Master of
Business Administration (MBA)

Strategic Management aims at providing students with an understanding of the strategic aspects and decision making processes of the organization and the tools that top management employs. Furthermore, the course aims to provide students with an understanding of various organizational structures and management processes with emphasis on strategic decisions such as the resource allocations, mergers and acquisitions, diversifications, business analysis, competitor analysis and planning. Finally, the course discusses the role of top managers such as the CEO, or general managers as strategists and how these roles attempt to co-ordinate all business and functions in the organisation to reach its objectives and longer term goals.

Research is a logical and systematic search for new and useful information on a particular topic. It is an investigation for fi nding solutions to scientifi c and social problems through objective and systematic analysis. It is a search for knowledge that is a discovery of hidden truths. Here, knowledge means information about matters. The information might be collected from different sources like experience, human beings, books, journals, nature, etc. Research can lead to new contributions to the existing knowledge. Only through research it is possible to make progress in a fi eld. Research is done with the help of study, experiment, observation, analysis, comparison, and reasoning. As such, this course introduces students to the essentials of Research Methodology and equips them with the necessary tools to conduct the research for their assignments and, particularly, their dissertation.

This is a joint module where students cover Economics in the first half and Financial Management in the second half. The aim of the Economics component of the module is to introduce students to economics and provide a foundation of economic understanding and knowledge so as to grasp the implications for businesses of changes in the economic environment. Moreover, it aims to develop the ability to use economic understanding and knowledge in examining and assessing a number of microeconomic and macroeconomic issues. As regards the Financial Management element of the module, it aims to cover the basic areas of financial management, which are of fundamental interest to corporate managers and to understand the basic principles needed to implement financial decisions both inside and outside the firm.

The Strategic Marketing module aims to build upon the basic foundations laid by the Marketing module. In particular the module seeks to extend the depth of knowledge about the development of marketing strategies, and their implementation. On completion of the module students will understand the processes adopted by marketing professionals: analysis, development of marketing strategies, and critically, the ways in which these strategies are implemented, and refined in response to tactical/short term imperatives. The general intent of the module is to refi ne students’ ability to make marketing decisions, and also to do so at a higher level than discussion previously. In particular the module will help students develop their ability to: choose the most effective analytic strategies, assess implementation and managerial implications; and critically evaluate strategic marketing analysis methods with respect to their validity and relevance in a range of marketplaces. The module will also explore the impact of marketing decisions upon the long-term evolution of markets; and market structures in terms of customers, competitors and market channels.

The Operations Management module provides a general introduction to operations and process management and explains how the operations function fi ts within the organisation overall. The module also explores how actors outside the core operations function have a role in, and engage in the management of processes.

The module will show students the wide organisational scope of operations management activity and will establish an understanding of the core concepts underlying the discipline. The module is introductory in nature, and while focused primarily on large organisations, also looks at small organisations and even the management of individual “human” processes. The module is intended as an introduction to operations management in both service and manufacturing organisations. Its intention is to provide the building blocks of those basic principles which are broadly applicable to most organisations. The module will introduce the basic principles of the “lean” operation, and show how managers can adopt lean principles in practice.

The Entrepreneurship and Innovation module is about entrepreneurs, innovators, and the things (products, services and processes) they create. Students often misunderstand the purpose of modules on entrepreneurship and innovation. Such modules – and this is no exception – are not “vocational”; they don’t tell you how to write a business plan, how to fi nd VC funding for a startup etc. Issues like these are certainly subjects that come up for appraisal, but our aim is to critically analyse them, not give you a “how to” for new venture creation.

Entrepreneurship is not confi ned to the context of new ventures or start-ups. For example, entrepreneurship can occur within large and mature organisations, and as often as not occurs within the non-profi t sector. Similarly, innovation is not just about ideas, inventions and technology. In the module we take a very broad view of innovation, and for example will look at process innovations, and organisational innovations as well as new technology, products and services.

What the module is about is creativity, and creative problem solving. The module will explore a range of different perspectives on entrepreneurship and the activities of entrepreneurs. If the module is at all “vocational” it is in inculcating a mind-set that supports entrepreneurship and innovation. The intention is is to help you develop the understanding, attitude and skills that will help you create and implement “the new”.

International Business & Cyprus in the Global Economy aims to develop in students a working knowledge of the global business environment, including its economic, political, legal and sociocultural components. Moreover it aims to develop in students the ability to think strategically about leveraging various country differences to create worldwide competitive advantages. Through the module of International Business & Cyprus in the Global Economy students delve into the challenges that businesses face when entering foreign markets and when competing against local fi rms and other international companies, with a particular emphasis to the Cyprus economy. In addition, the module provides students with conceptual frameworks for analysing business opportunities globally and across countries in different stages of economic development.

This module aims to critically analyse the drivers of enterprise and wealth creation from the perspective of their ethical implications. Moreover, students will investigate changing approaches and attitudes to sustainability and corporate social responsibility and will also critically evaluate frameworks for the discussion of business ethical issues and the use of tools for managing business ethics. Added to this, the module aims to examine the impact of globalisation on enterprise and evaluate diverse ethical models and theories (normative and descriptive). This module explores corporate responsibility and ethics from a multidisciplinary and multistakeholder perspective. It reviews theories and practice of corporate ethics, responsibility, and liability and illustrates how they apply to a number of complex business, development, and policy situations in the evolving global business landscape.