Business School - Bachelor's level (all)

Intensive seminar

4.0

English

2

It is mandatory that you register via Portal 2 after your arrival. You can register anytime between February 3 - 13, 2020. The time of your registration is not relevant as seats are not assigned on a first-come, first-served basis. Further information will be provided during orientation week.

By the end of this course you should be able to:
• Analyze financial statements, footnotes, and other corporate disclosures (e.g. conference calls)
• Prepare business forecast from the financials and use the forecasts to determine a firm’s fundamental value using various valuation models
• Develop the skills to critique security analyst reports, write and present your own research report

Students will demonstrate their understanding of and competency in course topics through an individual exam and team assignments. The final grade will be calculated as follows:

Assessment Delivery Percentage of Grade
Group assignments Group 30% (3 assignments, 10 pts each)
Final exam Individual 70% (70 pts)
TOTAL 100% (100 pts)

Annabel Ruth Müller

Lecture

6.0 (Modul/e)

English

2

No registration required for the lecture. Whether you need to register for accompanying exercises/tutorials will be announced in the first lecture.

This module provides students with an introduction to the concepts of costing and its role in management accounting. Upon completion of this module students will be able to explain the nature of costs, record costs, apply different techniques of cost compilation and evaluate cost control procedures. Students will learn how to solve cost accounting tasks in business practice and how cost behavior affects the provision of information for strategic and long-term decision making.

Written exam (90 min.)

Jannis Bischof

Lecture

6.0 (Modul/e)

English

2

No registration required for the lecture. Whether you need to register for accompanying exercises/tutorials will be announced in the first lecture.

This module provides students with an introduction to the concepts of costing and its role in management accounting. Upon completion of this module students will be able to explain the nature of costs, record costs, apply different techniques of cost compilation and evaluate cost control procedures. Students will learn how to solve cost accounting tasks in business practice and how cost behavior affects the provision of information for strategic and long-term decision making.

Written exam (90 min.)

Jannis Bischof

Lecture

3.0 (Modul/e)

English

1

No registration required.

Participants of the course gain an overview of the major concepts and methods in the field of international financial accounting. Students acquire detailed knowledge of accounting according to IFRS. Participants apply this knowledge to subject-specific issues. Based on the acquired knowledge, they are capable of analyzing and discussing further issues and coming up with solutions.

Written exam (60 min.)

Dirk Simons

Lecture

6.0 (Modul/e)

German

2

The students acquire well-founded knowledge of accounting and accounting techniques, as well as a fundamental understanding of the principles of orderly book-keeping (GoB).
Based on relevant business transactions, the double entry book-keeping system is presented and applied to concrete applications in practice. Students can individually book business transactions as well as apply the necessary techniques to both open and close the respective accounts.
Within the exercise and tutorial classes, students look more deeply into the topics covered in the lecture.

Written exam (90 min.)

Philipp Dörrenberg , Dominik Benjamin Davatolhagh

Lecture

6.0 (Modul/e)

German

2

The students acquire well-founded knowledge of accounting and accounting techniques, as well as a fundamental understanding of the principles of orderly book-keeping (GoB).
Based on relevant business transactions, the double entry book-keeping system is presented and applied to concrete applications in practice. Students can individually book business transactions as well as apply the necessary techniques to both open and close the respective accounts.
Within the exercise and tutorial classes, students look more deeply into the topics covered in the lecture.

Written exam (90 min.)

Philipp Dörrenberg , Dominik Benjamin Davatolhagh

Lecture

6.0 (Modul/e)

German

2

The students acquire well-founded knowledge of accounting and accounting techniques, as well as a fundamental understanding of the principles of orderly book-keeping (GoB).
Based on relevant business transactions, the double entry book-keeping system is presented and applied to concrete applications in practice. Students can individually book business transactions as well as apply the necessary techniques to both open and close the respective accounts.
Within the exercise and tutorial classes, students look more deeply into the topics covered in the lecture.

Written exam (90 min.)

Philipp Dörrenberg , Dominik Benjamin Davatolhagh

Lecture

6.0 (Modul/e)

German

2

Students become familiar with the fundamental concepts of Management Accounting. They can retrace the accounting flow and independently solve calculations from the field of cost and profit accounting, as well as correctly interpret the results of the calculations. Furthermore, the students can manage accounting problems from corporate practice.

Written exam (90 min.)

Holger Daske , Matthias Uckert

Lecture

6.0 (Modul/e)

German

2

Students become familiar with the fundamental concepts of Management Accounting. They can retrace the accounting flow and independently solve calculations from the field of cost and profit accounting, as well as correctly interpret the results of the calculations. Furthermore, the students can manage accounting problems from corporate practice.

