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Courses

 

The Executive MBA curriculum includes: Core courses (one-course-at-a-time format) Elective courses Three-day module in Stockholm School of Economics, Sweden A week-long module in Kellogg/Hong Kong UST Business School, China  Ranked #1 Executive MBA Globally by Financial Times 2012 Diploma project

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  Year One Course Schedule 

 

Get Started Week

During the week, Executive MBA students will learn and develop their skills in self-reflection, both in the immediate group and in a broader social setting. They’ll explore the dynamics of team building, uncover its diversity, and unleash its full potential to become a high-performing team. This will support them as they continue through the Exeutive MBA programme, as they will build stronger and more productive relationships for the future.

Students will also gain insight into creative thinking and innovative entrepreneurship, generate and execute ideas on rebranding, develop marketing campaigns, and brainstorms about sales strategies.

 

Managerial Economics, Lecturer Mats Glader >

Management control is strongly linked to the subjects of how to implement a business strategy and also how to support the ongoing transformation of a business strategy. From a control perspective, it is about control models, measures, behavioural processes, and different tools and tool-boxes. There are, in this context, important challenges to meet:

Strengthening core competence within the field of managerial economics and management control by providing and updating knowledge, tools, and models;
Expanding the reference framework of participants and increasing expertise based on a broad view of the manager's skill set requirements in an expanded operational management perspective;
Providing new ideas and perspectives, while challenging “business as usual” within operational management;
Developing the participants' ability to communicate financial and non-financial models, key indicators, and conclusions.

 

Global Economics, Lecturer Edwin Dolan >

The global economy is, to a business manager, as the weather is to the captain of a ship. The captain does not need to be a meteorologist, but must know how to read weather maps and handle the ship in a storm. By the same token, a manager does not need to be an economist, but must be able to understand economic data and sail safely through economic turbulence. In this regard, the global economy posts three major challenges.

The first is the challenge of reading and interpreting daily economic news and research. To get the most out of the available information, it is very helpful to have a firm understanding of basic economic terms and concepts.

The second challenge is that of understanding how the global economy affects the risks that each individual business faces. These include risks from inflation and deflation, exchange rate risks, and the risk of fiscal instability and sovereign debt defaults.

The third challenge is to understand the policy options that are available to governments for promoting a stable economic environment for business. Is a country better off with a fixed or a floating exchange rate?  How should a government balance the need  for  long-term  fiscal responsibility with that of responding to short-term crises? What kind of rules should a country’s central bank apply to the way that of monetary policy is carried out?

 

Financial Accounting, Lecturer Katerina Hellström >

Managers encounter the world of financial information in their everyday lives. In many cases, financial information becomes a routine linked to specific situations and specific companies. The Financial Accounting course challenges routine knowledge and aims to broaden the understanding of financial accounting information. We will talk about the effects that management decisions have on the financial statements of a company, and the financial outcome of business activities. How can we increase profits? How can we avoid liquidity problems? How can we manage the healthy growth of the company? How can strategy be linked to financial performance?

Managers need to have a good understanding of financial performance and control measures. We will therefore discuss different ways to evaluate a company´s performance in financial terms.

The focus will be on capital providers – what do shareholders care about, and how do banks assess credit worthiness?

The Financial Accounting course leads into a practical project in which participants will be provided with an opportunity to analyse the financial effects of strategic decisions in their own firms. We will create a financial model which will be used for forecasting future developments and simulating of the outcomes of the strategy.

 

Law for Managers, Lecturer Ingrīda Kariņa-Bērziņa >

The Law for Managers module challenges students to recognise and understand the legal relationships that underpin all business activity. When managers incorporate companies, seek investors, hire and fire employees, or market and sell their products and services - each of these actions involves a legal relationship. The premise of the course is that truly effective managers command a workable understanding of the legal aspects of their business. In today’s competitive environment, managers with the confidence to negotiate contracts and to leverage legal advice have a real edge. The goals of the course are to de-mystify the law and to equip managers with practical legal skills for the business setting.

Through case studies, exercises, discussion and reading, we will learn about general principles of law relevant to doing business anywhere in Europe, with frequent reference to national legal norms in Europe and the United States. The course material introduces students to the sources and origin of law, the European legal system, company law, employment law, contracts, intellectual property and unfair competition, and working with lawyers.

 

EU Economics for Managers, Lecturer Morten Hansen >

The Economics of the European Union, and especially of the Eurozone, matter more than ever for Latvia. The country is close to euro adoption, and trade with Eurozone countries is substantial. Latvia is, in general, highly integrated in the European Union - both economically and politically.

