Prospectus

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Management Fundamentals

Course
2016-2017

Introduction

Management Fundamentals is a 10-week full time course for graduate Science students who

  • wish or consider to pursue a career outside the domain of (fundamental) scientific research;

  • pursue a career in scientific research but wish to broaden their horizon e.g. having in mind later career opportunities that may require knowledge of fundamental business principles and training of managerial skills.
    The course introduces business principles and managerial skills with a focus on their application in science-based organizations. It has been set up based on what alumni and managers of science-based organizations perceive to be most important for science students.
    This course is a mandatory part of the (Science Based) Business Specialization of the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences.

Who can join this course?

The course is open to all MSc students from the Faculty of Science and to MSc students in the Biomedical Sciences program of LUMC.

Course goal and objective

The goal of the course is that upon graduation, students will be better able to find an organization and get a suitable position to start their career and be better able to function in a business environment.
The objective is that students will have sufficient insights, knowledge and skills in some of the fundamentals of business, and in particular also business that is science-based, to be able to reach that goal.

Course content

The programme starts with a week of introductory lectures and a business game followed by lectures, work groups and assignments in the areas of:

  • Strategy and Innovation

  • Strategic Marketing Management,

  • Financial Management,

  • Project Management.
    The programme furthermore includes presentations by alumni and student colloquia based upon which students are required to write a Personal Essay evaluating what kind of work area would suit and appeal to them.

Teaching method and participation

The core of this course consists of “practicals” in the form of both individual and group assignments (case analysis, essay and report writing), case discussions, presentations, etc. These “practicals” are linked to and deal with the formal knowledge which is in the books, readers and notes you need to study. A typical day involves reading a case, analyzing it, also based on knowledge provided in articles and books, with your group preparing an answer (short essay or powerpoint presentation) to deal with the case issues and then finally a full group case discussion conducted by the lecturer who will also elaborae further on the formal knowledge you can extract from the case.
In the final weeks, as part of a team you will prepare and present a business case and project charter.
Because the “practicals” are the basis for the learning in this course, participation in all sessions is mandatory.

Course schedule

This course is organized twice:

  • starting September 5 and ending November 12, 2016;

  • starting January 30, 2017, ending April 7, 2017
    This is a FULL Time course (15 EC in 10 weeks time). Also, it it very much a hands-on course with lots of group work. So most of the days there is something to do that cannot be delayed or involves working together with fellow students. In general, you will have one day in the week off, which is reserverd for self-study. This may be subject to change but only if that is unavoidable, e.g. because of serious schedule issues of lecturers on the course.

Exams and Grading There are four formal individual tests for which you need to reach passing level to get a grade for the course. In addition, assessment of the group work, case preparation, participation in case discussions and the final report and presentation to be delivered are part of the grade . The final (relative) grading of this course is based on a weighted average of the grades of all tests and assignments.

Course staff

Coordinating Lecturer:
Dr. S. Jong, professor of Science Based Business

Lecturers (subject to change):

  • Strategy and Innovation: Simcha Jong

  • Strategic Marketing Management: Joe Goldiamond

  • Financial Management: Jan Kooiman

  • Project Management: to be announced

  • Personal Essay: Grada Degenaars

Support:

  • Tim Pathuis, course administration and grading of assignments

Literature

Mandatory literature (subject to change):

  • Winer, R.S.: Marketing management. 4th Edition. Pearson Prentice Hall, ISBN-13: 9780130387929.

  • Brealey R.A., Myers S.C. and A.J Marcus: Fundamentals of Corporate Finance. 7th edition, McGraw-Hill, ISBN-13: 9780071314749.

  • Harvard Business Essentials: Managing Projects Large and Small: The Fundamental Skills to Deliver on Cost and Time
    by Harvard Business School Press (Compiler), Harvard Business Review (Editor)

  • Additional material: readers, cases, lecture hand-outs, articles.

Blackboard

For each Management Fundamentals course a separate blackboard space is created in which the students are enrolled by the course coordinator. Lecture notes, assignments, important announcements etc can be found there.

Application

Please note: For this course, it is not possible to register via USIS. Please register through our jot form.
Please note: Early application may be useful as the courses will have a limited capacity. Those who to this course as part of the (Science Based) Business specialization have priority.

Organization

This course is organized by Science Based Business