Entrepreneurship

Overview:

Our Entrepreneurship specialization provides students with the fundamental skills needed to start, fund, and run your own business. Students learn the techniques used by successful entrepreneurs for idea creation, feasibility analysis, business planning, and funding options. AU’s Entrepreneurship Specialization provides a solid foundation for anyone wishing to own their own business and places particular emphasis on the requirements for successful business start-ups within the State of Ohio. Ashland University is a chartered member of the nation Collegiate Entrepreneurs Organization and a corporate partner with the National Association of Women Business Owners.

Courses & Structure:

REQUIRED COURSE:

• MBA 540 – ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND INTRAPRENEURSHIP – 3 hours – A study in creating and/or expanding your own business as an entrepreneur. To succeed as an entrepreneur, the student will investigate the basic elements of entrepreneurship including: the foundations of entrepreneurship, sources for funding the business, acquisition practices in purchasing an existing business and understanding the essential components of a business plan. Intrapreneurship foundations will examine how corporate managers may capture the initiative in trying new ideas and developing internal markets for their business organization.

CHOOSE 2 OF THE FOLLOWING: 

• MBA 541 – BUSINESS INFORMATION SYSTEMS FOR THE SMALL BUSINESS – 3 hours – This course will examine business information systems as they relate to small businesses. It will examine the various cycles of a small business-revenue cycle, purchase cycle, human resources, financial statement preparation and the information which needs to be obtained to accurately report on these cycles. This course will identify the core concepts of small business information systems and the information requirements which should be included in those systems.
• MBA 542 – BUSINESS TAX PLANNING – 3 hours – A study of federal income tax law applied to various business entities, including sole proprietorships, C corporations, S corporations and partnerships, as well as income tax law to individual business owners.
• MBA 544 – SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT – 3 hours – Management theory generally considers the application of organizational strategies and tactics from a macro point of view. Complications arise in applying many theories to the small venture, where capital, labor, marketing, and many other traits of a smaller business present different perspectives. With limited resources, the small business manager/owner must be able to sustain performance, grow and broaden its mix of goods and services and develop management and leadership styles commensurate with the pace of the opportunity.