GHANA COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY UNIVERSITY

((FACULTY OF COMPUTING AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS)

Course Title: Principles of Entrepreneurship

Course Code: IT 276
Programme: BIT
Semester: Second
Level: Level 200
Venue: CIC / (Online)
Lecturer: Dr. Afia N. Boakye
Office Location: Room No. 55 Blk A
Email: [email protected]
OFFICE HOURS FOR MEETING STUDENTS (BY APPOINTMENT)

COURSE DESCRIPTION AND OBJECTIVES

This course is designed to introduces students to a wide array of entrepreneurial concepts
and skills, create awareness of entrepreneurship among students, make them appreciate
entrepreneurship as well as inspire them. In our rapidly changing and uncertain world with
unemployment bedeviling economies around the world, students need to develop
Entrepreneurial Mindset (EM) essential so as to take charge of their own lives after
school, as well as exhibit entrepreneurial behaviours such as opportunity
recognition/creation and exploitation to create jobs for themselves. The Entrepreneurship
Mindset Index (EMI) according to the ‘Network of Teachers of Entrepreneurship’
(www.nfte.com) comprises “Future orientation, Comfort with risk, Opportunity

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recognition, Initiative and self-reliance, Communication and collaboration, Creativity and
innovation, Critical thinking and problem solving, and Flexibility and adaptability”. Once
students developed their EM, they are able to take action in any situation anytime and
anywhere, for the benefit of others and society at large.
The course topics include introduction to entrepreneurship and the role of entrepreneurs
and entrepreneurship in the 21st century global economy; the link between
imagination, creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship; developing entrepreneurial
mindset, the five main skills practicing entrepreneurship, and generating new ideas;
design thinking and entrepreneurship; the examination of feasibility studies; testing and
experimentation in the market; entrepreneurial marketing and finding the right customer,
development of business concept, customer value preposition, model, and business
plans; resourcing new opportunities and financing for startups; entrepreneurial teams;
marketing and pitching your idea; small business strategies and business growth etc.

By the end of this course students will be able to:

1) Appreciate the need of entrepreneurship and its impact on economic and societal
development;
2) Acquire Entrepreneurial Mindset and demonstrate they can take responsibility of their
own lives after school;
3) Demonstrate the connection between imagination, creativity, innovation, and
entrepreneurship;
4) Explain why testing and experimenting in markets is essential to entrepreneurial
success;
5) Define what it takes to resource new opportunities and finance startups;
6) Develop their own business concepts, models, and business plans and appreciate their
importance to the uniqueness of their businesses and success
7) Compose appropriate entrepreneurial teams for a successful exploitation of an
entrepreneurial opportunity;
8) Differentiate between marketing and pitching their business ideas;
9) Formulate small business strategies essential for startups and their growth

Teaching approach/Mode of Delivery

- Lectures, interactive sessions, zoom, lecture slides, recordings, real-world project
assignments: within Ghanaian Industries/ industrial visits, student presentations, critical
analysis of case studies, work within Ghana Industries .etc.
- Students will be expected to cover thoroughly the reading assigned for each class before
coming for lectures.
- All assignments must be submitted by the given deadline.

Class Attendance and Classroom Discipline:

To be allowed to write the final exams, each and every student must attend at least 70% of
the lectures. Every student is to be seated before the time for the commencement of the
class. No lateness to class. Attendance to each class will be taken.

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Mode of Assessment
Lecturer will evaluate/assess student’s work as follows
a) Continuous Assessment: 40%
1) Active Class Contribution, Class Attendance 10%
2) Group Live Business Case Project 15%
4) Mid-Semester Exams/ Industrial Visit Report 15%
b) End of Semester Exams:

60% 40% Continuous Assessment + Exams: 60% =

100%

(Essential Readings)
1. Burns, P. (2011). Entrepreneurship & Small Business: Start-up, growth & maturity. Third
Edition. Palgrave Macmillan: UK, England, New York, NY.

2. Neck, H.M, Neck, C. P. & Murray, E.L. (2018). Entrepreneurship: The Practice &
Mindset. SAGE Publications, Inc.

(Recommended Readings)
 Small Business Management & Entrepreneurship; by David Stokes & Nick Wilson
(2010). Cengage Learning EMEA.
 Introduction to Entrepreneurship by Donald Kuratko 8th Ed (2009)
 Corporate Innovation and Entrepreneurship by; Donald Kuratko., Michael H.Morris.,
Jerry G. Covin 2nd Ed (2008)
 Entrepreneurship: A Process Perspective, South-Western CENGAGE learning, 2007
by: Baron. R. and Shane. S., Barrow, C., Barrow, P. and Brown, R. (2008).
 The Business Plan Workbook: The Definitive Guide to Researching, Writing Up and
Presenting a Winning Plan, 6th Edition, Kogan Page
 Exploring Entrepreneurship by: Blundel R, Lockett N (2011) Oxford OUP 978-0-19-
921155-
 Managing and Shaping Innovation by: Conway S, Steward F (2009) Oxford OUP
978-0-19-926226-7
 Entrepreneurship: by: Robert, Hisrich, Michael Peters and Dean Shepherd. (2013).9th
Edition, Mc Graw Hill
 All You Need to Know About Entrepreneurship by: Stephen E.K. Loh (2010), Inner
Business Services
 Growing Concerns: Building and Managing the Smaller Business by: David E.
Gumpert (1994), John Wiley & Sons
 New Venture Creation: Entrepreneurship for the 21st Century by Stephen Spinelli Jnr.
and Robert J. Adams Jnr. McGraw Hill (2012), 9th Edition

