Modular format for working professionals
The programme is designed for full-time working professionals, so our students don’t need to take a break from their career in order to study.
Teaching is conducted in seven short (one to two week) intensive classroom modules, requiring a maximum of nine weeks out of the office over the 17-month programme duration. The modules draw direct practical learning from contrasting business cultures across the world, located in London, and 2 overseas locations.
In between modules, students continue to work full-time in their home location, with access to a learning technology platform which will complement the in-class sessions and maximise intersession communication. The modules are designed to be directly applicable to students’ work, meaning that learning from the classroom can be brought back to make valuable developments and innovations in the workplace from day one.
Students can live and work anywhere in the world while participating in the programme, and typically we welcome around 20-25 different nationalities to each yearly cohort.
PLEASE NOTE: module dates are subject to change.
Curriculum overview
The programme takes a fresh approach to the traditional MBA curriculum, because we believe that issues and problems in the real world are not neatly divided into the traditional topics studied in the classroom. Your courses will cover the fundamentals of business management and leadership, and our unique teaching style which will challenge the way you think about people, teams, organisations and the wider business world. Rather than a traditional practice-focused approach, we take a deeper exploration into the root causes of business challenges, and examine the global architecture in which organisations operate. This will develop your intellectual decision-making skills, and develop your talent as an innovative and adaptable global leader.
Core courses
All students will undertake a series of core courses covering the essential pillars of management and leadership in the global business environment. Students will complete the programme with a dissertation or Capstone project, bringing together learning from all courses and providing an opportunity to specialise in your area of interest, solve a real challenge you are facing in the workplace, or create a business plan to launch your own venture.
Managerial Economics
This course aims to equip you with a range of tools to analyse the behaviour of firms and consumers in markets. It will introduce you to basic microeconomic concepts and show how a deeper understanding of how markets work can lead to making better business decisions. You will also learn how to use these tools in practice, through case-based class discussion and assessed work, enabling you to instantly apply your learning back in the work place.
Foundations of Management
A uniquely integrated course which provides an overview of the development of key management disciplines. Students will develop a greater understanding of the disciplinary anchors in sociology, psychology and economics as they relate to modern management theory and practice.
Financial Management
The aim of the course is to provide a comprehensive overview of firms' financial decision making. The course is designed to provide an applied and practical approach to finance, enabling the students to address topical issues that modern corporations face. In particular, the course builds on concepts in business strategy, valuation techniques, and capital structure theories, and applies those tools in a systematic and rigorous way to real-life financial management problems. Topics such as mergers and acquisitions and initial public offerings will also be covered.
Organisational Behaviour and Leadership
Understanding individual attitudes and behaviour in an organisational context is fundamental in any management role. This course aims to review psychological theories as they apply to organisations and demonstrate how this perspective contributes to understanding human behaviour at work. It brings together theory and practice by using group exercises, presentations, and course work to apply the course material to business problems. By the end of the course, you should be able to critically evaluate some of the main theories of organisational behaviour and apply those theories to real life problems in your organisations. The course will also focus on developing your leadership style and skills. Drawing on relevant theories, we will consider your personal leadership style and its implications for working with others. We will discuss the leadership skills that are critical to effectiveness, and consider how to apply these skills to build positive organisational environments. You will be asked to complete two in-depth evaluations, and profiles will be used to guide your leadership development.
Strategy, Organisation and Innovation
This course investigates central questions in strategic management, applying tools from microeconomics, industrial organisation and organisational economics to competitive decision making, with the emphasis being on the application of these concepts to business situations. As such the course relies heavily on the analysis of case studies.
Marketing Strategy
The course covers the main theories and concepts in marketing management for students with no prior knowledge of the subject. Students will have the opportunity to apply the theories in a practical setting, as the course will be scheduled partly during one of the international modules and will include visits to companies and guest speakers.
Foreign Direct Investment and Emerging Markets
This is a course in international business and strategy. Multinational firms have been an increasingly significant aspect of the corporate environment in developed countries since the 1960s, and are responsible for a high proportion of global output, exports and investment, as well as the bulk of foreign direct investment. In the past few decades their activities have been increasingly focused to developing economies, including China and India, and transition economies such as Russia, Brazil and Argentina. This course will analyse the emergence of firms which operate on a global scale and their current and likely future interactions with emerging markets. It will include the recent development of large scale global business players from the emerging economies. You will focus on how the institutional characteristics of emerging markets affect the choices and behaviour of multinational firms, both now and going forward. Teaching methods will combine lectures with in depth case analysis, company visits and corporate speakers.
Dissertation/Capstone Project
The dissertation/capstone is a student-led independent study project that comprises a half credit on the overall degree. Students can choose to engage in an academic dissertation or a capstone project. Both options require the student to produce a 6,000-word report that demonstrates familiarity with relevant literature and analyses original data collected by the student. The dissertation is grounded in academic concepts whereas the capstone project presents a new business idea. Through this project, students demonstrate skills in critical thinking and writing, conducting original research, and drawing conclusions from that research. The focus of the project can be any area in which the student would like to develop their expertise, or it can be an area that would benefit the student’s organisation. Previous topics have included, for example, the barriers to developing local talent in top leadership jobs, the private equity industry in Azerbaijan, women and leadership in the UAE, public sector employee motivation, creativity and commitment in sales organisations.
Non-assessed elements
Foundations of Management 2: Financial Control and Governance
This course is concerned with examining the relationship between governance and control in organisations. A strong emphasis is placed on the techniques used in assigning values to input into and outcomes of organisational processes. Amongst other issues, we will examine how firms’ financial condition is represented to external parties, how values are assigned to determine the magnitude of costs and how performance is measured. Each session will be concerned with investigating real life debates relating to the representation of issues relating to governance and the exercise of control. In common with Foundations 1, we will utilise the different disciplines informing management, that is, primarily economics, psychology and sociology to investigate the debate relating to the use of these techniques and to place these techniques in their historical and organisational context. Through this combination of technical, theoretical and historical perspectives we will systematically examine the complex relationship between governance and control in organisations. Each session will include a lecture introducing the topic and a case providing participants the opportunity to apply concepts relating to the topic.
For the most up-to-date list of optional courses please visit the relevant School Calendar page.
You must note however that while care has been taken to ensure that this information is up to date and correct, a change of circumstances since publication may cause the School to change, suspend or withdraw a course or programme of study, or change the fees that apply to it. The School will always notify the affected parties as early as practicably possible and propose any viable and relevant alternative options. Note that the School will neither be liable for information that after publication becomes inaccurate or irrelevant, nor for changing, suspending or withdrawing a course or programme of study due to events outside of its control, which includes but is not limited to a lack of demand for a course or programme of study, industrial action, fire, flood or other environmental or physical damage to premises.
You must also note that places are limited on some courses and/or subject to specific entry requirements. The School cannot therefore guarantee you a place. Please note that changes to programmes and courses can sometimes occur after you have accepted your offer of a place. These changes are normally made in light of developments in the discipline or path-breaking research, or on the basis of student feedback. Changes can take the form of altered course content, teaching formats or assessment modes. Any such changes are intended to enhance the student learning experience. You should visit the School’s Calendar, or contact the relevant academic department, for information on the availability and/or content of courses and programmes of study. Certain substantive changes will be listed on the updated graduate course and programme information page.