Betriebswirtschaft Studium (B. A.)

Controlling has become extremely important in management practice. Acting as a navigator, the controller supports the company management in managing the business for success. The core function of controlling is to support planning and control by providing targeted information based on meaningful accounting, thereby ensuring rational decisions are made. This results in a broad range of tasks for the controller, including, for example, the assessment of investment projects, the economic control of operational processes, cost accounting-based budgeting and the analysis of the company's strategic situation.

There is high demand for (but also supply of) controlling graduates. The controlling specialisation prepares students for a career in controlling, but is also a suitable supplementary subject for numerous other fields of work.

Elective modules in the controlling specialisation

• Introduction to Controlling (including Excel applications), 3rd semester
• Controlling with SAP, 3rd or 5th semester
• Strategic Controlling, 5th semester
• Operational Controlling (including TOPSIM General Management business simulation), 6th semester

The Service Management specialisation provides fundamental knowledge on the goal-oriented planning, design, control, development and marketing of services. In addition, measures for ensuring service-oriented behaviour are explained and discussed. Various service providers serve as objects of study.

Students gain comprehensive insights into the fundamentals of service management, the management and organisation of service companies, and customer loyalty management, among other topics. The specialisation also provides fundamental expertise in the areas of change management processes, human resource management and marketing in service companies. In human resource management, particular emphasis is placed on recruitment, assessment, development and retention. In marketing, the focus is primarily on the strategic marketing orientation of companies.

The explanations in the lectures are reinforced with practical and current case studies, ensuring a constant link to real-world practice. In addition, social skills such as holistic thinking,
teamwork and communication skills are taught.

Elective modules in the service management specialisation:

• Fundamentals of service management, 3rd semester.
• Human resource management, 3rd semester.
• Strategic and operational marketing, 5th semester.
• Retail Management, 6th semester

Graduates of this specialisation can pursue careers in the following fields, for example:

• Deputy manager of a retail branch
• Human resources officer
• Assistant to the head of human resources
• Assistant to the management of an airline
• Junior product manager
• Assistant to the management of a food company
• Junior consultant at a management consultancy

The event management specialisation builds on traditional business management knowledge to provide specialist knowledge in the organisation of leisure and cultural events. The aim is to train students to act as intermediaries between the creative and marketing sectors and experts in fields such as sport, culture or natural sciences, combining the elements of controlling and personnel management for such projects in a single person.

The Event Management specialisation offers excellent prospects for a career in a wide range of leisure and event-related activities at both national and international level.

Elective modules in the Event Management specialisation:

• Fundamentals of Event Management, 3rd semester
• Fairtrade Events, 5th semester
• Event Marketing, 6th semester
• Sustainable Event Management, 6th semester

Human resource management is an interdisciplinary field of work and research. That is why the Human Resource Management programme at West Coast University is also taught in an interdisciplinary manner. The programme includes modules from business administration, law and business psychology. In this way, we provide you with the tools you need to tackle complex tasks in practice. In addition, we would like to offer you the opportunity to participate in human resource management research at West Coast University as part of your term papers or final theses. Please visit the West Coast Institute for Human Resource Management website to find out more about the institute's research areas.

Elective modules in the Human Resource Management specialisation:

• Human Resource Management, 3rd semester
• Fundamentals and Labour Law, 5th semester
• New Work, 6th semester
• International Human Resource Management, 6th semester

Unlike the other specialisations, the International Business specialisation does not consist of elective modules at FHW, but is obtained by completing a semester at a university abroad. Students who began their studies in the 2017/18 winter semester or later can have their business administration and foreign examination credits credited to FHW as a flat rate for the International Business specialisation. The prerequisite for this is a learning agreement drawn up in advance with the degree programme. In addition, at least 15 ECTS credits must have been obtained. This simplified recognition is intended to enable students to complete a semester abroad without incurring any disadvantages in the further course of their studies.

