Core courses

This course explains how today’s fragile geopolitical and economic situation has come about, and what policymakers and governments are (and should be) doing to improve it. Topics include the deglobalisation of business, inequality between and within countries, the effects of US/China tensions on world trade, and doing business in a high inflation/interest environment.

This course will use the techniques of data science to help students understand climate change and environmental sustainability, and to assess the solutions being put forward by business and government. It will provide a refresher on important analytical techniques while also allowing students to scrutinise the evidence on climate change.

This course will focus on how changes in consumer behaviour are shaping the purpose and sustainability agenda for companies. It will demonstrate how business can respond to the consumer-led desire to be more respectful to people, wildlife and the planet. It will include how ESG changes the commercial landscape.

This course discusses how to use finance theory to make financial decisions for corporations. In particular, we will consider how those decisions should be influenced by current economic and financial contexts.

Firms around the world, regardless of size or business model, must comply with various regulations and effectively leverage their internal data for sound decision-making. This course provides students with a comprehensive understanding of how firms can utilize financial accounting to create value for internal decision-making and effectively inform their stakeholders.

The course places a special emphasis on achieving a level of corporate transparency that extends beyond financial information, enabling the business world to transition effectively towards sustainability. Students will explore existing and evolving accounting standards designed to hold firms accountable by measuring their investments and outcomes objectively.

Through this course, students will examine the progress made in adapting accounting standards to support sustainability, as well as the internal systems firms use to make sustainable choices. By the end of the course, students will have gained the knowledge and skills to navigate the complexities of corporate transparency and sustainability in the modern business environment.

In today’s world of big data and digital transformation, how do strategic leaders bring their influence to bear on their organizations and beyond? How can they harness the power of data while staying true to what they stand for, both personally and professionally? This course delves into these questions, offering a deep dive into strategic management for the modern age.

“Strategy for the Data Era” serves as an essential introduction to the MBA program, focusing on the pivotal role of strategic management in driving business success. As business increasingly takes the lead over traditional institutions like government and religion in shaping societal norms, strategic leaders are crucial in fostering both economic and social progress. Many of you will step into these influential roles within business organizations.

Over five sessions, this core course will illuminate strategic challenges and responsibilities you will encounter, providing a comprehensive roadmap to navigate the complexities of the MBA curriculum over the next year. This course will give you profound insights into the strategic roles of business leaders you will engage with.

This course will offer perspectives on business ethics, sustainability and diversity/inclusion from five different subject areas. It is an adaptation of the successful class with the same name offered for the 15-21 month MBA programme.

The first step towards leadership and management success is to know your strengths and weaknesses. Lifelong learners who have risen to positions of power and influence have learned to accentuate their known competencies and diminish the role of their weaknesses. When you gain a dispassionate understanding of your relevant traits, you know what you offer to the people you work with, and where you need to focus effort for professional improvement. These qualities can also help you work in teams. The most successful leaders use their knowledge of self and evaluations of others to decide when to step forward and lead a project versus when to promote the voices of experts and subordinates on their teams. Leader versatility like this stems from fundamental understanding of individual traits and models of interpersonal communication taught in Becoming an Impactful Leader

To have a profound impact on the world, students need to develop an "entrepreneurial mindset" that encourages and enables them to successfully pursue opportunities that help make the world, or at least their corner of the world, a better place in some way. This course explores the six counter-conventional mindsets that enable entrepreneurs to do what they do and, sometimes, change the world. Students will find that these mindsets often fly in the face of what’s assumed to be “doing things right” in large companies, and that they likely run counter to some of what they’ve been taught earlier in their MIM programmes.