Tourism mainly takes place in public, multifunctional spaces and offers local services from many different providers who must work both cooperatively and competitively with each other. In addition, public or government influences in the form of regional development policy, promotion of certain tourist structures, etc. have a significant impact on the tourist development of a destination.
The Destination Management programme therefore focuses primarily on the fundamentals of destination management and destination development in the context of the conflicting interests of locals, visitors and various private and public interest groups, and prepares students for work in relevant regional, national and international organisations.
The areas of application for a destination manager include:
- Associations and tourism organisations
- Incoming agencies
- Management consultancies
- Marketing organisations
- and many more.
Hospitality Management The Hospitality Management programme covers the entire field of hotel and restaurant management, one of the most important areas of tourism services. Hospitality Management is characterised by a particularly high degree of internationality, with employment on different continents and in different companies being the rule rather than the exception. In addition, this degree programme is particularly suitable as career preparation for students who value direct contact with customers and are not afraid of occasionally stressful working conditions.
Possible areas of employment include:
- Wellness and health hotels
- Hotel associations or federations
- Restaurant chains
- Resorts, city hotels
- Examples of areas of work within a hotel/hotel chain: marketing, controlling, hotel procurement, logistics, purchasing.
- and much more.
Reiseveranstaltungsmanagement
Im Marktsegment der Reiseveranstalter führen die zunehmende Transparenz der Angebote und die wachsende Reiseerfahrung der Kunden zu erheblichen Veränderungen in den Unternehmens- und Angebotsstrukturen und eröffnen viele neue Tätigkeitsfelder. Die Spezialisierung Reiseveranstaltungsmanagement befasst sich daher mit den organisatorischen, rechtlichen und wirtschaftlichen Grundlagen der Reiseorganisation sowie mit den Bedürfnissen und Verhaltensmustern verschiedener Zielgruppen.
In der Spezialisierung Reiseveranstaltermanagement konzentrieren sich die Lehrveranstaltungen darauf, die Studierenden auf Führungspositionen im Reiseveranstalterbereich vorzubereiten, sowohl im Outbound- als auch im Inbound-Bereich, d. h. in der Organisation von Gruppenreisen vom Standort des Reiseveranstalters aus und in der Betreuung von Reisenden, die das Land des Reiseveranstalters besuchen.
Mögliche Aufgabenbereiche bei einem Reiseveranstalter:
- Produktentwicklung
- Katalogproduktion
- Einkauf (Hotels, Fluggesellschaften usw.)
- Marketing
- Controlling
- und vieles mehr
Transport & Mobility
In the Transport & Mobility focus area, you will examine the close relationship between tourism, the transport industry and mobility, as well as the various aspects of mobility and means of transport, since changing location and thus mobility during and at the holiday destination is an essential aspect of travelling.
The Production and Logistics Management programme is aimed at prospective students who are enthusiastic about the interdisciplinary and application-oriented science of logistics – the management of goods, information and financial flows – and who see career prospects in this field. Logistics underscores the interdisciplinary approach of the West Coast University of Applied Sciences 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. In this booming interface industry, the demand for logistics graduates is growing steadily. 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.
Students are prepared to apply comprehensive design knowledge to the development of innovative business models and the design of complex processes and systems in logistics companies as well as 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 areas of application in the logistics industry. By combining economic, legal, IT and engineering issues, the specialisation in Production and Logistics Management offers 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.
Controlling has become hugely important in management practice. As a navigator, the controller supports the company management in successfully running the business. The core function of controlling is to support planning and management 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 evaluation of investment projects, the economic control of operational processes, cost-accounting-based budgeting and the analysis of the company's strategic situation. Controlling graduates are in high demand (and also available). The specialisation in Controlling prepares students for a career in controlling, but is also suitable as a supplementary subject for numerous other fields of work. Optional modules in the Controlling specialisation
- Controlling with SAP, 3rd or 5th semester
- Strategic Controlling, 5th semester
- Operational Controlling (including TOPSIM General Management business simulation), 6th semester
The Event Management specialisation builds on traditional business management knowledge and imparts expertise in the organisation of leisure and cultural events. The aim is to train students to act as an interface between the creative and marketing industries and experts from fields such as sport, culture or natural sciences, combining the elements of controlling and human resources management for such projects in one person.
