Business Economics I
Code: 102343 ECTS Credits: 6| Degree | Type | Year |
|---|---|---|
| 2501572 Business Administration and Management | FB | 1 |
| 2501573 Economics | FB | 1 |
Contact
- Name:
- Carles Gispert Pellicer
- Email:
- carles.gispert@uab.cat
Teachers
- Stefan Hemmen Almazor
- Josep Font Cot
- Nour Chams
- Juan Lloret Villota
- Yulia Ponomareva Minchenko
- Joan Antoni Roncal Borrego
Teaching groups languages
You can view this information at the end of this document.
Prerequisites
This is a first year course of introduction to business economics. Therefore there are no prerequisites for this course.
Objectives and Contextualisation
Settle the basis to know the business economics different areas.
Competences
- Business Administration and Management
- Capacity for oral and written communication in Catalan, Spanish and English, which enables synthesis and oral and written presentation of the work carried out.
- Delegate decision making to the workers and provide them with the necessary incentives so that those decision arte taken in the interest of the company as a whole.
- Demonstrate initiative and work individually when the situation requires it.
- Identify the positive contributions that companies make to society, developing socially responsible management and encouraging the development of objective instruments that allow for the measurement and valuation of such contributions.
- Organise the work in terms of good time management, organisation and planning.
- Select and generate the information necessary for each problem, analyse it and take decisions based on that information.
- Work well in a team, being able to argue proposals and validate or reject the arguments of others in a reasoned manner.
- Economics
- Capacity for adapting to changing environments.
- Capacity for independent learning in the future, gaining more profound knowledge of previous areas or learning new topics.
- Delegate decision making to the workers and provide them with the necessary incentives so that those decision arte taken in the interest of the company as a whole.
- Demonstrate initiative and work individually when the situation requires it.
- Identify company competition, how they interact among themselves and the optimum strategies that can be drawn up in each case to stimulate competitivity.
- Lead multidisciplinary and multicultural teams, implementing new projects and coordinating, negotiating and managing conflicts.
- Organise the work in terms of good time management, organisation and planning.
- Select and generate the information necessary for each problem, analyse it and take decisions based on that information.
- Take decisions in situations of uncertainty, demonstrating an entrepreneurial and innovative attitude.
- Value ethical commitment in professional practice.
- Work well in a team, being able to argue proposals and validate or reject the arguments of others in a reasoned manner.
Learning Outcomes
- A capacity of oral and written communication in Catalan, Spanish and English, which allows them to summarise and present the work conducted both orally and in writing.
- Apply negotiation techniques.
- Assess ethical commitment in professional activity.
- Calculate the economic and financial flows of companies.
- Capacity to adapt to changing environments.
- Capacity to continue future learning independently, acquiring further knowledge and exploring new areas of knowledge.
- Demonstrate initiative and work independently when required.
- Design organisations from the perspective of maximising value.
- Identify business models, both from the perspective of property and internal organisation.
- Identify the conditions that favour the delegation of decisions.
- Identify the main incentive mechanisms used in companies.
- Lead multidisciplinary and multicultural teams, implement new projects, coordinate, negotiate and manage conflicts.
- Make decisions in situations of uncertainty and show an enterprising and innovative spirit.
- Organise work, in terms of good time management and organisation and planning.
- Select and generate the information needed for each problem, analyse it and make decisions based on this information.
- Solve decision-making problems at the different operating levels of companies.
- Work as part of a team and be able to argue own proposals and validate or refuse the arguments of others in a reasonable manner.
Content
The course is divided in two blocks:
BLOCK I.
FIRM Dedicated to describe the main features of what is understood as a firm. The main issues addressed in this unit are the following
Definitions Taxonomies and introduction to the analysis of the company from different perspectives:
- Economic Perspective.
- Legal Perspective
- Accounting Perspective
- Financial Perspective
BLOCK II.
