Hanken Moodle

This course has received high points in student course feedback.

Strategic thinking in action involves the ability to identify relevant information, to formulate and develop rigorous reports, and to judge the outcome of the analysis. The analytical skills are essential when managing organizations in different situations and changing contexts. This course addresses strategic issues (such as competition, governance, internationalization, politics, culture, change) through cases and provides analytical tools as well as an in depth understanding of the theoretical underpinnings of different analytical methods in strategic management.

The course introduction takes place on Tuesday 5.9 at 10:15 in room 312. You are all warmly welcome! /Eva-Lena

This course has received high points in student course feedback during previous years.

Strategic thinking in action involves the ability to identify relevant information, to formulate and develop rigorous reports, and to judge the outcome of the analysis. The analytical skills are essential when managing organizations in different situations and changing contexts. This course addresses strategic issues (such as competition, governance, internationalization, politics, culture, change) through cases and provides analytical tools as well as an in depth understanding of the theoretical underpinnings of different analytical methods in strategic management.

The course introduction takes place on Tuesday 3.9 at 10:15 in room 308. The Moodle key will be given some day in advance before the intro session.

You are all warmly welcome! /Eva-Lena

Department of Management and Organisation, Vaasa & Helsinki
Introduction to Management 2025, Vaasa & Helsinki (22082)


Credits: 8 cr
Type of course: Intermediate Studies
Recommended study level: First or second year of Bachelor studies
Teaching Period 4: 17.3–9.5.2025, Easter holiday: 17.4–23.4.2024
Available to students from Vaasa and Helsinki, as well as Open University students.
Exam Week for Period 4: 12–16.5.2025
Course delivery: Online lectures; One workshop on-site (in Vaasa and Helsinki, respectively)
On-site final exams in Vaasa or Helsinki.


‘The presumption that managerial activity exists independently from the activities of managers leads to a grouping of all kinds of disparate activities under the heading of management. In that case, rather than electing a democratic rescue of management (as a general human attribute) from colonization by a named group of people (managers), critics would be in danger of endorsing the colonization of all human activities by casting them in terms of management. Whereas the demise of management might suggest that `we are all managers now', the critical response should not be that `we always were'. Instead the response to the demise of the special status of management should be that notions of management are now to be regarded as redundant. This then opens up the space for the construction of forms of subjectivity which are not conceived in terms of the discourse of management and manageability, rather than closing down the space in which such alternatives might exist. To put these points rather differently, I am suggesting that visions of a `post- managerial' future need to be handled with considerable caution. They appeal to critical writers because they appear to address the unjustifiable separation of management as a special activity. The restoration of management to `everyone' seems to be democratic in that it disperses influence and power. But the crucial issue is the terms on which this occurs. The demise of management does not imply an end to the co-ordination and control of human activities: rather, it installs this co-ordination and control in an ever-wider set of activities. As noted earlier, it is in this sense that the demise of management is fully compatible with the ascendancy of managerialism. By drawing the many rather than the few into management, managerial power - if not the power of managers - is extended rather than diminished.’

(Grey, C. (1999). “We Are All Managers Now”; ’We Always Were’: On the Development and Demise of Management. Journal of Management Studies, 36, 561–585.)

Course description

Introduction to Management is a bachelor-level course, which introduces students to the fascinating world of management in the context of modern organizing. The course aims to develop capabilities for independent thinking about management as a phenomenon ultimately concerned with a particular relationship to the human subject at work. This is achieved through a course structure that recognizes the cultural-historical specificity of management in modern Anglo-Saxon and European cultures. The course content is organized along three thematics. The first theme locates the emergence of management within the historical context of modern and industrial capitalism. Students will be introduced to three lines of critique of early industrial society and its particular modes of organization. This includes the analytical categories of anomie, alienation, rationalization and the objects of division of labour, the labour process, work ethic and bureaucratic organization. A second theme allows students to engage in managerial ideas and practices in terms of their origins, intentionalities, development and effects in the course of the 20th century. This includes scientific management, human relations and organizational psychology, systems theory, the management of culture and Human Resources. A third and final theme considers the technological horizon of possibility and discusses the self and subjectivity in contemporary organization as well as imaginations of future modes of managing. The latter includes themes of self-management, and issues about self-work, privacy and surveillance at work.

