Economic Fundamentals

None

The course includes the following content:

• Basic terms of business administration
• The St. Gallen Management Model
• Types and objectives of companies
• Basics of external accounting (balance sheet, income statement, cash flow statement, UGB vs. IFRS)
• Basics of management accounting (basic terms, cost types/cost centres/cost unit accounting, cost allocation sheet, contribution margin accounting)
• Corporate financing (equity vs. debt, equity measures, debt financing, credit assessment, collateral, private equity/venture capital, crowd funding)
• Organization and value chain (fundamentals and basic concepts of structural and process organization, procurement, production, marketing tools)

In a business game, the processes of production companies are simulated and the effects in accounting are shown. Each company is managed by a team whose participants assume the roles and responsibilities of the functional areas.

In today's world, economic knowledge is an essential prerequisite for understanding the complex processes within our economic and social systems. Crucialis not a detailed knowledge, but rather the ability to comprehend and assess economic facts in their context. The aim of this course is to gain a basic understanding of the operational processes and functional areas of companies.

Theoretical and methodological know-how (T/M):

• Students know the basic economic concepts, basic economic models and the associated processes and targets, including key figures. They understand business terms and their application and are able to explain operational planning processes and the connections between operational functional areas (e.g. sales, production, financial planning).
• Students identify and determine legal forms of enterprises and economic activities from the different functional areas. They also understand and classify real examples and contents from the theoretical literature.
  Students create a simple balance sheet, profit and loss statement and cash flow statement. In addition, they describe key performance indicators in order to specify and evaluate goals.
• Students understand and analyze value creation processes and cash flows as well as entrepreneurial options for action, alternative strategies and variants for business processes.

Furthermore, the students receive training in their social and communicative competences (S/K) such as team leadership competence, empathy, motivational ability, negotiating ability and conversation skills, team ability/willingness to cooperate, critical ability as well as personal competences (S) such as decision-making ability, willingness to take responsibility, initiative, entrepreneurial competence, expressiveness and appearance, through the course of the business game and the discussion of the case studies.

Integrated course: 1 THW together and 2 THW in two groups.

Lecture, discussion and free discussions, simulation game SysTeamsBusiness, reflection of the business game, business group work and presentations in small groups incl. Feedback

• Evaluation of the mandatory exercises (20%).
• Final written exam (80%), in which the theoretical basics are reproduced, arranged and applied in practical tasks.

For a positive grade, overall across all parts of the examination a minimum of 50% of the possible points must be achieved AND in the following parts of the examination a minimum of 50% of the points must be achieved:

• Final written exam (80%)

None

• Rüegg-Stürm, Johannes; Grand, Simon (2017): Das St. Galler Management-Modell. 3. Aufl. Bern: Haupt Verlag.
• Schweitzer, Prof Dr Marcell u.a. (2015): Allgemeine Betriebswirtschaftslehre: Theorie und Politik des Wirtschaftens in Unternehmen. völlig neu bearbeitete. Berlin: Erich Schmidt Verlag GmbH & Co.
• Spindler, Gerd-Inno (2017): Basiswissen Allgemeine Betriebswirtschaftslehre: Quick Guide für (Quer-) Einsteiger, Jobwechsler, Selbstständige, Auszubildende und Studierende. 1. Aufl. Wiesbaden: Springer Gabler.
• „SysTeamsBusiness“ (o. J.): SysTeamsBusiness. Online im Internet: URL: https://riva-online.com/leistungen/spiele/systeamsbusiness (Zugriff am: 07.08.2018).
• Thommen, Jean-Paul u.a. (2017): Allgemeine Betriebswirtschaftslehre Arbeitsbuch: Repetitionsfragen - Aufgaben - Lösungen. 8., vollst. überarb. Aufl. 2018. Wiesbaden: Springer Gabler.
• Thommen, Jean-Paul u.a. (2016): Allgemeine Betriebswirtschaftslehre: Umfassende Einführung aus managementorientierter Sicht. 8., vollst. überarb. Aufl. 2017. Wiesbaden: Springer Gabler.
• Vahs, Dietmar; Schäfer-Kunz, Jan (2015): Einführung in die Betriebswirtschaftslehre. 7. überarbeitete Auflage. Stuttgart: Schäffer Poeschel.

In-class lecture: Attendance in the discussion rounds of the case studies and discussion of the work assignments as well as in the presentations.