lllEntrepreneurs in Action!
Developing the
Entrepreneurial Spirit
Learning in Action!
A Cross-disciplinary Problem-Based Learning
Environment for Entrepreneurship
University Cases
The Phoenix
(Cyber Café Case)
Test Version 1.0
(A Work in Progress)
R. Wilburn Clouse, PhD
Western Kentucky University
Terry Goodin, EdD
Middle Tennessee
State University
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
3
LEARNING VIGNETTE -- THE PHOENIX
4
THE CHALLENGE
5
CORE CONCEPTS
5
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
6
GUIDING QUESTIONS
6
RESOURCES
6
BACKGROUND
INDUSTRY ANALYSIS
TECHNICAL SUPPORT MATERIALS
BOOK AND REPORTS
BUSINESS SUPPORT MATERIALS
ONLINE EXPERTS
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7
8
8
8
10
IMPLEMENTATION
10
INTRODUCING CASES
11
STUDENT ACTIVITIES
11
PRODUCTS
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PHASE ONE – DOING THE RESEARCH
PHASE TWO – FIND A SOLUTION
PHASE THREE – TAKING IT PUBLIC
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12
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ASSESSMENTS
12
FORMATIVE
SUMMATIVE
12
13
REFERENCES
13
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The Phoenix
(Cyber Café Case)
Introduction
Since the beginning of time, people have enjoyed conversation with each other.
Beginning with Adam and Eve, in the Garden of Eden, and continuing through the
electronic age of wireless technology, people have engaged in dialog. Discussions have
taken place in many different venues, at many different places and at many different
times. From cave paintings to discussions in the Roman Senate, from traders to travelers
on the overland “spice routes,” from the coffee houses of the middle ages to the
“bloggers” of today’s Internet environment, dialog has taken place. Over the years, the
medium has changed from one to one using the human voice, to one to many with mass
media, such as newspapers, radio and television, and even one to several with chat rooms
and web logs on the Internet.
Many people like to share ideas and to discuss issues. European nations have, for a long
time, used the coffee house concept as a place to meet and to share ideas.
The coffee-houses that sprang up across Europe, starting around 1650, functioned
as information exchanges for writers, politicians, businessmen and scientists.
Like today's websites, weblogs and discussion boards, coffee-houses were lively
and often unreliable sources of information that typically specialized (sic) in a
particular topic or political viewpoint. They were outlets for a stream of
newsletters, pamphlets, advertising free-sheets and broadsides. Depending on the
interests of their customers, some coffee-houses displayed commodity prices,
share prices and shipping lists, whereas others provided foreign newsletters filled
with coffee-house gossip from abroad (The Economist, 2003).
Other countries have used the concept of local bars and pubs to do the same (Hargrave,
2003). A modern example is that of the long-running television program, “Cheers,”
which is a story about a bar where friends would meet to discuss issues and to exchange
ideas of the day. In the early years of the nineteenth century, especially in the south,
people would meet at the public square in many small towns. Discussions would take
place, organized around major regional and even world problems, and critical views were
expressed. A common American image is of farmers in overalls seated around the outside
of the county courthouse building on a sunny Saturday afternoon, whittling and talking
about the issues that mattered to them.
In contrast to the small town square meetings, university students oftentimes were
meeting in dorm rooms, student centers, university lawns and other places on campus to
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discuss life and to dream about the future. Many of these discussions, which were
naturally interdisciplinary in nature, took place over a cup of coffee and sometimes over a
bottle of beer. Much of the critical learning at universities would take place in this
learning environment, as opposed to the formal classroom setting. Students majoring in
science would dream about careers in the space program or wireless technology, for
example. Math students might debate how to solve problems in differential or integral
calculus. English students might discuss a famous poem, parsing the poet’s phrases and
extracting hidden meanings, or might share their own works of creative writing. Business
students may have dreamed about new ventures and about becoming the “next Bill
Gates.” History students might recreate the Civil War by discussing the major political
issues related to that day and time. Political Science students may have argued about the
pros and cons of an upcoming election. Sociology and Social Science students may have
been interested in the population growth of the world, making projections about future
problems related to that growth. Engineering students might discuss future power systems
and new sources of transportation. A music student may have sat in the corner, playing a
guitar and singing an original song. Art students may have been showing a recent work,
or may even have used the time to sketch out a new idea. All of this shows that the
university coffee house, the student dorm room and the student center may well have
been the first places on campus where cross-disciplinary activities could have occurred.
