Betriebs­wirtschafts­lehre - Bachelor (englisch)

1. COURSE CONTENTS
The objective of this class is to provide you a framework for analyzing a firm’s past performance, estimating its future performance, and valuing its equity. The student should leave the course with the ability to generate reasonably accurate (or at least logically consistent) forecasts of a firm's future financial performance, including revenues, earnings, asset balances and free cash flows. The class also presents all the major valuation models in a unified framework so the student should be facile in moving between discounted cash flow models, residual income models, and models based on market multiples such as the price-earnings ratio and the market-to-book ratio. The class has a financial modeling component, eVal, so that as the class progresses, students will build the pieces of a comprehensive financial statement forecasting and valuation tool. The course illustrates contemporary forecasting and valuation techniques used by practitioners as well as evidence from academic research on the effectiveness of these techniques.

2. STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES
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

3. ASSESSMENT and EVALUATION
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% (60 pts) TOTAL                                              100% (100 pts)

Group Assignments:
See the class schedule section for the full list of assignments. There are three assignments. These assignments are to be completed as group work. Your groups will be assigned in the first class of the course. The assignments are mini-case studies where you have to apply the material we learned in class to a real world company. The assignments also build the foundation for the FSA report. The assignments are group work. Every team member should participate in doing the assignments. That is the only way you can be sure that you have mastered the material.
Each group will be required to write up the answers to the assignments in a Microsoft Word/Excel document. You are expected to discuss your assignment as a group while you work on it. Any assignments posted after class has started will be considered late. Late assignments will not be accepted. It is your responsibility to ensure your assignments have been successfully posted/ emailed to me. We will go over the assignments at the beginning of each class.
Final exam:
The final exam is individual work. In other words, you may not consult any other individuals during the examination. The final exam includes multiple-choice questions, short-answer essay questions, small case analyses, and computational problems. It will cover material from the prior lectures (e.g. reading material, in-class problems, slides and assignment topics).
I do not give makeup tests because it is impossible to make an equivalent test without placing the student at either an advantage or disadvantage. After returning the test, if you believe you should receive additional credit please provide a written explanation in support of your position with your answer from your exam paper for me to review. I will need quiet time to review your submittal so that I can give it the serious thought your request deserves. You need to submit your request to me in person or by email within one week after I return your test. Thanks for understanding.
Although I do not expect cheating in my class, the penalty is an FAIL for the course. Cheating occurs when you look at one or more students' papers during an exam or obtain help from faculty or students outside your team on assigned homework sets or tests. Plagiarism occurs when you copy large sections of an author’s material without referencing it. If in doubt, please email me.

4. TEXT AND COURSE MATERIAL
Lundholm and Sloan, Equity Valuation and Analysis, McGraw-Hill Companies, 3rd edition. Note: You DO NOT NEED the eVal software that comes with the book. I will provide you with an updated version. We will use the eVal Excel spreadsheet. extensively both in class and out.
All relevant materials beyond the textbook (e.g. lectures slides, in-class solutions, and assignment solutions) will be posted online.

This course focuses on internal operations and cost analysis as opposed to the evaluation of external financial statements. An  organization’s long-term competitive success is critically dependent on the availability and the efficient use of information about its products, services, processes, organizational units, suppliers, and customers. Managerial accounting includes the concepts, models, and systems that provide this information and control. The course will familiarize participants with the terminology and basic concepts of managerial accounting. The  course has a strong emphasis on cost accounting and is touching on  topics ranging from development and use of cost information for decision-making to performance measurement. Applications cover both the manufacturing and services sectors.
 
Course Objectives
 
Participants should develop the following general skills:

• An understanding of cost components and behavior
• The ability to identify costs that are relevant for decision-making
• An understanding of the most common costing systems (job costing, process costing, activity-based costing)
• An intuition for the incentives set by different types of performance measurement systems

This course focuses on internal operations and cost analysis as opposed to the evaluation of external financial statements. An  organization’s long-term competitive success is critically dependent on the availability and the efficient use of information about its products, services, processes, organizational units, suppliers, and customers. Managerial accounting includes the concepts, models, and systems that provide this information and control. The course will familiarize participants with the terminology and basic concepts of managerial accounting. The  course has a strong emphasis on cost accounting and is touching on  topics ranging from development and use of cost information for decision-making to performance measurement. Applications cover both the manufacturing and services sectors.
 
Course Objectives
 
Participants should develop the following general skills:

• An understanding of cost components and behavior
• The ability to identify costs that are relevant for decision-making
• An understanding of the most common costing systems (job costing, process costing, activity-based costing)
• An intuition for the incentives set by different types of performance measurement systems

Contents:
The course Financial Accounting II covers international financial accounting as defined by the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). In the lecture, individual standards will be presented in detail. The focus lies on the recognition and valuation of the annual statement. In particular, the lecture goes into detail about IAS 16 (Property, Plant &
Equipment), IAS 38 (Intangible Assets), IAS 36 (Impairment of Assets), IAS 17 (Leases), as well as IAS 37 (Provisions, Contingent Liabilities and Contingent Assets).

