Management Accounting
Semester: Α’ | Type: Compulsory | ECTS: 3
Course aim and description:
The course focuses on the analysis and the use of financial accounting and cost accounting data in managerial and business decisions.
On the completion of Management Accounting course, the students should be able to:
- Understand the global theories and techniques of managerial accounting as well as the contemporary trends in this discipline.
- Choose the most appropriate tools and methods to use for the extraction and processing of suitable information regarding the decision to be taken.
Fundamentals of Financial
Semester: Α’ | Type: Compulsory | ECTS: 3
Course aim and description:
The aim of this course is to make students understand the theory and practical applications of Financial Management and acquire knowledge and skills useful for their professional upgrade.
The course deals with the basic operations and products of the financial system. Emphasis is placed on the concept of the time value of money, the cost of capital and the determinant factors of interest rates. At the same time, these concepts are analytically applied in the evaluation of investment plans as well as in the pricing of securities, bonds and equities. In addition, issues related to cost of capital, capital structure and dividend policy are examined. Particular emphasis is given to new trends in financial research and their implication in real cases.
Indicative content of the course: The Financial system, Interest Rates Determinants, Time Value of Money, The Concept of Future and Present Value, Financial ratio analysis, Valuation, Cost of Capital, Capital Budgeting, NPV and IRR, Risk and Capital Budgeting, Leverage, Dividends Policy & Capital Structure.
Quantitative Methods for Managers
Semester: Α’ | Type: Compulsory | ECTS: 6
Course aim and description:
The aim of the course is to provide Postgraduate students (business executives) with the knowledge and skills required to apply the appropriate quantitative methods in business decision making.
The course will develop the concept of decision, the conditions under which decisions are made and the quantitative techniques and tools used. In addition, developing and solving real business problems will enable students to formulate relevant business problems in a logical way and to know when and how to apply appropriate quantitative methods in making business decisions.
Entrepreneurship
Semester: Α’ | Type: Compulsory | ECTS: 3
Course aim and description:
The objective of the course is to familiarize participants with basic entrepreneurial knowledge and mindset following the life cycle of a business venture from idea to implementation.
The course will provide students with an essential insight into best practices and risks of modern entrepreneurship and the knowledge and skills required to start up and operate a new business in the modern era. During the course, students will appreciate the importance of innovation and entrepreneurship and understand the factors that are relevant to the success of a business, in newly established or existing business units with emphasis on small and medium-sized enterprises.
Business Planning
Semester: Α’ | Type: Compulsory | ECTS: 3
Course aim and description:
This course presents the theoretical and empirical framework for organizing, documenting, coordinating and evaluating an integrated business plan for the establishment or expansion of small firms in the modern competitive environment.
It provides students with a substantial picture of the risks and limits facing a entrepreneur and the knowledge and skills required to develop a functionally viable business plan. With the development of a business plan, students will explore a set of means of creating, organizing and financing a business venture in Greece and abroad.
Managerial Economics
Semester: Α’ | Type: Compulsory | ECTS: 3
Course aim and description:
This course aims at a multidimensional interconnection of Economics with Business Administration through the decision-making process. The aim of this course is to help students be able to make and implement business decisions with the help of financial models, methods and tools.
The business world needs executives who are flexible, who understand the fundamentals of business, who can think in different ways and who can respond positively to change. Understanding Economics will help in this direction and generally in the complete understanding of the possibilities and limits of economic methodologies and how they can affect business behavior.
Managing Individuals and Organizations
Semester: Α’ | Type: Compulsory | ECTS: 3
Course aim and description:
The aim of this course is for participants to develop a detailed appreciation of factors influencing how people behave at work and how these link to performance.
The course focuses on the human side of management science by studying the basic concepts and topics in Organizational Behavior that are important for understanding and managing the attitudes and behaviors of people as individuals and groups within organizations.
Students reflect on theory and practice so as to understand their own and other’s behavior in organizations, enabling them to choose and implement appropriate practices to achieve positive human outcomes and increase organizational effectiveness.
