Professional Documents
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MBA PROGRAM
CONTENTS
1 2 Welcome from the Head of School hy Undertake an MBA at the W University of Adelaide Business School?
4 How does the Adelaide MBA work? 5 Study Options 7 Structure of Programs
7 MBA Core Courses 7 8 10 12 12 13 MBA (Advanced) Additional Core Courses Elective Courses Frequently Asked Questions Fees & Financial Support Admission Requirements Applications
WHY UNDERTAKE AN MBA (MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION) AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ADELAIDE BUSINESS SCHOOL?
The University of Adelaide
Established in 1874, The University of Adelaide is one of Australias finest universities and it has a strong international reputation. The University of Adelaide was recently ranked 4th in Australia and 73rd in the world among over 9000 universities in the Times Higher Education Rankings. This places it firmly in the top 1% of universities across the globe. It enjoys status as a first rate, forwardlooking and innovative university. It is directly associated with five Nobel Prize winners and has produced more than 100 Rhodes Scholars. The University regularly attracts more research funding per capita than any other university in Australia. The University of Adelaide is a member of prestigious Australian Group of Eight elite Universities. In line with its reputation for innovation, in 1963 The University of Adelaide established the first MBA program in South Australia and one of the first in Australia.
The MBA program emphasises the development of abilities to: Master leadership skills Understand the functional interrelationships between different areas of an organisation and the broader interaction of the organisation with its environment Recognise and act effectively on problems and opportunities confronting an organisation Coordinate and apply an organisations financial, physical, technological and human resources in pursuit of important objectives Understand and communicate effectively with people inside and outside an organisation Evaluate current management policies and practices to develop new ways to improve organisational effectiveness. Students in the program come from a wide variety of disciplines, professional backgrounds and cultures, many with high standing from undergraduate areas. The School seeks to provide them with a solid grounding in academic disciplines relevant to management. Students will acquire the conceptual and analytical abilities they need to make and carry out decisions at a senior managerial level. While the 12 course MBA program suits the needs of many, some students seek to build further on this foundation by undertaking the 16 course MBA (Advanced) program.
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Learning Environment
Small Class Sizes
Classes have a maximum number of 35 students and the average is 25 students. This allows individuals time to contribute in class, without being overwhelmed by large numbers.
Flexibility
The table below provides an explanation of the four programs and the articulation between them. There are four entry and four exit points. Study completed in one program can be counted towards the next level program. For example, you may enrol in the Graduate Certificate in Business Administration and proceed through to the Graduate Diploma, MBA or MBA (Adv) with credit for courses completed. Conversely, provided you meet the entry requirements, you may choose to enrol in the highest qualification, the MBA (Adv) and then, upon meeting program requirements, exit with a lesser qualification, e.g. the Graduate Diploma in Business Administration. You decide how many courses you enrol in each trimester and, provided you complete your selected program within the maximum completion time, you may suspend your studies for a trimester to cope with employment or other commitments.
Study load
A part-time study load is typically one or two courses each trimester and a full-time load is three or four courses each trimester. It is recommended that part-time students enrol in one course in their first trimester of study in order to determine the workload requirements. The total contact time for most courses is 36 hours (3 hours per week), excluding the open book examination in core courses. In addition, students will be required to spend extra time on private study and group work. It is estimated that most students will spend 8 hours per week per course in reading, assignments, preparation and/or group work.
Face-to-Face Learning
The Business School maintains the view that an MBA should be taught face-to-face in order to facilitate beneficial interaction between students and academic staff. It also fosters valuable networking opportunities.
PROGRAM
NUMBER OF COURSES 4 8 12 16
GRADUATE CERTIFICATE IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION GRADUATE DIPLOMA IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION +4 +4 +4 MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
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Study Options
After Hours Teaching
Classes are scheduled to accommodate fulltime working professionals. They are generally held on weeknights from 4.30pm-7.30pm. Some courses are delivered on alternate Saturdays, in a six-hour teaching block typically from 8.30am-2.30pm for six sessions.
Intensive Courses
Some courses are offered in intensive mode over three to six weeks with classes generally held over a Friday and Saturday.
Summer School
The Business School operates an MBA Summer School over a two week period each January. This gives students the option to speed up the progress of their studies. Classes are held in intensive mode, with six hours of study on alternate days, over a 12 day period.
