Duration: 3 hours for 13 weeks [ECTS: 6]

Course Outline

Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are considered as the cornerstone of any economy, comprising the vast majority of organizations within any country. Yet, SMEs have several particularities (e.g., small size, limited resources, limited networks) that can function either as strengths or as weakness. Additionally, entrepreneurs of SMEs are also faced with more challenges, due to global competition, sharp technological advances, and constantly changing market conditions. Taken together, examining and understanding the operation of SMEs and the external environment they operate within is considered to be critical for students. In this vein, the intention of the course is to present to students the particularities of SME along with the context they operate within. The main subjects under examination are:

• The profile of SMEs in Greece and EU
• The particularities of SMEs
• The profile of the SM Entrepreneur
• Conducting business plans in SMEs
• HRM in SMEs
• MKT in SMEs
• Project management in SMEs
• Creativity and innovation in SMEs

Learning outcomes:

Upon completion of the course, participants are expected to be able to:

• recognize the particularities of SMEs, so that they can join them in a smooth and effective way
• to assess whether they have the characteristics and skills required before starting their own business
• identify the skills to develop, in order to support a SME as it grows
• benchmark successful and diagnose unsuccessful cases of SMEs