ADMINISTRATION AND MANAGEMENT
Dedicated to presenting the major decisions and dilemmas of the administration and management of companies. The main issues addressed in this unit are the following:
Enumeration and identification of key business decisions
- Introduction to decision taking:
- Business strategy
- Selection of business strategy: Objectives of the companies Implementation strategy
- Delegation of decisions
Decisions and business competitiveness.
- Competitive advantage
- Determinants of competitive advantage
- Capabilities and skills of management
- The internal organization of the company
Activities and Methodology
| Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type: Directed | |||
| Practice classes | 17 | 0.68 | 1, 2, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, 14, 15, 16, 17 |
| Theory classes | 32.5 | 1.3 | 2, 4, 8, 9, 10, 14, 15, 16 |
| Type: Supervised | |||
| Tutorials and planned Activities | 10 | 0.4 | 1, 4, 7, 14, 15, 16, 17 |
| Type: Autonomous | |||
| Study course material, readings, exercises and suggested questions | 84 | 3.36 | 2, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 14, 15, 16 |
During the course the different sections of the program will be developed. Course materials, lecture notes, exercises and activities can be found in Campus Virtual. The student is expected to work on them before the class.
These materials will be used to motivate and improve the understanding of the topics.
For each subject, a series of exercises and activities will be proposed to reinforce these contents.
There will be a few hours each week (tutorials) to meet students individually and solve any doubts they may have.
The proposed teaching methodology may undergo some modifications according to the restrictions imposed by the health authorities on on-campus courses.
Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.
Assessment
Continous Assessment Activities
| Title | Weighting | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Final exam | 45% | 2 | 0.08 | 1, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16 |
| Midterm exam | 25% | 1.5 | 0.06 | 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 14, 15 |
| Problem sets delivery, case studies, readings debates | 30% | 3 | 0.12 | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 |
The final grade will be composed by the following weighted average:
. A midterm exam or follow-up assessment (which does not liberate content) including Block I and counting 25% of the final grade.
. Continuous assessment of the progress during the course. Satisfactory completion of the course requires attendance to classes and completion of exercises and activities planned during the course for each subject. During the course all these aspects are assessed and will result in a grade that represents 30% of the final grade.
. Final exam (counting 45% of the final grade), including all the contents of the course. It's necessary to obtain a minimum of 3.5 in the final exam. If the mark of the final exam is lower than 3.5, the maximum final grade will be 3.5.
This subject does not offer the option for comprehensive evaluation
All students are required to perform the evaluation activities. If the student's grade is 5 or higher, the student passes the course and it cannot be subject to further evaluation. If the student grade is less than 3.5, the student will have to repeat the course the following year. Students who have obtained a grade that is equal to or greater than 3.5 and less than 5 can take a second chance exam. The lecturers will decide the type of the second chance exam. When the second exam grade is greater than 5, the final grade will be a PASS with a maximum numerical grade of 5. When the second exam grade is less than 5, the final grade will be a FAIL with a numerical grade equal to the grade achieved in the course grade (not the second chance exam grade).
A student who does not perform any evaluative task is considered “not evaluable”, therefore, a student who performs a continuous assessment component can no longer be qualified with a "not evaluable"
Calendar of evaluation activities: The dates of the evaluation activities (midterm exams, exercises in the classroom, assignments, ...) willbe announced well in advance during the semester. The date of the final exam is scheduled in the assessment calendar of the Faculty. "The dates of evaluation activities cannot be modified, unless there is an exceptional and duly justified reason why an evaluation activity cannot be carried out. In this case, the degree coordinator will contact both the teaching staff and the affected student, and anew date will be scheduled within the same academic period to make up for the missed evaluation activity."Section 1 of Article 115. Calendar of evaluation activities (Academic Regulations UAB). Students of the Faculty of Economics and Business, who in accordance with the previous paragraph need to change an evaluation activity date must process the request by filling out an Application for exams' reschedulehttps://eformularis.uab.cat/group/deganat_feie/application-for-exams-reschedule
Grade revision process: After all grading activities have ended, students will be informed of the date and way in which the course grades will be published. Students will be also be informed of the procedure, place, date and time of grade revision following University regulations.
