Master of Business
Administration (MBA)

This course gives an overview of all essential aspects of business policy and strategic management and explores challenges faced by senior management in an organization. It covers strategy analysis, the formulation of strategies at different levels of the organization and strategy implementation. Students acquire the skills to define business policy and analyze business strategies. Students will also reflect on the purpose of organizations, their governance, and their role towards shareholders, stakeholders and society in general.

3 CH | 4 ECTS

Students will acquire an understanding of the global marketing environment through key concepts, tools and theory. The course challenges students to think critically about global competition and expansion, as they discuss problems and perspectives of marketing across national boundaries and within foreign countries. Topics include trade laws and regulations in different markets; global analytical frameworks and tools; and current, innovative strategies employed by successful global firms.

3 CH | 4 ECTS

This course explores areas of the global financial environment. Topics include foreign exchange transactions; exchange rate behavior; cross-border currency flows; managing foreign exchange exposure; global capital markets and flow; and sovereign debt. Students also examine risk management, hedging tools and the keys to international investment decisions.

3 CH | 4 ECTS

The complex world of international sales management is discussed in this course, which examines the digitalization of the selling process, the procurement process and customer relations in the domestic and international contexts. Students acquire the skills to develop and analyze business to customer (B2C) sales strategies and sales management methods, as well as business to business (B2B) relationships and sales activities. The course also covers the practical tools of ‘real life’ selling skills, planning and managing sales processes, and managing the HR aspects of a sales force, including motivating sales representatives and fair compensation.

3 CH | 4 ECTS

This course provides a basic framework for understanding the managing of products, quality and risks in technology sector businesses. The emphasis is on the acquisition and application of models that clarify the interactions between technologic issues, competition, market change, organizational capabilities, and internal/external environments. The course also explores the concept and dynamics of change and the complex effects change can have on individuals, teams, projects, and organizations.

3 CH | 4 ECTS

Focusing on oral communication skills, this course teaches how to adapt messages to specific audiences and use language effectively. Students examine and evaluate communication styles and learn to deliver messages verbally and non-verbally with confidence. Other topics include active listening, handling question and answer sessions, how to give impromptu speeches and speech writing.

3 CH | 4 ECTS

The meaning, origins and scope of the management and communication function of public relations are addressed. Students master the concept of public relations by using cases to analyze specific tasks and responsibilities and examine the application of public relations in corporate, governmental and non-profit sectors.

3 CH | 4 ECTS

Effective internal, organizational communication is key to achieving objectives and integral to developing a company’s vision and mission. Emphasis is placed on employer-employee relationships, two-way communication, communication tools for socialization and motivation, message construction and internal events. Students also explore how formal and informal internal communication networks can be used to the benefit of all as well as to further and deepen key concepts in the organization’s strategy.

3 CH | 4 ECTS

The course examines how to define the most suitable advertising strategy and media using a range of cases and examples. Students develop a deep understanding about how to build effective brands. It also provides them with a clear overview of mass communication law, so that, as practitioners, they will act within the accepted parameters and norms. Students will finish the course with a firm understanding of the legal implications in media strategy and crisis management.

3 CH | 4 ECTS

This course looks at public relations as a function that identifies problems and opportunities, selects priorities, develops strategies and executes programs through a step-by-step approach. Students acquire a clear set of guidelines and learn how to create a public relations campaign. Cases are used to illustrate the application of these principles in real situations.

3 CH | 4 ECTS

Students will acquire an understanding of the global marketing environment through key concepts, tools and theory. The course challenges students to think critically about global competition and expansion, as they discuss problems and perspectives of marketing across national boundaries and within foreign countries. Topics include trade laws and regulations in different markets; global analytical frameworks and tools; and current, innovative strategies employed by successful global firms.

3 CH | 4 ECTS

The complex world of international sales management is discussed in this course, which examines the digitalization of the selling process, the procurement process and customer relations in the domestic and international contexts. Students acquire the skills to develop and analyze business to customer (B2C) sales strategies and sales management methods, as well as business to business (B2B) relationships and sales activities. The course also covers the practical tools of ‘real life’ selling skills, planning and managing sales processes, and managing the HR aspects of a sales force, including motivating sales representatives and fair compensation.

3 CH | 4 ECTS

This course provides students with a sound grasp of key market research concepts. The aim is to give an understanding of how market research is performed, how different questionnaires are designed and developed and how the findings are communicated to managers.