The Event Management specialisation offers excellent prospects for a career in a wide range of leisure and event activities at 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 taught in an interdisciplinary manner. The programme includes modules from the fields of business administration, law and business psychology. In this way, we provide you with the necessary tools to master complex tasks in practice. In addition, we would like to offer you the opportunity to participate in research in the field of human resource management at West Coast University as part of your semester projects or final theses. Further information on the institute's research areas can be found on the website of the West Coast Institute for Human Resource Management.
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
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 goal is to ensure the highest possible level of practical relevance. For this reason, a significant portion of the course content is taught through project work, which is integrated into the lessons.
The main areas of teaching and research 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 managing 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 Service Management specialisation provides fundamental knowledge about the goal-oriented planning, design, control, development and marketing of services. In addition, measures to ensure service-oriented behaviour are explained and discussed. Various service providers serve as the subject of investigation.
Students gain comprehensive insights into the fundamentals of service management, the management and organisation of service companies, customer loyalty management and other topics. The specialisation also imparts fundamental expertise in the areas of change management processes, human resource management and marketing in service companies. In human resource management, there is a particular focus 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 by 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.
- Strategic and Operational Marketing, 5th semester.
- Retail Management, 6th semester.
Graduates of this specialisation can pursue careers in the following areas, 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 in a management consultancy
Unlike the other specialisations, the International Business specialisation does not consist of elective modules at FHW, but is acquired through a semester abroad at a foreign university. Students who began their studies in the winter semester of 2017/18 or later can have their business administration and foreign examination achievements credited to the International Business specialisation at FHW on a flat-rate basis. 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 earned. This simplified recognition is intended to enable students to complete a semester abroad without suffering any disadvantages in the further course of their studies.
Important decision-making processes at company level are determined by tax law. In this context, it is often not only national regulations that are relevant, but also provisions that apply 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 on the basis of case studies. The additional focus on international accounting reflects the growing importance of this area of law. Students acquire interdisciplinary skills in the field 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 Tax Law / External Accounting:
- Group accounting, 3rd and 5th semesters.
- Tax procedural law, 5th semester.
- International 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 particularly 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. In addition, employment in a software company is also conceivable, as graduates with their business management expertise represent a very good interface to customers.
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.
Marketing and Sales
Successful marketing and sales depend largely on how well you know your markets and target groups. Psychological knowledge about customers and consumers, their attitudes, desires and behaviour is therefore a central focus of this course. Scientific explanations of purchasing and consumer behaviour are used to derive practical recommendations for action that can be profitably applied in later professional life.
Key topics
- Online marketing
- Advertising psychology
- Search engine marketing
- Consumer research
- Brand management
- Work and organisational psychology
Human Resources and Organisation
"Focusing on people" is not only a popular topic in economic policy declarations of intent, but also a central goal of modern human resources work. From an economic psychology perspective, the aim is to promote people's productive potential while at the same time meeting their individual demands for humane working conditions. This specialisation teaches modern management and development approaches based on behavioural science that are suitable for addressing structural, social and demographic change in the economy. Key topics
- Personnel development
- Change management
- Personnel marketing
- Diversity management
- Health management
- Labour law
- Psychology of leadership
- Human resource management
Digital interaction design and data science
The new skills taught focus in particular on predicting and explaining human user behaviour based on psychological models and big data. By combining psychology and data science methodology, graduates of this specialisation are not only able to recognise correlations and patterns in data sets, but also to explain them on the basis of psychological theories and models. Another core skill is the user-oriented design of human-machine interactions. The focus here is particularly on ergonomic interface design (displays, websites, cockpit design) and interaction in social media.
Key topics
- Data science
- Human-computer interaction
- Digital transformation
- Software engineering
- Web applications
- Databases
- Programming
- Computer science
- Diversity management