Marketing Management
Semester: Α’ | Type: Compulsory | ECTS: 3
Course aim and description:
This course aims to provide students an understanding of the role of Marketing in business strategy. Also, to provide them with knowledge and skills, useful to enhance their career prospects in the context of the evolution of Marketing Management into a distinct profession.
The content of the course introduces the student to the concepts of Marketing philosophy, and help to develop a greater understanding of how the concepts and principals of Marketing are adapted in business environment. Students will improve their ability to make effective marketing decisions, including assessing marketing opportunities and developing marketing strategies and implementation plans. Course topics include 5 main sections:
- Marketing Environment and marketing Functions
- Planning and implementing Marketing Mix
- Positioning and Branding
- Planning marketing Strategy and
- New trends and developments.
The course will adapt the Marketing philosophy. Moreover, the course applies marketing topics to consumer and business and help students to gain a deeper knowledge about Marketing and develop the necessary skills for professionals.
Operations Management
Semester: Α’ | Type: Compulsory | ECTS: 3
Course aim and description:
This course aims to present and analyze the main concepts, tools and applications that are used in the field of Operations Management. With its successful completion, postgraduate students will be able to successfully apply the basic tools with which various organizations manage their production process and/or offer their services.
The course offers the basic theoretical principles of Operations Management, but also makes special reference to state-of-the-art business practices that support the production of products and services, in a way that ensures that organizational goals are being effectively achieved. During the course, various case-studies and real-business practical examples are analyzed. The following areas are main focal points of this course: Forecasting, Inventory Management, Supply Chain Management, Just-in-Time and Lean Systems, Scheduling and Plant Location.
Strategic Management – Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility
Semester: B’ | Type: Compulsory | ECTS: 6
Course aim and description:
The course includes two modules (sections): (a) Strategic Management and (b) Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility. The aim of the first module (Strategic Management) is to help students acquire the necessary skills of strategic analysis, so as to be able to independently carry out a strategic review of an organization, which fully complies with the specifications of established consulting firms. Moreover, the aim of the second module (Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility) is to familiarize students with the concept of strategic Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), as well as with the most significant tools that are being implemented by companies today.
Strategic Management: In this module, various theories and approaches of strategic management are being analyzed, while postgraduate students are being introduced in the main tools of strategic valuation, analysis and decision making. In general, the course explores how companies can develop appropriate strategic resources that can help them achieve a better positioning in their external environment, thus attaining a sustainable competitive advantage.
Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility: Initially, the theoretical foundations of CSR are being presented, via examining the evolution of the concepts of Strategic Responsibility, Sustainable Development, Sustainability, Stakeholder Theory and ESG factors (Environment, Society and Governance). The spotlight is, then, turned into the organizational benefits that derive from the strategic implementation of SCR. In that direction, the case-studies of successful Greek companies are being analyzed. Moving on, the discussion moves towards the modern tools of Corporate Responsibility. Through examples and conversation with the postgraduate students, the methodology of developing Corporate Responsibility Reports that comply with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards is analyzed. Finally, the concept of stakeholder engagement is being explored.
Human Resource Management
Semester: B’ | Type: Compulsory | ECTS: 3
Course aim and description:
The objective of the course is to familiarize students with the basic principles and techniques of human resource management (HRM).
The course provides participants with a concise but thorough review of essential human resource management trends, practices and tools, with emphasis on implementing the HR function in the “real world”. The role of HR in strategy formulation is also an integral part of the course. Certainly, not everyone who takes this course will become a human resource professional, although they will learn a great deal about those roles.
Change Management
Semester: B’ | Type: Compulsory | ECTS: 3
Course aim and description:
The aim of this course is to provide a detailed framework, based on which students will be able to implement restructuring programs and organizational change.