Management Project
This project provides an opportunity for an individual student or a team of students to complete an applied research project based on a real business problem or issue. Students may choose either a case study project which analyses a real-world management issue or a project which undertakes the investigation of a particular problem and makes recommendations. A program of activities will be completed and lead to a case or project report and presentation.
and are carefully tailored to suit everyones needs. Internships are offered across a diverse range of industries and organisations, from government departments to large private companies and not-for-profit organisations.
The MBAAA conducts regular events, including monthly breakfasts and forums featuring graduates. The network is diverse, including students and graduates who work and live locally, interstate and overseas. The MBAAA offers an annual prize for the best student in the foundation course Fundamentals of Leadership. For events and the current list of the MBAAA Executive Committee, visit: www.business.adelaide.edu.au/mba/alumni
Alumni Support
The MBA Alumni Association (MBAAA) is an important part of the life and community of the Business School, as it forms an integral part of the Schools business relationships. MBA students may apply to become members of the MBAAA (free of charge) from the time they enrol, enabling them to immediately benefit from graduate experience and connections.
Internship
Students have the opportunity to undertake a professional internship within an organisation as part of their MBA study. Short term placements are designed for full-time students
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STRUCTURE OF PROGRAMS
Program Details and Articulation
The Schools programs form a nested sequence. The details of each program are outlined below.
Fundamentals of Leadership is the foundation course for all programs. Upon completion, students will possess an understanding of the development of management thought and practice, providing a background against which new trends in management can be viewed. They will be able to identify and discuss the major challenges facing management in todays environment and develop the understanding and communication skills required to effectively lead and manage a diverse workforce.
Accounting for Managers
regulatory environment. The second part deals with the determinants of the aggregate level of output and employment, and elements in the determination of macroeconomic policy including interest rates, inflation and foreign trade and capital flows. The focus of the course is on current issues and their implications for managers and competitive organisations.
anaging Contemporary M Organisations
Participants in this course will develop the essential ability of all managers, to use complex accounting information as a platform for decision-making. The course develops skills in interpreting earnings statements, balance sheets and cash flow reports. In the second phase of the course students will take away highly relevant skills in areas such as budgeting, product and service costing and short-run decision-making.
Marketing Management
This course exposes students to some key influences and perspectives on the management of organisations. Its focus is primarily on human issues that affect and are dealt with by managers day-to-day. The course is an extension of Fundamentals of Leadership and provides the background and theoretical framework for more advanced studies in business management. The course begins by examining the nature of organisation as an open system. Then the management challenge in relation to various facets of organisation is reviewed learning, motivation, politics, performance, ethics, culture, innovation, decision-making, structure and change.
Managerial Finance
Marketing lies at the core of all business. Whatever the character or size of your entity, its profit can come from only one place: the marketplace. All businesses are dependent on the income they earn from their customers, clients or buyers. In most businesses it is Marketing Managers who are primarily responsible for keeping their company close to its customers. All those who have a direct responsibility for identifying, reaching and satisfying customers are engaged in marketing and everybody in a business needs to understand its marketplace activities. This course offers a complete introduction to professional marketing thought and action.
Economics for Management
Initially this course will cover the concepts of valuation in finance and show how they can be applied to valuing corporate securities. Adopting a value creation perspective, the course will then consider capital expenditure decision approaches and their application to a range of situations, as well as evaluation of the results. Then, risk is considered, with a riskreturn model developed that can be applied in managing for value creation. The course examines the concept of the weighted average cost of capital, before turning to consider corporate financing and capital structure decisions.
GLOBAL BUSINESS
This course provides an introduction to economic thinking and its relevance and application to managing organisations. The first part of the course deals with the structure of markets, including perfect competition, monopoly and oligopoly, and the competitive
This course prepares students for doing business in the global environment. The broad content introduces the core theories, frameworks and issues in global business at the supranational, country and firm levels to assist students in developing the ability to deal with the complexity and multiplicity of the global business environment. Specific topics included
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in this course comprise two clusters. The first cluster focuses on understanding theories of international trade and investment as well as variations in political, economic, sociocultural, and legal systems between countries and pertinent risks involved in cross-border business operations. The second cluster focuses on exploring how the firm formulates international business strategy and adapts various functional areas of the enterprise for successful international operations. Students are provided with the opportunity to develop skills in identifying opportunities and challenges in the international marketplace as well as understanding the impact of global developments on local enterprises.
