Learning outcomes

In addition to the disciplinary knowledge specific to management, the course works on the skills of analysis and diagnosis of managerial problems. The various theoretical elements (e.g., theories of professional motivation, demand price elasticity) are mobilized in order to identify a management problem (e.g., absenteeism at work, an inadequate pricing policy), to better understand the ins and outs of it and, finally, to propose a draft solution.

Goals

The course has a dual purpose.

The first is to get students to think about companies (and organisations in a broad sense) and their realities on the basis of rigorous theoretical concepts (theoretical training). The second is to enable them to acquire the skills necessary to understand current economic/managerial events regaring companies/organisations (keys to understanding and analysis).

Content

The course is broadly divided into 4 main parts.

Part I: Raising awareness of the very notion of management and, more specifically, of company management (notion of management, company/organisation, reasons for management, historical evolution, management and environment, etc.).

Part II: Strategic planning and managerial decision making (corporate strategy, planning, SWOT analysis, competitive advantage, managerial decision making process, concepts of bounded rationality, risk and uncertainty in decision making, ...).

Part III: Organisation, change and innovation (organisational structure, organisational modes, departments, concepts of hierarchy, authority, responsibility, delegation of authority, organisational culture, concepts of change and creativity, resistance to change, etc.). Part IV: Management (individual/collective behaviour, concepts of attitude and perception, teamwork, staff motivation, equity and expectations theory, leadership, communication, etc.).

Part V: Control (definitions, reasons, modes of control, limits and drifts) and introduction to value chain and project management.

Exercices

4 small-group exercise sessions, supervised by teaching assistants, are organized.

The topics covered vary from year to year. Examples include solving a business case (e.g., a strategic, change management, or control problem) or addressing a managerial decision-making problem using quantitative tools (e.g., calculating an optimal price, a break-even point, or a resource allocation problem).

Students are also invited to participate in conferences organized by the Faculty EMCP or by UNamur.

Finally, a quiz on the WebCampus platform is offered after each chapter.

Teaching methods

It is mainly a lecture with a PowerPoint presentation (syllabus = presentation material). Individual exercises and case studies are organised druing classes. Numerous real world examples are discussed.

4 exercise sessions (small groups supervised by teaching assistants) are also organised. Examination questions from previous years are covered.

Assessment method

This is a closed book written examination in 2 parts. The first part deals with a case study while the second part deals with a managerial decision-making problem with quantitative support.

Both parts deal with knowledge (definition of fundamental theories and concepts) as well as with know-how (mobilisation of concepts, theories and methods to identify, analyse and solve managerial problems).

Multiple choice questions are sometimes used.

Sources, references and any support material

Reference book (recommended purchase) :

  • Robbins, S., Coutler, M., DeCenzo, D. & Né, I. (2020). Management : L'essentiel des concepts et des pratiques. 11e éd., Paris : Pearson France.
  • French version adapted from Robbins, S., DeCenzo, D., & Coulter, M. (2020). Fundamentals of Management, 11th Ed., Upper saddle River: Pearson Education Inc.

Earlier versions are also suitable.

Language of instruction

French