MTM: Enterprises, Markets, and Strategies (MTM EMS)
Master - WS '23/'24

C. Loebbecke

2 SWS

Thursdays, 2:00 - 5:30 pm
First Session: Oct. 12, '23 (1/6 of the mandatory content!)
Location: Lecture hall XVIII, main building

Held in English

Pre-Assignment Deadline: Sept. 27, '23, 11:00 am via eMail from your sMail account (see below)

We expanded the workload of the Pre-Assignment and much reduced additional readings during the semester / course sessions - so you can prepare and are more flexible in spending your study time.

Session Dates (always 2:00-5:30 pm): Every Thursday until the end of the course - likely 8 session days (including exam, visit to RTL on Nov. 02, '23, etc.).
All details during the first session on Oct. 12!

Voluntary, not binding, but helpful: If you are interested in the course, please send an eMail from your sMail account to claudia.loebbecke<at>uni-koeln.de with the course for which you want to register, your name, matr.-number, and study program. We suggest that you also add a phone number so that we can help on short notice.
 

Introduction

Overview: During the course, we introduce the media (broadcast, press, and platforms / social media) as a business sector. We cover business models from various stakeholders' perspectives; making money with the media is at the core of this management course. We focus on public and private broadcasting (TV, radio, streaming), discuss issues of journalism - crucial for any democracy -, and touch upon creative industries (film, music, games). Throughout the course, we familiarize students with media in the digital world in light of media platforms and channels, data science, artificial intelligence (AI), and advertising targeting.
Specialty: On November 2, we organize a mandatory visit to the private media company RTL in 'Köln-Deutz' - details to follow during the earlier sessions.

Practicalities: We will send the complete set of slides and the literature list before the first session to those students, who will have handed in the Pre-Assignment by the deadline (see below). While we will introduce the course as a whole in the first session, we strongly recommend that students carefully read the slides for any session before the session - it is much faster than reading them afterwards and certainly fosters students' oral participation!
We apply portfolio-based grading and organize all 4-hour sessions as a combination of material presentation, exercises, discussions, and feedback to students. Together, the sessions prepare very well for the final exam. During the sessions, students may also suggest their own discussion topics – mostly depending on what's going on in 'the real world'. There is no mandatory reading beyond the slides and the material we cover in class.
 

Dates (max. 8)

Oct. 12, Oct. 19, Oct. 26, Nov. 02 (mandatory company visit to RTL), Nov. 09, Nov. 16, Nov. 23, Nov. 30, Dec. 07, Dec. 14, Dec. 21 - all '23 and perhaps Jan. 11 and / or Jan. 18 - all '24

Pre-Assignment due Sept. 27, '23, 11:00 am, via eMail from your sMail account.

Read (a) Caves (2000), Introduction (pp. 1-10 until 'Plan of the Book')* (Chapter Endnotes - FYI only) and (b) Knee et al. (2009), Chapter 6**. Both texts are old, the examples may be outdated, but the economic concepts hold!
(1) Following Caves (2000),
(a) write about the challenges to make money with creative media products [about 250 words]

(b) apply exactly Cave's arguments for non-creative, but journalistic products [about 250 words]

(2) Following Knee et al. (2009), Chapter 6, which talks about the challenges for content providers to make money,

(a) briefly outline three insights / arguments (not examples!) [about 250 words]

(b) relate them to publishing journalistic content in today's digital, AI times [about 250 words]

(3) Ask about all concepts and lines of arguments within those three texts that you do not understand. From the start of the course until the exam, we will assume that you understand and can explain everything that you do not ask about. Use as many words as you need, but make sure to phrase questions!

  * Caves, R. (2002) Creative Industries: Contracts Between Art and Commerce, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, US.
** Knee, J., Greenwald, B., Seave, A. (2009) The Curse of the Mogul, Penguin Group, New York, NY, US.
IMPORTANT: Stick very precisely to the tasks, do not introduce the chapter; the reader of your assignment knows the chapters and does not want to read a summary or repetition. The complete Pre-Assignment is about working with the texts and the arguments, so for your grade and happiness: do not repeat, summarize, or teach what the texts say without working with any argument.

Formality: As soon as you use at least one reference, you must provide ONE proper reference list for the complete assignment; we assume that you cite at least the two books (we never cite chapters, if all chapters are by the same author(s)).

Formal requirements

- State your name, matr.-number, sMail address, and study program and its start date on top of the first page (ideally in one line, max. two lines); then continue typing, no cover sheet!

- Have only your name in the header of each page
- Have an empty line before the task, copy the task, and in the next line start the answer. After a task, have one empty line before typing the next task and the answer

- Do not start a new page for every new task
- Times New Roman (TNR) 12, single-spaced

- Have 2 points (2 pts.) before and after each (1) paragraph
- Scientific writing style - no jokes, no slang, hardly any passive voice
- References IN THE TEXT (no footnotes), no 'ibid.' - s. some Anglo-American academic management journals
- NO author first names, NO usage of reference titles in the assignment text

- For formatting the reference list, see our website
- Consistent format (including spacing, etc.)
- Page numbers of references only for word-by-word citations

- Complete reference list formatted appropriately with all required information per file - even if it is only one source
- See also MTM website on scientific work

Delivery
Please send an eMail from your sMail account to claudia.loebbecke<at>uni-koeln.de and astrid.obeng-antwi<at>uni-koeln.de; attach a non-protected word file (.doc or .docx)
- Subject line: EMS-Pre-Lastname (your lastname only, no accent, etc.)
- File name: EMS-Pre-Lastname.doc(x) (your lastname only, no accent, etc.)

Course Grading
Grading will be based on
- 20%: Pre-Assignment - due Sept. 27, '23, 11:00 am
- 20%: Exercises during the semester

- 25%: Oral participation during the course (details to follow)

- 35%: Final examination, date tbd.

It is required to at least 'pass' (grade 4.0 or better) each grading element for passing the course.
'Alle Prüfungselemente müssen mindestens bestanden sein.'
 

Required Course Registration:

(1) Hand in Pre-Assignment by Sept. 27, '23 (passing the Pre-Assignment is required for passing the course).
On Sept. 28, '23, we will list all those who will hand in the Pre-Assignment in time as course participant in KLIPS and THEREUPON you must
(2) Register for the exam on KLIPS by Oct. 17, '23, 11:00 am.

For any course related questions, please contact claudia.loebbecke<at>uni-koeln.de from your sMail account.
 

© Department of Media and Technology Management