ENTI 401 - Opportunity Identification Course Outline Fall 2020

1. This is Part A of the course outline, which is specific to ENTI 401-01 Bachelor of Commerce | 1
Please ensure you review Part B for policies and procedures applicable to all Haskayne undergraduate courses.
ENTI 401 L01
Opportunity Identification
Course Outline Part A – Fall 2020
Instructor
Telephone
Office
Email
Office hours
Website
Lecture location
Lecture times
Kris Hans
XXX.XXX.XXXX
N/A
XXXXXX@ucalgary.ca
By appointment only
http://d2l.ucalgary.ca
Online
Tuesday 18:30 – 21:15
Course Description ENTI 401 builds on a students’ learning from the ENTI 381 and ENTI 317
courses, and is designed to help them identify and develop opportunities to
create a new business venture or social enterprise.
Many great entrepreneurs have capitalized on personal experiences to identify
the opportunities and develop creative ideas. Not every entrepreneur,
however, may be so lucky and we therefore need a systematic knowledge of
how to spot and capture opportunities. Networking is also an important part of
developing opportunities for businesses, not-for-profits and social enterprise.
This course provides the students with a deep understanding of sources of
opportunities as well as the necessary skills for creatively engaging with such
opportunities to develop initial ideas into better ideas, and conducting
efficient, evidence-based feasibility analyses before committing to starting an
organization.
Course Objectives Upon completion of the course, students should be ableto:
1. Apply the creative,analysis,networking and resource-based models
and techniques that lead to solving problems and identifying
opportunities.
2. Describe at least three creativity techniques that help groups generate
more solutions to problems.
3. Use at least two industry and competitor analysis models to identify

2. This is Part A of the course outline, which is specific to ENTI 401-01 Bachelor of Commerce | 2
Please ensure you review Part B for policies and procedures applicable to all Haskayne undergraduate courses.
potential opportunities.
4. Locatekeynetworking relationships foropportunityidentification,
using an entrepreneurial networking model.
5. Connectaccess toresources toentrepreneurialopportunities through
effectuation or bricolage processes.
6. Organize targeted research and analysis plans to gather relevant data
for evaluating the opportunity ideas.
7. Integrate, compare and contrast, and analyze data to evaluate a
specific context and potential of an opportunity idea.
8. Organize data relevant to opportunity ideas into pro forma financial
statements and analysis.
9. Evaluate the potential value creation and risks of opportunity ideas
using evidence, analysis and logical argument.
10. Explain how opportunity identification is relevant to all phases of
organization’s evolution.
Textbook and/or Other
Materials
Readings will be based on articles, videos, cases and papers assigned by the
instructor through the course. Most of the readings will be provided on D2L;
others will be provided as links.
Some books that are worth owning and may help you in this course, however,
are available second-hand or in libraries. I recommend, but do not require, the
following:
Kathleen Allen, Launching New Ventures, Cengage. Any edition is good, but I
especially recommend the 5th edition or any newer edition.
Eric Ries, 2011. The Lean Startup. The Crown Publishing Group. Available as a
book and a free downloadable pdf. Some of you may have used all or part of this
book in a previous course. The relevant aspect for this course relates to the
integration of customer perspectives into opportunity development.
Peter Thiel, 2014. Zero to One. The Crown Publishing Group
A reserve copy of these materials will be available in the Business Library.
Course Workload Generally, it is understood that students should spend two hours per week
outside of class time for every hour of lecture. This means that for each course,
students should expect to spend approximately 9 hours per week total on
course work and lectures. This may vary by week depending on both the
assessment schedule and on students’ ability to manage their time.
Grade Scale The Haskayne School of Business endeavours to ensure consistency of final grades across
courses and sections. Variations in distribution will always be considered by the
instructor where called for by the performance in each individual class. The student

