Entry requirements

General entry requirements

Learning outcomes

The course aims to provide an understanding of the central problems and issues concerning enterprises, companies and other organisations and prepare the students for continued business studies. The students will be taught to independently and critically analyse business studies problems within marketing and organisation.

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

• independently and critically identify and analyse basic business problems within marketing and organisation,
• understand and explain basic connections between business idea, goal and strategy and how it affects the marketing and organisation of the company,
• understand and discuss how companies and organisations are affected by, and affect, their environment,
• understand, explain and independently apply basic concepts and models pertaining to marketing, including consumer marketing, service marketing and industrial marketing,
• understand, explain and independently apply basic organisational concepts and models,
• identify and critically reflect on fundamental issues related to sustainability for companies and organisations.

In addition to the above, students will be trained in a basic understanding of information retrieval, data collection, and source criticism. Likewise, they will be trained in fundamental skills for writing elementary scientific texts and for constructively reviewing the work of others on scientific basis.

Content

This is a basic course in Business Studies which aims to give the students a broad introduction to central issues regarding business branches, companies and other organisations by introducing marketing and organisation theories. The course initially covers issues on company missions, goals and strategy which are areas common to both marketing and organisation theory.

Within marketing, the course covers different types of markets and basic marketing in consumer-, service-, and industrial markets. Within consumer marketing the course covers consumers, competitors and the surrounding environment as well as the companies' strategic and tactical marketing planning. Within service marketing, the marketing problems which are related to the characteristics of services are discussed, and within industrial marketing, the relationship-oriented perspective is contrasted with a transaction-oriented perspective.

Within organisation different aspects of organisations and organising are covered. Fundamental issues such as the division and coordination of work and management, control and leadership are covered. Different types of organisations, their characteristics and relations to the surrounding environment are described and problematised.

Instruction

The teaching activities are entirely web-based and are based on independent studies. Information about different activities, such as the work required and the dates for the examinations, is available on the course's website. The teaching activities do not require any physical attendance - however, two examinations takes place physically on site in Uppsala. The communication between the participants and teachers occurs via the website. This requires that the participants have access to a good computer with internet access and other appropriate equipment. Further, this requires that the participants have adequate knowledge in using computer equipment. A mandatory quiz on cheating and plagiarism is carried out.

Assessment

The examination consists of three modules:

1. Written test 1, 7,5 credits (U, G, VG)
2. Written test 2, 7,5 credits (U, G, VG)
3. Quiz on cheating and plagiarism, 0 credits (U, G)

and one grade for the whole course, 15 credits.

Grading criteria are presented in the study guide that applies to the course section. The following grades will be used: pass with distinction (VG), pass (G), and fail (U) on modules 1 and 2, and pass (G) and fail (U) on module 3. To receive a grade G for the whole course, the student must have achieved a grade G in all examination modules. In addition, to receive a grade VG for the whole course, the student must have achieved the grade VG in examination modules 1 and 2 and the grade G in module 3. The examination is individual.

A student who has not received a passing grade on modules 1 and/or 2 can without re-registration do make-up examinations at subsequent course sections. For a student who has not attained a passing grade on Module 3, there is the opportunity to be examined without re-registration via a retake of the quiz at a subsequent course section.

If there are special circumstances, an examiner may make an exception from the method of assessment indicated above and allow a student to be assessed according to another method. An example of special circumstance might be that the student has special needs certified by the University's disability coordinator.

Uppsala University does not accept cheating or plagiarism. Suspected incidents of cheating or plagiarism are reported to the Vice-Chancellor, 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 regulations

In order to be able to follow the course, a computer connected to the Internet and any peripheral equipment according to the instructions on the course website are required. The exam is carried out in Uppsala.

The course deals with market and marketing related topics to the same extent as topics in the organisation area.

The course substitutes/overlaps among others: Introduction to Organising and Marketing 2FE160, Introduction to Marketing and Organising 2FE158, Introduction to Business and Organising 2FE157, Marketing and Organisation I 2FE150, Marketing and Organisation A 2FE152, Business and Enterprise 2FE007, Business and Markets II 2FE008, Business and Enterprise I 2FE015, Business and Enterprise II 2FE016, Business Enterprise, Networks and Technical Development 2FE021, Business Administration 1TG010, Management and Control 2FE824, Basic Marketing 1 2FE946, Organisation Studies I: The Individual, the Group and the Organisation 2FE947, Principles of Marketing 2FE913, Fundamentals of Management 2FE918.