Ateneo - UPO

The I part of the course:
• Introduction to business strategy: definitions compared;
• Analysis of industrial sectors;
• Identification of the strategic structure of the company;
• Evaluation of the business formula;
• Strategic management;
• Analysis of the structure of the private and public sector;
• The value network;
• Competitive dynamics;
• Strategic innovation.
• Corporate Social Responsibility;
• Business ethics.
Second part of the course: corporate governance:
adequacy of the governance, administrative and accounting structure;
early warning strategies to keep viability;
• the reference model;
• the principle of proportionality.

Third part of the course: Human resources strategies.
- Human work: meanings and challenges
- Ethics and corporate social responsibility
- Metamorphosis of work
- People management and people caring
- Technology vs Humanity: the challenge of the digital revolution.

Students are also invited to the conference "Women at the top. The courage to dare" organized by the teacher, to whom was invited the CEO of Illy Caffè S.p.A., Dr Cristina Scocchia.

Reference texts for non-attending students:
- Corporate Level Strategy (with Collis, Montgomery and Molteni), McGraw-Hill, 2012
chaps. 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8.
- P. Maggiolini (ed.) (2012), What is good for society and good for the company, Franco Angeli, Milan - cap. 1,2,3,5 and a chapter chosen by the party
third of the book.
Reference materials for attending students:
Transparencies, exercises, case studies and articles are available in the space reserved for the course
on the ESE3 platform of the DISEI
Reference texts Part II of the course (Corporate governance):

- Corporate Governance Roles (2023) Chapters 1,2, and 9;
- OIBR Notebook 7, “Non-financial information for adequate governance and for earlywarning in SMEs”, April 2022 – up to page 51
- Reference materials will be available on UPODir (Disei platform)

The course aims to develop in students a critical understanding of the objectives, of the
principles and methods of Strategic Management and Business Ethics in different contexts
profit, non-profit and public companies.
At the end of the course the students will acquire an understanding of the topics and the critical issues
referring to company strategy, social responsibility and business ethics, in their
theoretical and practical aspects and with reference to the national and international dimension.

Students who access the course must know the theoretical framework, the terminology
basic and the main tools related to general management theories.

The teaching activity includes lectures, seminars, exercises and case analysis. Lessons
give a picture of the main themes of business strategy, social responsibility and
business ethics. The seminars will offer an in-depth analysis of specific aspects and
they will allow to develop a critical understanding. The exercises and the analysis of the
cases will be used to discuss the practical implications of the topics covered

Project Work, Assignement in small groups and educational workshops with oral presentation in the classroom (optional).
Students with physical disabilities, Learning Disabilities or Special Education Needs can request specific services and tools via the Staff Sviluppo e Coordinamento Carriere e Servizi alle Studentesse e agli Studenti, consulting the University webpage: https://www.uniupo.it/en/services/services-students-physical-or-learning-disabilities
Students with disabilities, learning disabilities or special education needs, once they have contacted the University Staff, can refer to the tutor in charge of the course to define the examination modalities, concerning academic aspects.

The exam is written and individual for students attending and not. The exam is written with
questions on strategic management (I part), business ethics and corporate issues
social responsibility (Part II).
A first intermediate test is scheduled after 30 hours, referring to the Strategic part
Management. At the end of the course there will be the second trial related to the part of Business
Ethics. The vote of the two tests will have a weight proportionate to the weight of the credits
correspondents. The answers will be evaluated specifically and the exam will be considered passed if you get the sufficiency in both parts of the course.

The first part of the course (4 CFU) is divided into three blocks:

First block:
- The boundaries of sector analysis: definition, key competition factors, entry barriers, internal competition, substitutes, the contractual power of buyers and suppliers;
- Basic competitive strategies: global cost leadership (levers and advantages), differentiation (levers and advantages), segmentation (levers and advantages), differences between strategies, half-way strategies, risks of core strategies;
- Analysis of the internal structure of the sector: components of the competition analysis, strategic unit objectives, group objectives, portfolio analysis of competitors, Analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of a competitor, the field of strategic alternatives, clusters, rivalry between firms;
- The evolution of the sector: the life cycle of the product, the processes of change, the changes in the sector; the strategy in emerging sectors, characteristics of emerging sectors; constraints on the development of the sector, strategic alternatives, time of entry; transition of the sector to maturity, characteristics of mature sectors, The transition’s pitfalls, the organizational implications of maturity;
- Strategic innovation management: inventions and innovations, the innovation process, profitability of innovation, appropriateness of innovation rents, The following topics will be covered:
- Business growth: strategies for intensive, integrative growth, diversification; advantages and disadvantages of vertical integration; concentric and pure diversification; forms of growth: dimensional, relational, qualitative
Second part of the course:
- Corporate governance in the going concern: organisational, administrative and accounting arrangements;
- Corporate governance in the turn around: what changes?
The principle of proportionality and the identification of a floor model for SMEs.
The reports of mayors and qualified public bodies aimed at maintaining business continuity.
-the practical test for reasonable feasibility of the rehabilitation (Ministerial Decree March 2023);
-the detailed checklist for drawing up the recovery plan and analysing its consistency.
- the principles for drawing up plans.
- testimony by an expert in the field.

Third block:
- The strategic management that characterizes the management in the public and non-profit sector. The different approaches are analysed, the logics and tools within a functional public interest vision aimed at reducing overlaps between strategies and public policies.
- The person and human work: evolution over time of human labour activity in companies and its individual and organizational relevance.
- Ethics and social responsibility in relation to the primary stakeholders: labour providers and capital contributors.
- The revolution 4.0 and work.
- The company culture as a critical factor for the development of the People Strategy

1. Applying knowledge and understanding.
The knowledge acquired during the course will allow the student to use the strategic, managerial and organizational skills and competences to be applied in the business realities. In particular, the student must acquire the technical-economic language of the company disciplines and be able to formulate the economic analysis of the company processes and to understand the critical elements that characterize the areas of activity carried out by the company.

2. Making judgments.
The course will allow the student to develop an autonomy of judgment and will put the student in the conditions to express considerations regarding the company balances and management facts.

3. Communication skills.
On the basis of the acquired knowledge, the student will be able to develop communication and relational skills for the business consulting activity and to perform evaluations of a strategic nature, in the job positions related to the relative function.

4. Learning skills.
The study of the discipline will allow the student to understand the dynamics of the company framing the analysis of the single management moment in the unitary and coordinated vision of the business facts and the economic environment in which the company carries out its activity.