3. This is Part A of the course outline, which is specific to ENTI 401-01 Bachelor of Commerce | 3
Please ensure you review Part B for policies and procedures applicable to all Haskayne undergraduate courses.
does not have any ‘right’ to a certain grade, but is responsible for earning grades. The
instructor has unfettered discretion to evaluate student performance and assign all
grades.
A+ ≥ 95.0 Outstanding
A ≥ 90.0 Excellent
A- ≥ 85.0 Approaching excellent
B+ ≥ 80.0 Exceeding good performance
B ≥ 75.0 Good performance
B- ≥ 70.0 Approaching good performance
C+ ≥ 67.0 Exceeding satisfactory performance
C ≥ 64.0 Satisfactory performance
C- ≥ 60.0 Approaching satisfactory performance
D+ ≥ 55.0
Marginal pass. Insufficient preparation for subsequent
courses in the same subject
D ≥ 50.0
Minimal pass. Insufficient preparation for subsequent
courses in the same subject
F < 50.0 Failure. Did not meet course requirements.
Grade
Distribution
Due Date Assessment Individual Group Course Outcomes
Assessed
ongoing Online Discussion
Participation
10% 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 9
ongoing Class Preparation
Exercises
10% 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 9
Oct 20 Group Project 1 15% 2, 6, 7, 9
Nov 17 Group Project 2 15% 3, 6, 7, 9
Dec 1 Group Project 3 15% 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
Oct 27 Exam 1 (take home) 10% 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10
Dec 1 Exam 2 (take home) 10% 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10
Dec 8 Retrospective Reflection 10% 1, 4, 5, 7, 9
Dec 2 Individual & Peer
Evaluation
5%
Total 55% 45%
Missed
Assessment
Policy
If an assessment is missed, students have 48 hours to communicate with the instructor
about the absence. The instructor reserves the right to allocate the weighting of the
missed assessment to the final exam or another assessment later in the term.

4. This is Part A of the course outline, which is specific to ENTI 401-01 Bachelor of Commerce | 4
Please ensure you review Part B for policies and procedures applicable to all Haskayne undergraduate courses.
Late Policy Late assignments are penalized 20% per 24-hour period (not including holidays and
weekends) for a maximum of three days – no feedback is provided for late submissions.
This penalty is applied whether an assignment is a few minutes late or a few hours late!
Course Delivery Course content will be delivered through a combination of both synchronous and
asynchronous online learning. Some course material will be covered in real-time online
sessions held during registrar-scheduled class times for the course, and other content
will be covered through asynchronous online learning, which students can access at
times convenient to them. Students are responsible for all content covered in both types
of delivery. Students are expected to attend synchronous class sessions at the
designated time, and to engage with asynchronous material in a timely manner in order
to keep up with course content and deliverables. Please see the following pages for
details on the delivery of course content.
Assignments There are several individual assignments, including the exams and retrospective
reflection essays. There will also be several group assignments, all linked to completing
the course project or developing opportunity recognition skills. The assignments will be
submitted electronically via D2L Dropbox and/or Medium.com (Please refer to specific
details and instructions in the assignment documents).
Group Project We will have three group projects, each one a feasibility analysis of a business or social
enterprise opportunity. Each project will require some specific research or analysis
challenge, while also allowing the group to design an appropriate research strategy for
their own particular idea. The deliverables will vary also, including a presentation, a
report, an executive summary, and a memo with an excel spreadsheet.
I will create the groups for the projects, based on your educational background,
experiences, personal interests, and career plans.
* Group Member evaluations of each group member’s contribution and effort toward
the project will be considered during final grade preparation. The instructor will assign a
zero grade to students who do not participate in the preparation of the project and
presentations, and an “F” grade for the course
Take Home
Exams
The exams will be based on the readings, classroom discussions, and speakers.
There will be two exam questions for each exam, and each question will challenge
students to compare and contrast and integrate the information and models discussed in
the course. Grades will be based on thoughtful integration of ideas that demonstrate
personal insights of different theoretical approaches. Tests will be made available
electronically on D2L on the Friday at 00:00 prior to the due date and due 11:59pm
Tuesday on Oct 27th and Dec 1st
respectively.

