International Executive MBA

This course helps students develop a basic understanding of the essentials of management and the nature of complex organizations. The course provides an understanding of the essential concepts, theories and practices of management. Students explore the management process of planning, organizing, influencing and controlling, looking at each function in detail and with attention to current best practices and challenges. Other issues presented in this context are: decision making techniques, management in an international context, ethics and models of leadership.

This course explores contemporary issues surrounding the internal environment of organizations. Topics include: organizational and individual effectiveness, organizational culture, leadership, introducing and managing change (especially in view of changing technologies and globalization), the use of teams/groups, organizational restructuring, changing employment relationships, and the diversity of the workforce.

This course introduces the student to the practice of scientific research at the graduate level. It examines the research process, providing practical advice and insights. The course reviews important quantitative and qualitative research methods, with an emphasis on statistical methods. Topics covered include: hypothesis formulation and theory construction, data collection techniques, writing literature reviews and research proposals, research design, and ethical issues in research.

The course offers a broad overview of the principal areas of managerial finance and accounting. It aims to develop an understanding of how both disciplines impact and guide organizational life – setting plans, making decisions and measuring actual activities. The course focuses on three interlinked areas: how the capital investment decisions of firms are made, how firms monitor strategy implementation, and how the financial performance of firms and business units is assessed and evaluated.

Students explore the interaction between strategy, ethics, staffing and leadership. Learners study HRM practices such as recruitment, development, training, compensation, integration of employees, within the context of multinational firms, as well as small and medium enterprises (SME’s). Special focus is placed on issues of diversity, equal opportunity, reward systems, and virtual teams.

This module provides an overview of the way in which the macroeconomic environment affects the decisions of managers. To achieve this goal, students explore the economic thought of different schools and how do they explain the workings of markets and economic cycles. This module helps students to understand the present economic crisis and in the future to be able to forecast economic busts knowing what information one should pay attention to. We will also consider the role of the entrepreneur and the different ways a company can be structured.

This course examines the organization, planning, and controlling of projects and provides practical knowledge on managing project scope, schedule and resources. Topics include project life cycle, work breakdown structure, network diagrams, scheduling techniques, and resource allocation decisions.

In this course students learn how to use economic principles as analytical tools for managers, enabling them to make more informed production and pricing decisions. Students also learn how different market structures affect business performance and strategy. Topics include: demand and forecasting, production and cost, pricing and output decisions, and market structures.

In this course, students are confronted with the complexities of doing business on a global scale. Focus is placed on the effects and demands on business operations and strategy when engaging in international trade. The topic is explored from a multi-faceted perspective involving: economic, political, legal, monetary and ethical issues.

This course introduces students to the basic concepts of operations management and the transformation process that converts organizational resources to finished products and services. Operations Management responsibilities like process and layout design, plant location, production planning and scheduling, quality management and control, capacity and inventory management will be covered. Qualitative and quantitative methods of analysis will be applied to Operations Management issues.

This course introduces students to the issues, strategies, and relationships involved in sales & business development activities. Students become acquainted with managing a sales force and helping them sell. Special emphasis is placed on developing a sales force program, managing strategic account relationships, team development, diversity in the work force, sales force automation, problem-solving skills and financial issues.

The course presents the framework of the strategic management process through which managers shape the company’s long-term competitive advantage. The course pursues three specific objectives: first, to expose students to the ideas and work of relevant thinkers in the field of strategic management; second, to make students establish connections between those ideas; finally, to apply those ideas to their own, real-life cases. As a result the course serves as a capstone course for the program, integrating many of the themes studied in previous courses.

The IEMBA master thesis provides students with the opportunity to undertake substantial original, independent research, on a particular topic of interest. Based on the skills and knowledge developed in the Research Methodology course, together with theoretical knowledge gained from previous courses in the program, students develop their abilities in research design, data collection, analysis and critical interpretation, and apply these to the investigation of a problem or issue within their area of engagement.