This course analyzes the processes through which an organization can redesign its structures and how it operates. It introduces students to different types of change in the business world, discussing the most important approaches and strategies in change management as well as the procedures for their successful implementation and establishment in organizations. In addition, emphasis is placed on the problems and dilemmas faced by an executive who manages change within the company.
Innovation Management
Semester: B’ | Type: Compulsory | ECTS: 3
Course aim and description:
The aim of the course is to understand the importance of innovation and creativity as factors of sustainable success for businesses, in the context of an ever-changing global economy.
Implementing a competitive strategy especially in a changing business environment depends on the ability of Organizations to develop a culture of innovation and creativity. During the course students will understand how the changing environment affects the performance of businesses and how Organizations will have to adapt to it, learn and innovate to gain a sustainable competitive advantage.
Indicative content of the course: The nature of innovation (Introduction to the basic principles of innovation, Sources of innovation, types of innovations). Starting an innovative business activity (Business Model Generation, Lean business start-up). Innovation Management (Innovation Financing, Characteristics of Innovative Organizations, Innovation Protection).
New Ventures & Design Thinking
Semester: B’ | Type: Compulsory | ECTS: 3
Course aim and description:
This course aims to provide students with all appropriate theoretical and practical knowledge and skills (hard and soft skills) in order to be able to analyze and understand in depth the full startup lifecycle and any other related venture. They will also acquire the basic know how to start their own venture (entrepreneurship) and to experience how Design thinking works, to face modern business challenges.
The content of the course introduces the student to all basic notions and definitions of Entrepreneurship and the full startup lifecycle. Theory covers all aspects of a new venture, business plan creation (BMC, Operating models, value engineering, P&L, competitor analysis, revenue models, etc), various innovative business models, fund raising strategies, technology transfer methodologies, technological strategy, product management, Agile philosophy and Design Thinking procedure, with a dedicated workshop in a real industrial challenge, Also some special chapters will be presented, which are core elements in modern ventures, such as Digital Transformation (platform economy, digitization, etc), customer experience, e-commerce and data management.
Strategic Marketing
Semester: B’ | Type: Compulsory | ECTS: 3
Course aim and description:
This course aims to provide students an understanding of the role of Marketing in business strategy.
The course will consider the importance of a customer orientation as well as creation and promotion of brands; the role and implementation of marketing mix activities during the product life cycle. There will be a particular focus on the role of marketing in creating a competitive advantage, and the challenges of marketing in the 21st century.
The course aims to engage students in marketing strategy, covering prevalent marketing theories as well as a range of real life current and classical cases to help participants improve their strategic marketing thinking and activation skills. Course topics include 6 main sections:
- Marketing as strategy: Understanding the marketing environment today.
- Internal analysis and External analysis.
- The marketing information system.
- Market opportunity recognition and evaluation.
- Services & Innovation.
- Managing Marketing Mix across the product life cycle.
Digital Marketing
Semester: B’ | Type: Compulsory | ECTS: 3
Course aim and description:
The aim of the course is to provide a detailed, applied perspective of the theory and practice of traditional and digital marketing in the new demanding and competitive era. Its main objective is for students to understand and become familiar with the importance of digital marketing in the digital transformation of businesses.
The course explores the technological environment, business and consumer behavior, and continues with market research and information management. The possibilities and types (search engine optimization, content marketing, pay per click marketing, e-mail marketing, affiliate marketing, etc.) of digital marketing are presented, the comprehensive digital marketing strategy, the major digital marketing channels and the online advertisement. Emphasis is placed in Business intelligence and analytics. Finally, measurement of digital marketing efforts is presented.
Indicative content of the course: Digital Environment and Marketing, Consumer Behavior in the Digital Age, Market research and information management, Strategic Business Action Planning, Innovative business models & digital marketing, E-commerce. Products, services, content/e-shopping, Generating Revenues and online pricing, Affiliate networks, multi-channel approach & sales, Communication-promotion in the digital environment, Performance measurement of e-business & marketing. Emphasis is placed in online marketing, in search engine optimization (SEO), in content marketing, in paid online advertisement, in business intelligence and analytics and in CRM strategies in the Age of big data and digital advertisement.
