Duration
Number of credits
| Master in sales management (120 ECTS) (en alternance) | 24 crédits |
Lecturer
Language(s) of instruction
French language
Organisation and examination
All year long
Schedule
Units courses prerequisite and corequisite
Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program
Learning unit contents
Work placements for the Masters in Sales Management work-study programme take place in the first year (M1) (Work Placement 1) and the second year (M2) (Work Placement 2). This course outline refers to the second work placement.
This course is therefore intended for students who already hold either a baccalaureate certificate giving access to this Master degree or who are exempted from this and are admitted according to the general provisions.
Students must have signed a work placement contract with a company as described to enrol in this Masters programme.
The work placement takes place in this company in conjunction with a company tutor appointed by the company.
There are multiple aims of the work placement, which essentially consist of the pragmatic application of the theoretical skills acquired in the various courses.
Students should, therefore, be able to carry out an audit of the existing situation of the company and, in particular, the sales department. They should be able to describe the company's value proposition, the products and services offered, their advantages and disadvantages compared to the competition. Analysis of the competition and the company's position will be a fundamental part of the audit.
Students must also be able to justify the prices and costs of the products and services sold.
They should analyse and synthesise this information in a critical way.
The analysis of distribution networks, sales practices, communication methods, prospecting, negotiation and order management processes should be described, analysed and commented on.
The use of internal information systems and social networks should be analysed.
Administrative and regulatory processes will be described (customs, transport documents, guarantees, insurance, technical certification) and their impacts should be analysed.
International, multicultural, societal, ethical and environmental aspects should also be analysed.
Finally, all this information should be quantified and the performance indicators relating to these activities should be described.
All this and related activities must be kept in a work placement logbook.
Each student will be supervised by an academic work placement supervisor who will verify, through activities throughout the year, the student's understanding of the above-mentioned aspects.
Initial contact between the student, the company tutor and the academic supervisor will take place in November.
In January, to make the link with the second year work placement and the Master Thesis, the student will submit a report on these aspects. In February, in agreement with the company tutor and the academic supervisor, the student will identify one or more areas for improvement that they will choose as a subject for the thesis.
It is important to mention that the subject will be generic and that the company will be used as a practical case study.
The second semester will be devoted to reviewing the literature on this thesis topic and the development of the working methodology. A final report submitted in May and presented in June in the presence of the company tutor and the academic supervisor will consolidate earlier work: the presentation of various aspects of the company, identifying points for improvement, selection of the final subject, the literature review and the working methodology.
The teaching staff is composed of the program leader: Thierry Pironet (HEC-ULiège), Sandrine Wouters, a coordinator from the work placement programme (HEC-ULiège), and a team of academic supervisors from the partner universities.
Learning outcomes of the learning unit
- Be able to describe the products and services offered by a company and define its value proposition in a competitive context. Be able to describe the competition and the position of the company, the segments aimed at and the target market. Be able to give a critical opinion on these elements.
- Be able to explain the pricing policy used and be able to calculate the cost of the products and services provided by the company. Be able to constructively criticise the company's pricing and cost policy.
- Be able to describe and quantify the distribution networks used by the company and be able to explain why these are used and others are not. Be able to describe the order taking process from prospecting through to taking orders in the different networks. Be able to give a critical opinion on the distribution strategy.
- Be able to describe all the regulatory and legal constraints that the company faces. Be able to explain all documents related to the products and services offered. Have a critical opinion on the documentation.
- Be able to analyse international, multicultural, societal, ethical and environmental issues and the risks associated with them.
- Be able to describe the company's information system and in particular the use of social networks. Be able to define a digital strategy for business relations.
- Be able to describe and define the performance indicators of the company and the sales department in particular. Be able to connect the strategy to these indicators.
- Be able to identify one or more areas for improvement in the operating processes of the company's sales department.
Prerequisite knowledge and skills
General conditions for access to the Masters
Planned learning activities and teaching methods
The work placement essentially consists of participating in the company's activities during working days according to the schedule provided in the calendar.
