April 2026 · Handbook

Master of Business Administration

Note. These degree handbooks specify the regulations that govern each Woolf degree. In case of a conflict of information, the Woolf Degree Regulations supersede any faculty or staff or college handbooks that may have been provided.

Introduction

Master of Business Administration

The degree is suited for executives and general business managers in organisations of all sizes and types, or for those who will soon move into such management positions. It is designed for those that will have responsibility for planning, organising, and directing business operations. Some of the specific pathways will have associated audiences. For example the MBA in International Business is suited for executives and general business managers, or aspirants to these roles, who work in organisations with global reach and need to enhance their understanding of internationalisation and cross-cultural aspects of work and business. Similarly, the MBA in Technology Leadership is suited for business leaders at the forefront of digital and technological transformation in their organisations.

Students may choose to receive a general MBA or may specialise in one of the following areas:

Data Analytics
Marketing
Finance
International Business
Executive Leadership
Product Management
Technology Leadership
Occupational Health and Safety

Entry requirements

Education Requirements

Standard admission to the MBA normally requires a degree at EQF level 6 in any subject area. Applicants with at least 7 years of relevant business experience and completed undergraduate coursework at EQF level 5 may be eligible for alternative admissions pathways, including Performance-Based Admission (PBA) or admission through Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL). More details about these admission pathways is available at https://help.woolf.education.

Language Requirements

The degree may be taught in English or Spanish provided that students demonstrate linguistic competency at an IELTS 6.5 or equivalent (such as DELE or SIELE for Spanish). Native speakers, and students that have completed their education up to the EQF 4 level in the language of instruction are not required to take a language test.

Instructional design

Teaching: The MBA programme combines asynchronous components (lecture videos, readings, and assignments) and synchronous meetings attended by students and a teacher during a video call. Asynchronous components support the schedule of students from diverse work-life situations, and synchronous meetings provide accountability and motivation for students. Students have direct access to their teacher and their peers at all times through the use of direct message and group chat; teachers are also able to initiate voice and video calls with students outside the regularly scheduled synchronous sessions. The MBA is composed of multiple foundation courses, extended specialist courses, and a capstone project although the overall programme must creditably be 2250 hours (90 ECTS).

Assessment: Each course consists of both regular units where new material is taught and learned and cumulative units devoted to summative examination where learning and retention are assessed. Students typically complete 1-4 assignments per regular unit, which is the topic of the synchronous discussion. Summative (or final) assessment units allow students to deepen their cumulative, synthetic grasp of the course contents through exams, essays, reports, presentations, and other similar forms of assessment.

The MBA degree has a capstone project requiring students to choose, with guidance from the faculty, a real-world problem from a business administration domain. If they are pursuing a specialised track, the student’s Digital Action Programme should emerge from that specialisation. The faculty member and student will use the capstone to deepen their engagement with their chosen specialisation. If this problem is within the scope of their current employment, they can partner with a mentor as well as the faculty member. The student may also choose a problem from a different domain, in which case the faculty member will supervise the project. As the learners research their chosen problems, they must carry out exploratory data analysis, formulate and test hypotheses, design a research protocol, and use a variety of methodologies and tools to predict actionable insights and recommendations. Finally, they must communicate their results to technical and non-technical audiences through written, verbal, and visual means. The capstone provides students with a real-world business consultancy engagement, and the opportunity to produce a substantial piece of relevant, scholarly, and actionable research, to be presented directly to stakeholders in a cooperating organisation.

Degree structure

All students must complete 30 ECTS of courses in each tier. Requirements are specified under the tier heading.

Tier 1 (30 ECTS)

Students must complete any 30 ECTS of the following courses:

Courses	ECTS	Level
Leading People, Teams and Organisations: Organisational Theory	3	EQF 7
Working with Others	3	EQF 7
Ethical Issues for Managers	3	EQF 7
Reflective Leadership	3	EQF 7
Financial Accounting and Reporting	3	EQF 7
Business Accounting, Finance, and Economics	3	EQF 7
Business Negotiations	3	EQF 7
Strategic Economics	3	EQF 7
Integrative and Strategic Thinking	3	EQF 7
Marketing Strategy	3	EQF 7
Business Marketing and Operations	3	EQF 7
Effective Managerial Communication	3	EQF 7
Statistics and Data Analysis	3	EQF 7
Evidence-Based Decision Making	3	EQF 7
Technology and Operations Management	3	EQF 7
Business Leadership and Strategy	3	EQF 7
Creativity and Innovation	3	EQF 7
Supply Chain Management	3	EQF 7

Tier 2 (30 ECTS)

To receive a specialisation, students must complete 30 ECTS within one of the following areas of specialisation. Alternatively, students may choose 30 ECTS of any Tier 2 courses for a general MBA degree.

Specialisation A: Data Analytics (Select 30 ECTS)

Courses	ECTS	Level
Data Analytics and Modelling	10	EQF 7
Marketing Analytics	10	EQF 7
Python for Business Analytics	10	EQF 7
Decision Making with Business Analytics	10	EQF 7

Specialisation B: Marketing (Select 30 ECTS)

Courses	ECTS	Level
Business-to-Business Marketing	10	EQF 7
Services Marketing and Management	10	EQF 7
Global Brand Strategy	10	EQF 7
Marketing Analytics	10	EQF 7

Specialisation C: Finance (Select 30 ECTS)

Courses	ECTS	Level
Financial Statements Analysis	10	EQF 7
Investment Strategies	10	EQF 7
Global Finance and Emerging Markets	10	EQF 7
Financial Crisis and Risk Management	10	EQF 7

Specialisation D: International Business (Select 30 ECTS)

Courses	ECTS	Level
International Business Environments	10	EQF 7
Global Brand Strategy	10	EQF 7
Global Finance and Emerging Markets	10	EQF 7
Decision Making with Business Analytics	10	EQF 7

Specialisation E: Executive Leadership (Select 30 ECTS)

Courses	ECTS	Level
Leadership and Corporate Accountability	10	EQF 7
Social Entrepreneurship	10	EQF 7
Inclusive Leadership	10	EQF 7
The Business of Social Change and Innovation	10	EQF 7

Specialisation F: Product Management (Select 30 ECTS)

Courses	ECTS	Level
Inspiration and Product Creation	10	EQF 7
Implementation and Product Introduction	10	EQF 7
Measurement and Product Adoption	10	EQF 7
Marketing Analytics	10	EQF 7

Specialisation G: Technology Leadership (Select 30 ECTS)

Courses	ECTS	Level
Python for Business Analytics	10	EQF 7
Marketing Analytics	10	EQF 7
Financial Statements Analysis	10	EQF 7
International Business Environments	10	EQF 7

*Specialisation H: Occupational Health and Safety (Select 30 ECTS) (compulsory modules marked with )

Courses	ECTS	Level
Enterprise Risk Management*	10	EQF 7
Health, Safety, and Leadership Essentials*	10	EQF 7
Strategic Project Management and Implementation	10	EQF 7
Introduction to Strategic Healthcare Management	10	EQF 7
Operations Management in Global Healthcare	10	EQF 7

TIER THREE (30 ECTS):

Students may take the 30 ECTS Capstone or three 10 ECTS courses (equalling 30 ECTS) to fulfill the requirements of Tier three.

Courses	ECTS	Level
Capstone: Digital Action Programme for Business Administration	30	EQF 7
Soft Skills	10	EQF 7
Interview Preparation Skills	10	EQF 7
Capstone Project	10	EQF 7

Tier 1: Foundation Courses

1. Leading People, Teams and Organisations: Organisational Theory

This course will approach leadership by identifying practices that researchers and practitioners have shown to be the most effective. Through these processes, students will gain a broad range of skills.

This course examines how leaders can most effectively use the resources of their team members to achieve business outcomes. The course develops managerial and leadership competencies, focusing on how key improvements in the general strategy and techniques of managing people can produce outcomes more significant than isolated improvements to employee performance. The course provides students with concepts to support them across their careers as they continue to develop effective delegation, management strategy, and engagement with people inside of an organisation.

Specific topics covered include managing a diverse workforce; self-leadership; perception pitfalls; decision making; conflict resolution; emotional intelligence; improving performance; team structure.

Learning Outcomes

Create critical and contextualised understandings and discussions of key issues related to leadership and management.
Apply a professional and scholarly approach to research problems pertaining to the effective use of team resources and delegation of personnel.
Efficiently manage interdisciplinary issues that arise when assessing human resources and delegating effectively to achieve business goals.
Demonstrate self-direction in research and originality in solutions for management and leadership problems.
Identifying research problems and solutions related to business leadership and strategy.
Solve problems and be prepared to take leadership decisions related to business leadership and strategy.

2. Working With Others

In this course students will deepen and extend their ability to create and maintain high-quality relationships with people who come from a wide range of backgrounds and possess different points of view in order to create and execute processes that produce successful outcomes and results.

This course teaches business managers and leaders to reflect critically on concepts from the behavioral sciences that can be applied to a fast changing business environment to improve their abilities to lead and manage in organisations.

Behavioral frameworks for individuals, teams, and organisations are evaluated critically and discussed in the context of real-world cases. Tutorial groups provide practice in problem-based teamwork, communicating in specialist and non-specialist registers, and in applying the frameworks in practice.