The course is guided by the conviction of a learning experience where students are treated as ‘young adults’ whose independent thinking in the world of management and organization studies can be cultivated through a collaborative mode of learning, akin to that in other parts of the social sciences and humanities, where problematizing of the object of study is considered germane. As such the course aims at sophistication rather than simplification (or ‘dumbing down’) and problematizing rather than prescribing thinking and analysis of the thought-world of management.

Learning Goals

Upon the successful completion of the course students should be able to:

• have a comprehensive understanding of the phenomenon of management and the particular organisational modes it relates to.
• comprehend the historical conditions for the emergence of management thought and practices
• analytically apply key sociological concepts in examining modern capitalism and its management
• consider the continuities and sustained relevance of the critical thought of key thinkers about early modern capitalist society
• identify the conditions of possibility for key managerial practices
• recognize several of the social scientific sources that underpin the heterogenous character of thinking that make up management
• analyse critically the management of work in organisations
• analyse the particular point of view and assumptions inherent in managerial thought and the production of the human subject at work in the course of the 20th century and beyond

International Learning Experience

The course examines management as an international phenomena in trans-atlantic cultures. The course examines International cases and examples analyzed and discussed in the readings. The course emphasizes the strong international academic understanding of examined phenomena.

Literature and Course Material

Required course readings include journal articles and book chapters, to be announced in course description, lectures and through Moodle. Additional course literature may be provided during the course.

Learning activities

The course is delivered through (online) lectures and seminars. It requires independent study and collaborative work. Two workshops are held on site (one in Vaasa and one in Helsinki)
 
Principal Lecturer and Course administrator

Fredrik Weibull
Hanken School of Economics
Department of Management and Organization
fredrik.weibull@hanken.fi

Virtual office hours
Office hours by appointment only, and through Microsoft Teams.

Instruction:
Course sessions and assignments.

Course Assessment and Assignments
The course assessment comprises various individual and/or group-based assignments and a written classroom-based (in-person) exam.
Various individual and/or group-based assignments: 60%
Written on-site exam: 40%

Please note that the points you receive for the sub-parts are valid only this academic year.

Total Student Workload:
214 hours divided into
Scheduled contact hours: 32 h
Non-scheduled work: 182 h

Välkommen till kursen Kandidatavhandling i marknadsföring våren 2025 avsedd för tredje årets studerande med marknadsföring som huvudämne.

Du anmäler dig till kursen genom att 1) göra en anmälan i Sisu senast söndag 12.1 och 2) fylla i anmälningsblanketten (finns till vänster) och ladda upp den i PDF-format i Moodle senast fredag 17.1 kl. 12.00. Kursnyckeln till Moodle skickas via (Hankens) e-post till alla behöriga anmälda i Sisu efter att dess anmälan stängt (12.1).

Obligatorisk Kursintroduktion måndag 20.1 kl. 12.30 i rum A303. Vid förhinder kontakta gustav.medberg@hanken.fi.

COURSE DESCRIPTION
Qualitative research methods are increasingly used in both academic and practical market and management research. Therefore, it is crucial to master these methods in order to be able apply them to practical and academic problems and, in addition, to critically evaluate qualitative research conducted by others.
Competency goals:
After the course you understand qualitative research approaches and related techniques as an analytical tool to investigate and solve management problems. You understand philosophy of science behind the techniques as well as acquire information, understanding and skills to solve problems and build up theories in the field of marketing and management. The course assignments aim to improve your ability to use, analyze and document qualitative research and to demonstrate your knowledge of the methods literature and its application in practice.
Learning outcomes:
After completing the course you can
CORE CONTENT (what you must know)
• apply qualitative methods to your own work
• draw a sample
• collect qualitative data such as interviews, observations, photos, videos, and narratives
• analyse and interpret qualitative raw data
• evaluate, criticize, and judge the scientific results and research ethics