Strategic Management
Australian legal system, the law of business structures, contract law, intellectual property law, employment law, law of business torts, consumer protection law, competition law and electronic commerce law.
ELECTIVES
The School offers a range of electives each year. Students may choose all their electives from a particular discipline, or select electives from a range of disciplines. Elective offerings vary depending on enrolment, demand and availability of visiting professors. Academic discipline areas include the following: Family Business Issues and Perspectives People Management Management of Change Negotiation Skills Knowledge Management Strategy Corporate Strategy Mergers and Aquisitions Marketing Marketing Strategy Services Marketing International Business Managing Various Business Models Across Borders Cross-Cultural Management Technology/Project Management Project Management Strategic Performance Drivers Business Performance Improvement Statistical Quantitative and Analytical Thinking Enterpreneurship Entrepreneurship General Management/Cross-Disciplinary Organisational Sustainability Management Research Project Finance Global Wealth Management Financial Modelling Law Business Law
Business Project
This course draws on the work undertaken in the compulsory core MBA courses. Projects may be undertaken by an individual student or by a team of 3-5 students who take on the role of consultant(s) to an organisation and analyse a real business issue and produce recommendations. Projects may be sourced by students or the Business School. Each project will be allocated an academic project supervisor. Much of the time for this course will be in practical fieldwork or desk research. The project will conclude with a presentation by the student or student group, to members of the client organisation and the Business School, at which time a final written report will be given to the organisation.
This course presents a unified way of thinking about the issues of strategic thinking and the management of change. Strategic thinking involves searching for a favourable and sustainable competitive position in an attractive industry; while the management of change, from a strategic perspective, is concerned with innovation and the transformation of resources and skills into strategic capabilities that provide the bases for sustainable advantages. Strategic Management is important because it can help focus the firm in terms of the customer. It identifies a direction for the firm and enables a clear articulation of the path chosen.
Operations Management
Management Project
This project provides an opportunity for an individual student or a team of students to complete an applied research project based on a business issue. Students may choose either a case study project which analyses a real-world management issue or a project which undertakes the investigation of a particular problem or issue and makes relevant recommendations. A program of activities will be completed and lead to a case or project report.
Business Law
Operations is the term used in management to refer collectively to the many processes through which an organisations strategies for competing in the marketplace are put into action. Obviously, in any organisations operations there are many kinds of processes that must be managed inbound logistics, production, outbound logistics, and customer support in many forms, to name only a few. In this course, we will first develop an overview of the range of processes that can make up the operations of an organisation. We then focus on some key issues in managing certain fundamental processes that are critically important to the strategies of many organisations today.
This course will introduce managers to a range of legal issues that impact on their business and on their duties and responsibilities as managers. There is an increasing trend in the law to make managers personally liable for breaches of the law by their business. The course will help managers to identify areas of legal liability and risk and suggest how to minimise legal risk. The topics covered in the course include an introduction to the
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PROFILES
Graduate Certificate in BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
NICOLE GRAHAM
CEO, scosa Spastic Centres of South Australia Inc.
The MBA program has been a key contributor to my career successes and a major influence in gaining my first CEO role. I commenced my MBA studies whilst I was General Manager Client Services with scosa, the Spastic Centres of South Australia. Six months after my graduation I was appointed as the Chief Executive. Studying the MBA was instrumental for me attaining the CEO position. The program developed my understanding of key business principles and has given me the confidence and knowledge to identify issues, analyse the situation and formulate the appropriate strategies to deliver the best outcome. The program has expanded my thinking, knowledge and business skills and provided opportunities to explore and develop my full potential.
CORE COURSES
Fundamentals of Leadership (1st course) Accounting for Managers Marketing Management
Economics for Management Managerial Finance Managing Contemporary Organisations Global Business OR an approved International Business elective OR approved International Study Abroad Strategic Management Operations Management Business Law Business or Management Project
Doug Schmidt
General Manager Demand Network Management, ETSA Utilities
ELECTIVES
Depending on the program enrolled in, the following number of elective courses 1 2 3 5
The Adelaide MBA curriculum and coursework have equipped me with a broad range of general management skills that have proven invaluable in advancing my professional career. Equally as important is the learning experience provided by the MBA course structure of classroom study and group assignments, being undertaking while working full time. This has provided me with skills essential for managing in todays high paced business environment including; prioritising and managing time effectively; working in teams comprising individuals from diverse backgrounds and industries; delivering high quality outputs within tight deadlines.
