To develop an understanding of the psychological, sociological and economic theories of enterprise and entrepreneurship and to enable students to understand how to relate these ideas to practice.

Upon successful completion of the module, students should be able to appreciate:

• Skills needed to create an entrepreneurial culture in societies and organisations.
• Skills possessed by the entrepreneur and how these may be acquired in order to create a new venture and/or meet the needs of an entrepreneurial modern economy.

Weeks 4-7:

• Introduction to ETITB Entrepreneurial Skills Module – Module Outline, Expectations, Assessment Process.
• Theories and approaches to entrepreneurship.
• Role of entrepreneurship in society.
• Influences on entrepreneurship development.
• Support for entrepreneurship.

Weeks 8-11:

• Nature, character and behaviour of entrepreneurs.
• Entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation.
• Entrepreneurship, motivation and leadership.
• Entrepreneurship and team building.

Week 12:

• Entrepreneurial new ventures.

Normal lectures in large class and small group tutorials. The teaching and learning methods include the use of lectures supported by tutorials which will be used to explore case studies, provide workshops for techniques and stimulate seminar discussions. Particular emphasis will be placed on the exposure of students to entrepreneurs through visiting speakers.

30 contact hours of lectures and seminars plus 90 hours independent student learning time.

Total student learning time 100 hours.

Recommended background reading

Kirby DA, Entrepreneurship. McGraw-Hill, 2002.

Kuratko DF & Hodgetts RM, Entrepreneurship a Contemporary Approach. 4^th ed. The Dryden Press, 1998.

Wickam P, Strategic Entrepreneurism. 2^nd ed, Pearson Education, 2001.

A wide range of articles from journals and chapters from edited texts will be recommended at the appropriate point in the learning programme.

Required reading 

None

15th August 2006