MANAGEMENT OF ARTISTIC AND CULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS

This course trains students to see arts and cultural organizations as, above all, organizations — operating within a real economic system — and to examine them with a critical, case-based approach. It contributes to the degree's learning objectives by giving students the conceptual and analytical tools to understand how cultural organizations are managed, how they position themselves strategically, and how they innovate, always keeping in view what makes cultural settings managerially distinctive and complex.

The course of Management and Marketing of Cultural Organizations is composed of two interconnected modules. The first, Management of Artistic and Cultural Organizations, is the focus of this module; the second explores processes, strategies, and tools in the marketing field.

By the end of this module, students are expected to have developed a solid understanding of how cultural organizations are managed, strategically positioned, and driven to innovate — treating economic and financial notions as supporting literacy rather than a core focus. In particular, students are expected to:

1. Understand what a firm is, how economic activity relates to individual and social needs, and what is specific to firms — and to managers — operating in the cultural and creative sector;
2. Analyse the strategic and competitive positioning of a cultural organization within its economic environment, and critically discuss its offer system;
3. Understand how cultural organizations are structured and organized, and how they innovate — in their digital, community-facing, and territorial dimensions;
4. Read and interpret the basic economic and financial tools that support managerial decision-making (cost-volume-profit analysis, double-entry accounting logic, financial statements, and ratio analysis), as literacy in service of the strategic and managerial decisions that remain the course's real focus;
5. Critically discuss how cultural organizations account for their results, including through sustainability reporting and KPIs;
6. Strengthen abilities of case-based and project-based learning: building a strategic proposal from a real-world comparative starting point, defending it in public, and critically evaluating peers' proposals.

Basic knowledge of management and accounting is helpful but not required. The course particularly welcomes students with a critical approach and initiative. Active participation in the group project is strongly recommended and considered a core part of the learning experience, together with engaging in class discussions with constructive questions and comments that benefit the whole group.

The course is articulated in 5 main blocks, delivered over 5 teaching weeks:

1) Foundations: Firms, Individuals, and the Cultural Sector
We start from the basics: what economic activity is, and how it relates to individuals' needs. We then define what a firm is, its main categories, and its institutional structure — introducing core notions of economic sustainability, capital, and income. We narrow the focus to firms operating in the cultural and creative sector (CCI), discussing what is distinctive about them as economic actors.

2) Strategy and Competitive Positioning
We look outward: how does the economic environment and the competitive system shape the choices of a cultural organization? We introduce frameworks to analyse firm strategy and the design of an offer system, applying them to cultural and creative organizations.

3) Organizing and Innovating Cultural Organizations
We look inward: how are cultural organizations structured, and how do people and roles get organized within them? We then open up to innovation, exploring two concrete directions in which cultural organizations innovate today: digital heritage and community engagement, and internationalization strategies and urban regeneration.

4) Reading the Numbers: Economic and Financial Literacy for Managers
We take a functional detour through the numbers a manager needs to be conversant with — cost-volume-profit logic, measures of economic viability, the basics of double-entry bookkeeping, financial statements, and ratio analysis — kept deliberately oriented to interpretation rather than technique, so that students can read and use these numbers to support the strategic and organizational decisions that remain the heart of the course.

5) Accountability, Sustainability Reporting, and Conclusions
We close by asking: to whom, and for what, should cultural organizations be accountable? We look at sustainability reports and KPIs as tools of accountability, before turning to the group projects in the course's closing session.

The core material of the course consists of the lecture slides presented in class. These will be complemented by additional readings, which will be communicated to students at the beginning of the course, during the first session, and made available on Moodle.
The same material is for attending and non-attending students.

The evaluation will be in 30/30, structured as follows:

For attending students
- 70% of the final grade — INDIVIDUAL WRITTEN EXAM: open-ended questions based on the lecture materials and case studies discussed during the course, with most questions on strategy, organization, and innovation, and a smaller share on Block 4 (Reading the Numbers).
- 30% of the final grade — GROUP PROJECT: working in groups of 5, students develop a strategic proposal starting from a real-world comparative analysis and projecting it forward into an original cultural organization concept. The final grade is based on the written "prospectus" and the presentation at the closing mini-conference, including the engagement bonus for consistent progress across the Check of Status sessions.

For non-attending students:
- 100% of the final grade — INDIVIDUAL WRITTEN EXAM: open-ended questions based on the course materials, made available on Moodle.
Non-attending students are invited to contact the professor in case of any doubts regarding the programme or the assessment methods.

written

The instructor is responsible for ensuring the authenticity and originality of all examinations and coursework. In cases of suspected academic misconduct, an additional on-site assessment may be required during the exams, which may differ from the standard format.

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

A. 18-22 range (out of 30)
Sufficient knowledge of the course materials 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 course materials 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 course materials 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 course materials and related topics.

The course alternates theory-based lectures with case-based and project-based learning. Lectures introduce and discuss the conceptual frameworks of each block, illustrated through real-world cases and examples.
Students' group work is scaffolded through three in-class Check of Status sessions, where groups receive quick, targeted feedback on their progress. The course closes with a mini-conference, where each group presents its project and takes part in a structured peer-review process, evaluating at least one other group's proposal.
Students facing difficulties with in-person attendance (e.g. part-time students with work commitments, students dealing with VISA issues) are strongly encouraged to contact the professor for help and guidance to ensure the quality of their learning experience.

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