Economics and business management

Massimo Rosati is an expert in Marketing Principles and Tools and an adjunct professor at the Department of Economic and Business Sciences, at the University of Florence. Since 2000, he has held regular teaching positions in the disciplines of Management and Enterprise Marketing at the same University. He currently holds the course in Web
Marketing of the First Level Master in Economics and Tourism Management and the course in Tourism and Sport Marketing of the Master’s Degree course in Design of Sustainable Tourism Systems. Since 2016, he has held the chair of Global Workforce Management and International Dimension of Organizational Behaviour at the US
university consortium CAPA-Global Business Institute and he also holds several Marketing courses at the International School of Business of Florence University of the Arts. He works as a management consultant for companies in the tourism and food & beverage sectors. He is a full member of the Italian Marketing Society. His research interests focus on the evolutionary dynamics of tourism distribution and innovation in
food & wine marketing. Recent publications:

-Ranfagni Silvia; Burresi Aldo; “L’autenticità come self-appropriation: paradigmi emergenti da un caso di studio nel settore vitivinicolo”. In: Atti del Convegno SIM, Turin, 22-23 October;

-A.Runfola; M.Rosati; S.Guercini (2013). “New business models in online hotel distribution: Emerging private sales versus leading ID”. SERVICE BUSINESS, vol. 7, pp. 183-205.

The Economics and Business Management course will be divided into 2 modules and will cover the following contents:

⮚ Module 1 – Strategy in the Enterprise System

• The enterprise system and the competitive environment: The enterprise as a system, the family-owned enterprise, the environment relevant to the enterprise, the competitive
  environment.
• Distinctive resources and competencies in the enterprise system: the enterprise as a set of resources, from resources to distinctive competencies, strategic orientation.
• Strategic Management and the Business Model: strategy development, competitive advantage, competitive strategies, collaborative strategies, value proposition, critical factors, profitability propositions, new business models (digital economy, sharing economy, green economy).

⮚ Module 2 – Strategic business management

• Strategic Planning: the meaning, evolution and current role of business planning, background conditions, strategic orientation.
• Marketing: marketing as a management philosophy, strategic marketing, operational marketing
• Technological Innovation and Competitive Advantage: R&D investments, technology and profitability, innovation and business strategy, management of technological expertise, innovating by projects.

Economics and Business Management deals with the basics of Business Management with a particular focus on the service industry. This course has been designed to introduce to undergraduate students in sport sciences the critical aspects of strategic and operative
management for the success of small and large firms operating in the sport and facility business. In particular, the following topics will be discussed: the enterprise system and characteristics of the competitive environment; the concept of competitive advantage and
basic competitive strategies; Business Model, Value Chain and Strategic planning; Marketing Strategies and Operations; the role of Technological Innovation in fostering new value for the market. The course contains a good introduction to each topic and an advanced treatment of theory at a fairly understandable level to the students at this stage.

The course aims to introduce students to the issues of business creation and governance as well as the decision-making processes supporting business choices for competitiveness, with a view to a development that must take into account the extreme dynamism of
the environment in which they operate. The course focuses on the analysis of the role of the enterprise in economic systems and its fundamental components. The aim is to provide students with keys to understanding the behaviour of enterprises and to interpret the changes taking place in production and business models in the current economic context. In particular, the course aims to provide students with the fundamental conceptual basis of business and management, the main management profiles as well as the relevant decision-making criteria and logic, not only from a cognitive point of view, but also in relation to the development of the related application skills. At the end of the lessons, the student will be able to possess the key concepts for interpreting the behaviour of the company, understand the logic and fundamental tools of its operation and identify suitable courses of action both at the level of the company function and above all of the company as a whole.

A. Knowledge and understanding

The student will be able to understand the main mechanisms of operation of the economic system in relation to the functioning and role of enterprises.

B. Applied knowledge and understanding

The student will be able to develop the ability to know and adequately interpret the basic concepts of business economics.

C. Autonomy of judgement

The student will be able to interpret the market dynamics brought about by the behaviour of enterprises and to make independent judgments about the implications of enterprises’ choices.