Negotiations
Semester: B’ | Type: Compulsory | ECTS: 3
Course aim and description:
This course aims to provide students with a) Basic knowledge in the field of negotiation and b) Soft skills that will prove useful in a professional and personal context.
The content of the course introduces the student to the basic concepts of decision-making and negotiation. Through simulations, students are familiarized with the distinction between distributive and integrative negotiation. On the basis of the four levels of analysis in social psychology (individual, interpersonal, group-intergroup, cultural – ideological), they come to know the basic factors that influence the negotiating outcome, from personality and individual biases to group participation and cultural differences.
Project Management
Semester: B’ | Type: Compulsory | ECTS: 3
Course aim and description:
This course aims to provide students with knowledge and skills, useful to enhance their career prospects in the context of the evolution of management and project management into a distinct profession.
The content of the course introduces the student to the concepts of project and project management, and develops the five basic groups, in accordance with the most widely used Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK, 5th Edition) guide. The groups’ procedure developed refers to Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring and Control and finally Closing Project. At the same time, there is an extensive description of Inputs, Tools and Techniques and Outputs of each process.
Change Management Business Game
Semester: C’ | Type: Compulsory | ECTS: 1
Course aim and description:
The aim of this workshop is to provide an experiential learning activity that would empirically fit well within the curriculum of the Change Management, Human Resource Management and Managing Individuals and Organizations courses.
The object of study is a Video Game company that is a leader of innovation in that industry, but they consistently fail to get their new products out to market on time. Participants play a) Executive roles or b) Consultant roles; consultants are divided into 3 teams. Each consulting team has the opportunity to collect data from the executives by way of interviews. Then consultants develop a presentation with recommendations for organizational change and its management.
Holistic case study
Semester: C’ | Type: Compulsory | ECTS: 1
Course aim and description:
The aim of this workshop is to provide students with an experiential learning activity, by offering the opportunity to solve a real business problem, under real working circumstances. Under that context, it empirically complements many courses of the curriculum. Case-studies require knowledge from various courses, like Fundamentals of Financial Management, Marketing Management, Strategic Management – Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility, while some other case-studies may also be related with more specified courses of the postgraduate program, like Managerial Accounting and Digital Marketing.
The focal point of study is a big multinational enterprise, which cooperates with the postgraduate program by supplying its own case study. Solving this case study constitutes a competitive process that is conducted under a specific timetable. Students are divided into groups. They receive the case study and have six hours to offer their solution. Under that context, they can use every available source of knowledge. The case study is based on real data and answers to a real business problem of an actual company. It is provided by a big multinational enterprise, whose managers monitor and participate in the whole process. The various groups of students present their business report in a special committee, comprising from two professors of the university and one manager of the multinational.
48-hour Hackathon of Strategic Management
Semester: C’ | Type: Compulsory | ECTS: 1
The objective of this workshop is to help students to deepen the concepts of strategic management, through the analysis of the internal environment of a real company. The students will work in groups of 3 people (which they will form themselves, with the possible help of the professors in charge). They will choose a business (and here the help of the responsible professors is possible) and will have a sufficient amount of time at their disposal to create a video (final deliverable), in which they will proceed with the analysis of the value chain of the specific business. Students are expected to develop managerial thinking skills, which will help them add value to business organizations.
Upon successful completion of the workshop, participants should be able to:
1. Clearly recognize the limits of a problem to be solved and to fully recognize its main and secondary aspects, focusing on the most essential points for its solution.
2. Develop an appropriate methodology for approaching and investigating an organizational problem and to proceed to solve it with an emphasis mainly on the demands of the “client-company” in a simulation of real working conditions and under time pressure.
3. Prepare a complete scientific and/or professional presentation / business report.
4. Communicate clearly and effectively their proposals, as well as the data and rationale on which they are based, by successfully making a comprehensive presentation via ICT.