3 CH | 4 ECTS

This combination lecture and hands-on lab focuses on marketing and branding essentials, banner and search engine optimization, domain name awareness, successful email campaigns, usability, analytics and affiliate programs. The course also encourages students to think critically about the impact of digital marketing on society and on specific target consumers. Students will develop an understanding of online marketing strategies and the possibilities offered by online advertising and social media. It ensures that students become familiar with the factors involved in purchasing online publicity and that students become capable of creating, managing and evaluating an online advertising campaign.

3 CH | 4 ECTS

This course will provide students with an in-depth understanding of the role of advertising and media in our society. Students will learn to recognize the links between brand and target through strategic applications of creativity and media awareness. Media will be approached from an integrated communications perspective that includes traditional and non-traditional media. Students will learn how the advertising and media industry measures impact and effectiveness of changes in consumer behavior through the use of data analysis and consumption analytics. Finally, students will learn to understand the advertisers’ needs in terms of furthering creativity and optimizing media budgets. Time is also allocated for interactive elasticity analysis and other promotion techniques.

3 CH | 4 ECTS

This course aims to give students a basic understanding of the investment process by considering two key aspects: security analysis for equity and fixed income investments as well as portfolio management, including design and performance evaluation. Students are required to carry out two projects that help them apply this knowledge in a global business context. The course requires them to analyze a particular security in detail, create a portfolio and evaluate its performance in terms of its return-risk. It is also important that students are able to interpret data, newspapers, technical reports and articles on investments, so that they can make appropriate financial decisions for each situation. The course assumes that students have previously studied basic financial principles.

3 CH | 4 ECTS

This course provides students with methods of financial planning with which to evaluate business plans. It covers the fundamental concepts of financial forecasting, budget preparations and financial statements. Budget preparation and different techniques required to develop a budget and monitor its execution will be dealt with thoroughly. It also provides the approach to translate the strategies of the organization into financial priorities.

3 CH | 4 ECTS

Banks are at the core of financial services, funding families, individuals and businesses. They are vital to the functioning of the economy and are structured differently than other types of business in terms of funding, assets and liabilities. During this course, students will gain insights into the competitive forces in banking during the current period of rapid change in the industry. It covers how lending is changing in retail and corporate services and explains the challenges facing the banking sector today.

3 CH | 4 ECTS

From capital structure in a digital age to the role of fintech and AI, this course gives students a thorough understanding of digital finance. It will provide an overview of how technology has revolutionized finance, examine the impact of this revolution on financial services, and discuss key topics such as crypto assets, fintech and blockchain technology in depth. Students will learn how and when to provide a technological solution to a financial issue – and understand the potential limitations and risks that tech can present along with its undoubted benefits.

3 CH | 4 ECTS

This course focuses on major topics in corporate finance. The first part of the course provides an understanding of a firm’s capital structure, emphasizing permanent sources of funds: common stock, preferred stock and bonds. The objective of capital structure management, which is to arrange the company’s sources of funds so that its common stock price is maximized, is studied. In the second part, students will understand a firm’s cost of capital to cost of financing the firm’s assets. The third part is to discuss the use of options, forwards and futures to reduce risk. The final part will examine mergers and acquisitions.

3 CH | 4 ECTS

Students are introduced to a series of critical debates surrounding international tourism management issues. Accompanying discussion sessions will help them develop strategies that reflect the distinct requirements of the international travel sector. The module adopts a systematical approach toward tourism management and introduces the student to a range of actors involved at different levels of the process. This includes transportation and other providers of key infrastructure.

3 CH | 4 ECTS

Strategic marketing is the process of creating satisfied customers through the integration of business functions and the continuous search for a sustainable competitive advantage through innovation. The objective of this course is to provide students with the knowledge of models, concepts, tools and techniques necessary to undertake strategic marketing and management decisions in the field of tourism. The focus is on developing analytical skills in the formulation and implementation of market-driven strategies and plans for an organization.

3 CH | 4 ECTS

In this course, students will consider the scale and importance of the travel and tourism industry, and how it responds to change, e.g. external factors such as changing consumer needs and expectations and developments in information technology. The positive and negative impacts the industry may have on people, environments and economies will be discussed. Nowadays, changes in political and socioeconomic circumstances and technological developments contribute to the continuing growth of the travel and tourism industry and its importance to many national economies. The tourism industry has a vested interest in ensuring environmental and sociocultural impacts are managed, and this course introduces responsible management which ensures that developments must maximize the positive impacts of tourism and minimize the negative.

