In this chapter, the authors present an example syllabus to create a teaching course for “Responsible Entrepreneurship.” They developed the course based on the theoretical model presented in this book. Along with the syllabus of the course, they also suggest a series of exercises to improve the efficacy of the teaching outcome.
TopA Syllabus For Responsible Entrepreneurship
The lecturer who approaches the task of designing and teaching a module of responsible entrepreneurship has no easy task. Indeed, at the time of writing, very little courses are available in universities that combine elements of responsibilities with elements of entrepreneurship. In universities, often the two are kept separate, with entrepreneurship programs that devote the teaching of responsibility by borrowing from the teaching of business ethics. As a result, there are no many textbooks available to be used as core for a responsible entrepreneurship module.
The lecturer will have to choose a mix of business ethics texts and entrepreneurship/small business management texts, with the result of a constant adaptation of content for the purpose of its course. Indeed, most of the business ethics textbooks that are available, do not consider entrepreneurship as their context. They mostly provide case studies and exercises that draw from a literature based on multinational or large corporations, with a vast orientation toward CSR, which albeit interesting it is difficult to relate to youngsters interested in starting their own small venture. Similarly, entrepreneurship and small business management textbooks, tend to delve little, if any, attention to the concepts of ethics, morality, and therefore responsibility.
The syllabus that is presented in this section is the result of a process of integration of ethics with entrepreneurship to combine their concepts into a cohesive and comprehensive course on responsible entrepreneurship. The syllabus is designed for a first year bachelor in business entrepreneurship that is offered by a leading university in the UK.
Module Overview
Entrepreneurs are best known for creating independent businesses. Some are leading examples of creating enterprises with deep social values. For most small businesses, the extent of their responsibility is framed by personal and regulatory limitations.
According to the Institute of Small Business and Entrepreneurship (2015), many small companies make the mistake of only tackling unethical behaviour once a problem has arisen.
This module provides students with the opportunity to consider the role of responsible entrepreneurship and understand how they can contribute to the development of a business culture which is socially aware of its actions on others. It is anticipated that this module will provide students with a clear understanding of the main issues facing the responsible entrepreneur and actions which can be taken to address them.
The purpose of this module is to reflect and support the changing agenda for responsible entrepreneurs and the increasing impact that responsible management is having on the organizational landscape and world at large. As the boundaries between the private, public and third sectors become ever more vague these challenges apply across all sectors and require the ability to lead in times uncertainty and constrained resources in a way inconceivable only a few years ago.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this module students will be able:
- 1.
To apply conceptual and theoretical models to responsible entrepreneurship.
- 2.
To understand how ethics and responsible management policies are defined and implemented.
- 3.
To be able to link the responsibilities of small enterprises to the World Problematiques.
- 4.
To understand the role of entrepreneurship on social and economic wellbeing.