Business management

The managers of the 21st century are highly professional people with global and transversal skills who are able to understand and manage companies as a whole, even before they are limited to a single specific skill and in the context of global competition.

Consistent with the needs of the labour market and the contextual conditions, the specialisation in General Management therefore deepens the problems of governance of business systems operating in increasingly complex and competitive global contexts and is therefore strongly urged in terms of effective and timely responses to change.

The course allows the acquisition of advanced skills aimed at business management, through the deepening of disciplines related to all business functions and tools for adequate investigation and knowledge of the economic and legal environment in which the business system operates.

Particular attention is paid to small and medium-sized enterprises, which make up the productive fabric of our country, and to service enterprises, which play a central role in all developed economic systems.

The programme also provides an adequate toolkit for those who want to develop their entrepreneurial vocation and decide to found and lead a new enterprise.

General Management aims to develop the following competences, knowledge and skills:

• specialist knowledge related to governance, management and organisational processes in different types of companies and intercompany aggregations;
• a systemic vision of economic, social, legal, cultural and technological phenomena in line with recent developments, instances of change, the international perspective in companies of different sizes;
• acquisition of advanced models and tools, including quantitative ones, for the management of decision-making processes in the various corporate functions;
• a solid understanding of the logic of management (efficiency, cost-effectiveness, flexibility, sustainability);
• communication, teamwork, learning, initiative and leadership skills, conflict management, development of change processes and business innovation;
• fluent use, in written and spoken form, of two European Union languages, with particular reference to the disciplinary vocabulary.

The study plan encourages a multidisciplinary preparation through the acquisition of a systematic and organic vision of the company, the mastery of mathematicalstatistical tools, principles and institutions of national and international legal system.

The profile includes a compulsory company internship as a fundamental training moment, which enables the following to take place:

• widen the pool of expertise provided by the university training profile with professional knowledge that can only be acquired in the workplace;
• facilitate the student's career choices through direct experience in the world of work.

The course includes up-to-date and qualified teaching, in-depth studies of topical issues, and activities that enhance the link between teaching and research, for example through seminars, workshops and conferences.

The methodological approach, based on a rich variety of innovative approaches, places the student at the centre of the learning experience.

Classes composed of a limited number of students and characterised by a direct contact with the professors/lecturers favours the adoption of an interactive methodology, which includes, in addition to lectures:

• individual and group discussion of case studies to develop problem solving and decision making skills;
• organisation of cross-functional testimonies that allow to analyse concrete business problems from the perspective of different disciplinary approaches and integrating the vision of different business functions;
• direct observation of company processes through the organisation of factory tours;
• participation in 'dinner meetings', informal meetings with managers and entrepreneurs, which facilitate the orientation towards a specific professional career.

The programme also offers extensive opportunities for international exchange.

To develop skills aimed at:

• creating a new company, starting from a simple initial idea (business idea);
• articulating entrepreneurial projects planning the start-up phase;
• designing innovative solutions for specific functional issues.

Students are asked to take part in a very concrete exercise involving the drafting of a business plan. The work done in groups is also examined and evaluated by a jury of entrepreneurs and managers.

In order to facilitate a successful integration into the working world, the General Management programme offers individual students the opportunity of a one-to-one interview with a Mentor Coach accredited by ICF (International Coach Federation) aimed at providing professional guidance and support in the identification of professional objectives and in the construction of a personalised path to achieve them.

The reference person for the organisation of these activities is Prof. Roberta Virtuani (roberta.virtuani@unicatt.it).

The MyMentor! project is particularly innovative in the provision of supplementary teaching services.

It allows each student to interact individually during a semester with a mentor (manager, consultant or entrepreneur), who is willing to guide him/her in understanding the dynamics of the world of work and in planning the first steps of the professional path.

The course accompanies the participants in the project in the acquisition of a greater awareness of their own professional skills and inclinations, up to the realisation of a self-assessment of their own competences.