Learning Outcomes

Create synthetic contextualised discussions of key issues related to business relationships.
Apply a professional and scholarly approach to research problems pertaining to the cultivation of business relationships in order to create results.
Efficiently manage interdisciplinary issues that arise in developing relations with people who come from a wide range of backgrounds.
Demonstrate self-direction and originality in solutions developed for managing high-quality business relationships.
Act autonomously in identifying research problems and solutions related to business relationships.
Solve problems and be prepared to take leadership decisions related to business relationships, both on a personal level, and relationships between companies.

3. Ethical Issues for Managers

Ethical dilemmas are frequently encountered in the workplace, in every function of the organisation, and at every level. Knowing how to deal with ethical issues is critical in being able to be an effective leader. Additionally, the range and complexity of ethical issues have increased in recent years, as well as expectations of responsible corporate conduct; knowing how to deal with such concerns is an important part of management today.

In this course, students examine how organisations, and individuals within them, can deal with ethical issues and dilemmas at the collective and personal levels. Throughout the course, students will gain skills related to elements of ethical decision-making, the psychological aspects related to business ethics, and ethics in the global marketplace. The course will focus on how business leaders can make ethical decisions, skilfully manage ethical issues in the workplace, and help encourage ethics in a variety of organisations.

Learning Outcomes

Recognise and critically assess cross-cultural variations and similarities in organisational practices in corporate social responsibility and business ethics.
Apply knowledge of the diverse demographics of business to make effective ethical business decisions.
Identify and analyse the implications of social and ethical issues in a business context.
Identify and solve ethical business problems.
Implement both personally and organisationally key theories relating to personal, organisational, and societal ethics and values.

4. Reflective Leadership

In this course students will deepen and cultivate their capacity to reflect continually on their learning and growth; they will examine the ways in which one’s behaviors and decision-making impact others, with a goal of leading with integrity.

This course is designed to deepen and extend students' conceptual and practical understanding of leadership in organisations, extending beyond the application of knowledge in practical judgements that achieve business outcomes, to embrace wider social and ethical considerations. The course is experiential and multidisciplinary, requiring participants to reflect on the social and ethical responsibilities of leaders in relation to their own experiences. It is designed to help students discover insights about themselves as leaders, fostering the development of a self-awareness, including strengths and opportunities for personal growth.

In addition, the course provides a context for enhancing the skills and competencies that enable a student to become an effective leader in today's highly dynamic, diverse and adaptive organisation.

Learning Outcomes

Create synthetic contextualised discussions of key issues related to reflective leadership.
Apply a professional and scholarly approach to research problems pertaining to reflective leadership.
Efficiently manage interdisciplinary issues that arise when assessing the pathway to becoming a reflective leader.
Demonstrate self-direction in cultivating habits that improve reflective leadership.
Act autonomously in identifying research problems and solutions related to reflective leadership.
Solve problems and be prepared to take leadership decisions related to reflective leadership.

5. Financial Accounting and Reporting

In general terms, financial accounting is the measurement of economic activity for decision-making. Financial statements are a key product of this measurement process and an important component of firms’ financial reporting activities.

The objective of this course is to help students become intelligent readers of the financial reports of most publicly traded companies. Students will learn the development, analysis, and use of these reports by focusing on what these reports contain, what assumptions and concepts accountants use to prepare them, and why they use those assumptions and concepts. A solid understanding of the fundamentals covered in this course should enable students to do well in more advanced finance and accounting courses and to interview intelligently for jobs in finance, consulting, and general management.

The course begins with the basic concepts of accounting. Students will analyse the main financial statements: balance sheet, income statement, statement of cash flows, and statement of stockholders’ equity. Particular attention is paid to how these four statements relate to each other and how they provide information about the operating performance and financial health of a company. The course also covers specific items from the financial statements and applies tools of analysis whenever possible.

Learning Outcomes

Understand, interpret, and describe how business activities are captured by financial statements.
Explain how components of financial statements are linked together.
Identify issues related to revenue recognition.
Makes judgments in assessing how a given financial statement analysis is tied to valuation.
Assess and analyse companies’ strategic engagement in earnings management activities.

6. Business Accounting, Finance, and Economics

This course covers core concepts in accounting, finance, and microeconomics relevant to running a business.

The course begins with finance for business, including the time value of money, the trade-off between risk and return, and arbitrage. It gives managers a strengthened knowledge in finance that can be applied in their professional careers. The topics covered include how to move cash flows in time, the methods and principles of capital budgeting, valuation of bonds and stocks, how to characterise risk and return, and options pricing with applications to managerial decisions.

The course then builds on the student’s knowledge of finance to introduce accounting and examines the subject from the viewpoint of users external to the organisation. Topics include transaction analysis; the accounting cycle; financial-statement preparation, use, and analysis; revenue recognition and cost measurement; present value; and problems in financial-accounting disclosure.

This course concludes with microeconomic theory and its application to problems faced by managers. Topics include supply and demand, consumer behaviour, pricing when a firm has market power, and contracts.

Learning Outcomes

Create synthetic contextualised discussions of key issues related to revenue recognition and cost measurement.
Apply a professional and scholarly approach to research problems pertaining to the trade-off between risk and return.
Efficiently manage interdisciplinary issues that arise in connection to the trade-off between risk and return.
Demonstrate self-direction in research and originality in solutions for entrepreneurial finance and accounting.
Act autonomously in identifying research problems and solutions related to business accounting, finance, and economics.
Solve problems and be prepared to take leadership decisions related to the methods and principles of capital budgeting.

7. Business Negotiations

Managers require a broad array of negotiating skills to implement business solutions – this requires advanced knowledge of negotiation models, the competence to select the right strategy, and the tactical skills to achieve desired outcomes through negotiation

In addition to studying key negotiation theories, the course develops skills in negotiation, providing students with the opportunity to test and improve their abilities through discussions that model negotiation scenarios, through the use of case studies, and through reflection and feedback.

Students will review and test various approaches to negotiated conflict resolution (at small personal scales and large organisational scales). The course builds competencies in developing an effective professional and personal style of negotiation.

Learning Outcomes

Create synthetic contextualised discussion of key issues related to business negotiations.
Demonstrate the competence to select a fitting negotiation strategy for specific situations.
Apply a professional and scholarly approach to theories and case studies of business negotiations.
Efficiently manage interdisciplinary issues that arise in connection with running a business and handling business negotiations.
Demonstrate self-direction in research and originality in assessing and proposing negotiation strategies.
Be prepared to take leadership decisions related to business negotiations.

8. Strategic Economics

This course explores basic economic principles (theories and applications) that are relevant to a variety of businesses. The course emphasises an economist's mindset and amasses the tools necessary to do so, including the study of microeconomics and macroeconomics.

Throughout the course, students will examine the underlying economics of successful business strategy: the strategic imperatives of competitive markets, the sources and dynamics of competitive advantage, managing competitive interactions, and the organisational implementation of business strategy.

Additionally, the course focuses on case discussion and analysis and provides a foundation for consultants, managers, and corporate finance generalists.

Learning Outcomes

Research the determinants of market demand and supply in a given industry.
Have the autonomy to recognise and describe the different strategic goals for firms managing in competitive and monopolistic environments.
Demonstrates the ability to respond to fast-changing market conditions with actionable proposals for strategic firm behaviour including game theory, entry and deterrence, collusion and cooperation, and bargaining.

9. Integrative and Strategic Thinking

In this course students will gain the capacity to understand how firms work in a global context, incorporating a broad, future-oriented, systems-based approach that incorporates data, information and insights from diverse perspectives and sources. This course is designed to convey the key concepts of strategic thinking and how they fit into the larger context of management strategy and decisions. Students will be presented with both the practical “how” and the fundamental “why” in the light of contributions from behavioural science, economics, and statistics.

Learning Outcomes

Create synthetic contextualised discussions of key business issues related to integrative and strategic thinking.
Apply a professional and scholarly approach to research problems of developing strategies for a global context.
Efficiently manage interdisciplinary issues that arise when assessing the implementation of a strategic plan.
Demonstrate self-direction in research and originality in solutions developed.
Act autonomously in identifying research problems and solutions related to a broad, future-oriented, systems-based strategic plan.
Solve problems and be prepared to take leadership decisions related to integrative and strategic thinking in business.

10. Marketing Strategy

The role of marketing management in organisations is to identify and measure the needs and wants of consumers, to determine which targets the business can serve, to decide on the appropriate offerings to serve these markets, and to determine the optimal methods of pricing, promoting, and distributing the firm’s offerings. Successful organisations are those that integrate the objectives and resources of the organisation with the needs and opportunities of the marketplace. The goal of this course is to facilitate student achievement of these goals regardless of career path.

This course addresses how to design and implement the best combination of marketing efforts to carry out a firm's strategy in its target markets. Specifically, this course helps to develop the student's understanding of how the firm can benefit by creating and delivering value to its customers, and stakeholders, and develop skills in applying the analytical concepts and tools of marketing to such decisions as segmentation and targeting, branding, pricing, distribution, and promotion.

Learning Outcomes

Critically analyse the tasks of marketing and examine the major functions that comprise the marketing task in organisations.
Assess market potential.
Classify and analyse customer segments, to develop effective marketing strategy.

11. Business Marketing and Operations

This course explores the key concepts of marketing and how they fit into the larger context of management strategy and operational decisions. It presents both the practical 'how' and the fundamental 'why' of marketing activities in the light of contributions from behavioral science, economics, and statistics. The course provides managers and business leaders with the understanding needed to manage and lead those who implement the marketing activities; the course provides concepts and processes for business leaders that seek to continue developing through future experiences or coursework in marketing.