5. This is Part A of the course outline, which is specific to ENTI 401-01 Bachelor of Commerce | 5
Please ensure you review Part B for policies and procedures applicable to all Haskayne undergraduate courses.
Assessment of Writing Writing skills are not exclusive to English courses and, in fact,
should cross all disciplines. The University supports the belief that
throughout their University careers, students should be taught how
to write well so that when they graduate their writing abilities will
be far above the minimal standards required at entrance.
Consistent with this belief, students are expected to do a
substantial amount of writing in their University courses and,
where appropriate, members of faculty can and should use writing
and the grading thereof as a factor in the evaluation of student
work. The services provided by the Writing Support, part of the
Student Success Centre, can be accessed by all undergraduate and
graduate students who feel they require further assistance. In this
course, your writing will be assessed as part of your grade in the
following assessments: class preparation exercises, group projects,
exams, and retrospective reflection.
Class Format We will be employing a variety of learning methods. There will be
traditional lectures, case discussions, group exercises, interactive
challenges, students’ presentations and guest lecturers. Regardless
of the pedagogical format, students are encouraged to draw on
their personal experience to ground the materials and to share
their insights and experience wherever appropriate.
Class Preparation &
Desire2Learn (D2L)
Students are expected to read the assigned readings and complete
any class preparation exercises before class. Important information
and additional readings for ENTI 401 are posted on D2L.
Your instructor may not necessarily cover all of the materials in the
readings, but it is the responsibility of the student to understand
the concepts presented in the readings and lectures. If you are
unsure of any of the concepts, please take the initiative to ask the
instructor during class.
Academic Integrity and Rigor Academic integrity and rigor are critical components of a
University degree. Academic integrity is the foundation of the
development and acquisition of knowledge and is based on values
of honesty, trust, responsibility, and respect. The Haskayne School
of Business values ethical leadership and personal integrity, and
expects its faculty, staff, and students to live these values. In the
online environment, certain additional measures will be put in
place to help safeguard the integrity of online assessments and

6. This is Part A of the course outline, which is specific to ENTI 401-01 Bachelor of Commerce | 6
Please ensure you review Part B for policies and procedures applicable to all Haskayne undergraduate courses.
the intellectual property of the instructors.
Attendance and Engagement in
Synchronous Sessions
Active engagement in class and with course material is essential in
any course. In the online context, students must take increased
ownership of their learning.
Expectations for attendance at synchronous sessions are the same
as they are in a face-to-face course. Students are expected to
actively attend synchronous sessions and adhere to class norms.
These include:
• Having the camera on during synchronous sessions is
optional
• Keeping the microphone on mute unless called on by the
instructor (or participating in oral discussion)
• Using the features and tools in Zoom as requested by the
instructor
Synchronous sessions will be used for guest lectures, addressing
questions pertaining to course materials, breakout rooms for
exercise, one-on-one consultations with instructor for group
projects, etc.

7. This is Part A of the course outline, which is specific to ENTI 401-01 Bachelor of Commerce | 7
Please ensure you review Part B for policies and procedures applicable to all Haskayne undergraduate courses.
Class Schedule & Topics
Please note that lecture topics and readings are tentative and subject to change. The dates of
assessments will not be changed.
Important dates (e.g. Block Week, Lecture start dates, Reading Week, etc.) can be found at the
following web site: http://ucalgary.ca/pubs/calendar/current/academic-schedule.html
COURSE SCHEDULE ENTI 401 – Fall 2020
DATE DETAILS
Monday, Sept. 7 No Class – Labor Day
Week 1
Tuesday
Sept 8
Introductions to Us, to the Course
Mini-Lecture: The Opportunity Development Process
Opportunities can be simple ideas or fully developed business models. For the
entrepreneur,developingan opportunitymeans stickingwith an idea and exploring the
possibilitiesthroughcreative,analytic,networkingandresource-basedmethods. The
goal is to evolve the initial idea into strong value creation (solve a real problem for a big
enough target market) that can build a business or a sustainable not-for- profit.
Week 2
Tuesday
Sept 15
Using Creativity Tools to Generate Opportunity Ideas
Experienceseveralcreativitymethodologiesforopportunityidentification.Thegoalis to
generate manyideas, and to see how everyone can be contribute to creating ideas to
solve problems and start newbusinesses.
Thursday, Sept. 17 Add/Drop Date
Week 3
Tuesday
Sept 22
Creativity Tools to Solve Society Problems Through Business
A newapproach to solvingsocialproblems,bycreatingbusinesses instead of not-for-
profit charities. We will target a real problem, and see how many viable business
concepts we can generate.
Week 4
Tuesday
Sep 29
Testing Creative Ideas / Personal Orientation to Research
a. surveys b. interviews c. observation studies
The more experienced entrepreneurs typically use primary research methods–in other
words, they prefer to talk to people to gain important information. In companies big
and small, primary research plays an important role in gathering information to make
smart decisions. In this class,we willuse live exercises to explore three distinct methods
for primary research. These methods can be used for all the course assignments.