After the signature of the work-study agreement, the student in the company will carry out a complete audit through the activities carried out, as described above.
- In November, a mandatory meeting initiated by the student, will be scheduled between the company tutor, the academic supervisor and the student. This will preferably take place in the company. The purpose of this meeting is to check the status of the audits that the student must carry out, identify gaps, areas for improvement and areas for investigation. The meeting will begin with an oral presentation by the student in the form of a four-minute pitch with four slides.
- For January, a written report, maximum 10 pages, must be submitted with the overall audit of the company. This report will include a brief presentation of the company, an analysis of the existing situation of the sales department and a critical analysis of the various areas investigated during the work placement. In addition, the student will present the potential topic of the dissertation (Final Paper) and their arguments for selecting it.
- A meeting will be scheduled in February between the teacher and the student to endorse the topic of the dissertation. The company may be invited to this meeting.
Mode of delivery (face to face, distance learning, hybrid learning)
Work placement and continuous assessment
Organisational adjustments related to the current health context
Instructions will be provided in due time according to effective constraints.
Yellow: Classroom
Orange: Remote on-line
Recommended or required readings
Lectures from the Master in Sales Management
Assessment methods and criteria
Below you will find information on the evaluation methods planned for in-person and remote exams as well as those planned for hybrid sessions. Depending on how the health crisis evolves, the chosen method will be communicated to you no later than one month before the start of the exam session.
Throughout their work placement, students are monitored and evaluated by both the academic supervisor and the tutor in the company.
The purpose of the evaluation is to measure, on the basis of either observations of the student's behaviour, the tasks and missions they have carried out, the quality of their learning and work, and the acquisition of skills and knowledge.
The evaluation of the student's activities includes three evaluative approaches to best take into account the student's work placement:
1) Evaluation by the tutor in the company: work placement logbook
The work placement logbook enables the student's behaviour within the company to be assessed as well as the quality of their services by means of an evaluation grid containing criteria (formative evaluation) provided in the internship logbook.
This evaluation grid is primarily formative and aims to:
- identify the strengths and weaknesses of the student's work placement, in order to make them aware of support structures for the remainder of their work experience, the progress made and the areas to be improved;
- define, after consultation with the student, the steps and means to be implemented to progress in the work placement.
The evaluation grids are submitted at key points during the academic year and are taken into account when awarding the final grade for the work placement. They account for 30% of the final grade.
2) Evaluation by the academic supervisor: audit and work placement report
Writing the overall review of the host company and the work placement reports allow the academic supervisor to evaluate the student's involvement in their work placement, as well as their capacity for critical analysis. These reports account for 40% of the final grade for the work placement.
3) Oral evaluation
The final evaluation of the work placement is the subject of an oral presentation by the student, before a jury composed of the Master coordinator, the tutor in the company and the academic supervisor. The oral defence accounts for 30% of the final grade.
Assessment criteria will focus on evaluation of the following competencies:
- Ability to analyse, summarise and critically think about the audit of the company's sales department;
- Ability to detect areas of improvement for the company and related arguments in order to define potential avenues for the dissertation;
- Ability to conduct a review of relevant and in-depth literature;
- Ability to define a rigorous work methodology following a scientific approach in order to prepare the final dissertation.
- Ability to integrate into a professional environment within the host company.
For the second session, all documents must be updated and represented.
Work placement(s)
The work placement will take place from September to May according to the schedule and will include approximately 95 days of work placement.
Organizational remarks
See schedule on the platform
Reports, presentations and documents can be given in English or French after agreement with the company tutor and academic supervisor.
Contacts
HEC-Liège Academic Manager
Lecturer Thierry Pironet
(Logistics - Production Management)
e-mail: thierry.pironet@uliege.be
HEC-Liège
Bâtiment N1 Rue Louvrex, 14, Bureau 328
B-4000 LIEGE
Internship Coordinator
Sandrine Wouters
e-mail: sandrine.wouters@uliege.be