6th Semester

The Course introduces students to issues of Business Strategy while providing them with skills regarding the application of concepts and techniques. It examines issues along the whole spectrum from strategy formulation to strategy implementation. It refers to theories and practice, using examples from real enterprises and cases presentation

Course contents

The Course includes four parts referring to:

• The concept of strategy: Strategic fit, strategic stretch. Intended and realised strategies. Strategy as design versus emergent strategy.
• Strategic analysis: Framework, methods and tools of environment analysis. Analyzing resources and capabilities. Sources of competitive advantage.
• Strategic choices: Generating alternative strategic choices for business development. Strategic alliances and partnerships. Acquisitions. Evaluation of alternative strategies.
• Strategy implementation: Transformation of strategy into action plans. Aligning tactics, structure, systems, skills, culture, management style. Planning, processes and resource allocation. Strategic change.

The goal of the course is to introduce the student to the design, analysis, reengineering, optimization and functional control of modern companies and addresses the key elements that forge the effective management of an organization’s limited resources. The same principles hold whether the organization manufactures a product or provides a service, operates in the public or private sector, or is profit or non-profit oriented. Through the course, the student will understand the organizational structure and the various components, sub-systems and functions of a Production or Service Provisioning System, and will gain significant knowledge on the problems arising during their design and operation, as well as on the problem-solving methods through analytical and computational techniques. The topics of the course cover most complex and interrelated business processes inherent in the systems operation, e.g., product and process design, operations planning and scheduling, facility location and layout, etc.

Course contents

The course aims at providing a comprehensive view of most managerial techniques that are used by today’s complex enterprises in solving their difficult and intrinsic operational problems. The course covers the following thematic areas:
1. Introduction – POM as a system
2. Forecasting
3. Assembly lines and cellular systems
4. Facility Location – The Transportation problem
5. Facility Layout
6. Inventory Management basic models)
7. ROP models with demand variability
8. Production Scheduling
9. Lean systems

This course introduces advanced optimization tools and techniques with the main emphasis being on the application of computational intelligence algorithms to different problems and cases which arise in business and industry, such as vehicle routing and scheduling problems, packing problems, facility location and layout problems, project scheduling with resource constraints problems, workforce and manpower scheduling problems, timetabling problems, machine scheduling problems, port logistics problems, telecom problems, waste management problems, health care problems, maritime and shipping problems.
On completion of this course, students should be able to:
- broaden their exposure to computational methodologies;
- analyze and design effective computational intelligence algorithms for complex business problems; - provide examples and cases of how the computational intelligence algorithms can be used to solve real-life problems.

Course contents

The course material includes the following thematic areas:
• Threshold accepting algorithms
• Tabu search algorithms
• Swarm Intelligence and Ant colony optimization
• Evolutionary computation and genetic algorithms
• Scatter search and path relinking
• Decision support systems and computational intelligence algorithms
• Examples and real life applications

The course introduces students to the basic concepts of Human-Computer Interaction, explaining fundamental concepts such the role of user's mental model of interaction, usability design principles, evaluation methods and techniques. Going beyond the fundamentals, at the second part of the course, advanced methods for improving user experience are presented in detail, including analyzing web site data (using google analytics), recommendation algorithms, exploiting social media and SEO techniques to improve site's effectiveness.
The expected learning outcomes include:
• Understanding of the fundamental principles of Human – Computer Interaction and the related concepts (e.g. interactivity)
• Development of skills that will enable the design and development of usable interactive systems
•  Understanding of content architecture principles and practical tools
• Understanding and development implementation skills for the evaluation of interactive systems in terms of usability
• Design and development of value added services such as intelligent interfaces and personalization services
• Familiarization with the use of social media, Search Engine Optimization techniques as well as data analysis techniques (Google analytics, A/B testing)

Course contents

Section 1: Fundamentals of Human-Computer Interaction
  • Basic concepts. The human as information processor.
  • Interaction/interactivity, interaction styles, direct manipulation
Section 2: Interface evaluation methods
  • Design rules and principles
  • Heuristic evaluation, cognitive walkthrough, experimental evaluation
Section 3: Analysis, design, and implementation
  • Requirements analysis
  •  Content organization, information architecture
  • Content Management Systems
  • Prototype development
  • Implementation in desktop, web, mobile paltforms
Section 4: Advanced methods of digital content exploitation
  • Google Analytics, Conversion rate Optimization, Google Experiments
  • Persuasion and Influence Strategies
  • SEO
  • Recommender and Social recommender Systems

The objective of the course is to introduce basic concepts and techniques related to business analysis of IT enabled work systems. The students will comprehend how different types of business processes and technologies, within a specific human, work and organisational context can be analysed in order to identify and implement improvements and innovations. Emphasis is given on techniques for the analysis of structures, performance, infrastructures and risk in organisational and societal settings empowered by technology. Further, the student will be introduced to techniques and tools for business process modelling and evaluation and will apply them to test cases in lab sessions. Students will also learn how to conduct a business process analysis study and will be asked to apply these skill in ta real life case setting.

