040195 KU Alternative management (2025S)

The course is aimed at Master's students who are interested in economic enterprises that are oriented towards principles and concepts such as mutuality, self-help, democracy, the common good.

Alternative forms of economy are not a development of the 20th and 21st centuries, but can be found in modern versions already in the course of the 19th century. With the ideas of the Rochdale pioneers (1844) as an example of an early British consumer cooperative with social aspects and the initiatives of the German cooperative pioneers Wilhelm Friedrich Raiffeisen and Hermann Schulze-Delitzsch, economic models can be found that still have a defining influence on economic life today.

In addition to these male-dominated developments, there are also a number of approaches to alternative economic forms and companies that are specifically aimed at empowering women (e.g. women's cooperatives, microcredits, etc.). The aim of this course is to introduce participants to the concepts of alternative economic forms such as cooperatives, social cooperatives, social enterprises and non-profit organisations in general, but also to explore the historical development and current opportunities for women within these forms of enterprise in an international context.

In order to raise the students' awareness of the organisational and legal characteristics of these forms of enterprises, the course provides a general theoretical introduction to the individual topics. Subsequently, the students will focus intensively on the topics they have chosen. In addition, the introductory literature made available offers students the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the various topics.

Participation, 1 short written assignment, a group presentation, and a written final paper (10 pages each student) complete the course.