Syllabus Information

1. General information

This is an elective for graduates in Optics and Optometry and Physical Sciences, whose purpose is to provide undergraduate students with a global vision of the business world they will face in their professional careers. It is approached from different angles: starting from the perspective of the functioning of companies for those interested in working in large organizations to the point of view of business creation for those  entrepreneur students who are seeking a professional career on their own. Understanding the functions of the different areas of organizations, the weight of each one and the interrelationships among them.

The subject has a practical, dynamic and participative approach, proposing trends, business and marketing strategies, new business ideas and positioning of the company in the market.   

These approaches and objectives are aligned with the following Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations Agenda 2030 (https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/es/), in such a way that the acquisition of the learning results of the subject provides training and competence to contribute to some extent to their achievement, especially the following:

Goal 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

Goal 9: Industry, innovation and infrastructure.

2. Learning results

Cross-cutting competencies

-  Capacity for analysis and synthesis

-  Information management capacity

-  Organizational and planning skills

-  Oral and written communication in native language

-  Ability to make decisions and manage problems

-  Critical reasoning

-  Teamwork

-  Autonomous learning

-  Capacity for entrepreneurship.

Specific Competencies

-  Ability to know, identify and understand organizational management.

-  Ability to analyse, interpret and implement business projects.

3. Syllabus

TOPIC 1.- COMPANY AND ENVIRONMENT

TOPIC 2.- THE MANAGERIAL PROCESS. THE PLANNING PROCESS AND THE CONTROL PROCESS TOPIC 3.- THE PRODUCTION PROCESS

TOPIC 4.- THE FINANCING PROCESS

TOPIC 5.- THE ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE OF THE COMPANY

TOPIC 6.- THE PHILOSOPHY AND PRACTICE OF MARKETING IN THE COMPANY

TOPIC 7.- THE PRODUCT DECISION PROCESS

TOPIC 8.- THE PRICE DECISION PROCESS

TOPIC 9.- THE DISTRIBUTION DECISION PROCESS

TOPIC 10.- THE COMMUNICATION DECISION PROCESS

4. Academic activities

Activities

- Presentations

-  Dynamic activities: puzzle, case method, "one minute paper" and teamwork.

-  Case studies.

-  Exercises.

-  Commentaries on readings.

-  Other supervised work.

The structure of the subject is organized in two parts.

The first one, made up of topics 1 to 5, corresponds to Business Management and Organization. The second part, consisting of topics 6 to 10, corresponds to Marketing Management and Market Research.

The 150 hours of student work are structured as follows:

Work with the student (65 hours):

-  Expository classes: 30 hours.

-  Cases and exercises: 15 hours.

-  Practical work: 15 hours.

-  Knowledge tests: 5 hours.

Study and work of the student (85 hours):

-        Autonomous work: 60 hours (for the calculation it is estimated 1 hour of study for each hour of theoretical class and two hours of study for each hour of practical class).

-        Teamwork: 25 hours.

5. Assessment system

The evaluation activities are: exams, papers, exercises and case studies.

As indicated in the section on the presentation of the subject, it is taught by two areas of knowledge, with fifty percent of the contents assigned to each of them: Marketing and Market Research and Management and Business Organization.

Each of these parts will be subject to a specific exam that will count for the final grade in proportion to its number of credits

The final grade will be assigned on the basis of the results obtained.

There are two evaluation systems: continuous evaluation and global evaluation (single test).

Continuous evaluation

It will be carried out through the participation in different training activities that will contribute to achieve the expected learning results. Participation in these activities is mandatory.

Activities                                             

Continuous learning (20% of the total): Various practical questions, readings or current materials will be raised and must be solved by the student in class.

Tutored teamwork (50% of the total): The student must solve, as part of a team, a work throughout the term, creating a small business project (organizational model, financing, marketing strategies, communication, advertising, etc.)      

Theoretical and practical exam (30% of the total): Questions on topics taught in the subject that can be   small development questions or multiple choice questions. 

Single or global test

It will be carried out in the official calls. It will consist of a written test of theoretical-practical nature in which the achievement of the learning results indicated above will be evaluated. It will take place at the end of the term and will be individual. It will consist of questions aimed at evaluating the degree of assimilation of the key concepts of the subject.

Valuation criteria

It will be assessed that the student knows, understands and is able to use, in different contexts, the concepts and tools studied in class. In addition, the ability to integrate and synthesize the acquired knowledge will be valued.