This course provides a high-impact foundation on the evolving principles, core concepts and functions of 21st century business management. It explores the essential components of management, while analyzing how the core functions operate within the shifting pressures of internal and external environments. The course moves beyond static theory to examine the tangible contribution of business to global economies, the complexity of globalization, and the diverse roles organizations play across different business realities.
Moreover, the course acts as a professional socialization phase for the first-year students, replacing passive memorization with active "decision-engine" thinking. As such, the students are expected to perform as managers-in-training, challenged to navigate ambiguity, respect diverse business realities, and take ownership of complex business proposals that meet the current demands.
Course objectives are:
RA.01 To identify a comprehensive foundation of business management, the relationship among different organizational areas, structures, functions, and business strategies, taking current legislation into account.
RA.02 To recognize the effective use of a business plan through the design of business models.
RA.03 To understand the firm’s strategic environment and the trends influencing strategic decisions.
RA.04 To develop critical analysis within the context of general management.
RA.05 To analyze the elements of strategic planning.
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Course objectives are:
RA.01 To identify a comprehensive foundation of business management, the relationship among different organizational areas, structures, functions, and business strategies, taking current legislation into account.
RA.02 To recognize the effective use of a business plan through the design of business models.
RA.03 To understand the firm’s strategic environment and the trends influencing strategic decisions.
RA.04 To develop critical analysis within the context of general management.
RA.05 To analyze the elements of strategic planning.
Session 1 Week 1 | Introduction to the course, evaluations, course expectations. Organizational Archetypes. | Introduce management framework and its evolution from classic to modern “Next-Gen” digital approaches. Identify and compare different types of organizations (SMEs, Multinationals, NGOs, and Startups) and evaluate how their structures—from traditional hierarchies to flat, agile "holacracies"—impact their speed of decision-making as well as their roles in national and global economies.
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Session 2 Week 2-3 | Management functions. Analysis of the Business Ecosystem | Introduce POLC functions, briefly explain how they work in companies. Analyze the fundamentals of business relationships (B2B, B2C, C2C, C2B, G2B) and explain how these interactions create a functional marketplace.
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Session 3 Week 4-5 | Drivers of Economic Growth (external analysis) | Conduct a comprehensive situational analysis (PESTEL), industry analysis (Porter’s 5 Forces) as well as SWOT (half external/half internal) to understand the external environment and its impact of business.
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Session 4 Week 5-6 | Strategic Internal Analysis | Conduct a comprehensive internal audit of a company’s resources and capabilities (using the RBV/ VRIO framework) to identify sustainable competitive advantages. Focus on organizational culture, structure, ethics, CRS and B corps. |
Week 7 | Midterm in-class written exam
| Exam is based on material covered in Units 1-4. Format: MCQ and case analysis |
Session 5 Week 8-9 | Multi-Level Strategic Management | Differentiate between and apply the three levels of strategies (functional, business, corporate) to ensure organizational alignment and competitive advantage. |
Session 6 Week 10 | Entrepreneurial Anatomy | Contrast the managerial mindset (optimizing what exists) vs. the entrepreneurial mindset (creating what is missing). AI, VR, AU innovation contributions: visit to IASlab + discussion Lean startups, digital business boom (visit to Technova). |
Session 7 Week 11 | Business Plan
| Integrate all learned concepts into a formal Business Plan that aligns market needs with a financially and operationally sound strategy. |
Session 8 Week 12 | Businesses in a Globalized Context | Analyze the drivers of Globalization and the role organizations play in diverse economic realities, identifying how local culture and international trade policies create both opportunities and risks. Identify specific business practices—such as R&D investment, supply chain optimization, and labor productivity, Lean approach—that directly lead to national and global economic development. |
Week 13 | Final in-class presentations in BOTH sessions together with Business Communications module | SUBMISSION DEADLINE: Sunday, November 29th, 23:59h PRESENTATIONS: From November 30th till December 4th |
Week 14 | Revision / control of quizzes, if needed |
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The methodology used is a 60/20/20 approach consisting of 60% experiential = doing activities (based on challenging assignments/activities), 20% social = collaborating works (based on developmental relationships) and 20% formal = theoretical approaches (based on theoretical frameworks).
The students perform forensic audits using PESTEL, VRIO, SWOT, and Porter’s 5 Forces as well as live decision-logic sessions, case scenarios and simulations; develop strategies and control their implementation. Moreover, the students create initial business plan (first drafts) and take entrepreneurial decisions marked by the limits of the course.
See below
GENERAL RULES AND REQUIREMENTS OF THE COURSE
Delivery of assignments
Demonstrate academic integrity in ALL of your work – ALL work must be in your own work in your own words.
Copying and pasting someone’s work is plagiarizing. Cheating and plagiarizing are serious offences and will subject
students to disciplinary actions including, but not limited to, students failing the evaluation or the entire subject.
All assessed work must be uploaded online via eStudy unless otherwise stated by 23:55 on the due date. Students must not email their assignments to their professors except in rare cases of technical difficulty, in which case, students must also send a screenshot of the technical difficulty that they encounter. Please note that a message indicating that you are not able to submit your assignment in eStudy after the deadline has passed is NOT considered technical difficulty.
Late submission is NOT accepted. If the assignment is not in eStudy by the due date and time, it is considered non-submission, and the student will earn a zero (0) for that assignment. Being late means passing the set time, whether by a few seconds, minutes, or hours. Late is late, and penalty will apply.
All deadlines are firm and not changed to accommodate individual students’ needs. Late submissions will rarely be accepted and only under exceptional circumstances as determined by professor. Extra work or assignments will not be given to students who fail to meet deadlines to make up the grades.
Use of AI tools
Level 2 - AI for Idea Generation and Structure
AI may be used for brainstorming, outlining, initial guidance, or organizational suggestions, but not for producing the final content.
Students' requirements: AI may be used only as preliminary support. The final submission must be entirely human-authored and must not include AI-generated content.
Students who opt to use an AI in their work are required to include a paragraph at the end of the task or activity in which the student have used said tool and explain why you have decided to use it and the result obtained from it. Failure to include this information will be considered as an attempt at fraud or cheating as it deceived the evaluation system. In such case the penalties set out in Salle Campus Barcelona- Copies Regulation will be applied:
https://www.salleurl.edu/en/copies-regulation.
Please refer to the Copy Regulation (Rules on cheating and plagiarism) to understand the severe consequences if plagiarism/cheating is detected. Familiarize yourself with La Salle Regulations which are posted on eStudy and via the link above.
• DAFT, Richard and Alan BENSON. (2016) Management: International Edition. 1st Edition. Cengage Learning EMEA
• Principles of Management. (2015). Minneapolis, MN: Open Textbook Library. Available at:
https://open.lib.umn.edu/principlesmanagement/.
• The Wall Street Journal: https://www.wsj.com/
• The Economist: https://economist.com/
• The Financial Times: https://www.ft.com/
• Harvard Business School Working Knowledge: https://hbswk.hbs.edu/
• World Economic Forum: https://www.weforum.org/
• Strategy+business: https://www.strategy-business.com/
• McKinsey&Company: https://www.mckinsey.com/
• Deloitte Insights: https://www2.deloitte.com/insights/us/en.html
Accenture: https://www.accenture.com/us-en
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