Written exam (90 min.)

Holger Daske , Matthias Uckert

Lecture

6.0 (Modul/e)

German

2

Students become familiar with the fundamental concepts of Management Accounting. They can retrace the accounting flow and independently solve calculations from the field of cost and profit accounting, as well as correctly interpret the results of the calculations. Furthermore, the students can manage accounting problems from corporate practice.

Written exam (90 min.)

Holger Daske , Matthias Uckert

Lecture

3.0 (Modul/e)

English

2

No registration required.

•    Understand why taxation matters and how the different elements of the tax code might affect firms decision behavior;
•    Learn about the heterogeneity of tax regimes by looking at some illustrative examples from the Asia Pacific Region and Europe
•    Understand and evaluate the consequences of taxation when undertaking cross-border transactions;
•    Learn about the basic principles of international taxation
•    Identify the key tax issues that affect the tax burden of international investments
•    Analyse basic tax planning structures related to financing strategies and holding companies
•    Understand what the recent BEPS (base erosion and profit shifting) debate is about and why Google, Amazon etc. achieve extremely low tax rates
•    Learn what countries are doing or plan to do to address aggressive tax plannin

Written exam (60 min.)

Katharina Nicolay

Lecture

6.0 (Modul/e)

English

2

No registration required.

Participants of this partial module are able to analyze and judge price movements on the financial and other asset markets. They should be able to independently valuate stocks and bonds under standard prerequisites with the help of widely-used practical models. Furthermore, the participants will learn to correctly apply methods of capital asset pricing to analyze portfolio decisions as the consideration of risks and return assumption and to distinguish between systematic and diversifiable risks.

Written exam (90 min.)

Oliver Spalt , Erik Theissen , Yannik Schneider

Lecture

6.0 (Modul/e)

English

2

No registration required.

Participants of this partial module are able to analyze and judge price movements on the financial and other asset markets. They should be able to independently valuate stocks and bonds under standard prerequisites with the help of widely-used practical models. Furthermore, the participants will learn to correctly apply methods of capital asset pricing to analyze portfolio decisions as the consideration of risks and return assumption and to distinguish between systematic and diversifiable risks.

Written exam (90 min.)

Oliver Spalt , Erik Theissen , Yannik Schneider

Lecture w/ Exercise

3.0

English

2

It is mandatory that you register via Portal2 after your arrival. You can register anytime during the official course registration period from 3rd to 13th of February 2020. The time of your registration is not relevant as seats are not assigned on a first-come, first-served basis. Further information will be provided during orientation week.

After participating in this course, students should be able to:
1.    Describe the world’s main corporate governance systems, understand the differences among them and compare them to each other.
2.    Distinguish between internal and external corporate governance factors and understand how they interact.
3.    Identify the constituents of good and poor corporate governance.
4.    Solve case studies in the field of corporate governance and apply knowledge to different cases.
5.    Apply analytical and critical thinking skills when evaluating corporate governance problems and their solutions.

Homework and presentation (20%)
Student paper, including classroom presentation (80%)

Alexandra Niessen-Ruenzi , Mengqiao Du , Chia-Yi Yen , Alexandra Kornfeld-Gran

Lecture

3.0 (Modul/e)

English

2

It is mandatory that you register via Portal2 after your arrival. You can register anytime during the official course registration period from 3rd to 13th of February 2020. The time of your registration is not relevant as seats are not assigned on a first-come, first-served basis. Further information will be provided during orientation week.

Students should develop an understanding of important issues in institutional investments, especially in so called alternative asset classes like private equity, private debt, investments in infrastructure projects, hedge funds strategies and real estate investments. Based on the content of this lecture students should be able to explain these asset classes and their related challenges for investors. Students will also learn how institutional investors are organized and how they act in the capital markets.

Written Exam (60 min)

Lecture

6.0 (Modul/e)

English

2

Students are able to explain the interplay of information technologies, human beings and organizations. They comprehend how information systems are structured and are able to explain the basic functionalities of computer and database systems. Students know the different approaches for the development of information systems and know the basic techniques for the analysis of demands and the design of information systems. They understand the operative and strategic processes for the management of information systems. (LG 1)

They are aware of the factors influencing the development and management of information systems, the perspectives of different stakeholders, and can evaluate related decisions. (LG 2)
Students are able to analyze requests expressed in natural language and translate them into structured database queries (LG 3). They can analyze requirements for an information system and can present them in a structured format, especially using behavior and structure diagrams (LG 4).

Written exam (90 min.)

Hartmut Höhle

Lecture

6.0

English

2

No registration required.

