SISTEMI DI CONTROLLO DI GESTIONE

Knowledge and understanding (A1–A6) – At the end of the course, students who have attended will:

• possess the fundamental concepts of Management Engineering (expected learning outcome A1);

• understand the principles, tools, and logic of management control (expected learning outcome A2);

• understand the basic concepts of cost and management accounting and the main types of costs (expected learning outcome A3);

• understand the principles and methods of operations and supply chain management in business systems and sustainable business networks (expected learning outcome A4);

• understand the principles and tools for preparing a business plan (expected learning outcome A5);

• understand budgeting as an operational control tool (expected learning outcome A6).

Ability to apply knowledge and understanding – At the end of the course, students who have participated in the teaching activities will be able to:

• apply established and innovative quantitative and qualitative methods for cost measurement and analysis (e.g., break-even point, contribution margin, full and direct costing methods, cost centers);

• use these tools to support management control and operational decision-making in business systems and inter-firm networks;

• apply principles of operations and inventory management in industrial contexts, with particular attention to lean systems and supply chains;

• use the business plan as a tool to identify actions, activities, and approaches to achieve business objectives.

Autonomy of judgment – At the end of the course, students who have achieved the expected learning outcomes will be able to:

• critically evaluate economic and managerial information derived from management control systems;

• compare and select alternative cost calculation and operations management solutions based on economic, organizational, and sustainability criteria;

• interpret the impact of managerial decisions on corporate performance objectives and on the sustainability goals of business networks.

Communication skills – Participation in teaching activities enables students to develop the ability to:

• present, both in written and oral form and using appropriate technical-economic terminology, the results of cost analyses and performance evaluations;

• discuss case studies in management control and operations management, interacting effectively with instructors and peers during lectures, exercises, and seminars.

Learning skills – The course provides conceptual and methodological tools to:

• independently pursue further study in subsequent courses in the fields of management and operations;

• use textbooks, digital teaching materials, and advanced information sources to deepen knowledge of management control, cost accounting, and operations management, also in relation to Sustainability and Circular Economy challenges.

The knowledge acquired will be useful for managing and controlling operations in business systems and sustainable inter-firm networks, in alignment with Goals 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, and 13 of the 2030 Agenda.

Lectures and classroom exercises on (1) management control of business systems, elements of applied microeconomics, and operations management, and (2) business planning and budgeting.

The delivered teaching mainly consists of lectures and in-class exercises, supported by teaching materials (slides, solved exercises, and supporting documents) made available on the course MS Teams channel.

The interactive teaching includes guided exercises on management control cases, discussion of business cases, and seminars delivered by industry professionals

For effective participation in the course, the following are required:

• basic logical and mathematical skills (essential), necessary to understand quantitative methods for cost calculation and economic analysis;

• knowledge of the concept of the derivative and its geometric meaning (important), for the application of principles of economic optimization.

Here is a clear and academically appropriate English translation:

Part/Module I – Elements of Microeconomics, Management Accounting, Costing Methods, and Operations Management (Prof. Salvatore Cannella)

Applied microeconomics: demand and supply, market disequilibria, and costs in the short and long run. (Lectures: 4 hours – Tutorials: 3 hours)

Management accounting: the corporate information system, the objectives of management accounting, types of costs, cost objects, and cost classification. (Lectures: 5 hours – Tutorials: 4 hours) [1,3–5]

Costing methods: break-even point, first- and second-level contribution margins, basic and advanced direct costing, full costing, and cost centers. (Lectures: 10 hours – Tutorials: 10 hours) [1,3–5]

Elements of operations management: operations and supply chain processes, production systems, lean production, inventory control, the bullwhip effect and information distortions, Industry 4.0, circular economy. (Lectures: 5 hours – Tutorials: 1 hour)

Part/Module II – Business Planning and Budgeting (Prof. Rebecca Fussone)

Business plan: development phases, time horizon, content, and analytical plans. (Lectures: 8 hours – Tutorials: 5 hours)

Budgeting: contextualizing the role of budgeting as a managerial control tool; defining the budget. (Lectures: 6 hours – Tutorials: 10 hours)

Additionally, sessions will be devoted to course presentation, simulations and final tests on exam.net, possible seminars delivered by academic and industry professionals, and clarification and review of the topics covered during the course. (Lectures: 4 hours – Tutorials: 12 hours)

Please note that the hours indicated for each course topic are purely indicative and may be subject to change depending on the dynamics of the teaching process, with the aim of optimizing student learning outcomes.

If you want, I can align terminology with UK vs. US academic conventions (e.g., “tutorials” vs. “recitations,” “lectures” vs. “contact hours”).

Teaching materials, announcements, and any other course-related information are made available through the course MS Teams channel. To access it, you must enter the following password: 5dockmw. Please note that entering the password does not automatically enroll you in the channel, as access requests must first be approved by the group administrator. During the lecture period, requests will be reviewed on a weekly basis; thereafter, they will be reviewed on a biweekly basis.

The slides will be uploaded to the course’s MS Teams channel before the in-class lectures/exercises, specifically for Part/Module I and for Part/Module II. In addition, after the classroom exercises, the exercise solutions will also be published on the course’s Studium page. Students are kindly asked to carefully study all the support documents published on the course’s Studium page (e.g.: guidelines for requesting assistance, exam instructions, instructions regarding the teaching material, etc.).

It should be noted that for those who do not attend lectures and do not participate in the course exercises, in addition to studying the slides prepared by the instructors [1, 7], it is recommended to consult the following texts [2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8].

References

Part I

[6] Jacobs R. F., et al. (2020). Operations Management nella produzione e nei servizi, McGraw-Hill Education.

Part II

• In break-even analysis, how does an increase in unit variable cost affect the break-even quantity?

• Describe the difference between direct costing and full costing.

• Define unit contribution margin for a scarce factor.

• What are the purposes of inventories?

• Halbert spa, with a production capacity of 32,100 units sold at a unit price of 2,985 euros, has annual fixed costs of 1,743,700 euros and unit variable costs of 115 euros. Determine the break-even point and the corresponding degree of utilization of production capacity.

• Definition of budgeting guidelines and general objectives.

• Define the components of the business plan and their functions.