Course contents

The course material includes the following thematic areas:
• Organizational analysis and Information Systems
• Work systems: conceptual framework, elements of, and 5 analysis perspectives
• Event driven business process modelling
• Work systems analysis perspectives: architecture, performance, infrastructures, context, and risk.
• Applying business analysis techniques to real-life settings
• Business process management life-cycle.

While most Information Systems and Computer Science courses traditionally deal with the development of new systems, in practice developers spend the largest part of their time in software life-cycle activities that follow the development phase. The objective of the course is to allow students to read, understand, and evaluate a system’s software elements (code, structure, architecture). Having followed this course, students should be able to intelligently decide on how existing systems will be maintained, setup design and evolution strategies for legacy code, and prescribe the use of refactoring for dealing with architectural mismatches and low-quality code.
An innovative aspect of the course involves the use of Open Source Software (OSS) in course examples and exercises. Through the study of OSS students will be able to see how non-trivial applications like the Apache Web server, the Postgres Relational Database Management System, the Jakarta Java servlet container and the Cocoon framework are structured.

Course contents

Code as Part of the Software Development Process; The Open Source Landscape; Tackling Large Projects; General Purpose Tools; Version Control; Build Management; Collaboration; Performance Measurement and Management; Code-Reading Tools; Inspection and Testing; Coding Standards and Conventions; Documentation; Maintainability; Basic Programming Elements.

Course learning outcomes:
Broad familiarization with all aspects of quality management, including basic tools, statistic process control, quality certifications, ISO, excellence models, quality strategy and HRM for enhanced quality in organizations. The students will learn how to estimate the importance of producing right quality at all levels of work in an organization, to apply tools and methods for quality analysis and improvement, to conduct basic statistic Process control procedures, establish organizational procedures and routines to satisfy quality certification and excellence framework criteria.

Course contents

The course is structured along the following five modules:

• Introduction and Definitions. The notions of quality and quality management: The Quality – Cost – Lead-Time framework, Evolution of quality management, Design and conformance quality, Total Quality Management.
• Statistical Process Control - SPC: Measuring quality, Origins and Principles of SPC, Statistical grounds, Quality charts and Process capability, Capability indices. Case studies and exercises in class and as take-home.
• Overview of Quality Management Tools: Tools for diagnosis, Brainstorming, Scatter and Relations diagrams, Fishbone diagram, Pareto Analysis, Quality Function Deployment, FMEA, Value Analysis, etc.
• Overview of Quality Standards and Excellence Frameworks: Presentation and discussion of different standards and frameworks, Focus on ISO 9001 and EFQM. Quality Procedures.
• Strategy, Organization and HRM for Quality: Quality strategy and leadership, Structural, organizational and cultural issues, Motivation, evaluation and training for quality, Team dynamics.

Aim of this course is to transfer in practice the theoretical knowledge acquired in previous, similar courses (e.g. Organizational Behavior, Work & Organizational Psychology, Human Resources Management). It will introduce the students who have chosen the perspective stream into the practical applications of the main concepts providing them with the necessary tools to work in a Human Resources department. Upon completion, the students will have acquired a full knowledge of the functions and daily operations of the Human Resources Department.

Course contents

• Introduction
• Strategic Human Resource Management
• Recruitment and Selection
• Performance Management
• Training and Development
• Motivation and Rewards
• International Human Resources Management
• Career and Career Development
• Organizational Change and resistance to change

Competitiveness constitutes a key success factor for any contemporary business activity. However sustaining and enhancing business competitiveness involves producing and offering the right product, at the right time, the right place and at the right price and conditions. Supply Chain Management contributes substantially to this goal through managing the integrated process of delivering products and/or services to markets. This course presents the major operations involved in a supply chain, and elaborates on the methods, techniques and tools used for managing the supply chain for products and services. After completing this course the students will be able to:
- understand concepts and methods regarding the planning, design and operation of Supply Chains,
- understand the strategic role of Supply Chain Management in the Global Business Environment.
- understand the Emerging Supply Chain Management (SCM) trends in the Global Business Environment, the modeling of SCM decisions, and the assessment of Supply Chain performance
- understand the role of Information and Communication Technologies in Supply Chain Management
- understand, analyze, and plan the primary and secondary (complementary) logistics processes
- evaluate the effectiveness of logistical processes of a company / organization.