D. Communication skills

The student will be able to communicate specific information clearly and competently, present their ideas, raise problems and propose solutions.

E. Learning ability

The student will have acquired the necessary knowledge to understand the basic dynamics of the economic system determined by enterprises.

A. Use of advanced textbooks, knowledge of some cutting-edge topics within the subject studied.

Students will have to demonstrate knowledge of the theories and main models underlying the functioning of the enterprise. In particular, the distinction between strategic and operational behaviour, especially in the light of recent developments in the competitive and technological environment in markets as a result of globalisation.

B. Professional approach to their work and possession of adequate skills to devise arguments, support them and solve problems within the subject studied.

Students will have to demonstrate their ability to use the knowledge acquired during the first Module of the course by individually tackling a case analysis proposed by the lecturer, the results of which – condensed into a ppt document (10 slides) – will then be presented to the other students during a synchronous meeting.

C. Ability to collect and interpret data useful for making autonomous judgements.

Students must individually prepare a short research paper of 5 folders in .doc format on a topic identified in consultation with the tutor and relating to one of the topics addressed during the second Module of lessons. From a methodological point of view, the bibliographical research and the data (or the company case) at the basis of the analysis must be conducted by accessing OPAC data and via webquests appropriately guided by the tutor.

D. Ability to communicate information, ideas, problems and solutions to specialists and non-specialists.

The students will have to present their individual and group work to their colleagues and lecturers. In addition, at the end of the work they will be engaged in a peer review assisted by tutors.

E. Ability to undertake subsequent studies with a high degree of autonomy.

Both the case analysis and the research paper must contain indications of problems, contents and reasoned siteographical and/or bibliographical references that allow the work carried out to be examined in depth.

DIDACTICS PROVISION

⮚ 14 recorded video lessons available on the platform;
⮚ 2 synchronous meetings on the platform ;
⮚ podcasts of all the above-mentioned video lessons.

INTERACTIVE DIDACTICS

⮚ 1 course orientation forum;
⮚ 2 thematic follow-up forums (1 per module);
⮚ possibility to carry out work in groups.
⮚ 2 structured e-activities (as described in the section “in itinere assessment methods”).

SELF-LEARNING

Teaching materials are provided for each module: in-depth thematic studies, articles and slides by the lecturer, open access readings, online resources, reference bibliography, etc.

⮚ Fontana F., Caroli M. (2017). Economia e Gestione delle imprese. McGraw-Hill (EXCLUDING Chapters 2, 6, 8, 10, 11, 12).

⮚ Rosati M. Slides from the Economics and Business Management course

In order to respond flexibly to the specific needs of each student, the teacher reserves the right to recommend alternative or additional readings during the lessons and to students who ask for them.

ATTENTION – Access to the examination is subject to completion of the following 2 e-activities:

⮚ E-tivity 1 – For Module 1

Implementation of a Case Analysis in which students, using the concepts and theoretical models proposed during the first Module of lessons, will have to interpret a real case agreed with the lecturer by providing answers to a series of managerial questions. The result of this e-activity is the plenary presentation of a PPT document composed of 10 slides during a synchronous session. In this regard, students are invited to contact the tutor at the end of
the first module.

⮚ E-tivity 2 – For Module 2

Implementation of a further Case Analysis in which students, using the concepts and theoretical models proposed during the second Module of lessons, will have to interpret a real case (different from the previous one) agreeing it with the lecturer and providing
answers to a series of managerial questions. The result of this e-activity is the plenary presentation of a PPT document composed of 10 slides during a synchronous session. In this regard, students are invited to contact the tutor at the end of the second module.

Please note: E-activities must be handed in at least one week before the exam.

The assessment of learning will take the form of an oral interview on the course contents and on the final report submitted, if any. The grade (min 18, max 30 with possible honours) is determined by the level of performance for each of the following dimensions of the oral
interview: mastery of contents, appropriateness of definitions and theoretical references, clarity of argument, command of specialist language.

Italian