BMT 1700—Small Business Operations
Three Semester Hours
RM 5/14
Prerequisites
University Prerequisite: BMT 1100 and BMT 1400 are recommended
Course Description
Includes preparation of student for selection and operation of small business. Balanced program of all major aspects confronting small business operator, including finance, personnel, sales, success and failure factors, and business-planning activities.
Methods of Course Instruction
All material for this course is print-based. Instructor and students communicate and exchange materials through postal mail.
E-Print Option
In this course, an option exists to use e-mail to submit your lesson assignments. Your assignment will be returned to you either as an e-mail attachment or as a hard copy sent through the postal mail, depending on the preferences of the instructor and/or program.
Textbooks and Supplies
Longnecker, Justin, J. William Petty, Leslie Palich, and Frank Hoy. Small Business Management . 17th ed. Cengage Learning, 2013. [ISBN: 9781133947752]
Number of Lessons
The course has eight lessons complete with graded assignments, including one course project, and one supervised final examination.
- Lesson 1: Entrepreneurship: A World of Opportunity
- Lesson 2: Starting from Scratch or Joining an Existing Business
- Lesson 3: Developing the New Venture Business Plan
- Lesson 4: Case Analysis #1—Integrity and Ethics
- Lesson 5: Midcourse Project
- Lesson 6: Focusing on the Customer: Making Growth Strategies
- Lesson 7: Managing Growth in the Small Business
- Lesson 8: The Problem-Solving/Decision/Making Model
- Lesson 9: Case Analysis #2—Time Management
- Lesson 10: Final Examination
Types of Writing Assignments
These lessons (with the exception of 4 and 9) will contain the following elements:
- Reading Assignment—This will be derived from the course text with an occasional non-textbook contained reading (included as an appendix in the course guide). Students will need to ensure they have read and absorbed the lesson reading assignment before attempting the remaining elements of the lesson.
- Key Learning Objectives by Chapter—This will be a quick list of key learning objectives emphasized in each lesson.
- Lesson Quiz—Each quiz will consist of 25 multiple-choice and true/false questions covering the core concepts from the lesson. Students will demonstrate their understanding of the material covered in the lesson via their response to instructor-provided questions. Worth 25 points toward the total 50-point lesson grade.
- Applied Learning—This will consist of three applied learning questions related to the required reading for the particular lesson. The questions will be used to demonstrate your applied understanding of several core concepts from the lesson. This element will be worth the remaining 25 points.
Lessons 4 and 9 will allow the students to demonstrate their ability to apply the course topics to a fictional situation. The elements contained in these lessons will be:
- A short reading from course textbook
- Response to five questions utilizing both course concepts and creative thinking
Lesson 4 and 9 Case Analysis assignments are each worth 50 points and their combined total grade will count for 20 percent of your final course grade. Please note that your grade on these two assignments will be determined by the thought and insight that you apply to the five required questions. Minimal effort and thought process will be awarded with a minimal grade.
Grading Criteria
Your final grade for the course will be determined using the following breakdown:
- Lessons Quizzes and Applied Learning Assignments — 30%
- Case Analyses — 20%
- Midcourse Project — 20%
- Final Examination — 30%
- Total — 100%