Learning Vignette -- The Phoenix
Tennessee Wesleyan College, located in Athens, Tennessee, is a very well respected and
historically significant college located in the hills of eastern Tennessee. This small,
traditional college is interested in developing a creative learning environment in which
students can interact with each other across disciplines and with the world at large via the
Internet. The college is interested in the development of a learning environment where
students can dream about the future, discuss major issues of the day, develop creative
thinking skills, demonstrate talents such as debate, music, art and creativity, develop
economic and social models and invent new business ventures related to their in-class
interests. Furthermore, the college wants to infuse creativity and entrepreneurship into the
total curriculum, and is interested in developing ways to revive downtown Athens.
Two Tennessee Wesleyan College professors have developed a vision for such a creative
learning environment. They have been considering the building of a cyber café, where
students could meet in an environment that would provide students the opportunity to
start new enterprises involving cross-disciplinary learning. The professors, John Carroll,
Assistant Professor of Computer Science, and Dick Pelley, Professor of Psychology, have
had this vision for several months and have secured a building in the downtown Athens
area. The building is a part of the historical district, and once housed a print shop.
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Located across the street from the college, this building, though in need of considerable
remodeling, could be a nearly perfect example of the “Phoenix,” as students from
Tennessee Wesleyan College start and operate a new business from the “ashes” of
businesses long gone.
The Challenge
Entrepreneurs in Action! cases are written to be open-ended, flexible learning
experiences for students. The case provides an introduction and a learning vignette to set
the stage for the students. The student groups should carefully read the introduction and
the learning vignette. After reading these areas, students should discuss the major issues
outlined in the introduction and learning vignette. The students are then faced with the
opportunity to develop possible solutions to the problems and opportunities outlined in
the case. In most cases, students will find it necessary to seek information from some of
the resources listed in the case and are to contact Online Experts early in the opportunity
identification process. There are no right or wrong answers in these exercises and it is
expected that multiple solutions will be developed by different groups. It is also
suggested that students not only look at the political, economic and social issues, but to
dream about future inventions and/or business opportunities that can derive from the
case. The challenge begins with the following questions:
1) What do you think?
2) What solutions would you recommend if you were a member of this student
team?
3) What new business ventures can be developed from this case?
After raising these questions, the students are free to begin deliberations on possible
solutions to the case.
Core Concepts
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Communication theory
Social grouping
City planning
Applied engineering (electrical, mechanical, etc.)
Demographics
Culture
Business planning fundamentals
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Learning Objectives
1. Students will display knowledge of communications theory as it applies to human
culture and community development.
2. Students will understand the idea of social grouping and the role that it plays in
social cohesion.
3. Students will display practical problem solving abilities in the area of applied
engineering, i. e., mechanical and/or electrical design principles.
4. Students will display understanding of demographics regarding community
surveys and statistical analyses of those surveys.
5. Students will gain in understanding of the entrepreneurial process as it relates to
taking new products and services from the “idea” stage to the “market” stage.
6. Students will display an understanding of the business planning model, including
market research, product or service development, industry analysis, organizational
mission and vision, financial, and entrepreneurial thinking.
Guiding Questions
1. Can a “Phoenix” rise out of the ashes of the print shop?
2. What entrepreneurship skills can be developed from this project?
3. What cross-discipline activities involving the arts, sciences and humanities can be
developed?
4. What entrepreneurial activities can be encouraged that will help to rebuild
downtown Athens?
5. What can be done to make the learning environment into a new start-up business?
Resources
The following resources are listed to help student groups as they develop possible
solutions to the Phoenix case. These resources are designed to help the students
understand the case and to provide information about the issues. No solutions will be
given in these references. Students should use these references and references from their
own research to formulate solutions to the issues. These references are listed by
categories in order to provide the students with resources that will provide a quick
overview of some of the issues. Other resources maybe added during the case
development. On-line experts are available to the student groups and can be used to help
identify issues as well as other resources.
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Background
Industry Analysis
Business Franchise (April 2003). That café brings you the best of two worlds.
Author, April, 2003, p40.
Coleman, A. (December, 2002). Networking with the surfers at that café: That café is
building a franchise network on a proven formula that takes the old internet café
concept and updates it with a new range of services, revenue enhancements,
pricing concepts and regard for aesthetics. Business Franchise, December 2002,
p24.
Cooke, M. (September, 2003). How to set up a cyber café. Meetings and Conventions,
38(10).
De Marco, D. (February 28, 1997). Downtown café puts internet on menu.
Baltimore Business Journal, 14(42).
Economist (US), (March 29, 2003). Hotspots and fries; Internet access. (Wireless access
to the internet may soon be coming to a McDonald’s near you).
Author, 366(8317).
Economist (US) (December 20, 2003). The internet in a cup: Coffee-houses
(Coffee-houses, old and new. Author, 369(8355).
