Strategic Management (SGM)

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. Leading and Managing Small Businesses and New Ventures (for non-business students). 3 Credit Hours.

This course is designed to introduce students with limited or no business background to the critical business leadership, management, and strategy tools and perspectives needed to run a small business, enterprise, or organization as well as to launch a new venture and become a successful entrepreneur. Whether you want to move into leadership/management roles, 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 and strategy will help you achieve these goals. NOTE: Business students are not eligible to register for this course and should consider SGM 3503 Lean Startup 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. 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 students already have an idea for a new venture prior to enrolling in this course. Student who do not yet have an idea should consider taking SGM 3501. 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. Launch a New Venture in 100 Days. 3 Credit Hours.

Successful entrepreneurs need to adapt to changing circumstances and pivot as they launch, sustain, and grow their ventures. This reality is captured in the mantra--ready, fire, aim--which summarizes a fail-fast, learn, adapt, and succeed model that is taking over nearly 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, you may be able to create a business that provides a primary or secondary income, take part in the growing gig economy, make some money by selling a profitable venture, or save money to start your 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 your 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.

Course Attributes: SE, SF, SP, SS

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

SGM 3521. Pitching and Funding Entrepreneurial Ventures. 3 Credit Hours.

In this course you will learn to tell your story in a compelling way so you can pitch a venture concept to funding sources. This course discusses a range of equity and non-equity financing options available to organizations today. Students will meet real angel and VC investors who will speak as guests in the class and will have a chance to look at the actual pitches that have recently been funded (or not) in the Philadelphia new venture scene. 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.

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

SGM 3525. The Consulting Engagement: Managing Projects and Change. 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. 1 to 6 Credit Hour.

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. Social Impact Internship - Work with Benefit/B-corps, Non-profits, or Multi-bottom-line Ventures. 3 Credit Hours.

Modern organizations increasingly care about their impact - whether they are focused 100% on addressing a social issue or on balancing profit motives with creating a positive impacts on other stakeholders. Multi-bottom-line, benefit or B-corps, non-profits, and other social impact organizations still need a viable strategy, need to be successfully managed, and need to create value in the world (often for multiple stakeholder groups simultaneously). In this internship course students will have the opportunity to work in a Social Impact organization so that they can leverage their energy and expertise to create a positive impact in the world while gaining real-world work experience, building their resume, and networking with social impact professionals. Every semester we have dozens of internships available and students can bring their own opportunities to the class. Please check Banner and contact faculty for more details on available internships.

Course Attributes: SF

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 on a specific high-value project in an entrepreneurial new venture or entrepreneurial support organization (e.g., accelerator, incubator, investment group). In coursework, students will learn practical management approaches necessary for dynamic entrepreneurial settings. Emphasis is placed on helping students understand how they create value for the organization while making sure they learn practical professional skills and approaches to managing themselves, their supervisors, and the projects they are running. Every semester we have dozens of internships available and students can bring their own opportunities to the class. The best internships are typically with smaller, high-growth entrepreneurial companies and organizations - not with large, traditional organizations (and rarely with family or friends or organizations you are already familiar with). Please check Banner and contact faculty for more details on available internships.

Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.

SGM 4596. Strategic Business Planning: Feasibility Assessment / Business Planning for Entrepreneurial Ventures. 3 Credit Hours.

The business plan is frequently misunderstood and assumed to be most relevant when entrepreneurs seek external funding. In reality, business plans encourage entrepreneurs and managers alike to invest some thought, time, and ink before they risk a great deal more time and resources launching an ill-conceived new venture. In addition, business plans are frequently underappreciated as a vital instrument for existing businesses. When evaluating a new product launch, modified offering, market entry, or making other changes to existing business models, a business plan can help convince internal stakeholders as well as external partners to support the new venture. This course teaches students some very practical skills including how to do a complete market and financial feasibility analysis of a new venture idea as well as how to flesh-out a business concept via a business plan. In addition, all students will present their ideas to experienced entrepreneurs for feedback and have the opportunity to submit their ventures to the Be Your Own Boss Bowl (BYOBB) competition.

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.

Pre-requisites: Minimum grade of C- in (SGM 3501 or SGM 3504), SGM 3503, and (BA 2196 or BA 2996)