Learning objectives
The general objective of the course is to present the main models and tools of economics and marketing. The course also aims to provide a conceptual and operational framework of the operation and conditions that govern the survival and development of the company.
For this purpose, the course intends to provide a reading of the interrelationships that the company has with the external context and of the governance systems that it can adopt to pursue its objectives. Furthermore, the course shows the sources of information used by management to assess the impact of the strategic and operational decisions of the company, also addressing the problem of decision-making systems through which it intends to ensure consistency between decisions and objectives.
KNOWLEDGE AND ABILITY TO UNDERSTAND: At the end of the course, the student will have to know the fundamental principles of economics and marketing. In particular, through the lectures held during the course, the student will acquire knowledge of the main aspects of microeconomics, business definition and marketing strategies.
ABILITY TO APPLY KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING: Through practical exercises carried out in the classroom, students learn how to apply the knowledge acquired in a real business context. In particular, the student will have to apply the acquired knowledge to solve problems related to microeconomics, business definition and marketing strategies.
AUTONOMY OF JUDGMENT: The student will be able to critically evaluate some strategies applied by companies to solve microeconomic problems, carry out a sector analysis, analyze the value chain and define a marketing plan.
COMMUNICATION SKILLS: Through lectures and discussions with the teacher, the student acquires the specific vocabulary of economics and marketing. At the end of the course, the student is expected to be able to transmit, in oral and written form, the main contents of the course, and to clearly present the results of economic analyzes and evaluations.
LEARNING SKILLS: Students who have attended the course will be able to deepen their knowledge of economics and marketing institutions through independent consultation of specialist texts, scientific or popular magazines, even outside the topics strictly covered in class , in order to effectively address the insertion into the world of work or undertake subsequent training courses.
Prerequisites
None
Course unit content
The teaching of Economics and Marketing Institutions aims to introduce students to the use of conceptual tools and operational techniques useful for understanding and addressing the economic dimension of a company, with reference to theoretical aspects of microeconomics (part I of the course), business models (part II of the course) and marketing techniques (part III of the course).
In the part concerning the concepts of microeconomics, the demand, supply and market equilibrium, the opportunity cost, the accounting cost and the maximization of profit and the choice of the optimal volume are analyzed from both a theoretical and practical point of view. of production in the short and long term.
In the part concerning the definition of the business, some models for the definition of the business are explored and the analysis of factors external to the company and Porter's five-perhaps scheme is introduced, as well as concepts such as the value chain and competitive advantage.
In the marketing part, we analyze marketing strategies and how to develop a marketing plan.
Full programme
PART I: THEORETICAL AND PRACTICAL ASPECTS OF MICROECONOMICS (about 27 hours)
• The concept of business
• Economic science and economics
• The scarcity and alternative uses of resources
• Demand, supply and the market
• Shifts in the supply and demand curve
• Free markets and price controls
• The elasticity of supply and demand with respect to price and income
• Cross elasticity
• Demand and inflation
• Introduction to supply theory
• Opportunity cost, accounting cost and profit maximization
• The choice of a company's production volume
• The marginal cost and the marginal revenue
• The function of production
• Total, average and marginal long-term costs
• Economies and diseconomies of scale
• The choice of the optimal volume of production in the long term and in the short term
PART II: DEFINITION OF THE BUSINESS (about 18 hours)
• Business definition
• A three-dimensional model for business definition
• The Business Model Canvas
• The sector analyzes
• Porter's five forces scheme
• The value chain and competitive advantage • The corporate strategy
• The business portfolio
• SWOT analysis
PART III: MARKETING (about 27 hours)
• Marketing
• The general rules of marketing in times of crisis
• The marketing objectives
• Market segmentation
• The positioning
• Strategic management of brands
• Strategic marketing planning at the business area level
• Product management
• The management of the price system
• The communication
• Commercial management
• Marketing strategy, implementation and control
• Design and implementation of the marketing mix
• The development of the marketing plan
• Study and analysis of some business cases
Bibliography
The recommended book for the course is “Istituzioni di Economia e Marketing" (Alberto Petroni, Create McGrawHill).
In addition, the slides shown during the lessons, the texts of the exercises carried out in class and the relative solutions, and other additional material used in class will be provided weekly by the teacher (in PDF format and on the course page on the Elly platform).
For further information, students can refer to the following texts:
- Begg, Vernasca, Fischer, Dornbush, (2018), “Economia” 6 ED, McGrawHill
- Peter, Donnely, Pratesi, (2020), “Marketing”, McGrawHill
- Baroncelli, Serio, (2020), “Economia e gestione delle imprese”, McGrawHill
Teaching methods
The course includes both theoretical lessons and exercises, in which mainly frontal moments will alternate with interactive moments with the students.
Theoretical and practical aspects of microeconomics, the definition of the business model and marketing as an approach to business management will be discussed in the course of the theoretical lessons, with the aim of providing a conceptual and operational framework of the functioning and conditions that regulate the business survival and development.
For this purpose, the theoretical lessons are intended to provide a broad-spectrum reading of the interrelationships that the company establishes with the internal and external context and the governance systems that it can adopt to pursue its objectives.
Furthermore, the sources of information used by management to assess the impact of the company's strategic and operational decisions are illustrated, also addressing the problem of decision-making systems through which it intends to ensure consistency between decisions and objectives
During the exercises the student will be able to practically realize the solutions of the problems outlined in theoretical form during the lessons.
In addition to the normal exercises, simulations of the exam will also be scheduled: during the simulations, students will be asked to work in complete autonomy (as during the exam) in solving the exam text. The simulations will not be evaluated, they have a self-assessment purpose: each student will be able to check their level of preparation and understand, for example, on which part of the program or on which type of exercise they will have to focus more in view of the exam. They are also used to learn how to manage time during the exam.
Assessment methods and criteria
The final assessment of the students' preparation consists of a WRITTEN TEST on the course contents (lessons + reference text + any documents uploaded to Elly during the course) and consists of 20 questions on the entire program. There is no penalty for incorrect answers. The final grade will be communicated after the written test directly in Esse3.
It is mandatory to register for the exam, exclusively via the internet (https://unipr.esse3.cineca.it) up to 7 days before the exam itself.
During the exam, a calculator can be used as long as it is not programmable and it is not allowed to consult phones, smartwatches, books, notes, handouts and other teaching material during the tests.
During the academic year there are 7 exam sessions, divided into the three sessions January / February and March / April, June / July and September, of which 3 in the session immediately following the course and 2 in the remaining two sessions .
Other information
Non-attending students are recommended to periodically check the teaching material available and the information provided by the teacher through the Elly platform, the only teacher / student communication tool. On this platform, the slides used during the lessons and any additional material provided by the teacher will be made available on a weekly basis in pdf format.
2030 agenda goals for sustainable development
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