Fundamentals of Economics

Introduction

The participants:
• define central terms and basic concepts of business administration, economics and accounting.
• explain fundamental structures, mechanisms and interactions of companies and markets.
• describe the essential principles of cost accounting, financial reporting and budgeting.
• apply basic economic models – e.g. supply and demand, market equilibrium – to practice-oriented problems.
• analyze business case examples using management, marketing and financial models.
• prepare and interpret simple financial reports, balance sheets and income statements.
• evaluate investment and financing alternatives using common key figures (e.g. net present value, internal rate of return).
• assess the efficiency of business processes and organizational structures.
• integrate business, economic and accounting knowledge in order to support well-founded decisions in an engineering context.

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Introduction to business administration:
- Definition and objectives of business administration
- Legal and organizational forms of companies
- Management functions: planning, organizing, leading, controlling
- Fundamentals of corporate governance and business ethics
Marketing & sales:
- Fundamentals of marketing and market segmentation
- Marketing mix: product, price, distribution, communication
- Market research and consumer behavior
Human resource management:
- Workforce planning, recruitment and staff development
- Motivation and leadership theories
- Performance appraisal and compensation
Procurement, production, logistics:
- Fundamentals of supply chain management
- Procurement and sourcing strategies
- Production systems and inventory management
Fundamentals of economics:
- Microeconomics: supply, demand and market equilibrium
- Elasticities, cost and production theory
- Macroeconomics: GDP, inflation, unemployment, fiscal and monetary policy
- Economic systems and world trade
Accounting and financial management:
- Introduction to double-entry bookkeeping
- Balance sheet, income statement and cash flow statement
- Cost and management accounting (cost types, cost centers, cost units)
- Investment appraisal (static and dynamic methods)
- Financing: equity and debt financing, capital structure

- Atrill, P., & McLaney, E. J. (2022). Accounting and finance for non-specialists (Twelfth edition). Pearson.
- Keller, K. L., Keller, K. L., Alexande, & Kotler, P. (2021). Marketing Management (16th edn).
- Sloman, J., Garratt, D., Guest, J., & Jones, E. (2023). Economics for Business (9th edn). Pearson.

Portfolio assessment

English

6

Lectures, discussions, case studies, group work

1