THE DEVELOPMENT OF EXPERIENTIAL EXERCISES FOR COURSES IN ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT Developments In Business Simulation & Experiential Exercises, Volume 17, 1990 190 THE DEVELOPMENT OF EXPERIENTIAL EXERCISES FOR COURSES IN ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT Eugene G. Gomolka, University of Dayton ABSTRACT This paper examines the state of development of experiential exercises for use in entrepreneurship and small business courses. Given the pragmatic nature of this field, experiential exercises which are skill related are needed for application. Topics for which experiential exercises need to be developed, along with suggestions for development, are presented. THE TEACHING OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT Kao (19B9) states that the answer to the question of whether or not entrepreneurship can be taught is both yes and no. While no course of instruction can guarantee that a student will be successful in starting and developing a new venture, Kao believes that what can be taught are certain concepts and skills useful to the would-be practitioner of entrepreneurship. Kao’s Harvard affiliation naturally leads him to rely on the case method for the development of pattern-recognition skills relevant to the educational process. He believes that by observing the range of factors (through case analysis) which facilitate or impede entrepreneurship, the student is more likely to have a better sense of what management actions are required in certain kinds of situations. The teaching of a combination of knowledge about the content and process of a subject is particularly critical in an emerging field such as entrepreneurship, where there is very little underlying theory and no unifying model, theory, or concept. What theory does exist has essentially been extrapolated from related management fields such as Business Policy and Strategy, Organizational Behavior, etc., or other Business Administration fields such as Finance, Marketing, etc. Most of what is known about the field of entrepreneurship has been developed from limited case studies. Only recently have longitudinal empirical studies with large sample sized begun to appear in the academic literature. The content knowledge about entrepreneurship and small business management consists of details about how to start a new business, what regulations and procedures need to be followed, how to get an idea for a new venture, how to obtain financing, how to select a legal structure, how to organize the business, hoe to write a business plan, how to market the small business, how to deal with people, etc. The process of new venture initiation deals with the building of skills in these areas in order to develop some expertise. Experiential learning is an excellent methodology for instruction in entrepreneurship and small business management, given its emphasis on active learning. Models for effective behavior can be developed from this technique, along with information about whether or not the participant wants to pursue a career in the field. The applied nature of entrepreneurship and small business management makes it difficult for this topic to be delivered only in a traditional lecture and recitation method. Learning by experiencing or doing is much more preferable, but the realities of entrepreneurship make this hard to do, Many workbooks are available which can aid the prospective entrepreneur to work through the steps necessary to start a new small business, but these manuals require an actual viable idea which is actually going to be brought to the marketplace. Writing an actual business plan can consume six months of dedicated effort to obtain the necessary market, financial, and economic information. Paper--and- pencil simulation exercises which take the student through the new venture initiation process are quite simple, and are really only extended case studies. While a large number of business simulation games exist which employ a small business as the main vehicle for the game, the emphasis in these games is usual upon a particular business administration function, such a strategic planning r marketing, rather than the actual process of small business management. Those simulations which are specifically aimed at new venture initiation are simple, few in number, and incomplete. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR EXPERIENTIAL EXERCISES IN ENTREPRENEURSHIP The field of entrepreneurship and small business is ideally suited for the application of experiential exercises in its teaching methodology. However, for various reasons, including the rapid development of the field, the necessary experiential exercises have not yet been developed. Parallels exist with the fields of Human Resource Management and Strategic Planning, which only recently have seen the publication of textbooks containing experiential exercises. Tracing a path from the first experiential exercise texts in the field of Organizational Behavior through through extensions to other fields through the recent Business Strategy texts leads this author to believe that an experiential exercise application in Entrepreneurship is not far behind. Exercises which need to be developed include refined applications to start-up, management, and growth situations which are more complex, longer, and more group-oriented than those presently available. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS The field of entrepreneurship and small business has grown rapidly. The demand for educational programs has resulted in an outpouring of texts, conferences, and programs. This topic is evidently well suited for the application of experiential learning, with its experience, reflect, conceptualization, and application cycle. However, a shortage of good or even applicable experiential exercises currently exists. There are many possible subjects for experiential exercise application in the field, and the present paper has pointed out a number of them. It is often of value to have a source point Out the opportunities for the future development of a field, and it is hoped that this paper had made such a contribution. REFERENCES Kao, John J. Entrepreneurship. Creativity, Organization. