International Master’s Degree in Business Administration

The course is designed to develop your knowledge of the fundamentals of management accounting. The module presents the basic concepts of management accounting, explaining at first the differences with financial accounting, and then, going deeply into the tools used to analyze the cost process and determine the costs themselves. The managerial accounting section focuses upon the cost volume profit analysis and the techniques of costing in their influence upon product pricing and decision-making. The module will then examine the impact of short-term operations and long-term capital budgeting and their deviational investigation and decision‐making through variance analysis. A strategic analysis will be conducted on the tools presented in order to learn how to use them in your decision-making process. At the end of the course, you will be able to analyze the different costs and will have the skills and the tools to take decisions in the cost management process.

Course Outcomes:

1. Write a business plan for a company. You will analyze real-time data to prepare a business plan according to the budget’s hypotheses.

2. Evaluate the differences between internal audit and internal control. You will differentiate that internal control is a system whereas internal audit is a function performed at specific times in the organization.

3. Identify the different management tools. You will identify and implement financial and commercial management and planning tools on the market (Power BI, Tableau, Qlik, and Jedox).

The course is designed to develop your understanding of managerial theories and their implications for managerial decision-making. This course concentrates on business topics of practical importance to the management of a company such as structure of business, business financing, management, physical distribution of goods and services. After the development of the economic model of the firm, optimization and risk analysis techniques will also be examined in production and cost analyses.

Course Outcomes:

1. Understand the company’s specific strategies for general management. You will interpret the importance of defining explicit business strategies for operational management or functional areas.

2. Identify intrinsic limitations of advanced strategic planning tools. You will identify the intrinsic limitation of advanced strategic planning tools to support companies in achieving sustainable competitive advantage.

3. Formulate business strategies. You will choose different advanced strategic planning tools appropriate to the company.

In this course, the importance and relevance of marketing and strategy theories and frameworks are critically analyzed and evaluated. This enables you to connect these key concepts to everyday phenomena such as brand creation and advertising. It provides you with the necessary tools to understand broader and future marketing-related issues by developing a set of powerful yet versatile cognitive tools to analyze markets and generate viable business solutions.

Learning Objectives:

1. You will be able to identify the need to develop marketing strategies and their key elements. You will analyze the market research process and interpret data analysis techniques.

2. You will be able to describe the new business reality and its adaptation to consumer behavior. You will analyze current market trends to make strategic operational decisions to retain and attract customers.

3. You will be able to select marketing methods to execute campaigns. You will compare and choose marketing strategies for campaign analysis.

This course introduces you to the techniques of operations and services management to meet efficiently the strategic aims of an organization taking into consideration the ethical dimensions raised in the context of the global nature of business today. It shows how the efficient implementation of the techniques of operations and services management influence the strategy of the organization taking into consideration the global and ethical elements. The course gives you guidance to, and awareness of, the relevant limits of theoretical work done in this course area.

Course Outcomes:

1. Demonstrate understanding of operations management. You will understand the core principles of light and heavy operational frameworks that govern operations management.

2. Analysis of management systems and new technologies applied to supply chains. You will analyze the components and implementation of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) in the supply chain system.

3. Apply tools and techniques for operations management. You will implement tools and techniques in project management critical path, earned value, and value engineering.

The module aims at enabling you to understand, analyze and critically examine the purpose, principles and fundamental concepts of today’s financial markets, instruments and institutions, with particular emphasis on banking and its changing nature as not only an intermediary between lenders and borrowers but also as the provider of other financial services. The examination of these institutions is situated within the context of globalization and international trade that corporate and governments operate in with particular focus on the financial industry.

Course Outcomes:

1. Demonstrate understanding of financial statements. You will understand financial statements through discussions of working capital, cash conversion cycle, and cash management policy.

2. Distinguish the different banking business models and fintech. You will differentiate traditional banking methods from financial technology applications.

3. Develop financial strategies that include financial instruments. You will develop financial strategies using derivatives as a means of reducing financial risks.

The course focuses on both leadership and change management providing you with the foundations for examining and developing your own individual styles. The work of a leader is to constantly look ahead and to provide the changes that are necessary for the organization to keep abreast of the evolution of its environment. An intelligent foresight is critical to success in any organization and a key attribute for any organizational leader. Your role as a change agent will therefore be the focus of the course. Providing both theoretical frameworks and practical examples will enable your understanding of how change can be initiated and implemented. The latter are drawn from two cases that are explained in-depth during the lessons. You can study them then comment on them in our time together. The course investigates different kinds of leadership such as transactional, transformational, and distributed leadership. It addresses key issues concerning leadership building in organizations and teams, performance management, and knowledge sharing.

Course Outcomes:

1. Develop effective planning strategies. You will develop strategies for managing people and the company using a general diagram of strategic analysis.

2. Apply leadership theories and practices to personal and professional experiences. You will apply leadership styles to construct an efficient leader management model in organizations.

3. Create a learning community for sharing best practices and experiences. You will create a community of learning by implementing community, domain, and practice to achieve organizational change.

In today’s business environment, national and international financial markets play an essential role in providing you, whether corporate, government, or individual, with vehicles for both raising and investing scarce resources like capital. Financial institutions as intermediaries facilitate this flow of funds. This module focuses on financial market structures, operations, and financial instruments across the globe where time has value and risk accompanies return, and it is largely left upon the market mechanism to allocate scarce resources.

