Mini MBA

This module has been designed to provide an understanding of the importance of project management methodology and approach in everyday business. The goal of the module is to help participants develop a unified approach towards project management challenges. It is also designed to help reduce the stress associated with project management and to increase the chances that the project will be completed on time, within budget and to the required quality.

In addition, through practical exercises, participants will learn about the most important project management tools and techniques.

During the module, you will focus on how to:

• Initiate, plan, execute, monitor and control, and close a project,

• Understand and manage stakeholder requirements and expectations,

• Manage a project in line with organisational strategy,

• Understand the processes necessary for the successful completion of a project.

High-quality leadership is a hallmark of successful organisations. Some people have a natural talent for the role, but good leadership can be learned through training, coaching and practice. The quality of leadership in place through the ranks of an organisation will, in large part, determine the success of that organisation in the long term. It is therefore essential that anyone entrusted with a position and responsibility for leading people fully understand and appreciate what this leadership role requires of them in practice.

In this module, the emphasis is placed upon the efforts to understand individuals and to create an environment where differences, new ideas, curiosity and innovation are encouraged and cultivated.

This module addresses key topics like complexity and change, and looks at the management skills needed to respond intelligently. It is based on the idea that more traditional management styles (that place an emphasis on command and control) are becoming less suited to a business environment where talent is mobile, innovation is essential and connection is everywhere.

The module will also look at the importance of differentiating between ‘performance’ and ‘contribution’ when giving feedback and creating a more engaged workforce.

Market positioning, combining offline and online marketing tactics, social media for businesses, the importance of content & video and finding the right balance and Customer Relationship Management through software systems & automation.

Marketing involves identifying the customer’s needs and satisfying them through the appropriate “marketing mix”. Together with an analysis of the external environment (from a marketing viewpoint), customers and competitors, these will be the focus of this module. In addition, it should be noted that areas such as branding, Internet marketing, marketing through social media and other concepts and ideas will be explored.

There is a dominant move in the market towards visualisation (videos) and content marketing, and these will be explored along with other important trends. Participants should be able to use various marketing tools and theories in real life examples.

This module is about understanding how a business can be mapped by outlining the main areas all organisations need to go through. These are outlined through three main steps: Analysis (position), Choice (options for growth) and Implementation.

It develops and understanding of the three levels of strategy (Corporate, Business & Functional) and the objectives of each level, through various practical examples of well-known organisations. Furthermore, the module explains and analyses concepts such as Vision, Mission, Corporate culture, Stakeholder analysis and governance issues. 

This module deals with the concept of industry and how it can be analysed through practical examples. It goes into analysing business environments at the national & international level through the PESTEL (Politics, Economics, Social, Technology, Environment and Legal) framework before going into the concept of competition and “profitability of an industry”.

The module attempts to explore areas such as:

• Barriers to entry,

• Customer switching costs,

• Supplier and buyer power,

• Substitute products & services,

• The role of international organisations and governments on industries and competition,

• Regulations and opportunities for national competitive advantage.

This module attempts to provide the basic principles of Accounting & Finance as it includes the areas that people involved in business should be aware of, mainly at an understanding level (not necessarily synthesis).

During the module, you will focus on how to:

• Budgets, 

• Analysis of financial statements,

• Capital, profit, revenues,

• Margin, dividends,

• Cash flows and other items.

The main objective of this module is to stimulate participants and make them think differently, learning the techniques required to think creatively when dealing withinnovation; it helps participants believe that they can use ideas to challenge the status quo at their organisation, and add more value by doing things better.

This can be achieved by helping participants understand that innovation is a necessary requirement for competitive advantage, not an option. Creative thinking is a skill and there are  techniques to develop this skill that will be delivered in this workshop. This module also covers the importance of capabilities and Business Intelligence as areas where innovation can be found.

Participants will be inspired by:

• Thinking differently,

• Learning techniques to think differently that can be applied daily,

• Understanding how to generate ideas,

• Understanding how to overcome  obstacles in their own areas,

• Becoming supportive of innovation and “changes” in general with their teams,

• Making them understand how to screen ideas & implement them.

This module links together all the modules. It will help you to put the individual parts of the programme together into one cohesive whole and thus help you to understand in depth the functioning of the business world.

At the end of this module, you will take part in the Harvard Case Study Assessment Paper. By completing this case study, you will receive the PwC Mini MBA certificate.