General Management 3

Subject BUSA90487 (2015)

Note: This is an archived Handbook entry from 2015.

Credit Points: 37.5
Level: 9 (Graduate/Postgraduate)
Dates & Locations:

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2015:

January, Parkville - Taught on campus.
Pre-teaching Period Start not applicable
Teaching Period 05-Jan-2015 to 27-Feb-2015
Assessment Period End 03-Mar-2015
Last date to Self-Enrol 15-Jan-2015
Census Date 16-Jan-2015
Last date to Withdraw without fail 13-Feb-2015


Timetable can be viewed here. For information about these dates, click here.
Time Commitment: Contact Hours: 128 hours
Total Time Commitment: Not available
Prerequisites:
Subject
Study Period Commencement:
Credit Points:
January, March, June, August, September
6.25
Corequisites: None
Recommended Background Knowledge: None
Non Allowed Subjects: None
Core Participation Requirements:

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Student Support and Engagement Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Overview, Learning Outcomes, Assessment and Generic Skills sections of this entry.

It is University policy to take all reasonable steps to minimise the impact of disability upon academic study, and reasonable adjustments will be made to enhance a student's participation in the University's programs. Students who feel their disability may impact on meeting the requirements of this subject are encouraged to discuss this matter with a Faculty Student Adviser and Student Equity and Disability Support: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/disability

Coordinator

Prof Douglas Dow

Contact

Program Services

programservices@mbs.edu

Subject Overview:

Innovation:

This subject will introduce students to a number of techniques and concepts covering (1) individual creativity and brainstorming,(2) team creativity, (3) innovation within small and large firms, and (4) how to link ideas from the bootcamp to other courses including strategy, marketing and operations. The bootcamp is a 5-day course. It is highly experiential, with a focus on workshops, skills practice, and a world projects to help the students acquire practical skills

Management Accounting:

This subject is designed to provide students with foundation knowledge regarding the financial information underlying managerial reports used for internal planning, decision-making, and performance evaluation. This foundation knowledge provides the basis to make value-creating managerial decisions.

Corporate Financial Management:

This subject addresses advanced knowledge about financial management. This knowledge provides the basis for funding a firm’s investments and using its resources efficiently, and is useful for addressing risk management, real options, capital investments in foreign markets, and corporate payout policy.

Global Business Economics:

Global Business Economics examines the broad environment in which firms operate and explains factors that affect the output growth, inflation, unemployment, interest rates, and exchange rates of a country in a globalized world. These economy-wide variables are beyond a firm’s control but critically influence the decision-making of any firm. The course presents a macroeconomic framework to illustrate the dynamic inter-connections among markets (e.g. those for financial assets, goods and services, labor, and money) and government policies. With the aid of country case studies and current policy research, the course aims to demonstrate that economics is not primarily a set of answers but a method of reasoning.

Personal Effectiveness 3:

The “Personal Effectiveness Program” (PEP) runs across the three core modules and is designed to help students develop the skills and knowledge required to effectively manage the early stages of their career. PEP identifies specific needs of each individual student and then provides ongoing support, training, and opportunities to practice and perfect these skills. PEP focuses on three core areas.
1. Communication skills: These skills include effective presentations, verbal communication, written communication, and public speaking
2. Career development skills: These skills include case practice, interview skills, CV writing, networking, and business etiquette
3. Team skills: These skills include managing conflict, cultural awareness, giving and receiving feedback, and resilience.

Entrepreneurial Mindset 3:

The “Entrepreneurial Mindset Program” (EMP) runs across the three core modules and is designed to help students develop an entrepreneurial mindset. EMP helps students develop the knowledge, skills, and attributes to identify and evaluate value creation opportunities, view obstacles, problems, and failure as opportunities, modify opportunities to make them viable, and sell ideas to others.

Learning Outcomes:

Innovation:

On completion of this subject, students should be able to:

  • Foster idea generation at the individual and group level
  • Make use of creativity, brainstorming and idea generation tools for a broad range of applications including the syndicate projects for their other courses as well at their workplaces.
  • Conceptualize and articulate a coherent strategic, marketing and financial plan for an innovation
  • Manage innovative activities within a firm
  • Clearly and concisely communicate their ideas on how to manage and commercialize an innovation, such as the by ‘pitching’ their ideas to senior managers/champions within their firms as well as to potential external investors

Management Accounting:

On completion of this subject, students should be able to:

  • describe cost behaviour under different assumptions
  • outline the benefits and limitations of cost management techniques
  • explain the cause and effect of variance analysis in a manufacturing and service industry and provide sound reasons and solutions for correcting these variances
  • appreciate budgeting processes, analysis and techniques
  • recognise the importance of working capital management within an organisation and the benefits of improving these metrics.

