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Please read the course descriptions very carefully and make sure that you meet the pre-requisites before enrolling in a course. Browse through our subject areas and courses to find out more.

List of Courses

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IO.001.005 Work & Study Program

Academic Level: 300

6 ECTS Credits (150 hours per semester), 8-10 hours per week working for a company (mostly paid), 12-15 weeks per semester

offered in spring/summer, fall/winter

Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Iris Ramme, Diana Lewinsky
Please email your application documents (CV/Resume, Motivation Letter) well in advance before the new semester starts to diana.lewinsky@spam.hfwu.de

Students in this program work for companies in the region as a student employee for 8-10 hours per week and 12-15 weeks per semester. Participation in a 1-hour preparatory seminar at the beginning of the semester is compulsory. Content of the seminar: German working culture, preparation for the job interview (pre-interview worksheet, as a guideline to prepare for the interview) etc. After 4 weeks, Report 1 (1-2 pages) must be submitted describing the main tasks in the company, graded on a pass-fail basis (deadline missed=fail). Report 2 (5-10 pages) consisting of a description of the main tasks in the company and how the work is related to the student's subject (e.g. Finance, Accounting, Marketing, HR...), What problems does the company currently face including a short description of the company, How does professional experience compare to working in a company in the student's home country and how does it relate to theories of cultural differences in the workplace. This report must contain theory of the respective fields and it must be an academic report i.e. it must contain sources from journals or textbooks related to the theory described (e.g. Marketing and Cultural Differences). The report must be submitted two weeks after completion of the work in the company. Graded on a pass-fail basis (deadline missed=fail). The student will pass the Work & Study Program if all requirements are passed and if a minimum workload of 100 hours was achieved.

Assessment: 100 hours workload, preparatory seminar, two reports
Prerequisite: Background in Business/Economics
Undergraduate students, Graduate students

IO.001.006 Academic Writing

Academic Level: 200

4 ECTS Credits (100 hours per semester), 2 hours per week (25 hours per semester)

offered in spring/summer, fall/winter

Lecturer: Dr. Stefan Rögele

This course is an introduction to Scientific Research and Academic Writing. The objective of the course is to apply and improve the understanding of the methods of academic writing. Therefore, this course is structured around three questions: 1) What is scientific research? 2) How to design and execute a research project? And finally 3) How to write an academic paper? Students will learn basic principles of gaining new knowledge through the scientific process. The next step will be to learn how to plan a research project/academic paper/term paper. In addition, students will receive an introduction to the library and electronic literature search at HfWU. Based on a subject and using various writing exercises, the main part of this course consists of learning…
- …how to formulate a research question
- …how to write an introduction
- …how to write a literature review
- …how to write the main analysis part of the academic paper
- …how to write a discussion
Embedded in the course are feedback methods with the aim of improving the writing skills of students.

Assessment: seminar paper
Prerequisite: Background in Business/Economics
Undergraduate students, Graduate students

101-043-IO-01 Innovation Management

Academic Level: 400

Lecture, 2 ECTS Credits (50 hours per semester), 2 hours per week (25 hours per semester)

offered in spring/summer, fall/winter

Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Robert Gabriel

This course deals with the following topics:
Role and objectives of innovation management, Types and relevance of innovations, Networks, open innovation and crowd sourcing, Innovation management in practice, Sustainable innovation

Assessment: Written exam
Prerequisite: Background in Business/Economics
Undergraduate students, Graduate students

102-029-IO-02 Sustainability and Risk Management

Academic Level: 400

Lecture, 2 ECTS Credits (50 hours per semester), 2 hours per week (25 hours per semester)

This course cannot be taken together with course 204-012-IO-01 Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability and course 101-077-IO-01 Marketing and Sustainability

offered in spring/summer, fall/winter

Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Robert Gabriel

Introduction: why Sustainability matters, and how it influences financial performance of companies
Value chain perspective: sustainability risks (and opportunities) inside and outside of the factory gates
Sustainability Frameworks: from mission and strategy to decision support tools and data management
Stakeholder dialogue and assessment of materiality of sustainability issues
Corporate Sustainability management
Product Sustainability management
Supply Chain Sustainability management
Sustainability performance from the investor perspective, incl. sustainability ratings
Assessing the business value of sustainability initiatives: impacts on growth, cost, reputation and risk

Assessment: Oral exam
Prerequisite: Background in Business/Economics
Undergraduate students, Graduate students

102-004-IO-01 Investments

Academic Level: 200

Lecture, 3 ECTS Credits (75 hours per semester), 2 hours per week (25 hours per semester)

offered in spring/summer and fall/winter

Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Anja Blatter, Sumathi Duraisamy

This course deals with the follwing topics:
Financial planning: The Percentage of Sales Approach, The Cash Flow Identity; Investment Criteria: The NPV Criterion, The Internal Rate of Return, The Annuity Method, The Discounted Payback Rule; Project Analysis and Evaluation: Weighted Average Cost of Capital, Risk Measures

Assessment: Written exam
Prerequisites: Background in Business/Economics
Undergraduate students, Graduate students

102-009-IO-01 Business Planning

Academic Level: 200

Seminar, 5 ECTS Credits (125 hours per semester), 3 hours per week (35 hours per semester)

Students are required to enrol into course 102-009-IO-02 Marketing & International Business at the same time

offered in spring/summer and fall/winter

Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Andreas Schittenhelm

In this course you develop and present a Business Plan with the following content: Financial planning, Investment valuation, Marketing strategies, HR-Planning, Strategies of Internationalization, Project planning

Assessment: Presentations, Seminar Paper
Prerequisites: Background in Business/Economics, Excel, Corporate Finance
Undergraduate students, Graduate students

102-029-IO-01 Risk Management

Academic Level: 400

Lecture, 2 ECTS Credits (50 hours per semester), 2 hours per week (25 hours per semester)

offered in spring/summer and fall/winter

Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Andreas Schittenhelm

This course deals with the follwing topics:
Strategic Risk Management
Operative Risk Management: Risk Identification, Risk Evaluation, Risk Controlling, Risk Supervision and Reporting
Solvency Regulations: Basel Accord, Solvency

Assessment: Oral exam
Prerequisites: Background in Business/Economics, Statistics, Corporate Finance
Undergraduate students

103-001-IO-01 Financial Modeling

Academic Level: 500

Lecture, 2 ECTS Credits (50 hours per semester), 2 hours per week (25 hours per semester)

offered in fall/winter

Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Dr. Dietmar Ernst

Why are spread sheet modeling skills so important? Spread Sheet Modeling skills are fundamental for a successful career in finance.The spread sheet modeler knows how the central tasks in financial practice can be professionally solved using Excel and VBA.
Which skills does a spread sheet modeler have? A spread sheet modeler can … efficiently and transparently prepare decisions, model practical problems clearly and in a well-structured way, use Excel and VBA programming to efficiently simplify complex subjects, present results in a professional manner, apply financial modeling to any question in finance
Will I be able to work without basic knowledge in spread sheet modeling? On an international level, leading universities have added the subject spread sheet modeling to their curricula in order to respond to the requirements in financial practice. We assume that in the medium-term, the principles of orderly spread sheet modeling will be the cornerstones of finance that everyone will have to respect.
Who needs well-founded knowledge in spread sheet modeling? All graduates and practitioners in finance should have a well-founded knowledge in spread sheet modeling. However, experience shows that the majority of financial experts does not have or only have rudimentary financial modeling skills. Currently, many banks, financial service providers and other companies are looking desperately for people with in-depth Excel modeling and VBA skills. Financial modeling knowledge is a sort of unique selling point offering the best opportunities to enter the professional financial world and to climb the career ladder.
Course content: Based on a very basic investment case study students learn the broad variety of professional spread sheet modeling. Prerequisite for that course is that each student works with his /her own laptop in class. Excel 2010 is appreciated.

Assessment: Written exam
Prerequisites: Background in Business/Economics, Finance and Investment, Excel
Undergraduate students with special permission, Graduate students

103-001-IO-02 Applied IFRS

Academic Level: 500

Lecture, 2 ECTS Credits (50 hours per semester), 2 hours per week (25 hours per semester)

offered in fall/winter

Lecturer: Marco Koch

1. Concept of International Accounting: Capital market based history of US GAAP and IFRS, Standard setting bodies, Framework of international accounting (objective basic principles, Elements of F/S, Accounting policies, Subsequent events), 2. Presentation and disclosure of financial statements: Balance sheet, Income statement, Statement of changes in Eequity, Statement of cash flows , Notes to the financial statements (incl. Segment reporting), Interim financial reporting, Related Parties disclosures, 3. Recognition, measurement and valuation of financial statement positions 10 Modul 103-001 (Version1) Tangible assets (PPE, impairment, investment property, leases, non-current assets held for sale, discontinued operations) Goodwill and Intangible assets (R&D) Financial assets (business combinations, associates, joint ventures, financial instruments) Inventories, construction contracts, revenue recognition (POC method etc.) Cash Provisions, contingent liabilities Employee benefits, stock compensation Income taxes (incl. Deferred taxes) Earnings per share, 4. Conversion process of a company to international GAAP (first time adoption of IFRS / USGAAP), 5. The audit approach of an international accounting firm, 6. The impact of Sarbanes Oxley and Corporate Governance on international accounting and auditing, 7. Summary: IFRS / US-GAAP comparison, 8. Recent developments ( i.e. analysis of financial statement restatements, international accounting for SME, development of IFRS / US GAAP)

Assessment: Written exam
Prerequisite: Background in Business/Economics, Finance and Accounting (intermediate level)
Undergraduate students with special permission, Graduate students

103-002-IO-01 Bond Analysis

Academic Level: 500

Lecture, 2 ECTS Credits (50 hours per semester), 2 hours per week (25 hours per semester)

offered in fall/winter

Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Andreas Schittenhelm

1. Bonds: Features of a Bond, Valuation, Real World Factors
2. Risk Measures: Duration, Convexity
3. Bond Strategies: 18 Modul 103-002 (Version1), Cash Flow Matching, Barbell Strategy Duration Matching, Duration-gap Analysis, Riding the Yield Curve, Arbitrage Strategies

Assessment: Written exam
Prerequisite: Background in Business/Economics, Finance and Accounting (intermediate level)
Undergraduate students with special permission, Graduate students

103-002-IO-02 Equity Analysis

Academic Level: 500

Lecture, 2 ECTS Credits (50 hours per semester), 2 hours per week (25 hours per semester)

offered in fall/winter

Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Serge Ragotzky

This lecture deals with the following topics:
1. The Purpose of Equity Analysis
2. Financial Statement Analysis 2.1. The basics: financial analysis as a prerequisite for financial planning 2.2. Liquidity 2.3. Operating performance 2.4. Risk analysis 2.5. Adjustments to corporate accounts 2.6. Derivation of free cash flow (FCF)
3. Financial Planning and Forecasting 3.1. Technical aspects of the planning process - top-down planning - closed-loop planning using spreadsheet models 3.2. Industry analysis and sales planning - Determinants of industry unit sales and price levels - The industry life cycle - Competition analysis 3.3. External factors and longer-term growth - External factors affecting longer-term growth perspectives - Modelling consistent long-term growth estimates: the DuPont system
4. Valuation 4.1. Valuation approaches 4.2. Discounted cash flow valuation - one-stage, two-stage, three-stage models - approaches to modelling the terminal value - comparison of dividend-discount, FCF-to-equity, and FCF-to-firm models - determining the discount rate 4.3. Relative valuation - Earnings-based, book value-based, revenue based, and sector specific multiples - Definitional, descriptional, analytical and application tests of multiples
5. Macroeconomic Aspects of Equity Analysis 5.1. Business cycle and asset allocation 5.2. Impact of macroeconomic factors on stock prices

Assessment: Written exam
Prerequisite: Background in Business/Economics, Finance and Accounting (intermediate level)
Undergraduate students with special permission, Graduate students

103-003-IO-01 Project Risk Management

Academic Level: 500

Lecture, 2 ECTS Credits (50 hours per semester), 2 hours per week (25 hours per semester)

offered in fall/winter

Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Dr. Dietmar Ernst

This class enables students
...to explain the difference between the value of a company and its price and to apply this knowledge to methods in Corporate Finance.
...to work out similarities and differences in the application of stock exchange and transaction multiples and to apply this knowledge to data collection and model development.
...to obtain and process the necessary data for a multiplier valuation from information providers such as Bloomberg or Thomson Reuters.
...to know criteria for the creation of a peer group of comparable companies and to apply these criteria when creating a peer group.
...to interpret the results of the multiplier valuation, to compare them with the results of the DCF company valuation and to independently draw conclusions for Corporate Finance transactions.
...to manage a project in the field of company valuation and to develop own solutions in a group of valuation specialists.
...to handle the theoretical and empirical challenges of multiplier valuation.
...to apply the knowledge to provided valuation projects and to adapt it to real valuation situations.
...to critically evaluate the assumptions, algorithms and results of each valuation approach.
...to prepare the results of the multiplier valuation in professional presentations.

