SUMMER BUSINESS PROGRAM
FROM JULY 7 TO JULY 24

Venue: University of Alicante campus. Aulario I.
Classroom: 22M and 23M
Contact hours: 60 hours.
Fees: 180 euros.

Director: José Manuel Casado Díaz (Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Empresariales. Universidad de Alicante)
Co-director: Charles R. Franz (College of Business. University of Missouri-Columbia).

 

This three-week program, completely taught in English, is a unique opportunity for cross-cultural socialization between American and European students since classes are composed of students coming from the University of Missouri-Columbia (USA) and students from different European universities, including the University of Alicante. The program consists of two modules (please, read further details below), one offered by the University of Missouri-Columbia and one offered by the University of Alicante, during the three-week period. Each module comprises two courses; students participating in the program must attend one course of each module. The schedule of classes will be four days per week, from Monday to Thursday, starting on July 7 and finishing on July 24. Classes will be scheduled from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Students wishing to gain credit for the program must attend at least 80% of the program’s contact hours and fulfill the requirements set by each professor. Attendance will be taken twice daily by means of attendance lists (one for each session) that each student will be asked to sign.

MODULE 1 - (University of Missouri-Columbia)

- Course A: Managing in a digital world.

- Course B: International finance.

MODULE 2 - (Universidad de Alicante)

- Course A: Business consulting.

- Course B: The economy and institutions of the European Union.

 

MODULE 1

Managing in a digital world
(taught by professor Antonie Stam)

This interdisciplinary course will introduce students to the impacts of technological change and globalization from the perspective of various different disciplines, both business and beyond (law and journalism).  Students will be introduced to electronic commerce, digitization and globalization to prepare you to respond to the challenges of the digital world.  Students need not acquire specific technological skills; they will acquire a working understanding of how digital technologies function at the conceptual level. Contents include:

• Principles of the New Economy
• The IT Revolution – is it a true revolution, or merely a hype?
• E-Democracy; Freedom of Information; the OSCE
• Enterprise Systems
• CRM, Data Mining, Management Support Systems and Data Warehousing, Super Crunchers and Business Analytics
• Ethics and Data Mining; Information Systems Control and Security Issues; Disaster Recovery Planning 
• E-Commerce and Information Systems Failures:  Some Lessons to be Learned
• Globalization Strategies and Outsourcing
• Recent Developments

Graded work will be weighted as follows:
- Class Participation (including 100 points for attendance): 200 points
- Answers to 3x5 Card Questions (almost every day): 100 points
- Individual Reflection Papers (3): 300 points
- Final Exam (1): 400 points
Total: 1000 points

 

International finance
(taught by professor Christopher Prestigiacomo)

Students who successfully complete this course will be more effective global financial managers.
The main emphasis of the course is foreign exchange management and financial management in a multinational firm.

• Globalization and the Multinational Firm
• International Monetary System
• The Market for Foreign Exchange
• International Parity Relationships
• Futures and Options on Foreign Exchange
• Interest Rate and Currency Swaps
• Management of Transaction Exposure
• International Capital Budgeting
• Multinational Cash Management

Grading will be as follows:
- Class Participation (including 50 points for attendance):  100 points
- Answers to 3x5 Card Questions (every day except the last): 100 points
- Final Exam:  200 points
Total:  500 points

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MODULE 2

Business consulting
(taught by professor Luis Rodríguez Manfredi)

This is a practical course on main business consulting areas: company and commercial law, finance management, accounting and auditing, tax, human resources, intellectual property and e-commerce. Students will engage in real case study resolution and presentations. The aim of this course is to give students a first approach to the business consulting activity, as well as to develop their consulting skills.

This course is based on the instructor’s experience as a business consultant and therefore it will analyze consulting areas from a European approach. However, in a globalized business environment, solutions will be highly applicable to US companies. By using this approach, students will gain both an international consulting training, together with a basic overview of the Spanish local matters.

Lessons will consist of a theory introduction and a practical task. Some lessons will be prepared by students in the form of a presentation, which will be part of their grading. Every student will have to solve practical tasks, and will have to prepare one presentation during the course.

