Master of Business Administration

The overall aim of our MBA programme is to provide you with a comprehensive education and postgraduate qualification in all aspects of management. Its structure gives you the flexibility to influence your own learning outcomes through your choice of elective modules.

As you study, you will develop a thorough understanding of current theories and issues regarding the management of people, resources, change and organisations – and the practical skills to apply it.

You can personalise your MBA programme by choosing from a wide variety of electives or by following a pre-defined Specialisation Track in Marketing or Finance & Accounting.

Your classmates are highly motivated professionals from all over the world. Through study and collaboration with them you will acquire the management skills that are essential in today’s global economy. Students with diverse backgrounds, cultures and business experience all bring different perspectives and a wealth of expertise to the virtual classroom. This unique peer network, along with the academics and business experts who are your instructors, will expose you to intercultural management skills and global best practices that will help you stand out in any organisation.

You will work independently and in groups to develop greater confidence and improve your team-building skills. Further, you will strengthen your communication and critical thinking abilities as you subject your work and that of your classmates to ongoing analysis and evaluation. Armed with new skills and tools, including financial, strategic, IT, HR and marketing competencies, you will see the business world in a new light and broaden the scope of career development opportunities available to you.

The European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD), an organisation that has proven its commitment to international business with EQUIS Accreditation, has now developed an accreditation dedicated to raising the standards of technologyenhanced learning programmes worldwide.

In 2007, EFMD awarded accreditation for teChnology-Enhanced Learning (CEL Accreditation) to the University of Liverpool’s Online MBA programme delivered in partnership with Laureate Online Education.

The University of Liverpool online MBA programme, with specialisations in Finance & Accounting and Marketing, is delivered fully online, and has a student body from 175 countries.

At the end of the programme, you will understand how marketing can help you identify, analyse and exploit world markets and have an appreciation of the management processes involved in making major strategic decisions.

 

You will appreciate how theoretical models and accounting frameworks can support financial decision-making and will know how to map and model business processes using computer-based simulation tools. Your understanding of the latest theories and best practices in people management will include a firm grounding in psychology and an awareness of how human behaviour affects leadership. In addition, your new portfolio of analytical and strategic skills will help you better implement informed management decisions.

The programme comprises five core modules and three electives, culminating in a dissertation. Your first module will be 9 weeks in length where you begin with a week long brief introduction to the programme, the learning platform and then continue with the module content.

 

Each following module is eight weeks in length. By taking one module at a time you can explore a specific subject in depth without distractions.

Core Modules
Corporate Strategy
Managing the Environment
Managing Resources
Managing People
Managing Change

Elective Modules (Students choose three)
Marketing Research
Services Marketing
Strategic Human Resource Management
Consumer Behaviour
Business Finance
Investment Strategies
Financial Reporting
Advanced Managerial Accounting
Marketing in a Global Environment
Entrepreneurship
Business Leadership
Advanced Concepts of e-Business

Corporate Strategy
Aim:
To develop strategic thinking skills and an understanding of the principles of strategic management.
Description
You will learn to see beyond functions, such as finance, accounting, information systems or marketing, in order to assess the entire business and understand the environment in which it operates. You will also understand the internal, external, controllable and uncontrollable forces that impact the business environment. Using case studies, you will document your decision making and thought processes, comparing these to what the real management did and the results they achieved. As the module progresses, you will refine your skills in order to be able to deploy sound business and management strategy in a variety of circumstances.

Managing the Environment
Aim:
To provide managers with the strategic outlook necessary for organisations to succeed in
international markets.

Description
The Managing the Environment module draws from the closely related disciplines of strategy and marketing. It provides students with the tools necessary to analyse micro and macro business environments and prepare marketing plans adapted to the varying has been developed to complement the related core modules of Managing People, Managing Resources, and
Managing Change.

Managing Resources
Aim:
To provide a sound theoretical and practical foundation in accounting, finance, and operations management.

Description
This module equips students to apply accounting and operations management concepts to real-life business situations and to understand accounting and finance terminology. Students will gain an appreciation of the nature and value of the resources available to an organisation and how best to manage them to increase efficiency, competitiveness, and return on investment.

Managing People
Aim:
To provide an understanding of the principal research, practices, and concepts surrounding managing people in complex organisations.

Description
This module introduces students to the dynamic field of organisational behaviour. Students will gain a sound theoretical foundation through textbook research and learn to apply the various
concepts to managing people in their own workplace.

Managing Change
Aim:
To provide an understanding of how organisations change and enable you to develop appropriate strategies to manage change to the benefit of the business.

Description
Managing Change touches all elements of an organisation, including people, finances, materials, marketing, infrastructure and the business processes, while preparing you to develop change management strategies and processes. A key success factor for any business is its ability to make changes that are in line with its goals. This module helps you develop a holistic philosophy to meet this challenge and create a sustained business advantage.

Marketing Research
Aim:
To provide you with techniques for conducting marketing research, then analysing and applying the resultant data as a decision-making tool.
Description
An overview of the methods by which marketing data is obtained. You will master a range of market research techniques, then discover how best to collect, analyse and use the data.
The module also addresses issues such as data mining, data privacy and ethics. You do not need advanced knowledge of statistics to take this module.

Services Marketing
Aim:
To provide an understanding of the unique factors that influences the marketing of non-tangible products and services.