The course then focuses on managing processes. Theoretically, it models business functions as a network of actions that convert inputs into outputs. Process design is considered, including the volume and variety of system inputs and outputs - especially with respect to goods and services. Different inventory management and logistic systems are explored. Finally, forecasting and process optimisation are explored, strengthening managers ability to operate with finite resources.

Learning Outcomes

Create synthetic contextualised discussions of key management issues related to marketing in relation to operational decisions.
Apply a professional and scholarly approach to research problems pertaining to marketing and operations.
Efficiently manage interdisciplinary issues that arise in connection between running a business and marketing and operations.
Demonstrate self-direction in research and originality in solutions developed.
Act autonomously in identifying research problems and solutions related to business marketing and operations.
Solve problems and be prepared to take leadership decisions related to business marketing and operations.

12. Effective Managerial Communication

In this course, students will gain the capacity to appropriately apply a broad repertoire of communication skills in business, professional, and social contexts.

Throughout the course, students will critically analyse managerial communication skills required for leadership in a wide variety of industries. It considers the varied means of communication including writing, speaking, and calling, and generally appearing professional. The communication requirements of different contexts are studied, including informational, persuasive, and relational forms of communication.

Learning Outcomes

Create synthetic contextualised discussions of key issues related to effective managerial communication.
Apply a professional and scholarly approach to defining appropriate and effective managerial communication.
Efficiently manage interdisciplinary aspects of effective managerial communication.
Demonstrate self-direction in originality in developing an appropriately broad repertoire of communication skills.
Act autonomously in identifying research problems and solutions related to effective managerial communication.
Solve problems and be prepared to take leadership decisions related to effective managerial communication.

13. Statistics and Data Analysis

This course is designed to achieve an understanding of fundamental notions of data presentation and analysis and to use statistical thinking in the context of business problems.

The course addresses modern methods of data exploration (designed to reveal unusual or problematic aspects of databases), the uses and abuses of the basic techniques of inference, and the use of regression as a tool for management and for financial analysis. The potential ethical issues related to each topic will be reviewed. Socially and environmentally relevant data will be utilised throughout the course.

The goal of the course is not to turn students into statisticians but to enable them to appreciate the use of probability in assessing evidence and making decisions, and to be statistically literate consumers of quantitative information generated by economists, biomedical researchers, psychologists, statisticians, survey researchers, and other experts.

Learning Outcomes

Integrate statistical analysis in a decision-making process.
Interpret linear association and conduct simple linear regression data analysis.
Apply correctly a variety of statistical techniques, both descriptive and inferential.

14. Evidence-Based Decision Making

In this course students will strengthen their capacity to lead individuals, teams, and organisations in processes that generate data-driven solutions to problems, data-driven insights into customer behaviour, and data-driven decision-making.

This course provides the foundations of probability and statistics required for a manager to interpret large quantities of data and to make informed decisions under conditions of uncertainty, with incomplete information, and in both structured and unstructured settings. Theoretical topics include decision trees, hypothesis testing, multiple regression, and sampling.

Learning Outcomes

Create synthetic contextualised discussions of key issues related to evidence-based decision-making.
Apply a professional and scholarly approach to data and evidence as factors in decision-making.
Efficiently manage interdisciplinary and diverse kinds of evidence that inform decision-making.
Demonstrate self-direction in gathering and using evidence and data for decision-making.
Act autonomously in identifying research problems and solutions related to evidence-based decision-making in a business context.
Solve problems and be prepared to take leadership decisions related to evidence-based decision-making in a business context.

15. Technology and Operations Management

This course enables students to develop the skills and concepts needed to ensure the ongoing contribution of a firm's operations to its competitive position. It helps them to understand the complex processes underlying the development and manufacture of products as well as the creation and delivery of services. Throughout the course, students will receive a comprehensive overview of technology utilisation to drive a competitive advantage for company operations. Students explore various technology solutions for business process automation, including value proposition analysis across organisation functions.

Specific topics addressed include process analysis; cross-functional and cross-firm integration; product development; information technology; and technology and operations strategy.

Additionally, students will analyse how technology can be leveraged to improve product development during the four lifecycle phases. The course provides a detailed overview of the impact of technology on various operating models such as manufacturing, supply chain management, customer-facing, product development, and support functions.

Learning Outcomes

Evaluate how technology-savvy human capital drives technology adoption in operations management.
Develop a phased approach and methodology for embedding technology solutions across the operation, triggered by business value proposition and priorities.
Understand and assess contemporary operations and manufacturing organisational approaches and supply-chain management activities and the renewed importance of this aspect of organisational strategy.

16. Business Leadership and Strategy

The course provides students with concepts to support them across their careers as they continue to develop effective delegation, management strategy, and engagement with people inside of an organisation.

Learning Outcomes

Create synthetic contextualised discussions of key issues related to leadership and management strategy.
Apply a professional and scholarly approach to research problems pertaining to the effective use of team resources and delegation of personnel.
Efficiently manage interdisciplinary issues that arise when assessing human resources and delegating effectively to achieve business goals.
Demonstrate self-direction in research and originality in solutions for management and leadership.
Act autonomously in identifying research problems and solutions related to business leadership and strategy.
Solve problems and be prepared to take leadership decisions related to business leadership and strategy.

17. Creativity and Innovation

In this course, students will develop specialised and multidisciplinary capacities to generate creative solutions and alternatives to existing business issues by refining their ability to lead processes that stimulate and manage creativity in a business.

Students will reflect critically on templates and methods for designing, implementing, and assessing processes that introduce creativity to real work situations. The course will engage with both the theoretical frameworks and practical methods or tools for cultivating practices of creativity in response to real business challenges.

Ultimately, the course cultivates skills for autonomous managers to lead creative projects, people, and ventures, and to oversee the processes that keep them on track.

Learning Outcomes

Create synthetic contextualised discussions of key issues related to creativity and innovation in the workplace.
Apply a professional and scholarly approach to research problems pertaining to creativity and innovation.
Efficiently manage interdisciplinary aspects of assessing templates and plans for cultivating creativity and innovation.
Demonstrate self-direction in research and originality in solutions developed.
Act autonomously in identifying research problems and solutions related to business creativity and innovation.
Solve problems and be prepared to take leadership decisions related to business creativity and innovation.

18. Supply Chain Management

Increases in product variety and customisation in the past few years have posed challenges to firms in terms of delivering products to customers faster and more efficiently. With the prevalence of the usage of the Internet for business, electronic business transformations are occurring in every business. One of the fundamental enablers of electronic commerce is effective supply chain management. Thus, supply chain management has become the focus of attention of senior management in the industry today.

This course considers management of a supply chain in a global environment from a managerial perspective. The focus is on analysis, management, and improvement of supply chain processes and their adaptation to the electronic business environment. The course focuses on six topics: Inventory and Information Management; Distribution and Transportation; Global Operations; Supplier Management; Management of Product Variety; and Electronic Supply Chains. Several new concepts including Prognostic Supply Chains, Build-to-Order, Collaborative Forecasting, Delayed Differentiation, Cross Docking, Global Outsourcing, and Efficient Consumer Response will also be discussed. At the end of the course, a student will have the necessary tools and metrics to evaluate a current supply chain and recommend design changes to supply chain processes.

Learning Outcomes

Use and apply computer-based supply chain optimisation tools including the use of selected state-of-the-art supply chain software suites currently used in business.
Analyse and improve supply chain processes.
Use concepts of operations and supply chain management and qualitative and quantitative methods to make decisions in business contexts that include new and unfamiliar situations.
Analysing current supply chain management trends and their relevance for specific markets, industries, or organisations.
Apply current supply chain theories, practices, and concepts utilising case problems and problem-based learning situations.
Align the management to supply chains with corporate goals and strategies.

Tier 2: Specialisation Courses

Specialisation A: Data Analytics

1. Data Analytics and Modeling

The objective of this course is to provide students the basic data analysis and modelling concepts and methodologies using probability theory. Basic statistics concepts and probability concepts will be covered. Fundamental data analysis and hypothesis techniques will be covered. Further data modelling methodologies such as Hidden Markov Models and Bayesian networks will be introduced.

Students successfully completing this course will have gained a solid understanding of probabilistic data modelling, interpretation, and analysis and thus have formed an important basis to solve practical statistics and data analysis-related problems arising in real-world business situations. The techniques discussed are applied in all functional areas within business organisations including accounting, finance, human resource management, marketing, operations, and strategic planning.

Learning Outcomes

Apply data science concepts and methods to solve problems in real-world business contexts and communicate these solutions effectively.
Demonstrate proficiency with statistical analysis of data.
Use data visualisation tools to analyse data and produce reports.
Proficient in solving business problems by identifying data gaps and synthesising data to deliver quality output.
Research and utilise validated data to logically construct reports based on needs.

2. Marketing Analytics

Throughout the course, students will study various tools for generating marketing insights from data in such areas as segmentation, targeting and positioning, satisfaction management, customer lifetime analysis, customer choice, product and price decisions using conjoint analysis, and text analysis, and search analytics.

Learning Outcomes

Measure customer lifetime value and use that information to evaluate strategic marketing alternatives.
Critically analyse different methods for data-driven decision-making in a marketing context.
Assess the major functions that comprise the marketing task in organisations, and create data-informed approaches to these functions.

3. Python for Business Analytics

This course introduces students to one of the world’s most widely used and in-demand programming languages and its specific applications to business analytics. Python is used in a wide range of fields, including web development, data science, fin-tech, health care, and more. With Python, business leaders can scrape online sources to determine consumer sentiment, automate tasks, run advanced models, and export code across different applications.

