International MBA in International Business Administration

The purpose of this course is to prepare students for the development of a managerial mentality familiar with the concept of innovation as a key element of business competitiveness, fostering the spirit of being professionals with the ability to develop and identify new opportunities and respond with speed to changing customer needs. In this way, it is studied how to foster innovative environments within organizations, environments that push their members to risk innovation.
Innovation is closely related to the transformation of companies, which is a global requirement in the current socio-economic environment. This transformation implies new business models, while affecting the redesign of processes, redefinition of functions and competencies, culture and organizational structure.
Therefore, this subject provides the student with the theoretical and practical knowledge necessary to face the decisions associated with the establishment of the innovation strategy of a company and the capacities to develop in an organization all the activities that intervene in the management of innovation. The most important contents of the subject are highlighted:
• Transformative and value-generating innovation.
• Impact of innovation in the organization.
• Execution of the innovation strategy to obtain better business results (maturity models, innovation roadmap, impact on the balance sheet, measurement of the value of innovation).
• Innovation models:
• Intrapreneurship.
• Open innovation.
• Innovation laboratories.
• Innovation ecosystems.
• Legal framework, protection and stimulation of innovation.
• Corporate Social Responsibility and Innovation.
• Technological convergence and its implication in innovation (exponential technologies, exponential organizations).
• More agile organizations (design thinking, lean startups, blue ocean strategy).
• Business transformation: holistic vision.).
Course Outcomes:
1) Identify innovative methodologies for business transformation. Students describe the main characteristics of agile methodologies, blue ocean techniques, design thinking, and lean methodology to create new business models.
2) Compare and contrast Innovation Strategies. Students differentiate the concept of open innovation and innovation ecosystems with the business innovation objectives.
3) Evaluate different innovation models. Students argue different innovation models through the analysis of case studies.

The course is designed to develop the 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. An accounting a strategic analysis will be conducted on the tools presented in order to learn how to use them in the decision-making process. At the end of the course, students 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. Students 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. Students 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. Students 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 the students’ 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 be also examined production and cost analyses.
Course Outcomes:
1) Understand the company’s specific strategies for general management. Students interpret the importance of defining explicit business strategies for operational management or functional areas.
2) Identify intrinsic limitations of advanced strategic planning tools. Students identify the intrinsic limitation of advanced strategic planning tools to support companies in achieving sustainable competitive advantage.
3) Formulate business strategies. Students choose different advanced strategic planning tools appropriate to the company.

Operations & Service Management
This course introduces students 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 student’s guidance to, and awareness of, the relevant limits of theoretical work done in this subject area.
Course Outcomes:
1) Demonstrate understanding of operations management. Students 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. Students analyze the components and implementation of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) in the supply chain system.
3) Apply tools and techniques for operations management. Students implement tools and techniques in project management critical path, earned value, and value engineering.

The module aims at enabling students 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. Students understand financial statements through discussions of working capital, cash conversion cycle, and cash management policy.
2) Distinguish the different banking business models and fintech. Students differentiate traditional banking methods from financial technology applications.
3) Develop financial strategies that include financial instruments. Students develop financial strategies using derivatives as a means of reducing financial risks.

The course focuses on both leadership and change management providing learners with the foundations for examining and developing their 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. A leader’s role as a change agent will therefore be the focus of the course. Providing both theoretical frameworks and practical examples will enable the understanding of how change can be initiated and implemented. The latter are drawn from two cases that are explained in-depth during the lessons. Learners 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. Students 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. Students apply leadership styles to construct an efficient leader management model in organizations.
3) Create a learning community for sharing best practices and experiences. Students 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 investors, 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 o 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. Students 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. Students compare short-term debt securities with the stock market to access capital for business growth.
3) Design the flow of funds. Students design a cash flow movement in a financial system examining inflows and outflows of cash.

This module is designed to develop the students understanding have 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 principle objective is to ensure a solid understanding of project financing techniques to inform technical mastery in the critical analysis and execution of project finance initiatives. Project finance experts 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. Students compare short-term financing options to determine the risk associated with a company’s investment and financing needs.
2) Explain the international financial system. Students 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 Students create a system that provides key performance indicators to measure project profitability and risk.

The course Analysis and Negotiation in International Markets aims to study a series of aspects that are part of the environment in which companies operating in international markets operate:
• 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 the international activity of companies 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, the student will be guided to visit a series of web resources of interest to the subject. 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 to be carried out by the student (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. Students describe the characteristics of globalization trends, challenges of cultural barriers, and intercultural negotiation to overcome conflicts.
2) Analyze the functioning of the international trade institutions. Students 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 the company to identify opportunities and risks. Students apply a gravity model for the selection of international market opportunities.

International Business
Provides 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 students’ analytical thinking and decision-making skills.
Course Outcomes:
1) Understand the connection between globalization, company internationalization, and the digital age. Students demonstrate an understanding of digitation in the strategic management process of the international company.
2) Analyze the impact of the corporate digitization process. Students analyze how automation transforms the way business operates.
3) Examine the impact of digital transformation on a business model. Students examine the systems, processes, and workflow automation for business model transformation.

The course is designed to focus on the information systems adoption within a business enterprise. It addresses both the fundamentals of information technology and where, why and how those that run a company find it important to support business strategies and core processes with ICT systems. The use of information systems allows obtaining organizational efficiencies, increasing individual effectiveness and/or gaining a competitive advantage. Technological change, including information systems, can be one of the more prominent things in transforming the rules of competition, determining how an 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 a business: business operations and how information systems support these operations; information technology components: hardware, software, database and telecommunication networks; managing information systems within a business.
Course Outcomes:
1) Define the digital business ecosystem. Students define a digital ecosystem as a network of interconnected companies or products.
2) Implement a business intelligence model. Students implement a business intelligence model (BIM) to transform raw data into meaningful information.
3) Examine the new professional profiles in data-driven corporations. Students examine new professional profiles of the chief digital officer, business intelligence manager, and digital marketing manager.