Learning outcomes:
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.

Businesses operating within and across the borders in Europe or other regions are confronted with heterogeneous tax systems despite EU-wide tax harmonization efforts. Therefore businesses have to adapt their organisation, finance and channels of distribution to the range of tax conditions in different countries and aim to optimise their tax situation by considering other business objectives. 
The guidelines regarding the taxation of businesses in the European Union and in the Asian Pacific region are presented. The topics vary from the basic principles of the dual system of business taxation, the taxation of corporations and their shareholders and the taxation of partnerships to the impact of different corporation tax systems on financing decisions. Furthermore, the guiding principles of international taxation regarding inbound and outbound investments are discussed. Finally, based on this, several tax planning strategies for cross-border investments are introduced by various case studies (e.g. cross-border financing and implementation of holding companies). 

Learning outcomes

• Understand and evaluate the consequences of taxation when undertaking national transactions and decisions; 
• Understand and evaluate the consequences of taxation when undertaking international transactions and decisions;
• Understand and identify the key tax issues that affect international business transactions.

• Investment decisions (cash value, internal interest rate)
• Interest yield and risk (portfolio theory)
• Capital costs during insecurities (CAPM, APT)
• Corporate governance, agency problems and behavioral finance

Learning outcomes

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.

• Investment decisions (cash value, internal interest rate)
• Interest yield and risk (portfolio theory)
• Capital costs during insecurities (CAPM, APT)
• Corporate governance, agency problems and behavioral finance

Learning outcomes

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.

This course deals with the ways in which risks are quantified and managed by financial institutions. Among the topics covered are the nature of financial institutions and their regulation, market risk, credit risk (briefly), and operational risk.

Learning outcomes

After successfully passing the course students know the main concepts to quantify and manage all kind of risks of financial institutions. They know how to apply the methods of risk management in banks and other financial institutions. The students get to know a comprehensive overview of the recent trends in regulation (Basel III/IV).

In this course, conflicts of interest within the firm will be analyzed and mechanisms to mitigate these problems will be discussed. First, the lecture starts with the theoretical concepts underpinning corporate governance. Second, emphasis will be placed on different corporate governance mechanisms (for example ownership structure, executive compensation and the role of the board of directors). Students should develop an understanding of important issues in corporate governance and of its relevance in a social, political, and economic context.

During the last decades we witnessed a growing importance of information systems (IS) in the business world  along  with  faster  and  faster  innovation  cycles.  A  case  in  point  is  the  growing  IS-related expenditure, accounting for a total of more than $ 3.8 trillion in 2014. Ranging from the enrichment of routine working tasks (e.g., employee portals to integrate disparate applications, data, and processes) to the e-enabled integration of entire business eco-systems (e.g., platform-based integration of supply chains), IS have become a vital backbone of businesses.
 
Consequently, the ability to use IS in a way supporting the overall value proposition of a corporation has become a central success determinant for many firms. Accordingly, the “Foundations of Information Systems” course is designed to introduce students to the nature, role, and potentials of IS in corporations and enable them to establish a meaningful interface between technology and business. Associated key challenges include managing the trade-off between efficient execution and effective offering or recognizing and mitigating conflicting expectations and goals among the many stakeholders (e.g., software producers, consultants, corporate  users, customers) and roles (e.g., business professionals, technical staff, corporate management) involved in an IS.
 
Course Objectives

In order to be able to deal with these challenges, the “Foundations of Information Systems” course is designed to introduce students to the basics, selected technological foundations and key aspects for the successful development and management of information systems. Starting with the initial idea and conception of a system from a socio-technical perspective, the course will first introduce basic technological foundations such as computer networks, application systems, and database systems.
Based on the technological foundations, the course will cover both, the development and management of IS. In doing so, students will get to know the various  stakeholders and activities involved within
development and management of IS. The primary objective of the course is to enable students to play a vital role at the intersection of technical and business issue, being able to bridge the gap between a company’s end users and IT experts. In doing so, they shall understand that IS transcend mere technological artifacts but constitute complex socio-technical phenomena.
 
To support students in their learning, the lecture will introduce basic concepts as introduced above. Furthermore, exercises and tutorials are offered in addition to the lecture. Exercises will  repeat and refine basic concepts introduced in the lecture. Tutorials will provide an interactive learning environment moderated by tutors,  who successfully passed the course in the past. As part of the tutorials, interactive exchange and discussion with peers will be  enabled and students will get the opportunity to collect hands-on experiences related to state-of-the-art technologies.

