Master of Entrepreneurship

This subject discusses the business model as the mechanism used by entrepreneurs to deliver value to their selected target markets, as well as the method by which entrepreneurs capture value. This is a dynamic process that underpins the commercialisation of innovation. This subject has a detailed and advanced examination of the challenges of designing and implementing a business model., the skills, resources and relationships needed to manage activities like designing customer value propositions, protecting intellectual property and potentially pivoting, and the strategic execution capabilities that can lead to the creation of successful business model. The subject also considers the way that emerging concepts like shared value can be incorporated into a business model. This is done though comparative analysis of competitors who use different but equally successful business models, as well as considering applications where business models have failed. The subject also examines metrics for assessing the ongoing health of the business model, as well as business models as a form of innovation in their own right, not just a vehicle for entrepreneurship.

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The objective of this subject is to give students an understanding of how financing from venture capital and private equity funds and angel investors finds its way to entrepreneurial ventures. The subject’s framework consists of (1) venture opportunity recognition and evaluation, (2) valuation, terms of financing, and financial analysis, (3) business plan execution, and (4) capturing value from the investment. Another important topic includes governance. The subject is case oriented with real world cases used throughout to illustrate key concepts and challenges and to understand what happened and why.

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New entrepreneurial ventures, once successfully past the formation stage (incubators and accelerators), often encounter problems caused by their very rapid growth. The activities of the entrepreneur have to change, from innovation to delegation, communication, and organization as different functional and technical skills are needed, new external relationships such as bankers, lawyers and investors are formed and new company employees have to be integrated into the goals and operations of the enterprise. This is a very basic change that many entrepreneurs never make. The purpose of the subject is to recognise that managing growth is the biggest challenge for entrepreneurs, to consider and evaluate the alternative pathways to growth and to consider processes for identifying a preferred approach. The subject identifies methods for assessing customer and market opportunities, the need for revised business models, marketing strategies, the development or acquisition of appropriate skills and resources and the adoption of management control systems that should be used to monitor and analyse growth, with the additional challenge of international growth also considered. Participants in the subject will use case studies and meetings with entrepreneurs to develop a pragmatic understanding of the challenges of growth, as well as the obstacles that need to be overcome. At the conclusion of the subject, students should be able to identify the different pathways to market including commercialisation.

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The purpose of this subject is to help students develop the personal insights, ethical decision-making skills, and problem-solving methods that will be critical to being a successful entrepreneur. The subject will look at four interrelated cognitive and emotional domains. First, self-understanding, which will address where being an entrepreneur fits into the student’s life and career, what strengths they bring, what the particular challenges will be for them, and how to set up and use opportunities for reflective learning. Second, self-management skills, which will focus on those which are especially important for entrepreneurs, including the resilience skills to handle pressure and failure, time and priority management skills, and the skills to manage success, including thinking critically and creatively. Third, ethical decision making, which will explore a person’s values, different methods of making ethical decisions, the identification and management of cognitive biases, and the application of ethical decision-making skills to the type of concrete dilemmas faced by entrepreneurs.

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This subject is designed to provide a strong foundation in marketing techniques for startup businesses by reconciling the practical and theoretical concepts of building new brands. This will involve an examination and understanding of various topics including: idea generation, market analysis, customer alignment, and maximum impact branding techniques. The emphasis of this course will be on the application of marketing paradigms to increase entrepreneurial success, with a particularly strong emphasis on brand building.

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New Product development is an important source of growth and profitability as existing markets become price competitive and saturated. However, the process of new product development is fraught with risk. In this course we study the process of managing products and how companies can manage their introduction and elimination from the product portfolio. We review how these decisions are made within the context of profit seeking and not-for-profit organizations. We then review the implication of these decisions for performance.

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The purpose of this subject is to lay the foundations of launching a viable entrepreneurial venture based on modern entrepreneurship theory and practice. The subject includes the provision of tools and methods to assist in market ideation and opportunity identification. First, all students learn ideation and opportunity identification through case studies. Next, students will translate their ideas into an initial proposal and develop testable entrepreneurial hypotheses. While doing so, students will recapitulate learnings from Prerequisites. At the end of the subject term, students will produce a pitch document and give a presentation.

