Online Course Guide of WHU –

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Please use the filters below to select the term (spring or fall) as well as the respective program (BSc, MSc, MBA, Exchange, Doctoral) of your choice for an overview of all modules offered at WHU. The courses are listed under the modules. Please click on a module to see which courses are part of it. If you would like to find out more about a certain course, click on the name of the course to see detail information. The location of the lecture will be revealed after your course registration on myWHUstudies.

Spring term counts from January - August, fall term counts from September - December.

Important for Exchange Students: As the Full-Time and Part-Time MBA Programs utilize a modular course structure, the dates on which students begin and end the exchange are flexible. Please find here a chronological overview of the preliminary course offering for Fall and Spring.

Fall 2022  ›  Bachelor of Science in International Business Administration  ›  1st Semester  ›  Introduction to Business

Introduction to Business Administration, Group D 2

The course imparts knowledge of the subject, the theories, and the central topics of Business Administration. 1. Discipline-specific knowledge and competence - Learn about the context and basic principles within the field of business administration 2. Management-specific skills - Develop a basic economic expertise 3. Global business environment - Discussion of issues in an international context 4. Teamwork and responsible leadership - n/a 5. Critical thinking and problem-solving skills - Evaluate and critically think about problems in different functions of a firm 6. Managerial and entrepreneurial practice - Understand the role of strategy, innovation, and organization for the developement of a firm

Course Code:
MGMT101
Lecturers:
Prof. Dr. Ove Jensen, Prof. Dr. Utz Schäffer
Course Type:
BSc Course
Week Hours:
2,0
Term:
Fall 2022
Language:
Deutsch
Credits:
3.0
(Please note that exchange students obtain a higher number of credits in the BSc-program at WHU than listed here. For further information please contact directly the International Relations Office.)
The course introduces the elements of business administration that constitute our school’s name: Wissenschaftliche Hochschule für Unternehmensführung – Otto Beisheim School of Management. The course content is organized around six themes:

1) Introducing the “Hochschule” in WHU: Evolution of business schools

  • Evolution of the university
  • Evolution of business administration
  • Criticism of business, business administration, and business schools

2) Introducing the “Unternehmen” in WHU: Evolution and theory of the firm

  • Chandler’s theory of scale and scope
  • Williamson’s transaction cost theory
  • Criticism of Chandler and Williamson

3) Introducing the “Wissenschaft” in WHU: Theory and evolution of knowledge

  • Philosophy of science
  • Scientific (r)evolution
  • Social science vs. natural science
  • Criticism of science

4) Introducing the “Führung” in WHU: Evolution of leadership thought

  • The elements of systematic management
  • Taylor’s scientific management
  • Mayo’s humanistic management
  • Leadership vs. management
  • Criticism of management

5) Introducing Otto Beisheim’s work: Evolution and theory of marketing thought

  • Tedlow’s four eras of marketing
  • Evolution of distribution
  • Economic theory and marketing theory
  • Criticism of marketing

6) Introducing management: Key concepts in strategic management

  • Key concepts in strategy
  • Critical evaluation of notorious strategy tools
  • Systematic strategy implementation
  • Corporate governance and co-determination
Date
Time
Monday, 05/09/2022
11:30 AM till 03:15 PM
Monday, 12/09/2022
08:00 AM till 11:15 AM
Monday, 19/09/2022
08:00 AM till 11:15 AM
Wednesday, 28/09/2022
08:00 AM till 11:15 AM
Thursday, 06/10/2022
08:00 AM till 11:15 AM
Wednesday, 12/10/2022
08:00 AM till 11:15 AM
The course provides a big picture of business administration. It gives students a map to their ensuing course of studies. The course emphasizes an understanding of the business history as a key to understanding the present and to predicting avenues into the future. An understanding of continuities vs. structural breaks is all the more important in today’s media environment that too easily heralds business revolutions and inflates trends for the sake of proclaiming something new. Against this background, the course encourages students to adopt a healthy skepticism toward business concepts, strategy tools, and management fashions. Critical thinking is one essential meta-competence that this course seeks to foster.
There is no required textbook. We have not found a book that covers the range of topics discussed by this course. Instead, the learning material includes presentation slides, recommended readings, video links, and black board notes. These are available on the learning management system myWHUcourses/Moodle.
The course uses a hybrid teaching approach: It emphasizes live interactions in the classroom while integrating online participants into the classroom via Zoom. In the unfortunate case of quarantine measures, the classroom sessions will be switched to live sessions on Zoom.

The overall learning method mix across all class sessions of this course is:

  • 95% interactive concept lectures, and
  • 5% simulation game.
The course score is entirely based on individual performance. There are no team grades and no peer evaluation. The course grade is composed as follows:
  • 50% (45 points): Professor Schäffer’s part of the written exam,
  • 45% (40 points): Professor Jensen’s part of the written exam,
  • 5% (5 points): Performance in the simulation game “Managing customers and segments”.
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