Seed Business 101^SM - Core Curriculum

CORE CURRICULUM
The goal of Seed Business 101 is to enhance each participant’s career performance and help them avoid costly mistakes. The course is designed to focus on the optimum operations of the five major functional areas of a seed company.

• Plant Breeding Research
• Production
• Operations
• Sales and Marketing
• Administration

The course offers participants a broad understanding of the major aspects of a seed company’s operations and a cross-departmental knowledge of best practices for profitability. Four case studies have been custom designed to immerse each participant in decision making roles in all five functional areas of a fictitious seed company. The course is designed to maximize interactive participation and team building.

Monday and Tuesday Following the introduction, instructors will use Case I to incorporate all five functional areas in a company's decision to gear up and enter a new market. Each functional area director, played by the instructors, will explain the operations of their area and analyze the impacts of three different potential new market entries. On Tuesday afternoon the class will be divided into several working groups, each tasked with presenting the optimum strategy.

Wednesday and Thursday Participants will be divided into several working groups for Cases II, III and IV to study three critical processes in a seed company’s daily life:

• inventory management
• product liability; prevention & handling of claims
• new product introduction

Friday Team presentations and instructor critiques are conducted, followed by a course recap, final Q&A and course evaluation. A Certificate of Completion will be awarded to each successful graduate.