FEATURE
PAPER
A
21st Century Model of Entrepreneurship Education: Overcoming
Traditional
Barriers to Learning
The
following paper was presented at the 2006 Allied Academies
Conference in New Orleans. It was written by Brooke R. Envick
and Prasad Padmanabhan of St. Mary's University.
Abstract
This
paper introduces scholars in the discipline of entrepreneurship
to a 21st century model of delivering interdisciplinary entrepreneurship
education. The basic premise behind the model truly differentiates
it from common entrepreneurship programs, which is the capability
to overcome five traditional barriers to learning: isolation,
time, limited expertise, cost, and rapid globalization.
Readers
are provided the essence and effective of the program, and
are invited to learn more about it and consider its adoption
at their own universities.
Introduction
Since 2000,
there has been a tremendous proliferation of entrepreneurial
programs and courses in the college and business school curricula
(Osborne, 2000). This has been triggered in part by the recognition
that small businesses create the majority of new jobs in
the country (Nunn & Ehlen 2001), and by a need for colleges
and universities to differentiate their product offerings
in order to attract students due to increased competition.
Unfortunately, undergraduate education is still too compartmentalized
into rigidly defined disciplines. As a result, students do
not get the required exposure in academia to adequately function
in the real world (Smith, Hornsby, & Kite 2000). Although
disciplined based teaching can improve the analytical skills
of students (Borg & Borg 2001), they cannot easily impart
the tools necessary for the students to deal with uncertainty
in an environment characterized by globalization and rapid
change.
Entrepreneurship,
by definition, is an area of study that is centered on dealing
with ambiguity, uncertainty, and complexity. Emmett (1999),
Glennon (1966), Begley & Boyd (1987)
and Lambing & Kuehl (2000), among others, document evidence that entrepreneurs
tolerate uncertainty and ambiguity better than others. Hence, it seems important
that entrepreneurship courses should make attempts to educate students on how
to deal with these issues. In a recent paper
Envick, Madison & Priesmeyer (2003) present a cross-course project model that
employs the contents of one course to help teach the learning objectives of another
course in an effort to remedy the deficiencies of traditional courses, and by
creating situations where students are forced to deal with uncertainty and ambiguity.
Unfortunately, this model is still limited by the structured environment of a
traditional classroom setting.
Read the Entire Paper...
TIP
OF THE WEEK
The
Challenge of Firing Yourself
Many of
the risks from customer relationship to management strength
are connected to the central role that you as owner play
in the business, you not only have to fire your wife, but
also fire yourself. You want to bring in professional management
to remove yourself as the linchpin of the operation. You've
decided to try to make yourself dispensable.
It is harder
to replace yourself than it looks. First of all, you know
that all entrepreneurs are one-of-a-kind, so replacing yourself
is impossible. Second, at this point in the development of
the business, what is needed is not a clone but a person
with the ability to take the business to its next level.
Finally, you need someone who can live in the shadow of your
overlarge ego and ambitions for the business, yet still have
the creativity and drive to take it where it needs to go.
And the new leader will have to be able to withstand any
family crosswinds affecting the business.
Despite
the obstacles, for any one of a number of reasons, you are
looking for a "professional manager." It could be that you
are preparing to sell the business or otherwise make a graceful
exit. Or it may be because you would like a better lifestyle
or quality of life (since most entrepreneurs have none!)
or because the company has grown beyond your comfort level
and you want some managerial talent. Think of yourself as
Bill Gates stepping aside and bringing in Steve Ballmer.
Is this easy? Never. Like most entrepreneurs, you're probably
a control-hound and will have a hard time letting go (more
on this later). But you've decided to do it for the good
of yourself and the company. So, how do you undertake this
process?
The
Costs of Failure
First,
most entrepreneurs really do not take the process of finding
the new CEO seriously enough. They do not focus on the stark
fact that if you hire the wrong person, the costs are simply
enormous. Let's ponder this for a second. If your new CEO
will make $250,000 per year, you have likely paid a recruiting
firm at least $90,000. That's money down the drain. It probably
will take you six months to figure out that it is not working,
and another six months to get up the guts to admit your mistake
and make a change. Price: $250,000 in salary and $90,000
fee down the drain. On top of that, add the severance: six
months' minimum, going nowhere. Price: $125,000. So now you're
out a galling $465,000 for your bad hire -- and we are just
getting warmed up.
