OVERVIEW

Business Administration is a basic discipline for understanding how companies function and the conditions that allow them to exist and develop. Its focus is on examining the rules and logic behind how business systems work, which is essential for understanding business administration. For this reason, it is among the business-area courses that students undertake at the beginning of their education.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course aims to provide first-year students with a common basic understanding of the principles and logics underlying business systems. In particular, it will delve into the nature and functions of enterprises, examined in their economic-business dimension as units of production of goods and services intended for market exchange.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

The Business Administration unit aims at providing the first-year students with a solid basic knowledge of the principles and logics underpinning the operations of businesses. This is necessary to understand how companies function and operate, and to prepare students for future studies in the business area. In particular, the unit intends to:

• Examine the conditions for the origins and development of businesses
• Clarify the concepts of operations continuity and management’s objective of value creation
• Explain the necessary conditions to achieve and maintain the economic and financial stability of the business
• Deepen the double-entry bookkeeping methodology and its application to register main business operations
• Understand the profitability and financial needs of a business

By the end of this unit, students will acquire competence in the main issues of business administration. This will be useful for both further studies and for working in the business world. In particular, the student will be able to:

• Describe and explain the nature and activities of businesses, as systematic economic entities that generate wealth and require economic and financial stability to stay viable
• Analyse data and identify different types of companies, their features and the situations in which they operate
• Solve problems concerning business management, organisation and accounting
• Communicate the knowledge acquired and own evaluations in an effective manner using appropriate language

PREREQUISITES

There are no specific requirements

TEACHING METHODS

The unit makes use of the following teaching methodologies:

• face-to-face lectures aiming at working on knowledge and comprehension of financial and business concepts and the functioning of the accounting and information system 
• face-to-face tutorials to develop the capability to apply knowledge, critical thinking and the capacity of learning to learn

Students with a valid certificate of physical or learning disabilities who wish to discuss possible accommodations or other circumstances regarding lectures, coursework, and exams, should talk with the instructor and the Department’s disability liaison.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

The unit develops along these content lines:

• The business operations as the main study objects of Business Administration
• The business and its distinctive role in the economic and financial system. The value creation process. Economici and financial stability of the business
• Business administration and its main operations: financing, investments, production, sales. The economic and financial effects of operations
• Financial needs, their determinants and coverage
• The double-entry bookkeeping methodology and accounting entries of the main business operations: purchase, sales, fixed assets acquisition, etc.
• The invested capital and the net profit of the year. The principle of accrual accounting
• Elements of the invested capital and the net profit
• Nature of the costs
• The profitability and its determinants

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

Marchi, L., Paolini, A. (a cura di) (2024), Introduzione all'Economia Aziendale, Giappichelli. 

Supplemental materials provided by the teacher (available on AulaWeb).

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

LESSONS

LESSONS START

February 12th, 2026

To see the class schedule, click on the following link: DIRITTO ED ECONOMIA DELLE IMPRESE 11931 | Orario e calendario accademico

Class schedule

The timetable for this course is available here: Portale EasyAcademy

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

The assessment of learning will be conducted through a written exam.

The final exam consists of two parts:

• the first part is a test containing 10 multiple-choice questions. Students will have 15 minutes to complete it. Getting at least 6 answers correct will lead to the second part of the exam. Students can achieve a mark ranging from 0 to 4 in the test (6 correct answers = 0 points; 7 correct answers = 1 point; 8 correct answers = 2 points; 9 correct answers = 3 points; 10 correct answers = 4 points);
• the second part consists of four practical and theoretical questions based on exercises and open questions. Students will have 75 minutes to complete this part of the exam. Students will be able to achieve a mark from 0 to 26. Depending on the level of difficulty, each question may be worth between 6 and 7 points.

The final mark is obtained by adding the marks obtained in the two parts of the exam together.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

The written exam was chosen because it makes sure that students are treated fairly.

In the first part of the exam (test), students can show that they have the basic knowledge and understanding of business administration.

The second part of the exam has open questions. These encourage students to write answers that are logical, clear, short but complete. They can show that they can apply what they have learnt and use technical language. They can also show that they can record the values created by the main management operations and solve problems regarding the preservation of the economic and financial stability of businesses.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Ask the professor for other information not included in the teaching schedule.