After attending the lecture, exercises and tutorials students are able to:

• Model complex business processes based on popular modelling techniques
• Discuss the requirements, characteristics and effects of integrated information systems in industrial companies, including complex process interdependencies
• Complete basic tasks from different functional areas in a wide-spread integrated information system.

Written exam (90 min.)

Armin Heinzl

Lecture

3.0 (Modul/e)

English

2

No registration required.

Participants of the lecture acquire skills in basic concepts of computers, basic knowledge of algorithms, basic algorithms for searching, sorting and data structures, computer networks and distributed systems and the procedure of software engineering.

Written exam (45 min.)

Christian Becker , Melanie Heck

Lecture

6.0 (Modul/e)

English

1

No registration required.

Students are able to understand and independently convey the presented concepts and contents as well as analyze them critically. By the end of the course, students will be able to apply their newly gained knowledge in practical situations. In this relation, they are able to understand the various management functions as well as their connections.

Written Exams (2 x 45 min.)

Torsten Biemann

Seminar

3.0 (Modul/e)

English

2

This interactive and interdisciplinary course is highly recommended to incoming students and we believe its frequently international and interdiscplinary teams benefit the course's format.

Course MAN 450
Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Business Model Design teaches students to translate innovations and business ideas into business models. MAN 450 introduces students to generation and management of innovative enterprise activity across multiple contexts along with the exploration of students' own entrepreneurial potential. This course focuses on two main themes: I. management of idea & innovation processes and II. implementation of innovative ideas in the marketplace using a rigorous financial plan. Special focus is given to start-ups in a digital world. The course has no exam, but is graded via pitch presentations and student written business plan.

Students will:
I. Learn to generate and manage an idea & innovation using professional thinking tools.
II. Develop a rigorous business plan for a start-up project.
III. Present and defend the concept of their start up project in front of a professional jury.

Grading:
I .Written assignment: start-up business plan (8 Pages + Appendix)
II. Presentation of a start-up business plan in front of a professional jury (Powerpoint)

Each group will eventually structure itself into the following roles:
(1) project manager and communicator
(2) expert for the idea and its realization/production
(3) market research and marketing & sales expert
(4) financial manager
(5) quality manager
All groups will be assigned by the chair.

Instructor:
AkadR Dr. Jan-Philipp Ahrens, Dr. Ndivhuho Tshikovhi, Baris Istipliler, Magnus Schückes

Course Sectretary:
Gabriele Schleicher, e-mail: schleicher@ifm.uni-mannheim.de

Application (mandatory):
Course capacity is strictly limited as the format involves groupwork. Students need to apply for this course by sending CV (max. 1 page) and transcript of grades to the course secretary, and by registrating themselves for the course in Portal2 (open from 02.02. until 13.02.).

Application deadline: 13.02.. There are no exceptions to the deadline.

Attendance (mandatory):
All students are required to attend all classes (exceptions are made for student that provide a medical certificate or have an exam).

Semster:
Spring semester.

Venue:
Fr., 21.02.: Baroque Palace, EW 151
Fr., 28.02.: Baroque Palace, EW 151
Do. 26.03.: SAP Headquarters
Fr., 08.05.: Baroque Palace, EW 151

Curriculum:
21.02, 08:30-17:00: Lecture “Fundamentals of Entrepreneurship in a Digital World, Creativity Techniques & Innovation Management, Strategic Market Analysis”.

28.02, 08:30-17:00: Lecture “Business Modeling; Creating a Business Plan & Financial Planning”.

26.03, 09:00-17:00: Exercise class (via seperate portal requistration, excursion to SAP, design thinking).

08.05, 08:30-17:00: Pitch presentations of groups.

20.05, until 11.59am: Handing in of printed versions + USB stick of the business plans at the office of the chair (Ms. Schleicher, L9, 1-2, first floor, room 111).

By the end of the module students will have
•    explored and developed their own entrepreneurial creativity,
•    invented and presented a new business idea,
•    experienced and applied a six stage creative problem solving process,
•    developed skills and abilities that can be applied to improve your effectiveness in the rest of your studies,
•    developed a business plan for a concrete start up project,
•    presented and defended the concept of their start up project in front of an expert board to get feedback.

Creation of a Business Plan and Presentation

Jan-Philipp Ahrens , Ndivhuho Tshikovhi , Baris Istipliler

Lecture w/ Exercise

3.0

German

By the end of the module students will be able to:
•    illustrate the economic relevance of the nonprofit sector,
•    explain the particularities of nonprofit management,
•    apply general management methods in the nonprofit sector,
•    describe the development of specific concepts for NPOs,
•    explain hypotheses and findings in the field of nonprofit management.
Moreover, the key competence working with academic papers shall be acquired.