But what are the economic policies of the European Union, and how do they affect the Latvian economy and Latvian businesses? And what is the future course of the European Union, and thus the path for Latvia?

A good understanding of EU economic policy and of the monetary policy of the European Central Bank provides helpful knowledge and guidance for anyone doing business, whether in Latvia or internationally.

 

EU Politics for Managers, Lecturer Daunis Auers >

This course on EU politics focuses on explaining and understanding the institutional architecture of the EU. It challenges students to think about the interconnection of European history, philosophical thought, national cultures, and political actors in shaping the contemporary EU political system. It critically analyses the congruence of European institutions and national (and sub-national) actors in  shaping  EU  policy,  and  considers  a  swathe  of  significant  contemporary  challenges  facing Europe.

Students are provoked to think about the logic behind and the necessity of European integration, as well as the role of business in shaping European policy (primarily through direct and indirect lobbying and "access points" in the EU system). Finally, students are encouraged to look to the future, evaluate risks and opportunities, and consider various development paths for the EU.

 

Financial Economics, Lecturer Tālis Putniņš >

Corporate managers make important decisions that ultimately determine the success and value of the companies they manage. This course will cover the three key decisions – the investment decision, the financing decision, and the payout decision – and show how an understanding of financial economics can lead to better decisions, which will ultimately enhance corporate success.

The investment decision involves allocating the company’s limited resources between competing investment projects to create maximum value for the company. This process is known as capital budgeting. The challenging aspects of making this decision are: (i) evaluating the risk involved in the projects; (ii) deciding on what is an appropriate discount rate that provides sufficient return to adequately compensate for the risk; and (iii) understanding how to compare investment projects that require different capital outlays and generate revenue at different times and on different scales.

The financing decision involves deciding on whether to use internally generated funds (retained earnings), equity, debt or other financial securities to finance a corporate investment. The mix of financing impacts the value of the investment project to the company, and influences the company’s capital structure, both of which affect the value of the company. This decision requires a thorough understanding of the types of financing available, how capital markets function and how financial securities are structured and priced. The challenges brought by this decision include: (i) how to determine the optimal financing mix for an investment project and the optimal capital structure for a company; (ii) how to manage the signals that various types of financing send to the market; and (iii) determining how to balance the bankruptcy risks of debt financing against the tax and leverage advantages.

The payout decision involves deciding what proportion of a company’s earnings to pay out to equity-holders and in what form to make the payouts. Some challenges in making this decision are: (i) determining whether it is better to reinvest earnings or pay them out; (ii) whether to use dividends, share buybacks, or other means to payout profits; and (iii) how to manage the signals that the amount and form of payout sends to the market. In running a company, corporate executives face the added challenges of how to manage agency costs that arise from misalignment of the interest of shareholders and managers, how to deal with illiquid and risky capital markets, how the (in)efficiency of capital markets can affect corporate decisions, how to plan and respond to attempted mergers and corporate acquisitions, and how psychology and inherent behavioural biases affect corporate managers, capital markets and the business environment.

The challenges described above are what makes financial economics and corporate finance exciting, yet demanding. The course will consist of interactive lectures, seminars and class discussions. We will work through examples and cases to practice applying the knowledge. The course will be quantitative in some parts and qualitative in others. We will analyse current corporate events through the lens of financial economics to better understand why things in the corporate world happen the way they do. Students can expect to read articles, engage in discussion, solve problems, give presentations, write a case-based assignment and sit an exam.

 

Cross Cultural Management, Lecturer Richard Pooley >

“But it’s not normal!” You have to accept that what is normal business behaviour in, say, Latvia, could be abnormal behaviour in other countries. You have to examine your values and, whilst remaining true to those values, understand how others’ values can be radically different.

“But we are all European!” You need to understand the subtle but crucial differences in business behaviour and communication style between people across Europe. You know that there are big cultural differences between Latvians and Chinese, but many cross-border ventures in Europe have failed where the cultures have appeared to be similar. And we have been killing each other for centuries.

“But that’s a stereotype!” You must know how other people perceive your culture if you are to work successfully with them. You may object to the negative aspects of that image, but it is stupid to pretend that such stereotypes do not exist and do not affect working relationships.

“But why do they behave like this?” You should realise that the most successful international managers are deeply curious, flexible and patient. Are you?

If you are to manage people from other cultures successfully and do business with them effectively, you have to know much more than the correct etiquette in each country. You need to know what are the forces – geographic, historical, philosophical, religious, economic – which have fashioned the values and, hence, the behaviour of the people in those societies. The greatest challenge you face is how to correctly interpret the behaviour in front of you, and how to send the right signals yourself. Don’t assume.

