Business Administration

This course examines how to develop a new business under a startup environment or within a sizable organization in a real-world situation. It covers idea generation, business model formulation, strategic planning, financial modelling, resource and operational planning, and pitching to external investors and/or internal management team.
 

The course consists of a conceptual and a practical part. The conceptual part includes the business opportunity, business planning/business model creation, the people, entrepreneurial marketing and strategy, and entrepreneurial finance and venture capital. The practical part focuses on writing a business plan.

This course develops the student’s ability to participate in a professional debate concerning the solution to a business issue. This involves structured thinking and presentation of arguments, the ability to analyze counter-arguments in a timely fashion and relate constructively to other people’s suggestions. Describe the theories and models that are taught in the course Apply the theories and models of the course in case study settings Identify and analyze management accounting issues and management control issues Evaluate management control systems and management accounting practices Recommend courses of action for management with respect to their management accounting practices and control systems The aim of the course is to provide the student with both theoretical understanding and practical skills of management control systems and management accounting practices. Management control systems are perceived as a mechanism to increase the likelihood for an organization to 1) achieve its objectives, and 2) utilize resources efficiently when implementing strategies. Additionally, the management control system can become an early warning system for feeding back information to the strategic planning and control system. Alternatives to management accounting are introduced, but the main focus is on financial results control systems ranging from planning and budgeting models to Balanced Scorecards. The student will learn to integrate performance measurement, evaluation, and incentives as part of a management control system to be able to influence an organization to actions and behavior that will increase goal congruence and the achievement of objectives. The course also deals with important management control roles and ethical issues faced by managers and employees. The course contains the following elements: Management control alternatives (results controls, action controls, and people controls) Design criteria for management control systems including analysis of control tightness and cost vs. benefit Financial result control systems used in for-profit organizations including Decentralizing in financial responsibility centers Allocating resources effectively with the use of transfer prices Planning and budgeting processes Determining financial performance targets Designing performance dependent reward systems Performance measurement issues and their effects on financial results control systems, most notably the problems of myopia and uncontrollable factors Control remedies to performance measurement issues with particular focus on the Balanced Scorecard Situational influences (e.g., corporate strategy) on management control systems Management control considerations for nonprofit organization Corporate control roles and the organization of corporate governance Management control related ethical issues The class is very interactive and focuses on both theory and problem-solving skills. In line with the learning objectives, students will be assigned to groups who are going to a) present one case study and b) discuss (and challenge) one case study solution throughout the course. Groups and dates will be published on learn after the first session. Since the exam format is an oral exam, active student participation is crucial.

The course provides a theoretical foundation in the development of green and sustainable solutions within the economic context of Germany and Europe and develops an understanding of how sustainable entrepreneurship is unfolding creative potential and opportunities for environmental improvements using core business activities. The course equips students with more practical tools and processes for developing their own business ideas for the green economy. This course provides an introduction to recent developments in Germany and the European Union (EU) with regard to a green and sustainable economy. This course begins by exploring key concepts for a green and sustainable economy in the German and European policy contexts and then looks at the development that has taken place both at the political level and in the economy in recent time. It then focuses on the micro-level of the businesses themselves and discusses the motivating forces behind entrepreneurs' and businesses' decisions to make a strategic commitment to environmental sustainability. Students consider the roles and strategies of different types of companies and how incumbents and start-ups engage in environmental protection. The course also looks at the strong connection between politics and business in the European context and the inclination of many sustainable entrepreneurs to engage in policy making in a manner that also turns them into “institutional” entrepreneurs, acting at a meso-level. Finally, the more theoretical part of the course looks at how sustainable entrepreneurs may encounter market and regulatory barriers related to environmental externalities, path dependencies, and lobbying activities by incumbent companies. It also looks at (partial) solutions to such barriers provided by incubators, business competitions, universities, investors, and public funding programs. The more practical part of the course engages with good practice examples through the entrepreneurs themselves (guest speakers) and by going on a field-trip. As Berlin has a special reputation for hosting a vibrant start-up scene, students visit the Green Garage on the Euref campus in Schöneberg, where they learn more about the acceleration and incubation processes of the EU initiative “Climate KIC”, and meet the start-ups based there. The students also are encouraged to creatively develop their own business ideas and plan the initial steps using the Sustainable Business Canvas. Their business concept/model is then presented and discussed in the group, providing tips for future improvement and possible realization of the ideas.

this course covers various service management issues such as formulating service strategy, developing new services, designing and improving service delivery system, and managing service quality. While considering important service management disciplines such as services marketing and service human behaviors, this course places its emphasis on service operations issues such as managing supply and demand, determining service facility design, managing service process improvement, and managing customer waiting lines. 

The course provides an introduction to the nature and meaning of human resource management within the context of institutional frameworks and organizational strategies.