BUSINESS ECONOMICS AND MANAGEMENT

The course aims at guiding students in the apprasal of the connections between strategic decisions and operations. Operations represent the materialisation of the firm as a system composed of technologies, people and competences, cultures. Specifically, the course focuses on operations planning and strategy. They are seen as materialisations of the decisions students are introduced to in courses that precede and follow this module.

At the end of the module, students will be able to:
1. Appreciate the operational implications of strategic analysis and planning;
2. Translate strategies and the outcomes of market and competitive analysis in an operational plan cast on the short and medium term;
3. understand the constitutive elements and the functioning logics of operations, with particular attention to manufacturing processes.

Additional Learning Requirement (ALR) Mathematics:
First-year students cannot take any exam in the business, economic or quantitative area if they have this ALR (Additional Learning Requirement) pending.
Second - or later-year students cannot take any exam at all if they have this ALR pending.

The Accounting and Business Administration exam is a prerequisite for this course. Without passing it, it is not possible to take the Business Economics and Management exam

1. Strategy, products, processes and capacity;
2. Manufacturing processes and processes in the service industries;
3. Supply chains and related processes;
4. Supply and demand analisys and planning
5. Team project: students' documentaries (details in the following sections).

Students are required to study selected parts of the textbook "Operations and Supply Chain Management" by Jacobs and Chase, McGrawHill Education. Due to time constraints, educational objectives, and the proportion between credits and study volume, students are expected to study the chapters listed below. Nevertheless, the book is a valuable resource that, although not entirely part of the exam material, will prove to be an important ally for students in their future professional careers. Therefore, a complete review of the book is recommended. The textbook is available in over 20 editions, each of which contains the core topics covered in class. Consequently, the chapter titles are provided rather than their numbers, allowing students the freedom to choose the edition they prefer (or borrow).

1. Introduction
2. Strategy
3. Design of product and services
4. Projects
5. Strategic Capacity Management
6. Manufacturing processes
7. Service processes
8. Process design and analysis
9. Lean Supply chains
10. Enterprise Resource Planning Systems
11. Inventory Systems.
12. Materials Requirement Planning

Written exam, 20 multiple-choice questions and two open-ended questions. The exam will be held in the classroom with the assistance of Moodle. Students will need to take it using a laptop or tablet connected to the eduroam network. The exam will last 50 minutes.

written

The grading system (how the grades will be assigned) for both attending or non-attending students is as follows:
A. scores in the 18-22 range will be awarded in the presence of:
- sufficient knowledge and ability to understand applied in relation to the programme;
- sufficient ability to apply knowledge and understanding and judgment;
- sufficient communication skills, especially in relation to the use of specific language relating to the subject;
B. scores in the 23-26 range will be awarded in the presence of:
- good knowledge and ability to understand applied in relation to the programme;
- good ability to apply knowledge and understanding and judgement;
- good communication skills, especially in relation to the use of specific language relating to the subject;
C. scores in the 27-30 range will be awarded in the presence of:
- excellent knowledge and ability to understand applied in relation to the programme;
- excellent ability to apply knowledge and understanding and judgment;
- excellent communication skills, especially in relation to the use of specific language relating to the subject.

The course will include lectures, case discussions, testimonials, and, for attending students, the presentation of a group project in the form of a documentary created by the students on the production processes of a company of their choice. Students who opt for the group project will receive grades from 0 to 4 based on the work submitted.

Students who do not wish to participate in the group project may still attend the lectures (or choose not to attend) and can take the exam based solely on the textbook.