Business & ICT

2009 - 2010 curriculum of the Degree Programme in Business Management, BBA

Advanced professional studies
Planning the Strategy Play

12S001 Financial Management, 3 credits

Objective and content: To enable students to utilise financial data to assist management in performing the management functions and to survey the practical aspects of financing.

Learning and teaching methods: case-based and problem-based learning

Literature and other material:

  • Ryan 2004. Finance and Accounting for Business.
  • Berry & Jarvis 2006. Accounting in a Business Context.
  • Gowthorpe 2005. Business Accounting and Finance for Non-Specialists
  • Lasher 2008. Financial Management: a Practical Approach

Assessment: exam (1 to 5) and team assignments

12S002 EU Law, 3 credits

Objective and content:
To give understanding of legal position of states as subjects in international private law, international law of obligations, international contract law, international property law and dissolving legal disputes with international relation:

  • introduction to the theory of international private law
  • compensation for damages
  • contracts
  • dissolving legal disputes

To give understanding basics of European law, European Court of Justice and development of the European community:

  • the sources of Community law
  • general principles of law
  • principles of the European court system
  • the historical background to the European Community

Learning and teaching methods: lectures, oral and written assignments

Literature and other material: will be submitted at the beginning of the lectures

Assessment: lectures and reading material examination 50 % assignments 50 %

12S003 Supply Chain Management, 3 credits

Objective and content: Functions and processes of supply chain management. The aim of theme focuses on important research, developing and designing themes on marketing logistics. Case: Clothing Company of Benetton, Italy.

Learning and teaching methods:

  • problem based learning: Searching information in literature, on the Internet and creating knowledge and understanding with dialogue and writing. Analyzing information with following workbook.
  • teamwork, in 4-5 member teams
  • planning and analyzing functions and processes of Supply Chain
  • working in IT studio

Literature and other material:

  • Supply Chain Management Workbook, Harrison
  • Benetton: The Family, the Business, and the Brand, Mantle
  • Supply Chain Management book, many possibilities
  • Internet
  • System Theory and Institutional Economics. Business in integrated and interactive system.

Assessments: project exercises, presentations and active participation

12S004 Project: Growing the Firm, 3 credits

Objective and content: To familiarize students with possible growth options for companies and the impact of those options on the resource base and organization structure. To apply knowledge and skills to analyze and evaluate the outcomes of different growth options. To understand the consequences of different options and how the management of companies can cope with the changes that companies will be facing. To appreciate teamwork as a tool to better interact with future challenges

Learning and teaching methods: project based assignment

Literature and other material: See course literature.

Assessment: A written report should be delivered. The assessment includes also presentations and active participation in the teams.


 

The Strategy Play 

12S016 Leadership and Performance, 3 credits

Objective: Leadership can be defined as a set of behaviors that helps a group perform a task, reach their goal, or perform their function. Effective leaders encourage functional behaviors and discourage dysfunctional ones. A leader has the function of clearing the path toward the goal(s) of the group, by meeting the needs of subordinates. Leadership is also about understanding what others say, rather than listening to how they say things. Leadership also refers to the ability to understand the environment they lead in and how they affect and are affected by it.
The aim of the course is to develop the self-awareness and leadership competences of the students with help of case-studies and role-plays.

Content: Nature and Importance of Leadership Traits, Motives and Characteristics of Leadership, Leadership Behaviours, Attitudes and Styles, Leadership Ethics and Social Responsibility, Motivation and Coaching Skills, Creativity, Innovation and Leadership, Multicultural leadership, Leadership role-plays.

Assessment: Assignments and active participation

Literature: DuBrin, A. 2004. Leadership: Research Findings, Practice and Skills. New York Houghton Mifflin.
Articles in scientific journals.

12S006 Strategic Management, 3 credits

Objective and contents: The students learn the main processes of strategic management:

  • Strategic thinking
  • Strategy formulation: Performing a situation analysis, self-evaluation and competitor analysis, both internal and external. The objective setting involves crafting vision statements, mission statements, overall corporate objectives (both financial and strategic), strategic business unit objectives and tactical objectives. The strategic plan provides the details of how to achieve these objectives.
  • Strategy implementation: Involves acquiring the requisite resources, developing the process, training, process testing, documentation, and integration with legacy processes.
  • Strategy evaluation: measuring the effectiveness of the organizational strategy: a SWOT analysis to figure out the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (both internal and external).

Learning methods: Studying the stages of strategic management using the literature and research articles, and applying the knowledge in teams with a real-life case study.

Literature:

  • Mintzberg, H. 1996. Strategy Process concepts, contexts and cases.
  • Mintzberg, H. 2005. Strategy Safari a Guided Tour through the Wilderness of Strategic Management.
  • Kenny, G. 2005. Strategic Planning and Performance Management.
  • Petticrew, A. & Thomas, H. & Whittington, R. 2002. Handbook of Strategy and Management
  • Kaplan & Norton, 2006. Alignment Using the Balance Scorecard to Create Corporate Synergies.
  • Articles in scientific journals.

