Universitat Internacional de Catalunya
Media Companies
Teaching staff
Tuesday from 15:00 h to 16:00 h. by appointment. In order to make an appointment, please request one by writing to malbareda@uic.es
Introduction
During the second academic year of the degree programme it is important to give a wide and general view of the environment where the graduate student will work, whether it be in a business company or as an independent entrepreneur.
It is important to take into account what the company really is in the scope of Institutional Communication and Public Relations, which elements form it, and the role the person plays in the economical context of the company and this in turn in the global context of the economy.
It is a basic education subject with a general and descriptive profile, which is intended to give a global vision of the company, its problems or issues and its relationship with the environment and also determine which are its functions and interactions with both internal or external agents.
The subject has a basic and introductory focus, where the first themes are spent on clarifying the general concepts of the company, its environment and its dimension, and reviewing theoretical approaches about the company that have been made in the context of economic and administrative thinking. In this way, the student is confronted for the first time with the concept of business and the environment in which it is situated.
Once the student positions the company as an economic trader, an introduction is given to the different functional areas of the organisation. The problems of the administration and management of resources that apply to each of the areas, such as authentic and technical resources, financial resources or human resources as well as other areas such as sales, marketing or operations. It is intended that students learn about the most important decisions to be made in each of the areas discussed and to identify the variables that are most relevant in each case as well as apply simple techniques to solve the different problems.
Finally, it is intended that the student learns the essential functions of company management, understanding the service company and the consumer goods company.
The importance of human relations and the proper management of staff are highlighted in this area to achieve maximum organisational efficiency.
All subject contents are developed with a practical approach, encouraging student participation and discussion in the classroom.
The subject aims to give an overview of the company, its problems, and its relationship with the environment without going into details as these details are dealt with in more specialised subjects. The knowledge and skills acquired by students in this subject are key to all professional activity linked to the development of Communication, Corporate Communication or a Public Relations Agency.
Pre-course requirements
No pr-course requirements are needed to enrol in this subject.
Objectives
- Analyse the company as a whole and identify its relations with the environment to then introduce some basic techniques of management in relation to each of the functional areas in order to structure business activity.
- Understand the operation of the company, understood as a unitary whole and emphasising the connections between all parts, and with the environment.
- Understand the role of the company in society and the role of an information company.
- The importance of the human factor in the company.
- Understand the financial aspect of the company.
- Learn and understand the different functional areas of the company and their interactions.
- Understand how to manage and administrate companies and organisations.
- Become acquainted with the company and the agents that intervene: macro environment, markets, etc.
Competences/Learning outcomes of the degree programme
- 01 - The ability to plan technical resources
- 02 - The ability to plan human resources
- 03 - The ability to plan personal resources (personnel, materials, seasonal...)
- 11 - The ability to make judgments and well-argued critical assessments
- 17 - The ability to confront difficulties and resolve problems
- 19 - The ability to memorise
- 23 - The ability to develop a budget
- 26 - The ability to coordinate yourself and /or work together to / with a team
- 70 - Knowledge and mastery of economic data, statistics and graphs
- 71 - Knowledge and mastery of principle economic concepts.
- 88 - The ability to relate to people and the environment without losing autonomy
- 89 - The ability to create synergy in a working team
- 91 - Preparation to assume risks
- 92 - The ability for analysis, synthesis and critical judgment
- 95 - The ability for economic and budgetary management in the field of activity
- 96 - The ability to objectively analysis reality and the extraction of valid considerations
Learning outcomes of the subject
- Students will be familiarised with management principals.
- Students will develop sensibility to the approach of systems and contingency in today's organizations.
- Students reflect on corporate social responsibility and ethics of management.
- Students will understand the different stages in the process of decision-making.
- Students will learn the principles of the Information Company.
Syllabus
A. Concept Company
1. The Company and the entrepreneur: Concepts and fundamentals.
- Business Function and concept
- The company and its environment
- Business Principles and Objectives
- The entrepreneur and the creation of new businesses
2. The Environment and Strategy:
- The Company as a system
- Systems approaches
- Regulatory Mechanisms in a Company
- The Company and its environment: development, competition , strategy
3. The Company as an organization:
- Organisational structure
- Parts of the structure
B. Financial function:
1. Administration and Accounting:
- Concept and role of accounting
- Basics
- The annual accounts
- Financial balance of the Company
- The performance of the Company
2. Investment and Risk:
- Concepts and types
- Time Value of Money
- Fundamentals
- Investment selection methods
3. Finance:
- Business financial environment
- Sources of Business Financing
- Self-financing, debt leverage
- The bank financing
C. The Role of Operations:
1. Production Activity of the Company
2. Objectives, costs and productivity
3. Definition and types of production processes
D. The role of Personnel Management
E. Commercial function:
1. Marketing:
- Concept
- Approaches
- Relationship Marketing
- Market research
- Product, Price, Distribution, Communication
- Marketing plan
2. Sales:
- Concept
- Types of Information
- Dealer
- The phases of the sale
Teaching and learning activities
In person
| TRAINING ACTIVITY | ECTS CREDITS |
| Lectures. In lectures, lecturers/professors not only transmit content or knowledge, but also, and above all else, attitudes, motivation, skills and values, etc. They also ensure that participants can express their opinions and arguments to the other students. | 2.0 |
| Coaching. Monitoring how students learn the content of the subject, either individually or in groups. In the coaching sessions, mistakes will be corrected, queries answered, and exercises and activities to achieve the established objectives will be suggested. | 1.0 |
| Seminar. This activity will consist of taking an in-depth look at specific up-to-date topics in a monographic manner-in some cases these topics will have been debated socially-, via active work in small groups. | 0.8 |
| Meeting Point. Meetings will be organised with notable people from the professional and scientific fields or the international field, and students. These sessions will take the form of conferences, work sessions, discussions, or interviews, etc. | 1.0 |
| Practical workshop. A highly practical working activity, where students can acquire skills that are practical or also theoretical (intellectual skills, logical skills, critical skills, intellectual learning skills, study skills, quoting skills, etc). | 0.4 |
| Workshop. Advanced and intensive workshops of a longer duration, led by lecturers and/or foreign professionals, in which the language used is English. These culminate in the creation of a professional or semi-professional product which is also produced in English. | 0.8 |
Evaluation systems and criteria
In person
IN FIRST CALL:
In some classes there will be work/activities to be done in the classroom and they will be part of the evaluation. If the student does not attend class that day, the grade will be 0.
- Part A: Activities/works/tests done in the classroom (value 50%). Participation in class will be evaluataded too.
- Part B: Final Exam (value 50%)
Total: 100%.
In order to be able to make average between part A and B, each of the parts must be approved, that is to say, to have a score of 5/10 in each of the parts. Otherwise, it will not be possible to make an average and, therefore, the subject will be failed.
The faculty regulations regarding spelling mistakes and plagiarism will be strictly observed".
SECOND AND SUBSEQUENT EXAMS:
Students will be able to choose if they want to be evaluated as the students of FIRST CALL. or if they prefer to take only the final exam. In case of choosing the second option (taking only the final exam), the final exam will have a weight of 100% and the course will be passed when a minimum of 4/10 is obtained in the exam.
Students who wish to opt for this option (100% final exam), must notify the teacher via email (malbareda@uic.es) before October 15th, otherwise, it will be evaluated with the system of the students of the first call.
Bibliography and resources
Book: “Principios y Fundamentos de Gestión de Empresas”, Francisco Gonzalez Dominguez, Juan Domíngo Ganaza, Pirámide 2010.
Material handed in class or uploaded in moddle.