Course contents

The course contents cover the following sections:
- Current trends in Supply Chain Management, e-Logistics,
- Basic and Complementary functions of Logistics, Logistics for the wider service industry,
- Product / service characteristics and requirements for organizing and designing the Supply Chain,
- The order processing system and the customer service,
- Orders management,
- Natural product distribution, Product transportation and distribution processes,
- Location of warehouses and distribution centers,
- Logistics Management Information Systems, applications of telematics in Supply Chain Management
- 3rd party Logistics Providers (3PL’s),
- Evaluation of logistical operations.

The growth of the Internet and electronic commerce over the last decade has radically changed the communication landscape between business and consumers, business partners, government and citizens etc. Moreover, new developments around social networking and the interaction through emerging communication channels, such as mobile, have created a new landscape for innovation and entrepreneurship. The objective of this course is to develop the students' theoretical and technical background in order for them to understand the possibilities and limitations of the new technologies and business models and be in the position to exploit the new business opportunities that open up in this area. Different e-business applications and case studies are examined from both a business and technical perspective. Topics discussed include, among others, the required technical infrastructure, critical aspects of online promotion and selling, the interconnection of systems, and in general various practical topics associated to the business exploitation and implementation of e-business applications. Students also have the possibility to acquire practical knowledge and skills working on the implementation of an online store using open source software platforms and optionally on the development of mobile apps and the interconnection of systems.

By following this course, students will be able to:
• Acquire the necessary conceptual and theoretical background through an interdisciplinary approach.
• Recognize the opportunities for developing new services for customers, citizens, businesses etc. and exploit new technologies to interact with them through social networking and emerging communication channels
• Understand the critical factors and the benefits associated with the effective management of e-commerce initiatives and evaluate a given strategy or e-commerce business plan • Acquire the skills to help implement e-commerce solutions and deal effectively with the various practical and technical issues
• Understand the technological issues associated with the development of e-commerce, but also learn how to use open source platforms for developing online electronic stores
• Get informed about recent developments and trends around the e-commerce globally, from a business and academic perspective

Course contents

• Introduction and Basic Concepts
• Development of on-line store
• B2B e commerce issues
• Other subjects

This course will equip the students with basic understanding and fundamental knowledge about product design, new product development, and the management and strategic importance of these processes. The emphasis is on developing practical skills related to product management from the perspectives of industrial design and product engineering. The course has an interdisciplinary base, which resides on innovation and then integrates concepts and methods of aesthetics, semantics, design thinking, technology management, user-led innovation, manufacturing, environmental sustainability, ergonomics, organization and strategy. The aim is to propose a balanced blend of creative, technical and managerial aspects of the subject matter.
The mix of pedagogical methods -lectures, exercises, casests and group project- will instill an independent learning ability among the students, required to grasp the complexity of product design and development.

The aim of the course is for students to understand the international business and its operation in the international market. The basic principles of Business Administration remain the same when an enterprise is internationalized but needs to be studied in the new external environment markets. Foreign countries are different and so the problems that management can face with the internationalization of the company are likely to be more complex. The management of an internationalized business should investigate to what extent it should respond - adapt its resources and capabilities, and strategies for international markets as well as to what extent it will take advantage of the opportunities and opportunities that exist in its country-based economy internationalization. Also, transactions at international level involve risk since they involve currency conversions in different national currencies. Consequently, the overall objective of the course is to bring the content of International Businesses closer to the entrepreneur / business team in a wider context of decisions in the internationalized company on the international and domestic markets. Teaching and discussion is based on activities and examples of Greek and international business.

Στόχοι και Περιγραφή του Μαθήματος

Η ηθική αποτελεί μια από τις σημαντικότερες πτυχές της ανθρώπινης συμπεριφοράς και αφορά στο πώς οι ενέργειες των ανθρώπων αλληλοεπηρεάζονται και σχετίζονται με τις επιλογές που κάνουμε για εμάς και τους άλλους. Συνεπώς, σχετίζεται άμεσα με τη λειτουργία των επιχειρήσεων και τη λήψη αποφάσεων και συνδέεται με τις βασικές εκφάνσεις της διοίκησης (όπως τα χρηματοοικονομικά, το μάρκετινγκ, η διοίκηση ανθρώπινου δυναμικού και η παραγωγή).