Throughout the course will develop the following skills: Apply programmatic logic to complex business problems in areas such as finance, operations, and marketing; Use technical knowledge to lead and manage teams in today’s evolving digital economy; Leverage state-of-the-art tools and powerful, open-source Python libraries to clean, analyse and visualise data.

Learning Outcomes

Describe and perform Python data acquisition and analysis techniques.
Derive hidden information from voluminous and complex data.
Analyse data from a variety of industries and uncover business insights.
Communicate effectively the purpose, methodology, and results of an analysis involving Python to a non-technical business audience.

4. Decision Making with Business Analytics

This course encompasses statistics, decision analysis, and simulation modelling.

Throughout the course, students will strengthen their capacity to lead individuals, teams, and organisations in processes that generate data-driven solutions to problems, data-driven insights into customer behaviour, and data-driven decision-making. This course provides the foundations of probability and statistics required for a manager to interpret large quantities of data and to make informed decisions under conditions of uncertainty, with incomplete information, and in both structured and unstructured settings. Theoretical topics include decision trees, hypothesis testing, multiple regression, Monte Carlo simulation, and sampling and estimation.

Learning Outcomes

Create synthetic contextualised discussions of key issues related to evidence-based decision-making.
Apply a professional and scholarly approach to data and evidence as factors in decision-making.
Efficiently manage interdisciplinary and diverse kinds of evidence that inform decision-making.
Demonstrate self-direction in gathering and using evidence and data for decision-making.
Act autonomously in identifying research problems and solutions related to evidence-based decision-making in a business context.
Solve problems and be prepared to take leadership decisions related to evidence-based decision-making in a business context.

Specialisation B: Marketing

1. Business-to-Business Marketing

The focus of this course is to introduce concepts, skills, and strategies for performing competitively in the business market where organisations rather than households are the customers.

This course provides a managerial introduction to the strategic and tactical aspects of business marketing decisions and marketing channel strategy. Students examine the strategic concepts and tools that guide market selection, successful differentiation in business markets, and supply chain management. Students will examine how product and service decisions are designed to deliver the B2B value proposition, how pricing captures customer value, how value is communicated to and among customers, and how marketing channels are used to make this value accessible to target customers. Additionally, students will compare and contrast how the strategic and tactical processes of developing and managing value-generating relationships differ between B2B and B2C markets. Moreover, students will also gain an understanding of how to manage channel power, conflict, and relationships.

Learning Outcomes

Develop a managerial perspective on the marketing function in firms that target business and government customers in both domestic and global contexts.
Develop managerial orientation to implementing and controlling B2B marketing programmes and managing channel relationships.
Critically discuss the applications, challenges, and environment of B2B marketing, including the unique nature of organisational buying behavior.

2. Services Marketing Management

Service organisations (e.g., hospitals, hotels, banks, insurance companies, professional services, educational institutions) require a different approach from that of goods and high-tech businesses. Additionally, many goods and high-tech businesses also use a strong service component as a source of competitive advantage.

Services marketing is often viewed in terms of outcomes, but services marketing is also an ongoing analytic process. In this course, students will learn how to properly analyse frameworks, tools, channels, data sets, customer behavioral data, decision-making factors, and strategies that support broader marketing decisions. Throughout the course, students will build on basic marketing concepts and apply them to service industry settings.

Learning Outcomes

Utilise processes and skills to evaluate the customer experience and service quality of an organisation.
Critically assess the role of technology in marketing services.
Assess the unique challenges of services marketing, including the elements of product, price, place, promotion, process, physical evidence, and people.
Assess service blueprinting, the integration of new technologies, and other key issues facing service providers and managers.

3. Global Brand Strategy

This course examines specific issues involved in building and managing global brands in such a way that they contribute to shareholder value. A global brand uses the same name and logo and has awareness, availability, and acceptance in multiple regions of the world. It shares the same strategic principles, values, positioning, and marketing throughout the world. Although the marketing mix can vary, it is managed in an internationally coordinated manner.

Throughout this course, students will develop skills related to building strong global brands; developing marketing mix strategies that are an effective combination of global standardisation, local adaptation, and worldwide learning; and managing global brands.

Learning Outcomes

Participate in and analyse discussions of key issues related to international branding.
Apply a professional and scholarly approach to data and evidence as factors in developing a global brand.
Efficiently manage interdisciplinary and diverse kinds of evidence that inform branding.
Demonstrate self-direction in gathering and using evidence and data for developing marketing strategies related to brand.
Act autonomously in identifying research problems and solutions related to global branding in a business context.
Solve problems and be prepared to take leadership decisions related to evidence-based decision-making in a business context.

4. Marketing Analytics

Learning Outcomes

Measure customer lifetime value and use that information to evaluate strategic marketing alternatives.
Critically analyse different methods for data-driven decision-making in a marketing context.
Assess the major functions that comprise the marketing task in organisations, and create data-informed approaches to these functions.

Specialisation C: Finance

1. Financial Statement Analysis

Financial reports contain important information about a company's past, present, and future. The ability to read these reports provides valuable insights into an organisation's strengths and shortcomings.

This course is designed to prepare students to interpret and analyse financial statements for tasks such as credit and security analyses, lending and investment decisions, and other decisions that rely on financial data. Throughout the course, students will explore in greater depth financial reporting from the perspective of financial statement users. Students will develop a sufficient understanding of the concepts and recording procedures and therefore will be able to interpret various disclosures in an informed manner. Additionally, students will learn how to compare companies financially, understand cash flow, and grasp basic profitability issues and risk analysis concepts.

Learning Outcomes

Critically analyse a business’s finances.
Understand and evaluate major valuation models.
Understand and interpret assets and liabilities reported on a balance sheet.
Develop a sufficient understanding of the concepts and recording procedures.
Critically compare companies financially, understand cash flow, and grasp basic profitability issues and risk analysis concepts.

2. Investment Strategies

Throughout this course, students will learn the basic concepts of needs analysis, investment policy, asset allocation, product selection, portfolio monitoring and rebalancing. Students will assess the various types of institutional investors, including pension funds and insurance companies and develop skills related to the client management life cycle and portfolio management as a process. The course will address the basic concepts, principles, and the major styles of investing in alternative assets. Additionally, students will learn about the impact of digitisation on investment strategies and the issues related to performance measurement, transaction costs and liquidity risk, margin requirements, risk management, and portfolio construction. Other topics addressed in the course include quantitative investment strategies used by active traders and methodologies to analyse them. Through the use of case studies, students will learn to use real data to back-test or evaluate several of the most successful trading strategies used by active investment managers. As a result, students will learn to read and analyse academic research articles in search of profitable and implementable trading ideas.

Learning Outcomes

Critically assess challenges of leveraging and shorting.
Analyse the performance of investment products over time by using large data sets and statistical packages for measuring performance.
Communicate effectively to technical and nontechnical audiences about underlying empirical evidence that informs investment decisions.
Apply modern risk management and analytical theory to stock selection.
Perform the functions of a quantitative research analyst at an investment firm with autonomy.

3. Global Finance and Emerging Markets

This course develops the foundations for financial decisions in a global economic environment. It concentrates on four areas: markets, tools, investments, and corporations. Students will become familiar with the benefits of international diversification in investment strategies. Additional topics include the valuation of international investments and analysis of the functioning of international financial markets and institutions.

Throughout the courses, students will also develop skills related to the management of foreign exchange exposure in international corporations within the specific context of emerging markets.

Learning Outcomes

Create synthetic contextualised discussions of key issues related to global finance.
Apply a professional and scholarly approach to data and evidence as factors in emerging markets.
Efficiently manage interdisciplinary and diverse kinds of evidence that inform global finance.
Demonstrate self-direction in gathering and using evidence and data for developing financial strategies related to derivative instruments.
Act autonomously in analysing global financial markets.
Solve problems and be prepared to take leadership decisions related to traditional and alternative asset classes in a business context.

4. Financial Crises and Risk Management

Throughout this course, students will develop the analytical tools necessary to understand crisis prevention and management, and risk management. The properties and characteristics of risk management techniques will be analysed and related to corporate and sovereign default risk, hedging and trading strategies, regulation, and assessing financial stability and systemic risk. Emphasis will be put on applying these techniques to problems emerging in the marketplace.

Additionally, this course addresses the ability of different risk management approaches to account for large market shocks. Students will study the effect of leverage, through borrowing or through the structuring of assets, in amplifying shocks and increasing risk, and the role of capital in mitigating them. The information learned in this course will help business leaders understand their role in regulatory compliance and participate constructively in these interactions.

Learning Outcomes

Communicate the importance of risk management, key objectives, concerns, and challenges to technical and nontechnical audiences.
Research solutions to real-world risk management problems across a variety of risk factors (currency risk, commodity risk, etc.).
Perform critical evaluations of risk factors and evaluate risk management approaches on the basis of incomplete information in a fast-changing business context..

Specialisation D: International Business

1. International Business Environments

This course explores the international business environment in which organisations operate. Throughout the course, students will examine the structure and features of international markets, how organisations engage with these markets, and how they respond to their complexities. Students are introduced to useful theoretical and analytical frameworks that are crucial to understanding the opportunities and risks derived from the political, economic, social, technological, and institutional environment of countries.

The course also addresses aspects of global institutions, such as the World Trade organisation (WTO) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which set global rules that affect business strategy and human welfare.

Learning Outcomes

Assess the nature and impact of globalisation on the world’s economy.
Effectively communicate how economic and political systems interact to form a political economy.
Identify how cultural differences restrict and create opportunities for management action, international trade, and its forms and theories.

