Computer Science

General goals: The course of Start-Up Organization and Management intends to provide students with the knowledge and the "fundamentals" for the analysis and understanding of the main organizational problems that characterize the start-up and management of businesses in the digital age and a wide range of useful tools for their resolution. In particular, once the basic concepts relating to the company and the business dynamics have been addressed, the course deepens the main issues related to the start-up, such as organizational planning, strategic planning, evaluation of the business idea and its economical- financial feasibility . These issues are addressed within an educational path that unfolds chronologically following the functional steps for the preparation of a business plan. More precisely, the teaching alternates frontal lectures with laboratory activities, in which the students, divided into groups, will be guided didactically in the realization of a business plan related to an idea of digital enterprise. This path allows students to personally examine the characteristics of the start-up process, and helps them understand the fundamental variables (and levers) of the organization, on which the company management can act to improve performance and improve the achievement of competitive advantage over competitors. There are no particular prerequisites, in terms of previous knowledge of an economic-business nature, for the attendance of the course and for taking the exam tests. Specific goals Objectives: the first part will describe and analyze the characteristics, the basic elements and the actors that characterize the company, as well as the phases of its life cycle. Furthermore, the relationships existing between the organization and the management of the company will be deepened, introducing the concept of economic "balance" as a fundamental law at the basis of the company's ability to survive over time. Objectives: in the second part the didactic path will begin to provide the necessary knowledge to proceed with the realization of the business plan. We will start by examining the opportunities for generating start-ups in the digital age, highlighting the differences with the start-up of traditional businesses. The fundamentals of the strategy will be examined, with the transition from the business idea to the formalization of the business model, the basic contents of the organizational design, with particular regard to the relationship between organization, environment and strategy, the techniques for analyzing market feasibility and the economic-financial one, the considerations underlying the choice of the legal form, as well as those for identifying the most appropriate forms of financing. Objectives: in the third part, the role and structure of the business plan will be explored. More precisely, the students, appropriately divided into groups, will be didactically guided through the process of drafting a business plan. In this part, therefore, the business plan will be considered as the final objective of the course which, in addition to representing a valid project work for the purposes of the final evaluation, will be presented as part of a real contest at the end of the course. These objectives will be pursued through the adoption of an appropriate mix of lectures, testimonials from the business world and group workshop activities. Knowledge and understanding. At the end of the course, students will be able to recognize and analytically address the organizational problems that characterize the start-up phase, relying on a broad theoretical background and a toolkit appropriate to their solution. More precisely, an understanding of the links between environmental, strategic and organizational variables will allow them to approach the development of the business idea by seeking the coherence of the strategic-organizational elements with the reference market, in compliance with the company's economic conditions. In addition, thanks to the acquisition of the tools necessary for the design of a digital start-up and the knowledge gained in the process of drafting the business plan, at the end of the course students will be able to develop an entrepreneurial idea and evaluate its feasibility, as well as formalizing it within a business plan to proceed with its concrete implementation. This knowledge will be acquired by alternating frontal lectures aimed at providing the cognitive tools necessary for understanding the various topics, with group laboratory activities, in which students, divided into groups, will be guided didactically by the teacher in the realization of a business plan. Testimonials from the business world will also be introduced, capable of representing practical and exemplary case studies of what has been dealt with from a theoretical point of view. Ability to apply knowledge and understanding. Through individual and group work, students will be enabled not only to understand the origin, nature and type of the various organizational problems, but to develop shared solutions using techniques, models and analysis tools transferred during the frontal lessons. The presentation by the students of the results of the group work will allow the development of reflection and argumentation skills, together with the ability to exchange, share and present the results achieved. Finally, the testimonies of the organization experts from leading business organizations and the discussion of the related topics with the students will allow to corroborate - also with practical feedback - the ability to apply the techniques and the results achieved by the students themselves, and to learn from any mistakes made. Making judgments. The teaching of Business Organization, through mixed methods of content delivery (frontal lessons, group work, company testimonials), while dedicating adequate space to the main theoretical models consolidated in the reference literature, intends to stimulate students to achieve their own vision of organizational phenomena throughout the teaching path, encouraging independent judgment and the creative solution, albeit oriented and guided by the teacher, of the consequent problems. In particular, the process of drafting the business plan at the basis of the group work was designed precisely to increase critical skills, reflection and independent processing of judgments, including that aimed at avoiding the prejudices that characterize in this area the phases of the decision-making processes oriented towards problem-solving, also with regard to the ethical and social repercussions that distinguish the organizational choices. Communication skills. The performance of group laboratory activities and the presentation of the results achieved represents an important tool, adopted in the teaching of Business Organization, for the development of communication skills. In particular, on the one hand, the discussions during group activities are specifically built to allow students to learn to interact and communicate, simulating knowledge sharing and consensus building activities typical of real work contexts; on the other hand, the presentation of the business plan in the context of the final contest was designed precisely to allow students to experience firsthand a real presentation of their business idea in front of potential investors. These skills represent a "natural" component of the teaching in question, given that the issue of organizational communication is the subject of specific discussion within the same. Learning skills. Given the high transversal and multidisciplinary nature of the topics covered, the contents of which can easily be translated into organizational contexts other than businesses (albeit characterized by an orientation towards respect for the conditions of economic management), the teaching of Business Organization will allow students to acquire a theoretical, conceptual and application basis that can be used for a multiplicity of educational and practical courses following that of the three-year degree. In addition to the natural continuation towards a master's degree program, not only of a managerial or business type, students will acquire skills that can be further developed, even independently, and can be used in companies, consultancy companies and other organizations, as well as for the establishment of innovative and high-tech start-ups.