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  The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Building a Better Business Plan: A Step-by-Step
Approach by Harold J. McLaughlin (1992), John Wiley and Sons

WEEKLY OUTLINE/ COURSE SCHEDULE

Week Topic Content Chapter
Ref.
Weeks 1&2 Introduction to  Definition of entrepreneurship Chapter 1 of Burns, P.
Entrepreneurship, the  Characteristics of an (2011).
Role of entrepreneur
Entrepreneurship &  The stuff of dreams ACTIVITY 1
Entrepreneurs in the  The entrepreneurial revolution Let students in teams go
21st Century  The economics of online in class to identify
entrepreneurship
1-2 entrepreneurs who
 Entrepreneurs and owner-
have made the world’s 10
managers
 Lifestyle and growth firms or 15 billionaires’ list and
find out the following:
1. What business
are they into and
how did they
discover their
ideas?
2. How did they
develop their
ideas into
successful
business?
3. What
entrepreneurial
traits have they
demonstrated and
how do those
traits compare
with non-
entrepreneurs?
4. What is the
impact of their
businesses?
Week 3 Imagination,  Imagination and Link to Chapter 5
Creativity, Innovation, Entrepreneurship of Burns, P. (2011)
& Entrepreneurship  Creativity and Link to
Entrepreneurship ACTIVITY 1
 Blocks/barriers to creativity -Provide live business cases
 Innovation and Link to for students in teams to
Entrepreneurship analyze them from creative
 Blocks to Innovation and and innovative perspectives
Entrepreneurship (including the barriers).

ACTIVITY 2
- Involve students in real life
company visits for
interactions to see for
themselves whether creativity
and innovation are at work.

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Week 4
Introduction to “Live  Live Problem Solving for the 1.Optimizing the Power of
Complex Challenges of the 21st Century Action Learning: Real
Entrepreneurial  Defining a problem: What is a Time Strategies for
Problem Solving & problem? What (a “Live Developing Leaders,
Industry Readiness” Problem” is). Difference Building Teams &
between a Problem and a Transforming
Puzzle Organizations, Third
 Problem Solving Capability Edition. By Michael J.
 Problem Solving Marquardt, Shannon
Methodologies: Action Banks, Peter Cauwelier,
Learning as the primary 21st Choong Seng Ng, (2018)
Century Problem Solving
Methodology 2.Bulletproof Problem
 The Seven-Steps Process Solving: The One Skill That
 Pitfalls and Common Mistakes Changes Everything. By
 The Bulletproof Problem- Charles Conn & Robert
Solving Approach McLean (2018)
 Wicked Problems
 Becoming a Great Problem
Solver ACTIVITY 1
Diverse teams of students to
proactively identify a live
business challenge and solve
it to create new values
including the creation of new
entrepreneurial products and
services.
ACTIVITY 2
Students to individually
watch Design Thinking
videos assigned, and analyze
them.

ACTIVITY 3
Students in diverse teams to
analyze ‘design thinking’
cases and critically analyze
them.
Week 5 Design Thinking as a  What is design thinking? Chapter 6 of Neck et al.
Problem-Solving  Design thinking as a human- (2018). Entrepreneurship:
Method and centered process The Practice & Mindset.
Entrepreneurship.  Design thinking requires
empathy
 The design thinking process:
inspiration, ideation,
implementation

Week 6 Developing an  Two Perspectives on Chapter 3 and 5 of Neck et

Entrepreneurial Entrepreneurship al. (2018). Entrepreneurship:
Mindset, the Five  The power of mindset The Practice & Mindset.
Skills of Practicing  What is mindset?
Entrepreneurship, and  The Five Skills of Practicing
Generating New Ideas Entrepreneurship
 The entrepreneurial
opportunity & opportunity
recognition
 Two pathways to opportunity

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 identification
Week 7 MIDSEM/ MIDSEM/ INDUSTRAIL MIDSEM / INDUSTRAIL
INDUSTRAIL VISIT VISIT VISIT
Week 8 The IDEATE Method:  Introduction to IDEATE The IDEATE Method:
Identifying High Method as an ACRONYM Identifying High-Potential
Potential  IDENTIFY Entrepreneurial Ideas
Entrepreneurial Ideas  DISCOVER Authors: Cohen, D., Pool,
 ENHANCE G., & H. Neck (2021).
 ANTICIPATE SAGE Publications, Inc.
 TARGET
 EVALUATE
 IDEATE 50 More
 CHOOSE ONE BIG,
VALUABLE, IMPACTFUL,
FEASIBLE, AND
PROFITABLE IDEA.
Week 9 Testing &  What are experiments? Chapter 7 & 8 of Neck et al.
Experimentation in  The six steps of scientific (2018). Entrepreneurship:
Markets. experimentation The Practice & Mindset
 Types of experiments
 What is a business model? ACTIVITY 1
Students get into the real-
Practicing world to try out a new idea,
Entrepreneurial  Components of ETA document their experiences,
Thought & Action  Practice of ETA analyze them, and share
(ETA) them.

Week 10 Entrepreneurial Chapter 16 of Neck et al.

Marketing and  The Role of Marketing & (2018). Entrepreneurship:
Finding the Right Pitching in Entrepreneurship The Practice & Mindset
Customer  The Basic Principles of
Marketing
 Entrepreneurial Marketing
 Traditional Versus
Entrepreneurial Marketing
 Marketing Yourself
Business Model/  Business Model, Types, and
Networking in Development Chapter 8 and 14 of Neck et
Entrepreneurship  Customer Value Preposition al. (2018).
and Types
 Business Model Canvas

Weeks 11 REVISION WEEK REVISION WEEK REVISION WEEK

Week 12&13 EXAMS EXAMS EXAMS