I. General Information

1. Course Title:
Directed Studies - Enterprise Alternatives

2. Course Prefix & Number:
FBMA 2939

3. Course Credits and Contact Hours:

Credits: 2

4. Course Description:

This course will assist those students wanting to make changes in their farm business through enterprise expansion, addition or enhancement. The course will develop a set of procedures for exploring and evaluating alternative choices.

5. Placement Tests Required:

6. Prerequisite Courses:

There are no prerequisites for this course.

9. Co-requisite Courses:

There are no corequisites for this course.

II. Transfer and Articulation

III. Course Purpose

1. Program-Applicable Courses – This course is required for the following program(s):

Advanced Farm Business Management, Certificate

IV. Learning Outcomes

1. College-Wide Outcomes

College-Wide Outcomes/Competencies	Students will be able to:
Analyze and follow a sequence of operations	Prioritize criteria that affect implementation of alternatives.
Discuss/compare characteristics of diverse cultures and environments	Identify procedures for evaluating alternative choices.

2. Course Specific Outcomes - Students will be able to achieve the following measurable goals upon completion of the course:

•  Define the operations strengths and weaknesses;
•  Evaluate the alternatives best suited to the operation enterprises;
•  Calculate the cost of implementation of alternative enterprise choices;
•  Develop a cash flow projection involving enterprise alternatives;
•  Assess the resource requirements of enterprise options; and
•  Develop an enterprise budget for each option.

V. Topical Outline

Listed below are major areas of content typically covered in this course.

1. Lecture Sessions

1. Compose written and oral presentations to promote alternative plans
• Select alternatives best suited to personnel and other resources available
• Prioritize criteria that affect implementation of alternatives
2. Evaluate industry standards for alternatives
• Compare industry standards to local standards and personal accomplishments
• Determine interviewing techniques needed to evaluate enterprise alternatives
3. Conduct team meetings to evaluate information for enterprise alternatives
• Develop team/project skills and procedures needed to assess alternatives
• Compare and contrast alternatives available; new, value added, expansion
• Apply tools and techniques developed in diploma and certificate programs