3 CH | 4 ECTS

The course is aimed at significantly improving the ability of practicing tourism managers to be effective global managers. The course will address differences in attitudes, values and beliefs among different peoples around the world both through general frameworks and also by exploring specific countries. Cross-cultural decision-making, employee motivation, leadership, communication, workplace conflict and organizational structures are discussed. Throughout the course there will also be a focus on cultural learning and developing cultural intelligence so that students can enhance their overall global leadership skills.

3 CH | 4 ECTS

This course has been developed as a response to the transformational pressures that digitalization exerts on existing and new businesses models in the tourism industry. It aims to provide students with the knowledge, skills and approaches essential for analyzing, identifying and managing digital opportunities for strategic business creation and development and organizational change in the tourism industry. The course is based on an understanding that digitalization and analytics are driving fundamental transformation in organizational and service strategy in tourism, and that the business models, strategies, leadership and marketing required today are fundamentally different from those of the past.

3 CH | 4 ECTS

This course examines the strategies, processes, tools and techniques used by leading-edge companies for new product development. It examines different stages of product development, from idea generation to market testing. Although the primary focus of the course is on physical products, much of the material is also relevant for designing new services. This course provides an opportunity to develop both conceptual and practical knowledge of the main methods and processes used in the development and evaluation of new product concepts. Identifying opportunities, developing strategies and designing processes for the creation of new products are key responsibilities for both entrepreneurs and managers in established firms.

3 CH | 4 ECTS

The purpose of this course is to explore business creation and growth as a multidimensional phenomenon in both independent and corporate (intrapreneurship) settings. By linking theory and practice the course aims to provide students an entrepreneurial perspective and a hands-on experience in the development of new business ventures. This course helps students gain an understanding of the business and marketing principles necessary to start and operate a business.

3 CH | 4 ECTS

This course examines leadership and management principles which relate to innovation. Emphasis is placed on the understanding of the different innovation models for start-ups, existing organizations, multinational corporations and global networks. Nowadays, it’s impossible to be a leader without innovative thinking, i.e. without the ability to lead organizations in an ever-changing business context, nor can innovation be driven without leadership skills, i.e. without the capacity for envisioning strategic directions, engaging others, finding resources, and implementing that vision. In short, nowadays leadership and innovation go hand in hand. This is particularly true in the context of sustainable development of business and society, which constitutes the ability to grow without compromising the availability of resources for future generations.

3 CH | 4 ECTS

This course provides a basic framework for understanding how to manage disruption. Students will learn how to apply models that clarify the interactions between technologic issues, competition, market change, organizational capabilities, digital transformation, and internal/external environments. It also explores the concept and dynamics of digital transformation and change, and the complex effects change can have on individuals, teams, projects and organizations. The course emphasizes the importance of agile leadership to successfully deal with the new imperatives of disruption.

3 CH | 4 ECTS

Family businesses are characterized by distinct core competencies that can result in unique competitive advantages. They take a long-term view of the business—across generations. Like every company, family businesses must strive for growth amidst fierce competition, an evolving marketplace, and demanding customers. But family businesses also face a unique set of challenges and opportunities. The course explores and analyzes family business continuity challenges and best management practices. The focus of this course is on pragmatic, action-oriented, management and governance, as well as family business policies and family/business leadership skills.

3 CH | 4 ECTS

This combination of lectures and hands-on lab focuses on marketing and branding essentials, banner and search engine optimization, domain name awareness, successful email campaigns, usability, analytics and affiliate programs. The course also encourages students to think critically about the impact of digital marketing on society and on specific target consumers. Students will develop an understanding of online marketing strategies and the possibilities offered by online advertising and social media. It ensures that students become familiar with the factors involved in purchasing online publicity and become capable of creating, managing and evaluating an online advertising campaign. They will learn the essential elements required for a successful digital marketing strategy and how that strategy fits into an overall marketing plan. The course provides the essential knowledge for developing strategic digital marketing plans and campaigns.

3 CH | 4 ECTS

An in-depth understanding of digital business models, services, and consumer behaviors is more valuable than ever for successful digital business development and management. This course addresses important questions such as: What are the key current digital business models? How are they changing or disrupting business? Which models are most effective for which businesses? How can each be pursued most effectively? What combinations of the pure models are particularly effective, and which are in conflict?

