About the Department
The Department of Management was established in 2012, taking on the ownership of part of the study courses (CDS) of the previous Faculty of Economics.
It has as its main headquarters the facility located in Corso Unione Sovietica 218 bis, within of one the historic buildings of Turin, the Royal Institute for Old Age, also known as the "Poveri Vecchi", built between 1883 and 1886 by the engineer Crescentino.
The department is internally divided into Sections:
- Economic Law;
- Economics of Financial Intermediaries;
- Economics and Business Management;
- Accounting and Business Administration "Giovanni Ferrero";
- Commodity Sciences.
Each section coordinates the scientific activity carried out by the teachers belonging to the section itself, formulates proposals for the conferment of teaching assignments relating to the sectors of reference and carries out other activities, internal or in connection with third parties.
The mission of the department
“Ride the frontier of innovation in the business models of companies, in the public administration and in the third sector, guaranteeing the interpenetration of didactic, research and third mission activities, in favor of students, teachers, researchers, institutions and stakeholders in general, with the aim of achieving a social, cultural and economic development of the territory”.
The scientific project of the Department of Management is aimed at seizing the complex reality of the business context in its entirety.
The observation point is the Company and the administrative activity that takes place within it (Management):
- it is observed how the company operates within the environmental system that sees it acting in mutual relations with its specific context, which is seized as a constraint and opportunity for the realization of its economic activity (for example, tax legislation, economic, social and cultural conditions, demographic dynamics, etc.);
- this analysis refers to all moments of the company's life: from its establishment, through its expression of life (such as the definition of the business model and the implementation of the entrepreneurial strategy, the study of the market and consumer requests, the definition of the economic-technical production cycle, the continuous innovation of products and business processes, the management and organization of the productive capital and labor factor, the assessment of its state of health) up to the phases of crisis, and corporate reorganization;
- the shared study approach is based on functional areas - meant as the set of management operations that are homogeneous in terms of the object put in place and the technical and economic skills necessary to achieve the purpose (think of marketing, to production, finance, organization, administration and control, in addition to strategy) - as well as for processes, meant as a set of activities that use inputs of various kinds to achieve an output, in order to achieve predefined objectives (think of the purchasing process, the sales process, etc.);
- this study approach is applicable to different types of companies (private and belonging to various sectors, public companies, non-profits) and to professional activity.
Business Economics is a social science, which requires an experimental approach. Through the use of the inductive / deductive method, it allows the verification of the behavior of companies
In this context, a continuous relationship between the Department of Management and its economic fabric is a natural fact. Specifically, the activities carried out by the Department, which focus on a constant exchange with companies, are the following:
- the research activity: the continuous exchange between the Department and the company context creates a series of points of observation that stimulate the scientific research activity. The object of the research activity is the investigation of the conditions of existence and of expressions of life of the different types of companies (private and belonging to various areas, public companies, non-profits), operating in multiple sectors and with different dimensions. The scientific approach adopted is characterized by a series of analyzes conducted from a theoretical point of view and supported by surveys based on the corporate situation. The aforementioned approach is multidisciplinary: it is aimed at guaranteeing the ability to analyze and solve business problems of an organizational, managerial and information nature, supporting reasoning through various tools useful to meet business requirements (legal, economic, statistical- mathematicians);
- the educational activity: the aim of the Degree Programs is to train managers, in other words people who work within companies and manage, with roles of responsibility, company activities, taking care of organizing the production factors and to measure their economic contribution to the overall business management. To this end, the teaching activity is stimulated by the continuous dialogue with economic actors, thanks to which the articulation of the Degree Programs and, within them, the definition of the programs of the individual courses reflect the changing needs of companies. The teaching activity takes the form of a broad training offer that is constantly aligned with the changing needs of the business environment; in addition, it is highly innovative, thanks to the use of new technologies that favor the use of educational moments even for working students. The wide training offer of the Department of Management is a reflection of the heterogeneity of the Faculty involved: it is made up of a team of professors and researchers belonging to multiple scientific disciplinary sectors, which reflect the multiple facets and areas of action of the administrative activity that takes place within the company;
- the third mission activity: it is dedicated to consolidate relationships with institutions and economic actors (public engagement), in strong synergy with the local area and the system of interested stakeholders. In particular, the Department's activities are supported by numerous conventions and collaboration agreements with Bodies and Institutions, which allow the construction of an open and integrated research platform on various survey topics. This activity is favored by the scientific heterogeneity of the professors and researchers who make up the Department, thanks to which they contribute, in the initiatives in which they take part, to numerous initiatives that involve institutions and private citizens.
The activities carried out by the Department are closely related and transversal, placing the Department as mediator between the demand and supply of work, within a virtuous circle between teaching, research and the third mission. The aforementioned teaching activity of the Department reflects its continuous research activity and third mission: the latter provide teachers and researchers with a series of incentives and cause for reflection, which enhance the teaching material and the experience transferred to students on a continuous and up-to-date basis.