The hard
costs are actually the less painful part. Morale is probably
low, and you have lost a few key people. Price: high! Worse,
your customers may be upset, and you are losing sales. Price:
Literally $1 million in equity value. Then you personally
step back in to take the wheel and right the ship. Price:
high! Massive stress!
And just
when you've gotten to the end of this disaster, like in the
movie Groundhog Day, the alarm goes off, and you start the
process all over again with a new recruiter. Another hundred
grand sails out the door. The total costs are well into the
millions by now, topped off with that new pacemaker you had
to get when you were about to strangle your recruiter, or
even better, strangle yourself, for not hiring the right
person. And then there's the hair loss! Now that is a real
cost!
I think
you get the idea. You cannot afford to botch this hire! It
will cost you a bundle, and all the peace and serenity that
you expect to get out of having a professional manager on
board will be turned into bitter agony and a sinkhole for
your time and energy. You cannot take this seriously enough.
Make sure you get it right.
| Rick
Rickertsen with Robert Gunther. Sell Your Business
Your Way: Getting out, Getting Rich, and Getting on With
Your Life AMACOM New York. 2006. p59& 60. |
ANNOUNCEMENTS
The
Nascent 500 Business Plan Challenge
One trip
around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the back of a limo
-- 500 seconds. That's all the time you get to impress the
judges in this unique business plan challenge. Twelve teams
will be selected from their written plans to present in person
with only four banked corners to make their sell. There is
a $10,000 award for the winning team. The contest is presented
by the Miller College of Business at Ball State University.
Entry forms are due December 5, 2006. Forms and additional
information available at http://www.bsu.edu/entrepreneurship
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CONFERENCES
ABEAI
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| Who: |
Applied
Business and Entrepreneurship Association International
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| What: |
Annual
Meeting
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| Where: |
Marriott
Waikoloa Beach Resort, Kona, Hawaii, USA |
| When: |
November
16-20, 2006 |
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Chaos
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| Who: |
Center
for Brand Research
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The
2006 Chaos Conference
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| Where: |
Austin,
Texas |
| When: |
November
17-18, 2006 |
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DSI
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| Who: |
Decision
Sciences Institute
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| What: |
37th
Annual Meeting
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| Where: |
San
Antonia, TX, USA |
| When: |
November
18-21, 2006 |
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IPSI
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Internet,
Processing, Systems, and Interdisciplinary (Research)
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IPSI
2006 - Slovenia
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Lake
Bled, Slovenia |
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November
30-December 3, 2006 |
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USCPFA
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US
China People Friendship Association
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2nd
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Loyola
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December
2, 2006 |
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CALLS FOR PAPERS
CIJM
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| Who: |
Cyprus
International Journal of Management |
| What: |
11th
volume, No.1, Autumn 2006 of the Cyprus International
Journal of Management
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| Where: |
N/A |
| When: |
May
24-27, 2007 |
Submission
Deadline:
November 30, 2006
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HIC
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| Who: |
Hawaii
International Conference
|
| What: |
7th
Annual Hawaii International Conference on Business
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| Where: |
Waikiki
Beach Marriott Resort & Spa, Honolulu Hawaii,
USA |
| When: |
May
24-27, 2007 |
Submission
Deadline:
January 19, 2007
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IFERA
|
| Who: |
International
Family Enterprise Research Academy
|
| What: |
7th
Annual IFERA Conference 2007
|
| Where: |
European
Business School, Oestrich-Winkel, Germany |
| When: |
June
20-23, 2007 |
Submission
Deadline:
February 10, 2007
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FHSU
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| Who: |
Fort
Hays State University
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| What: |
Annual
Business and Leadership Symposium 2007
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| Where: |
Hays,
Kansas |
| When: |
September
26-27, 2007 |
Submission
Deadline:
September 17, 2007
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