3 CH | 4 ECTS

Digital business is one of the core tools exploited by the main global business players. Students explore how to effectively build and manage digital platforms from the ground up, focusing on changes that occur in infrastructure design according to a business’s size. Whether it be an entrepreneurial start-up, an SME or multinational corporate company, emphasis is placed on developing student understanding of IT fundamentals, architecture, digital organization, user/personnel development and security considerations in digital design.

3 CH | 4 ECTS

The technology that enables e-commerce consists of a unique set of components. A thorough understanding of these components and the various architectures that configure them is essential to deliver appropriate solutions for the internet, intranets and extranets. This course examines these components and how they are applied in actual business cases. Some topics will relate to usability and information architecture, some to network or platform economies and others to the broader technologies at work in businesses.

3 CH | 4 ECTS

This course begins with an introduction to digital business from the point of view of the consumer. Students are guided through digital business solutions and enterprise application integration. This course also covers new technologies, XML and object technology. This course provides students with a broader perspective for understanding the constantly changing worlds of digital business and digital commerce to better interpret the needs and expectations of contemporary digital consumers. Students develop a greater knowledge with regard to the growing importance of scalable software platform integration by analyzing some of the main challenges facing both businesses and digital consumers.

3 CH | 4 ECTS

Sports marketing can make a significant contribution to the success of sports performers, teams, organizations, events and related industries. Students will learn how to interact and connect with different audiences through broadcasting, branding, print and digital campaigns, as well as analyzing consumer behavior. This course examines the world of sports as a business and will focus on attracting the ultimate customer - sports fans - in an increasingly competitive, fragmented and global environment. Students will study current market opportunities and challenges facing the sports entertainment industry and examine trends that may impact the future of sports and its various audiences.

3 CH | 4 ECTS

Although sport management in education often focuses on motivation and fundraising, it is important to remember that a club is not a company, and financial reporting requirements are different in the sports industry. This course provides students with a practical background of the principles of financial management and financial statements for the purposes of planning, administering, reporting and evaluating the financial performance of sport-related entities.

3 CH | 4 ECTS

This course introduces the principles of sports sponsorship, then illustrates and teaches how to apply the concepts to real situations. Students learn about the issue of sponsorship by critically examining various sports sponsorship responsibilities, including planning, processing, sales strategizing, activating and evaluating. It provides an overview of the different methods through which brands can integrate their message and identity with sports sponsorship. It also examines what sports sponsorship is today in the context of global marketing, and how media have adopted technological advances for the sports marketing mix. Models of sponsorship and specific data research on consumerism will be used to showcase best marketing practices for brands to communicate through the sporting industry.

3 CH | 4 ECTS

This course provides an analysis of effective management strategies and the body of knowledge associated with pursuing a career in sport management. It introduces the student to sport management career opportunities and to sport principles as they apply to management, leadership style, communication, motivation and entrepreneurship.

3 CH | 4 ECTS

This course provides students with an understanding of the complexity involved in bidding for and staging major sports events, in a way that will achieve lasting benefits for the organizers, host communities and event owners. To ensure success, bids for major sporting events must effectively integrate several processes including defining a vision and goals, preparing the technical bid, bid operations, planning and implementing event and legacy operations. The content builds on current state-of-the art planning and management frameworks used by bid committees and organizing committees.

3 CH | 4 ECTS

Students gain a comprehensive perspective of the implications of managing people across borders. The course offers students an up-to-date and thorough understanding of the essential elements of international human resources management (HRM) and its role in globalization, as well as the link between strategy, structure and HRM in multinational corporations.

3 CH | 4 ECTS

The course focuses on the primary functions of human resources in relation to training and career development. It addresses organizational development activities and processes to help an organization become a learning organization. Various training types, development programs and techniques are explored. Students are provided with tools and information that will help them identify the different learning types and methods to address various learning styles successfully.

3 CH | 4 ECTS

Students will acquire the essential skills for successful negotiations and communications in the context of human resource management (HRM). It discusses employment relations around the central focus of the employment relationship, taking both individual and collective aspects of this relationship into account and explores in depth the various ways in which these are managed in both unionized and non-union settings. Business processes, such as salary, budget and labor negotiations, are covered, including aspects of labor relations. Practical application of these issues is illustrated using case studies of real business experiences.

3 CH | 4 ECTS

This course is designed to introduce students to the skills and tools required for optimizing people management in any organizational setting. The course framework is based on the concept that an organization’s primary asset is its employees. The course will look at the role of HR and managers in creating innovative business processes with regards to people management in a constantly changing, dynamic business and global environment. It therefore addresses contemporary issues such as effective dissemination and communication systems, smart working practices, the talent diversity imperative, cross-cultural negotiation, conflict management and leadership development.