Assessment: Presentations, oral exam
Prerequisite: Background in Business/Economics, Finance and Accounting (intermediate level)
Undergraduate students with special permission, Graduate students

103-005-IO-01 Mergers and Acquisitions

Academic Level: 500

Lecture, 2 ECTS Credits (50 hours per semester), 2 hours per week (25 hours per semester)

offered in spring/summer

Lecturer: Alexandra Crusen-Niederer

This lecture offers a broad Introduction to Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A). The professor explains the Initial Phase and how to contact the interested Parties. The students get an insight into the financial aspects of M&A and the Legal Aspects in M&A Sales Processes

Assessment: Written exam
Prerequisites: Background in Business/Economics, Finance and Accounting (intermediate level)
Undergraduate students with special permission, Graduate students

103-005-IO-02 Private Equity and Acquisition Financing

Academic Level: 500

Lecture, 2 ECTS Credits (50 hours per semester), 2 hours per week (25 hours per semester)

offered in spring/summer

Lecturer: Sebastian Prexl, Joachim Erdle, Dr. Peter Baisch

This International Finance course provides an introduction to leveraged buyouts and the investment process of private equity companies. Students learn the characteristics of acquisitions finance and the aspects of Mezzanine and seller's note. In the end the course offers legal aspects in sales processes.

Assessment: Written exam
Prerequisite: Background in Business/Economics, Finance and Accounting (at least intermediate level)
Undergraduate students with special permission, Graduate students

103-005-IO-03 IPO & Investor Relations

Academic Level: 500

Lecture, 3 ECTS Credits (75 hours per semester), 2 hours per week (25 hours per semester)

offered in spring/summer

Lecturer: Schwendemann, Kofler

This course consists of two parts: Initial Public Offering (IPO) and Investor Relations. Part IPO deals with the following topics: Why Initial Public Offering (IPO)?: Definition, reasons, global IPO market, history, pros and cons, case study; Key factors of a successful IPO: Pre-IPO strategy, business plan, equity story, time table, governance, financial reporting, issue concept, excursus ICO; Valuation: Peergroup, multiples; Placement process I: Syndicate, structure, research, marketing; Placement process II: Pricing, allocation, fees, designation, stabilization; Documentation: Beauty contest, consultants, advisors, due dilligence, prospectus, comfort letter, agreements; Post IPO obligations and Investor Relations activities Part Investor Relations deals with the following topics: What is Investor Relations? Role and Target of Investor Relations, IR Environment, Managing Expectations, Objetives of Investor Relations, Target Groups Communication Tools, Do we need IR?

Assessment: Written exam, presentation
Prerequisite: Background in Business/Economics, Finance and Accounting (at least intermediate level)
Undergraduate students with special permission, Graduate students

103-006-IO-01 Company Valuation

Academic Level: 500

Lecture + Tutorial (mandatory), 5 ECTS Credits (125 hours per semester), 4 hours per week (45 hours per semester)

offered in spring/summer

Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Dr. Dietmar Ernst

In the class “Practice of Company Valuation” students forecast and value a DAX listed company.
1. Financial Analysis of a Dax Listed Company a. Analysis of the annual reports of the past five years b. Financial statement analysis of the annual reports with financial ratios
2. Financial Planning a. Application of the principles of financial modeling b. Set up of an integrated five year income statement and balance sheet plan
3. Calculation of the Cash Flows of a Dax Listed Company a. Operating free cash flows b. Cash flows to equity 4. Calculation of Cost of Capital of a Dax Listed Company a. Cost of equity b. Cost of debt c. Weighted average cost of capital
5. Valuation of a Dax Listed Company a. WACC approach b. Equity approach c. APV approach d. Periodic WACC

Assessment: Written exam
Prerequisite: Background in Business/Economics, Finance and Accounting (intermediate level)
Undergraduate students with special permission, Graduate students

103-008-IO-01 Derivatives in Financial Engineering

Academic Level: 500

Lecture, 3 ECTS Credits (75 hours per semester), 2 hours per week (25 hours per semester)

offered in spring/summer

Lecturer: Michael Bloss, Senator E. h.

This course deals with the following topics:
Derivatives Exchanges
Clearing and Margining
Risk Controlling
Derivatives Instruments and valuation
Interest Rate Derivatives of Fixed Income Solutions
Equity Derivatives and Structuring Techniques
Credit Derivatives and Related Instruments
Pricing of Derivatives
Forecast models, GARCH, ARCH, Short rate models, Geometrical Brownian Motion and Ornstein Uhlenbeck process
Greeks
Strategies with Options and Futures
FX Derivatives
Commodity Derivatives
SWAP and Swaptions
IRG and FRA
Cap, Floors and Collars
Exotic Options
Derivatives Used in Financial Engineering
Case studies for strategic applications of tailor made financial solutions in asset and liability problems

Assessment: Written exam
Prerequisite: Background in Business/Economics, Finance and Accounting (intermediate level)
Undergraduate students with special permission, Graduate students

104-002-IO-01 Controlling with SAP and Excel

Academic Level: 500

Lecture, 4 ECTS Credits (100 hours per semester), 3 hours per week (35 hours per semester)

offered in fall/winter

Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Daniela Fischer

This course deals with the following topics:
Controlling with SAP
Introduction to SAP ERP
Introduction to GBI – Global Bike Inc.
Navigation in SAP
Case study Sales & Distribution (SD)
Case study Materials Management (MM)
Case study Production Planning & Execution (PP)
Case study Financial Accounting (FI)
Case study Controlling (CO)
Controlling with Excel
Helpful basics for data analysis with Excel
Financial mathematics
Data Analysis
Optimization
Automatization with Macros
Diagrams and tables for Powerpoint presentations
Automatization of Presentations

Assessment: E-exam
Prerequisite: Background in Business/Economics, Finance/Accounting/Management (at least intermediate level)
Undergraduate students with special permission (number of Undergraduates is limited to 10), Graduate students

104-002-IO-02 Data Science and Business Intelligence

Academic Level: 500

Lecture, 1 ECTS Credits (25 hours per semester), 1 hours per week (15 hours per semester)

offered in fall/winter

Lecturer:

Description will follow shortly

104-003-IO-01 Group Accounting and Group Controlling

Academic Level: 500

Lecture, 3 ECTS Credits (75 hours per semester), 2 hours per week (25 hours per semester)

offered in fall/winter

Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Daniela Fischer

This course deals with the following topics:
Group of companies and tasks of a group controller
Group statement of financial position
Group statement of profit or loss
Traditional and value based Key Performance Indicators
Group Budgets
Transfer prices in groups of companies

204-004-IO-01 Accounting

Academic Level: 500

Lecture + Tutorial, 4 ECTS Credits (100 hours per semester), 3 hours per week (35 hours per semester)

Please register also for 204-004-IO-01 Tutorial Accounting

offered in spring/summer, fall/winter

Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Andreas Schittenhelm

This course deals with the following topics:
Financial Statements: Balance Sheet, Income Statement, Double Entry System, Cash Flow Statement Specific Balance Sheet Items: Inventory, Fixed Assets, Provisions and Accruals
Financial Analysis: Balance Sheet Analysis, Income Statement Analysis, Cash Flow Statement Analysis Consolidated Financial Statement: Business Combinations, Consolidated Statements
International Accounting: Importance of International Accounting, International Accounting Systems

Assessment: Written exam
Undergraduate students - not recommended for Business/Economics students

204-004-IO-02 Investment and Finance

Academic Level: 500

Lecture, 3 ECTS Credits (75 hours per semester), 3 hours per week (35 hours per semester)

offered in spring/summer, fall/winter

Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Ludger Hinners

The students will get an introduction to Financial Mathematics and Business Finance, including selected theories and concepts. Knowledge of central terminology and basic numerical facts are expected e.g.: What do we mean with capital? How much capital do enterprises and the economy need in Germany and the EU? Total borrowings in Germany and the EU. Current and historical interest rates of financial products. Key figures of liquidity. Source of information with respect to financial issues. The main learning content is the instruction of financial method skills e.g.: Basic concepts of Financial Mathematics, comparison of investment alternatives (static and dynamic methods), uncertainty of Investment Planning, calculation of the need of capital, Financing , Funding, Financing scheme. Students who have successfully completed this module, will have extensive knowledge of financial matters that are the basis of Corporate Decision Making. Furthermore, they will have developed an understanding of financial forms and regulations in business and are familiar with financing and investment procedures as well as terms of periodic in- and outpayments. They acquire the skills to adequately apply common methods of static and dynamic investment calculation in business critical situations while using standard PC software. The knowledge of the respective requirements and applications enables the students to recognize the advantages of certain investments and financing alternatives. They can apply their knowledge and skills in order to develop solutions for new challenges while making use of data processing, in particular spreadsheet analysis.

Assessment: Oral exam, including a presentation
Prerequisite: Background in Business/Economics, Finance, Mathematics and Statistics (intermediate level)
Undergraduate studens with special permission (number of Undergraduates is limited to 6), Graduate students

204-008-IO-01 International Business Finance

Academic Level: 500

Lecture, 2 ECTS Credits (50 hours per semester), 2 hours per week (25 hours per semester)

offered in spring/summer, fall/winter

Lecturer: Olubukola Olanrewaju

Students will acquire basic knowledge about the meaning and structure of international financial markets. The investment and financing instruments issued and traded on the financial markets are presented and explained in detail. Particular attention is paid to the analysis of foreign exchange markets, as well as to the transactions and practices observed on them. Based on this, the methods for hedging currency risk are discussed. An important topic in this context is the use of modern derivative financial instruments. The application of the instruments shown and the functional areas of international corporate finance management are practiced on the basis of case studies and in group work.

Assessment: Written exam
Prerequisite: Background in Business/Economics
Undergraduate students with special permission (number of Undergraduates is limited to 6),
Graduate students

204-008-IO-02 International Reporting and Control

Academic Level: 500

Lecture, 3 ECTS Credits (75 hours per semester), 2 hours per week (25 hours per semester)

offered in spring/summer, fall/winter

Lecturer: Dipl.-Kfm. Robert Jacob, Sven Kossyk

Students in this finance class will be exposed to the theory and practice of Accounting and Reporting in an international environment. They will obtain an understanding how financial resources of international corporations are accounted for and reported according to US GAAP. They will understand how to measure and control financial resources in theory and practice.

Assessment: Written exam, presentations, paper, case studies
Prerequisite: Background in Business/Economics, Finance and Accounting (at least intermediate level)
Undergraduate students with special permission (number of Undergraduates is limited to 6), Graduate students

204-008-IO-03 Management Accounting

Academic Level: 500

Lecture, 2 ECTS Credits (50 hours per semester), 2 hours per week (25 hours per semester)

offered in fall/winter

Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Daniela Fischer

This course deals with the following topics:
Part 1: Focus on Decision Making
Chapter 1: Managerial Accounting, the Business Organization, and Profesional Ehtics
Chapter 2: Introduction to Cost Behavior and Cost-Volume-Profit Relationships
Chapter 3: Measurement of Cost Behavior
Chapter 4: Cost Management Systems and Activity-Based Costing
Chapter 5: Relevant Information for Decision Making with a Focus on Pricing Decisions
Chapter 6: Relevant Information for Decision Making with a Focus on Operational Decisions
Part 2: Accounting for Planning and Control
Chapter 7: Introduction to Budgets and Preparing the Master Budget
Part 3: Product Costing
Chapter 12: Cost Allocation
Chapter 13: Accounting for Overhead Costs

Assessment: Written exam
Prerequisite: Background in Business/Economics
Undergraduate students with special permission (number of Undergraduates is limited to 6), Graduate students

181001_NT_S Digital Transformation

Academic Level: 400

Seminar, 8 ECTS Credits (200 hours per semester), 6 hours per week (70 hours per semester)
7 “face-to-face” sessions and active participation in weekly online activities/sessions and self-directed project work

offered in spring/summer, fall/winter

Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Sebastian H.D. Fiedler

Our main interest is a range of methods and concepts from “User Experience Design” (UX). The field of User Experience Design is a conceptual design discipline. It focuses on the interaction between human users/actors, machines & devices, (user-)interfaces, and the contextual environments of particular activities. With the proliferation of computers and networked devices in work and life, user experience has become an increasingly significant concern for the design of products, services, (user) interfaces, and so forth. User Experience Design is a multi-disciplinary field and includes elements of interaction design, information architecture, user research, applied psychology, and other disciplines. It is thus accessible for students from a wide range of disciplinary backgrounds.Contents: contemporary and emerging phenomena of digital transformation in work and learning, What is user experience design (UX)? Cultural-Historical Activity Theory and other strands of applied psychology in UX, selected methods and tools for User Experience Design and User Research, the role of User Experience Design for business innovation.