David Hill
Partner | Deloitte.
The Adelaide MBA has been vital to my career progression without it I was a Corporate Finance practitioner, with it I have the privilege of being a trusted corporate adviser. Without it I was an aspiring Associate Director with Deloitte in Adelaide, with it I have the privilege of leading Deloittes Transaction Services business in Australia. The MBA broadened my skill set thereby giving me the confidence to pursue challenges outside of my traditional comfort zone.
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When are the intakes and how long are the study periods?
Courses are offered in trimesters, commencing late January, mid May, and early September. Each trimester is approximately 13 weeks long, including the exam week. There is a two week vacation break after the first trimester and the second trimester. The MBA academic year concludes in early December and recommences at the end of January the following year. In January students who have already completed the prerequisite core courses may enrol in the intensive Summer School. Held in Adelaide, Summer School also attracts students enrolled in the Schools Singapore MBA Program.
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FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE
Scholarships
There are very few University of Adelaide scholarships available each year, and competition is very keen. Unless an applicant has a very high level of academic achievement, it is very difficult to obtain one. There is no separate application process for MBA scholarships, and all program applications are assessed at the same time for their eligibility for scholarship support. For more information, visit: www.adelaide.edu.au/scholarships
ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS
Graduate Certificate in Business Administration
Although it is not mandatory for students applying directly into this program to have a Bachelor degree, applicants without a degree must have a minimum of seven years full-time relevant work experience. This experience must be substantiated with a current resum that outlines the applicants current and previous managerial roles and achievements.
FEE-HELP
The tuition for the Schools programs can be paid through the Australian Governments FEE-HELP (Higher Education Loans Program). This is a non means-tested interest-free loan facility for eligible Australian citizens and those who have a permanent Humanitarian Visa who are enrolled in fee paying, postgraduate non-research programs. It is not available to Australian Permanent Residents. Students can elect to: Pay the full course fee up-front Receive a FEE-HELP loan for the full course fee Pay some of the course fee up-front and receive a FEE-HELP loan for the remainder of the course fee. If a student receives a FEE-HELP loan, then the Australian Government pays the loan amount directly to the University on the students behalf. A FEE-HELP debt is then recorded for the student with the Australian Tax Office (ATO). Students in the FEE-HELP scheme must still pay for a relevant text book for each course. For more information, visit: www.goingtouni.gov.au
English Language
All programs at The University of Adelaide are taught in English. Students with a degree that was not completed in English at an approved University are required to undertake an IELTS (International English Language Testing System) academic test. The minimum required overall score is 7, with a minimum band score of 6.5 for each section.
TUITION FEES
For information about tuition fees please go to: www.business.adelaide.edu.au/mba/fees
Tuition fees are subject to increase. Students will be liable for the tuition fees current in each year. Students are invoiced for the courses they are enrolled in during the current trimester only. In addition to the tuition fee, students should budget for one text book per trimester. Taxation rebates apply to eligible students.
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APPLICATIONS
Vanessa Vartto
National Operations Manager, CSC President, MBA Alumni Association
I was looking for an executive program that would provide me with the skills and knowledge to shift my career to the next level. The University of Adelaide MBA did just that. The investment in the program in terms of time and effort has delivered real results. This is a degree that is truly focussed on maximising the amount of information you are exposed to. Theoretical topics are presented in conjunction with real-life case studies, which assisted me greatly in converting academic knowledge into actual business solutions. The diverse backgrounds of both lecturers and students from a number of countries - with so many years of experience, provided a fantastic variety of learning interactions. An MBA from the University of Adelaide will enhance your leadership potential, broaden your vision and enable you to see more opportunities than previously imagined.
If you wish to lodge an application online, or make an enquiry about an application which you have already lodged, please visit: www.international.adelaide.edu.au/enquiries/
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The Faculty of the Professions The University of Adelaide South Australia 5005 Australia +61 8 8313 4650 +61 8 8313 4521 business@adelaide.edu.au www.business.adelaide.edu.au/mba
Information contained within this publication was correct as of June 2011. The University of Adelaide CRICOS Provider Number 00123M
www.adelaide.edu.au