Course Outcomes:

1. Classify the role of investors, corporations, and government. You will correlate the role of investors as shareholders that improve corporate governance through monitoring financial market benefits.

2. Distinguish the money and equity market’s main characteristics. You will compare short-term debt securities with the stock market to access capital for business growth.

3. Design the flow of funds. You will design a cash flow movement in a financial system examining inflows and outflows of cash.

This module is designed to develop your understanding of Project Finance theory and practice. It is an advanced course that covers the interrelationship between project finance, capital investment decisions, and risk management. Project finance is a fast‐growing area of capital investment for major infrastructure and other large projects. Financing such projects as airports, highways, tunnels, schools, hospitals, and other large projects presents a complex and interesting challenge that the specialty of project finance takes on wholeheartedly, combining financial engineering with legal and contractual expertise to develop various financing options. Moreover, the module introduces the concepts of Public‐Private Partnership (PPP) and Risk management. The principal objective is to ensure a solid understanding of project financing techniques to inform your technical mastery in the critical analysis and execution of project finance initiatives. You are asked to address the following questions: value for money creation, project affordability; economic and financial balance; financial structure; long term financial planning.

Course Outcomes:

1. Compare the interrelationship between project finance and risk management. You will compare short-term financing options to determine the risk associated with your company’s investment and financing needs.

2. Explain the international financial system. You will explain the process followed by foreign exchange and derivative markets to minimize risk in international trade.

3. Develop analytical skills for measuring profitability and project risks. You will create a system that provides key performance indicators to measure project profitability and risk.

The course aims to study a series of aspects that are part of the environment in which you operate in international markets:

• The institutional framework of international trade, with special reference to the World Trade Organization, regional trade agreements and the multilateral market (that is, the market that is generated from the activity of international organizations).

• The framework in which your international activity takes place: how to select markets, recent developments in the evolution of this environment (such as new trends in offshoring or digital internationalization).

• The rise of emerging markets, with special reference to Asia (and, within this continent, China).

• International negotiation and intercultural negotiation. The resolution of conflicts in international trade, both between companies and conflicts in which one party is the State.

In order to maintain a practical orientation, you will be guided to visit a series of web resources of interest to the course. These can include from web pages of international organizations to studies of competitiveness and analysis of the international environment (such as the Doing Business of the World Bank or the Global Competitiveness Report of the World Economic Forum, to name a couple of examples). Some practical exercises will also be included for you to carry out (such as the preparation of a resume according to the model of an international organization).

Course Outcomes:

1. Describe and apply the main techniques of international negotiation and conflict resolution in multicultural environments. You will describe the characteristics of globalization trends, challenges of cultural barriers, and intercultural negotiation to overcome conflicts.

2. Analyze the functioning of international trade institutions. You will analyze the institutional framework of international trade with an emphasis on world trade, regional trade, and multilateral markets.

3. Apply the internal and external analysis of your company to identify opportunities and risks. You will apply a gravity model for the selection of international market opportunities.

Provides you with an understanding of global political, economic, social, technological, and ecological relations, associated international institutions, and their implications for international business. Analytical frameworks, case studies and research seminars are used to develop your analytical thinking and decision-making skills.

Course Outcomes:

1. Understand the connection between globalization, company internationalization, and the digital age. You will demonstrate an understanding of digitization in the strategic management process of your international company.

2. Analyze the impact of the corporate digitization process. You will analyze how automation transforms the way your business operates.

3. Examine the impact of digital transformation on a business model. You will examine the systems, processes, and workflow automation for business model transformation.

The course is designed to focus on your adoption of information systems within a business enterprise. It addresses both the fundamentals of information technology and where, why, and how you find it important to support business strategies and core processes with ICT systems. The use of information systems allows you to obtain organizational efficiencies, increase individual effectiveness, and/or gain a competitive advantage. Technological change, including information systems, can be one of the more prominent factors in transforming the rules of competition, determining how your organization operates and whether it is successful. The course structure is designed to provide several segments that are viewed as integral parts of a logical and cohesive systems approach to manage information and information technology within your business: business operations and how information systems support these operations; information technology components: hardware, software, database and telecommunication networks; managing information systems within your business.

Course Outcomes:

1. Define the digital business ecosystem. You will define a digital ecosystem as a network of interconnected companies or products.

2. Implement a business intelligence model. You will implement a business intelligence model (BIM) to transform raw data into meaningful information.

3. Examine the new professional profiles in data-driven corporations. You will examine new professional profiles of the chief digital officer, business intelligence manager, and digital marketing manager.

This course requires you to complete a set of progressive exercises regarding a specific course area of International Business Administration that incorporates analysis, synthesis, and evaluation of research methods. You will complete a signature exercise in order to demonstrate your ability to synthesize theoretical and conceptual knowledge, professional application, ethical implications, and fundamental areas of research methods and critiques in your chosen field of specialization. Evaluation of peer-reviewed journal articles will include case studies, research studies, real-world scenarios, reports, seminar proceedings, theories, practicum, postulates, and any other scholarly, peer-reviewed data that will complement your specific area of program emphasis.

Prerequisite(s): You are required to complete all other program credits before registering for the capstone project course.

Course Outcomes:

1. Discuss critical concepts and theoretical paradigms in international business by integrating diverse theoretical perspectives in your knowledge area.

2. Design a research strategy and select appropriate research methods to conduct research in the field of international business.

3. Assess the validity of research findings and conclusions against international business practice and the broader theoretical assumptions and debates.