Academic Writing & Research

This course introduces basic research writing skills including conducting research, note taking, paraphrasing, summarizing, direct quotation and MLA (Modern Language Association) or APA (American Psychological Association) style citation. The course will place greater emphasis on macro-level composition skills such as essay structure, paragraph structure, coherence, unity and micro-level skills such as sentence structure, grammar, vocabulary, spelling and mechanics. It enhances the skills for writing an academic paper.

The course will cover the following topics:

• Stages of the writing process:

1. Prewriting
2. Drafting
3. Revising
4. Editing

• Understanding research
• Genre & style in writing
• Academic integrity versus plagiarism
• Presenting coherent arguments
• Describing processes and statistical data
• Writing arguments in essays
• Making comparisons
• Writing about problems and solutions
• Writing about causes and effects

On completion of the module, students will be able to:

• Understand what constitutes a coherent, structured academic paper.
• Appreciate the relationship between reading and writing.
• Critically evaluate and analyze sources.
• Incorporate drafting and editing practices into the writing process and understand the value of these skills.
• Apply methodologies to research practices and academic writing practices
• Present a convincing and valid piece of academic writing
• critically evaluate academic papers as well as their own writing.
• Improve their ability to question creatively, think critically and reason rigorously.

Business Communication

    I. Communication:

• Presentation skills
• Telephoning
• Socializing/small talk
• Communication strategies
• Meeting people
• Writing emails

      II. Business topics

• Company structure
• Human Resources (CV, cover letter, job interview, etc.)
• Sales & Marketing
• Finance & Banking
• Procurement, production & logistics
• Statistics
• E-commerce
• Foreign trade

      III. Grammar:

          Grammar (tenses, conditional, passive, gerund vs infinitive, prepositions, false friends, etc.)

Advanced Business Communication

The students should:

• be able to set up their own company: “Corporate Adventure” project (company profile, market profile, marketing, Finance, HR Management, recruitment, SWOT analysis, mission statement)
• Create a job advertisement (including a description of the ideal candidate, creating an interview questionnaire)
• Create a cover letter draft/ template
• Set or polishing up individual CV

I. Corporate Adventure” project

• Company Profile
• Market profile
• Elective
• Recruiting               
• Preparing a presentation
• Presentation (incl. introduction of new employee)
• Feedback, group work reflectio

II. Social skills

• Business ethics
• CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility)
• Conflict skills
• Negotiation skills
• Team skills (team building, scrum master, international project teams, virtual teams, etc.)
• Simulations & role plays
• Leadership skills
• Emotional intelligence

III. Harvard Business School case studies based on the 4 P´s method:

• Position
• Problem
• Possibilities
• Proposals

Intercultural studies: Europe & the Anglophone World

The students should:

• learn how national cultures differ and how to handle these differences.
• learn especially what to consider when communicating and negotiating with people from different cultures and how to motivate and lead them.
• improve their intercultural competencies.
• acquire the basic terms of intercultural competency (e.g. stereotypes, culture shock, cultural dimensions, etc.)
• learn more about leadership across cultures, the relationship between culture and marketing, ethnic marketing as well as human resources management across cultures
• learn more about the  business cultures in Europe and the Anglophone World in terms of appearance, entertainment, meetings, negotiations, conflict management, business practices, presentations, leadership styles, communication, etc.

Intercultural Management: The Arab World

• Introduction into the Middle East region and the Arab world (geography, history, language and religion, political systems, economy, etc.)
• Country descriptions, selected indicators, etc.
• Important structures as well as economic, socio-political and cultural conditions for establishing business relationships and realizing economic projects with the Arab world and the Middle East region are demonstrated.
• Role of intercultural communication and national language for trade
• Discussion on “stereotypes” and misunderstandings/missing communication as well as their effects on conducting or establishing a business in the Arab world or the Middle East business in the region
• Business culture and attitudes in the Arab & the Muslim World: hierarchy, rules, time & timing, relationships, management, polychromic vs. monochronic, communication, behavioural rules, negotiations, leadership styles, human resourses management, conflict management, etc.
• The influence of Islam on business
• Islamic banking

European Business & Economics

“European Business & Economics” covers many aspects of European business. This course addresses a range of management, marketing and financial issues related to this economically integrated but culturally diverse market.

Content

• Historical milestones
• European institutions & their goals
• Values, laws and political decision-making in the EU
• Challenges of the European market such as migration, education, health, economy, Politics, energy, climate change, etc.
• Introduction to business strategies and tools
• Monetary policy: the euro and the ECB
• Introduction to the Single Market and Euro Zone
• The unique challenges of the European Market
• Aspects of culture, intercultural challenges as well as business opportunities
• Market trends and opportunities
• Trade policies and agreements

PART B: Consumer Behavior / Customer Insights

Part B “Customer Insights”, which usually starts in the middle of the semester, is usually held in block courses, builds on the basics taught in Part A and focuses in particular on market research issues.

After learning the basics of market research in depth, students apply the methods in group work by carrying out their own market and consumer behavior research projects. For this purpose, new topics are defined each semester, which the students have to implement as empirical research. The entire market research process is covered, from design to evaluation and interpretation of the findings.

Content:

• Introduction to Market Research
  • Importance of market research for marketing decisions
  • Definition and scope of market research
  • Role of market research in marketing strategy
  • Case studies on successful market research applications
  • Impact of market research on business decision-making

• Market Research Process Overview
  • Steps in market research: defining the problem, developing a research plan, collecting data, analyzing data and presenting findings
  • Challenges and ethical considerations in market research
  • Identifying and Addressing Common Market Research Problems
• Survey and Experiment Design
  • Types of surveys and experimental designs
  • Principles of effective survey design
  • Sampling methods and techniques
• Creating Surveys and Experiments
  • Designing a survey
  • Conducting a mock experiment
• Effective Communication of Research Findings
  • Techniques for presenting research findings to different audiences
  • Writing comprehensive research reports

By the end of this course, students will have a solid understanding of market research and consumer behavior. They will be equipped with the skills to design and conduct their own research projects, analyze data and derive actionable customer insights.