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Wir ham ja nix gehabt und datt bisken hamma noch geteilt - Creativity and Entrepreneurship

Exam number: 6042

Semester: from 4th semester (Schwerpunktbildung)

Duration of the module: One Semester

Form of the module (i.e. obligatory, elective etc.): Elective

Frequency of module offer: Irregularly

Prerequisites: You have to register by sending an E-Mail to Zirkelbach@europa-uni.de until April 23, 2022. This deadline is also valid for all Erasmus / fx-students. Please use your Viadrina E-mail address if possible and state your Viadrina matriculation number. Erasmus / fx students may also register via their private E-Mail address in case that the Viadrina E-Mail account is not set up yet.

The time you send the E-Mail serves as the decision criterion whether you are in or out. In order to increase the diversity and heterogeneity of the participants a few places are reserved for Erasmus /fx-students. After registration via E-Mail we will register you in the Moodle system to receive all information about the course.

Capacity limit: 25 students.

Lectures and exercise classes will solely take place during the first block of the semester.

Applicability of module for other study programmes:
Obligatory or elective in other study programmes. For further information check regulations of the study programme.

Person responsible for module: Prof. Dr. Georg Stadtmann

Name of the professor: Prof. Dr. Georg Stadtmann

Language of teaching: English

ECTS-Credits (based on the workload): 6

Workload and its composition (self-study, contact time):
Contact time (lecture, tutorials etc.) 45 h; self-study: 135 h

Contact hours (per week in semester): 6

Methods and duration of examination:

  • 4 – 5 Assignments on a weekly basis (50 % of final grade). All assignments will be performed in a group. Group composition changes during the course. The lecturer decides upon group composition. Grading will be done individually. Students who are not present during a groups’ presentation can only earn 50 % of the average group score.
  • Exam (50 % of final grade).

Emphasis of the grade for the final grade: Please check regulations of the study programme

Aim of the module (expected learning outcomes and competencies to be acquired):

Knowledge:
- Students should understand the different definitions of creativity, their similarities and differences
- Must understand concepts of creative thinking style
- Must have knowledge about enhancement of creativity
- Must have knowledge about important factors for creativity
- Students should be able to understand the different fields of the BMC and how they are connected
- Students should know the different pattern of business models

Skills:
- Must be able to plan and execute strategies for enhancing own creativity
- Must be able to plan and execute strategies for enhancing others´ creativity
- Must be able to evaluate and analyse strategies for enhancing creativity
- Students should be able to use the BMC concept to structure their own business plan in written form and oral presentations
- Must be able to apply book-keeping skills in order to create a balance sheet and a profit & loss statement.

Competencies:
- Must have the ability to think flexible, original and fluent on command
- Must have the ability to train own creativity
- Must have the ability to train others´ creativity

Contents of the module:

We have prepared a short video as teaser for this course. You can find this video within the following link.

In the first part of the course, students will use different tools to become more creative.

  • What is business creativity? Explanations and definitions.
  • What can go wrong in a traditional brainstorming session: Reflection and awareness.
  • The three components of creativity (Amabile 1998): Expertise – extrinsic versus intrinsic motivation – creative-thinking skills
  • For example, we use Edward de Bono’s concept of Lateral Thinking: Definition and applicationof the concepts of Challenge, Concept Extraction, Provocative Operation (PO) and Random Entry.
  • We also introduce other methods to enhance creativity such as, for example Synectics.
  • Idea generation, idea development, idea evaluation (vanGundy 2005).
  • Idea Evaluation: Six-Thinking heads (Edward de Bono), Checkerboard, Map-it

In the second part, students will learn the structure, methods, and tools in order to lead a group.
  • During the course students will get exercises/assignments to practice their knowledge and skills.
  • Group composition will change on a regular basis. Students have to work in different groups. The lecturer will decide on the composition of the groups.

The third part of the course – the entrepreneurship part – covers an introduction to the strategyzers’ Business Model Canvas (BMC) in order to analyze business models of start-ups (Osterwalder et al. 2014) or traditional industries – which are disrupted. We will also analyze appropriate marketing tools for start-ups, which don’t have a multi-million dollar marketing budget (Guillebeau 2012).
  • Refresher on bookkeeping/accounting
  • Introduction to guerilla marketing techniques• Business Model Canvas (BMC): An Introduction
  • Pain Killers and Gain bringers (Stadtmann 2017)
  • How to use the BMC in presentations: How to structure information effectively
  • Patterns of business models: Unbundling business models (Hagel/Singer 1999):, the long tail Anderson 2004), multi-sided platforms (Eisenmann; Van Alstyne 2006), FREE as a business model (Anderson 2008), open business models (Chesbrough 2003)

Examples:
  •  In the creativity part of the course, we will for example try to generate ideas for “the supermarket of the future”. We will use, for example, the concept of Lateral Thinking (Edward de Bono) to generate ideas. For example, we will ask the question of how a general/politician/baker would tackle this question (‘Random Entry Strategy’).
  • A potential assignment could be, that students get a (very) small amount of money, they can invest in their new start-up. Students have a few days for planning, but the idea has to be executed within 2 – 3 hours. The objective could be to generate as much profit as possible. The students will get time to present their planning process, ideas, as well as the outcome.

Teaching and learning methods:
Lectures, exercise classes, video clips, group presentations,
Students are expected to attend all lectures. 100 % participation rate necessary.

Literature (compulsory reading, recommended literature):
Primary readings:

Amabile, Teresa M. (1998) How to kill creativity. Harvard Business Review, September-October, 77 – 87.
Anderson, Chris (2004): The Long Tail, Wired Magazine.
Anderson, Chris (2008): Free! Why $0.00 is the Future of Business, Wired Magazine.
Chesbrough, Henry (2003): The Era of Open Innovation. MIT Sloan Management Review, No. 3, 2003.
Eisenmann, Parker; Van Alstyne (2006): Strategies for Two-Sided Markets, Harvard Bussiness Review  October 2006. <
Hagel, John and Singer, Marc (1999): Unbundling the Corporation, Harvard Business Review. March –April 1999.
Osterwalder et al. (2014): Value Proposition Design.
Stadtmann, Georg; N. Kesswani, T. Stadtmann, V. Gupta (2017):  Delivery Hero. Fallstudie, The Case Centre, Reference no. 817-0094-1.
VanGundy, Arthur B. (2005): 101 Methods for teaching creativity and problem solving.

Motivational readings:

Guillebeau, Chris (2012): The $100 Startup. Pan Books.

Secondary readings:

Byrge, Christian and Hansen, Sören (2014): Enhancing Creativity for Individuals, Groups and Organizations, Frydenlund Academic. 

Further information:
Registration via E-Mail required.