Business economics

Learning objectives

The general educational objective of the course is to present the main models and tools for business management. The course aims to provide a conceptual and operational framework of the functioning and conditions that regulate the survival and development of the enterprise. To this end, the course intends first of all to provide a broad-spectrum reading of the interrelationships that the company establishes with the external context and of the governance systems it can adopt to pursue its objectives. Subsequently, the course illustrates the sources of information used by management to evaluate the impact of the company's strategic and operational decisions, also addressing the problem of the decision-making systems through which it intends to ensure consistency between decisions and objectives.

KNOWLEDGE AND ABILITY TO UNDERSTAND: At the end of the course the student will have to know the fundamental principles of business economics. In particular, through the lectures held during the course, the student will acquire knowledge of the tools and techniques of balance sheet analysis, costing and evaluation of industrial investments.

ABILITY TO APPLY KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING: Through practical exercises carried out in class, students learn how to apply the knowledge acquired in a real business context. In particular, the student will have to apply the knowledge acquired and draft, read and analyze a financial statement, calculate the cost of a product/service, evaluate the convenience of carrying out an investment project.

JUDGMENT ABILITY: The student must be able to critically evaluate the general performance of a company, and in particular to analyze its balance sheet data, evaluate the convenience of creating a certain product or undertaking a certain investment project.

COMMUNICATION SKILLS: Through lectures and discussions with the teacher, the student acquires the specific vocabulary of business economics. It is expected that, at the end of the course, the student will be able to transmit, orally and in writing, the main contents of the course, and to present clearly the results of economic analyses and evaluations.

LEARNING SKILLS: Students who have attended the course will be able to deepen their knowledge of business economics through independent consultation of specialist texts, scientific or popular journals, even outside the topics covered strictly in class, in order to effectively address entry into the world of work or undertake subsequent training courses.

Expected learning outcomes

At the end of the course, the student will have to know the fundamental principles of business economics. In particular, through the lectures held during the course, the student will acquire knowledge of the tools and techniques of balance sheet analysis, costing and evaluation of industrial investments.

Course content

The course aims to introduce students to the use of conceptual tools and operational techniques useful for understanding and addressing the economic dimension of the company, with particular reference to the financial statement (part I of the course), cost analysis techniques (part II of the course) and investment evaluation techniques (part III of the course). After a brief introduction to economics and business management, in the part concerning the financial statement, the civil and reclassified balance sheet schemes are analyzed from both a theoretical and practical point of view, and the basis for conducting an analysis of the main balance sheet indices is provided. In the part concerning costs, after introducing the concept of cost and the main criteria for classifying costs, the main costing methodologies (full costing and direct costing) and the main criteria underlying the cost-volume-results analysis and short-term decisions are explored in depth. Finally, in the last part of the program, the main financial tools for evaluating an industrial investment are provided.

Bibliography

The recommended text for the course is “Economia Aziendale” (academic year 2021-22, Barbara Bigliardi, Create McGrawHill – ISBN: 9 781307 731507). In addition, the slides shown during the lessons, the texts of the exercises carried out in class and the related solutions, and other additional material used in class will be provided weekly by the teacher (in PDF format and in the “File” folder of the Course Team).

For further information, students can refer to the following texts:
– Cerbioni, Cinquini, Sostero, -82018), “Accounting and Balance Sheet”, McGraw-Hill, Milan.
– Anthony, RN, Hawkins, DF, Macrì, DM, Merchant, KA, (2005), “Cost Analysis”, McGraw-Hill, Milan.

Teaching methods and tools

The course includes both theoretical lessons and exercises, in which mainly frontal moments will alternate with interactive moments with students. During the theoretical lessons, the main models and tools for business management will be discussed, with the aim of providing a conceptual and operational framework of the functioning and conditions that regulate the survival and development of the company. To this end, first of all the theoretical lessons intend to provide a broad-spectrum reading of the interrelations that the company establishes with the external context and of the governance systems that it can adopt to pursue its objectives. Subsequently, the sources of information used by management to evaluate the impact of the strategic and operational decisions of the company are illustrated, also addressing the problem of decision-making systems through which it intends to ensure coherence between decisions and objectives.
During the exercises, the student will be able to practically implement the solutions to the problems outlined in theoretical form during the lessons. In addition to the normal exercises, simulations of the exam will also be scheduled: during the simulations, students will be asked to work completely independently (as during the exam) in solving the exam text. The simulations will not be evaluated, they have a self-assessment purpose: each student will be able to verify their level of preparation and understand, for example, on which part of the program or on which type of exercise they will have to concentrate more in view of the exam. They are also useful for learning how to manage time during the exam.
Recordings of all classes will be made available for those unable to attend in person.

Assessment methods and criteria

The final assessment of the students' preparation is based on A WRITTEN TEST, divided into two parts:
– the first part (minimum score to be achieved: 16; maximum score achievable 33), includes type theory questions with “multiple choice”, “true or false”, “complete the sentence”. There is no penalty for incorrect answers;
– the second part (minimum grade to be achieved: 16; maximum grade achievable 33) includes “free composition” theory questions as well as the resolution of exercises (one exercise for each part of the program). There is no penalty for incorrect answers.
For each question or exercise, the score that can be obtained if the student provides the correct answer will be indicated.

The overall grade obtained by the student is the arithmetic mean of the evaluations of the two parts. The final grade will be communicated after the written tests directly in Esse3.

The exam is considered passed if the final grade is greater than or equal to 18/30. The grade of 30 cum laude can be assigned exclusively to students who have obtained the maximum grade in both parts.

It is mandatory to register for the exam, exclusively on esse3.

Attending students will be able to take two in-progress tests (the first approximately halfway through the course on Part I of the program, and the second before the end of the course on Parts II and III of the program) in place of the final test. The dates of the in-progress tests will be agreed upon at the beginning of the course. The in-progress tests will have the same structure as the final test. The final grade of the in-progress tests, communicated after the written test, will correspond to the arithmetic mean of the grades obtained in the two in-progress tests, both expressed in thirtieths.

It is mandatory to register for the first in itinere test, for registration a specific registration procedure will be opened on the Course Team. Students will be notified by email of the opening of registrations and the deadline for registration. ONLY students who have obtained a passing grade (18/30) in the first in itinere test will automatically access the second in itinere test (therefore it will not be necessary to register for the second in itinere test).

During the ongoing exam/tests, a calculator may be used as long as it is not programmable and it is not permitted to consult telephones, smartwatches, books, notes, handouts and other educational material during the tests.

Additional info

Non-attending students are advised to periodically check the available teaching material and the instructions provided by the teacher in the Course Team, the only tool for teacher/student communication. On this platform, the slides used during the lessons and any additional material provided by the teacher will be made available in PDF format on a weekly basis.