Corporate Financial Management:

On completion of this subject, students should be able to:

  • Appreciate how financiers and influential decision makers view business plans for new ventures
  • Identify the risks arising from a firm’s operating, investing and financing activities and understand the techniques for managing those risks
  • Incorporate sovereign risk into capital budgeting decisions
  • Explain the role of real options in capital budgeting decisions
  • Understand factors that affect a firm’s capital structure
  • Calculate the cost of capital for complex situations
  • Discuss the factors that affect a firm’s payout policy

Global Business Economics:

On completion of this subject, students should be able to:

  • Use basic economic terminology and concepts;
  • Describe the forces governing economic growth and fluctuations in GDP;
  • Use economic models to explain business cycle fluctuations, unemployment, and inflation;
  • Explain the determinants of unemployment and inflation;
  • Explain the role and motivations of central banks in conducting monetary policy;
  • Understand the factors governing exchange rate movements and associated movements in current and capital accounts of the balance of payments.

Strategy:

On completion of this subject, students should be able to:

  • Understand the basic concepts of business strategy, and in particular the notion of competitive advantage and the more commonly occurring types of competitive advantage
  • Use financial and accounting data to better understand the performance of a firm
  • Analyse a firm‘s value creation processes, and determine whether they represent a potential competitive advantage
  • Analyse the external environment, including industry structure analysis (i.e. Porter‘s 5 Forces) to assist in formulating and assessing strategies
  • Integrate the aforementioned skills, and use them to develop and assess the alternatives available to a senior manager

Personal Effectiveness 3:

  • Address case-based interviews.
  • Make effective public presentations.
  • Be comfortable giving and receiving feedback.
  • Work effectively in teams.

Entrepreneurial Mindset 3:

  • Identify potential business opportunities
  • Evaluate the viability of potential business opportunities
  • Identify ways to modify business opportunities to increase their viability
Assessment:

Innovation (20% of overall subject):

  • Class participation, throughout the subject (30% of the component);
  • Syndicate assignment (equivalent to 1000 word individual assignment), due at end of subject (70% of the component). Hurdle requirement.

Management Accounting (20%):

  • Contribution to class learning, throughout the subject (10%);
  • 4 x quizzes (12 minutes each), throughout the subject (20%);
  • 2 x syndicate case preparation and discussion (each equivalent to 200 word individual assignment), throughout the subject (25%);
  • Final exam (2 hours), at end of subject (45%). Hurdle requirement.

Corporate Financial Management (20%):

  • 3 x individual assignments (200 words each), throughout the subject (20%);
  • 3 x syndicate assignments (each equivalent to 200 word individual assignment), throughout the subject (20%);
  • Final exam (2 hours), at end of subject (60%). Hurdle requirement.

Strategy (20%):

  • Contribution to class learning, throughout the subject (20%);
  • 2 x syndicate assignments, due weeks 3 and 6 (10%);
  • Syndicate presentation (equivalent to 500 word individual assignment), due week 7 (10%);
  • Final exam (2 hours), at end of subject (50%). Hurdle requirement.

Global Business Economics (20%):

  • 4 x quizzes (12 minutes each), throughout the subject (20%);
  • Syndicate presentation (equivalent to 300 word individual assignment), due week 5 (15%);
  • Syndicate assignment (equivalent to 300 word word assignment), due at end of subject (15%);
  • Final exam (2 hours), at end of subject (50%). Hurdle requirement.

Personal Effectiveness 3 (10%):

  • Contribution to class learning, throughout the subject (10%);
  • Syndicate presentation (equivalent to 400 word individual assignment), throughout the subject (40%);
  • Individual assignment (500 words), due at end of subject (50%). Hurdle requirement.

Entrepreneurial Mindset 3 (10%):

  • Contribution to class learning, throughout the subject (10%);
  • Syndicate presentation (equivalent to 400 word individual assignment), throughout the subject (40%);
  • Individual assignment (500 words), due at end of subject (50%). Hurdle requirement.

Hurdle requirement: students are required to pass each component.

Prescribed Texts: None
Breadth Options:

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.

Fees Information: Subject EFTSL, Level, Discipline & Census Date
Related Course(s): Master of Business Administration

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