3 CH | 4 ECTS

This workshop brings a pragmatic approach to contemporary human resources management (HRM) issues in a global perspective. It adopts eight specific areas of HRM which are currently in the spotlight. The underlying concept is to introduce the student to issues that are not covered in more traditional HRM literature and courses and to bring the subject alive with today’s focus in this essential area of the organization. Challenges and theory are discussed in detail, in the context of recent cases for each and every unit.

3 CH | 4 ECTS

Students will develop an understanding of the various forms of contemporary design, an appreciation for the increasingly important role it plays in our lives and a critical approach to its impact on our environment. It emphasizes their design themes throughout history and implications on management. Designers and international business leaders share their experience, discussing the added value of design in a company’s communications, product promotion and strategic vision.

3 CH | 4 ECTS

Luxury strategy from product to selling ceremony, based on specific examples from luxury companies. The meaning of a 'luxury strategy' is addressed to differentiate between the management luxury and non-luxury brands. Luxury marketing is often seen as the opposite of Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) marketing. In the context of creating luxury, the importance of design will be presented as a component of this strategy: design should always be accompanied by a complete global strategy to turn a product into a luxury product.

3 CH | 4 ECTS

Rulers, wealthy institutions and private individuals have used buildings to demonstrate status and power throughout history. Today, architecture and design increasingly have a commercial objective. Students will learn established theories in the area and consider strategies for growth based on the use of architecture and design. Students are also introduced to development strategies in architectural design, focusing on hotel design, planning, construction, management and facilities. Students will also learn how cities, towns, etc., can develop their identity and appeal through architecture and design.

3 CH | 4 ECTS

Students come to understand branding and identities of corporations, businesses and organizations by learning to analyze and evaluate brand identities. Students also learn not only how brand identities are created and how various design features affect this identity, but also how the performance of a brand evolves. The course does not aim to turn students into designers, but rather prepares them for leading, or participating in, brand creation processes in managerial positions.

3 CH | 4 ECTS

The course focuses on understanding the different areas in business and design where photography plays in important role. Students learn about photography workflows and the application of images into the marketing and communication plan of businesses, multinational companies, as well as NGOs and non-profit organizations. The aim is to define the language of photography in support of a brand's strategic position or development. Visual language is both technical and conceptual, and it provides an identity which business and NGO leaders can use to influence their chosen audiences. This course thus introduces students to tools and methods by which managers decide on the use of photographic images – still or moving – to favor their chosen communication strategy.

3 CH | 4 ECTS

This course explains blockchain technology and its impact on four economic sectors: Fintech, healthcare, logistics, and energy. It explores how this technology can address some of the most pressing problems in society such as trust, transparency, human rights, inclusive participation and fair trade. Students will complete a project applying blockchain technology to solve a problem in an economic sector of their choice or create a new venture that produces breakthrough innovation. Students will also gain deeper insight into the general-purpose technologies that will shape the 21st century and provide a blueprint for the value-based economy.

3 CH | 4 ECTS

Blockchain, the technology at the heart of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, is a distributed ledger that records transactions between two parties efficiently and in a verifiable and permanent way. This course focuses on understanding blockchain technology and its impact on the financial industry. It will explore topics such as cryptocurrencies and blockchain-based financial innovations (Fintech).

3 CH | 4 ECTS

Blockchain technology presents opportunities for disruptive innovation. It enables global business transactions with less friction and more trust. This course focuses on understanding blockchain technology and its impact on the economy. It will explore how this technology will allow new business models to emerge, while addressing some of the most pressing problems in our societies.

3 CH | 4 ECTS

This course focuses on understanding blockchain technology and its impact on sustainable development and its three dimensions: economic, social and environmental. It will also explore how this technology can address some of the most pressing issues of our times such as climate change, deforestation, land degradation, and loss of biodiversity, among others. Students will complete a project applying blockchain technology to solve a public issue with a sustainable development approach or to create a new venture that produces breakthrough innovation.

3 CH | 4 ECTS

This course explores how blockchain technology affects international and local actors such as states, intergovernmental organizations, and civil society organizations. It will also look at how this transformational technology influences the development of new processes and mechanisms to address global issues such as corruption, lack of transparency, human right violations, and the democratic deficit of decision-making processes. Students will complete a project applying blockchain technology to solve a specific public issue (global or local).

3 CH | 4 ECTS