DEGREE IN ECONOMICS

COURSE: FUNDAMENTALS OF MANAGEMENT

GLOBAL PROJECT
 Introduction to Business Management - Project guidelines

1.- Introduction
In this document you will find the guidelines for the realization of the group project that has to be handed as
part of the continuous assessment of the course on Fundamentals of Management.

At the end of this document the activity “Global Project” is presented. Its main aim is the practical application of
several theoretical contents acquired during the course on an organization selected by the group members.

Once the organization has been chosen, subject to approval by the professor, each team will create and submit
a report based on each of the parts of the so-called "Global Project". The delivery date of such report shall be
determined by the professor.

The group project will integrate all the parts of the “Global Project”. The different teams will submit their work
following format criteria and through the means established by the professor (e.g. through the ‘aulavirtual’ –
Moodle). In addition, they will present it on the date that indicates the professor.

The students will form teams composed by 3 to 5 members. All group members must belong to the same
practical subgroup. It is crucial to understand that, for obtaining a cooperative learning and a positive outcome,
all members must agree and comply with the agreed issues from the beginning.

2.- Use of information

The information required to perform the work can be obtained from various sources:
- Own documentation of the organization (website, corporate presentations, annual reports,
financial statements, information leaflets, corporate advertising, etc.).
- Newspapers and magazines.
- Sector reports, articles in professional journals, etc.
- Databases (INE, FACTIVA, SABI, PASSPORT,...).

Do not copy information directly from the sources. Avoid, in any case, "cut and paste" in order to avoid
committing plagiarism. Every manuscript will be checked for plagiarism prevention using different
techniques and software. The sources of information used should be cited in the text (in the place
where they are used) to know its origin. This serves to assess the accuracy and reliability of the
information provided and to recognize the authorship of it.
Besides the title, in all tables, charts, specific data and figures you should indicate its "source" of access.
All sources used (press articles, reports, books, company website, databases, etc.) should also be
included in the ‘references’ section.

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3.- Structure of the work

Next, we indicate the various parts to be included in the work, and a brief explanation of the issues to be
discussed at each part.

Title page
It must include, at least, the following information: title, full name of the team members, academic year, grade
and course name, name of the professor and elaboration date.

Index
It should include all general categories of the report as well as headings and subheadings, if any, with the
indication of the page on which they are located.
If you use any type of illustration (figures, graphs, tables, etc.), you must also develop, in addition to the overall
index, a specific index of graphs, tables, figures, etc. as appropriate.

Introduction
This section will indicate which are the objectives of the report and a synthesis of the different parts of it. In
addition, a brief presentation of the company and the reasons why it has been chosen by the team must be
developed. The description of the firm shall indicate what it does; where it is located; whether or not it belongs
to a group; its main products or services, etc.

Content
This part integrates each of the parts described at the "Global Project" section. In this segment you should
consistently, appropriately and structurally present the information through the use of general sections,
headings and subheadings.

Conclusions
Eventually, an assessment of the selected company and the information analyzed will be provided. In this section
the team might explain the impression that such company has caused them, make recommendations, etc. This
section will also be valued.

Diary of the group

Details of the activities that the group has been conducting: dates of contact with the organization, executives
who have been contacted, steps that have been followed, team meetings (number of participants, degree to
which each team member has complied with his/her assigned tasks, etc.), number of interviews with the contact
person in the company, information to which you have had access to, etc.

References
For the preparation of this section follow the instructions and recommendations developed by the library service
of the University of Valencia, which may be found in the following link:
http://www.uv.es/websbd/formacio/cites_2010.pdf

http://www.uv.es/websbd/serveis/citas_bibilios.pdf

Appendixes

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Any other document that the team believes may help to clarify the content of some of the work may be included
in this section.

4.- Oral presentation

Every work will be orally presented by the authors in front of the rest of the students on the dates indicated by
the professor (most surely on the last practice sessions). You might use any software to support your
presentation (PowerPoint, Prezi, YouTube videos, etc.).
Instructions, time available and some other relevant details will be provided by your professor. The professor
can decide which parts of the report must be presented and which member of the group must present each
specific part of the presentation. For this reason, it is important that every member of the team will be able to
present any part of the work and, therefore, be able to answer any query raised by the professor during the
presentation.