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The purpose of this subject is to further develop the ideas explored in the subject New Venture Creation: Initiation and conduct validation to launch a viable entrepreneurial venture. Students are expected to work according to their entrepreneurial interests and to extend learning from Semester 1. The project is best done in teams of 3-4 students but can also be done individually or in pairs with permission of the instructor.

During the subject, students will learn how to test and validate their business idea, develop a minimum viable product (MVP) and iterate using feedback from customers and other stakeholders. In addition, they will learn to develop a market entry strategy that takes into account competitors and collaborators. Students also learn pitching skills to communicate their ideas, with the goal of persuading investors and acquiring resources for growth. In this process, students learn skills to establish viability of their entrepreneurial concepts and pivot their initial models.

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This subject involves the completion of a professional work placement (internship) either:

off campus at an approved host organisation in Australia or overseas OR

on campus at the 'WorkHub'

Integrating academic learning in business & economics areas of study, students will gain an improved knowledge of employability skills, workplace culture, and career pathways. Students will be required to undertake pre-placement online modules designed to equip students with employability skills and techniques for creative problem solving, as well as learning tasks throughout the placement period. The placement will draw on students' specific discipline skills associated with the specialisation of their degree.

Internships may be paid, or unpaid provided they comply with the Fair Work Act.

This subject is intended to provide students with the opportunity to apply their business knowledge in an industry setting under the joint supervision of an industry and an academic mentor. Students can either apply for a University-sourced internship or apply to have a self-sourced internship approved for credit. Applications should be submitted by the due dates published on the MBS website. Selection into this subject is based on suitability of the placement, and demonstrated motivation to benefit from the program, and timely submission of the application.

The on-campus 'WorkHub' provides a modern collaborative and supportive office environment for students to complete internship tasks in groups, and connect with industry professionals both on-campus, virtually, and at the host organisation.

Students will either enrol in the off campus or on campus availability following selection.

The subject coordinator will have final approval of all selected students. Enrolment will be capped and subject to meeting the relevant academic program requirements and availability of appropriate internship opportunities.

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Social entrepreneurs are individuals who establish an enterprise with the goal of solving complex social or environmental problems, including poverty, access to health, homelessness, climate change and food waste. They have been credited with success in disrupting the traditional forms and purpose of business and charity by creating innovative social enterprises that meld the best features of business and the non-profit sector. This subject seeks to equip students with a critical understanding of the social enterprise form and support them in developing a startup social enterprise with the purpose of solving a social and/or environmental problem. Designed and delivered with input from leaders in the social enterprise sector, the subject features lectures and workshops on social enterprise design, business modelling, pitching, social finance and measurement, as well as addressing the difficulties and dark side of social enterprise. In the subject students will develop an idea for a startup social enterprise and develop a business plan which they will pitch to a Shark Tank panel of experts. Prizes will be awarded to the best ideas to help develop these solutions into successful social enterprises.

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This subject examines the engine of every organisation: its productive processes. These are the systems, processes and activities that convert the organisation's inputs into its outputs. Whether manufacturing of goods or provision of services, the principles and techniques of Operations Management can assist an organisation to achieve effective outcomes in terms of cost, quality, delivery, service levels, flexibility and innovation. This subject is integrative in nature, drawing upon concepts originally developed in other areas. The traditional topics such as: assessing the strategic importance of operations; planning and controlling the use of resources; ensuring quality of products and services; and various human issues involved in operations are examined from a contemporary perspective that involves complex phenomena such as globalisation, supply chains, virtual and e-operations, agile/lean operations and mass customisation. Quantitative approaches are often useful in leading us toward possible solutions and so these are introduced where appropriate. However, in many situations, it is sufficient to descriptively understand the critical issues and major trade-offs involved. Finally, links with other areas of decisions and organisational functions are considered as they are critical to getting the most from the operations system.

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Conflict between individual and groups is an inevitable aspect of day to day life. This subject will review the nature of conflict in the workplace and the conflict management strategies of influencing and negotiation. Students will be given the opportunity to apply negotiation techniques to case studies and in simulations.

