BUSINESS MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRATION

This course contributes to the overall learning objectives of the Foundation Year programme, by training students to look at organisations with a strong case-based and critical approach. It provides students with some conceptual tools to familiarise themselves with the underpinnings and basic theories of management practices.

By the end of the course, students are expected to have developed a solid understanding of the nature, the logics, and the main issues of business management and administration.
In particular, students are expected to:
1) Have achieved a strong level of familiarity with the specific vocabulary of management and business administration disciplines;
2) Have an overview of the main functions of management and related basic concepts, principles and theories;
3) Be up to date with current trends and phenomena in the field of management;
4) Be able to confidently interact in Engish, and discuss managerial topics;
5) Be able to carry out a critical analysis of managerial phenomena through the participation in discussion about contemporary ethical and social commitments of organisations.

The course favourably welcomes students with a critical approach and with initiative, as well as the willingness to actively participate to class discussions with constructive questions and comments that may benefit all participants.

Course structure:

Class1: Introduction to Business Management and Administration - After an overview of the course structure, we will discuss what is an organisation, and what is management.

Class 2: The key functions of management - Through a roleplaying excercise, this class will introduce the topics of Planning, Organising, Leading, Controlling, and their relationship to one another.

Class 3: The evolution of management - This class will chart the evolution of management theories and schools of thoughts over the years.

Class 4: An ecosystemic perspective - This class will introduce an ecosystemic perspective by discussing the role of external environments, business ethics, and CSR.

Class 5: A glimpse into entrepreneurship - Through the discussion of a podcast, we will introduce the topic of start ups and scale ups.

Class 6: Partial Assessment N.1

Class 7: Planning - With this class, we'll go more in detail on Goals, Objectives, Targets, types of plans, and challenges to planning.

Class 8: Organising - With this class, we'll go more in detail on Organisational structures and Organisational cultures.

Class 9: Leading & Human Resource management - Through the discussion of a podcast, we will introduce the topic of HR and leading.

Class 10: Partial Assessment N.2

Class 11: Budgeting and accounting - We will discover functions and types of budgets, and the core concepts of accounting and financial statements.

Class 12: Controlling - We will discuss the functions, elements, and challenges of control and performance evaluation systems.

Class 13: Accountability - Through the discussion of a podcast, we will introduce the topic of accountability, and discuss recent trends concerned with its DEI dimension.

Class 14: Final exam

Textbook (selected chapters): Boddy, D. (2020). Management: Using Practice and Theory to Develop Skills, 8th Edition. Pearson. Details on specific chapters will be available on Moodle.
Slides and links to the podcasts for discussion are available on Moodle.

To ensure their continuous study and encourage them to remain up to date with the course materials and discussions, the students will be asked to undergo 2 partial assessments in class, and a final exam. These will be a combination of multiple-choice questions to assess their understanding of course materials and test their critical skills by asking them to analyse key issues discussed in class.

written

The lecturer has a duty to ensure that the rules regarding the authenticity and originality of exam tests and papers are respected. Therefore, if there is suspicion of irregular conduct, an additional assessment may be conducted, which could differ from the original exam description.

Regarding the grading scale, marks will be assigned as follows:


A. 18-22 range (out of 30)

- Sufficient knowledge of the textbooks and related topics;

- Limited ability to use data and form independent judgments:

- Sufficient communication skills.


B. 23-26 range (out of 30)

- Fair knowledge of the textbooks and related topics;

- Fair ability to use data and form independent judgments;

- Fair communication skills.


C. 27-30 range (out of 30)

- Good or excellent knowledge of the textbooks and related topics;

- Good or excellent ability to use data and form independent judgments;

- Fully appropriate communication skills.


D. The “laude” - or honours - will be awarded to students with excellent knowledge and comprehension of the textbooks and related topics.

The course will alternate theory-based teaching (in ordinary lectures) and case-based learning (in podcast discussions).
The purpose of the podcast discussions is to have the students exposed to real-life, contemporary events in the management world, learning from the experience of leaders in the sector, and apply critical thinking skills in the discussion of their opinions, connecting them to the theory discussed in class.

This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "Circular economy, innovation, work" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development