INTRODUCTION TO BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

Introduction to Business Administration course presents a thorough and systematic introduction to contemporary principles and practices of managing. It focuses on the basic roles, skills and functions of management, with special attention to managerial responsibility for effective and efficient achievement of organizational goals. Special attention is given to organisation culture, planning and decision-making, and controlling. This course analyzes multiple aspects of how managers plan, organize and control activities within organizations and introduces the students to the fundamentals of financial accounting.

After attending this course, the students can expect to be able to:
• Describe what managers do and distinguish between levels of management, and understand principal managerial tasks
• Explain the role of managers in shaping organisational culture
• Understand the importance of ethical behavior and corporate social responsibility
• Discuss the differences between national cultures, and understand the challenges managers face in international environment
• Understand the nature of managerial decision-making
• Differentiate between corporate-, business- and functional-level strategies
• Describe different types of organisational structures
• Define organisational controls, and understand how control process is organized
• Understand fundamentals of financial accounting, describe different ways in which entities can be legally organized, outline the form and properties of income statements and balance sheets

Good understanding of English language

1. Managers and managing
2. Values, Attitudes, Emotions and Culture
3. Ethics and Social responsibility
4. Managing in multicultural and global environment
5. Decision-making, learning, creativity and entrepreneurship
6. Planning and strategizing
7. Functional strategies for competitive advantage
8. Managing organizational structure and culture
9. Organizational control
10. Fundamentals of financial accounting

The main reference for the course is “Contemporary Management” (2020) by Gareth R. Jones and Jennifer M. George, McGraw Hill; 11th edition, Chapters 1, 3 -11.
For the topic of “Fundamentals of financial accounting” (week 5 of the course), the textbook is “Financial Accounting” (2020) by David Alexander and Christopher Nobes, Pearson, 7th edition, Chapters 1 and 2.
Additional materials will be distributed by the course instructor via moodle platform.

The final grade for the course is based on the final written exam. The written exam consists of multiple choice questions to verify a student’s knowledge and understanding.
Written exam is closed-book. Students cannot use textbook, slides, notes or browse the internet during the exam.

The teaching format for this course will include frontal lectures and class discussions.

English

written