Syllabus

Title
4684 International Business Project A
Instructors
Univ.Prof. Dr. Jan Hendrik Fisch, Dr. Kathrin Schwaiger
Type
PI
Weekly hours
4
Language of instruction
Englisch
Registration
02/18/20 to 03/05/20
Registration via LPIS
Notes to the course
Subject(s) Master Programs
Dates
Day Date Time Room
Wednesday 03/18/20 09:00 AM - 02:00 PM TC.4.28
Wednesday 03/25/20 09:00 AM - 02:00 PM TC.4.28
Wednesday 04/01/20 09:00 AM - 02:00 PM TC.4.28
Wednesday 04/15/20 09:00 AM - 02:00 PM TC.4.28
Wednesday 04/22/20 09:00 AM - 02:00 PM TC.4.28
Wednesday 04/29/20 09:00 AM - 02:00 PM TC.4.28
Wednesday 05/06/20 09:00 AM - 02:00 PM Online-Einheit
Wednesday 05/13/20 09:00 AM - 02:00 PM Online-Einheit
Wednesday 05/20/20 09:00 AM - 02:00 PM Online-Einheit
Wednesday 06/03/20 09:00 AM - 02:00 PM Online-Einheit
Wednesday 06/17/20 09:00 AM - 02:00 PM Online-Einheit
Wednesday 06/24/20 09:00 AM - 02:00 PM Online-Einheit
Contents

Corporate Partner for 2020: Austrian Airlines

The International Business Projects reinforce the CEMS partnership between universities and companies in jointly shaping international management education. The course is designed as a real life learning experience for students. It provides students with a unique opportunity to gain insights into corporate practice. International student teams solve a real business, strategy and/or management problem as a one-term activity tutored by university faculty and the company.

About Austrian Airlines AG

Austrian Airlines is Austria's largest airline, which brings over 12 million customers per year to 130 destinations worldwide. With approx. 7.000 employees from more than 60 different nations, we are pursuing a common goal - to provide our passengers with an unforgettable travel experience. As a member of the Lufthansa Group, we are part of the largest and most successful airline network in Europe and are operating in a dynamic competitive environment. In 2019 more than 3 million customers successfully transferred onto a flight out of our Hub VIE – we are tackling the cases where this was not the case.

Depart On-Time or Wait for Passengers – How to deal with missed connections

No-Show Passengers missing at the Gate are a driver of costs and inconvenience for any large Hub and Spoke Operations. Goal of the business project is a better understanding of the circumstances resulting in a no-show as well their impact. Results can be optimized passenger processes at VIE for connecting flights as well as better decision making strategies when it comes to steering of this important KPI, e.g. waiting for passengers. Our goal is to reduce the no-show rate sustainably as well as the development of concrete overall steering decision-making.

Learning outcomes

The aims of the course are to:

  • investigate and structure a complex strategic management challenge that a company faces in its international market environment,
  • conduct an in-depth analysis of the current status,
  • provide alternative strategic solutions that are viable under the given organizational and financial constraints,
  • propose a decision for the most promising solution, and
  • support this decision with key arguments based on theoretical considerations and empirical findings.
Attendance requirements

Participants have to attend min. 80% of the sessions.

Teaching/learning method(s)

 

This business project uses a combination of discussions with company representatives, feedback sessions, presentations, group coaching and feedback, as well as individual/group work outside the classroom. Groups of students will be formed in the kick-off session.

In a first kick-off session with supervising faculty, the challenges and milestones of the real-life international strategy and/or management case are outlined. At the same time, students are familiarized with the guiding principles of project work, with the project plan and rules in handling supervising faculty/corporate partner interaction.

After familiarizing the students with the international strategy and/or management challenge, contact with the corporate partner is established. In a plenary session, the corporate partner outlines the business challenge from their perspective and provides useful input into the business, the market situation, and the specific challenge to be dealt with.

Subsequently, groups of students work on their assigned real-life international strategy and/or management case the firm is currently facing. Groups collect relevant data through secondary and primary (qualitative and/or quantitative) market research. Based on these analyses, recommendations for the specific international strategy and/or management challenges are prepared and substantiated through theory and market research results.

Throughout the process, various feedback loops (in coaching sessions with the individual faculty supervising group work, in plenary sessions with all groups/academic supervisors (mid-term presentation), or in coaching and feedback sessions with the corporate partner) are installed to make sure that students are on the right track and get the input needed in each project phase.

Results are presented to the corporate partner at the end of this process. The verbal and printed presentations will be assessed. Students will have to actively participate in class, hold group presentations and summarize their findings in a final report.

It is the express policy of the class that no late assignments will be accepted under any circumstances. As this course format heavily relies on personal interaction between students, corporate partner, and faculty, presence in sessions is mandatory.

Assessment

 

Assessment

Assessment is based on the quality of the mid-term presentation and end-term presentation, the participation during the classes, group members’ peer rating, and the final report. The minimum score to pass the course is half of the highest score for each of these elements.

Students will be assessed on their ability to

  • understand and analyze international strategy and/or management challenges,
  • use appropriate analytical techniques and deliver relevant market research information,
  • present results in high quality.

This implies an ability to work in teams. Students failing to participate in their teams will lose the marks for that piece of work and thereby fail the entire course.

 

Group level (70%)


- Tentative presentation (20%)

- Final company presentation (30%)


- Final report (20%)

Individual level (30%)

- Peer review (10%)

- Participation (20%)

 

 

Prerequisites for participation and waiting lists

Only CEMS MIM students are eligible to tak ethis course. 10 students make a course viable at MSc Level unless Special circumstances prevail. If fewer than 10 students Register, the course will not run.

Availability of lecturer(s)

Consultation

corporate partner coach
 

Univ. Prof. Dr. Jan Hendrik Fisch is your faculty coach
E-Mail: jan.fisch@wu.ac.at, Tel. 01 31336 5121.

Mrs. Ursula Zeller-Nürnberger provides administrative support for this course
E-Mail: ursula.zeller-nuernberger@wu.ac.at, Tel: 01 31336 5120.

Unit details
Unit Date Contents
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2
3
4
 
5
6
Last edited: 2020-02-07



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