Modules

MODULES 1 - 4

Early in the programme, the papers are skills and tools based and are designed to put the foundations firmly in place. These provide an appropriate foundation for the study of the four main functional areas of management that are the focus later in the programme.

Papers are designed with the latest in research informing the teaching and supported by practical application in the world of business and consulting. Wide use is made of practitioners and leaders from within the business community for both teaching and mentoring.

THE 5th MODULE

Can be taken as either a consulting project or an international exchange.

Legal Environment of Management
BUSI501
This course familiarises class members with those basic legal principles which are most important in the business context. Class participants will develop the skills of recognising legal problems, especially in the law of contract, acquire knowledge of legal remedies and the processes by which they may be obtained and develop a basic understanding of industrial law.

Organisational Behaviour
BUSI503
The course on organisational behaviour investigates how different ways of looking at organisations will have an impact on the behaviour required of organisational members. The course is also designed to assist people to become more self-aware and to assist personal development. Topics covered include change, motivation, complexity, chaos, conflict resolution, organisational power and emotional intelligence.

Statistical and Quantitative Methods
BUSI504
This course introduced the fundamental concepts of statistics and statistical decision making that will be used on other MBA courses. The course provides a comprehensive working knowledge of basic statistical tools and introduces some of the more advanced methods and their applications in specific business areas.

Managerial Economics
BUSI505
This course is designed to help you to 'think like an economist' - by applying the concepts of economics to make sense of the business world and , hopefully, the world in general. As well as an overview of the Macroeconomy (the environment that businesses and governments operate in), you'll learn to apply useful tools and techniques from Cost-Benefit Analysis, Multi-Criteria Decision-Making and Game Theory. The aim is to equip you to be able to make better decisions in business and overall.

Financial Accounting
BUSI507
This course aims to introduce prospective managers to the language, concepts and techniques of financial accounting so they are in a better position to use this type of information effectively in decision making. On completion of this paper, students should be able to: understand the bases of measurement and valuation used in preparing conventional general purpose financial statements, analyse and interpret general purpose financial statements at an elementary level be aware of some of the contentious issues relating to financial accounting and critically evaluate financial accounting and reporting practices.

Marketing Management 1
BUSI525
This course investigates the fundamentals of marketing management in the workplace. Split in two sections, BUSI525 part 1 reviews the marketing mix of product, price, promotion and distribution and the new product development process and explores how organisations develop a marketing orientation.

Integrating Management 1
BUSI502
The aim of this course is to introduce the concept of strategy, the tools and techniques available, and their strengths and weaknesses. The academic frameworks that have developed will be introduced and used to analyse the processes and solutions to different managerial problems faced by organisations. A case based approach is used extensively and the course also draws heavily on each participant’s own experiences.

Management Accounting and Control
BUSI523
This course covers both the mechanics of cost accounting practices and the use of accounting information by business managers for developing organisational objectives and evaluating performance.

Human Resource Management
BUSI524
This course investigates how the effective management of human resources relates to effective management behaviour, the development of good relationships and effective systems and processes of Human Resource Management. The course includes strategic Human Resource Management, rewards systems, performance management, training and development, employment law and human rights. The course has both a theoretical and practical focus.

Marketing Management 2
BUSI525
Continuing on from part 1, part 2 investigates marketing strategy. The course will explore the development of marketing strategy in relation to target markets selected; competitive advantages created and exploited, and market positioning.

Operations Research
BUSI526
Operations Research focuses on quantitative methods and models which have proven applicability to managerial decision making. Topics include simulation of operations systems, critical path methods for project management, linear programming for efficiency assessment, statistical methods for market analysis, decision trees and short term forecasting.

Integrating Management 2
BUSI521
This course provides an opportunity to integrate knowledge from other subjects. It focuses on the changing environment of organisations, managing organisational capability and corporate culture. These provide the framework within which the behaviour of individuals, groups, networks, hierarchies and organisations as a whole may be studied.

Finance
BUSI522
The valuation of financial assets, capital budgeting, corporate financing, risk analysis, portfolio theory and capital markets are examined in depth. International financial management, mergers and acquisitions are also examined as special topics.

Operations Management
BUSI527
Operations management is the study of how organisations produce a supply of goods or services. Operations managers make decisions regarding the transformation system used to convert input resources to outputs. This course examines the strategic role and objectives of operations and improvement strategies, the design of products and services, the planning and control of operations and improvement strategies. To reflect the growing importance of purchasing and supply in organisations and the trend towards focused operations and outsourcing of noncore activities, Operations management is taught from a Supply Chain management viewpoint.

Business Ethics & Sustainable Development
BUSI530
Insights are provided by journeying through the challenging world of business ethics and sustainable development at the ground level of the organisation rather than through the abstract and philosophical level concepts. By examining issues and scenarios which relate directly to the work environment (and the degree of autonomy that environment allows), students can develop a clearer sense of how corporate codes of ethics relate to operational decisions made on a daily basis.

Business Policy A
BUSI551
This course is designed to run in two concurrent parts. The first part relates to the decision making process and the second, more abstract part, deals with issues involving our assumptions about the world and how this impacts on our decision making. The Business Policy A paper also includes the important topic of Corporate Governance.

Business Policy B
BUSI552
This paper is devoted to ‘Live Case Studies’ where groups of MBA students act as consultants to a local company or organisation. Working with the local Chamber of Commerce, we identify organisations that need help. These companies may be established businesses seeking to expand, ones that need strategic direction or maybe breaking into a new market or brand new start up ventures. Here students get the opportunity to put into practice new skills and bring their knowledge and expertise for the benefit of the “client” organisation. Each group produces a written report for the client and also presents its findings to the board of the organisation in question. Live Case Study reports and presentations are critiqued and assessed by a panel of business leaders.

International Business
BUSI553
This is a one-week intensive module covering the key strategic issues involved in business globalisation. A series of international case studies are used, underpinned by the latest developments, theories and practice in international corporate strategy, marketing, finance and HRM. Extensive use is made of guest speakers, who are practitioners from organisations involved in international business.

Leadership
BUSI508
This course will teach one of the most needed qualities in business – leadership. The interactive course provides an insight into leadership, exploring the necessary skills and attributes to lead a team, the differences between leadership and management, effective team-building and coaching. Students will review their own workplace behaviour and leadership styles and refine their skills.

Consultancy Project

The central feature of The Otago MBA course is management consulting project and research dissertation. The paper has two components. Firstly, students act as consultants to the senior management of a client organisation, identify and resolve issues confronting their clients and so add value to the clients’ operations. The theoretical underpinning of the management project is contained in a major research dissertation, which comprises the second component.

Students who choose to do a consulting project will be engaged in the identification and resolution of problematic issues confronting a client organisation, therefore adding value to it. The project is an opportunity to stretch students' knowledge and capabilities beyond their limits.

International Exchange

Those who perhaps come from a consulting background, or just want to experience study at one of our partner institutions, may choose to undertake a period of study at one of our partner institutions in 30 countries ranging from Argentina to the USA and each partner programme will deliver a different perspective.

Participating on the International Exchange Programme also offers the opportunity to incorporate some degree of specialisation as students can concentrate their area of study in particular sectors that interest them and complimint what they intend to do post MBA.