Irregularities in evaluation activities: In spite of other disciplinary measures deemed appropriate, and in accordance with current academic regulations, "in the case that the student makes any irregularity that could lead to a significant variation in the grade of an evaluation activity, it will be graded with a 0, regardless of the disciplinary process that can be instructed. In case of various irregularities occur in the evaluation of the same subject, the final grade of this subject will be 0". Section 10 of Article 116. Results of the evaluation. (UAB Academic Regulations).
The proposed evaluation activities may undergo some changes according to the restrictions imposed by the health authorities on on-campus courses.
Bibliography
Each topic has lecture notes available on Campus Virtual.
These lecture notes also contain exercises, cases and activities to be performed during the course. In the notes, there is a bibliography and a glossary of terms to study for each topic.
Other related books:
ALEGRE, L.; C.BERNÉ y C. GALVE (2000): "Fundamentos de economía de la empresa: perspectiva funcional". 2a Ed. Ariel Economía. [Note: last identified edition]
GARCÍA MÁRQUEZ, F.P. et. al. (2013): "Dirección y gestión empresarial" 1a Ed. McGraw-Hill [Note: last identified edition]
GARRIDO, S.; CUADRADO, M.R. (2019) "Fundamentos de gestión de empresas" Editorial Universitaria Ramón Areces
GARRIDO, S.; CUADRADO, M.R. (2019) "Casos prácticos de gestión de empresas" Editorial Universitaria Ramón Areces
HEIFETZ, R.; M. LINSKY (2021): "Liderazgo sin límites" Editorial Reverte
KUGLIN, F. A.; J. HOOK. (2007): "Building, Leading, and Managing Strategic Alliances : How to Work Effectively and Profitably with Partner Companies" Ed. AMACOM [Note: last identified edition]
PIN, J.R.; STEIN, G. (2020): “Liderar personas con inteligencia artificial” 1.ª Ed. Mc Graw-Hill
RANDALL S. KROSZNER AND LOUIS PUTTERMAN (2009): "The Economic Nature of the Firm: A Reader", 3rd Edition. Cambridge [Note: last identified edition]
TRIADO IVERN, X.M.; APARICIO CHUECA, P.; JARÍA CHACON, N. (2011): "Administración de la empresa. Teoría y práctica". Mc Graw Hill. [Note: last identified edition]
WORLD BANK (2019) "Doing Business 2020" Document digital accessible a: https://espanol.doingbusiness.org/es/reports/global-reports/doing-business-2020
WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM (2020) "Global Competitiveness Report Special Edition 2020: How Countries are Performing on the Road to Recovery" Document digital accessible a: https://www.weforum.org/reports/the-global-competitiveness-report-2020
Software
In this subject the use of specific software is not foreseen.
Language list
| Name | Group | Language | Semester | Turn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (PAUL) Classroom practices | 1 | Catalan | first semester | morning-mixed |
| (PAUL) Classroom practices | 2 | Catalan | first semester | morning-mixed |
| (PAUL) Classroom practices | 4 | English | first semester | morning-mixed |
| (PAUL) Classroom practices | 8 | English | first semester | morning-mixed |
| (PAUL) Classroom practices | 51 | Catalan | first semester | afternoon |
| (PAUL) Classroom practices | 52 | Catalan | first semester | afternoon |
| (PAUL) Classroom practices | 60 | Catalan | second semester | morning-mixed |
| (TE) Theory | 1 | Catalan | first semester | morning-mixed |
| (TE) Theory | 2 | Catalan | first semester | morning-mixed |
| (TE) Theory | 4 | English | first semester | morning-mixed |
| (TE) Theory | 8 | English | first semester | morning-mixed |
| (TE) Theory | 51 | Catalan | first semester | afternoon |
| (TE) Theory | 52 | Catalan | first semester | afternoon |
| (TE) Theory | 60 | Catalan | second semester | morning-mixed |