Markets, Strategy and Performance
Code: 41986 ECTS Credits: 10| Degree | Type | Year | Semester |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4311312 Management, Organization and Business Economics | OB | 0 | 2 |
Contact
- Name:
- Stefan Felix van Hemmen
- Email:
- Stefan.vanHemmen@uab.cat
Use of Languages
- Principal working language:
- english (eng)
Prerequisites
Previous admission in the Master in Management, Organization and Business Economics (MMOBE)
Objectives and Contextualisation
Once the course is over, a number of goals are expected to have been achieved by the students, which include acquaintance with advanced concepts and instruments which can be applied to business competitive analysis along with an understanding of their usefulness in the formulation of business competitive advantage.
These goals include the measurement of business financial performance and its decomposition, the formulation of business competitive strategy, the quantification of value creation associated with strategy, and the understanding of value sharing and appropriation mechanisms. The subject does not forget key issues related with entrepreneurship. In this case, the goal is to provide students with an overall picture of what does entrepreneurship mean and of the key factors that influence the entrepreneurial process. Finally, hot topics in marketing are also considered.
Develop students’ abilities to link theory with applied work. Given a problem of business performance analysis, students will be able to identify an appropriate theoretical framework, a suitable analytical method, and undertake an informed empirical analysis.
Competences
- Analyse business cases from a theoretical perspective with the aim of better understanding organisational behaviours.
- Analyse the structure and evolution of output and input markets and the optimal firm behaviour.
- Develop a critical and a constructive attitude to one's work and that of others.
- Develop an ethical, social and environmental commitment.
- Display knowledge of the economic and institutional environment in which the economic agents interact within, or through, economic organisations.
- Distinguish the characteristics and relations of the different variables that condition corporate strategy.
- Draw up proposals to foster a sustainable business activity , based on organisational performance.
- Draw valid conclusions for business from case studies.
- Explain and motivate the analyses, interpret the results and present all these clearly and concisely in English.
- Identify the relevant sources of information and their content for subsequent analysis.
- Leadership and decision-taking capability.
- Master the technical and IT tools needed to carry out applied studies.
- Present research results to various audiences using the different media available.
- Understand, analyse and solve complex problems related to the efficiency of organisations on the basis of broad knowledge of advanced tools for business economic analysis.
- Work in multidisciplinary international teams.
Learning Outcomes
- Assess the company's adaptation and optimal behaviour in these markets.
- Compare the structure and evolution of output and input markets.
- Derive business policies aimed at improving organisational performance.
- Design business policies aimed at improving competitive advantage.
- Develop a critical and a constructive attitude to one's work and that of others.
- Develop an ethical, social and environmental commitment.
- Distinguish the different business strategies in real business operation.
- Explain and motivate the analyses, interpret the results and present all these clearly and concisely in English.
- Identify the different strategies driving organisational performance.
- Identify the relevant sources of information and their content for subsequent analysis.
- Investigate the variables that characterise the corporate strategy of the firm.
- Leadership and decision-taking capability.
- Master the technical and IT tools needed to carry out applied studies.
- Present research results to various audiences using the different media available.
- Show mastery of the theory of production, the theory of index numbers and the different competitive strategies.
- Study the competitive behaviour of companies in various contexts.
- Understand the inner workings of markets.
- Work in multidisciplinary international teams.
Content
This subject provides a theoretical and empirical overview of the economics of business competitive analysis, with special focus on the most recent advances and the main areas of research in the field. Based on the fundamentals of economic theory, the lectures introduce and apply alternative approaches to the analysis of business strategy, marketing and its translation to firm performance. The subject also links performance measurement with profitability, profit, cost and rate of return on assets. No assumption is made about the unit under evaluation which makes the methodology suitable for the analysis of the behaviour of organizations which do not seek to maximize profits. The subject also pays attention to the role of the entrepreneur and develops some key issues related with it.
The subject has been divided in four parts: business strategy, performance measurement, entrepreneurship and marketing. A detailed description of their contents can be found: http://www.mmobe.uab.cat/en/
The followign topics will be covered
Economics of Strategy
1.- Business strategy
2.- Corporate level strategy
3.- International strategy
4.- Strategic porpuse
The Economics of Performance Measurement
1.- Review of production economics
2.- Efficiency measurement
3.- Productivity and profitability
4.- Productivity and profit
5.- Productivity and cost
6.- Productivity and returns on assets
Entrepreneurship and Innovation
1.-Entrepreneurship and individual level determinants of entrepreneurial action
2.- Firm growth
3.- Environmental factors determining entrepreneurship
4.- Corporate entrepreneurship
Marketing
1.- Introduction to marketing
2.- Choice Based segmentation and targeting
3.- Cases of study
4.- Academic research in marketing
Methodology
The course combines theoretical lectures and practical sessions that require the dynamic participation of students. Learning activities include: following lectures on main topics, making of problems and computer exercises, reading and critical reviewing of papers. This is an interactive subject. Case preparations and in-class discussions will form the important benchmarks of progress. In-class discussions give students an opportunity to apply material from the class to real-world problems. Other class sessions will be primarily dedicated to lecture material and shorter discussions.
Activities
| Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type: Directed | |||
| Lectures, discussions and case presentations | 100 | 4 | 11, 18, 2, 14, 3, 4, 6, 5, 7, 13, 15, 16, 9, 10 |
| Type: Supervised | |||
| Training and monitoring of work in progress and cases | 25 | 1 | 11, 14, 3, 4, 5, 7, 13, 15, 16, 8, 9, 10, 1 |
| Type: Autonomous | |||
| Reading related cases and practical preparation, study preparation of schemes. | 85 | 3.4 | 11, 12, 18, 2, 3, 4, 6, 5, 7, 13, 15, 16, 9, 10, 1 |
Assessment
The course assessment will consist of:
- Assignments (presentation of critical reviewing of papers, resolution of problems, final paper, etc)
- Participation in class
- Test (midterm test and final exam)
The course is passed when the final mark is equal or higher than five.
Assessment Activities
| Title | Weighting | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assignments | 55 | 22 | 0.88 | 11, 12, 18, 2, 3, 4, 6, 5, 7, 13, 15, 16, 8, 9, 10, 1 |
| Class participation | 5 | 2 | 0.08 | 12, 14, 3, 4, 6, 5, 7, 15, 16, 8, 9, 1 |
| Test | 40 | 16 | 0.64 | 2, 17, 3, 7, 13, 15, 8, 9, 1 |
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