Curricula

Objective

The object of the course is to give you the knowledge and skills required to thrive in the world of tourism by focusing on profitability and sustainable business practices. You understand the impact of data on business management and how data helps you manage business more efficiently. You also understand the principles and strategies that drive profitability in the tourism sector.

Competences:
Operating in a workplace, Proactive development, Tourism business

Learning objectives
In this course you familiarize yourself with operational and financial planning. You understand the significance of budgeting as well as its logic, principles, processes, and methods. You are able to draw up operating and master budgets as part of operational and financial management. You identify and examine development targets from the perspective of budgeting by analyzing the differences from the perspective of budget monitoring. You are also able to plan the company's profitable business operations, taking financial aspects into account.

The goal of the course is to increase your understanding of profitable business and to develop skills for analyzing and interpreting financial information. You learn to use various calculation models and methods to analyze the company's financial situation and to forecast the future. You identify and examine development targets by analyzing the differences.

You are able to form the basis of the strategy - the values, mission and vision of the organization and understand the strategic objectives. You are familiar with the development of the organization's strategy process.

You participate in a business simulation where you improve your understanding and capabilities of running global business operations of a firm in a dynamic, competitive environment. In this course, you are able to apply theoretical knowledge and experience in real-time challenges. You learn how to analyze the market, follow the competition, understand consumer demand and their portfolio, execute the investment decision, and to organize the expenses.

Content

During this course, you explore key areas such as pricing, variance analysis, data analytics, reporting, and hands-on business simulations. The course also covers different areas of budgeting, such as profit budget, cash budget and balance sheet forecast. You also gain knowledge about strategic decision making and competition benchmarking.

Qualifications

Pricing strategies and methods
Cost-volume-profit thinking
Profitability
Cost concepts
Activity-based costing
Customer profitability analysis
Financial ratios and financial statements

Assessment criteria, satisfactory (1)

1 (Sufficient)
You recognize the concepts and processes related to budgeting and pricing and you know which processes affect budget preparation. You prepare the operating budgets of the example company according to ready-made templates. You are able to recognize basic principles of variance analysis in the context of tourism operations. You list common types of reports used for financial and operational analysis. Assignments require additional guidance and clarification. You can apply the information with guidance and with more detailed instructions. You integrate to the team and its process and give some input into the team´s achievement.

2 (Satisfactory)
You interpret the budget of an example company, and you understand the purpose of different budgeting areas and their role in managing the company's finances. You are able to prepare the operating and master budgets of the example company under guidance. You interpret variance analysis results to identify areas of improvement. You are able to discuss the purpose of various financial reports. You are able to do the learning tasks under guidance. You integrate to the team, commit to do your part and are a member of the team´s achievement.

Assessment criteria, good (3)

3 (Good)
You are able to outline the basic processes of budgeting, itemize the process steps and describe the impact of processes on the management of operations. You prepare master budgets and budget comparison and define the factors affecting budgeting in the example company. You conduct variance analysis to identify and address budgetary discrepancies. You generate operational and financial reports that provide actionable insights for a tourism business. You integrate to the team and its process and give an important input into the team´s achievement.

4 (Very good)
You define the impact of budgeting in the example company. You develop profitability analyses based on operating and master budgets. You understand the connection between the budget and the action plan. You analyze budget variances to determine the underlying causes and propose solutions for improvement. You evaluate the information presented in various reports to make strategic decisions for tourism enterprises. You integrate well to the team and give a fair share of input into the team´s achievement.

Assessment criteria, excellent (5)

5 (Excellent)
You assess the impact of budget control on the example company and report the actions taken based on it and the impact of budgeting in companies. You plan the basic processes of budgeting. You formulate a variance analysis process that addresses budget discrepancies while promoting profitability. You construct a comprehensive report that combines financial and operational data to guide strategic decision-making for a tourism business. You integrate well to the team, show commitment, and give an important input into the team´s achievement.

Further information

The course is mandatory for all tourism management students.