In addition to acquiring management-specific knowledge (concepts, theories, methods, and approaches), the course develops skills in analyzing and diagnosing management issues.
Various theoretical elements (such as work motivation theories and competitive strategies) are applied to identify a management problem (e.g., workplace absenteeism or an inadequate pricing policy), gain a deeper understanding of its underlying dynamics, analyze the issue using relevant methods and approaches, and finally, propose a preliminary solution and managerial recommendations.
Skills related to critical thinking, a reflective approach, and an ethical, responsible perspective on management are cultivated throughout the course sessions.
The course has a double purpose.
The first is to get students to critically and responsibly 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), to identify managerial problems and to use appropriate tools to devise potential solutions.
The course is broadly divided into 5 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 and change (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.
A module on team dynamics, in the form of interactive workshops, is also offered.
For illustration purposes
Ch. 0. Course description – General introduction
Ch. 1. Management, organizations, and managers: from effectiveness to efficiency; managerial roles and professions
Ch. 2. The management environment: globalization, CSR, technology, diversity & quality
Ch. 3. Origins of contemporary management: a History lesson
Ch. 4. Strategic planning: concepts and processes, SWOT/TOWS analysis, generic & competitive strategies
Ch. 5. Managerial decision-making
Ch. 6. Entrepreneurs, entrepreneurship, business plans & business models
Ch. 7. Organizational structures: from traditional to new models
Ch. 8. Organizational change
Ch. 9. Individual and group behavior
Ch. 10. Motivation
Ch. 12. Fundamentals of control
Ch. 13. Introduction to operations and value chain management
Ch. 14. Conclusions
+Module on team dynamics.
Exercises and case studies are conducted during sessions (individually and/or in small groups) focusing on issues such as strategy, change, and control, or on solving managerial decision-making problems using quantitative tools.
Students are also invited to participate in two workshops on group dynamics.
Finally, multiple-choice questions are provided on the WebCampus platform after each chapter.
The course is composed of a series of lectures with a PowerPoint presentation (syllabus = presentation material).
Individual exercises and case studies are organised during classes. Numerous real world examples are discussed.
Multiple-choice questions for each chapter are available on Webcampus.
Team dynamics are addressed through two participatory workshop sessions.
The evaluation is based on a closed book written examination. One or two case studies are used. They 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.
The material covered consists of all content addressed during sessions or through the exercises and multiple-choice questions completed throughout the year.
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.