Entrepreneurship and Small Business

• Credit value: 15 credits at Level 6
• Convenor: Professor Muthu De Silva
• Tutors: Professor Muthu De Silva, Professor Helen Lawton Smith
• Prerequisites: Management Studies I and Management Studies II
• Assessment: a two-hour examination (85%) and online test (15%)

In this module we introduce you to key concepts in entrepreneurship and small business development. We will cover:

• the role of small business and the nature of uncertainty
• innovation in the context of small business
• new business formation (measuring start-up activity, new entrepreneurs and social networks)
• business growth and business closure.

You will also learn about finance and small business and public policies designed to support growth in the small business sector.

The module has a seminar speaker programme. Outside speakers such as entrepreneurs and policy-makers present on their expertise and experience, so the module provides both theory as well as topical and relevant empirical insights.

By the end of this module, you will be able to:

• understand what is meant by entrepreneurship and small business
• appreciate the nature and processes of entrepreneurship by applying appropriate concepts to an understanding of new business creation and growth
• critically reflect on small business activities in the light of evidence of patterns and from case studies
• identify the role of public policy and its limitations in influencing the environment for entrepreneurship and small business both in the UK and other countries.