Assessment: Presentations, project report
Prerequisite: English as working language (oral & written)
Undergraduate students, Graduate students

203-026-IO-01 Applied Project Management

Academic Level: 400

Lecture, 4 ECTS Credits (100 hours per semester), 2 hours per week (25 hours per semester)

offered in spring/summer, fall/winter

Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Friedemann Baisch/Jürgen Raizner

Project based work is becoming increasingly important at any future work place of the students. The seminar Applied Project Management is designed for students, who would like to get a clear understanding of the major processes in managing projects. The applied process model is based on the internationally recognized IPMA Standard (German standard DIN 69901). Challenge is, to learn project management by working on a real project. Thematic subjects are changing from semester to semester. Objectives and scope of the student’s work will be discussed and agreed at the beginning of the seminar. Participating students learn target oriented thinking and working. Executing the project will be done by working groups who receive an intensive coaching by the lecturer. The lecturers are changing from Semester to Semester: Jürgen Raizner is a consultant, scientist and director of steinbeis-transfer-center East Europe. He is an experienced lecturer in the field of project management at HfWU. Prof. Dr. Friedemann Baisch has a call for General Management at HfWU and has a focus in Business Process Management, Project Management and Change Management.

Assessment: Seminar paper
Prerequisite: Background in Business/Economics
Undergraduate students, Graduate students

204-002-IO-01 Corporate Strategic Planning Simulation

Academic Level: 500

Seminar, 3 ECTS Credits (75 hours per semester), 2 hours per week (25 hours per semester)

offered in spring/summer, fall/winter

Lecturer: Benjamin Höhl, B.Sc.

This course is offered as a simulation game. It requires direct participation of the students and involves them directly in the process of taking management decisions in an interactive style. The students receive a short introduction into the related knowledge areas. From then on they work together in teams. Each team acts as a management board of a company. The teams have to take various decisions according to different developments and situations that occur in successive decision cycles. The simulation provides an inside look in the interdependency of management decisions, as well as the insight that success of a company does not only depend on own decisions but also on the strategy and activity of its competitors.

Assessment: Written exam, presentations
Prerequisite: Background in Business / Economics
Undergraduate students with special permission (number of Undergraduates is limited to 6), Graduate students

204-002-IO-02 Concepts General Management

Academic Level: 500

Seminar, 2 ECTS Credits (50 hours per semester), 2 hours per week (25 hours per semester)

offered in spring/summer, fall/winter

Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Erskin Blunck

The students will get an introduction to Business Administration and get an overview about selected management theories and concepts. The course will introduce to the Business Environment, Business Ownership and Entrepreneurship as well as Management and Organization. Basic principles of Human Resources and Marketing and will be put into the context of General Management. The course will enable the students to set-up strategic plan with its specific components. Participants will understand the opportunities and limitations of planning and management techniques. Students will be able to apply management techniques. They learn how to express a well-founded and independent opinion regarding general management issues. Students will develop an answer for the corporate responsibility for society and environment.Students will understand the interdependencies between various functions of a company, e.g. marketing, sales, controlling and finance. This leads to a comprehensive understanding of the functioning of a company as a whole.The course General Management aims at a comprehensive understanding of management on company level and general principles of business administration.To combine profound theoretical understanding of the main concepts with the skills of application to real life situations, the course is split into a lecture style input class with some exercises and a practical interactive Corporate Strategic Planning Simulation. This is the lecture part of the overall module. Management concept has a focus on key concepts of business administration with respect to general management.

Assessment: Written exam
Prerequisite: Background in Business / Economics
Undergraduate students with special permission (number of Undergraduates is limited to 6), Graduate students

204-003-IO-01 Organization and Information Management

Academic Level: 500

Lecture, 2 ECTS Credits (50 hours per semester), 2 hours per week (25 hours per semester)

offered in spring/summer, fall/winter

Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Sebastian H.D. Fiedler

This lecture provides basic knowledge on Organizational Theories and structures, Information Management and Human Resource Management. It enables the students to manage changes in organizations. Broad overview on the impact of IT.

Assessment: Written exam
Prerequisite: Management (intermediate level)
Undergraduate students with special permission (number of Undergraduates is limited to 6), Graduate students

204-003-IO-02 Project Management

Academic Level: 500

Lecture, 3 ECTS Credits (75 hours per semester), 2 hours per week (25 hours per semester)

offered in spring/summer, fall/winter

Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Friedemann Baisch

This course offers training in project management skills. Students will receive training of project management methods, following the IPMA-Model (methods for initiating, planning, executing, controlling and closing projects). In a second step the course focuses on the training of their soft skills (personal vision, motivation, communication) and leadership.

Assessment: Presentations
Prerequisite: Background in Business / Economics, Management (intermediate level)
Undergraduate students with special permission (number of Undergraduates is limited to 6), Graduate students

204-005-IO-01 Supply Chain Management and Purchasing

Academic Level: 500

Seminar, 2 ECTS Credits (50 hours per semester), 2 hours per week (25 hours per semester)

offered in spring/summer, fall/winter

Lecturer: Uwe Jankowiak

The course provides a structured and comprehensive approach to the fundamental principles and practice of Supply Chain Management and Purchasing: Students will know the challenges leading to the integrated approach of SCM, Information systems and technology in SCM. They learn the models and methods of Supply Chain Management. They get familiar with the managing processes and the role of Purchasing in Supply Chains.

Assessment: Written exam
Prerequisite: Background in Business / Economics, Introductory class in Management
Undergraduate students with special permission (number of Undergraduates is limited to 6), Graduate students

204-035-IO-01 Sustainability Management

Academic Level: 500

Lecture, 6 ECTS Credits (150 hours per semester), 4 hours per week (45 hours per semester)

This module consists of two courses: 1. Sustainable Business Management and 2. Business and Human Rights

This course cannot be taken together with course 102-029-IO-01 Sustainability & Risk Management and 101-077-IO-01 Marketing and Sustainability

offered in fall/winter

Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Robert Gabriel, Daniel Crampton M.A.

Sustainable Business Management: The course offers a broad overview of all aspects that relate to sustainable business management, from a very practice-oriented perspective. Starting with sustainability drivers and sustainability leaderhip, the students learn about stakeholder dialogue and apply a method to identify the most material sustainability aspects for the sustainability strategy of an organisation. This section concludes with the question how sustainability can create value for businesses. In further classes, the students learn how sustainability must always look at a corporation’s value chain, and how the value chain can be broken down in three perspectives, in order to operationalize sustainability for the different corporate functions: product view, corporate view and supply chain view. The students learn about the different tools and methods typically applied for these perspectives, and see a number of case studies and practical examples for a deeper learning experience. The last part of the course deals with sustainability reporting – objective, standards and critical review of its importance – and with sustainability ratings, used by investors to select the most sustainable assets for the investement portfolio.
Business and Human Rights: This course will provide an overview of the topic and nexus between business and human rights, including its origins, the increasing legal and regulatory background and the practical application to the business context. It will also consider both legal and practical challenges on the basis of case studies and will discuss future developments in the field.

Assessment: Written exam
Prerequisite: Background in Business/Economics
Undergraduate students with special permission (number of Undergraduates is limited to 6), Graduate students

204-020-IO-01 Innovation for Sustainability-IFS

Academic Level: 400

Lecture, 6 ECTS Credits (150 hours per semester), 38 hours per week - blocked in 2 intensive weeks 5, on-site visits of companies and government bodies in the southwest of Germany

Registration deadline is in April. You must be prepared to travel and pay for transportation, accommodation, and other costs.

offered in fall/winter, in the month of September

Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Christian Arndt

IfS is a two weeks study tour that deals with challenges such as demographic change, social inequality, scarcity of commodities combined with global warming. The following subject areas will be covered by the lecture: Solutions to challenges from demographic change, social inequality, scarcity of commodities and global warming, Intercultural communication and management, Sustainability, innovation. The students will learn to: apply techniques for attaining new knowledge in a research-led way, understand the basic theoretical concepts of sustainability from different cultural perspectives, identify economic, social and environmental challenges of today and know how to devise innovative solutions, describe and evaluate strategies that market leaders are applying today, recognize and cope with cultural differences in problem solving, interact and collaborate with students from other countries and cultural backgrounds.

Assessment: Presentations, paper
Prerequisite: Background in Business/Economics, Intermediate class in Economics and Management, Academic/Business Writing
Undergraduate students, Graduate students

204-027-IO-01 Strategy Cases

Academic Level: 500

Lecture, 5 ECTS Credits (125 hours per semester), 3 hours per week (35 hours per semester)

offered in spring/summer, fall/winter

Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Erskin Blunck

This course offers the students a detailed definition of „Strategic Direction, Business Transformation“. This term includes aspects like “Strategy Process”, “Strategy Content” and “Strategy Context” that are carefully distinguished in the lecture. To expand the theoretical frame the course explores the issues of “Organizational Purpose” and “Strategic change management”. The students will analyze certain case studies in which the constituent parts of the lecture will be applied. Case Studies from the current business environment complete the coursework. Based on short original readings, the students will present opposing views about the mentioned strategy perspectives and discuss in class room.

Assessment: Written exam, presentations
Prerequisite: Background in Business / Economics, Management (intermediate level)
Undergraduate students with special permission (number of Undergraduates is limited to 6), Graduate students

204- Startup Lessons

Academic Level: 500

Lecture, 6 ECTS Credits (150 hours per semester), 4 hours per week (45 hours per semester)

offered in fall/winter

Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Erskin Blunck, Prof. Dr. Christian Arndt, Madlen Weinhardt

Description will follow shortly

101-023-IO-01 Marketing Research

Academic Level: 300

Seminar, 3 ECTS Credits (75 hours per semester), 2 hours per week (25 hours per semester)

should not be taken together with 203-017-IO-01 Market Research and 203-017 Marketing and Market Research

offered in spring/summer, fall/winter

Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Iris Ramme, Dipl.-Betrw. (FH) Lisa Mögle

Learning Objectives This module is designed as introductory course in marketing research. The students will learn about marketing research from a supplier’s and buyer’s point of view. In their later career, they may not be the generator of market research - but they will most certainly be a user of market research results. This course will provide the students with the requisite knowledge and skills to either conduct their own market research (primary research) or to competently evaluate the research results of others (secondary research). Content: Marketing Research Process, Secondary and Primary Data, Qualitative Data Collection, Data Collection Methods and its advantages and challenges, Measurement and Scaling, Questionnaire Design, Experiments, Fundamentals of Sampling. The students will learn the concepts, get to know the differences and learn when to apply which method.