 

Marketing Management, Lecturer John Branch >

Marketing in today’s complex, changing, and competitive world is more challenging than ever. To be successful, therefore, requires a more robust vision of marketing - one with an expanded and indispensable role in the organisation. It also demands discipline— a structured and systematic approach to marketing. And it mandates a mastery of sophisticated, state-of-the-art marketing tools.

The purpose of this course, therefore, is to prepare you for positions in today’s organisations. It begins by situating marketing within the broader context of competition. It offers a new definition of marketing, which elevates marketing from the tactical to the strategic level, and re-casts it as the organisation’s profit center. And it introduces the proprietary 8 Ds framework of strategic marketing management, highlighting some of the newest tools in marketing.

 

Module in China: International Business

The module challenges students to learn, understand, and evaluate various aspects of globalisation. It will involve analysing economic, political, entrepreneurial, and social aspects of Hong Kong and China through dynamic presentations and discussions of local and international experts, as well as through the exploration of companies and their business processes from the inside.

Another purpose of this module is to recognise various cross-cultural aspects of doing business with companies and people in different parts of the world i.e. Asia. Company visits and meetings with senior management will help students better to understand different business cultures.

And finally, while in Hong Kong and China, one can find opportunities to establish useful business contacts for further cooperation in the region.

 

E-Commerce / Social Marketing, Lecturer Tracy Tuten >

The marketing landscape has changed dramatically in recent years and nowhere is this more visible than online. Internet usage varies substantially by country and region, but increases daily, particularly as more Internet-enabled devices become available. In this course, participants will be introduced to the online marketing landscape including the importance of customer centricity, the shift in focus from interruption marketing to attraction marketing, the power of online consumers and their characteristics, and the design of an online marketing strategy.

 

Strategic Management, Lecturer Yusaf Akbar >

If there's one managerial competence that is both the most difficult to develop and at the same time one of the most important in a top manager's portfolio of skills, it is the development of a strategic mindset.

What is a strategic mindset? Well, it encompasses three related assets: Knowledge, skills and insight/vision. Knowledge you can get from books and articles, skills you develop while managing on the job, and through practice - insight/vision.

Insight/Vision is the biggest challenge you'll face in the course. It requires a simultaneous understanding of operational and strategic imperatives. You must be comfortable with talking about finance, marketing, and operations with the same level of expertise as a functional expert. But you also have to take it to the 10 000 metre level, and focus on how all these functional aspects relate to each other both in terms of internal organisational matters and also in terms of the competition you face.

Another major challenge is innovation and strategy. Successful firms need to understand how innovation derives competitive advantage and how to integrate it into their business models. And it's more than science. You have to integrate creativity as well!

A third challenge is to develop entrepreneurial capacity within large organisations, striking a balance between opportunistic and systematic approaches to strategic decision making. We will consider the two and see how entrepreneurial qualities of firms lead them to competitive advantage.

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  Year Two Course Schedule 

 

Change Management, Lecturer Julie Felker >

The course in Change Management focuses on the “soft side” of leadership, working with and through other people to accomplish organisational goals. The contingency approach to leading change often ends with the conclusion that the most appropriate actions “depend” on the situation. For students who are more accustomed to more definitive answers, this can cause frustration, and occasionally a bit of skepticism.  Students’ preconceived ideas of human behavior sometimes need to be challenged, and are often replaced with new paradigms of thinking.

The relatively short duration of the course, coupled with an intense reading load of articles and cases, can be challenging for the students. Despite this, students have uniformly commented that the selection of readings and case analyses are interesting and relevant, and are one of the strengths of the course. Adding to the intensity of the readings and case analyses are student team presentations and a final exam project that requires students to actually develop a comprehensive organisational change plan. The workload requires students to “hit the ground running”.  It is my experience, that, given the excellent caliber of the students, they rise to the challenge and exhibit great effort and enthusiasm in accomplishing the goals of the course.

 

Corporate Governance, Lecturer Tomislav Rimac >

Corporate governance has a pervasive importance in the modern society. Even when corporate actions and decisions are seen as purely economic, they invariably have broader repercussions on individuals and society. Moreover, corporate social responsibility, sustainable development, and the triple bottom line have become the yardsticks by which business performance is measured; even when no decisions are involved, simply keeping score involves much more than economic criteria.