Hargrave, S. (June 19, 2003). Public access: The urban/rural divide in internet access
terms has left a large proportion of the public disconnected. A scheme to put PCs
in pubs could be the answer. New Media Age.
Jain, A. (June 30, 2003). 2 seek to perk up internet cafés; Expand in NY with different
models. Crain’s New York Business, 19(26).
Malone, M. (June 15, 2003). Wire act: Another crowd of operators is trying in-house
internet access for customers. Yet even brand-new technology still can’t answer
an old question: Is it worth it? Restaurant Business, 102(11).
Powell, W. (January, 2003). Tall latte, with wi-fi? T & D, 57(1).
Rose, K. (June, 2003). Network, rest and play: Offering your customers wireless internet
access may mean that they spend more time, and money, in your venue.
Leisure Report, 1(8).
Verma, M. (July 22, 2003). Getting wi-fied: Wireless access arrives in B. R., a latte while
you work the net. Greater Baton Rouge Business Report, 21(24).
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Wilby, D. (August 2003). Extreme internet: Just how important is internet access to you?
Some people will go to extraordinary lengths to ensure they’re never
disconnected. Internet Magazine, August, 2003, p54.
Technical Support Materials
To be added later.
Book and Reports
To be added later.
Business Support Materials
These sources are non-technical and will provide the student with information about how
to build a business plan around their ideas for case solutions.
Allbusiness.com - http://allbusiness.com/
One of the most comprehensive sites on the Web for small and growing businesses, this
site offers over 2000 articles, “how-to’s,” forms, agreements, questions-and-answers,
solutions, and services useful to those starting a new business venture.
Bloomberg.com - http://www.bloomberg.com
One of the leading sites for breaking financial news, investor tools and data,
Bloomberg.com gives access to business information, including the latest data and
analytical tools.
Bplans.com - http://www.bplans.com
Bplans.com offers a large collection of free sample business plans online and helpful
tools and know-how for managing a business. The site includes practical advice on
planning, interactive tools, and a panel of experts available to answer specific questions.
The Business Forum Online - http://www.businessforum.com
This service springs from a weekly newspaper column addressing issues and questions of
specific interest to entrepreneurs and emerging businesses. Each column focuses on the
immediate consequences of the issue to the owner/manager of the emerging business.
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MoreBusiness.com - http://www.morebusiness.com
MoreBusiness.com, a comprehensive resource for small businesses,
contains tips, articles, ideas, templates, worksheets, sample
business plans, tools, financial benchmarks, sample contracts, and websites.
These business sites may offer some ideas and provide some review articles. Some sites
may require a fee. Or you may wish to use the Library for paper copies of current and
past articles.
Wall Street Journal - http://www.wsj.com/
The leading daily business newspaper.
Fortune - http://www.fortune.com/
A leading business journal.
Harvard Business Review - www.harvardbusinessreview.com/
A leading cutting-edge business journal.
www.uspto.gov - Patent and Trademark Office
Excellent source for technical information.
www.sba.gov/ADVO/stats - SBA Office of Advocacy--Economic Statistics and Research
http://www.sba.gov/ - SBA Small Business Administration--SBA Support in starting, financing and managing a business
www.bizoffice.com - Small and Home Based Business Links
Provides support services for home-based companies.
www.sbaer.uca.edu - Small Business Advancement National Center--Resources include newsletters, archives, SBA and other Government sites and related
affiliates.
www.bizplan.com - Strategic Business Planning Co.--The mission of the Strategic Business Planning Co. is to help organizations define their
mission and achieve their objectives by developing business and strategic plans and by
periodically conducting a comprehensive review of the environment in which they
operate.
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www.business.gov - U.S. Business Advisor--U.S. Business Advisor – a one-stop electronic link to the information and services
government provides for the business community—Laws and regulations, forms and
support services.
www.census.gov - U.S. Census Bureau--Resources include population census, economic data, Business surveys, and other related
Bureau statistics.
http://www.dowjones.com - Dow Jones – Latest financial information about stock market
performance.
www.benlore.com - The Entrepreneur's Mind
The Entrepreneur's Mind is a Web-based resource that presents an array of real-life
stories and advice from successful entrepreneurs and industry experts on the many
different facets of entrepreneurship and emerging business.
www.entrepreneurmag.com - Entrepreneur Magazine--Provides solutions for growing businesses
www.engeniussolutions.com - Engineering projects
Provides information about new products and ideas (some student developed).
Online Experts
These online experts have agreed to be available for providing information, ideas and
other support while the case is in progress. Students should e-mail questions to the
appropriate person. They will respond, usually within one working day.