Assessment: Written exam
Prerequisite: Introductory class in Marketing or as corequisite
Undergraduate students

101-023-IO-02 Digital Marketing

Academic Level: 300

Seminar, 3 ECTS Credits (75 hours per semester), 2 hours per week (25 hours per semester)

offered in spring/summer, fall/winter

Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Stefan Detscher

The learning objectives for this class are 1. Understanding of up-to-date strategies and goals in digital marketing 2. Gaining overview on different digital marketing instruments 3. Capability to use major digital marketing tools. The topics will comprise: Marketing in a Digitalized Environment, Digital Marketing Strategy, Digital Product Management & Pricing, Digital Brand Management, Digital Marketing Communication, Digital Sales/ E-Commerce, Digital Customer Relationship Management & Service, Digital Marketing Controlling

Assessment: Written exam
Prerequisite: Introductory class in Marketing or as corequisite
Undergraduate students

101-023-IO-03 Marketing Study Tour

Academic Level: 300

Seminar, 4 ECTS Credits (100 hours per semester), 2 hours per week (25 hours per semester)

offered in spring/summer

Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Stefan Detscher

The course is an introductory course to digital marketing. The lectures are focused on: Marketing in a Digitalized Environment, Digital Marketing Strategy, Digital Product Management & Pricing, Digital Brand Management, Digital Marketing Communication, Digital Sales/ E-Commerce, Digital Customer Relationship Management & Service, Digital Marketing Controlling . The class consists of lectures and some company visits and/or presentations by company representatives. The participants will consist of HfWU students, exchange students who extend their spring semester stay for a few weeks and students from our partner universities who come to Germany for this study tour. Thus it will be a mix of students with diverse backgrounds. There will be six short quizzes with 5-10 questions each that will always cover the content of the last attended lecture (not cumulative). During the group work sessions the students will take on a marketing consultant’s role and will analyze the company’s current situation and make recommendations that will help the company to achieve its goals. Students will write a 1 page long paper together with their team mates in order to document their recommendations (individuals mark their contribution). The students will also need to prepare at least two questions regarding digital marketing for each of the four company visits or company presentations. A written exam with essay questions will take place on the last day of the Study Tour. These parts will not be graded, just for personal assessment of performance. The project fee amounts to 160 € and includes transportation to program-related company visits and a welcome and farewell dinner. For more information, please refer to https://www.hfwu.de/marketing-study-tour/

Assessment: Written Exam with essay questions (graded), presentations (not graded), group work, quizzes (not graded)
Prerequisite: Background in Business/Economics, Introductory class in Marketing or as corequisite
Undergraduate students

101-036-IO-01 International Marketing Project

Academic Level: 400

Lecture, 8 ECTS Credits (200 hours per semester), 6 hours per week (90 hours per semester)

offered in spring/summer

Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Iris Ramme, Dennis Köhler

Students participating in this class are going to work in competing cross-national teams on a marketing case that consists of the development of a complete market entry strategy of an existing product into the US market. In this semester, we will collaborate with Portland State University, Oregon (USA). An excursion to the company will familiarize our students with the marketing case. During the semester, our students will get theoretical input from Prof. Dr. Iris Ramme on the following topics: Motives for internationalization, cultural differences, segmentation in International Marketing, market entry strategies, product policy, pricing, distribution and communication in International Marketing, designing a marketing plan. A guest professor from one of our partner university will deliver the part on culture. There will be three online sessions with the American students and the American professor, all well prepared in coaching sessions with our part time lecturer Dennis Köhler.

Assessment: Written Exam, presentations
Prerequisite: Background in Business/Economics, Academic/Business Writing and introductory classes in Marketing and Management
Undergraduate students, Graduate students with special permission

101-082-IO-01 Business Models in Digital Marketing

Academic Level: 400

Lecture, 3 ECTS Credits (75 hours per semester), 2 hours per week (25 hours per semester)

offered in spring/summer, fall/winter

Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Stefan Detscher

Learning Objectives: The students should gain an overview on different digital marketing based business model. The topics will comprise: Digital marketing based business model value & growth drivers, Typical digital marketing based business models: E-Commerce, Portals & Apps, Online-enabled Service Businesses, Case study/ group work on digital marketing based business models

Assessment: Presentation, paper
Prerequisite: Introductory class in Marketing
Undergraduate students

101-083-IO-01 Basics of Sales Management

Academic Level: 400

Lecture, 3 ECTS Credits (75 hours per semester), 2 hours per week (25 hours per semester)

offered in fall/winter

Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Dirk Funck

B2B-Sales-Process: Overview with special focus on “buying-center approach”, “conducting negotiations” and “use of different sales channels” like personal selling, phone sales or online platforms.

Assessment: Seminar paper
Prerequisite: Introductory class in Marketing
Undergraduate students

101-085-IO-01 Electronic Marketplaces in Retail Management

Academic Level: 400

Lecture, 3 ECTS Credits (75 hours per semester), 2 hours per week (25 hours per semester)

offered in spring/summer

Lecturer: Markus Fost, MBA

The students recognize, which kind of questions are relevant in order to build electronic (online) marketplaces within today’s trading economy. In addition to that the students will gain relevant knowledge within the latest platform economy and digitalization of the trade. The students will learn how to structure an online marketplace business model in a schematic way to identify revenue streams. After the course the students should be in a position to make profound and reasonable decisions and valuations on online business models as well as online marketplaces. The topics will comprise: Landscape of relevant B2C & B2B online marketplaces, the basics of platform economics and business model types of online marketplaces, schematic structure of online marketplaces: Market level (Market entry barriers and market potential // Target groups & product assortment), requirements of marketplace participants, schematic structure of online marketplaces: Business model (Operating types // Service portfolio & revenue model // Business model canvas), schematic structure of online marketplaces: Functional requirements, IT system requirements & Organization: Differentiation of IT requirements for a lean- vs. comprehensive marketplace approach

Assessment: Written exam
Prerequisite: Introductory class in Marketing
Undergraduate students

101-081-IO-01 Consumer Research

Academic Level: 400

Lecture, 4 ECTS Credits (100 hours per semester), 3 hours per week (35 hours per semester)

offered in spring/summer, fall/winter

Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Iris Ramme

This module is designed as an applied class with own data collection. The students will work together with a project partner that gives the students the opportunity to apply their knowledge of carrying out their own primary research or using secondary research. Last semester’s project dealt with renewable energies and involved a qualitative workshop with prospective customers, secondary research on renewable energy and an online survey with nearly 1,000 responses. Next semester we will work on a project for a culture club in Nürtingen (Kuckucksei). Content: Qualitative and quantitative research, primary and secondary research, data collection methods including online, data analysis and presentation, international aspects of marketing research, new approaches in Marketing Research like crowd measurement, WOM research, customer´s journey through the sales funnel, trend management

Assessment: Written exam, presentations
Prerequisite: Basic knowledge in Marketing and Marketing Research
Undergraduate students

101-077-IO-01 Marketing and Sustainability

Academic Level: 400

Lecture, 8 ECTS Credits (200 hours per semester), 6 hours per week (70 hours per semester)

offered in spring/summer, fall/winter

Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Robert Gabriel, Prof. Dr. Carsten Herbes, Prof. Dr. Iris Ramme

This course cannot be taken together with course 102-029-IO-01 Sustainability & Risk Management and course 204-012-IO-01 Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability

Part I: Why sustainability? Sustainability drivers and their impact on marketing and business, supported by the learning project "Climate interactive" (simulation and roleplay). Part II: Strategies and business model, How sustainability and corporate strategy must be aligned for sustainable business models in order for sustainability marketing strategies to deliver their value (instead of creating a greenwashing risk) Part III: Preferences and market research, understanding customer preferences as well as other specific issues of market research in the context of sustainability Part IV: Sustainable marketing execution (4 Ps), What it means to integrate the sustainability dimension in marketing execution, across the areas product, placement, pricing and promotion. This includes a part about sustainability in marketing operations.

Assessment: Written exam
Prerequisite: Basic knowledge in Marketing
Undergraduate students

102-009-IO-02 Marketing and International Business

Academic Level: 200

Seminar, 3 ECTS Credits (75 hours per semester), 3 hours per week (35 hours per semester)

Students are required to enrol into the course 102-009-IO-01 Business Planning at the same time. This course cannot be taken concurrently with 204-005-IO-01 Marketing Management.

offered in spring/summer, fall/winter

Lecturer: Christian Toros

The students will become familiar with important aspects of marketing in a global environment. The course focuses specifically on teaching concepts to develop a marketing plan and how this is embedded in overall business planning. There is ample opportunity to discuss marketing challenges, both in a local and in a global environment, to apply concepts in a case study and to develop practical and theoretical managerial skills using the appropriate business terminology in English. This course is a corequisite for Business Planning.

Assessment: Presentations
Prerequisite: Background in Business / Economics
Undergraduate students

204-005-IO-02 Marketing Management

Academic Level: 500

Lecture, 3 ECTS Credits (75 hours per semester), 2 hours per week (25 hours per semester)

This course cannot be taken concurrently with 102-009-IO-02 Marketing and International Business and 203-017 Marketing and Market Research

offered in spring/summer, fall/winter

Lecturer: Prof. Dr. André Bühler

The course offers a comprehensive introduction to marketing by delivering an answer to the basic question: What is marketing? The students learn about marketing orientations, the concept of marketing management, consumer behavior, customer relationship management, marketing strategy, marketing planning, marketing process, marketing mix, and marketing audit. The students will apply the theoretical concepts to a continuous case study including class room presentations.

Assessment: Written exam, presentations
Undergraduate students with special permission (number of Undergraduates is limited to 6), Graduate students

203-017 Marketing and Market Research

Academic Level: 300

Lecture, 5 ECTS Credits (125 hours per semester), 4 hours per week (45 hours per semester)

This module consists of the two classes 203-017-IO-02 Marketing and
203-017-IO-01 Market Research.

Should not be taken together with 101-023-IO-01 Marketing Research and 204-005-IO-02 Marketing Management

offered in spring/summer, fall/winter

Lecturer: Prof. Dr. André Bühler, Lisa Mögle

The aim of this module is to get to know and apply central elements of market-oriented corporate management and to understand the basic concepts and methods of the market research required for this. The aim is to impart technical and interdisciplinary knowledge about marketing and market research. Whereby great emphasis is placed on the application orientation. The competences in statistics and empirical work acquired during the course of study can be applied to practice-relevant issues in marketing, sales and empirical research.

Assessment: presentations
Prerequisite: Introductory class in Marketing or as corequisite
Undergraduate students

204-009-IO-02 Cases International Marketing

Academic Level: 500

Lecture, 3 ECTS Credits (75 hours per semester), 2 hours per week (25 hours per semester)

offered in spring/summer, fall/winter

Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Erskin Blunck

This course covers the concepts and cases to international marketing. The students explore the specifics of international marketing in the context of the international marketing environment. The challenges of international market research and segmentation will be studied to prepare for international marketing planning. The course has a special focus on market selection and prioritization methods as well as on foreign market entry modes. The challenges of globalization and its impact on the international marketing mix will be studied between the demand for standardization and adaptation. The students will prepare in teams solutions for a comprehensive case study and present their findings in class room.

Assessment: Written exam, presentations
Prerequisites: Introductory classes in Marketing and Management
Undergraduate students with special permission (number of Undergraduates is limited to 6), Graduate students

203-007-IO-01 Microeconomics I

Academic Level: 200

Lecture, 5 ECTS Credits (125 hours per semester), 3 hours per week (35 hours per semester)

offered in spring/summer, fall/winter

Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Jan Vosswinkel

This course deals with topics like optimizing decisions of households and firms, decisions under perfect competition, fundamentals of general equilibrium theory, pricing decisions in monopolies and under monopolistic competition. Students in this course will gain knowledge in economic analysis methods and their application, master economic terminology and economic reasoning and understand the optimizing behavior of households and firms as the basis of microeconomic price theory.

Assessment: Written exam
Prerequisites: Basic Mathematical and Microeconomic skills
Undergraduate students

203-051-IO-02 Seminar II Economics

Academic Level: 200

Lecture, 4 ECTS Credits (100 hours per semester), 2 hours per week (25 hours per semester)

offered in spring/summer, fall/winter

Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Gerhard Pfister

Students are able to obtain, evaluate and combine information on essential economics issues. They are able to carve out, structure and illustrate with examples the most important statements from the literature. Students are able to compile, classify and communicate essential economic issues autonomously. They are able to communicate their results in presentations understandable, they are able to defend their results in discussions, to perceive the arguments of other course participants and are able to integrate these arguments in their own work; they are able to give feedback to the presentations of other course participants. Students are free to elect issues autonomously and focus them on a particular problem. They are able to plan their working routine and are able to coordinate their work with other team members. They take over individual responsibility for the implementation of procedures which have been arranged among the team members. The work on issues is carried out in teams, which cooperate and compete with each other. Students will be able then to define the scope of their work content. As a team member they take over the responsibility for the performance of the team as a whole. Presentation and discussion of intermediate and final results of issues are arranged in pairs and are closely tied to textbooks.

