General provisions

The course is offered within the Bachelor Program in Business and Economics and as a freestanding course.

Entry requirements

Completed 30 credits from basic courses (A-level) in business studies, and attended 30 credits intermediate courses (B-level) in business studies of which at least 15 credits must be completed.

Learning outcomes

This aim of the course is to provide students who are interested in working with management issues in general, or with the many different aspects of control in organisations, with a broad understanding of these issues but also with some practical experience.

Upon completing the course, the student will be able to:

• understand of how owners and principals, other stakeholders as well as norms in society influence management and control in organisations
• understand and discuss concepts and perspectives related to theories of management control and organisation theory, and critically reflect upon these
• understand the foundations and origins of strategies, methods and techniques of management and control
• use interdisciplinary perspectives from theories of management control and organisation theory to analyse and solve problems in organisations
• apply scientific methods and techniques in problem solving
• communicate, orally and in writing, his/her results and conclusions
• understand and discuss the ethical dilemmas of management and control in an organisational and societal setting.

Content

The course Management and Control is concerned with the management and control of an organisation. Members and participants – whether managers or co-workers – in organisations face a number of challenges connected to the effective management and control of an organisation, whether a business firm, a public authority or a voluntary association.

These challenges drive from two main sources:

• the external environment of stakeholders (customers, suppliers, principals, media, etc.)
• the internal organisational operations, activities and processes

These, often conflicting, expectations and demands shape a complex reality of problems and dilemmas that confronts managers every day. They create the restrictions on what forms of management and control that can be applied in different situations and settings, but offer also possibilities for success.

During the course students will be confronted with typical managerial problems, and will be guided in how to solve these problems from a sound theoretical base of knowledge.

The issues of this course are central to the fields of Management Control and Management and Organisation respectively. Findings and insights from these two fields are combined in this course and the course is divided evenly between the two.

Instruction

The course takes a problem-based learning approach and it builds on central concepts and issues within the field of management and control. Based on student input, a combination of lectures/guest lectures, seminars with student-based activities as well as problem-based assignments and written reports will be used to further develop the students’ understanding of the topics raised. Students will work in study groups. Active participation is required.

Assessment

Students will be assessed on basis of both individual and group assignments and tests. The final grade is based on an assessment of all the parts of the examination. Grading criteria are presented in the study guide provided at the start of the course.

Grades will be given in accordance with the Swedish grading system. The grades VG (pass with distinction), G (pass) and U (fail) will be used.

Assignments, exams and required supplemental work, if any, must be completed and handed in by the deadline specified in the study guide. For students who do not pass the exam, there are opportunities to do so at the re-exam or at exams given another semester.

Uppsala University does not accept cheating and plagiarism. Suspected incidents of cheating or plagiarism are reported to the Disciplinary Committee of the University, which may issue a formal warning to the student or suspend the student from studies for a certain period.

NOTE: Only completed courses can count toward a degree.

Other directives

The course substitutes/overlaps among others Management Consulting 2FE406, Management and Organisation 2FE958, Management Control and Strategies (Ekonomistyrning och strategier) 2FE959.