8. This is Part A of the course outline, which is specific to ENTI 401-01 Bachelor of Commerce | 8
Please ensure you review Part B for policies and procedures applicable to all Haskayne undergraduate courses.
Week 5
Tuesday
Oct 6
Discover Opportunities through Analysis
Entrepreneurs sometimes prefer touseanalysis todiscover opportunities.Inthis class we
willreviewseveralanalyticalmethods for identifyingopportunities.Opportunities come
in many shapes and sizes. Some ideas are based on imitating a business that seems to
work well, and other opportunities are creative and ground-breaking.
Monday, Oct. 12 Thanksgiving
Week 6
Tuesday
Oct 13
Analysis Methods Rely on Data
Speaker (Who actually uses analysis methods?) /Data Search Techniques
a. data search b. keeping track of findings
Analysis methods are used by people looking for businesses to buy, by real estate
developers to analyse properties,and bycompanies lookingfor ways to expand. We will
have a speaker to discuss how his company approaches research and analysis. Also,
we will work with the business librarian to answer the questions that entrepreneurs
typically ask. Quick and easy research can help an entrepreneur conduct a feasibility
study
Week 7
Tuesday
Oct 20
Industry and Competitor Analysis
Continuingfrom two weeks ago,we willuse another strategyframeworkto analyze
thesame industries as last week. Our goal is to see how the different models
complement eachother.What strengths andweaknesses canweidentify? Arethere any
interesting companies we could buy? What companies should we imitate?
Week 8
Tuesday
Oct 27
Networks and Opportunities: Know-Who Methods
Entrepreneurs use conversations to think through their ideas, get information and
expertise, and find the people who can make an idea turn into a business. In the class we
will watch a video showing an entrepreneur using charm, persistence, logic, persistence,
time and persistence to move an unusual opportunity forward. We will also discuss a
useful theory for understanding the role of different people in your network. In this
context,we willtalkabout the entrepreneur interviewassignment.
Week 9
Tuesday
Nov 3
Effectuation: Cash is King
Many people are 'afraid' of accounting and finance, and yet we should all know how to
count our money. Entrepreneurs often learn veryquicklythat managingcash is the most
important accounting task. In this class, we will do a basic accounting case. The goalis to
help you use simple accounting to thinkabout your best business ideas AND to help you
talk to your future accountant who will do the hard work for you.

9. This is Part A of the course outline, which is specific to ENTI 401-01. Bachelor of Commerce | 9
Please ensure you review Part B for policies and procedures applicable to all Haskayne undergraduate courses.
Tuesday, Nov 10 No Class – Term Break (November 8 -14)
Week 10
Tuesday
Nov 17
Effectuation: Starting from what you have
A different approach to entrepreneurship is to start with what you have, not with your
‘best’ ideas. The idea is to explore ideas based on what you have, test ideas in real time,
and workon creating a viable business over time. The approach can be used to create a
series of businesses, each one better or bigger than the previous.
Week 11
Tuesday
Nov 24
What is You Network? How can you process ideas and opportunities in your network?
Usingthe networkmodel,analyze your current network. Who should you talkto for
information? For expert advice or insight? To help actually start the company? To help
think through the ideas?
Week 12
Tuesday
Dec 1
Effectuation: Long Term Growth for an Organization
Companies pursue opportunities to survive tough economies or declining industries,
long-term, or to grow the business past the initial stages. We will look at a few models
of ‘intrapreneurship’, and discuss some live cases that show how effectuation can be
used as a business strategy.
Week 13
Tuesday
Dec 8
Effectuation: Live Case class with a speaker
What opportunities are available? What process would be a smart wayto checkout the
various ideas?
Please note: At the University of Calgary, feedback provided by students through the Universal Student
Ratings of Instruction (USRI) survey provides valuable information to help with evaluating instruction,
enhancing learning and teaching, and selecting courses. Typically these surveys are done online during the
last two weeks of classes. Your responses make a difference – please participate in the USRI surveys. For
more information, please visithttp://ucalgary.ca/usri.