Duke University
Sociology 190
MMS 190
Capstone Course in the Markets and Management
Program
Spring 2000 M 7-9:30p.m.
Dr. Patricia Thornton
Office: 265 Soc/Psych
Phone: 660-5760
E-mail: thornton@soc.duke.edu
Hours:
M W 3:30-4:30p.m. and by appointment
Required Materials:
Readings are on reserve at Perkins Library in hard copy and online forms and can
be accessed at
http://www.lib.duke.edu/access/reserves.
Subscription to one of the following (wait for introductory organizing session
to order)
a. Sunday edition of the New York Times
b. BusinessWeek
c. The Economist
d.
Wall Street Journal
Course Purpose and Goals:
First, the course synthesizes the Markets and Management core
course curriculum, emphasizing the integration of theoretical concepts and their
application to business settings. Class time is allotted to discussion of social
science theories relevant to business strategy and their application to current
business press articles. Students teams will be responsible for leading class
discussion of scholarly and business press articles. One fourth of the class will
have responsibility for each of the four sources of business press articles from
the above stated sources.
Second, the course will focus on how to develop a case study
of a product, firm, industry, occupation, country, or region. This paper should
draw upon two or more social science theoretical perspectives from core courses.
This research experience should produce a 12-15 page paper.
Third, the course is organized to increase the student's knowledge
of entrepreneurship. It is helpful if students have taken the sociology 159 course
in the M&M curriculum. We will explore how the venture capital industry and
venture capital firms are organized and how new firms are founded with venture
capital. Students will receive training in how to evaluate business plans and
field experience evaluating the top contending plans in a Research Triangle venture
capital firm. Student teams will act as mock venture capital firms and will be
asked to recommend both in writing and in oral presentation which plan to fund.
At the end of the exercise, a partner from the venture capital firm will reveal
which plan was funded and why.
The course is organized as a seminar, allowing students an opportunity to create
learning opportunities for themselves and the seminar community as a whole.
Specific course objectives are to:
1. provide a forum to review, synthesize, and apply social science theoretical
perspectives from previous Markets and Management Program core courses to business
settings.
2. learn to develop a case study paper which draws upon two or more theoretical
perspectives from core courses.
3. increase knowledge of entrepreneurship, business strategy, and how new companies
are founded with venture capital funding.
4. provide a setting in which students learn to work effectively in teams.
5. enable students to learn how to critique business plans.
6. engage students in field experience in a venture capital firm and a professional
business environment.
The course syllabus, information on the case study paper, and the method of grading
of the business plan critique and class presentation are available on the web
site for the sociology department, http://www.soc.duke/edu/courses/MMS190.06/19006syls00.htm.
Requirements:
Four elements determine the course grade. The underlined
links indicate the basis of the grade.
| 15 % |
1) a team project consisting of leading seminar discussion
of a theoretical reading and its application to a business press article. |
| Seminar |
| 15 % |
2) class participation and responsibility for bringing to
class and presenting business press articles that relate to the weeks news
and readings. |
35 % 4) a project in which student teams act as mini venture
capital firms, critiquing and (conducting due diligence) on three business plans
submitted to Intersouth Partners, a well-known venture capital firm in the Research
Triangle. Teams will be selected by the instructor to reflect an equitable distribution
of student knowledge, skills, experience, and interests. This assignment includes
a written critique of each plan, a written comparative analysis of all three
plans, and an oral presentation of 1 of the plans. In total, this entails four
brief papers, 2-3 pages each. In the comparative analysis, student teams are
asked to make recommendations regarding funding.
Business Plan Presentation
Business Plan Evaluation
Student Background
Business plans are proprietary and confidential information. We are fortunate
that the partners at Intersouth have agreed to arrange for the necessary permissions
from entrepreneurs and investors for students to review their plans. It will be
necessary for students to sign confidentiality agreements in order to review these
business plans.
Team members may be asked to evaluate the level of participation of their fellow
team members.
