UNDERSTANDING ENTREPRENEURSHIP Individual reflexive diary

Date: Written in January 2023

Module title: UNDERSTANDING ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Module lecturer and tutor details:

Dr Rachel Doern, [email protected]

Office hours: Mondays 1:00-3:00 (Please contact/email for appointment)

The Associate Lecturer:

Salma Ghassan Al Azmeh Email: [email protected] (Will run assessment tutorials)

Assignment type:  Individual reflexive diary (worth 50% of the module)

Assignment information:

A. The Mission – Students are required to research and write about entrepreneurial issues that have been covered in the lectures.

B. Purpose of the Diary – The purpose of the reflexive diary and the tasks proposed is to enable students to think more deeply about the concepts and research covered and, in many cases, apply it to real world examples.

C. Structure of the Diary (should include 4/5 parts)

I) Introduction

II) The Main Body of the Diary 

(This is divided in to 8 tasks, all of which must be completed.)

Task 1: Identify two entrepreneurs that inspire you, at least one of which is a social entrepreneur, and explain why they inspire you. It could be someone famous or part of your personal network or community. Describe what they do and what makes each of them successful.

Task 2: Identify and ‘contact’ (i.e., informally interview – online or in-person) a female small business owner. It could be someone famous or part of your personal network or community. Discuss what inspired her to start up her business, if she plans to expand and how, and what challenges if any she faces.

Task 3: Identify and very briefly describe an ethnic minority business (EMB). Discuss whether or not the business possesses some of the traditional features of EMBs highlighted during our sessions, according to the concepts and readings discussed.

Task 4: Identify a family owned business that has been operational for at least three generations. Discuss how the business has evolved over the years and what factors have been critical to its success.

Task 5: Focusing on one of the business ideas that you came up with during class or your own business idea, discuss what business opportunity it fulfils and whether and why/why not it is feasible in the real world (based on your preliminary research).  

Task 6: Identify a famous entrepreneurial team and describe the business they created. Discuss what each member of the team brought to the business (e.g., in terms of prior education, experience, skills, ideas).

Task 7: Identify and ‘contact’ (i.e. informally interview – online or in-person) a small business owner and discuss with them business growth – e.g., whether or not they have grown the business, if they have plans to grow and why/why not, and how they plan to grow if at all. Discuss what form business growth has taken in the past and what barriers, if any, they have experienced or anticipate experiencing in relation to growth.   

Task 8: Identify two businesses that are actively engaged in corporate entrepreneurship. Compare and contrast the entrepreneurial cultures in each. What similarities and differences can be observed?

NOTE: Each task may be written up in approximately 250 words. Each task must involve different entrepreneurs/businesses. In addition to drawing on the academic literature on entrepreneurship (e.g., high quality peer reviewed journal articles that discuss studies carried out on the topic), you may need to speak to people in person or carry out internet research.   

The Literature – Students MUST link the contents of the diary (the different tasks), where relevant, to the academic literature (based on the themes discussed over the module). As much as possible, students should back up their claims with evidence (previous research, facts and figures). 

III) Student learning and summary - Students must also discuss in some detail what they have learned about entrepreneurs and different kinds of entrepreneurial businesses in carrying out this research, over the course of the module, and from the presentations given by visiting speakers.

IV) References - Use the appropriate reading materials - articles (academic/refereed and non-academic articles), books, reports etc. – to back up your argument(s). Regardless of whether or not a work is quoted from directly or indirectly, all work cited in the BODY of the submitted piece of work must have the author’s name and date published in parentheses following the citation (e.g. Jones and Smith, 2005; or Johnson, 2010). If the work is quoted from directly, page numbers must also be included. Work cited must be listed at the end of the diary in a section titled ‘References’. Please check the guidelines on Harvard referencing guide and Study Skills vle. References must be listed in alphabetical order, and written up consistently and accurately. Also, the diary must be an original piece of work and students should not be working together. Students must work independently. Plagiarising the work of others (e.g., other students, experts, academics, online sources – e.g., using online sources as a substitute for informally interviewing entrepreneurs for two of the tasks, as outlined above, would be highly problematic), or work produced by the student for another project, will result in a mark of ZERO.

V) Appendices – If necessary, supporting material may be provided in appendices at the end of the diary.

D. Style and Presentation – Reflexive diaries should be double-spaced and written in 12 Font, either Times New Roman, Calibri or Arial. Be sure the reflexive diary is structured according to the headings outlined in section C above. The full task heading can/should be included for each and will not count towards the word limit (e.g., Task 1: Identify two entrepreneurs that inspire you, at least one of which is a social entrepreneur, and explain why they inspire you. It could be someone famous or part of your personal network or community. Describe what they do and what makes each of them successful.) Also, ensure the diary contains accurate spelling and grammar.

E. Submission - The reflexive diary must be submitted through Turnitin (a submission link will be provided nearer the time on the learn/gold/VLE page). Details of how to submit via Turnitin will be provided in advance of the deadline. Please see the programme handbook on penalties for late submission of coursework. In general, late submissions, even by a few minutes, will be given a mark of ZERO. Students should submit assignments a few hours in advance of the deadline.

Key/suggested references:

Examples of sources/references for each topic are listed in the module outline and can be found in the reading list. Please note that you must include other high quality academic sources as well to demonstrate that you have carried out independent research, especially peer reviewed journal articles.

Tutorial details:

Please consult your timetable.

Word limit:  2000 words +/- 10% (NOT including the introduction, task heading, student learning, references – all of which are required sections – or appendices). The write-up for each task should be around 250 words. 250 words x 8 tasks = 2000 words

Referencing style:

Harvard

Submission date and time:

Wednesday March 29^th by no later than 12 pm (noon) UK Time

(Late assignments, even by a few minutes, will receive a mark of ZERO. Students will then need to Resit in the Summer term and their mark will be capped at a PASS/40).

Submission details:

Please submit via the online link on the module page and include the following information on the front page of your submission (cover sheet):

· Student ID number

· Programme of study (e.g., BA Economics)

· Module (i.e., Introductory Economics)

· Date

· Assignment title

· Word count

Marking scheme:

Marking will be in accordance with the general IMS undergraduate marking rubric:

Answer. (Does the coursework address the question/issue or meet the assigned aims and keep on topic? Is there a comprehensive understanding of the topic?)

Structure. (Is the structure clear and material presented in a well argued, coherent and synthesised manner?)

Writing Style. (Is the writing fluent and of a good standard with few errors in spelling, punctuation or grammar?)

Level of Reading. (Is the topic well researched and supported? Is there evidence of using a range of high quality sources?)

Quality of Referencing. (Is the work appropriately sourced? Are the references well formatted and written up accurately and consistently?)

Any other information:

If you would like to discuss the outline of your reflexive diary with the Module Leader or Associate Lecturer, please email. You have up until Monday March 27^th by 3 pm (UK time) to ask any questions. No exceptions. A tutorial will be held for the assessment prior to the due date.