This course outlines fundamentals of business process modeling based on event-driven process chains (EPC). It demonstrates the capability of business processes to integrate primary and secondary functions in a firm. The main part of the course focuses on the business functions architecture of integrated information systems in manufacturing and trading industries. In particular, functional interdependencies will be outlined in order to understand how business functions interact if horizontal or vertical business processes are executed. Finally, fundamentals of management support systems such as data warehouses and business intelligence systems will be addressed.  
 
During the course, students will have the opportunity to work with ERP@School, a basic ERP system which demonstrates the logic and interdependencies between the business functions. Furthermore, students will gain hands-on experience by participating in an ERP real-time simulation game. Using standard and customized reports, students must analyze their transactional data to make business decisions and ensure the profitability of their operations. Besides improving their technical skills at using  ERP software, students will experience the benefits of enterprise integration firsthand and deepen their understanding for the underlying concepts of enterprise systems.  
 
Structure of lecture

• Business Process Modeling
•  Information Systems in the following functional areas:
  • Research and Development
  • Marketing and Sales
  • Procurement and Warehousing
  • Manufacturing
  • Shipping and Customer Service
  • Finance, Accounting, and Human Resources
• Information Systems in Retailing
• Planning and Control Systems

Learning objectives
 
After attending the lecture and exercises, students are able to

• model business processes based on contemporary modeling techniques,
• understand and discuss the requirements, characteristics and effects of integrated information systems in industrial firms, including their functional interdependencies,
• accomplish function-specific tasks in the context of an integrated information system

In the last years, the internet has rapidly become an important and fast growing aspect of business life. It is a channel to the customer, a medium to link up with the suppliers, a marketing tool, and an interactive medium for communication. Consequently, today's manager needs a profound knowledge of the strategic implications of using the internet for the goals of the firm. Based on the content of the introductory courses on information systems and marketing, it is the aim of this elective module to equip the participants with strategic insights into the following aspects of e-business impact:

• Fundamental terms and issues of e-business
• Technological and process-oriented view on e-business
• Social and behavioral issues of e-business
• Ethical and regulatory aspects
• Strategies to employ the digital channel
• Digital marketing
• Product and service innovation
• Reshaping business processes through e-business

Learning Objectives

• Understanding of the impact of e-business and modern business models on supply chains
• Insights into up-to-date business strategies
• The ability to engage in social media for marketing, customer relations­hip management, and customer satisfaction
• The ability to discuss socio-cultural aspects of e-business and social media

This lecture teaches technical basics of information systems and addresses students that want to gain technical knowledge of information systems for IT-related jobs or Master studies. The lecture covers basic principles of a computer’s operations and programming, and gives an introduction to standard algorithms, data structures, and networking. Based on IS 301, the lecture further introduces into software engineering. Topics of the lecture are: 

• Basics of digital computers
  • Binary system, data representation
  • Information processing, programming
• Basics of algorithms
• Typical problems of information processing
  • Algorithms for searching and sorting of information
  • Data structures, e.g., arrays, trees, lists, hashing, graphs
  • Complexity estimation
• Distributed systems and computer networks
• Software engineering: basics and interfaces to the departments 
  • Development processes
  • Requirements analysis

Learning Outcomes

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.

The lecture consists of two parts. The first part refers to organizational topics including:

• Organizational Structure
• Coordination- Control and Change
• Motivation and Performance
• Groups and Teams
• Communication

The second part of the lecture includes the following topics on human resource management:

• Leadership
• Human Resource Management
• Corporate Governance and Employment Relations

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.

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

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 (1page), motivation letter (1page), and transcript of grades to the course secretary, and by registrating themselves for the course in Portal2 (open from 01.02.2019-18.02.2019).

Application deadline: 18.02.2019. 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:
Do., 21.02.: Castle, O 145 
Do., 28.02.: L 9, 1-2, room 001 
Do., 09.05.: Castle, O 145

Curriculum:
21.02, 08:30-13:30: Fundamentals of Entrepreneurship in a Digital World, Creativity Techniques & Innovation Management, Strategic Market Analysis.

28.02, 08:30-13:30: Business Modeling; Creating a Business Plan & Financial Planning.

01.03, 08:30-13:30: Exercise class (optional, room EW 151).

09.05, 08:30-13:30: Pitch presentations of groups.

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

The course encourages the further development of student business ideas from all faculties of the University of Mannheim. Within the course format, students develop their own already existing business ideas individually or as a start-up team (after consultation). Milestones tailored to each startup are set at the beginning of the course. Coaching by MCEI employees to develop innovative products and services is ensured throughout the semester. The MCEI DesignLAB offers the student founders room for the further realization of their projects. In a workshop at the start of the course, basic tools for business model development and how to reach investment readiness (angel financing, VC) will be taught. By the end of the class, the startups will pitch in front of experts and investors at a demo day.

