General provisions

The course syllabus was approved by the board of the Department of Business Studies on delegation from the Faculty of Social Sciences and takes effects as of 2011-08-29.

Entry requirements

General entry requirements

Learning outcomes

The course aims to provide an understanding of the central problems and issues concerning companies and enterprise, and prepare the students for advanced studies in business administration. The students will be taught to independently and critically formulate and analyse business administration problems. The course covers two subject areas: marketing and organisation.

Marketing

Upon completion of the course, the student will be able to:

- describe the fundamental concepts and models within consumer, service and industrial marketing

- describe and discuss the external factors which influence a company's business

- describe the consumers' purchasing behaviour

- describe how a company's strategic and long-term planning works

- describe how companies choose their target group in order to direct their offer towards them

- describe and compare differently tactical marketing tools

- compare the marketing work in product and service companies respectively

- discuss marketing situation in industrial markets

Organisation

Upon completion of the course, the student will be able to:

- describe the fundamental concepts concerning organisational structure and the organisation

- compare various forms of organisational structure and describe the reasons for/against insourcing/outsourcing

- explain the governing problems which arise when organisations grow and become more complex

- describe and distinguish between various types of organisations

- identify and suggest solutions for fundamental problems concerning the division of work and coordination

- analyse and suggest solutions for fundamental problems concerning control of larger organisations

- explain and suggest solutions for fundamental problems concerning choices of insourcing/outsourcing of activities

- analyse and suggest solutions for fundamental problems concerning choice of organisational form

Content

This is a basic course in business administration which aims to give the students a broad introduction to the subject and its curriculum. The course accomplishes this by integrating materials from several of the subject's sub-disciplines, primarily marketing and organisational theory, and by linking the theoretical frames of reference to the enterprise's and the organisation practical problems.

Some examples of the type of problems are: What to produce in-house and what to outsource. How can the company create and maintain bonds with suppliers and other stakeholders parties? How can the company coordinate the organisation and how can the company adapt its structure to the situation which the organisation finds itself in. How does one choose customer groups and how can one reach them? What role does the government and other stakeholders play in the external position of a manufacturing company?

The course is organised to follow the production chain from supplier to manufacturer via distribution to consumer. The first aspect covers the relationship between suppliers and manufacturers. In next part, the internal organisation of the manufacturer is dealt with. During the third part, the product is then followed from manufacturer via distribution to end consumer. In a last part, some other important stakeholders in the manufacturer's environment are dealt with, including the government. Standing in the centre is therefore a manufacturing company, whose problems and opportunities in relation to important stakeholders the course will deal with from various perspectives.

The intention of the course is not serve up pre-designed solutions to the enterprise's problems, but rather to teach the students how to analyse the problems. Such an analysis is a necessary precondition in order to be able to understand why a certain problem has arisen (for example, that Ericsson has lost market share in the cellular telephone market) and what the company might do about it (for example to collaborate with Sony and "outsource" a large part of the production). In order to be able to do such an analysis, we will the open business administration's "toolbox" during the course and try to use some of the tools on some theoretical as well as real-life problems.

Instruction

The course is given in Swedish. The teaching is entirely web-based and is based on independent study. Information about different activities, such as the work required and the date for the submission of papers and other assignments, is available on the course's website. The course does not require any physical attendance. The communication between the participants and teachers occurs primarily via the website. This requires that the participants have access to a computer with Internet access and the appropriate equipment according to instructions from the institution.

Assessment

The final grade for the course may be Failed (U), Passed (G) or Passed with distinction (VG). Grades will be given in accordance with the Swedish grading system.

The course consists of obligatory parts. The course examination consists of various parts such as written tests, assignments, the group work and computer-based tests. The final grade is determined based on an assessment of all the parts of the examination. More detailed information about how the assessment is made is provided in the course instruction. For those who have not achieved enough assessment units to pass the course or those who are seeking a grade of Passed with distinction (VG), a final written exam will be arranged. The grade Passed with distinction can only be obtained the same term in which the student is registered for the first time. In addition, any remaining assignments and supplemental work must be completed and handed in within two weeks after the end of the course; otherwise, the entire course (all assignments included) must be redone the following semester, provided there is space in the course.

Uppsala University does not accept cheating and plagiarism. Suspected incidents of cheating or plagiarism are reported to the Disciplinary Committee of the University, which may issue a formal warning to the student or expel the student from the university for six months.

NOTE: Only completed courses can be recognised in your degree.

Transitional provisions

The course substitutes/overlaps among others basic courses in Business Administration: Marketing and Organisation A 2FE152, Business and Enterprise 2FE000, 2FE271, 2FE007 Kalkylering och redovisning 2FE279, Business and Markets I 2FE778, Business and Markets II 2FE779, Ekonomisk styrning för vård och omsorg 2FE799, 2FE018, Financial Management in companies and public institutions 2FE017, Business and Enterprise I 2FE015, Business and Enterprise II 2FE016, Marketing and Organisation I 2FE150 and the courses from the Faculty of Technology: Företag,nätverk och teknikutveckling 1TS010, Business Administration 1TG010, Management and Control 2FE820, 2FE824, Marketing Analysis 2FE821 and Market and Organisation, Distance 2FE014