ECONOMICS AND BUSINESS MANAGEMENT (Corporate Finance)

Educational Objectives

1. Knowledge and Understanding. This course introduces you to the disciplines of economics and business management. Outlining the general framework, the course focuses on business management issues by proposing the top ideas of modern management thinking. In addition it is aimed at the acquisition of strategic analysis models to understand and support the paths to enterprise development and to analyze their competitive advantage.
2. Applying Knowledge and Understanding. The acquired knowledge will be applied to analyze strategic business decisions. In order to develop these skills the teacher gives in-class lectures in an interactive way with the use of multimedia courseware. The student is required to complete term papers and reports in preparation for assessments related to strategic analysis of case studies.
3. Decision-making. The student will be able to make business decisions supported by the application of the strategic analysis model. Students will achieve this through lessons in the classroom and term paper preparation; students will be constantly required to evaluate strategic decisions based information related to the context in which they operate and their available resources. In this way the student will be trained to search for information, then evaluate and select what is most useful to achieve their goal based on the implications of the choices they made.
4. Communication skills. The student should be able to illustrate concepts and models while drawing conclusions with a command of language and a logical thought structure by identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the models and methods of analysis. Both written and oral communication skills will be developed through term papers and short reports on testimony in the classroom. In addition there will be in class group presentations ion specific topics in order to cultivate teamwork and allow everyone to equally develop public speaking skills.
5. Learning skills. Learning skills and teaching are linked, following a gradual path including several steps. At first the course will focus on the definition of concepts through the use of bibliographic research. In the second step we will analyze theoretical models which will be applied to business cases from the “specialist press”. Finally, the ability to apply studied concepts and interpreted models will be aimed at analyzing businesses created in the classroom. Both individual and group work will receive personal feedback from the professor to continue to facilitate the learning process. 

• The course objective is to study decisions companies make to obtain competitive advantages in the markets in which they operate. The decisions of deepest concern are the creation and structure of the entity, the choice of the business in which to operate, analysis of the environment, research of competitive advantages using the Industrial Organization framework ( SCP model of the 5 forces) and analysis of resources (resources based theory, dynamic capabilities), strategic options for growth and development, the role of innovation in business management and competitive dynamics, the operational management of the business and IT strategy-structure, referencing SMEs.
•  The program is structured as follows:
  • First Module: (1) Introduction to the study of business management (2) Market Analysis (3) Competitive Advantage Analysis (4) Business Strategies (5)Underlying resources and skills supporting the business strategy  (6)Managing innovation and competitive dynamics
  • Second Module: (1) The marketing process (2) The distribution and sales channels (3) Design and management of the production process (4) Design and manufacturing management (5) Financial processes
  • Third Module: (1) Business and Sustainability (2) Organizational and managerial structures (3) Supply Chain Management and vertical integration (4) Product Diversification (5) Geographical diversification and global strategies (6) The strategy-structure relationship 
• Specifically:
• • Module 1: Company management and its relationship to the market
    • The objective of the first module is the deepening of understanding of concepts and sector analysis by referencing management theories. This part of the course aims to provide the student with an adequate understanding and knowledge of conceptual models that study the firm’s decision-making process with respect to the sector structure, the business and market at inception and during development. Moreover, in the first module the nature and sources of competitive advantage will be analyzed externally (using the 5 Forces) and internally (using resources and skills) in order to identify the competitive advantage and strategy of the company. The models and frameworks the student must know and be able to apply at the end of this module are: SWOT Analysis, PEST model, Porter’s Model of the Five Forces, Porter’s Value Chain Model, Multidimensional Scaling, Conjoint Analysis ; Abell model, business model, business plan.
  • Module 2: The objective of the second module is to analyze the production processes of goods and services.
    • The second module focuses on the study business functions including: marketing, distribution and sales networks, and supply chain. The models and frameworks the student must know and be able to apply at the end of this module are: segmentation, inventory management techniques, production layout, and value chain.
  • Module 3: the objective of the third module deals with the strategic choices of the corporation, specifically deepening choices in vertical and horizontal integration, and diversification in single-business and multi-business companies.
    • The module analyzes the global strategies of multinational companies and management through their use of governance. The models and frameworks the student must know and be able to apply at the end of this module are: the Portfolio of Diversified Business Management Matrix, The better-off test, the best-alternative test, Porter’s Diamond, and the Ansoff Matrix.

The choice of either alternative is at the discretion of the student who must make an independent decision for thorough, personalized exam preparation

• Texts suggested by the professor:
• Alternative (1) (both Tests)
• Grant, R., Strategic analysis for business decisions, fourth edition, Oxford University Press. Chapters: all.
• Fontana F. Caroli M., Economia e gestione delle imprese, McGraw-Hill Education, Milano. ULTIMA EDIZIONE. Chapters: 9-10-11-12
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• Alternative (2) (both Tests
• Dyer, J.,  Godfrey, P., Jensen, R.,  Bryce, D.,  Pastore, A., Dyer, STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT. Principi e applicazioni, ISEDI, 2018.
  Fontana F. Caroli M., Economia e gestione delle imprese, McGraw-Hill Education, Milano. ULTIMA EDIZIONE. Chapters: 9-10-11-12
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• The professor has also prepared a coursepack "CASES and Exercises" to support the exam available on STUDIUM