Name: Allan O’Connor

Short Bio:
Dr Allan O’Connor is the Academic Director for the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Post Graduate programs at the Entrepreneurship, Commercialisation and Innovation Centre (ECIC), The University of Adelaide. Formerly with the Australian Graduate School of Entrepreneurship, Allan has been lecturing in the fields of entrepreneurship and innovation in a number of topic areas associated with new venture strategy, evaluation and start-up since 2001. His qualifications include a Mechanical Engineering Certificate, a Grad. Dip. in Airconditioning, Grad. Dip. in Management, a Master of Enterprise Innovation and a PhD from The Australian Graduate School of Entrepreneurship at Swinburne University of Technology.

Allan’s industry experience has been with small and medium enterprises in the mechanical services industry sector (airconditioning and ventilation). He has been involved with developing and introducing new products, entering new markets, and expanding sales and business opportunities in both established and new business environments. This experience has exposed him to the practical challenges of growth, innovation and entrepreneurship from the perspectives of both existing and new businesses. Combining his qualifications and experience he now also regularly consults to organisations seeking to enhance entrepreneurship and innovation capacities and provides research, evaluation and advisory services in these areas. Allan’s research interests focus on the intersections between entrepreneurship and socioeconomic development. His recent academic publications in this area address the relationships between entrepreneurship, regional, organisational and human capital development. His research experience includes qualitative and quantitative methods and working with public sector organisations, private membership organisations and serving as project manager, researcher and co-author for the Westpac Global Entrepreneurship Monitor Australia project in 2004 and 2005.

Email: allan.oconnor@adelaide.edu.au

Phone: +61 8 8313 0188

Opening intensive:
Monday 11th & Tuesday 12th August 2014
9am-5pm
Masonic Lodge Basement, B03 West

Closing intensive:
Monday 8th & Tuesday 9th September 2014
9am-5pm
Masonic Lodge Basement, B03 West

1	Gained an understanding of the strategy process and the role of the entrepreneur in maintaining stakeholder value while navigating growth
2	Conducted a value analysis of a firm to illustrate the relationship between the intellectual capital of an organisation and its value creating logic
3	Utilised resource based strategy theory to articulate the tangible and intangible resources necessary for a feasible new venture to capture and sustain competitive advantage
4	Assessed the changes in intangible resources that will be required assuming the growth of a new venture and predict the changing role of the entrepreneur within the firm’s management structure
5	Prepare a set of design principles for a new venture that will guide the growth, acquisition, recruitment and deployment of intangible resources for sustaining a competitive advantage

The University’s preferred textbook supplier is Unibooks: http://www.unibooks.com.au/ 

Text book:

Fredrick, Howard, O'Connor, Allan and Kuratko, Donald F. (2013). Entrepreneurship: Theory, Process and Practice, 3rd Edition. Cengage Learning.
ISBN-13: 9780170214988
ISBN-10: 0170214982

Readings available to enrolled students on MyUni

 

Library Resources
The University of Adelaide’s Barr Smith Library provides a range of learning resources including texts, journals, periodicals, magazines, and access to online databases and information services. It also offers a virtual library which is accessible via the University’s website. The University Library web page is: http://www.adelaide.edu.au/library/ 
From this link, you are able to access the Library's electronic resources.

MyUni is the University of Adelaide's online learning environment. It is used to support traditional face-to-face lectures, tutorials and workshops at the University. MyUni provides access to various features including announcements, course materials, discussion boards and assessments for each online course of study (see: https://myuni.adelaide.edu.au)

This course is offered in blended learning mode with the face-to-face component offered as intensives.

As a guide, a 3 unit course comprises a total of 156 hours work (this includes face-to-face contact, any online components, and self directed study).

This is a draft schedule and session dates are a guide only. The timetable may be changed during the course delivery if necessary.