Students who do not have an advanced business idea yet should follow MAN 450 Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Business Model Design instead.
 
Learning Outcomes

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 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.

This course investigates marketing from a managerial perspective, focusing on the planning and development of strategic marketing programs. Marketing concepts will be discussed and students
will learn how to design the marketing mix.  
This course has two specific learning objectives:  

• Develop an appreciation for the inherently strategic nature of marketing function and for the role marketing decisions play in corporate and business strategy.  
• Strengthen your ability to justify and support your marketing decisions through relevant information acquisition and analysis.  

Course Composition  

The contents of the course are broken down into five modules:  

1. Establishing Value-Based Marketing Principles – Methods to Compete (Part 1 and Part 2)  
2. Organising the Market – Which Markets to Compete in  
3. Organising the Market – Which Segments to Compete in  
4. Managing the Market – How to Compete with Brand, Product and Price (Part 1 and Part 2)  
5. Managing the Market – How to Compete with Placement and Promotion (Part 1 and Part 2)

• Strategisches Marketing
• Institutionelle Besonderheiten des Marketing (Dienstleistungs­marketing, Business-to-Consumer-Marketing, Business-to-Business-Marketing, Internationales Marketing, digitales Marketing)
• Kunden­segmentierung, Positionierung und Zielgruppenansprache

Today’s markets have become difficult environments for most companies. Challenges arise from a variety of changes taking part in many different domains, impacting the behavior and conduct of customers, competitors and other important stakeholders such as suppliers and channel partners. In this landscape companies have to be smart and able to address customer needs in a way that makes them purchase their offerings and – more importantly – that satisfies customers’ genuine needs so that satisfaction and loyalty result. If there is one business discipline that can help companies to accomplish this goal – it is marketing.
 
A principal element of marketing is the strategic setting in which it takes place. To fully appreciate these strategic aspects it is essential to understand the concept of marketing strategy and to apply strategic marketing concepts to the different specific industry contexts companies operate in. We will focus on business-to-consumer marketing, business-to-business marketing, services marketing, and international marketing.

Marketing communications is concerned with the methods, processes, meanings, perceptions and actions associated with the ways in which organizations (and their brands) engage with their target audiences.

Learning Outcomes

This course has four specific learning objectives:

1. Understanding of what Marketing Communications is and how it works
2. Understanding of the different process steps of marketing communications (planning, organization, execution, monitoring of communication actions).
3. Knowledge of the various aspects and perspectives of marketing communications (i.a., advertising, public relations, sponsoring, sales promotion, direct marketing).
4. Develop the ability to criticize various communication instruments and their application.

Services are the largest and fastest growing segment of our economy. However, services pose particular challenges to managers due to their process-oriented nature, perishability and high levels of customer involvement. This course provides basic managerial concepts and analytical tools for effectively and efficiently managing service operations in order to gain competitive advantage in face of these challenges.
In particular, we will create models and use software such as state-of the-art spreadsheet tools to analyze and solve different operations management problems typically arising in service industries. The methods and tools taught in the course have become invaluable aids to informed decision making in practice in order to improve processes, save resources, and create value.
Applications cover a broad range of service industries, such as transport and communication, retailing, hospitality, professional services, health care, service functions of the manufacturing sector, etc. The course pursues an active-learning approach including lecture-style class sessions, computer-based exercises, and home assignments to be accomplished in teamwork.

Learning outcomes

Students will

• get familiarized with the challenging decisions and problems in service operations management,
• understand the key differences between the service and the manufacturing sector and the implications for managing services vs. goods,
• learn about concepts and tools for analyzing decision situations and for systematically evaluating options in service operations management,
• enhance their problem structuring, modeling and analytical skills.

Negotiations occur in situations when it is impossible to attain one’s goals without the cooperation of others. Such situations arise in all areas of business and the ability to manage them successfully rests on a combination of appropriate analytical knowledge and practical skills. This module provides the theoretical background and the practical tools of negotiations. The content is relevant to a broad spectrum of application domains, but a special emphasis is put on negotiations in the procurement context.
The module addresses the general principles of the negotiation process from pre-bargaining stages (interests, BATNAs) all the way to deal closure. This includes distributive bargaining (zero-sum games) and integrative bargaining (positive-sum games), hard vs. soft negotiation styles and associated influence techniques, mixed motive bargaining, power/dependence differentials and fairness, reputation and repeated interactions, and human-related issues (perceptions, emotions, communication).

Objectives

This module 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 understand 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:

1. how to strategically analyze negotiation situations and to develop comprehensive negotiation plans,
2. how to identify opportunities and barriers to creating and claiming value,
3. how to avoid negotiation “sand traps” and to take advantage of negotiation tactics to influence and deal with difficult negotiation co­unterparts.