2. Global Brand Strategy

Learning Outcomes

Participate in and analyse discussions of key issues related to international branding.
Apply a professional and scholarly approach to data and evidence as factors in developing a global brand.
Efficiently manage interdisciplinary and diverse kinds of evidence that inform branding.
Demonstrate self-direction in gathering and using evidence and data for developing marketing strategies related to brand.
Act autonomously in identifying research problems and solutions related to global branding in a business context.
Solve problems and be prepared to take leadership decisions related to evidence-based decision-making in a business context.

3. Global Finance and Emerging Markets

Throughout the courses, students will also develop skills related to the management of foreign exchange exposure in international corporations within the specific context of emerging markets.

Learning Outcomes

Create synthetic contextualised discussions of key issues related to global finance.
Apply a professional and scholarly approach to data and evidence as factors in emerging markets.
Efficiently manage interdisciplinary and diverse kinds of evidence that inform global finance.
Demonstrate self-direction in gathering and using evidence and data for developing financial strategies related to derivative instruments.
Act autonomously in analysing global financial markets.
Solve problems and be prepared to take leadership decisions related to traditional and alternative asset classes in a business context.

4. Decision Making with Business Analytics

This course encompasses statistics, decision analysis, and simulation modelling.

Learning Outcomes

Create synthetic contextualised discussions of key issues related to evidence-based decision-making.
Apply a professional and scholarly approach to data and evidence as factors in decision-making.
Efficiently manage interdisciplinary and diverse kinds of evidence that inform decision-making.
Demonstrate self-direction in gathering and using evidence and data for decision-making.
Act autonomously in identifying research problems and solutions related to evidence-based decision-making in a business context.
Solve problems and be prepared to take leadership decisions related to evidence-based decision-making in a business context.

Specialisation E: Executive Leadership

1. Leadership and Corporate Accountability

In this course, students learn about the complex responsibilities facing business leaders today. Through cases about difficult managerial decisions, the course examines the legal, ethical, and economic responsibilities of corporate leaders. It also teaches students about management and governance systems leaders can use to promote responsible conduct by companies and their employees, and shows how personal values can play a critical role in effective leadership.

Additionally, this course is designed to deepen and extend students' conceptual and practical understanding of leadership in organisations, extending beyond the application of knowledge in practical judgements that achieve business outcomes, to embrace wider social and ethical considerations. The course is experiential and multidisciplinary, requiring participants to reflect on the social and ethical responsibilities of leaders in relation to their own experiences. It is designed to help students discover insights about themselves as leaders, fostering the development of self-awareness, including strengths and opportunities for personal growth.

Learning Outcomes

Create synthetic contextualised discussions of key issues related to leadership and corporate accountability.
Efficiently manage interdisciplinary issues that arise when assessing the conditions for corporate accountability.
Demonstrate self-direction in cultivating habits that improve accountability while in leadership positions.
Solve problems and be prepared to take leadership decisions related to social and ethical considerations.

2. Social Entrepreneurship

Social Entrepreneurship is a dynamic business field that examines the practice of identifying, starting, and growing successful mission-driven for-profit and non-profit ventures. This course provides students with the skills to develop in-depth insights into economic and social value creation across several areas, including poverty alleviation, energy, health, and sustainability. Through case studies, lectures, and discussions, students will learn to think strategically and act opportunistically with a socially-conscious business mindset.

Topics addressed throughout this course include problem/opportunity assessment, resource acquisition, and social and financial returns on investments. Students will critically assess various social and organisational models that directly affect diverse populations throughout the world.

Learning Outcomes

Create critical and contextualised discussions of key issues that affect social enterprise formation and business decision-making in any organisational context.
Efficiently manage interdisciplinary issues that arise when assessing the conditions of social enterprise and entrepreneurship.
Demonstrate self-direction in cultivating habits that improve management styles in relation to working with social issues.
Solve problems and be prepared to take leadership decisions related to social entrepreneurship.

3. Inclusive Leadership

This course focuses on multiple aspects of team dynamics and structure, with a focus on the organisational intelligence needed to lead and manage diverse organisations in a varied marketplace. Theories of organizational behavior, social psychology, and anthropology are critically discussed in relation to real-world scenarios.

Additionally, this course introduces students to the challenges and opportunities faced in multifaceted workplaces and provides evidence-based insights and practical strategies for how to accelerate team engagement and belonging as a pathway to sustainability and competitive advantage. Ultimately, this course enables students to successfully build and lead organisations that are multifaceted, equitable, and engaging.

Learning Outcomes

Understand and assess the historical evolution of workplace sustainability and equity globally.
Efficiently manage interdisciplinary issues related to the relationship between culture and self-presentation in a workplace setting.
Critically discuss diverse workplaces and inclusion in terms of organisations and society.
Effectively lead management teams to develop and embed a strong inclusive culture in the organisation and implement EDI (equality, diversity, and inclusion) strategies.

4. The Business of Social Change and Innovation

This course is designed to provide students with the skills and knowledge to influence and lead social impact in business and impact contexts. By the conclusion of this course, students should have a strong foundation in social impact and social change, including approaches to funding impact, scaling programmes, and interventions, public-private partnerships, corporate engagement, impact investment decision-making, blended capital, and approaches to intentional impact.

The course will pivot around multiple case studies addressing social issues through which students learn and test social impact frameworks and concepts. Once students have gained a mastery of perspectives and methodologies necessary to consider and address a social issue from the ground up, they will next learn to identify and utilise effective measures of outputs and progress and explore the core levers and potentials to change outcomes for people, communities and market systems.

Learning Outcomes

Understand and assess the historical evolution of social impact and social change globally.
Efficiently manage interdisciplinary issues related to funding impact in a corporate setting.
Ability to critically discuss social change programmes and interventions in terms of organisations and society.

Specialisation F: Product Management

1. Inspiration and Product Creation

This course provides students with advanced methods and frameworks for understanding customer needs, and for translating those needs into a program of research and product development that can be used to create a successful new product or service. It equips students with skills to generate new product hypotheses, to research the potential of a new product or entrepreneurial venture, and to adjust the product offering to fit the needs of customers. This course instills the all-important distinction between a ‘bright idea’ and a ‘business opportunity’ in new product creation.

Using disciplined methods of customer and market analysis, students will gain advanced abilities in defining the core customers for a new product or entrepreneurial venture.

Students will study the complex combination of factors that influence customers to adopt a new product or service. They will gain a comprehensive understanding of what makes entrepreneurial selling unique, and why it is valuable to integrate key aspects of selling and marketing activities in a new venture. Students will learn how to select potential customers through data collection, including customer interviews, and students will learn how to analyse that data to refine a product offering.

Learning Outcomes

Create synthetic contextualised discussions of key issues related to new product creation.
Apply a professional and scholarly approach to research problems related to new product formulation and introduction.
Efficiently manage interdisciplinary issues that arise in the creation and definition of new products.
Demonstrate self-direction in research and originality in solutions developed.
Act autonomously in identifying research problems and solutions related to business product innovation and creation.
Solve problems and be prepared to take leadership decisions related to business creativity and innovation.

2. Implementation and Product Introduction

This course provides students with advanced methods needed to understand how a product will fit into a competitive market, and how to introduce the product into that market. This includes advanced research on the receptiveness of a market to the new product, as well as strategies for defining and finding the market that will be most receptive to the product. Students consider product introductions with the goal of what Marc Andreesen called ‘product/market fit’ - a ‘good market with a product that can satisfy that market.’

The course trains students to reflect upon and analyse a company’s go-to- market strategy, and it provides students with sophisticated methods of calculating customer acquisition cost, determining customer break-even, and calculating customer lifetime value.

Learning Outcomes

Create synthetic contextualised discussions of key issues related to product launches and post-launch market fit.
Apply a professional and scholarly approach to research problems pertaining to product/market fit.
Efficiently manage interdisciplinary issues that arise in determining how to assess new product implementations.
Demonstrate self-direction in research and originality in solutions developed.
Act autonomously in identifying research problems and solutions related to product introductions.
Solve problems and be prepared to take leadership decisions related to new product introductions.

3. Measurement and Product Adoption

This course examines iterative product development as a method for improving customer adoption and retention. Students will gain a mastery of iterative product development as a strategy for (a) transforming market research into potential solutions, (b) testing hypotheses about product improvements, and (c) gaining validation for product adjustments.

Students will gain a comprehensive understanding of the concept of a minimum viable product, how to test the market in the early stages of product adoption, and the benefits and weaknesses of incremental product improvements. Students will gain an advanced understanding of concepts related to customer segmentation, cohort analysis, and churn in order to learn from market responses to product changes, increase customer retention, and expand customer adoption.

Learning Outcomes

Create synthetic contextualised discussions of key issues related to product adoption.
Apply a professional and scholarly approach to research problems of measurement and data-driven decision-making pertaining to product adoption.
Efficiently manage interdisciplinary issues that arise in connection product improvements and product adoption.
Demonstrate self-direction in research and originality in solutions related to increasing and maintaining product adoption while avoiding churn.
Act autonomously in identifying research problems and solutions related to product adoption.
Solve problems and be prepared to take leadership decisions related to measuring product adoption.

4. Marketing Analytics

Learning Outcomes

Measure customer lifetime value and use that information to evaluate strategic marketing alternatives.
Critically analyse different methods for data-driven decision-making in a marketing context.
Assess the major functions that comprise the marketing task in organisations, and create data-informed approaches to these functions.

