business economics
- Overview
- Assessment methods
- Learning objectives
- Contents
- Full programme
- Bibliography
- Delivery method
- Teaching methods
- Contacts/Info
None
The assessment consists of an interim exam worth 40% of the final mark. In case of positive outcome, it counts for 40% of the exam so that the contents covered in it will not be included in the final exam. The pass result achieved in the interim test is valid only in the first exam session immediately following the interim test.
Students who do not take or pass the interim test, have to sit a general exam on the entire syllabus contents. The general exam is structured into a written test divided into two parts: the first part, on general contents, refers to points 1, 2, 3 and 4 of the syllabus, while the second part, with more practical contents, refers to point 5 of the syllabus. The general questions aim to test the students’ knowledge of that specific part of the syllabus, and their understanding of business-related language, as well as their effective speech on issues related to this discipline. The second part of the test aims at verifying the methodological application of the knowledge acquired as regards the functioning of the accounting model to determine the business values. Students pass the test if they obtain at least 18/30 in each of the two parts of the general exam.
Students who pass the interim test will be exempt from taking the part of the final exam related to the contents included in the interim test.
The oral exam may be: a) requested by the students who have passed the final written test, in case they feel that their preparation does not correspond to the outcomes of the test; b) requested by the lecturer.
The course aims to teach students the concepts and basic notions needed for understanding the structure and the management of businesses in the present days. The objective is accordingly to study in depth the following profiles of the enterprise: institutional structure and corporate governance, competitive environment and corporate strategies, organizational assets and cost structures, accounting model and the logic underlying net income and net equity measurement. The course is a prerequisite for and functional to the course in Accounting.
1. Economic agents and the enterprise system.
– The notions of entity, organization and enterprise and their distinctive characteristics.
– The role of businesses in market economies.
– The enterprise-environment relationship.
– The magnitude of the enterprise system.
– How enterprises work.
– Enterprise occurrences and operations.
2. Institutional structure and corporate governance.
– The agency relation between the enterprise and its stakeholders.
– Rights and obligations arising from firm management.
– Administration and control systems.
3. The competitive environment.
– The enterprise in its competitive system.
– Corporate strategy: overview.
– Competitive strategy and strategic business areas.
– Strategies at a corporate level.
4. The organizational asset and the cost structure
– The organizational variables: structure, mechanisms, and power.
– The enterprise organizational charts.
– Concepts of economy of scale and saturation of productive capacity.
– The break-even point, cost structure, profit margin, and operating leverage.
5. The system of events and the accounting model for reporting business values.
– The book-keeping logic.
– The recognition of the main transactions.
– Nature and characteristics of net income and net equity.
– Drafting of profit-and-loss and balance sheet.
– Concepts of economic capital and liquidation capital.
– Financial, economic and equity equilibrium of the firm.
1. Economic agents and the enterprise system.
– The notions of entity, organization and enterprise and their distinctive characteristics.
– The role of businesses in market economies.
– The enterprise-environment relationship.
– The magnitude of the enterprise system.
– How enterprises work.
– Enterprise occurrences and operations.
2. Institutional structure and corporate governance.
– The agency relation between the enterprise and its stakeholders.
– Rights and obligations arising from firm management.
– Administration and control systems.
3. The competitive environment.
– The enterprise in its competitive system.
– Corporate strategy: overview.
– Competitive strategy and strategic business areas.
– Strategies at a corporate level.
4. The organizational asset and the cost structure
– The organizational variables: structure, mechanisms, and power.
– The enterprise organizational charts.
– Concepts of economy of scale and saturation of productive capacity.
– The break-even point, cost structure, profit margin, and operating leverage.
5. The system of events and the accounting model for reporting business values.
– The book-keeping logic.
– The recognition of the main transactions.
– Nature and characteristics of net income and net equity.
– Drafting of profit-and-loss and balance sheet.
– Concepts of economic capital and liquidation capital.
– Financial, economic and equity equilibrium of the firm.
G. AIROLDI-G. BRUNETTI-V. CODA, Corso di Economia aziendale, Il Mulino, Bologna, 2005.
P. ANDREI-A. M. FELLEGARA (edited by), Contabilità generale e bilancio d’impresa, Giappichelli Editore, Turin, 2017 (fourth edition).
The course will be taught through a series of lectures supplemented by assignments covering part 5 of the syllabus.
Lecture slides and additional teaching material will be made available on the eLearnng platform.
Further information can be found on the lecturer's webpage, or on the Faculty notice board.
Professors
Borrowers
-
Degree course in: Law - Como