5. Attention to students
If you need assistance, do not hesitate contacting your professor during his/her office hours.

6. Useful sources of information

• Interviews
o note that usually an interview will be enough- should not last more than two hours (time limit),
and should include a visit to the facilities of the company (at least factory and warehouses
where applicable).
o Since the time allotted for the interview is usually limited, the team should carry a prepared
questionnaire with the questions that allow you to obtain all the information necessary to
perform each of the parts of the report. In this way, you will avoid to forget about important
questions and rationalize your time (and the one of the person who pays attention to you). It
is suggested to perform a "division of roles": e.g. a member of the team can try to ask the
questions, while others take notes of the interview and of the external stuff they observe (for
example, the distribution of machinery and equipment), since it is possible to develop the
interview while visiting the facilities.
o It might be interesting to record the interview or take pictures of the facilities (you must always
ask for permission). This type of audiovisual resources will only be accepted with the informed
consent of the company.
• Websites
o Some sections are rather interesting such as the ones related to the information about the
organization, information for shareholders, etc. Additionally, the ones describing the history,
milestones, customers, geographic coverage, activities, products or services of the company
might worth your attention.
• Annual reports
o They are usually available on the websites of companies.
o SABI, Orbis, Amadeus ...
• Profiles of the organization
o Passport, ABI / Proquest, specialized websites ...
• Managerial profiles
o LinkedIn, specialized websites, corporate websites ...
• Sectoral reports

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o Passport Euromonitor, ABI / Proquest, Chambers of Commerce, DBK, magazines or specialized

websites...
• Press reports
o Databases (e.g. Factiva), national press, economic press, sectoral or specialized magazines...
• Statistics
o INE, Eurostat, SABI...

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 Introduction to Business Management - Project guidelines

“GLOBAL PROJECT”

PURPOSE OF THE PROJECT

The realization of this project aims to develop organizational and planning skills, oral and written communication
skills, the ability to analyze and seek information from different sources, and the ability to work in teams.
Moreover, it endeavors to develop the basic knowledge of the characteristics and fundamentals of business
management, understand the relationship of the company with its environment, and understand the integration
and coherence of the different functions that make up a business organization.

The skill of team work will be relevant for a good development of the project. Therefore, we will pay special
attention to different procedural aspects: the file of the election of an organization, the one regarding the sharing
of responsibilities, the one about the schedule group, diary of the group, individual reports...). Finally, the
execution of this report will encourage independent learning, application of theoretical knowledge to practical
situations and decision-making.

TASKS TO DO

You must check whether there is sufficient available information released, belonging to the company allocated
to your group, and collect, from various sources (corporate website and other internet sources, economic
magazines, newspapers, annual reports, databases...) information about it. If possible (it is not mandatory), you
can interview any executive or employee of the company in order to complete the information.

It is also possible to perform a report on a less known company (and thus, with lower volume of published
information), but in that case, it will be necessary to contact them and have interviews with at least one manager
or owner thereof. As a general rule, the chosen company must have a minimum of 20 workers.

If necessary, when students contact the organization, they must request interviews with the CEO or any member
of the management team who they might consider appropriate for the precise development of the report. If
necessary, the team may get a cover letter signed by the professor.

PART I. DESCRIPTION OF A COMPANY AND ITS MANAGERIAL

STRUCTURES

A. Firm profile:
• Brief description of the company (it is important to summarize the information found, typing it in
your own words).
• Economic activity and subsector to which the company belongs (e.g. tertiary sector: Tourism, travel
agencies...).

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• Description of the products/services provided and identification of the type of target customers.
• Type of business according to its legal status.
• Size of the company according to European Commission criteria.

B. Mission and value proposition:

• Locate the mission statement of the company. Assess to what extent this statement helps to
understand what this company does. Why or for what reason does this organization exist? What does
it do? Which needs does it satisfy or what value does it create for its customers and owners? Are
other stakeholders taken into account? Which ones?

C. Management and Corporate Governance

• Identification of the General Manager or Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
o Brief description of his/her CV, meaningful data on training, professional experience,
etc.
• Description of the Corporate Governance structure of the organization.
o Which organs of government does the organization have?
o Has the company a Board of Directors (BoD)? Who are its members? Who do they
represent?
o Who are the members of the Top Management Team (TMT)? Do they overlap with
BoD? Are they formed by members with different characteristics and experiences?
Describe the TMT composition.
• Classify the CEO/General Manager according to the different "types of managers" studied in the
course.
o Scope of responsibilities: Main responsibilities of his/her function.
o Type of risk assumed by this person.
o Evaluation of his/her entrepreneurial orientation.

