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363-0341-00L 3 Credits BSC , DR , MSC , NDS D-USYS , D-MTEC , D-MAVT , D-GESS
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Introduction to Management

Lecturers & Examiners: Dr. Zorica Zagorac-Uremovic, James O'Neil, David Baschung
VVZ CR n/a

Last Updated: 2026-02-05 16:02:03

Abstract

This course is an introduction to the critical management skills involved in planning, organizing, leading and controlling an organization.

Objective

By the end of this course, students will understand management as a set of skills, processes, tools and methods that enable organizations to achieve their goals and to coordinate routine operations in order to meet evolving customers’ and societal needs. The students will achieve these goals by being able to: - Analyze organizations as open systems, and describe their critical elements, - Apply conceptual tools and methods that help to analyze or approach the critical elements, - Compare different notions of organizational performance, and explain why they matter, - Discuss the relationships that connect the critical elements of an organization on the basis of real cases, - Explain how change, internally or externally initiated, impact such relationships

Content

This course is an introduction to critical management skills involved in planning, organizing, leading and controlling an organization. This course follows a 'systemic' view of organizations and adopts the congruence model as a framework to analyze the critical, interconnected elements of organizations: Input (i.e., from external environment), strategy, people, work, formal and informal structure of the organization, and its outputs. In this course we will introduce these critical elements and learn how managers can analyze and approach these elements by means of different conceptual tools and methods in order to achieve performance. We will furthermore discuss the relationships that connect the critical elements together by means of real-life cases, whereby the focus will be on the critical reflection of particular cases of fits and misfits between those elements and on the application of a selection of tools and methods.

Resources

Lecture Notes

The content of the course will rely on different readings, cases and selected chapters of following book:Dess, G., McNamara, G., Eisner, A., & Lee, SH. 2018. Strategic Management: Text and Cases. McGraw Hill.Selected readings from the book and additional learning materials will be available on the course Moodle:https://moodle-app2.let.ethz.ch/course/edit.php?id=17562

Literature

The content of the course will rely on different readings and on selected chapters of following book: Dess, G., McNamara, G., Eisner, A., & Lee, SH. 2018. Strategic Management: Text and Cases. McGraw Hill. Selected readings from the book and additional learning materials will be available on the course Moodle: https://moodle-app2.let.ethz.ch/course/edit.php?id=17562

Learning Materials (Links)

General Information

Language
English
Levels
BSC , DR , MSC , NDS
Frequency
Yearly recurring

Examination

Type
end-of-semester examination
Mode
written 90 minutes
Aids
This is a closed-book exam. Auxiliary means are not permitted.
Digital
The exam takes place on devices provided by ETH Zurich.
English questions and answers.

Course Components

Type Title Time & Place Hours
lecture with exercise Introduction to Management
The lecture takes place in presence without remote access possibilities. We offer audio recordings for students who cannot join the lectures regularly.
  • Thu 12:15-14:00 (HG F 7)
2 h weekly

Offered In