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This subject provides an integrative learning experience and affords students the opportunity to apply the skills and knowledge acquired in previous subjects in a coherent way to solve business problems. In a business strategy simulation students are required to make decisions, assess outcomes, and compete with other management teams for resources, opportunities and markets. Each team develops a strategy for its firm and applies the subject’s concepts and frameworks, as well as the concepts and frameworks acquired in other subjects. In the process, students will discover the interaction of a firm’s production, marketing, research and development, human resources, and financial operations and observe the impact of key decisions on business performance within a competitive market.

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This subject examines individual and collective human behaviour in and around issues of organisational change. The subject will cover a broad theoretical basis that assists in understanding how change at the employee, group and strategic levels affects individuals. Both the planned approach and emergent approach to change management will be considered. Topics to be covered include: drivers of change, the role of internal and external change agents, tools for successful change management, and the implementation and consequences of specific change initiatives.

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The expectations on contemporary managers to make agile decisions in complex digitised environments are increasing. This subject focuses on the development of managerial capabilities to engage appropriate decision-making models and employ new-generation analytic tools that best-fit the scenario as it unfolds. This subject provides both conceptual frameworks and practical illustrations of quantitative decision-making techniques including decision trees and optimisation to tackle business problems. Students will be shown how to use these quantitative approaches to analyse business problems and, based on these analyses, make effective decisions. These frameworks can be applied to various decisions faced by organisations, with applications in different areas such as operations, marketing, financial and nursing management.

Managers must also decide if and how to employ Artificial Intelligence (AI) within their workplace to create value for the organisation. This subject explores the function, advantages and limitations of AI and machine learning, and how these tools can optimise decision making in complex environments. The subject focuses on: (1) the foundations of AI—inputs, processes, and outputs; (2) AI in action in various contexts to evaluate the opportunities and challenges; and (3) the critical analysis of AI to illustrate contrasting scenarios in which the adoption of AI creates value and destroys value for the organisation.

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Existing companies are under unyielding pressure to discover new ways to grow and become more innovative. To cope with this pressure, companies may revert to intrapreneurship (i.e., corporate entrepreneurship) – engaging in activities that are in unfamiliar ("far from core") areas in which success is uncertain. To do so, organizations need to embrace an entrepreneurial mindset and adopt entrepreneurial approaches. While more and more companies acknowledge the need for corporate entrepreneurship to remain competitive, how to do it is often poorly understood and managed, and inherently resisted. This subject will address both why and when organizations engage in corporate entrepreneurship and the challenges of making an established organization entrepreneurial. This subject will also discuss different forms of corporate entrepreneurship: the organizational “toolkit” available.

The subject will discuss these topics both from the perspective of the organization at large and the perspective of the change agent, the ‘entrepreneur in residence’ who needs to manage themselves, their manager(s), and their peers to navigate the larger corporate system and structures. The subject will particularly focus on how to identify opportunities for change and new ways to grow when engaged in corporate entrepreneurship.

This subject will give you tools, methods and logic that will enable you to participate in or lead successful efforts in corporate entrepreneurship – in particular efforts to identify entrepreneurial opportunities.

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More and more companies engage in intrapreneurship (I.e., corporate entrepreneurship) to discover new ways to grow and become more innovative. Corporate entrepreneurship requires an entrepreneurial mindset and the adoption of approaches that help companies to identify new business opportunities. However, to be successful, it is not sufficient to identify new business opportunities; companies also need to successfully implement these opportunities. In this subject, we will focus on how companies can successfully do so.

The subject will discuss the topic from two perspectives. First, from the perspective of the organization at large: how to create an environment in which great ideas for new business opportunities are considered, nurtured and implemented? Second, from the perspective of the change agent, the ‘entrepreneur in residence’: how does the entrepreneur in residence make sure that their ideas are heard and acted upon?

The subject will particularly focus on how to implement (rather than identify) opportunities for change and new ways to grow in a successful way, resulting in sustainable value creation for the organization.

This subject will give you tools, methods and logic that will enable you to participate in or lead successful efforts in corporate entrepreneurship – in particular efforts to implement entrepreneurial opportunities.

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