LEARNING OUTCOMES
After completing the course, students will:
• understand how different areas in business studies are connected in the entity of enterprise functions and in making a profit,
• understand the role of supply chains and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems and their significance in managing a company,
• be able to apply different business analysis tools in planning and managing a business and to understand the essential role of strategy in the process, and
• be able to apply various methods of collaboration in a virtual team.
A central part of the course is to see the business as a whole: students will understand why it is not practical to optimize single functions separately and why the management needs to have a holistic perspective of the company.
Credits: 6
Schedule: 24.04.2025 - 22.05.2025
Teacher in charge (valid for whole curriculum period):
Teacher in charge (applies in this implementation): Johanna Bragge
Contact information for the course (applies in this implementation):
CEFR level (valid for whole curriculum period):
Language of instruction and studies (applies in this implementation):
Teaching language: English. Languages of study attainment: Finnish, English
CONTENT, ASSESSMENT AND WORKLOAD
Content
valid for whole curriculum period:
The course includes a compulsory pre-assignment that has to be completed by a pre-defined date. The course assignments are mainly related to the planning of the simulation company operations and the analysis of materialized operations. These include, for example:
• developing a business plan,
• analysing the profitability in light of various parameters and reporting these to the different stakeholders,
• various strategic analyses of the company operations and competitive situation (SWOT, PESTEL, benchmarking),
• calculations related to the company’s basic supply chain and ERP parameters,
• income statement and profitability, gross margin and cash flow analyses, and
• market analysis.
Furthermore, there will be a written individual assignment on team dynamics and a team functionality analysis and reflections.
Assessment Methods and Criteria
valid for whole curriculum period:
Assignments (both team and individual assignments)
Workload
valid for whole curriculum period:
Course workload (160 hours) consists of
• conducting the pre-assignment
• reading the theoretical supplementary material
• planning and analysis tasks
• online business simulation game sessions, where the team members are simultaneously present on the game days mentioned in the syllabus
• reflecting on the team work and dynamics
DETAILS
Study Material
valid for whole curriculum period:
Literature includes simulation game instructions, description of the simulation environment, learning videos, course hand-out and a selection of other articles. Materials will be updated in MyCourses.
Substitutes for Courses
valid for whole curriculum period:
Prerequisites
valid for whole curriculum period:
SDG: Sustainable Development Goals
9 Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
12 Responsible Production and Consumption
FURTHER INFORMATION
Further Information
valid for whole curriculum period:
Teaching Language: English
Teaching Period: 2024-2025 Spring V
2025-2026 Spring VRegistration:
There is a maximum number of students on the course. Priority is given to: 1) BSc students majoring in ISM 2) BIZ exchange students 3) MSc students majoring in ISM 4) Other Aalto students.