Assessment: Presentations (written and oral), paper
Undergraduate students

203-026-IO-02 Selected Topics in Business & Economics (Country Reports)

Academic Level: 300

Seminar, 1 ECTS Credits (25 hours per semester), 1 hours per week (25 hours per semester)

offered in spring/summer, fall/winter

Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Philipp Paulus

Country reports are one of the most often needed analyses of economics in business, e.g. for counry risk analyses, business perspectives or policy briefings. In this course, each student will choose a country and do a report on this country. The results are then presented and discussed with the lecturer and fellow students. Elements of a country report include key macroeconomic statistics, forecasts, assessment of key risks and opportunities surrounding the country. In an introductory session, as well as with the provided course material, students will be given an idea of what to put into a country report, what (public) sources to use and how to distinguish the main differences of industrial country and emerging market reports.

Assessment: Presentations (written and oral)
Prerequisites: Background in Business / Economics is advantageous
Undergraduate students

203-030-IO-01 Selected Topics in Business & Economics

Academic Level: 400

Seminar, 1 ECTS Credits (25 hours per semester), 1 hours per week (15 hours per semester)

offered in spring/summer, fall/winter

Lecturer: Dr. Sumathi Duraisamy

Focus: Current economic issues as seen by the German media
In this course, students choose a German language economics article, translate it into English, and present its key findings, followed by a short discussion. Foreign students will have to choose an English language article on a subject related to the German economy. The course seeks to enhance the students’ ability to use special terms of business and economics analysis.

Assessment: Presentations, paper
Prerequisites: Background in Business / Economics is advantageous but the course is also open to other students outside of the business and economics studies
Undergraduate students

203-031-IO-01 Advanced Seminar in Economics

Academic Level: 400

Lecture, 5 ECTS Credits (125 hours per semester), 2 hours per week (25 hours per semester)

offered in spring/summer, fall/winter

Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Ludger Hinners

Each student introduces a book about economics – from the literature list (see neo) – or own proposal; Each participant: brief written explanation of his/her own preferences for the two best books (1 up to 2 pages); Each participant will buy the selected book; Two students each perform the following tasks twice: Together they present a part of the selected book (no more than 2/3 of the time) and further literature (at least four sources in the remaining time), not two consecutive parts! They lead the discussion with the participants, in coordination with the presenters; They carry out a fact check on the questions raised in the discussion and present it the following week; They do not take on two tasks with the same partner

Assessment: Presentation, written homework
Prerequisites: Basic Mathematical and Microeconomic skills
Undergraduate students

203-042-IO-01 Applied International Economics

Academic Level: 400

Lecture, 6 ECTS Credits (150 hours per semester), 4 hours per week (45 hours per semester)

offered in spring/summer, fall/winter

Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Philipp Paulus

This module is structured into two lectures that will run parallel to each other, with each lecture comprising half of the module (lecture length, workload and exam). The first lecture of the module (“Theory and Policy”) is about the structure and use of major international economic models, both for theory and policy. The second lecture (“European Integration and International Economic Challenges”) will show how to apply the models to current international economics issues with a focus on European issues (e.g. the Euro and the European Central Bank, European integration, European Economic Policy, migration). Students must register for both parts.

Assessment: Written exam
Prerequisites: Background in Business / Economics (intermediate level)
Undergraduate students

203-045-IO-01 Globalisation and Sustainability

Academic Level: 400

Lecture, 6 ECTS Credits (150 hours per semester), 4 hours per week (45 hours per semester)

offered in spring/summer, fall/winter

Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Philipp Paulus

This module deals with the following topics: Sustainability of global growth, theories of global governance, nationalism, subsidiarity and globalisation, global crises, international monetary system, economic development and development policies, role of natural resources and agriculture in globalization, the economics of climate change and global economic policy responses, migration and demographic changes, EU economics and regional economic integration, the international dimension of the German economy and its economic policy

Assessment: Written exam, presenation
Prerequisites: Background in Business / Economics (intermediate level)
Undergraduate students

204-006-IO-01 Microeconomics

Academic Level: 500

Lecture, 2 ECTS Credits (50 hours per semester), 2 hours per week (25 hours per semester)

offered in spring/summer, fall/winter

Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Philipp Paulus, Dipl. Oec. Daniel Aichinger

Students in this class will learn to understand basic microeconomic principles and methods used in economic analyses. They receive basic knowledge of theories of consumer and firm behavior as well as first insights into different forms of market competition. When the market outcome is not optimal from a social welfare perspective, possible strategies that governments can undertake to achieve socially more desirable market outcomes are discussed.

Assessment: Written exam
Prerequisites: Background in Business / Economics
Undergraduate students with special permission (number of Undergraduates is limited to 6), Graduate students

204-006-IO-02 Macroeconomics

Academic Level: 500

Lecture, 3 ECTS Credits (75 hours per semester), 2 hours per week (25 hours per semester)

offered in spring/summer, fall/winter

Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Gerhard Pfister

In this lecture students get an Introduction to Macroeconomics and they get familiar with the fundamental terms of national accounting. They learn the difference between Keynesian versus Neoclassical Macroeconomics: The course explains general economic aspects and terms like Monetary, Capital and Labour Markets, Inflation, Economic Policy, Introduction to Business Cycles and Growth.

Assessment: Written exam
Prerequisites: Microeconomics (intermediate level)
Undergraduate students with special permission (number of Undergraduates is limited to 6), Graduate students

204-016-IO-01 International Economics

Academic Level: 500

Lecture, 2 ECTS Credits (50 hours per semester), 2 hours per week (25 hours per semester)

offered in spring/summer, fall/winter

Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Christian Arndt

In this course the students will get to know important stylized facts of globalization. Students will get insights into the patterns and determinants of foreign trade, FDI and migration with applications. The course covers basic principles as well as current developments. The chapter on International Trade Policy introduces the instruments of trade policy and the political economy of trade policy. The final aspects of the lecture provide knowledge on exchange rates and open-economy macroeconomics: The international flows of capital and goods and exchange rates.

Assessment: Written exam
Prerequisites: Background in Business / Economics (intermediate level)
Undergraduate students with special permission (number of Undergraduates is limited to 6), Graduate students

204-016-IO-02 Foreign Trade

Academic Level: 500

Lecture, 3 ECTS Credits (75 hours per semester), 2 hours per week (25 hours per semester)

offered in fall/winter, spring/summer

Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Christian Arndt

The students identify challenges of the climate crisis on the backdrop of global demographics, income growth, and trade. They acknowledge pathways towards the defossilisation of the economy. Students study the role of inequality and cumulative emission paths as burdens for global, multilateral climate action. They understand companies as boon or bane for transformation and explore economic tools for steering eco-scarcities and a new economic paradigm for a 'full world' (Daly 2015)

Assessment: Seminar paper
Prerequisite: Background in Business/Economics
Undergraduate students with special permission (number of Undergraduates is limited to 6), Graduate students

101-067-IO-01 Strategic Management in an International Context

Academic Level: 400

Lecture, 8 ECTS Credits (200 hours per semester), 6 hours per week (70 hours per semester)

offered in spring/summer

Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Carsten Herbes

This course will give students an in-depth induction to the major issues, techniques, and challenges of developing, formulating and implementing strategies in a MNC. Students will learn how to analyze the corporation’s environment in foreign market, become aware of risks and opportunities and how they influence internationalization strategies. They are familiarized with the most important market entry strategies including partnering strategies such as JV and M&A. A comprehensive case will give students the opportunity of applying their market entry strategy know-how. Moreover, this module will help students understand the requirements that international business activities pose to organization, sales & marketing, as well as business ethics. Students will be assigned research tasks on a regular basis and will present and discuss their results with the class. Presentations by international business practitioners will offer ample opportunity for getting insights into the methods and practices of leading companies. Part of the course (2 hours) will be held as a compact course (not weekly), most probably on one or two weekends. This allows evoking the feeling of a real life consulting project.

Assessment: Written exam, presentations
Prerequisites: Background in Business / Economics and Management (intermediate level) and a good knowledge of English is required. The professor reserves the right to refuse students whose English is not sufficient to pass the course and/or whose participation is less than 80%.
Undergraduate students

204-007-IO-01 International Human Resource Management

Academic Level: 500

Lecture, 2 ECTS Credits (50 hours per semester), 2 hours per week (25 hours per semester)

offered in spring/summer, fall/winter

Lecturer: Thomas Bartz

In this course we will think about all the topics HR is responsible for. This means, we will not only talk about HR as an “administrative” function, but try to grasp what value HR can add to the “business”. We will also link every topic to the ledership skills and abilities of Managers. Lectures, classroom discussions, and exercises/cases will center around: Contemporary leadership discussions involving transactional vs. transformational leadership approaches on the basis of motivation theories, Fundamentals of Labor Relations (Workers Councils, Unions, Collective Agreements), Equality and Diversity, International HR, Discipline, Grievance and HR Planning, Personnel Development and Talent Management Programs, Recruitment and Selection, Performance Management (from objective setting to performance rating), Rewarding (Compensation & Benefits), including bonus and incentive scheme.

Assessment: Written exam, presentations
Prerequisites: Background in Business/Economics and a basic understanding of business processes
Undergraduate students (number of Undergraduates is limited to 6), Graduate students

204-007-IO-02 Cases International Management

Academic Level: 500

Lecture, 3 ECTS Credits (75 hours per semester), 2 hours per week (25 hours per semester)

offered in spring/summer, fall/winter

Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Erskin Blunck

This course is offered as a mix between lecture and case study discussion. It provides theory and case studies of international management. The students deal with the impact of the cultural, economic, political and legal environment on management of multinational enterprises. They learn to consider the specifics of international trade. Furthermore, the influence of regional economic integrations like NAFTA and EU on organisation's success in business will be studied. The consequences of factor mobility and foreign direct investments for international trade will be discussed. The course concludes with international business strategy.

Assessment: Written exam
Prerequisites: Background in Business/Economics and introductory classes in Marketing and Management
Undergraduate students (number of Undergraduates is limited to 6), Graduate students

204-029-IO-01 Business Challenge

Academic Level: 500

Lecture, 6 ECTS Credits (150 hours per semester), 4 hours per week (45 hours per semester)

offered in spring/summer

Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Erskin Blunck, Prof. Dr. Christian Arndt

The goal of this business challenge is to develop a successful business model for open innovation at FESTOOL, a world leading supplier of power tools. The company has developed a new product for waste management that can be very interesting for urban construction sites that suffer from limitations in space for waste storage equipment like truck containers. Further, it may help to save costs and emissions from dust and green house gases. But Festool is still searching for an innovative service business model to make this product invention a business innovation. Even the creation of a new scalable waste platform business model may be possible. The goal for the students of this Business Challenge is to co-create new service business models for this new product. Thereby, students from different disciplines will engage in open innovation, that is, they will blend external ideas with internal ones. Students will set up and use a Design Thinking process (problem understanding, solution, and value proposition). They will acquire competencies in the necessary methodologies, such as digital tools for project management, the business model canvas, co-working, co-creation, and a high level business plan. Finally, they will work together with innovation experts from Festool and pitch their business model in front of Festool top executives. FESTOOL is a multinational enterprise and is among the world leading companies that produce portable power tools. Company headquarter is in Wendlingen, near Nürtingen. Students will directly report to Chief Sales and Marketing Officer of FESTOOL, Christian Oltzscher, and his top management staff.

Assessment: Presentations, paper
Prerequisites: Background in Business/Economics and introductory class in Management
Undergraduate students (number of Undergraduates is limited to 6), Graduate students

204-032-IO-01 International Commercial Law

Academic Level: 500

Lecture, 3 ECTS Credits (75 hours per semester), 2 hours per week (25 hours per semester)

offered in spring/summer, fall/winter

Lecturer: Dr. Ulrich Schnelle

Different sections will introduce the students to the crucial aspects of International Commercial Law. The Section “Doing Business Abroad” offers the Choice of the appropriate marketing mode; The second section deals with “Negotiating and Drafting International Contracts”. The third section explores the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG); the Special Features of E-Commerce are content of the last section.