Day	Date	Topic	Readings/Activities
1	28/07/2014	A. Introduction	Frederick, O’Connor & Kuratko Ch 5 Supplemental Penrose (1995 [1959]) Sarasvathy (2005)
		B. The entrepreneur and growth of the firm	Frederick, O’Connor & Kuratko Ch 2 Supplemental Churchill & Lewis (1983) Greiner (1972) Hunter (2005) Lichtenstein & Lyons (2008)
		C. Strategy, Entrepreneur and Organising	Frederick, O’Connor & Kuratko Ch 8 Supplemental Barron & Hannon (2002)
		D. The entrepreneur and strategy	Frederick, O’Connor & Kuratko Ch 9 Supplemental Alvarez & Barney (2005) Martin (2010)
2	29/07/2014	E. Resource Based View Strategy	Frederick, O’Connor & Kuratko Ch 10 Supplemental Barney & Hesterly (2010) Ch 3
		F. Firm design and the Business Model	Frederick, O’Connor & Kuratko Ch 11 Supplemental O’Connor & Yamin (2011) Chesborough (2010)
		G. Creating and Managing Value	Frederick, O’Connor & Kuratko Ch 12 Supplemental Stabell & Fjeldstad (1998)
		H. Wrap-up - Driving Strategic Value	Frederick, O’Connor & Kuratko Ch 14
3	25/08/2014	I. The Intellectual Capital Perspective	Jurczak (2008)
		J. Strategic Growth and Building Intangible Resources	Frederick, O’Connor & Kuratko Ch 11 Supplemental Ma (1999) McKaskill (2007)
		K. Resource, Capability and Capacity Planning	Eisenhardt & Martin (2000) O’Connor & Roos (2006)
		L. Resource Deployment Principles	Peppard & Rylander (2001)
4	26/08/2014	M. Designing an IC Navigator	Roos, Pike & Fernstrom (2005) Ch 3.
		N. Constructing an IC Navigator	Roos, Pike & Fernstrom (2005) Ch 3.
		O. Managing Strategic Design	Guest: Gӧran Roos
		P. Wrap-up and Review

To successfully complete this course, candidates will need to demonstrate as a minimum:

An overview of the course assessment appears in the following Table. Details appear in the following section:

Assessment No.	Form of Assessment/Collaborative Task	Length (in word count)	Weighting	Due Date	Learning outcomes covered (see 2.1 for detail)
1	The entrepreneur and the team (Individual Assignment)	1500 words	20%	See MyUni	1
2	Internal analysis of growth firms (Team Assignment)	3500 words	30%	See MyUni	2 & 3
3	Young Firm Growth Case Application (Individual Assignment)	3000 words	50%	See MyUni	4 & 5
	Total		100%

Students must complete all course assessment requirements and must attend lectures to be eligible to pass the course.

Course results are subject to moderation by the ECIC Board of Examiners

 Assessment 1: The entrepreneur and the team - Individual assessment item
Weighting: 20%
Due Date: 25/08/2014
Submission Details: Online through MyUni

Task:
“Entrepreneurs succeed by sheer hard work, perseverance and extraordinary energy applied to good ideas with a creative flair. An entrepreneur’s drive will always override the constraints of a team”.

This assignment requires you to critique the above statement and provide an argument that demonstrates your appreciation of the relationship between the entrepreneur and the context within which they work. You are required to use both academic and general media to support your position with citations and examples. A better assignment will use course provided reference materials as well as references other than those provided.

Scope:
This assignment will assess your understanding of the course topics A to D.

Length and Presentation:
Presentation will be in an essay format which should convince your reader of the merits of your argument. The typical length will be up to a maximum 1,500 words.

Criteria by which your assignment will be marked:
The document should reflect academic standards worthy of a Master level student. The assignment will be assessed on the basis of:
· Presentation and clarity of the aims of your work;
· Complete and balanced view points,
· A well-defined rationale that leads to your conclusion, and;
· Justifiable research that supports your argument.

The assignment will need to demonstrate appropriate use of references. (Use the Harvard referencing system. Guidelines can be found under the heading ‘Harvard author-date referencing style’ at http://libguides.adelaide.edu.au/content.php?pid=293787&sid=2477847).

Learning objectives with this assessment (refer to section 2.1): 1



Assessment 2: Value analysis of growth firm – Team assessment item
Weighting: 30%
Due Date: 30/09/2014
Submission Details: Online through MyUni.

Task:
This assignment will require you to work in a team of no more than four and select one firm from the 2013 Australian Deloitte Technology Fast 50 report available at: http://www.deloitte.com/view/en_AU/au/industries/tmt/8c44f654033ea310VgnVCM2000003356f70aRCRD.htm

By way of progress review your team will be required to present a brief overview of your preliminary findings during the first day of the second intensive.

The team will need to use the tools and techniques discussed in this course to analyse their chosen business and the respective competitive environment to provide:
1. A background and overview of the business and the competitive environment
2. A reasoned determination of the customer value creating logic of the firm
3. An assessment of the critical tangible and intangible resources and capabilities that the firm must have to fulfil its determined value creating logic
4. A report that characterises the relative importance of the resources and capabilities available to the firm (as prescribed by the determined customer value creating logic), the type of competitive advantage the resources/capabilities provide to the firm and the extent to which these resources are defensible in each firms competitive environment
5. An analysis of the strategy that underpins the growth of the firm describing how and why the strategy justifies the business model of the firm
6. A discussion that synthesises the analysis and concludes how a firm’s industry and competitive environment relates to or influences business model design for competitive advantage.

Scope:
This assignment will assess your understanding of the course topics D to H.

Length and Presentation:
Presentation will be in report format. The typical length will be a maximum of 3500 words plus appendices as deemed necessary.