1. Economic profile of Spain
   1. Presentation: economic profile of EU countries
2. Setting-up of a business in Spain
   1. Real case study: Dutch investing group in Spain
   2. Presentation: business forms
   3. Practice: business forms
3. Applicable legislation
   1. Forms of business enterprise
   2. Presentation: features of an S.A.
4. The Spanish financial system
   1. Financial planning
   2. Financial models
   3. Making a business plan
   4. Practice: making a business plan
   5. Presentation: business plan
5. Introduction: origin of accounting and basic principles
   1. Practice: accounting
   2. Legal framework
   3. Accounting records and financial statements
   4. Practice: merger accounting
   5. Audit requirements
   6. Practice: audit
6. Introduction to the Spanish tax system
   1. Corporate income tax
   2. Practice: calculation of corporate income tax
   3. Personal: income tax
   4. Practice: draft pre-calculation of personal income tax
   5. Value Added Tax
   6. Practice: VAT calculation and form preparation
7. Labor and Social Security regulations
   1. Presentation: labor contracts
   2. Practice: calculation of labor cost
   3. Human resources management
   4. Real case study: human resources management
8. Trade marks
   1. Protection of inventions in Spain
   2. Other intellectual property
   3. Legal action against infringement of I.P. Rights
   4. Real case study: I.P. Dispute
   5. Visit to a manufacturing company
9. Introduction
   1. E-commerce management
   2. Practice: analysis of an online business
   3. Presentation: analysis of an online business

The course will have a permanent grading system. This means that you will be graded according to your work during the course, weighted as follows:
- Average mark of daily tasks: 50 points
- Presentation: 50 points

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The economy and institutions of the European Union
(taught by professor Paloma Taltavull de la Paz and Manuel Hernández López)

This course aims to show the students the past, present and future of European Union, on the basis of historic and economic reasoning. The process of European integration and its effects will be assessed considering the EU as a whole at the international level.

1. Introduction: What's the European Union? The EU Constitution.
   1. The reasons for economic integration.
      1. The theoretical approach: different stages, short and long term effects.
      2. The benefits of economic integration.
      3. Stages on the integration process.
   2. An historical approach to the European Union (EU)
      1. From the European Communities to the Single European Act.
      2. The EU from Maastricht to Amsterdam: the three pillars.
      3. The EU form Nice onwards.
      4. The European Constitution.
2. The EU institutions. The decision process.
   1. The European Commission.
   2. The Council of the European Union.
   3. The European Council.
   4. The European Parliament.
   5. The Court of Justice.
   6. The Court of Auditors.
   7. The Commitee of the Regions.
   8. The Economic and Social Committee.
3. The EU economy: key figures, trends and problems.
4. The single market and the four fundamentals freedoms.
   1. Process towards a single Market: Amsterdam Treaty.
   2. Principles of the single market: the four freedom.
5. The economic and monetary union (EMU): the economic union and the fiscal matters.
   1. The Economic Union. Economic, Budgetary and Fiscal policies.
   2. The Stability and Growth pact.
6. The EMU: the monetary union. The Euro.
   1. The three-stage-process towards EMU.
   2. The Convergence Criteria and the sustainability of the 'Stability and Growth Pact'.
   3. From the European Monetary System (EMS) to the Single Currency: monetary turmoil and Exchange Rate Mechanism-II to cope with a multi-tier Europe.
7. The economic and monetary union.
   1. The European Central Bank (ECB) and the European System of Central Banks (ESCB).
   2. Monetary policy in the Euro-zone.
   3. The Euro within the EU and vis-à-vis third currencies.
8. The EU-25 specific sector policies: agriculture, territorial cohesion.
   1. Productive structure and employment in the EU.
   2. Real economic convergence and the challenge of enlargement.
   3. The policies of the Union and the EU-Budget.
   4. The EU as a trade area: common commercial policy.
   5. Convergence process across Europe.

Students will be graded through:
- A student discussion paper on a specific topic (30%).
- A written/oral examination (70%).

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