Specialisation G: Technology Leadership

1. Python for Business Analytics

Learning Outcomes

Describe and perform Python data acquisition and analysis techniques.
Derive hidden information from voluminous and complex data.
Analyse data from a variety of industries and uncover business insights.
Communicate effectively the purpose, methodology, and results of an analysis involving Python to a non-technical business audience.

2. Marketing Analytics

Learning Outcomes

Measure customer lifetime value and use that information to evaluate strategic marketing alternatives.
Critically analyse different methods for data-driven decision-making in a marketing context.
Assess the major functions that comprise the marketing task in organisations, and create data-informed approaches to these functions.

3. Financial Statement Analysis

Learning Outcomes

Critically analyse a business’s finances.
Understand and evaluate major valuation models.
Understand and interpret assets and liabilities reported on a balance sheet.
Develop a sufficient understanding of the concepts and recording procedures.
Critically compare companies financially, understand cash flow, and grasp basic profitability issues and risk analysis concepts.

4. International Business Environments

Learning Outcomes

Assess the nature and impact of globalisation on the world’s economy.
Effectively communicate how economic and political systems interact to form a political economy.
Identify how cultural differences restrict and create opportunities for management action, international trade, and its forms and theories.

Specialisation H: Occupational Health and Safety

1. Enterprise Risk Management (compulsory)

This module provides an introduction to the main areas of Enterprise Risk Management. This module also covers Risk Management processes and strategies. Numerous case studies from various business sectors will illustrate the increasing importance of Enterprise Risk Management.

Learning Outcomes

Collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams to assess and address enterprise risks within diverse organisational contexts.
Carry out risk management best practices to foster a culture of risk-awareness and responsible decision-making.
Supervise teams to develop risk mitigation strategies so as to protect the organisation from potential threats and capitalise on opportunities.
Represent and advise senior management and stakeholders on risk-related matters, utilising clear communication and persuasive skills to gain support for risk management initiatives.

2. Health, Safety, and Leadership Essentials (compulsory)

This module has been designed to foster a strong safety culture by disseminating safe behaviours throughout the organisation, with a strong focus on leadership development at all levels.

Learning Outcomes

Collaborate with teams to promote workplace health and safety culture.
Lead teams to implement compliant health and safety policies.
Advise on ways to mitigate occupational health risks.
Assess the relevance of quality management and various quality management models.

3. Strategic Project Management and Implementation

The purpose of this module is to give learners an opportunity to integrate all the knowledge from their programme of learning by developing a project in which they plan and implement a new product, service or process. Learners need to take a full and active role in all aspects of the project, and the selection of an appropriate management issue is crucial to success. Learners will cover a full range of management activities and roles, including resource and people management and implementation of change. The result needs to be a substantial report in a style appropriate for consideration by senior management.

Learning Outcomes

Formulate project strategies that include steps like assessing project resources, constraints and building road maps for implementation.
Create project plans demonstrating knowledge of project scheduling, resource allocation, and risk management.
Lead cross-functional teams by fostering collaboration, and communication.
Advise teams on good project management practices that can boost the project performance and outcomes.
Effectively manage interdisciplinary issues that arise in connection to project management.

4. Introduction to Strategic Healthcare Management

This module is aimed at providing business-related knowledge in healthcare management. The module prepares learners with a core understanding of the various issues of health programs and systems with good operative business processes along with a deep understanding of the quality leadership required in the healthcare industry and ensuring good healthcare financial management principles.

Learning Outcomes

Collaborate effectively with healthcare professionals and stakeholders to analyse and address strategic challenges in healthcare management, fostering innovative solutions for improved patient care.
Ensure compliance with healthcare regulations demonstrating responsibility in decision-making and risk mitigation within the healthcare industry.
Guide and supervise healthcare teams in implementing strategic initiatives, monitoring performance, and evaluating outcomes to achieve organisational goals and enhance healthcare delivery.
Represent the healthcare organisation and advise stakeholders on strategic healthcare matters, utilising effective communication and negotiation skills to drive positive outcomes.

5. Operations Management in Global Healthcare

This module will help learners develop specialised knowledge and domain expertise in efficient management of a healthcare services centre in a global context. The module also helps learners develop an awareness of problems confronted by organisations and businesses in the global healthcare sector and also equips learners with a definitive idea of change management and lean operational tools required for analysing and improving healthcare processes.

Learning Outcomes

Collaborate with diverse healthcare professionals and stakeholders to analyse and optimise global healthcare operations, implementing efficient processes for improved patient outcomes and cost-effectiveness.
Ensure compliance with healthcare regulations and quality standards across international healthcare settings, demonstrating responsibility in decision-making and risk management in a global context.
Supervise multinational healthcare teams, applying cross-cultural leadership skills to enhance collaboration, communication, and performance in global healthcare operations.
Represent the healthcare organisation on a global scale, advising stakeholders on operations management strategies, and negotiating strategic partnerships to drive organisational growth and expansion.
Solve problems and be prepared to take leadership decisions related to operations management.

Tier 3

1. The Digital Action Programme (DAP)

The Digital Action Programme for Business Administration provides a capstone course in which students deepen and apply their learning through a 'Digital Action Programme' (DAP). In the DAP, students are grouped into cohorts (typically five students) and must work both individually and together on a specific, real, contemporary business consultancy problem related to their specialisation (Data Analytics; Marketing; Finance; International Business; DEI), normally proposed by a cooperating organisation (corporation or non-profit), which results in a comprehensive solution proposal.

This provides students with a real-world business consultancy engagement, and the opportunity to produce, both individually and as a team, a substantial piece of relevant, scholarly, and actionable research, to be presented directly to stakeholders in the cooperating organisation.

Over the course of the DAP, students fulfill the learning objectives: each student demonstrates their comprehensive knowledge and understanding of key business processes; each student uses multidisciplinary approaches to perform critical analyses of real business issues in situations of uncertainty and incomplete information in order to develop an actionable solution; each student practices teamwork, exercises their leadership skills, and reflects on their own performance and the performance of their cohort; and each student communicates to members of their cohort, the cooperating organisation, and faculty members from Woolf. Students are required to demonstrate autonomy, individual scholarly acumen, self-reflection in their engagement with peers, role adaptability within their cohort, and teamwork while engaged in the DAP. The goal of the DAP is (1) to fulfill the learning objectives and (2) to produce a project portfolio related to the area of specialisation containing an analysis of the business problem and the proposed solution.

Learning Outcomes

Create synthetic contextualised discussions of key issues related to a contemporary business problem.
Apply a professional and scholarly approach to research problems pertaining to a contemporary business problem.
Efficiently manage interdisciplinary issues that arise in connection with analysing and proposing a solution to a contemporary business problem.
Demonstrate self-direction in research and originality in solutions developed.
Act autonomously in identifying research problems and solutions related to a contemporary business problem; act as a professional team member where appropriate.
Solve problems and be prepared to take leadership decisions related to a contemporary business problem.

2. Soft Skills

In this dynamic and interactive course, participants will embark on a transformative journey to enhance their soft skills, crucial for personal and professional success in today's dynamic work environment. The course delves into the multifaceted realm of interpersonal skills, communication, teamwork, and adaptability. Through a combination of theoretical insights, practical exercises, and real-world scenarios, participants will develop a profound understanding of the significance of soft skills in fostering effective collaboration and navigating the complexities of the modern workplace.

Moreover, the Soft Skills course goes beyond traditional instruction, providing a comprehensive framework for self-discovery and improvement. Participants will engage in activities that not only refine their communication style but also empower them to cultivate emotional intelligence, resilience, and leadership acumen. By the end of the course, participants will have honed the essential soft skills needed to thrive in diverse professional settings, empowering them to build lasting relationships, contribute meaningfully to team dynamics, and stand out as adaptable and emotionally intelligent leaders in their respective fields.

Learning Outcomes

Demonstrate effective leadership through fostering collaboration and positive work culture, ensuring team cohesion and shared goals.
Ensure consistent application of emotional intelligence in decision-making, enhancing team performance and conflict resolution.
Foster an environment of continuous personal and professional growth, promoting adaptability and resilience within the organisation.

3. Interview Preparation Skills

This comprehensive course is designed to equip participants with the knowledge, strategies, and confidence needed to navigate the intricacies of job interviews successfully. Participants will gain a deep understanding of the interview process, learning how to effectively communicate their strengths, experiences, and accomplishments to make a lasting impression on prospective employers.

Throughout the course, participants will engage in mock interviews, receive personalised feedback, and learn proven techniques for handling common interview questions. From mastering body language and crafting compelling narratives to addressing potential challenges, the course provides a holistic approach to interview success. Whether you are a recent graduate entering the job market or a seasoned professional looking to advance in your career, this course will empower you with the tools to stand out in interviews and secure the job opportunities you aspire to. It will elevate the interview performance and unlock career potential with this invaluable skill-building experience.

Learning Outcomes

Demonstrate confidence and adaptability during interviews, showcasing an ability to handle complex questions and unpredictable scenarios.
Ensure a professional and polished presentation throughout the interview process, from preparation to follow-up, enhancing personal branding.
Foster self-awareness and continuous improvement, using feedback and reflection to refine interview techniques and career growth strategies.

4. Capstone Project

This course synthesises the multifaceted skills, knowledge, and strategic thinking acquired throughout the program, challenging participants to apply their expertise to real-world business challenges. Under the guidance of seasoned mentors and industry professionals, students will undertake a comprehensive, hands-on project that requires them to integrate concepts from various disciplines within the curriculum. From strategic planning and financial analysis to organisational leadership and ethical decision-making, the Capstone Project serves as a comprehensive test of the holistic business acumen developed during the program.