Assessment: A strategic plan team-work. Active participation and presentation

12S007 Strategic Management Accounting, 3 credits

Objective and content: To provide information on the recent trends and tools of management accounting and to familiarize students with strategic management accounting; students understand the importance of linking performance measurement to the strategic objectives and are able to discuss the major problems managers face when they use activity-based and performance management; students understand the importance of human capital in strategic management.

Learning and teaching methods: competence-based learning

Literature and other material:

  • Drury 2006. Cost and Management Accounting.
  • Drury 2005. Management Accounting for Business.
  • Merchant & Van der Stede 2003. Management Control Systems.
  • Kaplan & Norton 1996. The Balanced Scorecard.
  • Kaplan & Norton 2003. Strategy Maps: Converting Intangible Assets into Tangible Outcomes.

Assessment: team assignment

12S008 Project: Navigating the Firm in the Future, 3 credits

Objective and content: To familiarize students with different scenarios that can be developed for companies. To apply knowledge and skills to develop those scenarios and construct prospective strategies to proactively meet the challenges ahead. To understand the changes that might be needed inside companies but also necessary revaluation of external relationships or building new ones. To appreciate teamwork as a powerful tool to construct successful strategies that keep companies ahead of the competition.

Learning and teaching methods: project based assignment

Literature and other material: See course literature.

Assessment: A written report should be delivered. The assessment includes also presentations and active participation in the teams.


 

Research School

12S009 Scientific Writing, 3 credits

Objective and content: The objective of the course is to provide students with the skills to read with comprehension research work written in their field of study and to write a formal research paper (Bachelor’s thesis). Students are coached to acquire in-depth knowledge of language used in scientific writing.
Learning and teaching methods: The course consists of work in class during which students acquire skills in reading and reporting professional texts and research work. The focus is on learning to read large amounts of material rapidly and with understanding and carrying out self-supervised studies using electronic databases and printed sources. A formal research paper (Bachelor’s thesis) and its presentation conclude the learning process.

Literature and other material: Study materials are provided in class during the course. Additional material will be found on the Internet and in other electronic databases as well as printed sources.

Assessment: mandatory (80 %) attendance active participation during contact sessions (40 % of final result), satisfactory completion of all assignments by the due dates (30 %), final research paper and presentation (30 %). Failure to meet any of the above requirements will lead to unsuccessful completion of the course.

12S017 Research Methods and Methodology, 3 credits

Objective and content: The main objectives of the course are:

  • to learn the structure and main stages of the research process 
  • to get to know the main research approaches (survey, experiment, action research, and case study) and research techniques (analysis of documents, interview, observation, and questionnaire) 
  • to learn different types and sources of information and to be able to assess reliability of information. 
  • to acquire understanding of research methodology based on one research approach or synthesized from several research approaches and techniques 
  • to learn to analyze the research needs and questions, and to select appropriately the methodology and all its components 
  • to learn to analyze the collected information efficiently and interpret the research findings correctly 
  • to acquire skills to report research proposals and results.

Furthermore, the course emphasizes ethical concerns during all stages of the research process, different cultural features might affect information collection, analysis and presentation, and working in a multicultural group.

Learning and teaching method: lecturing, reading research articles, assignments and group work

Literature and other material:

  • lecture materials and articles
  • Laurence Neuman, W. 2003. Social Research Methods: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches. 5th Edition. Pearson Education.
  • Blaxter L. & Hughes, C. & Tight, M. 2003. How to Research. 2nd Edition. Open University Press. McGraw Hill Education.

Assessment: final examination or course project and active participation in class sessions

12S011 Management Research, 3 credits

Objective and content: To understand both what to do and how to do it, we need to know why.  The objective is that the students learn to manage the research process systematically. The course takes the view that business and management research is a systematic process for finding information about a research problem. Research takes inputs such as previous business and management research and data and transforms them into knowledge that is supported by evidence and theory. The aim is that the students learn to how to place a structure on the research process and how to take the uncertain elements into consideration

Learning and teaching methods:
Lecturing, studying the stages of a systematic research, analysis of management research articles, planning the process of the bachelor’s thesis.

Literature and other material:

  • Maylor, H. & Blackmon, K. 2005. Researching Business and Management. Palgrave MacMillan.
  • Gummeson, E. 2000. Qualitative Methods in Management Research. Thousand Oaks Sage.
  • Business and management research articles.

Assessment: Active participation and a written research plan.

12S012 Project: Research School, 3 credits

Objective and content: To familiarize students with the technical requirements for designing, executing and writing scientifically sound research and thesis papers. To apply knowledge and skills to enable thorough abilities in the design and execution and writing of research papers. To understand the logic of scientific methodology and the consequences of choices when designing research, executing and interpreting results. To appreciate teamwork as a means of developing logic research frameworks and as a soundboard of reflection.

Learning and teaching methods: project based assignment

Literature and other material: See course literature.

Assessment: A written report should be delivered. The assessment includes also presentations and active participation in the teams.