course-details-portlet

BOKO5020

Project Assignment - Financial Management in Complex Organizations

Credits 7.5
Level Second degree level
Course start Autumn 2025
Duration 1 semester
Language of instruction Norwegian
Location Trondheim
Examination arrangement Assignment

About

About the course

Course content

The course deals with various issues related to financial and business management in large and complex organizations. We focus on organizations in both the public and private sectors.

The course has two main parts, where one part focuses on different thematic areas related to governance in large and complex organizations and the other focuses on the development of researchable issues, research design and academic writing that is directly aimed at the project assignment to be carried out. The first main part, which deals with various thematic issues and research areas, is run intensively at the beginning of the semester. The other main part is carried out longitudinally throughout the semester with lectures, workshops and supervision related to the project assignment.

The main topics of the course include

Part 1

  • The design of enabling management systems in complex organizations
  • The controller role: the collaboration between the economist and other professions
  • Governance in the public sector - governance challenges and management practices
  • Collaboration management
  • Governance, innovation and change
  • Governance for different purposes - global and local management systems
  • Sustainability strategies and management practices

Part 2

  • Case-based research in financial management
  • Survey, archive and database-based research in financial management
  • What is a good research question? On the development of researchable issues
  • Academic writing in the master's thesis

The course will be preparatory for the master's thesis in the main profile of financial management. The course is based on the fact that the students will develop a researchable problem related to management challenges and practices in large and complex organizations and develop and carry out a feasibility study relevant to the master's thesis. The students will, in groups, plan and carry out a study that results in a project assignment. The work on the thesis takes place under personal supervision.

Learning outcome

Learning outcome

Knowledge

The student shall:

  • Have in-depth and up-to-date knowledge of relevant theories, empirical data and developments in the field of financial management.
  • Have in-depth and up-to-date knowledge of modern and innovative management models and their application in large and complex organizations.
  • Have knowledge of the diversity of management challenges in large and complex organizations, how these can be identified, studied and understood through different theoretical and methodological approaches.
  • Have knowledge of how organizations' external and internal framework conditions affect the development of different management practices.

Skills

The student shall:

  • Be able to acquire theoretical and practical knowledge relevant to the understanding of governance in complex organizational contexts.
  • Be able to understand and analyze different governance challenges and practices in large and complex organizations.
  • Be able to design researchable research questions and appropriate research designs.
  • Be able to develop and disseminate academic texts.

General competence

The student shall:

  • Develop their ability for critical reflection.
  • Have built up a good basis for being able to reflect on how we can contribute to efficient use of resources in large and complex organizations.
  • Be able to be a constructive resource in innovation and restructuring processes in large and complex organizations in the private and public sectors.
  • Develop their ability to collaborate in the exploration of issues through research and academic dissemination.

Learning methods and activities

The lectureplan and assignments are presented at the start of the semester. Teaching will be conducted as regular lectures, case seminars and student presentations.

Compulsory assignments

  • Paper
  • Presentation of paper

Further on evaluation

In this course, students will write a project assignment in groups of two.

As compulsory work requirements, students will:

1. Submit a preliminary written draft of the project assignment in the early phase and midway.

2. Present the paperwork/draft paper.

All student groups must oppose the work of another group, both in writing and orally (part of the presentation). Supervision will be given along the way as part of the teaching, and the thesis can be seen as a preparatory work for the master's thesis.

In the case of a re-sit exam and the last exam after the course has been discontinued, the form of assessment may be changed to an oral exam

The course is only available to students admitted to a study programme under "special conditions".

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Specific conditions

Required previous knowledge

Students must have completed the course ØS420, Perspectives on Management Accounting

Course materials

Nyland og Pettersen: Penger og helse.

Fra enkel til kompleks styring i helsesektoren, Fagbokforlaget, 2018

Ahlgren, Nyland og Lind eds. Styring av samarbeid i offentlig sektor, Fagbokforlaget, 2019.

Selection of original research papers.

The curriculum may be subject to change and the complete list of literature will be provided at the beginning of the semester.

Credit reductions

Course code Reduction From
BOKO8020 5 sp Autumn 2021
This course has academic overlap with the course in the table above. If you take overlapping courses, you will receive a credit reduction in the course where you have the lowest grade. If the grades are the same, the reduction will be applied to the course completed most recently.

Subject areas

  • Economics and Administration

Contact information

Course coordinator

Lecturers

Department with academic responsibility

NTNU Business School

Examination

Examination

Examination arrangement: Assignment
Grade: Letter grades

Ordinary examination - Autumn 2025

Assignment
Weighting 100/100 Examination aids Code A Date Release 2025-11-21
Submission 2025-11-28
Time Release 08:00
Submission 14:00
Exam system Inspera Assessment