Assessment: Oral exam
Prerequisites: Introductory class in Business Law
Undergraduate students (number of Undergraduates is limited to 6), Graduate students

204-032-IO-02 Commercial Law

Academic Level: 500

Lecture, 2 ECTS Credits (50 hours per semester), 2 hours per week (25 hours per semester)

offered in spring/summer, fall/winter

Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Claudia Stachel

Entry into foreign markets, typical contracts in the international commerce (distribution, agency, licensing, cooperation), typical commercial terms (Incoterms, negotiable instruments), dispute resolution, relationship between Civil and Common Law exemplified by the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods, International Trade and Customs Law (WTO) and the Law of Supranational or Free Trade Organisations (European Union, Mercosur, APEC)

Assessment: Oral exam
Prerequisites: Introductory class in Business Law
Undergraduate students (number of Undergraduates is limited to 6), Graduate students

101-065-IO-01 Intercultural Management

Academic Level: 400

Lecture, 8 ECTS Credits (200 hours per semester), 6 hours per week (70 hours per semester)

offered in spring/summer

Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Carsten Herbes , Dr. Christian Carstensen

The course introduces theories and concepts of cultures and intercultural management. It enables students to evaluate theories and do further research on theories beyond those introduced in class. The class will start with clarifying why we need concepts and theories. It will then introduce different concepts of culture (Hofstede, Schein, Hall, Trompenaars etc.). Students will then test the concepts by applying them to their own experience (e.g. gathered while studying abroad). Moreover, we will look at the cultures of various regions / countries in detail and their implications for doing business. Students become aware of the implications of national and corporate cultures for international business activities. They recognize that activities of companies are often culturally bound and can apply their knowledge on practical examples. Moreover they learn how to apply concepts of intercultural management in research papers such as their bachelor thesis. Asia will be picked as one region and analyzed in more detail.

Assessment: Written exam, presentations
Prerequisites: Business/Economics, Management (intermediate level) and a good knowledge of English is required. The professor reserves the right to refuse students whose English is not sufficient to pass the course and/or whose participation is less than 80%.
Undergraduate students

104-030-IO-01 Intercultural Management

Academic Level: 500

Lecture, 3 ECTS Credits (75 hours per semester), 2 hours per week (25 hours per semester)

offered in fall/winter

Lecturer: Dr. Christian Carstensen

The course introduces theories and concepts of cultures and intercultural management. It enables students to evaluate theories and do further research on theories beyond those introduced in class. The class will introduce different concepts of culture (Hofstede, Schein, Hall, Trompenaars etc.). Concepts of intercultural conflict and intercultural communication will be analyzed. Students will then test the concepts by applying them to their own experience (e.g. gathered while studying abroad). Moreover, we will look at the cultures of various regions / countries in detail and their implications for doing business. Students become aware of the implications of national and corporate cultures for international business activities. They recognize that activities of companies are often culturally bound and can apply their knowledge on practical examples.

Assessment: Written exam
Prerequisites: Business/Economics, Management (intermediate level) and a good knowledge of English is required. The professor reserves the right to refuse students whose English is not sufficient to pass the course and/or whose participation is less than 80%.
Undergraduate students, Graduate students

203-012-IO-01 Intercultural Communication

Academic Level: 200

Lecture, 2 ECTS Credits (50 hours per semester), 2 hours per week (25 hours per semester)

offered in spring/summer, fall/winter

Lecturer: Tuelay Schmid

The course helps students to understand the different dimensions of culture. They will explore the difference between national and organizational cultures, the relationships and rules, managing time, and they will analyze different case studies.

Assessment: Presentations, paper
Prerequisites: Academic/Business Writing
Undergraduate students

204-009-IO-01 Intercultural Competence

Academic Level: 500

Lecture, 2 ECTS Credits (50 hours per semester), 2 hours per week (25 hours per semester)

offered in fall/winter, spring/summer

Lecturer: Dipl.-Kfm. Lars Hauschild

The purpose of this intercultural competence lecture is to gain a better understanding of cultures. It provides an overview of themes and issues in German culture and communication style as well as in foreign cultures. Finally provides help dealing with the different way-of-life’s and integrating in case in the different way-of-life’s. Another focus of the lecture is global strategy and global management and the intercultural challenges associated with it. Finally, current megatrends are highlighted and discussed to find out, which intercultural competencies are necessary to deal with these megatrends successfully today and in the futur.

Assessment: Written exam
Prerequisites: Business/Economics, Management (intermediate level)
Undergraduate students with special permission (number of Undergraduates is limited to 6), Graduate students

N20G01 German for Beginners (A1.1)

Academic Level: 100

Lecture, 4 ECTS Credits (100 hours per semester), 2 hours per week (25 hours per semester)

offered in spring/summer, fall/winter

Seminar: Petra Velten

This course is for students who have no knowledge of the German language. This course should take them up to A1.1 Level (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages CEFR). Students in this class will gain a basic ability to communicate and exchange information in a simple way. Participants need to buy a textbook: A1 Kurs- und Übungsbuch mit MP3-CD, 168 pages. ISBN: 978-3-12-676313-4, Klett Verlag

Assessment: Written exam
Undergraduate students, Graduate students

N20G02 German for Beginners (A1.2)

Academic Level: 100

Lecture, 4 ECTS Credits (100 hours per semester), 2 hours per week (25 hours per semester)

offered in spring/summer, fall/winter

Seminar: Petra Velten

This course is for students who have some knowledge of the German language A1.1 level (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages CEFR). This course should take them up to A1.2 level (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages CEFR). Students in this class will gain a basic ability to communicate and exchange information in a simple way. Participants need to buy a textbook: A1 Kurs- und Übungsbuch mit MP3-CD, 168 pages. ISBN: 978-3-12-676313-4, Klett Verlag

Assessment: Written exam
Undergraduate students, Graduate students

N20G03 German for Beginners (A2.1)

Academic Level: 100

Lecture, 4 ECTS Credits (100 hours per semester), 2 hours per week (25 hours per semester)

HFWU reserves the right to cancel this course if it has not enrolled enough students before the beginning of the course's instruction.

offered in spring/summer, fall/winter

Seminar: Selina Seitz-Schnabl

This course is for students who have some basic knowledge of the German language. This course should take them up to A2.1 Level (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages CEFR). Students in this class will gain an ability to deal with simple, straightforward information and begin to express oneself in familiar contexts. Participants need to buy a textbook: A2 Kurs- und Übungsbuch mit MP3-CD, 212 pages. ISBN: 978-3-12-676314-1, Klett Verlag

Assessment: Written exam
Prerequisite: Some basic knowledge of German
Undergraduate students, Graduate students

N20G04 German Intermediate (B1.1)

Academic Level: 100

Lecture, 4 ECTS Credits (100 hours per semester), 2 hours per week (25 hours per semester)

HFWU reserves the right to cancel this course if it has not enrolled enough students before the beginning of the course's instruction.

offered in spring/summer, fall/winter

Seminar: Bettina von Hornhardt

This course is designed to provide foreign students with basic prior background in German with a chance to further their knowledge (alongside their mainstream studies). The aim of this course is to introduce the students to the basic linguistics encountered in everyday situations. Instructional emphasis will be placed on the development of basic vocabulary as well as grammatical forms. A range of themes relevant to everyday life in Germany will be covered – examples from the “Family and Work” topic include searching for accommodation, health care, and the educational system. Participants need to buy a textbook: B1 Kurs- und Übungsbuch mit MP3-CD, 256 pages. ISBN: 978-3-12-676315-8, Klett Verlag

Assessment: Written exam
Prerequisite: Basic knowledge of German
Undergraduate students, Graduate students

N20G06 Germany at a Glance

Academic Level: 100

Lecture, 4 ECTS Credits (100 hours per semester), 3 hours per week (35 hours per semester)

offered in spring/summer, fall/winter

Seminar: Udo Renner

This course introduces students to German history, geography, politics and the cultural legacy of the country. The focus is on historical events in medieval and early modern times, such as the German Reformation and the Thirty Years War, the main focus is on the nineteenth and twentieth century. In particular, the course will involve the study of the German Confederation, the formation of the Prusso-German nation-state and the imperial era, the period of the World Wars, and the history of the two Germanys after the end of the Third Reich and their path to the reunification. Moreover, students will be familiar with basics in German geography, the political, media and health care system as well as cultural traditions.

Assessment: Written exam, participation in class and excursions (three field trips)
Undergraduate students, Graduate students

N20G07 German Online (A1-A2)

Academic Level: 100

Lecture, 4 ECTS Credits (100 hours per semester), 2 hours per week (25 hours per semester)

HFWU reserves the right to cancel this course if it has not enrolled enough students before the beginning of the course's instruction.

offered in spring/summer, fall/winter

Seminar: Irmi Baumann

Get basic knowledge of German, study-oriented language training for international students. Modular course structure: weekly modules with topics relevant for students such as information about Germany and Europe, presentation techniques, reading, writing and listening skills, applications, communication and marketing, tourism, intercultural training, also Business German modules for advanced students (additional topics on demand); grammar and vocabulary training is integrated within modules. Modern practice-orientated e-teaching methods and tools (Adobe Connect) within modern e-learning scenario, taught in groups on levels A1.1-A1.2, A2.1-A2.2 (depending on students’ previous knowledge), maximum 16 students per class. Students have to sign a learning contract including regular attendance both in virtual classroom and on learning platform, final exam, (oral presentation and written exam). Handouts and other materials will be provided in the course.

Assessment: Written exam, oral presentation
Undergraduate students, Graduate students

N20G08 German Online (B1-C1)

Academic Level: 100

Lecture, 4 ECTS Credits (100 hours per semester), 2 hours per week (25 hours per semester)

HFWU reserves the right to cancel this course if it has not enrolled enough students before the beginning of the course's instruction.

offered in spring/summer, fall/winter

Seminar: Irmi Baumann

Get basic knowledge of German, study-oriented language training for international students. Modular course structure: weekly modules with topics relevant for students such as information about Germany and Europe, presentation techniques, reading, writing and listening skills, applications, communication and marketing, tourism, intercultural training, also Business German modules for advanced students (additional topics on demand); grammar and vocabulary training is integrated within modules. Modern practice-orientated e-teaching methods and tools (Adobe Connect) within modern e-learning scenario, taught in groups on levels B1.1-B1.2, B2.1-B2.2, C1.1-C1.2 (depending on students’ previous knowledge), maximum 16 students per class. Students have to sign a learning contract including regular attendance both in virtual classroom and on learning platform, final exam, (oral presentation and written exam). Handouts and other materials will be provided in the course.

Assessment: Written exam, oral presentation
Undergraduate students, Graduate students

IO.001.004 Social Sciences and Service Learning

Academic Level: 100

Lecture, 8 ECTS Credits (200 hours per semester), 2 hours per week (25 hours per semester)

offered in spring/summer, fall/winter

Seminar: Julia Filipps, M.A.

This lecture shall give a first look into the topics, methods and theories of social sciences. We will look into topics like social change, modern family development, social action, social stratification and inequality with a sociologist’s perspective. A closer look will be taken on global social inequality. Students will learn to use popular statistical indices and reports. The lecture is based on texts of modern sociologist Anthony Giddens, but students will also learn about classical theorists like Weber and Marx. To combine the lecture with their service learning experience, students will do a short presentation of their internship in community engagement in Nuertingen. The second part of this presentation will be on a more theoretical subject. Students have also to write a paper on a theoretical subject. The grade will be based on both presentation and paper. Attendance and active participation in class is required and will also have an impact on the grade. In addition to the lecture students have to do 40 hours of voluntary work in Nuertingen in order to fulfill the requirements in community engagement.

Assessment: Presentations, paper, participation in class, 40 hours of voluntary work
Prerequisite: a good level of English is required
Undergraduate students, Graduate students

N20E03 English for the office

Academic Level: 100

Lecture, 3 ECTS Credits (75 hours per semester), 2 hours per week (25 hours per semester)

Not recommended for English native speakers

offered in spring/summer, fall/winter

Seminar: Anette Bradbury

In this course you will acquire the skills needed for working in a business English office environment. In addition to typical workplace skills such as small talk, English on the telephone and business correspondence structural language used in meetings and presentations will be introduced, consolidated and practiced in authentic role-play situations, enabling you to gain routine and confidence in all areas of English application and communication at the workplace.

