Creating something new doesn't have to require months or years of planning and development. This hands-on course will teach you fast and economical ways to get out of the classroom to test your ideas and launch your business. The Lean Startup or Lean Launchpad approach has transformed the way that entrepreneurship is taught and practiced and has even changed how the most innovative organizations in the world invent new products and services or reinvent themselves via innovation. This course will help you become a more proactive and successful entrepreneur and innovator. No previous experience or courses in business or entrepreneurship required. NOTE: Prior to fall 2018, the course title was "Lean Startup: Fast and Frugal Approaches to High-Impact New Ventures, Product Invention, and Innovation."

Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.

SGM 3504. Ready, Fire, Aim: Launching a Profitable Micro-venture in 100 Days. 3 Credit Hours.

It has been said by many successful entrepreneurs and venture capitalists that NO venture is ever successful with its original business model--they all pivot by adapting their product, targeting a different market segment, changing their revenue model, etc. This reality is captured in the mantra--ready, fire, aim--which summarizes a fail-fast, learn, adapt, and succeed model that is taking over virtually all domains of entrepreneurship and innovation (from new venture launch to new product development). This course takes this idea to the streets as students identify an opportunity and work alone or in small teams to launch a business, pivot and adapt to real-time evidence gathered, and become profitable all during a single semester. Although not all students will launch their dream venture in this short time, they may be able to create a business that provides passive income, lets them exit by selling a profitable venture to someone, or allows them to save money to start their next venture. However, more than anything the real learning (and fun) begins once you get out of your head and the classroom to actually launch a business.

Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.

SGM 3511. Doing Well by Doing Good: Where Innovation and Entrepreneurship Meet Social Impact. 3 Credit Hours.

These days the boundary between for-profit and social entrepreneurial ventures is increasingly becoming blurred. Every company, large and small, is making the multi bottom line of people-planet-profit an all-important goal. If you work in any organization or want to start a new venture of your own it is critical that you prioritize "purpose" or create "meaning." Organizations that ignore their impact on society and the world miss out on opportunities for innovation as well as the immense competitive advantage to having a positive social impact (i.e., doing good) while you do well. If you make meaning you will make people want to write stories about you, want to work for you, and want to buy from you. This course will explore the various ways the emerging U.S. social enterprise sector is evolving. More broadly, this class examines the ways in which entrepreneurship and business in general is embedded in--and affects--larger social, cultural, ecological, and economic relationships.

Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.

SGM 3521. Finance Your Ideas: Crowdfunding, Grants, Banks, Venture Funds, Corporate and Private Investment. 3 Credit Hours.

In this course you will get out of the classroom and pitch a source (or sources) in order to find funding for your (or your team's) business idea. Ultimately, every pitch requires a feasible business idea but whether you head to Kickstarter to produce a crowdfunding video pitch, present your business plan to a bank, apply for a government grant, present to the powers-that-be inside an existing organization, or pitch to the angels and VC investors that will be invited as guests to the class, will depend on the type of business idea you have. This course discusses a range of equity and non-equity financing options available to organizations today. One of the biggest problems for Temple entrepreneurs is financing their ideas--although securing funding is always difficult, this course helps you appreciate several options you have and the implications for each. A special focus will be paid to the investment decision (i.e., what does it take to persuade an investor to part with their hard earned money) and students will gain insights into factors that influence the viability and financial health of a business as well as the steps that can be taken to increase venture valuation.

NOTE: Most students that take this course should enter having already assessed the viability of their idea for a new venture. We recommend that students take both an 'Entrepreneurial Thinking' (e.g. SGM 3501, 0827, 5117) and 'Entrepreneurial Management' (e.g. SGM 3503, 3001, 5187) course prior to taking SGM 3521. Students who do not meet this criteria may be required to complete additional supplementary work and may want to contact the professor to find out if they are sufficiently prepared to take this course. Entrepreneurship majors may want to consider taking SGM 3521 at the same time or even after SGM 4596.

Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.

SGM 3525. Engagement Management. 3 Credit Hours.

In management consulting, project management and change management are two sides of the same coin. This course presents both the tools and practices successful consultants use to manage both the process and the people. The engagement management component of the course focuses three critical activities: 1) From RFP to scope to exit interview, managing the client, 2) Project panning across the boundaries that divide consultant and client, and 3) How to analyze, manage and report upon the financial components of a project, including project ROI. The second half of the course addresses the need for leaders to manage employees and other key stakeholders through transformational change, and the role the consultant plays in the process. By understanding the challenges of managing people through complex change, as well as the methodologies, tools and proven approaches of successful consultants, students can ensure enterprise-wide understanding, buy-in and collaboration throughout the transformation process.

Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.

SGM 3580. Special Topics - Strategic Management. 3 Credit Hours.

Special topics in current developments in the field of general and strategic management.

College Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Colleges: Business & Mngmnt, Fox School.

Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.

SGM 3582. Independent Study. 3 Credit Hours.

Readings and/or papers under supervision of a faculty member.

College Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Colleges: Business & Mngmnt, Fox School.

Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.

SGM 3585. Incubator Internship: Contribute, Connect and Learn as a Part of the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem. 3 Credit Hours.

Accelerators and incubators have proven to be quite successful at launching and enabling successful new ventures. These programs help organizations move through multiple milestones and stages, constantly evaluating the success and prospects for the venture, and recommend pivots or changes in the core concept as necessary. This process requires support personnel with a huge range of experience - from business students to work on marketing plans and business models, to engineers and computer programmers to help build prototypes, to law / legal studies students to help assess IP and other legal issues related to incorporation, to media and communication students to generate press or help create videos and webpages for crowdfunding campaigns. In this internship students will be placed in one of these accelerators/incubators so that they can leverage their expertise, gain experience (and a portfolio) working with various new ventures, enhance their networks, and learn what makes these ventures succeed vs. fail. Accelerator/incubator options include those that help Temple students, those that assist with technology commercialization, those that focus on small businesses in North Philly, those focused on app-based companies, and many more both within Temple and elsewhere in the region or around the country / world. Note: Please check http://iei.temple.edu/internships or email: entrepreneurial-internships@temple.edu with questions or for more information (students must have their internship arranged and complete necessary paperwork before the first week of class or they will be dropped from the course).

Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.

SGM 3682. Independent Study. 3 Credit Hours.

Readings and/or papers under supervision of a faculty member.

College Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Colleges: Business & Mngmnt, Fox School.

Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.

SGM 3685. New Venture Internship: Learning to be a High-Value Employee, Manager, or Founder. 3 Credit Hours.

During this semester long course, students will work in an entrepreneurial new venture on a specific high-value project (internships are 100 hours). In parallel to the internship, students will be working with the course faculty in one-on-one, team, and group sessions as they learn how to manage a project. Emphasis is placed on helping students understand how they create value for the organization they are working with while making sure they learn the most from the experience themselves. The Entrepreneurship program typically has a number of internships available or students are welcome to come to the course with an internship opportunity in mind. We strongly recommend that students take the opportunity to reach out to companies and organizations that they really want to work in. The best internships are typically with smaller, high-growth entrepreneurial companies and organizations - not with large, traditional organizations (and not with family or friends).

NOTE: Please check http://iei.temple.edu/internships for more information.

Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.

SGM 4596. Strategic Planning: The Business Plan as a Strategic Tool for Existing Businesses and Entrepreneurs. 3 Credit Hours.

The business plan (BP) is frequently misunderstood and assumed to be most relevant when entrepreneurs seek external funding. In actuality, the BP simply encourages entrepreneurs and managers alike to invest some thought, some time, and some ink before they risk a great deal more time, resources, and money launching an ill-conceived new venture. In addition, the BP is frequently underappreciated as a vital instrument for existing businesses. Senior managers often evaluate a potential departure from existing business models by engaging multiple internal stakeholders, hiring consultants, benchmarking and establishing milestones--as momentum builds the process takes on a life of its own. Ultimately, a great deal could have been saved if a BP had been created from the start. This course teaches students a very practical skill--the know-how to fully develop and flesh-out an innovative new business model via a business plan. In addition, all students will present their ideas to experienced entrepreneurs for feedback and have the opportunity to submit their BP to the Be Your Own Boss Bowl (BYOBB) competition for a chance to win $125k+.

Field of Study Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Fields of study: Accounting, Actuarial Science, Business Management, Economics, Economics, Entrprnrship & Innovation Mgt, Entrepreneurship, Finance, Financial Planning, Human Resource Management, International Business, Law & Business, Legal Studies, Management Information Systems, Marketing, Real Estate, Risk Management and Insurance, Supply Chain Management, Statistical Sci + Data Analyt, Undeclared-Business & Mngt.
College Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Colleges: Business & Mngmnt, Fox School.

Course Attributes: WI

Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.