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 1989. Table of Contents Volume 17, 1990 The Impact of Decision Support Systems on the Effectiveness of Small Group Decisions - Revisited The Relationship Between Financial Performance and Other Measures of Learning on a Simulation Exercise Use and Effectiveness of an Analogy-Based Expert System Suggestions for Computerized Business Authors Dealing with Power: An Experiential Exercise Using Movie and Personal Diary Analysis Techniques A Model for Developing Student Skills and Assessing Outcomes Through Outdoor Training Computer-Aided Exercises Versus Workbook Exercises as Learning Facilitator in the Principles of Marketing Course An Exposition of Guilford's Si Model as a Means of Diagnosing and Generating Pedagogical Strategies in Collegiate Business Education Formal Planning and Simulation Team Performance: A Cross Sectional Approach Cases: Real Organizations in Real Time in the Classroom An Empirical Investigation of the Internal Validity of Marketing Simulation Game An Empirical Evaluation of the Pedagogical Value of Playing a Simulation Game in a Principles of Marketing Course Factors Affecting Effective Teaching of Strategic Planning: Some Preliminary Evidence An Experiential Exercise for Learning About the Relationship Between Organizational Form & the Project Management Process Accounting Communication Skills can be Taught in the Auditing Course Modeling Cost Functions in Computerized Business Simulation: An Application of Duality Theory and Sheppard's Lemma A Life Cycle Analysis of Decision Making for a Strategic Management Team What's the Problem? A Dynamic Model for Teaching Problem Solving Skills Experientially International Currency Fluctuations: Money$im, A Simulation Superstores: A Specialized Retailing Simulation Within a Specialized Marketing Curriculum Factors Affecting Student Perceptions of Learning in a Business Policy Game VC + EL = VL The Name Game: An Experiential Exercise in Intergroup Relations The Effects of Experiential Accounting Work Experience on Student Performance in Intermediate Accounting Courses The Results of Using the Experiential Activity Group Performance Evaluation in a Business Policy Setting Using a Legal Database to Describe the Legal Environment of Marketing (and Business) Matching Environmental Uncertainty and Organizational Configuration An Instructional Computer Simulation of Tampering in QC Executive Evaluation of Student Learning in the Looking Glass Simulation Group Personality Composition and Total Enterprise Simulation Performance An Expert System for Selecting Analytical Techniques for Analyzing Marketing Research Data Effects of Cognitive Styles on Responses in an In-Basket Simulation A Psychometric Analysis of Kolb's Revised Learning Style-Inventory Selecting and Developing Experiential Exercises Using Movies Application of a Real-World Strategic Management Model in the Classroom Demand Equations which Include Product Attributes Consumption as the Objective in Computer-Scored Total Enterprise Simulations The Effects of Decision Format and Evaluation on Simulation Performance, Decision Time, and Team Cohesion The Effects of Computer Related Assignments on Student Performance in Business Administration The Money Game: A Dynamic Simulation Including Random Shocks for Money and Banking Courses Methods for Evaluating Performance on Business Simulations: A Survey The Effects of Synergogy on the Policy Course: Significant Improvements in Student Learning and Teacher Evaluation Conditions and Outcomes of Trust in a Two-Person Bargaining Exercise Bankgame Enhancing Computer Business Simulation with the Use of VGA Graphics An Experiential Approach to Entrepreneurship An Advanced Simulation Method (ASM) for Multiple Objective Problems The Influence of Experiential learning Techniques on Student Recognition of Non-Primary Learning Styles Negotiating Mergers and Acquisitions: A Cocktail Napkin Approach Identification of Unintended Effects in Experiential Laboratory Exercises An Experimental Comparison of Paper and Pencil and Computer Aided Decision Support Tools Porting a Simulation from the IBM World to the Macintosh World A Transaction Cost Analysis of Experiential Learning The Development of Experiential Exercises for Courses in Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management The Assessment Center as and Experiential Classroom Exercise Pricing Strategy Algorithms for Playing Business Simulations Organizational Structures for International Operations: An Experiential Activity Simulation Emphasis in the Business School Capstone Course An Integrated Approach to Computerizing the Business Curriculum Cross-Cultural Business Negotiations Exercise Organizational Socialization and Gender Differences in Students at Work Understanding Student Work Experience: A Content-Analytic Approach Introducing Executive MBA Programs with Management Games An Analysis of Improvement in Business Decision Outcome with Sequential Use of Two Simulation Games Teaching Business Policy Utilizing Mass Lecture and Individual Case Labs Potholes Along the Road to Evaluating Learning Outcomes: The Case of Outdoor Management Training Experiential Learning for Interior Design Students: Using CADD, Lotus 1-2-3, and Wordperfect Cognitive Learning Using a Computer-Based, Qualitative Interactive Business Simulation Sex Discrimination: Does the Woman get the Job or Does the Best Man Win? A Search for Visual Aids to Support Experiential Learning Through the 1990's An Experimental Analysis fo the Effectiveness of Student Role-Playing in Sales Training How to Have Students Learn from their Term Projects Self-Evaluation Exercise (SEE): An Assessment of Class Contribution A Study of the Influence of Team Formation on Attitudes and Performance in Management Games A Hardware Based CIM Simulation Laboratory Model Test Substance Abuse in Organizations Micro Computer Training Models Teaching Forecasting, Cash Budgeting and Inventory Model Building Using SBTools A Comparison of the Effects of Experiential Learning Activities and Traditional Lecture Classes An Adjunct Writing Instruction Assistant, The Computer; With an Illustration Classroom Software for ABC Analysis Utilizing Information Processing Technology to Enhance the Business Policy Simulation Experience Progressive Cases Realistic Job Previews Vs. Traditional Job Previews: Experiencing the Differences and Understanding the Consequences Investment Analysis Using the Pragmatic Multiplier Approach A Computer Simulation Interface for Competitive and Firm Analysis Self-Assessment of Ethical Decision Making Predispositions Preparing Managers for Overseas Assignments An Inquiry into Japanese Marketing: Workshop on Teaching Japanese Marketing The Performance Appraisal Feedback Interview: A Role Play for Human Resources Management Teaching Counselor Selling techniques Using Experiential Techniques to Teach International Topics International Management Simulation Gaming: Current Status and Future Developments A Realism Comparison of Simulation Technologies/Methodologies A Time-Efficient Game to Illustrate Concepts Taught in Management Courses and Management Development Programs Teaching the Management of Technology The Concept of Face and the Applicability of Experiential Exercises in an Oriental Culture's