Assessment: Written exam
Undergraduate students, Graduate students

N20E04 English for everyday use

Academic Level: 100

Lecture, 3 ECTS Credits (75 hours per semester), 2 hours per week (25 hours per semester)

Not recommended for English native speakers

offered in spring/summer, fall/winter

Seminar: Anette Bradbury

The aim of this course is to build up and develop the English skills required for effective communication in everyday situations. In the lessons you will acquire fundamental language skills such as the correct use of present, past and future tenses, prepositions together with phrases and expressions frequently used in conversation scenarios. Newly-acquired language skills will be consolidated and practiced in authentic role-play situations encountered in a general English-speaking environment. Accuracy, routine and confidence with active use of English are the central goals worked towards in this course.

Assessment: Written exam
Undergraduate students, Graduate students

N20E06 Business English - Level 2

Academic Level: 100

Lecture, 3 ECTS Credits (75 hours per semester), 2 hours per week (25 hours per semester), offered in two groups

offered in spring/summer, fall/winter

Seminar: Judith Guenzler

As there will be some lectures and the possibility to write term papers in English during your complete studies, it is recommended to keep up your level of English. This course is designed to help you improve your spoken and written English as well as dealing with some tricky grammar issues. The content is business oriented, such as Products and Brands, Financial Issues, Mergers and Acquisitions and Human Resources. There will be a written and oral (presentation) examination at the end, which will be rewarded with a Certificate on passing both parts of the examination.

Assessment: Written exam, presentation
Undergraduate students, Graduate students

N20E05 General English II

Academic Level: 100

Lecture, 3 ECTS Credits (75 hours per semester), 2 hours per week (25 hours per semester), offered in two groups

Not recommended for English native speakers

offered in spring/summer, fall/winter

Seminar: Judith Guenzler

This is a general purpose English course designed expressly for university students in order to bridge the gap between B1 and B2 level language skills. The focus will be on reviewing key areas of grammar, vocabulary expansion, improving reading and listening skills, and will cover such topics as communication, travel and globalisation.

Assessment: Written exam
Undergraduate students, Graduate students

N20E07 Exploring the U.S.A.

Academic Level: 100

Lecture, 3 ECTS Credits (75 hours per semester), 2 hours per week (25 hours per semester)

Not recommended for English native speakers

offered in spring/summer, fall/winter

Seminar: Steven Kerns

Practice and extend your English-speaking skills discussing different aspects of life in the U.S.A. Some of the topics planned are: Why immigrants came and continue to come to the US; regional differences in customs and cuisine; current events; how Americans view themselves and the rest of the world. Since the classes will be exclusively in English, a minimum B2 level is a prerequisite.

Assessment: Presentation
Undergraduate students, Graduate students

N20E08 General English II

Academic Level: 100

Lecture, 3 ECTS Credits (75 hours per semester), 2 hours per week (25 hours per semester), offered in two groups

Not recommended for English native speakers

offered in spring/summer, fall/winter

Seminar: Steven Kerns

Assessment: Written exam
Undergraduate students, Graduate students

N20E09 Business English - Level 2

Academic Level: 100

Lecture, 3 ECTS Credits (75 hours per semester), 2 hours per week (25 hours per semester), offered in two groups

offered in spring/summer, fall/winter

Seminar: Steven Kerns

Assessment: Written exam, presentation
Undergraduate students, Graduate students

203-005-IO-01 English in Business and Economics

Academic Level: 200

Lecture, 2 ECTS Credits (50 hours per semester), 2 hours per week (25 hours per semester), offered in two groups

Not recommended for English native speakers

offered in spring/summer, fall/winter

Seminar: Dr. Yasmine Kaiser

Students in this class learn hints and language for a successful presentation in a business environment. They will know how to describe companies, products and trends. The students will be introduced to management: tasks and qualities of managers, marketing, advertising and promotional tools, recruitment, markets and business cycles.

Assessment: Paper
Undergraduate students

Landscape, Democracy and the European Union

Academic Level: 500

Lecture, 8 ECTS Credits (150 hours per semester), 2 hours per week (25 hours per semester)

This course is also open to Business and Economics students!

offered in spring/summer, fall/winter

Seminar: Dr. Ellen Fetzer, Prof. Dr. Michael Roth

The webinar ‘Landscape, democracy in the European Union’ aims to bridge knowledge gaps between the objectives of the Europe 2020 strategy, relevant EU policies, programmes and instruments in the fields of environment and regional development. This module is funded by the Jean-Monnet-Programme of the European Union. After successful completion of the course, learners are expected to have developed: a holistic understanding of the EU’s overall vision and strategic goals, knowledge of how EU environmental policies are made, knowledge of how the EU’s environmental policy links to related but equally relevant policy fields, in particular agriculture and rural development, regional and urban policy and climate action, knowledge of how EU policy is related to and complementing with other international/European policy actors in the field of environment/landscape and sustainable development, knowledge of European instruments and funding schemes for sustainable development, competence to link a local landscape context to the EU’s policy framework and to conceive sustainable solutions that make constructive use of EU instruments and funding schemes (such as Life+ and Interreg projects, Natural Capital Financing Facility, Green direct payments for farmers) - Online registration until 31 March 2020: http://www.eu-ladder.eu

Assessment: Seminar paper
Prerequisite: a good level of English is required
Undergraduate students, Graduate students

Planning and Project Management 1

Academic Level: 500

Lecture, 5 ECTS Credits (125 hours per semester), 5 hours per week (60 hours per semester)

offered in spring/summer

Seminar: Jan Gittinger

Students will learn how to plan and execute projects successfully through collaborative thinking, team work and suitable development and practice of methods. Significant emphasis is placed on self-evaluation and the student’s reflection on their own position in the team.

Assessment: Presentation, written/graphic work
Prerequisite: Basics in Landscape Architecture
Undergraduate students, Graduate students

Information Technologies in Planning and Design 1

Academic Level: 500

Seminar, 5 ECTS Credits (125 hours per semester), 5 hours per week (60 hours per semester)

offered in spring/summer

Seminar: Werner Rolf, Prof. Dr. Olaf Schroth

In the courses on Geographical Information Systems (GIS; GIS 1, GIS2), students learn how to solve landscape planning and landscape architecture exercises with digital tools. This will then be used to analyse facets of the main project. Questions of data transfer and workflow between the programs are dealt with.

Assessment: Presentation, written/graphic work
Prerequisite: Basics in Landscape Architecture
Undergraduate students, Graduate students

Planning and Design Methods 1

Academic Level: 500

Seminar, 5 ECTS Credits (125 hours per semester), 5 hours per week (60 hours per semester)

offered in spring/summer

Seminar: Different Professors

Planning and design Methods are taught and compared. Students are taught to reflect on systems analysis and problem-oriented basics.The landscape democracy course focusses on participatory approaches to planning and design.

Assessment: Written/graphic work
Prerequisite: Basics in Landscape Architecture
Undergraduate students, Graduate students

Landscape Basics

Academic Level: 500

Seminar, 5 ECTS Credits (125 hours per semester), 5 hours per week (60 hours per semester)

offered in spring/summer

Seminar: Prof. Dr. Lenz and others

The aim of this module is to provide students with adequate knowledge and to understand the basic element which are shaping the landscape. Information about the quality of the nature as well as managed and designed environment (landscape ecology, soils, water, vegetation, planting design). Knowledge can then referred and applied in the design and management of the landscape.

Assessment:
Prerequisite: Some basics in Landscape Architecture
Undergraduate students, Graduate students

Planning and Project Management 2

Academic Level: 500

Seminar, 5 ECTS Credits (125 hours per semester), 5 hours per week (60 hours per semester)

offered in fall/winter

Seminar: Prof. Ingrid Schegk, Jan Gittinger

Students learn how to conceptualize organizational procedures and communicate appropriately within the teams.

Assessment: Presentations, written/graphic work
Prerequisite: Basics in Landscape Architecture or Urban Planning
Undergraduate students, Graduate students

Information Technologies in Planning and Design 2

Academic Level: 500

Seminar, 5 ECTS Credits (125 hours per semester), 5 hours per week (60 hours per semester)

offered in fall/winter

Seminar: Prof. Dr. Olaf Schroth

In this course, students learn how to solve landscape planning and landscape architecture exercises with digital tools. This will then be used to analyse facets of the main project. Questions of data transfer and workflow between the programs are dealt with. Course 1 of this module deals with Digital Elevation Models (DGM) and Visualisation; course 2 is an IT seminar, usually analyzing some open source software for planning and design.

Assessment: Presentations, paper
Prerequisite: Basics in Landscape Architecture
Undergraduate students, Graduate students

Planning and Design Methods 2

Academic Level: 500

Seminar, 5 ECTS Credits (125 hours per semester), 5 hours per week (60 hours per semester)

offered in fall/winter

Seminar: Prof. Ingrid Schegk, Prof. Dr. Michael Roth, Dr.-Ing. Ellen Fetzer

Students learn the basics of models and strategies of concept development and analysis. Creative perspectives on planning and design will be demonstrated with concrete examples. Students design, implement and document a self-directed research during the module. This module consists of the two courses Landscape Architecture Research and Monitoring and Evaluation.

Assessment: Presentations, paper
Prerequisite: Basics in Landscape Architecture or Urban Planning
Undergraduate students, Graduate students

International Planning and Design

Academic Level: 500

Seminar, 5 ECTS Credits (125 hours per semester), 5 hours per week (60 hours per semester)

offered in fall/winter

Seminar: Prof. Dr. Markus Reinke, Prof. Dr. Sabrina Wilk

Students learn how to manage international and cross-border planning and organization. They are exposed to present and prospective work environments and concepts of landscape architecture in other countries. A particular focus is on European law, which influences building practice. This module consists of the two courses: Planning systems and International Approach to Planning and Design.

Assessment: Presentations, paper
Prerequisite: Basics in Landscape Architecture
Undergraduate students, Graduate students

Strategic Management (Geislingen campus)

Academic Level: 400

Lecture, 2 ECTS Credits (75 hours per semester), 2 hours per week (25 hours per semester)

offered in spring/summer, fall/winter

Seminar: Prof. Dr. Horst Blumenstock

This course deals with the following topics: Introduction in strategy and strategic management, Corporate values and goals, Internal analysis: core competencies and business flexibility, External analysis: the competitive environment, Competitive advantage: generic strategy and strategy directions, Strategic implementation and management, International and global strategies

Assessment: Written exam, presentations, paper
Prerequisite: Background in Business/Economics, Introductory class in Management and Academic/Business Writing
Undergraduate students, Graduate students

Innovation Management (Geislingen campus)

Academic Level: 400

Lecture, 3 ECTS Credits (75 hours per semester), 2 hours per week (25 hours per semester)

offered in spring/summer, fall/winter

Seminar: Prof. Dr. Malte Ackermann

Drivers of Innovation: Complex Systems - VUCA, Digitalization & Speed of Technological Change
Innovation & Innovation Management: Types of Innovation, Innovation as a Process , Industry Life Cycle, Design Dominance, Product & Service Innovation, Open Innovation
External Conditions: Funding's & Government Incentives, Entrepreneurship & Start-ups
Internal Conditions: Innovation Methods, Lean Startup, Design Thinking, Business Model Innovation, Culture & Organization

Assessment: Written exam, presentations, paper
Prerequisite: Background in Business/Economics, Introductory class in Management
Undergraduate students, Graduate students

Mobility as a Service (Geislingen campus)

Academic Level: 400

Lecture, 2,5 ECTS Credits (75 hours per semester), 2 hours per week (25 hours per semester)

offered in spring/summer, fall/winter

Seminar: Prof. Dr. Malte Ackermann

Introduction: Market Overview – Traditional Business vs. Mobility Sector, Why Mobility as-a-Service: Enabler & Megatrends, Anything-as-a-Service o Autonomous and Connected Vehicles, Modes of Mobility: Drive, Be-Driven, Platform, Established Players vs. New Entrants: OEMs – Activities, Start-ups and Tech Companies – Activities, Investments & M&A, New Skills & New Challenges Outlook

Assessment: Written exam, presentations, paper
Prerequisite: Background in Business/Economics, Introductory class in Management
Undergraduate students, Graduate students

Digital Transformation (Geislingen campus)

Academic Level: 400

Lecture, 2,5 ECTS Credits (75 hours per semester), 2 hours per week (25 hours per semester)

offered in spring/summer, fall/winter

Seminar: Prof. Dr. Malte Ackermann

What is Digital Transformation: Digital Revolution, Theoretical Framework, Electronic Business, Learning from Tech Giants; Drivers of Digitalization; Implications and Learnings of Digitalization; Digital Transformation in the Automotive Industry: Internet of Things, Connected and Autonomous Car, Digital Customer Experience; Mobiltiy as a Service

Assessment: Written exam, presentations, paper
Prerequisite: Background in Business/Economics, Introductory class in HR Management, Academic/Business Writing
Undergraduate students, Graduate students

Internationalization Strategies (Geislingen campus)

Academic Level: 400

Lecture, 3 ECTS Credits (75 hours per semester), 2 hours per week (25 hours per semester)

offered in spring/summer, fall/winter

Seminar: Dr. Rudi Holz

This course delivers aspects on internationalization strategies like: Market Entry Strategies, Timing Strategies, Export Strategies, Licensing, Internationalization Strategies, Country Risks with a focus on the automotive industry

Assessment: Written exam, presentations, paperPrerequisite: Background in Business/Economics, Introductory class in Marketing and Management Undergraduate students, Graduate students

Climate Change Policies (Geislingen campus)

Academic Level: 400

Lecture, 2 ECTS Credits (50 hours per semester), 2 hours per week (25 hours per semester)

HFWU reserves the right to cancel this course if it has not enrolled enough students before the beginning of the course's instruction.

offered in spring/summer, blocked seminar beginning of May

Web-based seminar: Prof. Dr. Marc Ringel

Participants will actively work on up-to-date problems connected with climate change issues and the international policy responses to tackle these problems. Students will analyse the various facets of climate change issues and the post-Paris Agreement strategies for lowering greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to global warming. Participants will review the stance of the European Commission and various countries in the international negotiations. An in-depth topic will be the European emissions trading scheme which is presently the only cross-border scheme on a global scale. The functioning and features of this scheme will be analysed in detail and its benefits and challenges discussed. Climate change research undertaken in the EU will be a further topic, highlighting the input of European scientists into clarifying mitigation and adaptation processes. Students will be asked to write research papers on given topics and present them to their peers.

