Core Courses
The core curriculum consists of a series of compulsory courses, covering essential managerial foundation skills, business fundamentals, and special topics in China management (see brief course descriptions below; click to see course outlines):
Strategic Management
This course identifies the key drivers of persistent superior performance in different settings and uses that understanding to improve strategy formulation. It introduces students to the tools and concepts that are useful for analysing industry attractiveness, for assessing the extent to which a company has a sustainable competitive advantage, and for developing innovative strategies in product, value chain, and geographic dimensions.
Entrepreneurial Management
The emphasis of this course is on the art and science of “creating something new from little”. It challenges students to think about how they can create, finance, and build a productive business organisation with commonly available resources. It is really about developing an attitude, mindset, and skills that are crucial for becoming a creative business person. These skills and mind-set are applicable both in the context of starting a new firm as well as starting a new business in an established company.
Meet Associate Professor of International Business and Strategy Dr. Shameen Prashantham. Click below to see highlights from his class on ‘How Start-ups can Dance with Elephants: New Venture Internationalisation’.
Microeconomics
This course introduces the basic concepts and analytical tools of microeconomics. It discusses how the market operates, how business strategies are determined, and how optimal decisions are made on product, price and organisation. It also discusses how business operations are affected by government policies.
Macroeconomics
This course introduces the basic concepts and analytical tools of macroeconomics. It discusses how aggregate output and price level are measured, how a model of aggregate demand and supply can be used to analyse economic fluctuations, how fiscal and monetary policies operate, what determines a country’s external balance, and what determines a country’s long-run economic growth.
Data Analytics
This course provides a thorough grounding in the use of data analytics for managerial decision-making. Students will develop competences: 1) to function as analysts and communicators of results, both orally and in writing, and 2) as intelligent consumers and managers of analysis performed by others. We place strong emphasis on the communication of the results to others, both orally and in writing. Analysis will be done with Excel. In this course we develop analytical methods vital in many other areas in the curriculum, including marketing, economics, finance/accounting, HR and operations.
Operations Management
This course covers a number of the techniques and methodologies used in the design, development, analysis and management of operations, as well as the central concepts of capacity, standards, inventory, scheduling and control. It will enable students to inter-relate the impact of developments made in the operations area with other functional areas and with overall corporate strategy, as well as provide an understanding of the concept and implications of supply chain management especially in the global context.
Meet Professor of Economics, Associate Dean and faculty for the core MBA course in Microeconomics Dr. Bala Ramasamy. Click below to see Prof. Ramasamy share his insights on the challenges associated with the China led Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
Financial Accounting
This course in financial accounting covers some of the most fundamental and essential material in the business school curriculum. The knowledge you will gain in this course will enable you to appreciate the role of financial accounting information in the economic system, to understand the principle and process of accrual accounting; to prepare and analyse the income statement, the balance sheet, and the cash flow statement; to understand accounting for assets, liabilities and equity; and to recognise the unique issues and challenges of financial accounting in China’s business environment.
Managerial Accounting
This course emphasises the use of a company’s cost information for managerial decision making, internal planning and control, and performance evaluation purposes.
Corporate Finance
This course provides students with a framework for thinking about how a firm should make investment and financing decisions to create value for its shareholders. It not only looks at the firm itself but also considers how financial markets work and how companies in those markets should make decisions.
Meet Associate Professor of Finance and faculty for the core MBA course in Corporate Finance Dr Frank Yu. Click below to see Prof. Yu share his research on the impact that having a daughter has on the way male CEOs run their companies.
Marketing Management
This course introduces the essentials of marketing: how firms and consumers behave and what strategies and methods marketers can use to successfully operate in today's dynamic environment. It explores the role of strategic marketing planning in creating long-term value, and helps students to develop a systematic approach to strategic marketing planning.
Meet Assistant Professor of Marketing and faculty for the core MBA course in Marketing Management Dr. Hyun Young Park. Click below to see Prof. Park share her journey from Korea, through the consulting industry and via Kazakhstan to CEIBS campus in Shanghai.
Organisational Behaviour
The course helps students to understand the basics of human behaviour in organisations and be able to manage people at individual, group and organisational levels. Students will be able to understand differences, advantages, disadvantages of management styles within traditional Chinese firms versus MNCs; show sensitivity to cultural differences in communication and organisational behaviour; and demonstrate self-awareness and interpersonal competence, etc..
Business Ethics and Corporate Governance
This course is designed to inspire responsible business practice, and enhance the understanding and wisdom required to navigate the complexity of ethical dilemmas and governance standards – at macro and micro levels – within economic constraints. It will develop students’ awareness of their own values as well as the ethical, legal and regulatory standards involved in corporate governance and responsible management practice. The course seeks to balance the international issues and questions of ethics and governance within the Chinese context. It provides students with a heightened awareness of the role of a responsible leader within an organisation, in tackling governance and ethical challenges through a values-based approach.
Meet Assistant Professor of Management and faculty for the core MBA course in organisational Behaviour Dr. Emily David. Click below to see Prof. David share her passion for bringing psychology into the classroom as well as her experiences living in Shanghai so far.