PART II. THE RELATIONSHIP OF THE COMPANY WITH ITS

ENVIRONMENT

D. Competitive environment
• Out of the different sectors/industries that are suppliers of the organization (or its competitors)…
Which ones do you think are those that have greater bargaining power against the company? Why?
Evaluate and compare the bargaining power of at least two of the supplier industries.
• Out of the different sectors/industries that the organization (or its competitors) serves …
Which ones do you think are those that have greater bargaining power against the company? Why?
Evaluate and compare the bargaining power of at least two of the customer industries.
• Are there any substitutes for the products/services offered by the organization (or its competitors)?
Which ones? Do you think they significantly threaten the profitability and survival of the

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organizations among the sector we are already analyzing? Why? Evaluate and compare the degree
and threat of substitution of at least two alternative industries (products / services).
• Do you think it is relatively easy for a firm to enter in this sector and to be competitive within a
short time? What factors hinder the entry of new organizations? Why?

E. General environment
• Identify at least two aspects of each of the factors of the general environment (PESTEL analysis) that
have a significant impact on the industry or sector where the chosen organization is embedded.
o Make a brief description of the variables or aspects corresponding to the considered
factor (PESTEL: Political, Economic, Socio-Cultural, Technological, Ecological, Legal).
o Assess the impact that such aspects has (or could have) in the sector, both in the
short, medium and long term.
o Once we have identified the variables, produce a table where we might graphically
and visually observe the positive, negative, or uncertain impact that these variables
have on the sector in the short, medium and long term.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Information collected to develop the PESTEL analysis must be as specific as possible,
providing data, figures, numbers and descriptions obtained from reliable sources. All sources of information must
be identified in this part of the report (and they should certainly be included in the reference list at the end of
the report).

F. Corporate Social Responsibility

• Does the company have any Social Responsibility report? Which stakeholders are taken into account
in such report?
• Is it embraced in any of the existent CSR models? Which ones?
• Indicate what types of actions are developed by the firm in order to be responsible with each of the
stakeholders previously identified.

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PART III. PERFORMANCE AND FUNCTIONS OF THE COMPANY

G. Current situation of the firm and firm position within its sector
• Evaluate the current situation of the company in terms of:
o General Performance (growth, profitability, profit, operating profit and solvency).
o Evaluation and description of the organization results in its various functions (use
KPI, Key Performance Indicators, to assess the situation of the company in different
functions):
 Financial situation: Is the organization healthy? Does it have a balanced
financial structure? Value debt ratios, solvency, balanced balance sheet
(positive working capital...).
 Commercial situation: brand recognition, sales growth, market position
(market share...).
 Production situation: Ratio of productivity and evolution thereof.

H. Analysis of the functions

Select three of the following functions and answer the questions proposed.
• Production
o Which of the production systems that we have studied throughout the course do
you think is this organization using? Identify and describe them briefly.

• Quality
o Which quality systems has the organization implemented? Identify them.
o What is the mission/aim of these quality systems?

• Innovation
o Does the organization have recent patents? Has it launched new products recently?
Does it have any other relevant innovations? Which ones?
o Classify the identified innovations: Are they radical or incremental innovations? Are
they innovations of the process or of the product?

• HR
o Indicate the number of staff working in the firm.
o What kind of recruitment methods does it use? Value the degree of attractiveness
of the company as an employer (you might use job offers, assessments of its
reputation as an employer, average wages, etc., to develop your valuation).
o How do you think this company motivate their employees? Are their wages higher
than the ones offered in its sector? Does it provide variable incentives (e.g. variable
wages according to their sales)? Does it have career development plans?
o Has it implemented any training program? What does it consist of?

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o Conflicts in the firm (identify news concerning good/bad work atmosphere among
the employees).

• Marketing / Commercial
o Identify which segment/s of the market is the firm heading.
o Indicate which distribution channels the firm is using to serve these markets.
o Describe any promotional method that the organization uses.

• Financial
o Indicate how the capital and ownership of the firm is distributed. Is the capital
concentrated or dispersed? To what extent is the firm financed by external
resources? Try to identify what means of self-financing or external financing is the
firm using primarily.
o Is the firm listed on the stock market? If so, indicate in which one and determine its
evolution over the past year.
o Has it done any significant investment recently (over the past months, years…)?
Define it briefly and determine its interest.
o Find out if there have been recent capital increases.

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