Syllabus Information

5.1. Methodological overview

The methodology followed in this course is oriented towards achievement of the learning objectives. A wide range of teaching and learning tasks are implemented, such as

1. Lectures in which the contents of the course will be discussed in detail. The students are encouraged to attend these sessions and actively participate in them.
2. Practice sessions in which the students will solve problems and cases, discuss texts or propose solutions to specific problems associated with the content of the course.
3. Elaboration of a group project supervised by the professor. In the project the students will apply the course contents  to the case of a specific organization and its strategy.
4. The students will also be required to complete several individual and group activities related to the content of the course.
5. There will be office hours available to the students.
6. During the course other complementary activities may be proposed, provided they contribute to the attainment of the objectives of the course. (e.g., conferences and seminars)

5.2. Learning tasks

The course includes the following learning tasks: 

• Lectures (approximately 40 hours). In these sessions the contents of the syllabus will be discussed. The aim of these sessions is to describe the contents and capabilities that the students are expected to learn and acquire, and help them in this task. Attendance to these sessions is critical for the achievement of the learning goals.
• Practice sessions (approximately 20 hours). These sessions include case-solving, problem-solving and discussion of texts related to the contents of the course. Practice sessions are combined with lectures to help the student to assimilate the content of the course, and to acquire a more practical perspective o the different topics include in the syllabus. These sessions promote group work, discussion and offer the professor the opportunity to assess the capability of the student to assimilate and apply the course contents. These sessions aim to enhance the professor- student interaction.
• Practical group work supervised by the professor (approximately 10 hours of autonomous work, 10 hours of supervision and 6 hours of evaluation). This activity implies the development of a project in which the contents of the course will be applied to the analysis of a firm and its strategy. The project will be evaluated according to its content, the delivered materials, language and expression, and the capability of students to synthesize and apply the contents of the course.
• Autonomous work and study (Approximately 62 hours). In the case of students opting for the final global assessment it will be 87 hours. The students should distribute their study of the contents of the course along the semester. Students are encouraged to devote some time to study the course after each lecture, and to prepare the practical activities before these are discussed in the practice sessions.
• Final exam (Approximately 2 hours). For students in the continuous assessment system it lasts approximately 2 hours. However, for those students who opt for the final global assessment, the exam lasts 3 hours.

5.3. Syllabus

The course, “Economy and Industrial Organization”, will address the following topics:

INTRODUCTION 

• Topic 1: The nature of strategic management

SECTION I. STRATEGIC ANALYSIS

• Topic 2: The objectives and the values of the firm
• Topic 3: Environment analysis
• Topic 4: Internal analysis

SECTION II. STRATEGY FORMULATION

• Topic 5: Strategy and competitive advantage
• Topic 6: Innovation management and strategy
• Topic 7: Directions and methods of firm development
• Topic 8: Internationalization

SECTION III: STRATEGY IMPLEMENTATION

• Topic 9: Strategy evaluation and implementation

5.4. Course planning and calendar

During the semester there will be different activities:

• Weekly lectures and practice sessions. These sessions will be 2 hours long.
• Office hours and group-work supervision meetings will be flexible and settled according to the needs of students and the professor.
• The submission of the project will be at the end of the term.

Further information concerning the timetable, classroom, office hours, assessment dates and other details regarding this course, will be provided on the first day of class or please refer to the EINA website.

5.5. Bibliography and recommended resources