Written exam and case study

Simon Thimmel

Lecture w/ Exercise

3.0

German

2

At the end of the course, students should be able to:
•    explain contingencies as well as theoretical foundations of public management,
•    describe possibilities and limitations of transferring business and market-oriented instruments to public administrations,
•    discuss contents of current reform movements.
Moreover, key competences such as presentation competence, working with academic papers and team competences shall be acquired.

Exam and/or presentation and/or written project/seminar work

Benedikt Englert , Martin Christian Georg Sievert

Lecture w/ Exercise

3

English

1

Please read See Course Page & Syllabus

The course fosters the further development of your own entrepreneurial project. You will acquire and deepen your entrepreneurial skills. We start by a brief recap of the basic concepts and connections of creativity, entrepreneurial thinking and innovation. Most importantly, you will further advance your pitch deck and the business plan of your already existing the startup project. Growing your presentation skills is essential to pitch your startup in front of an expert jury on demo day by the end of the course.

“Scaling Lean: Mastering the Key Metrics for Startup Growth” by Ash Maurya (available in University of Mannheim library and ifm library)

20% Written exam
40% Final pitch presentation (team
40% Final business plan/ report (team)

Jan Zybura , Thomas Friedrich Karl Hipp , Bettina Müller

Lecture

3.0

English

It is mandatory that you register via Portal2 after your arrival. You can register anytime during the official course registration period from 3rd to 13th of February 2020. The time of your registration is not relevant as seats are not assigned on a first-come, first-served basis. Further information will be provided during orientation week.

The lecture series is intended to provide insights into the variety of research that Mannheim scientists are engaging in that is related to the topic of sustainable development. It also aims to raise awareness for the potential of scientific research to contribute to sustainable development.

Every presenter will prepare two exam questions which will be put together to form a pool of questions from which the final exam will be crafted. The exam will be a 60 minutes written exam.

Laura Edinger-Schons , Annette Kehnel

Lecture

English

2

Please register for this course via Portal 2.

Besides applying methods of Design Thinking, participants will get to know the basics of purpose-driven business modelling as well as social impact measurement. They will gain a deeper understanding of how social entrepreneurship/intrapreneurship can contribute to sustainable development as defined in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Presentation at the final pitch event (20%) and written summary of the social business model canvas, 12 pages per group (80%)

Laura Edinger-Schons , Markus Mosig

Lecture

6.0

German

2

By the end of the module students will be able to:

• explain the importance and the historical development of management, and of the academic discipline of management,
• explain the theoretical and conceptual foundations of management, and to apply them to real life examples,
• explain the process of management including its functions planning and control, organization, human resources, and leadership,
• understand the conflict between management and ethics, and to explain problems resulting therefrom,
• explain current challenges (e. g. internationalisation) and areas (e. g. public and non-profit management) in the field of management.

Written exam (90 min.)

Bernd Helmig

Lecture

6.0 (Modul/e)

German

2

Registration is only required for Case Study (takes place within Exercise class)

Students gain a thorough overview on the relevant questions and functions in marketing. They can choose and apply suitable concepts and methods in order to solve typical marketing challenges and problems. They have a profound understanding of causal relationships and are able to solve problems quantitatively when appropriate data is available. In solving and presenting a team case study, students also improve their analytical, presentation, and teamworking skills.

Case study presentation (max. points acquirable: 18)
Written exam (max. points acquirable: 72, 72 min.)

Christian Homburg

Intensive seminar

6.0

English

It is mandatory that you register via Portal 2 after your arrival. You can register anytime during the official course registration period from 3rd to 13th of February 2020. The time of your registration is not relevant as seats are not assigned on a first-come, first-served basis. Further information will be provided during orientation week.

If you have any course-related questions, please contact Moritz Tischer: moritz.tischer@bwl.uni-mannheim.de

This course has two specific learning objectives:

1. Develop an appreciation for the inherently strategic nature of marketing function and for the role marketing decisions play in corporate and business strategy.

2. Strengthen your ability to justify and support your marketing decisions through relevant information acquisition and analysis.

Background reading:
Homburg, Christian, Sabine Kuester, and Harley Krohmer (2013), Marketing Management - A Contemporary Perspective, McGraw-Hill, London.

The book is available for purchase at regular and online bookstores. Further, the Mannheim University Library holds a number of copies for rent.

Final Exam (100%)

Lecture

4

English

2

It is mandatory that you register via Portal 2 after your arrival. You can register anytime during the official course registration period from 3rd to 13th of February 2020. The time of your registration is not relevant as seats are not assigned on a first-come, first-served basis. Further information will be provided during orientation week.