The marketing specialisation takes a behavioural science approach.
The programme focuses on consumer behaviour and market psychology, with brand management, marketing instruments – especially communication policy – and empirical consumer research also playing an important role.
Our aim is to ensure the greatest possible practical relevance; therefore, a significant portion of the course content is taught through project work that is integrated into the teaching.

Teaching and research focus areas include consumer research, brand management, city and regional marketing, and customer relationship management (CRM).

Elective modules in the Marketing specialisation:

• Insights Driven Marketing / Marketing Research, 3rd semester.
• Brand Management I – Understanding and guiding brands as identity-oriented social design systems, 3rd semester.
• Brand Management II – Analysing and implementing brands as individual organisational principles, 5th semester.
• Fundamentals of Online Marketing, 6th semester.

The Production and Logistics Management programme is aimed at prospective students who are fascinated by the interdisciplinary and application-oriented scientific discipline of logistics – the management of goods, information and financial flows – and who see career prospects in this field. Logistics emphasises the interdisciplinary approach practised at FH Westküste and utilises its practical orientation with an expanded focus on Germany as a logistics location.

Career prospects

Logistics is the largest economic sector in Germany after the automotive industry and trade. The demand for logistics graduates is growing steadily in this booming interface industry. According to a study by the German Logistics Association (BVL) from spring 2017, the demand for academics in the logistics industry will continue to rise in the future against the backdrop of increasing complexity of tasks and the challenges of digital transformation.

Course content

Students are trained to apply comprehensive design knowledge to the development of innovative business models and the design of complex processes and systems in logistics companies and logistics, production and procurement departments in all sectors of the economy. The compulsory module ‘Fundamentals of Logistics’ forms the basis of the programme. Here, all areas of logistics are examined, taking into account current trends such as digital transformation. Further modules focusing on supply chain, transport, production and inventory management deal with the fundamentals and special features of individual fields of application in the logistics industry. By combining economic, legal, IT and engineering issues, the Production and Logistics Management specialisation provides a particularly interdisciplinary education. This interdisciplinary competence of graduates is becoming increasingly important in practice.

Elective modules in the Production and Logistics Management specialisation:

• Fundamentals of Logistics, 3rd semester.
• Supply Chain Management, 5th semester.
• Selected Problems in Logistics, 5th semester.
• Production and Inventory Management, 6th semester.

Key decision-making processes at the corporate level are determined by tax law. In this context, it is often not only national regulations that are relevant, but also provisions applicable to cross-border issues.

This specialisation covers the areas of tax law that are most relevant to business practice, taking into account any legislative reform efforts and current case law, using case studies. The additional focus on international accounting reflects the growing importance of this area of law. Students acquire interdisciplinary skills in the area of ‘law and taxation’, which are particularly in demand on the corporate and consulting side (especially tax consulting and auditing firms).

Elective modules in the specialisation Taxation / External Accounting:

• Group Accounting, 3rd and 5th semesters.
• Corporate Tax Law, 3rd semester.
• Taxation of Partnerships, 3rd semester.
• Tax Procedural Law, 5th semester.
• nternational Accounting according to IFRS – in comparison to the German Commercial Code (HGB), 6th semester.

Business informatics represents the interface between computer science and business administration. In addition to classic software development, i.e. the planning and programming of application software, the focus is specifically on the design and implementation of database applications as a large group of business management problems. Furthermore, the analysis and processing of data (business intelligence) is of central importance. These core areas are complemented by the creation of web-based applications.

The most important area of application for graduates is in operational departments where data is collected, analysed and processed using proprietary applications. This can be in controlling, marketing or a central staff department. Furthermore, employment in a software company is also conceivable, as graduates with their business management know-how represent a very good interface to the customer.  

Elective modules in the Business Informatics specialisation:

• Programming in the context of standard business software, 3rd semester.
• Databases, 5th semester.
• Software engineering, 5th semester.
• Selected topics in computer science, 6th semester.