In general, corporate governance is concerned with collective action problems among dispersed investors, and the reconciliation of conflicts of interest between various corporate stakeholders. The Corporate Governance course looks at different corporate governance theories and provides an overview of corporate governance around the world. It systematically examine several types of corporate governance issues such as the roles and responsibilities of the board of directors, functions and roles of various board subcommittees, the role of institutional investors, and so on. Students analyse each of these topics at the practical level of how and in what form each affects not only the organisation studied but also other stakeholders.

The Corporate Governance course encompasses what every general manger should know about corporate governance.  Its  purpose  is  to  give  students  a  thorough  introduction  to  corporate governance  that blends appropriate  amounts of relevant theory with practical application. As said in another way, the course helps students to develop an “integrative way of thinking.” It enables students to participate fully and creatively in the resolution of the many governance issues facing their organisations. While, after the course, most students will not be ready to become a president or a secretary of a Board of Directors, they should be able to work productively with these individuals and to assess the implications of their own decisions.

 

Human Resource Management, Lecturer Liam Ulvhag >

The philosophy underlying the design of this course is that all managers are HR managers. The success of the HR-function in creating competitive advantage for their company is dependent on line managers understanding and embracing their role as managers of the company’s human capital. The line manager is the person who ultimately delivers the company’s HR-strategy to employees and as a result the success of the HR-function together with its strategy, processes and policies depends entirely on the line managers understanding of its purpose and potential impact.

The  course  will  provide  participants  with  an  in  depth  understanding  of  modern  HR  thinking, practices,  and  strategy,  and  will  review  the  recommended  characteristics  of  several  of  the  line manager’s key HR responsibilities.  Participants will be challenged to find out more about their impact on their employees as a manager, and the role that the HR-function can play in facilitating their success. The module will also challenge participants to analyse, critique, and propose modifications for their own organisations’ existing HR strategy and practices. Case discussions will illustrate the impact that personnel issues can have on an organisation’s success.

 

Research Methods , Lecturer Girts Dimdins >

The Research Methods course has a double purpose. First, it aims to prepare students for their roles as producers of research. It introduces the main types of business research methods and gives an overview of the research toolbox that can be used for conducting. Diploma Project research, as well as for designing and executing their own business research projects after graduation. The students learn which research strategies and tools are appropriate for specific types of problems, and get a basic introduction to the application of these tools.

Second, the course prepares students for their roles as consumers of research. Students cultivate the skills needed for the evaluation of research studies (for example, studies commissioned from and carried out by third parties, or research reported in business literature or in the popular press). They learn to critically judge the validity and reliability of reported research results and conclusions.

 

Module in Stockholm: Business Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility

The year  2011  brought events  that  affected  and  still  affect  the  world: The Fukushima nuclear disaster followed a natural crisis; the Arab Spring that has affected not just the region  but the rest of the  world; floods in Thailand disrupted global supply chains. What do these global events have in common, and how does this relate to business?  The  seemingly  non -business  events affect    global  business  operations,  influence  change  in  national  policy,  and  affect  individuals  by creating  both  disastrous  consequences  and positive  opportunities.  Behind many of them lie human decisions – often ethical – on how to consume, how to produce, how to reach out to populations, etc. starting with local decisions.

The course will challenge participants to recognise and understand corporate sustainability (or corporate social responsibility/ social responsibility & sustainability/ corporate citizenship). It will also highlight ethics,  values,  and  value  creation  as an  integrated  part  of  business  strategies  and  review  the sustainable product and service design frameworks that may affect your future business decisions.

 

Global Leadership, Lecturer Finn Majlergaard >

During  this  course,  students  will  have  to  rethink  and  expand  on  what  they  have  learned previously  in  their  MBA  education,  because  going  global  also  means  adjusting  everything  you  have learned   and   taken   for   granted.  

Students   will   be   challenged   on   their   values   and   basic assumptions  in  life  in  order  to  understand  how  they  are  rooted  in  their  cultures.  That  awareness enables  them  to  develop  cultural  intelligence  so  that  they  can  understand  why  people behave   differently   and   have   different   values   in   other   cultural   settings.   They      will   be challenged  on  their  previous  experiences,  because  there  are  no  universal  truths  in  a  globalised world.  They will   be   asked   to   look   for   culturally   acceptable,   suitable,   and   appropriate implementations of what they have learned in their strategy, HRM and operations management classes - but it will all be fun and rewarding.

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Diploma Project

There is no final exam for the EMBA programme, but at the end of the programme, the students will be required to produce a major project work; an empirical study that will incorporate their previous work experience and apply the theoretical knowledge acquired during the programme.