Description
You will gain an appreciation of the theoretical concepts used by a variety of global service providers and evaluate their practical application across a range of businesses. You will develop greater understanding of many issues that are unique to the marketing of services, including how to sustain competitive advantage and implement service management.

Strategic Human Resource Management
Aim:
To provide you with an understanding of the principal themes of Human Resource
Management, specifically the links which exist between organisational structure, culture and strategy.

Description
This module covers the principal themes and latest practices in Human Resource Management, giving you the ability to evaluate the impact of a variety of HR strategies and approaches on the
achievement of organisational goals. You will develop a thorough understanding of a range of models for the delivery of HR services in organisations, and be able to choose and apply them in practice.

Consumer Behaviour
Aim:
To provide an understanding of the many complex factors that influence consumer purchasing behaviour.

Description
This module explains how to evaluate and analyse the cultural, social, personal, and psychological factors that affect customer behaviour. You will come to understand the importance of cognitive psychology, external influences (such as culture) and consumer research, and discover how to apply such knowledge to the development of marketing strategies within the international context and across cultures.

Business Finance
Aim:
To provide an overview of business finance in the global context, familiarising you with modern finance techniques and equipping you to apply them.

Description
This module introduces students to the terminology of business finance, the financial environment and the role of the finance manager. You will examine issues such as raising finance, capital
structure, dividend policy and the risk return relationship, as well as short term financing, working capital management, mergers and acquisition, and corporate restructuring and governance, giving you an understanding of business decisions from a financial professional’s perspective.

Investment Strategies
Aim:
To gain familiarity with the potential and uses of contemporary investment theories and techniques and critically evaluate and apply the appropriate techniques within the global business environment.

Description
This module serves as an introduction to global investment strategies, providing you with an understanding of security and portfolio analysis as well as the global nature of financial markets. You will develop an understanding of the methodologies used to analyse securities, industries, and markets, as well as the theories involved in securities and portfolio performance analysis. You will also gain insight into the processes involved in successful investment selection and portfolio management for the individual and the firm.

Financial Reporting
Aim:
To give you an understanding of the functions of regulatory financial reporting for organisations and of issues in corporate governance and capital markets.

Description
Provides an understanding of the role of Financial Reporting from the standpoint of a user rather than a technical expert. You will be introduced to regulatory reporting requirements, corporate governance, and international accounting standards, enabling you to understand and use the Annual Reports from your own and other companies.

Advanced Managerial Accounting
Aim:
To provide an understanding of the complex accounting functions that inform strategic business decisions within the company.

Description
You will discover how to use advanced accounting to inform management decisions. This module is aimed at the high level executive, not the technical expert, with a focus on international best practices in cost management, in commercial and not-for-profit organisations.

Marketing in a Global Environment
Aim:
To build upon the basic marketing knowledge gained in the core modules by introducing more advanced issues relating to a global context.

Description
This module investigates advanced management concepts in the areas of market segmentation, multiple market channels, competitive intelligence, integrated marketing, and e-business. In particular, this module introduces students to marketing concepts used by domestic and foreign companies seeking to market products globally. This module also provides an in-depth experience of the process of developing effective marketing plans, strategies, and tactics in terms of theoretical as well as ‘real life’ perspectives.

Entrepreneurship
Aim:
To provide the knowledge and skills needed for a strategic business plan to launch innovative new business ventures.

Description
By developing a business plan, you will explore approaches to creating, organising, financing and nurturing an external entrepreneurial or internal ‘entrepreneurial’ venture in either the public or private sector. You will gain an appreciation of the importance of innovation and entrepreneurship in corporate competitiveness and the success factors involved.

Business Leadership
Aim:
To provide a theoretical and practical approach to understanding issues affecting leadership in the workplace.

Description
You will analyse the theories and techniques of leadership and/or follower ship, and their practical application. The module will cover supervision, performance management, stress management, problem solving, concepts of human behaviour, discipline, counselling techniques and the current social issues facing the workforce. 

Advanced concepts of E-Business
Aim:
To learn how e-Business is conducted and managed and what the major opportunities, limitations, issues, and risks associated with it are.

Description
Explains the theory and concepts of e-Business and reflects on the new industrial order it is creating, from consumer marketing to business-to-business. As you examine the inherent opportunities and risks, you will gain a practical understanding of the importance of strategy and
management in implementing successful Web-based commerce.

Aim:
To provide an opportunity for you to produce a final, original piece of written work that demonstrates your originality in the application of theory gained during your studies.
Description
The culmination of your MBA programme, this written project demonstrates your mastery and integration of all your previous learning. The dissertation is the cornerstone of the UK university system. It is an original, scholarly work that applies your new knowledge and experience and
allows you to prove your proficiency in the techniques you have studied. It must have merit beyond the scope of your particular need. If you follow a Specialisation Track, it must be on a topic appropriate to your specialisation.

A Bachelors degree from an accredited college or university or a degree from a recognised institution comparable and/or equivalent to a British Honours degree.*
Two years working experience related to the degree program (practical background knowledge of business).
English Language skills relevant to an online program and comparable to IELTS 6.5, TOEFL 570 or GCSE C.
* Applicants that do not directly meet the educational requirements will be evaluated on an individual basis. Contact your Enrolment Advisor to schedule a personalized assessment of your application.