3 ECTS credits
90 h study time

Offer 3 with catalog number 4019180DER for all students in the 1st semester at a (D) Master - preliminary level.

Semester
1st semester
Enrollment based on exam contract
Possible
Grading method
Grading (scale from 0 to 20)
Can retake in second session
Yes
Taught in
Dutch
Faculty
Faculty of Social Sciences & SolvayBusinessSchool
Department
Business Technology and Operations
Educational team
Marc Goldchstein (course titular)
Alexis Valenzuela Espinoza
Activities and contact hours

26 contact hours Lecture
Course Content

The objective of this course is to provide an overview of the functional domains in business. This is achieved through teaching classes and case development in groups. After cases are developed and discussed with other groups, students individually summarize the lessons learned with respect to the relation of various functional areas in business.

The course covers the following topics:

  1. Introduction to business and economics;
  2. Forms of business ownership;
  3. Frameworks and tools for general management;
  4. Introduction to human resource management, team building and communication;
  5. Introduction to marketing;
  6. Product design and development;
  7. Operations management in manufacturing and service industries;
  8. Introduction to financial accounting, financial analysis, and corporate finance (capital structure).
Course material
Digital course material (Required) : Syllabus wordt elektronisch ter beschikking door de titularis
Digital course material (Required) : Bijkomend cursusmateriaal en slides worden gepost, Canvas
Additional info

Not applicable.

Learning Outcomes

General competencies

Students with non-economics background will be introduced to the most important aspects of how business organizations work: fundamentals of business, management, finance, marketing, human resource management, product design and development.

After this course, students should be able to:

  • explain the various theories studied with respect to all functional areas;
  • identify the complementarity and differences of various theories studied;
  • apply these theories in specific case environments.

Grading

The final grade is composed based on the following categories:
Written Exam determines 70% of the final mark.
Practical Exam determines 30% of the final mark.

Within the Written Exam category, the following assignments need to be completed:

  • Written Exam with a relative weight of 1 which comprises 70% of the final mark.

    Note: Closed book

Within the Practical Exam category, the following assignments need to be completed:

  • Assignment with a relative weight of 1 which comprises 30% of the final mark.

Additional info regarding evaluation

Written exam, closed book (70%), is composed of 3 parts with equal weight.

  • 3 open questions;
  • 15 true-false questions, with guess correction;
  • 15 multiple-choice questions, with guess correction.

The final score of the written exam is the sum of the above-mentioned 3 parts.

Case development and discussion (30%) is an assignment during the semester. It concerns a group assignment to study a specific case. Important stages in the evaluation of the practical exam are peer evaluation, in addition to the quality of the assignment. Peer evaluation is used to identify and mitigate problems of the functioning of groups. The quality of the assignment is assessed (total 100 p)

  • Quality of case writing (40 p.);
  • Individual discussion of the lessons learned with respect to the interrelatedness of the functional domains in business (40 p.);
  • Quality of writing and lay-out (10 p.);
  • Respecting deadlines (10 p.).

The final mark is the sum of the written exam and the practical exam.

Marks on the assignment can be transferred from the first examination session to the second examination session.

In the second examination period, students can work individually or in smaller group on the improvement of their assignment.

Allowed unsatisfactory mark
The supplementary Teaching and Examination Regulations of your faculty stipulate whether an allowed unsatisfactory mark for this programme unit is permitted.

Academic context

This offer is part of the following study plans:
Bachelor of Computer Science: Default track (only offered in Dutch)
Master of Chemical and Materials Engineering: Profile Process Technology (only offered in Dutch)
Master of Chemical and Materials Engineering: PR Profile Materials (only offered in Dutch)
Master of Electromechanical Engineering: Aeronautics and Aerospace (only offered in Dutch)
Master of Electromechanical Engineering: Vehicle Technology and Transport (only offered in Dutch)
Master of Electromechanical Engineering: Mechatronics-Construction (only offered in Dutch)
Master of Electromechanical Engineering: Energy (only offered in Dutch)
Master of Physics and Astronomy: Minor Economy and Business