COMPLEMENTARY KNOWLEDGE (what you should know)
• formulate conclusions based on the scientific results
• define, describe, and select qualitative methods

SPECIAL KNOWLEDGE (nice to know)
• understand the basics of philosophy of science
• communicate and present in writing the selected research design and scientific results for the master thesis and for business purposes
• understand implications of research for international and local society

Learning methods in the course:
• The course literature gives introductory information of the weekly theme sessions. It also deepens the information of the sessions, at the same time as it can be used as references for your bachelor’s and master’s thesis method sections.
• The theme sessions introduce the assignments and discuss different elements of a qualitative study.
• Through the assignments you train and learn how to draw a sample, plan and conduct an interview and observation, transcribe, analyse, present and evaluate qualitative data.
• The feedback sessions offer comments for your assignments, and support learning by providing and discussing different examples and extending learned themes. Exemplary and weak assignment sections are anonymously shared and supplementary insights provided in an interactive manner. Example assignments are available on course home page.
• The possibility to improve the assignments is an important part of learning which further deepens the learning so that information and skills lead to understanding, deep understanding and even personal development.

The principal aim of this course is to develop students' research and analytical skills and advance their knowledge of a self-selected marketing topic required for undertaking the master’s thesis. The course is compulsory for all students accepted into the 2-year Swedish and English master’s programs in marketing who began their master’s studies after August 1, 2020. Students who have changed their major to Marketing and have not completed their Bachelor's thesis in Marketing are strongly recommended to take this course.

Students who have completed the bachelor’s thesis course (23001) in Swedish during their bachelor’s studies can choose this course as an elective. Students who have completed Research Skills (23122) cannot take this course. This course must be passed before you can take the Research Seminar course (23170) or Seminarium (23160).

The Moodle course key will be distributed to registered SISU students. Please ensure you have the correct email addresses in SISU, regularly check messages from SISU, and ensure they are not directed to the spam folder.

Attend the introductory session on Tuesday, March 18, 8:30-10:00 am in room A304 to confirm your course participation. The next session is on Wednesday, March 19, 10:15-11:45 am in room A407. Before signing up for the course, please make sure you can attend course sessions since the course is intensive and much of the learning takes place during in-class sessions.

Welcome to the course!

Välkommen till seminariekursen våren 2025 avsedd för alla som har marknadsföring som huvudämne in sin magisterexamen oberoende av om du antagits till integrerade kandidat/magisterprogrammet eller det tvååriga magisterprogrammet på svenska. Denna kurs stöder avhandlingsarbetet och är avsedd för alla som har marknadsföring som huvudämne oavsett om du skriver din avhandling på svenska eller engelska. Arbetet med avhandlingen sätter i gång genast från början av kursen.

Läs kursinformationen och blanketten med anmälan och forskningsplan som till vänster. Läs också gärna kursinformation i SISU.

Före du anmäler dig till kursen försäkra dig om att du kan närvara på plats minst en handfull gånger, tider meddelas senare, under vardera seminarieveckan 10-14.3 och 12-16.5 plus möjligen fredagen före dem eller måndagen efter den första.

Anmäl dej FÖRE 12.1 kl 12 i SISU OCH genom att ladda upp anmälan och forskningsplan i pdf-format i Moodle. Kursnyckeln skickas till alla behöriga anmälda i SISU och det är viktigt att se till att epostadressen där är den du läser.

Alla som avser delta i kursen skall vara med på plats på Kursintroduktion och information tisdag 21.1 kl. 12.30-14 i rum A303, dvs inte Arkadiagatan 28 på institutionen.

The course develops knowledge and practical skills to gather consumer insights. The course draws from consumer behavior and culture to provide students with practical and theoretical tools to integrate consumers into a marketing strategy. The course analyzes the cognitive and affective dimensions of consumer behavior, addressing the role of the socioeconomic environment in consumption. Students will learn practical tools to gain valuable insights into strategic marketing.