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Introduction to Business Administration, Group C

Die Veranstaltung vermittelt Kenntnisse über den Gegenstand, die Theorien und die zentralen Fragestellungen der Betriebswirtschaftslehre. 1. Vermittlung der Grundlagen der Betriebswirtschaftslehre 2. Entwicklung eines ökonomischen Verständnisses 3. Diskussion von Fragestellungen im internationalen Kontext 4. Teamwork und Verantwortungsbewußte Führung - n/a 5. Bewertung und kritische Reflektion von Problemen in unterschiedlichen Funktionen eines Unternehmens 6. Verständnis der Rolle von Strategie, Innovation und Organisation für die Unternehmensentwicklung
Kurs ID
MGMT101
Art des Kurses
BSc Kurs
Wochenstunden
2,0
ECTS
3.0
Semester
HS 2020
Vortragssprache
Englisch
Vortragende/r
Prof. Dr. Ove Jensen, Prof. Dr. Utz Schäffer
Bitte beachten Sie, dass AustauschstudentInnen im BSc-Programm der WHU eine höhere Anzahl an Credits erwerben als hier aufgeführt. Für weitere Informationen wenden Sie sich bitte direkt an das [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
Friday, 04.09.2020 09:00 - 12:15
Thursday, 10.09.2020 15:30 - 18:45
Tuesday, 15.09.2020 08:00 - 11:15
Wednesday, 16.09.2020 08:00 - 11:15
Saturday, 19.09.2020 10:00 - 11:00
Tuesday, 22.09.2020 08:00 - 11:15
Tuesday, 22.09.2020 19:00 - 20:30
Tuesday, 29.09.2020 08:00 - 11:15
Wednesday, 30.09.2020 19:00 - 20:30
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 evaluations. A maximum of 90 points can be achieved. The course score is composed as follows:
  • 45 points (50%): Professor Schäffer’s part of the written exam,
  • 40 points (ca. 45%): Professor Jensen’s part of the written exam,
  • 5 points (ca. 5%): Performance in the simulation game “Managing customers and segments”.

For WHU students, the course score will enter into the module grade of the study module “Introduction to Business”, together with the course “Sourcing: Managing the Firm’s Supply Base”, co-taught by professors Lutz Kaufmann and Felix Reimann. Both courses are weighted equally.

International exchange students can choose either of the two courses or both and will obtain a separate grade for each course.

90
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