Introduction and Overview of the Course
W 1/12
M 1/17 holiday: Martin Luther King Day
M 1/24
I. Review and Application of Theoretical Perspectives
The following theoretical perspectives will be useful in 3 ways:
1) to better understand the reading of business press articles.
2) to generate and organize ideas for the case study paper.
3) to develop a conceptual framework by which to evaluate business plans.
No business can be founded and continue to survive in isolation. Organizations
of all types must cooperate and compete in complex environments. This strategic
challenge is daunting in todays global business environment. It requires that
founders and managers have a strong sense of business ethics and a command of
different lenses in which to analyze their organization and its competitive position.
A knowledge of business history is important to understanding the institutional
legacies that shape current business practices. Familiarity with theory is important
in anticipating business problems and predicting their potential outcomes. We
will practice this philosophy by applying theoretical perspectives to analyzing
business press articles and business plans.
Perspectives on Strategy
Origin and Diffusion
Meyer, John W. 1994. "Rationalized
Environments." Pp. 28-54 in Institutional Environments and Organizations:
Structural Complexity and Individualism, edited by W. Richard Scott and John
W. Meyer, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
M 1/31
Core Concepts
Porter, Michael 1985. "Competitive Strategy: The
Core Concepts." Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance.
M 2/7
Status
Stuart, Toby E., Ha Hoang, and Ralph C. Hybels 1999. "Interorganizational
Endorsements and the Performance of Entrepreneurial Ventures." Administrative
Science Quarterly. 44:315- 349
M 2/14
The State and Management Culture
Fligstein, Neil 1996. "Markets
as Politics: A Political-Cultural Approach to Market Institutions." American
Sociological Review, 61: 4: 656-673.
M 2/21
Technology
Tushman and Anderson (1986) "Technological Discontinuities
and Organizational Environments. Administrative Science Quarterly 31:439-465.
M 2/28
Nation-State Culture
Biggart, Nicole Woolsey and Mauro F. Guillen
1999. "Developing Difference: Social Organization and the Rise of the Auto Industries
of South Korea, Taiwan, Spain, and Argentina." American Sociological Review
64:722-747.
M 3/6
Globalization
Alderson, Arthur S. (1999). "Explaining Deindustrialization:
Globalization, Failure or Success?" American Sociological Review. 64:
701-721.
Case study papers are due on or before Wednesday 3/8. Late papers will
be down graded.
M 3/13 Spring Break, no class
M 3/20
II. Elements of Business Plan Critique: Contenders to Amazon.com
Spenner, Kenneth, "How to Prepare a Business Plan," teaching case
Sanders, William, 1995 "World Wide Scientific Books," business plan example
Kranberg, Susan "Online Retailing Explosion Hits the Tranquil College Textbook
Market," Publishers Weekly, May 1, 1999.
www.amazon.com, click on About Amazon.com.
M 3/27
Venture Capital: Firms and the Industry
Dougherty, Dennis "Venturing Forth," Entrepreneur's Guide, Council
for Entrepreneurial Development
National Venture Capital Association, "The Venture Capital Industry," http://www.nvca.org/def.html,
(obtain article from web link)
Bygrave, William and Timmons, Jeffrey, 1992 Venture Capital at the Crossroads,
chapter 1
Florida, Richard and Kenney, Martin 1988 "Venture Capital, High Technology, and
Regional Development," Regional Studies 22(1): 33-48.
Guest Speaker: Mitch Mumma, Partner, Intersouth Partners
M 4/3
Free Class for business plan critique teams
Business plan critiques are due Friday 4/7. Late critiques will be down
graded.
M 4/10
III. Critique of business plans
Presentation of critiques by Teams
Guest speaker: Mitch Mumma, Partner, Intersouth Partners
M 4/17
Presentation of critiques by Teams
Guest Speaker: Mitch Mumma, Partner, Intersouth Partners
Topic:
Which Plan did Intersouth Fund and Why?
M 4/24
Course Conclusion, Reflection, and Evaluation