Participants will not only hone their problem-solving abilities but will also demonstrate their ability to develop actionable solutions that align with contemporary business challenges. As a capstone experience, this course not only underscores the depth of knowledge gained during the program but also empowers participants to showcase their readiness to contribute meaningfully to the complex landscape of modern business. Elevate your strategic thinking, analytical prowess, and leadership skills as you embark on this transformative journey toward earning your degree.

Learning Outcomes

Create synthetic contextualised discussions of key issues related to a contemporary business problem.
Apply a professional and scholarly approach to research problems pertaining to a contemporary business problem.
Efficiently manage interdisciplinary issues that arise in connection with analysing and proposing a solution to a contemporary business problem.
Demonstrate self-direction in research and originality in solutions developed.
Act autonomously in identifying research problems and solutions related to a contemporary business problem; act as a professional team member where appropriate.
Solve problems and be prepared to take leadership decisions related to a contemporary business problem.

Exit Awards

With the permission of the college, students who have completed the following may be eligible for the certification indicated in the table below:

Courses completed	Certification
Any one course (3 ECTS)	Award in [course title]
30 ECTS at Tier 1	Postgraduate Certificate (PGCert) in Business Administration
30 ECTS at Tier 1 and 30 ECTS at Tier 2	Postgraduate Diploma (PGDip) in Business Administration

Please note that other exit awards may be available; please contact the Registrar for further details.

Marking

General Procedures

For the MBA degree, assessment is of two kinds: assessment of regular assignments (‘regular assessment’, typically weighted 50% as a whole) and assessment of a final assignment or project (‘final assessment’, typically weighted 50%). These assignments can take myriad forms, to best fit the content of a course and according to faculty member’s academic freedom to innovate, as long as they meet the Woolf Policy of Quality Assurance. Woolf software formally requires that every learning outcome associated with a course be connected to at least one specific assignment. This means that for the student to pass a course, by definition they have been assessed on all learning outcomes.

Assessment of regular assignments relates to the continuous evaluation of student progress, concentrating on the proficiency of submitted assignments, and the ability of the student to respond to issues raised by the instructor about those assignments. Regular assignments can include worked problems, quizzes, drafts of material that will become a final assignment, brief analyses of assigned reading, curated bibliographies, in-class debates, and much else.

Assessment of final assignments pertains to the last, cumulative assignment or assessment within a course. This requires the students to deepen and extend the scholarly engagements initiated in their prior work. Final assignments are expected to be completed at a high research standard, and must be well-structured, well-crafted, and (where relevant) contain appropriate citations to the primary and secondary literature of the course. Final assignments could include, but are not limited to: exams, presentations, group presentations, financial statements, case studies, research papers, code, the development of a business or marketing plan, or the writing of strategy documents.

Students who fail any one course of the diploma, cannot progress to complete the diploma, and will by default fail the MBA degree. Failed courses may be re-taken at the discretion of Woolf’s Academic Staff Members.

Cumulative Examination of Courses

For this degree, cumulative examination of courses is by a submitted final assignment.

The final assignment is meant to synthesise, deepen, and extend the learning outcomes of the regular units while introducing new material and insights. Not more than 50% of the final assignment may be material taken from tutorial assignments. Final assignments are expected to be completed at a high standard, and must be well-structured, well-crafted, and contain appropriate citations to the primary and secondary literature of the degree. Final assignments will often take the form of a presentation with accompanying slide deck or technical paper, but the format can vary with the instructor.

Weight of Marks

The overall mark for the degree is derived from the grades achieved in the constituent courses weighted according to their ECTS.

Marking regulations for Digital Action Programme (DAP)

<aside> ❗

This section only applies to students completing the Digital Action Programme as their 30 ECTS Tier 3 course. Students completing Soft Skills, Interview Preparation Skills, and the 10 ECTS Capstone project are marked according to the General Procedures indicated above.

</aside>

For the DAP capstone, 50% of the mark derives from each individual’s cohort meeting submissions (individual status reports and related unit submissions) and 50% from the student’s final report, final presentation deck, and final reflection. The combined final report and reflection is generally 20000-40000 words.

DAP assessment regulations

A panel will be convened to assess the student's DAP submission as part of a live presentation. The panel will assess the student’s ability to present a coherent, interdisciplinary solution and critically respond to questions.

Evaluation Criteria

Integration of Concepts: How well does the student apply the curriculum's interdisciplinary concepts?
Problem-solving Ability: Is the solution practical and aligned with business challenges?
Communication: How effectively does the student present their findings?
Critical Thinking: Does the student demonstrate the ability to critically assess their solution?
Feasibility and Ethical Considerations: Does the solution consider implementation challenges and ethical concerns?

Referral Procedure

A referral process will be available for students who do not meet the requirements of the Capstone Project during their initial defence.

Criteria for Referral

Failure to integrate core business concepts from the MBA program.
Inadequate or incomplete analysis of the business problem.
Lack of feasibility in the proposed solution.
Poor defence performance (e.g., inability to respond to panel questions effectively).
Plagiarism or ethical issues related to the project content.

Procedure

Written Feedback

Following an unsuccessful defence, the student will receive detailed feedback from the panel highlighting the areas of weakness, such as conceptual gaps, poor application of strategy, or insufficient analysis.

Revision Period

Students will be given a 3-6 week window to revise their Capstone Project based on the panel’s feedback.
During this period, they may seek additional mentorship or attend supplementary workshops on research methodology, strategic planning, and leadership skills.

Resubmission of the Project

After revisions, the student must resubmit the written report and deliver a second defence in front of the same or a similar panel.
The revised submission must address all the feedback from the original defence.

Reassessment and Final Decision

The panel will reassess the revised Capstone Project based on the original evaluation criteria.
The student will either pass or fail the course based on the second evaluation.

In case of the failure of this course, academic faculty will only be allowed to grant course retakes where doing so is not a violation with Woolf's general policies at that time.

Internships policy

Internships must be a genuine extension of the student’s academic programme, providing opportunity to apply theoretical knowledge to substantive projects directly related to their field of study. Internships consisting primarily of administrative or routine tasks will not be approved.

Every internship must have a defined start date, end date, and formal learning plan with objectives agreed in advance by the student, the host organisation, and the relevant college. Responsibilities and task complexity should increase over time. Each student must be assigned a named supervisor within the host organisation who holds relevant expertise and is responsible for providing regular guidance and feedback.

Woolf prioritises paid internships to ensure equitable access regardless of socioeconomic background. Unpaid internships may only be approved where they constitute a genuine learning opportunity and do not displace the work of a paid employee.

Programmatic standards

Day-to-day management sits with the relevant college. Each college must have a designated Woolf contact responsible for vetting and approving all host organisations and placements before any internship may proceed. Colleges are responsible for matching students to approved positions.

Students must complete pre-internship preparation before commencing a placement, which may include CV writing, interview support, and other instruction as necessary. Virtual internships are encouraged to widen access beyond geographical constraints; support systems must address the challenges of remote work, including cross-timezone communication and fostering professional belonging.

Programme effectiveness must be evaluated on an ongoing basis. Formal evaluations will be collected from students, host supervisors, and academic advisors, and will inform curriculum design and programme improvement.

Grading Scheme

General Marking Criteria and Classification

Marking of student work keeps in view the scale of work that the student can reasonably be expected to have undertaken in order to complete the task.

The assessment of work for the course is defined according to the following rubric of general criteria:

Engagement:
- Directness of engagement with the question or task
- Range of issues addressed or problems solved
- Depth, complexity, and sophistication of comprehension of issues and implications of the questions or task
- Effective and appropriate use of imagination and intellectual curiosity
Argument or solution:
- Coherence, mastery, control, and independence of work
- Conceptual and analytical precision
- Flexibility, i.e., discussion of a variety of views, ability to navigate through challenges in creative ways
- Completion leading to a conclusion or outcome
- Performance and success of the solution, where relevant
Evidence (as relevant):
- Depth, precision, detail, range and relevance of evidence cited
- Accuracy of facts
- Knowledge of first principles and demonstrated ability to reason from them
- Understanding of theoretical principles and/or historical debate
- Critical engagement with primary and/or secondary sources
Organisation & Presentation:
- Clarity and coherence of structure
- Clarity and fluency of writing, code, prose, or presentation (as relevant)
- Correctness of conformity to conventions (code, grammar, spelling, punctuation, or similar relevant conventions)

