Management Tools and Communication and Key Qualifications

Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaften

Version 19.0 vom 29.04.2019

22B1296

Management Tools and Communication and Key Qualifications

International Management (B.A.)

2

The course offers an introduction to strategic management with a strong focus on management tools for developing organizational strategies. Students familiarize with fundamental tools and frameworks to analyze business problems, develop alternative options and to improve managerial decision making. Interactive exercises, case study discussions and assignments complement lectures, ensuring that students gather first-hand experiences with the application of the tools. Students are further motivated to critically reflect the benefits as well as pitfalls of the studied tools.

Moreover, students are introduced to various techniques and approaches for working with scientific texts and other media, including but not limited to research techniques, database searches and handling complex texts. Finally, students' scientific writing skills are enhanced.

• Part I: Introduction
• 1. Terms: Understanding each other
• 2. Overall View: Understanding strategy development
• 3. The linkage: tools and concepts
  
  Part II: Strategic Position
• 4. Tools to analyze the environment
• 5. Tools to identify strategic capabilities and analyze value chain activities
• 6. Tools to reveal stakeholder expectations and develop organizational purpose
• 7. Tools to understand cultural and historic constraints
  
  Part III: Strategic Choices
• 8. Tools at the business level (competitive strategies)
• 9. Tools at the corporate level
• 10. International strategy tools
• 11. Innovation management tools and entrepreneurship
• 12. Mergers, acquisitions and alliances
  
  Part IV: Strategy into Action
• 13. Measuring and monitoring strategy effectiveness
  
  Part V: Key Qualifications
• Introduction to scientific research methods
• Writing scientific papers and assignments
• Composing a concise literature review
• Definition of adequate research questions
• Visualizing scientific findings and results
• Presentation and communication skills
• Using nonverbal communication
• Working and collaborating in teams

Wissensverbreiterung
Students who successfully complete this module are able to
- apply tools to design a strategy and to develop organizations strategically.
- interpret alternative options to make a decision.
- outline consequences of strategic decisions.
- define a research question in the field of management research by narrowing down a topic.
- compose a basic scientific research paper.
- conduct scientific research by applying various methods and drawing on multiple sources.
Wissensvertiefung
Students who successfully complete this module are able to
- discuss and reflect on the impacts strategic decisions may have on organizations.
- identify constraints and interdependencies of strategic decisions and address them.
- identify and interpret strategic issues in different contexts.
- realize possible implications for strategy development.
- differentiate between strategic management in different contexts.
- distinguish and appreciate different forms of academic resources (e.g. books, journals, newspapers, online resources, etc).
- develop and hold presentations for an academic audience.
- understand the difference between team roles and tasks as well as group dynamics
- comply with basic teamwork rules and appreciate them as a effective means to manage teams.
Können - instrumentale Kompetenz
Students who successfully complete this module are able to
- apply techniques of strategic analysis.
- apply techniques to select adequate strategies.
- apply techniques to implement strategy.
Können - kommunikative Kompetenz
Students who successfully complete this module are able to
- elaborate on strategic choices and argue in favor of a certain strategic positioning.
- use different viewpoints on strategy to explain observable processes in organizations.
- explain implications of different scenarios and different strategies.
- present a complex management topic according to the needs of the audience.
- evaluate and reflect on advantages and disadvantages of management tools and concepts and their application in business reality.
- defend an opinion/conclusion vis-a-vis a critical audience.
- initiate a critical discussion with an informed audience.
- respond to critical questions/comments from an audience.
- communicate effectively within team structures so that problems and challenges can be addressed in a timely manner.
Können - systemische Kompetenz
Students who successfully complete this module are able to
- apply various management tools and techniques in specific business contexts.
- demonstrate an ability to deal with unfamiliar strategic management problems in a variety of contexts.
- structure complex strategic management problems.
- identify the interdependencies and relations between the management tools and elaborate on their theoretical foundations.
- communicate the merit of applying management tools to critical audiences.

Lectures, illustrations/case studies, classroom discussions, videos, interactive exercises, topical readings, assignments, teamwork.

Sound knowledge of primary and secondary activities of the value chain, typically from foundation/introductory business classes.

Hofmann, Kay Hendrik

• Hofmann, Kay Hendrik
• Kaur-Lahrmann, Ravinder
• Halstrup, Dominik
• Frie, Jan
• Steinkuhl, Claudia
• Joseph-Magwood, Abigail

10

Johnson, G., Whittington, R., Scholes, K. Angwin, D. and Regner, P. (2014), Exploring Strategy - Text and Cases, 10th edition, Pearson

Keuning, D.(1998), Management - A Contemporary Approach, Pitman

van den Berg, G. and Pietersma, P. (2015), Key Management Models: The 75+ Models Every Manager Needs to Know, 3rd edition, Pearson

Belbin, R. M. (2010), Team roles at work, 2nd edition, Butterworth-Heinemann

Ronggui, D. (2016), Key Project Management Based on Effective Project Thinking, Springer

Winkler, M. and Commichau, A. (2005), Reden - Handbuch der kommunikations-psychologischen Rhetorik, Rowohlt TB

Esselborn-Krumbiegel, H. (2014), Von der Idee zum Text: Eine Anleitung zum wissenschaftlichen Schreiben, 4th edition, UTB

Starke-Wuschko, J. (2014), Präsentieren im Studium, UTB

Stickel-Wolf, C., Wolf, J. (2013), Wissenschaftliches Arbeiten und Lerntechniken: Erfolgreich studieren - gewusst wie! 7th edition, Springer Gabler

Portfolio Prüfung

Die Portfolio-Prüfung umfasst 100 Punkte und besteht aus einer Hausarbeit (50 Punkte) und einer einstündigen Klausur (50 Punkte).

Reflects the contents and methods studied during the course of the semester and assesses how the learning outcomes have been achieved.

1 Semester

Wintersemester und Sommersemester

Englisch