Criteria by which your assignment will be marked:
· The level of detail provided that demonstrates understanding of the key issues and techniques involved in analysing a firm’s value logic and competitive position.
· Evidence of critical analysis of the issues and concepts.
· Demonstration of an understanding of; the relative importance of resources and capabilities, how these resources and capabilities relate to the firm’s business model and the extent to which they contribute to competitive advantage.
· Clarity of expression and good use of language.
· Logical planning, structure and sequence of presenting your findings.
· Overall presentation including correct grammar, spelling, punctuation and referencing.

Learning objectives with this assessment (refer to section 2.1): 2, 3



Assessment 3: Young Firm Growth Case Application – Individual assessment item.
Weighting: 50%
Due Date: 25/10/2014
Submission Details: Online through MyUni

Task:
This assessment item is an individual assignment that focuses on the application of the business model design tools presented in this course to the context of a firm’s resource based strategic growth plan. Complemented by your own research, you are required to consider a growth venture proposition using the intellectual capital and resource based strategy perspectives covered in this course. You are not permitted to use the same firm as your team case study.

You are required to:
§ Describe the venture detailing its background, the core business and the entrepreneur’s aspirations for the venture
§ Define an appropriate customer value logic for the venture
§ Design and document the intellectual capital resources required to ground the growth proposition for the venture
§ Articulate the intellectual capital resources currently available to the venture and those that are yet to be acquired
§ Using resource based theory, assess the potential competitive advantage position of the venture and recommend an intellectual capital resource based strategy that will enhance the chance of success of the venture
§ Develop a set of principles that will guide the entrepreneur in managing the acquisition and growth of key intellectual capital resources to form the basis of a three year plan
§ Propose a long term resource based strategy for the venture describing the growth of core assets that will be critical for the venture to maintain a unique proposition and competitive advantage in preparation for acquisition.

Scope:
This assignment will assess your understanding of the course topics I to P.

Length and Presentation:
Presentation will be in report format. The typical length will be a maximum of 3000 words plus appendices as deemed necessary.

Criteria by which your assignment will be marked:
The report will be judged on its structure, presentation, content, integration and synthesis of course materials. Please note that the academic assessment can only make judgement on the educational validity and not the actual business or project strategy. The mark will reflect your learning and will not be an indicator of the merit of the strategy.
The standards by which the assignment will be assessed include:
· The level of detail provided that demonstrates understanding of the techniques involved in examining a young firm’s value logic, competitive advantage, competitive value position and resource transformations.
· Demonstration of an understanding of; the relative importance of resource stocks, how these stocks relate to the firm’s competitive position and the extent to which they contribute to competitive advantage.
· Evidence of critical analysis of the issues and concepts.
· Clear articulation of a set of guiding principles for the entrepreneur that support the development of the proposed competitive position and advantage.
· The extent to which the entrepreneur’s exit strategy has integrity and legitimacy with the proposed strategic position and advantage.
· Overall presentation including, clarity of expression and good use of language, correct grammar, spelling, punctuation and referencing, logical structure and sequence of presenting your findings.

Learning objectives with this assessment (refer to section 2.1): 4, 5

All text based assignments must be submitted via MyUni.
Please refer to step by step instructions: http://www.adelaide.edu.au/myuni/tutorials/files/AssignmentStudentSubmission.pdf 

There are a few points to note about the submission of assignments:

• Assignment Submission: Assignments should not be emailed to the instructor but should be lodged via the MyUni Course site. Note that assignments may be processed via TURNITIN which is an online plagiarism prevention tool.
• Cover Sheet: Please submit, separate to your assignment, the completed University of Adelaide Assessment Cover Sheet providing details of yourself and your team members (if applicable), your assignment, the course, date submitted, etc. as well as the declaration signed by you that this is your (your team’s) work. Note that the declaration on any electronically submitted assignment will be deemed to have the same authority as a signed declaration.
• Backup Copy of Assignments: You are advised to keep a copy of your assignments in case the submitted copy goes missing. Please ensure that all assignment pages are numbered. If your assignment contains confidential information, you should discuss any concerns with the Course Lecturer prior to submission.
• Extensions of Time: Any request for an extension of time for the submission of an assignment should be made well before the due date of the assignment to the Course Lecturer. Normally, extensions will only be granted for a maximum of two weeks from the original assignment submission date. Extensions will only be granted in cases of genuine extenuating circumstances and proof, such as a doctor’s certificate, may be required.
• Failure to submit: Failure to submit an assignment on time or by the agreed extension deadline may result in penalties and may incur a fail grade. Note that a late penalty of 5% of the total available marks for that assessment item will be incurred each day an assignment is handed in late. Assignments handed in after 14 days from the due submission date will fail even if a 100% mark is granted for the work.