In this course we will focus on the following:
1. Why social medium has become important for the future of business
2. How can social media marketing strategies be constructed and implemented
3. What changes in the corporate culture are required
4. The limitations of social media marketing
5. Measuring the effectiveness of social media strategies
This course requires you to modify the current marketing strategies such as segmentation, targeting, and positioning. We will learn how the traditional business model of mass production of communication is meaningless and irrelevant in social networks.

Final Exam (70%), Case Study (30%)

Florian Kraus , Gökhan Gecer

Lecture

6.0

English

2

Students will be assigned to groups to play a computer simulation. It is mandatory that each student registers for the simulation via Portal2. You can register anytime between February 3-13, 2020. The time of your registration is not relevant as groups are not formed on a first-come, first-served basis. Further information will be provided during orientation week.

Students are able to apply marketing-specific knowledge, to identify and address strategic challenges and those resulting from institutional industry contexts (services, B2C, B2B, in-ternational and digital markets).
Students are aware of cultural differences and characteristics and understand their influences on corporate processes and marketing.
Students understand ethical and social implications of corporate decisions.
Students understand the strategic and institutional perspectives and will be able to develop and implement marketing strategies.

 

The required textbook for this course is:
 
Kuester, S. (2017), MKT 401 Marketing II – Strategic Marketing & Marketing in Specific Industry Contexts, Reader, University of Mannheim.
Homburg, Christian, Kuester, Sabine, and Harley Krohmer (2013), Marketing Management – A Contemporary Perspective (second edition), McGraw-Hill Higher Education, London. 
The book is available in the major book stores in the vicinity of the university. There are also copies available at the University library and in online bookshops.
 
A reader with the lecture slides can be purchased at the chair of Marketing & Innovation in L5, 1 in the Roche Forum. Further details will be posted online via “ILIAS” and on the homepage of the department.

Written exam (90 min.); participation in simulation

Felix Ebert , Oliver Borchers , Elisa Konya-Baumbach

Lecture

3.0

English

2

No registration required.

The students understand what Marketing Communications is and how it works.
The students understand the different process steps of marketing communications (planning, organization, execution, monitoring of communication actions).
The students know the various aspects and perspectives of marketing communications (i.a., advertising, public relations, sponsoring, sales promotion, direct marketing).
The students develop the ability to criticize various communication instruments and their application.
 

Written exam (60 min.)

Maximilian Gärth , Florian Kraus

Lecture w/ Exercise

3.0 (Modul/e)

English

2

For this course, a home assignment is done and presented in teams of two students (any excep-tion upon request). Registration is mandatory before the assignment is handed out. In order to register at the chair, please do the following:

(1)    As an individual, sign up to the according ILIAS group,
(2)    As a team, send an email with the subject line “Registration OPM 450” to soma@mail.uni-mannheim.de at latest by March, 4th, 2020 6 p.m. with the basic data for each team member:
Name
Email
Matriculation number
Program of study
Current semester
Information when and where the recommended prerequisite “Operations Management” was successfully completed.
Please note that class size is limited to max. 30 students. In case there are more registrations than seats, admittance will be determined by first come first serve. Therefore, your registration at the chair is officially binding, and any withdrawal after your admittance through the chair will lead to a fail grade in this course.

Students will
•    get an advanced understanding of the challenging operations-related decisions and problems in practice,
•    learn about concepts and state-of-the-art tools for analyzing complex decision situations and for systematically evaluating options in operations management,
•    enhance problem structuring, modeling and analytical skills.

Assignment with final presentation

Cornelia Schön-Peterson , Pratibha Pratibha

Lecture

3.0 (Modul/e)

English

2

It is mandatory that you register via Portal 2 after your arrival. You can register anytime during the official course registration period from 3rd to 13th of February 2020. The time of your registration is not relevant as seats are not assigned on a first-come, first-served basis. Further information will be provided during orientation week.

This course is recommended for anyone seeking an introduction to negotiation theory and practice. It is not primarily a “training camp” to enhance individual bargaining skills. The main objective is to learn the economic and psychological mechanisms underlying negotiations, in order to analyze and effectively tackle negotiation problems. Starting from the key concepts and principles that guide negotiations, participants will learn:
•    how to strategically analyze negotiation situations and to develop comprehensive negotiation plans,
•    how to identify opportunities and barriers to creating and claiming value,
•    how to avoid negotiation “sand traps” and to take advantage of negotiation tactics to influence and deal with difficult negotiation counterparts.

Assignment (30%) and written exam (70%)

Christoph Bode