SCS 0209 Entrepreneurial Skills for Internet Consultants: The Website
Course and Current Section: SCS 0209 - Sec 01A
Instructor: Steven Dengler
Duration: 12 hours in total (4 sessions × 3 hours per session)
Course Website: http://www.dengler.net/esic/
U of T School of Continuing Studies Website: http://learn.utoronto.ca/
Click here for information on this course from the University SCS Website.
Site last updated: Monday, October 20, 2003
Instructor Contact Information
If you wish to contact me, you may do so by e-mail or telephone during regular business hours. In addition, if requested, I will make myself available immediately before or after regular class.
Bulletins and Important Information
This term's course will be held Monday evenings from 6:00pm to 9:00pm in room 141 of the Ramsay Wright building, which is located at the southwest corner of Harbord and St George Streets, right across from Robarts Library. (On line-map)
Course Description
The rapid growth of the Internet has created a specialized class of Internet experts whose skills are in great demand. Successful Internet consultants must be technical wizards, vigorous promoters, effective project managers, sound business people, and persuasive speakers. You may have the right technical skills but find your business skills need developing. This course outlines the basics of entrepreneurial skills, building a successful business in the Internet industry, structuring client/consultant relations, responding to requests for proposals, preparing client reports, marketing your services, and managing your own business.
Course material consists of recent industry publications and periodicals. Some of these are available through the Faculty of Information Studies' Inforum library, and the rest can be obtained for less than $20 in total.
Course Objectives
- Understand the nature and role of an entrepreneur.
- Understand the nature of the Internet industry.
- Understand the components and structure of a successful business.
- Understand, identify, and avoid pitfalls which threaten Internet entrepreneurs.
- Develop successful entrepreneurial attitudes and skills.
- Develop successful client relations techniques that maximize value and minimize hassle.
- Develop strategies that maximize success when responding to requests for proposals and generating client reports.
- Develop strategies to market your business and ensure proper market placement.
- Develop strategies to ensure the healthy development and growth of your business.
Grade Assignment and Student Evaluation
- Attendance and participation .......... 4 × 3.75% = 15%
- Take-home reading and case studies .... 3 × 15% = 45%
- Final take-home case study project .... 1 × 40% = 40%
Many assignments -- including the final project -- will be in case study format. Students will be provided with descriptions of situations and will be asked to comment on the action taken, recommend next steps, and identify possible positive and negative repercussions of those next steps. Creativity and practicality in applying course concepts to the case study situations will be rewarded, as will an understanding of potential business consequences of recommended actions.
The final project will be the preparation of a case study based upon a business model supplied by the student. This final case study will be due no later than one calendar week from the date of the final class.
Assignment and Evaluation Guidelines
- All assignments except the final are due the following class. Assignments may be submitted as attachments to e-mail prior to the class. Acceptable formats are MS Word, RTF, and WordPerfect.
- All e-mail sent to the instructor must be assumed to have failed unless a response is received. The instructor will send a confirmation in response to all e-mail messages received.
- A student must attend at least 80% of course classes to pass an SCS course. Therefore, you must attend all classes in order to pass. A missed class would result in only 75% attendance.
- For assistance in preparing assignments in case study format, a sample case study is supplied with the course materials, and can also be found here:
Course Readings and Materials
Course material consists of recent industry publications and periodicals and can be obtained for less than $20 in total.
Wired
- The student is responsible for obtaining and reading a recent copy of Wired. This issue can be no more than three months old.
Globe and Mail Report on Business
- The student is responsible for obtaining and reading the Globe and Mail's Report on Business each Friday for the duration of the course.
Additional Materials
- Any additional materials deemed necessary by the instructor will be (a) photocopied and distributed in class, (b) available through the U of T library system, or (c) available commercially for a nominal charge.
Course Resources
- Detailed Course Notes (rich text format)
IMPORTANT! While the course notes for each session will contain the course material covered in class, they will not necessarily contain the content of all in-class discussions and case studies. For this reason, the course notes should be used as a supplement to notes taken in class by the student -- and not as a replacement.
Case Study Guidelines
Many of the assignments in the course will be in case study format. Please follow these guidelines when performing all case study analysis assignments:
- Comment on the situation, identifying applicable assets (advantages) and liabilities (disadvantages).
- Recommend a goal and a course of action to attain that goal.
- Identify possible positive repercussions of taking the recommended action.
- Identify possible negative repercussions of taking the recommended action.
- Identify the possible positive repercussions of not taking the recommended action.
- Identify the possible negative repercussions of not taking the recommended action.
Prepare your responses in point form, and make your answers as concise as possible.
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