ENGINEERING INNOVATION AND BUSINESS STRATEGIES

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ENGINEERING INNOVATION AND BUSINESS STRATEGIES

• Subject Outlines Introduction
• Applied Management for Engineers
• ELE 41EIB ELE 41EMT

Lecture 1 01 March, 2005
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Background George Alexander

• BSc (Eng) Edinburgh 1967
• MBA Deakin 1986
• Manufacturing
• Logistics, production, engineering including
  maintenance, production eng, test eng, QA
• Design
• Hardware, software projects. Business support
• Consulting/Project Management
• 2003-2005
• Lecturing in ELE12EDP, ELE22EMT, ELE31EMT,
  ELE41EMT at La Trobe

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Contact Details
George Alexander E-mail address
G.Alexander_at_latrobe.edu.au Phone [phone] Web
Page www.ee.latrobe.edu.au/eemanage Room 129B -
Level 1, Physical Sciences 2 Building When
sending e-mail, please insert in the Subject EMT
2005 (ELE 41EMT Students) EIB 2005 (ELE 41EIB
Students)
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Objectives

• Promote and foster business sense amongst
  engineering students,
• Raise awareness of the commercial and legal
  aspects of conducting business,
• Develop team spirit and collaborative work
  environment, and
• Learn how to develop business plans

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Topics

• Meeting Skills
• Business Structures
• Business Plan Guidelines
• Engineering Innovation
• Technology Adoption Lifecycle
• Business Plans Development
• Leadership
• Leading Change
• Costing of Business
• Quality Management Principles

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Subject Focus
Leadership
Legal
Business Planning
Strategy
Innovation
Accounting
Marketing
Product
People
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Subject Configuration

• Marketing for Engineers
• Legal Principles in Engineering
• (ELE 31MEL)

• Engineering Innovation
• Business Strategies
• Leadership, People, and Teams
• (ELE 41EIB)

Applied Management for Engineers (ELE 41EMT)
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Subject Composition
ELE 31MEL 5 CPs
ELE 41EIB 5 CPs
ELE 41EMT 15 CPs
Component
Marketing for Engineers
Legal Principles in Engineering
Engineering Innovation
Business Strategies
Leadership, People, and Teams
Business Plan Development
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Attendance
The subject focus is on group activities,
participation, and positive contributions of each
group member. Attendance of lectures is an
assessment factor with a weight of 20 of the
marks for this part of the subject. Each student
must sign the attendance sheet at the beginning
of each lecture.
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Assessment (Business)
Item
Description
Mark
1
Team (5-8 students) exercise to prepare a
strategy for the commercialisation of a product
or a service. Assessment based on 1.1 First
Presentation by Team Leader 1.2 Group
Presentation at end of semester 1.3 Submission
of the Business Plan
5 25 30
2
10 20
2.1 Individuals preliminary executive
summary 2.2 Attendance of lectures
3
10
Team performance (allocated by the team leader).
Total
100
NOTE ELE 41EMT Marketing Legal Principles are
assessed by Exam
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First Presentation

• Presented by the Team Leader
• About 10 minutes
• Outline of the proposed service/product
• Brief marketing aspects
• Brief financial aspects

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Individuals Executive Summary

• About two pages of text
• Outline of a proposed service/product
• Market potential
• Financial aspects
• Why should it be taken up by the group

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Plan of Attack

• 1. Provide the necessary tools and guidance
  through lectures,
• 2. Individual research and reading,
• 3. Team (5 - 8 students) discussions and
  exchange of knowledge, and
• 4. Develop a Business Plan using gained
  knowledge.

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Activities Schedule

• Teams formation 08 March
• Individuals Executive summary 15 March
• Selection of a service/product 22 March
• Executive summary presentation 5 April
• Business plan preparation On-going
• Tutorials and group meetings On-going
• Business plan presentations 24 May
• Business plan presentations 31 May
• Submission of the Business Plan 10 June

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Working in Teams

• Team size should be 5 - 8 students.
• Team Leader/Chairperson
• Weekly meetings
• Meeting venue, time,and dates.
• Product/service selection.
• Minutes of meetings

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Product/Service Selection

• Each team member suggests an idea for a service
  or a product to the team,
• The service or product could be a final year
  design a software package,
• Each team selects one of its team members ideas
  or generates a new one that the team agrees on.
• Service/product can be a device, system,
  software, or some other service like writing
  software.

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Choosing a Product/Service

• Each student proposes a product or a service in
  about four pages of text.
• Please submit your proposals to the Group Leader
  by Tuesday, 15 March 2005.
• Each group shall choose one proposal by Tuesday,
  22 March 2005.
• Group Leader presentation on 29 March, 2005

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Reasonable Imagination!

• Try to be as realistic as possible with your
  idea/project.
• When doing surveys, you dont need to survey 1000
  - maybe 10 would be O.K.
• A little bit of imagination is O.K. - dont
  overdo it.

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End of Semester Presentations

• Presented by the team as a whole, every member
  must attend.
• The main objective of the presentations is to
  sell your product/service to a group of
  investors.
• Assessment by a panel of lecturers.
• Assessment will be based on business sense,
  audio-visual presentation, but not necessarily on
  technical aspects of the product/service.

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The Formation of Teams

• 1. Forming
• 2. Storming
• 3. Norming
• 4. Performing

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Group Names

• For the purpose of assessment, groups will be
  named alphabetically as A, B, C, etc.
• Each group should choose a suitable name to
  represent its activities.
• Choosing the right name for a business or a
  company is vital for its success.

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Group Structure Example
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Seven Things Teams Need

• Teams require clear agreed boundaries,
• Teams must plan, do and review their work,
• Teams need agreed goals,
• Teams need to determine Ground Rules by which
  they manage their behaviour,
• Teams need to measure and know how they are
  going,
• Teams need to have agreed on their co-ordination
  and leadership, and
• Teams need to meet regularly.

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Meeting Skills

• Why have meeting?
• The types of meetings
• Meetings cost money
• Meeting model
• The chairperson

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Why have meetings ?
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Types of Meetings

• Communication
• Motivation
• Dialogue
• Problem Solving

• Idea Generation
• Decision Making
• Education
• Endorsement

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Meetings Cost Money!

• Travelling time to and from meeting venue
• Transportation and accommodation costs
• Salary of persons attending the meeting
• Possible replacement for person attending the
  meeting (additional wages etc.)
• Possible disruption to normal work and loss of
  revenue.

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Meeting Skills
Prepare

• Control

Do
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Important Issues

• Clear Purpose
• Defined Roles
• Preparation
• Lead to Actions
• Plan to Improve

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Meetings Model

• BEFORE
• Review the need
• Plan the process
• Communicate
• DURING
• Confirm agenda
• Manage the process
• Take minutes
• Commit to ACTIONS
• Review meeting effectiveness

• AFTER
• Communicate outcomes
• Monitor actions
• Keep commitments

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Meeting Minutes

• Record the key aspects of the meeting
• decisions made
• action points who, what, when
• Provides a common understanding of what was
  agreed at the meeting.
• Provides a basis for future follow up e.g. at
  next meeting.
• Minutes should be clear and concise.

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The Chairperson is Key

• Defines the purpose
• Prepares agenda
• Distributes information
• Thinks through how to achieve
• Manages process
• Monitors progress
• Ensures commitment to actions

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Thanks for your attention