Στη σύγχρονη εποχή, η σύνδεση της επιχειρηματικής δραστηριότητας με ηθικά, κοινωνικά και περιβαλλοντικά ζητήματα είναι πλέον επιτακτική. Η κοινωνία δίνει στις επιχειρήσεις την άδεια να λειτουργούν (license to operate) και απαιτεί ολοένα και περισσότερο από τις επιχειρήσεις να επιδεικνύουν ηθική και υπεύθυνη συμπεριφορά. Οι υπάλληλοι περιμένουν μια δίκαιη αντιμετώπιση και οι καταναλωτές σεβασμό στα δικαιώματά τους. Ομοίως, τα υπόλοιπα ενδιαφερόμενα μέρη (stakeholders) πιέζουν για διαφάνεια και υπευθυνότητα. Σε ορισμένο βαθμό οι επιχειρήσεις έχουν κατανοήσει τις νέες αυτές συνθήκες, έχουν ενσωματώσει αντίστοιχες πρακτικές στη λειτουργία τους και έχουν επαναπροσδιορίσει τον τρόπο που λαμβάνουν αποφάσεις. Ωστόσο, ηθικά διλλήματα προκύπτουν καθημερινά, καθώς οι επιχειρήσεις προσπαθούν να εναρμονίσουν την κερδοφορία τους με τις κοινωνικές και ηθικές πλευρές της λειτουργίας τους. Ηθικά διλήμματα επίσης εγείρονται και από τις σύγχρονες τεχνολογικές εξελίξεις αφού η ανάπτυξη και χρήση νέων τεχνολογιών όπως τεχνητή νοημοσύνη, η χρήση μεγάλων δεδομένων κλπ. δημιουργούν ερωτήματα αναφορικά  με τη σχέση ανθρώπου-μηχανής αλλά και με τις ευθύνες που καλείται το άτομο αλλά και η επιχείρηση να αναλάβει απέναντι στα νέα δεδομένα. Συνεπώς, η σχέση Επιχείρησης, Τεχνολογίας και Ηθικής αξίζει να συζητηθεί τόσο στην κοινωνία όσο και στο πιο στενό περιβάλλον του πανεπιστημίου.  

Βασικός στόχος του μαθήματος είναι να βοηθήσει τους φοιτητές να εντοπίζουν και να αξιολογούν τις ηθικές και αξιακές διαστάσεις ορισμένων από τις αποφάσεις που θα κληθούν να λάβουν στο μέλλον. Οι αποφάσεις που συνδέονται με ηθικούς προβληματισμούς είναι ίσως και οι πιο δύσκολες και απαιτητικές. Για το λόγο αυτό, το μάθημα είναι σχεδιασμένο να θέτει τους φοιτητές αντιμέτωπους με πραγματικά ηθικά διλήμματα και να τους εμπλέκει μέσα από γόνιμο διάλογο σε μια διαδικασία ανάλυσης των διαστάσεων κάθε διλήμματος.

Επιδιωκόμενα αποτελέσματα

The aim of this course is to provide students with advanced skills in English that will assist them to function effectively in a variety of academic and professional settings. It focuses especially on skills that will be useful to students who intend to pursue graduate studies in English. More specifically, the curriculum is designed to:

• Enhance students’ competence in English through analysis of academic texts in selected areas of information technology and management science, accompanied by exercises in terminology, vocabulary, and numerical expressions.
• Improve students’ ability to decode and reproduce the content of academic texts or articles about current developments in their field, from English to Greek and Greek to English, through in-class translation practice.
• Familiarize students with the structure and selected key elements of scientific writing such as abstracts, through presentation of guidelines and examples followed by practical applications using articles from scientific journals.

Developers are usually trained so that when they develop computing systems, they need to have the necessary functionality in mind without taking account of security. This results in many systems containing weaknesses that can exploit malicious users with particularly damaging consequences either: (a) for organizations that have these systems, and (b) for their users. Students who will attend this lesson will first understand all the basic definitions of computer security. In addition, they will be able to directly recognize the weaknesses of a vulnerable system and will be able to recognize ways in which they can protect it. Finally, you will learn the most modern techniques for developing secure software, cryptographic protocols, and more generally everything you need to develop a reliable and secure system.