Assessment: Graded seminar paper
Prerequisite: Economics (intermediate level)
Undergraduate students, Graduate students

Business English (Geislingen campus)

Academic Level: 400

Lecture, 2 ECTS Credits (50 hours per semester), 2 hours per week (25 hours per semester)

Not recommended for English native speakers

offered in spring/summer, fall/winter

Lecture: Sylvia Best

The main focus in this course is the spoken language, the students will get to discuss, present and report various topics from the international business world in class. This way they can broaden their vocabulary and train idiomatic phrases used in Business English

Assessment: Written exam, oral exam, presentations
Prerequisite: Background in Business/Economics, introductory class in Management
Undergraduate students, Graduate students

Cross Cultural Communication and Business Etiquette (Geislingen campus)

Academic Level: 400

Lecture, 3 ECTS Credits (75 hours per semester), 2 hours per week (25 hours per semester)

offered in spring/summer, fall/winter

Lecture: Dr. Renate Reck

Students will be introduced to strategies and skills of intercultural communication enabling them to better understand and overcome cultural differences needed for conducting international business. They will gain insight into the communicative requirements for doing business abroad by: assessing own cultural themes and patterns, examining various geographic regions, identifying cultural themes and patterns of other geographical regions, identifying business conduct and business practices as well as the protocol of greetings, and titles/forms of address in other countries, understanding where potential obstacles may lie in intercultural communication

Assessment: Written exam
Prerequisite: Introductory class in Management
Undergraduate students, Graduate students

Negotiations in an International Context (Geislingen campus)

Academic Level: 400

Lecture, 3 ECTS Credits (75 hours per semester), 2 hours per week (25 hours per semester)

offered in spring/summer, fall/winter

Lecture: Dr. Renate Reck

Students in this course get comprehensive English language training for different business purposes. They learn how to negotiate in English across different cultures, applying the method of the Harvard Concept and use negotiating terms, phrases, and expressions. The students learn and practise the organisation and communication skills required in an environment with international business partners in different role plays. The course emphasises on cultural sensitivity in business and communicating across cultures with the help of rhetoric, style and body language. The students read articles on selected topics from relevant periodicals to evaluate and discuss the content. The goal is to improve the English language skills to enable students to negotiate in English, improve their non-verbal communication and to make them familiar with international business etiquette.

Assessment: Written exam, presentations
Prerequisite: Background in Business/Economics, introductory class in Management
Undergraduate students, Graduate students

Strategic Management (Geislingen campus)

Academic Level: 400

Lecture, 5 ECTS Credits (125 hours per semester), 4 hours per week (45 hours per semester)

offered in spring/summer, fall/winter

Lecture: Prof. Dr. Malte Ackermann

What is Strategy? Rationale behind Strategy: Market-Based & Resource-based View
Strategic Analysis: Strategic Process, External Analysis, Internal Analysis, Competitive Advantage
Formulation of Strategy: Business-Level Strategy, Corporate Strategy, Global Strategy
Implementation of Strategy: Organizational Design
Organizational Cultures & Norms

Assessment: Written exam, presentations, paper
Prerequisite: Background in Business/Economics, introductory class in Management, Academic/Business Writing
Undergraduate students, Graduate students

Development Management (Geislingen campus)

Academic Level: 500

Lecture, 2,5 ECTS Credits (62,5 hours per semester), 2 hours per week (25 hours per semester)

offered in spring/summer, fall/winter

Lecture: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Reinhold Bopp M.S.

This course is offered within the Master Degree Program “Automotive Management”. The following subject areas will be covered by the lecture: Framework of Product Development in the Automotive Industry, Innovation and R&D-Management, Creativity and Knowledge Management, Project Management, Product Development Organization, Vehicle Development and Product Evolution Process, Phases of the Product Evolution Process, Virtual Car Process, Integration Processes, Target Management, Release and Change Management, Quality Management, Primary and Secondary Complete Vehicle Characteristics, Integration of Partners and Suppliers, Development Controlling, Lean Development

Assessment: Written exam
Prerequisite: Background in Business/Economics, Marketing, Management, Finance and Accounting (all intermediate level)
Undergraduate students, Graduate students

Intercultural Management (Geislingen campus)

Academic Level: 300

Lecture, 2,5 ECTS Credits (62,5 hours per semester), 2 hours per week (25 hours per semester)

offered in spring/summer, fall/winter

Lecture: Karen Lehle

Students learn how to behave in an international and intercultural environment. On the basis of realistic cases they practise teamwork, role plays and presentations and they are expected to explore the importance of working together as well as leadership. The course prepares the students to work abroad as well as to work in international teams with members coming from different countries. Students learn to understand the differences in intercultural communication and how to use this knowledge in an international work environment.

Assessment: Presentations, paper
Prerequisite: Introductory class in Management, at least 2 years of English
Undergraduate students

International Management I (Geislingen campus)

Academic Level: 500

Lecture, 5 ECTS Credits (125 hours per semester), 4 hours per week (45 hours per semester)

offered in spring/summer, fall/winter

Lecture: Prof. Dr. Wolfram Sopha

This course is offered within the Master Degree Program “Automotive Management”
Sustainable Mobility I - concepts and methodologies: This course describes the integration of (strategic) concepts and tools to improve social, environmental and economic aspects in the organization line. Therefore, the company targets have to be aligned with sustainable development. This orientation or alignment has become a strategically important task of today's corporate policy. It is also necessary to manage the company so that it is permanently endures; the survival is therefore the primary goal of sustainable management. Finally, it should be attempted to make a positive contribution to the company's sustainable development of society. Consequently, the long-term development of the company is at the center in sustainability management. International Market & Sales Structures: Globalization is one of the biggest new challenges for the automotive industry. The mostly national environment has been replaced by an international one. In addition to facts, figures and forecasts this lecture tries to show what trends and challenges are facing the automotive industry in the context of globalization, and what measures it can take. Relevant market entry strategies and sales structures in primarily emerging markets will be developed in small teams based on different case studies.

Assessment: Written exam, presentations, paper
Prerequisite: Background in Business/Economics, Marketing, Management, Finance and Accounting (all intermediate level), Academic/Business Writing
Undergraduate students, Graduate students

Business English I-III (Geislingen campus)

Academic Level: 200

Lecture, 2,5 ECTS Credits (62,5 hours per semester), 2 hours per week (25 hours per semester)

Not recommended for English native speakers

offered in spring/summer, fall/winter

Lecture: Karen Lehle

There are three Business Engish courses offered at different levels, Busines English I, Business English II and Business English III. Students will learn English for Business which is used in business and economics. Through a combination of reading, writing, listening and speaking tasks, the students focus on topics such as company structure, business travel, company results and communication at work. Students must have a high level of competence in English, as the course is held entirely in English at different levels.

Assessment: Written exam
Prerequisite: Academic/Business Writing
Undergraduate students

Real Estate English (Geislingen campus)

Academic Level: 500

Lecture, 3 ECTS Credits (75 hours per semester), 2 hours per week (25 hours per semester)

offered in spring/summer

Seminar: Gisela Francis Vogt

Students learn and practice specialized vocabulary on the following topics: Real estate technical terms, Market and location analyzes, building descriptions, real estate transactions, contracts, building descriptions and standards, rents and leases, project development, asset and real estate management. This course will be held either in Geislingen or Cambridge/UK. The decision on the location will be made in December. For Cambridge you have to pay travel expenses and accommodation. This course is combined with International Property Markets. You can choose one or both together.

Assessment: Presentations, paper
Prerequisite: Background in Real Estate Management
Undergraduate students, Graduate students

International Real Estate Challenge (IREC) (Geislingen campus)

Academic Level: 500

Lecture, 8 ECTS Credits (200 hours per semester), 6 hours per week (70 hours per semester)

offered in fall/winter, 2 weeks in January

Lecture: Prof. Dr. Dieter Rebitzer

The International Real Estate Challenge (IREC) is an annual student competition. Universities from several countries participate. The students develop in teamwork a project idea for a fictional task. The objective is to produce a project that can be implemented in real terms, which is judged by an expert jury. Over a two-week period, students apply their knowledge in mixed international groups by assessing the client's needs and analyzing potential properties in multiple cities. Students visit properties, interview local agents, and carry out fieldwork in these cities. This provides each group with decision-relevant, real-world data. Each group, which is accompanied professionally and methodically by professors as tutors, produces a report and a professional presentation. By the way, the students gain practical experience in international teamwork. This competition will take place in several European cities. You have to pay travel expenses, accommodation, and other costs. Registration deadline is end of October.

Assessment: Written exam, presentations
Prerequisite: Background in Real Estate Management
Undergraduate students, Graduate students

Real Estate Case Study (Geislingen campus)

Academic Level: 500

Seminar, 6 ECTS Credits (150 hours per semester), 4 hours per week (45 hours per semester)

offered in fall/winter

Lecture: Prof. Dr. Dieter Rebitzer

Students work on a practice-oriented case study covering one of the following topics: Real Estate Economics, Location and Market Analysis, Building Analysis, Real Estate Markets, Real Estate Valuation, Real Estate Transactions, Real Estate Investment, Housing Economics, Asset Management, Brownfield Development.

Assessment: Presentations, paper
Prerequisite: Background in Real Estate Management
Undergraduate students, Graduate students

General Studies (Geislingen campus)

Academic Level: 500

Seminar, 6 ECTS Credits (150 hours per semester), 4 hours per week (45 hours per semester)

offered in fall/winter

Lecture: Prof. Dr. Dieter Rebitzer

Students get an insight into a current topic, which is currently being discussed in the industry. Examples of past courses: digitalization of business processes, building information modelling, modular and serial construction, affordable housing, reconstruction after natural disasters or new asset classes.

Assessment: Presentations, paper
Prerequisite: Background in Real Estate Management
Undergraduate students, Graduate students

International Property Markets (Geislingen campus)

Academic Level: 500

Seminar, 3 ECTS Credits (75 hours per semester), 2 hours per week (25 hours per semester)

offered in fall/winter

Lecture: Prof. Dr. Dieter Rebitzer

Students get an insight into current topics of international real estate markets. The course will cover features and characteristics of selected countries such as market structures, business environment, innovation, investment, valuation, financing, project development, law and taxation. This course will be held either in Geislingen or Cambridge/UK. The decision on the location will be made in December. For Cambridge you have to pay travel expenses and accommodation. This course is combined with Real Estate English. You can choose one or both together.

Assessment: Presentations, paper
Prerequisite: Background in Real Estate Management
Undergraduate students, Graduate students

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