Definition of marks

Mark	Description
97-100	Work will be so outstanding that it could not be better within the scope of the assignment. These grades will be used for work that shows exceptional excellence in the relevant domain; including (as relevant): remarkable sophistication and mastery, originality or creativity, persuasive and well-grounded new methods or ideas, or making unexpected connections or solutions to problems.
94-96	Work will excel against each of the General Criteria. In at least one area, the work will be merely highly competent.
90-93	Work will excel in more than one area, and be at least highly competent in other respects. It must be excellent and contain: a combination of sophisticated engagement with the issues; analytical precision and independence of solution; go beyond paraphrasing or boilerplate code techniques; demonstrating quality of awareness and analysis of both first principles or primary evidence and scholarly debate or practical tradeoffs; and clarity and coherence of presentation. Truly outstanding work measured against some of these criteria may compensate for mere high competence against others.
87-89	Work will be at least very highly competent across the board, and excel in at least one group of the General Criteria. Relative weaknesses in some areas may be compensated by conspicuous strengths in others.
84-86	Work will demonstrate considerable competence across the General Criteria. They must exhibit some essential features of addressing the issue directly and relevantly across a good range of aspects; offer a coherent solution or argument involving (where relevant) consideration of alternative approaches; be substantiated with accurate use of resources (including if relevant, primary evidence) and contextualisation in debate (if relevant); and be clearly presented. Nevertheless, additional strengths (for instance, the range of problems addressed, the sophistication of the arguments or solutions, or the use of first principles) may compensate for other weaknesses.
80-83	Work will be competent and should manifest the essential features described above, in that they must offer direct, coherent, substantiated and clear arguments; but they will do so with less range, depth, precision and perhaps clarity. Again, qualities of a higher order may compensate for some weaknesses.
77-79	Work will show solid competence in solving problems or providing analysis. But it will be marred by weakness under one or more criteria: failure to fully solve the problem or discuss the question directly; some irrelevant use of technologies or citing of information; factual error, or error in selection of technologies; narrowness in the scope of solution or range of issues addressed or evidence adduced; shortage of detailed evidence or engagement with the problem; technical performance issues (but not so much as to prevent operation); poor organisation or presentation, including incorrect conformity to convention or written formatting.
74-76	Work will show evidence of some competence in solving problems or providing analysis. It will also be clearly marred by weakness in multiple General Criteria, including: failure to solve the problem or discuss the question directly; irrelevant use of technologies or citing of information; factual errors or multiple errors in selection of technologies; narrowness in the scope of solution or range of issues addressed or evidence adduced; shortage of detailed evidence or engagement with the problem; significant technical performance issues (but not so much as to prevent operation); poor organisation or presentation, including incorrect conformity to convention or written formatting. They may be characterised by unsubstantiated assertion rather than argument, or by unresolved contradictions in the argument or solution.
70-73	Work will show evidence of competence in solving problems or providing analysis, but this evidence will be limited. It will be clearly marred by weakness in multiple General Criteria. It will still make substantive progress in addressing the primary task or question, but the work will lack a full solution or directly address the task; the work will contain irrelevant material; the work will show multiple errors of fact or judgment; and the work may fail to conform to conventions.
67-69	Work will fall down on a number of criteria, but will exhibit some of the qualities required, such as the ability to grasp the purpose of the assignment, to deploy substantive information or solutions in an effort to complete the assignment; or to offer some coherent analysis or work towards the assignment. Such qualities will not be displayed at a high level, and may be marred by irrelevance, incoherence, major technical performance issues, error and poor organisation and presentation.
64-66	Work will fall down on a multiple General Criteria, but will exhibit some vestiges of the qualities required, such as the ability to see the point of the question, to deploy information, or to offer some coherent work. Such qualities will be substantially marred by irrelevance, incoherence, error and poor organisation and presentation.
60-63	Work will display a modicum of knowledge or understanding of some points, but will display almost none of the higher qualities described in the criteria. They will be marred by high levels of factual or technology error and irrelevance, generalisation or boilerplate code and lack of information, and poor organisation and presentation.
0-60	Work will fail to exhibit any of the required qualities. Candidates who fail to observe rubrics and rules beyond what the grading schemes allow for may also be failed.

Indicative equivalence table

US GPA	US Grade	US Percent	UK Mark	UK UG Classification	UK PG Classification	Malta Grade	Malta Mark	Malta Classification	Swiss Grade
4	A+	97 - 100	70+	First	Distinction	A	80-100%	First class honours	6.0
3.9	A	94-96				B	70-79%	Upper-second class honours
3.7	A-	90-93							5.5
3.3	B+	87-89	65-69	Upper Second	Merit	C	55-69%	Lower-second class honours
3	B	84-86	60-64
2.7	B-	80-83	55-59	Lower Second	Pass				5
2.3	C+	77-79	50-54			D	50-54%	Third-class honours
2	C	74–76	45-49	Third	Pass
1.7	C-	70–73	40-44
1.3	D+	67–69	39-	Fail	Fail
1	D	64–66
0.7	D-	60–63
0	F	Below 60				F

Synchronous Adjustments Template

Synch discussions may affect the mark on submitted assignments: written work is submitted in advance, and a discussion follows. This provides students an opportunity to clarify and explain their written claims, and it also tests whether the work is a product of the student’s own research or has been plagiarised.

The synchronous discussion acts to shift the recorded mark on the submitted assignment according to the following rubric:

Up to three points are added for excellent performance; the student displays a high degree of competence across a range of questions, and excels in at least one group of criteria. Relative weaknesses in some areas may be compensated by conspicuous strengths in others.

+/- 0

The marked assignment is unchanged for fair performance. Answers to questions must show evidence of some solid competence in expounding evidence and analysis. But they will be marred by weakness under one or more criteria: failure to discuss the question directly; appeal to irrelevant information; factual error; narrowness in the range of issues addressed or evidence adduced; shortage of detailed evidence; or poor organisation and presentation, including consistently incorrect grammar. Answers may be characterised by unsubstantiated assertion rather than argument, or by unresolved contradictions in the argument.

3 (up to three points)

Up to three are subtracted points for an inability to answer multiple basic questions about themes in the written work. Answers to questions will fall down on a number of criteria, but will exhibit some vestiges of the qualities required, such as the ability to see the point of the question, to deploy information, or to offer some coherent analysis towards an argument. Such qualities will not be displayed at a high level or consistently, and will be marred by irrelevance, incoherence, error and poor organisation and presentation.

0 (fail)

Written work and the oral examination will both be failed if the oral examination clearly demonstrates that the work was plagiarised. The student is unfamiliar with the arguments of the assignment or the sources used for those arguments.

Plagiarism

Plagiarism is the use of someone else’s work without correct referencing. The consequence of plagiarism is the presentation of someone else’s work as your own work. Plagiarism violates Woolf policy and will result in disciplinary action, but the context and seriousness of plagiarism varies widely. Intentional or reckless plagiarism will result in a penalty grade of zero, and may also entail disciplinary penalties.

Plagiarism can be avoided by citing the works that inform or that are quoted in a written submission. Many students find that it is essential to keep their notes organised in relation to the sources which they summarise or quote. Course instructors will help you to cultivate professional scholarly habits in your academic writing.

Depending on the course, short assignment essays may not require students to submit a bibliography or to use extensive footnotes, and students are encouraged to write their assignments entirely in their own words. However, all essays must acknowledge the sources on which they rely and must provide quotation marks and citation information for verbatim quotes.

There are several forms of plagiarism. They all result in the presentation of someone’s prior work as your new creation. Examples include:

Cutting and pasting (verbatim copying)
Paraphrasing or rewording
Unauthorised Collaboration
Collaboration with other students can result in pervasive similarities – it is important to determine in advance whether group collaboration is allowed, and to acknowledge the contributions or influence of the group members.
False Authorship (Essay Mills, Friends, and Language Help)
Paying an essay writing service, or allowing a generous friend to compose your essay, is cheating. Assistance that contributes substantially to the ideas or content of your work must be acknowledged.

Complaints and appeals

Students and faculty should always seek an amicable resolution to matters arising by addressing the issue with the person immediately related to the issue. Students should handle minor misunderstandings or disagreements within a regular teaching session or by direct message, or with their College. If a simple resolution is not possible, or the matter remains unresolved for one party, the steps outlined in this section apply to all groups, colleges, and units of Woolf.

The Red Flag system

An issue with a red flag should be submitted in the case that a member of Woolf seeks to make an allegation of serious misconduct about another member, including matters of cheating, plagiarism, and unfair discrimination or intolerance.

Any member of Woolf, seeking to raise a matter of serious concern, should submit a red flag by emailing redflag@woolf.education. Provide a short, clear description of the issue.

If a student submits an issue with a red flag, or if a faculty member submits an issue about a student, it will trigger a meeting with the student’s College Advisor. If the issue is not resolved, the matter will be escalated to the College Dean, or to a committee designated by the College Dean, which will have the power to clear the flag.

If an issue is submitted with a red flag by a faculty member about another faculty member, then the issue is reported directly to the College Dean.

For both students and faculty members, after the Dean’s decision, the one who submits the complaint is provided the opportunity to accept or appeal the decision; if the one submitting the issue appeals the decision, it will be assigned to the Quality Assurance, Enhancement, and Technology Alignment Committee, which is a subcommittee of the Faculty Council.

Mitigating circumstances

When serious circumstances (‘Mitigating Circumstances’), beyond the control of a student or faculty member, adversely affect academic performance or teaching support, a Mitigating Circumstances report must be submitted using Woolf’s red flagging system. Mitigating Circumstances may include but are not limited to serious medical problems, domestic and personal circumstances, major accidents or interruptions of public services, disturbances during examination, or serious administrative or procedural errors with a material effect on outcomes.

Mitigating circumstances do not normally include a member’s personal technology problems, including software, hardware, or personal internet connection failures; employment obligations or changes in employment obligations; permanent or sustained medical conditions (unless there is a sudden change of condition); or circumstances where no official evidence has been submitted.

Mitigating circumstances are normally only considered when a red flag has been submitted for the issue before the deadline of an affected written project or assignment, or within one week of a cumulative examination. Proof of mitigating circumstances may result in an extended deadline or examination period, or the possibility to retake an examination; it will not result in any regrading of existing submissions or exams.

Grade appeals

Students who dissent from the grades they have received should follow the normal procedure for submitting a red flag.