Implementation
Usually the class is divided up into teams of 4-5 people, who are given an opportunity to
review the Entrepreneurs in Action! exercise and to develop strategies for solving the
situation or to see new ventures. Thus, students work together in small groups and learn a
wide variety of skills related to teamwork development, problem identification, resource
analysis and synthesis, product or process identification, potential market development,
the application of cross-disciplinary thinking, product and process cost analysis, and
written and verbal presentation skills. In this model, the case presents the students with an
unresolved issue, provides some resources and permits the students to take charge of their
own learning and to develop a new business venture out of the given situation.
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Introducing Cases
Several methods may be used to introduce the Entrepreneurs in Action! cases to the class,
as follows:
1. Divide the class into groups and to present the case to each group and permit
limited discussions between groups.
2. Permit a selected number of students to role-play the scenario as a way of
introducing the case.
3. Fishbowl. A small group of students may be requested to sit in the middle of
the room and to discuss topics related to the case. The other students would
observe and would synthesize the events afterwards.
4. Students may also be shown selected video clips to start the entrepreneurial
thinking process. Some video clips are “The Triumph of the Nerds” series, the
“Apprentice” TV show, the “October Sky” movie, “Pirates of Silicon Valley”
movie, the “Seabiscuit” movie, or the Public TV version.
Student Activities
Students are expected to participate actively in their groups and to contribute to
developing creative ideas for possible business ventures. In doing so, students may be
required to learn through reflections. Students are required to keep a journal of the
activities of each group meeting and to record his or her thoughts and comments about
the process. Students may also use concept mapping to study the issues and track
progress development. IHMConcept Map Software is available free at
http://cmap.coginst.uwf.edu/docs/.
Products
The final products to the cases are usually a written business plan and a final oral
presentation. The final oral presentation can be given to different groups, such as the
local Chamber of Commerce, other business and civic groups, a panel of Online Experts
and/or to the class. A rubric is used to judge the creative and entrepreneurial ventures and
grades are assigned based on the rubric evaluation. The development of the final product
usually follows the outline below.
Phase One – Doing the Research
Write a paper on the topic of human community and communication. Relate the effects
of the growth of coffee houses in Europe to other similar social phenomena. Identify the
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reasons why you think people tend to gravitate to such forms of interaction. Identify a
segment of the issue that is of interest to you and relate your interest to the idea of
building a cyber café in downtown Athens.
Phase Two – Find a Solution
Working in groups, brainstorm the development of a range of products, services and
policies that would contribute to the success of the cyber café. Include the areas of the
arts and the culture of the surrounding region in your solution. Your group should then
choose one idea for further development as a contributor to the overall solution. Fully
expand upon the idea as a product or service, explaining in detail its rationale, creation
and implementation. Keep in mind that the overall cyber café project must be marketable
and must be financially self-sustaining. Develop your group’s business plan and
presentation format.
Phase Three – Taking it Public
Present your group’s solution to a team of peers, educators and experts in the field. You
will submit to their evaluation, just as you would do so in the actual practice. You should
employ a variety of presentation techniques, including a written business plan, handouts,
and computer-based presentation.
Assessments
Formative
1. Weekly logs
Students will submit a summary of their activities on a regular basis, the frequency of
which will be decided by the instructor. The students should include a concise
description of the activities and an analysis of their effectiveness. It is suggested that the
summary of activities be part of a computer managed instructional program such as
Prometheus, Blackboard or others. This allows the instructor and student groups to
monitor their weekly progress.
2. In-class observations
Instructors will observe group work and interact in the role of facilitator as needed.
3. Position Paper
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The paper required in Phase One will be graded for critical thinking and analytical
substance. Instructors will also use the papers to assist in forming like student groups.
4. Teams of peers and visiting experts will evaluate the final presentation for content and
appearance of the final product.
Summative
1. Business Plan Evaluations
Instructors will evaluate the completed business plans for accuracy, content, breadth,
depth, and professional appearance.
2. Presentation Evaluation
Instructors will assess the professionalism of the final presentation, taking into account
the content and appearance of the final product.
References
Economist (US) (December 20, 2003). The internet in a cup: Coffee-houses
(Coffee-houses, old and new. Author, 369(8355).
Hargrave, S. (June 19, 2003). Public access: The urban/rural divide in internet access
terms has left a large proportion of the public disconnected. A scheme to put PCs
in pubs could be the answer. New Media Age.
This work is part of the Forum for Entrepreneurship Education at Vanderbilt
University and was support in part by The Coleman Foundation Inc.-- Grant number
4446-- Entrepreneurs in Action!, and The National Science Foundation under Grant
No. 0091632 and other related funds. (Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or
recommendations expressed in this presentation are those of the author(s) and do not
necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation).
wil.clouse@vanderbilt.edu