AGSM MBA (Executive)

The MNGT6211 Executive Blueprint course is a commencing course and part of Stage 1 of the revised MBA Executive Program. This course primes students for a transformational learning experience.

The course is an academically-grounded orientation to the AGSM MBA (Executive) program. It is intended to provide a cohort experience and to help students acquire a range of useful strategies and skills for enhancing their executive effectiveness, as well as for engaging productively with the MBA(Executive) course concepts and their colleagues throughout their program.

The course assists students to reflect on their personal managerial and leadership experiences, expanding their capacity to think and act as leaders. Personal, tacit theories about what works (from experience and previous learning) are unearthed and discussed against management and leadership research to instil an evidence-based approach to leadership. The course starts the personal transformation journey of students in the program from ‘knowing about leadership’ to ‘doing leadership’ and ‘being a leader’.

MNGT6211 is a 12 week blended residential course, whereby students engage in self directed and online facilitated activities as well as attend a 3 day on campus residential.

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Course outline

• PDFMNGT6211 The Executive Blueprint, Session 1

This course explains accounting techniques and terminology, providing you with sufficient conceptual and practical skills to give you the knowledge and confidence to understand complex financial strategies and make better financial decisions. The course assumes that you have limited prior knowledge of accounting and financial management.

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Course outline

• PDFMNGT6210 Accounting and Financial Management, Semester 2
• PDFMNGT6210 Accounting and Financial Management, Semester 2

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This course explores the issues you face in managing people, groups and organisations.

• What is my role as a manager and a leader?
• What motivates people at work?
• How does my group function, and how can it be more effective?
• What impact does the structure and culture of my organisation have on our performance?

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The underlying theme of this course is that a business must add value. Those that do not will either be forced to change or cease to exist. The course addresses the questions:

• What is value, how is it measured and how does a well-run business create or add value?

In examining value, you will be introduced to the three basic ideas in finance:

• The time value of money, diversification and arbitrage.

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Major changes are reshaping the role of philanthropy both internationally and in the Australian context:

• Global economic realignments, the privatisation of community services
• New patterns of wealth distribution and of inter-generational wealth transfer
• Greater expectations of the role of corporate citizenship and of corporate philanthropy

These forces are also extending the meaning of philanthropy by encouraging the growth of new forms of social investment, in which commercial enterprise is being shaped by social as well as financial goals, to create innovative, and sometimes hybrid, models of sustainable community services, environmental protection and social development, as well as new business opportunities.

This course will introduce the history, core concepts and current issues in the fields of philanthropy, fundraising and social investment. It will also examine patterns of fundraising and giving, ethical and philosophical perspectives and the management and legal aspects of social investment programs.

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Demonstrating Social Impact is an elective subject for the Graduate Certificate in Social Impact and M Com, MBT or AGSM MBA programs. It provides an overview and introduction to evaluation and social impact assessment, the underpinning principles of evaluation and social impact assessment and examines some of the key social impact measurement approaches increasingly used by leading Third sector organisations in Australia and internationally, including Logic Models such as LogFrame; Social Return on Investment (SROI); and Social Accounting and Audit (SAA). Other frameworks used to measure the impact of corporate social initiatives will also be discussed.

The course will provide the knowledge and tools necessary to understand and apply social impact frameworks and methodologies at a project and organisational level.

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Social innovation, the outcome of the work of social entrepreneurs and others can be developed in almost any context. It is often a response to an identified problem, issue or opportunity. Design thinking and methods take a whole systems, rather than a silo, approach to offer different perspectives to the traditional business tools.

Design for Social Innovation offers participants the opportunity to learn and apply design tools and methods to real projects with a focus on social outcomes.

This course is an elective subject for the Graduate Certificate in Social Impact, and an elective available for all postgraduate students. It provides an overview and introduction to the role and application of design concepts in social innovation and social enterprise.

The course will provide the knowledge and tools necessary to understand and apply design principles at a project or organisational level.

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Social Impact: Entrepreneurs and Social Innovation examines the accelerating economic relationship between government, business and the third sector to deliver social (including environmental) value in communities and the way in which this drives social innovation.

The course first examines the social economy through the emerging spectrum of organisational forms that generate both social and economic value: from traditional charities, to social enterprises, through to socially responsible business and traditional corporations. It looks at why the traditional boundaries between government, business and the third sector have become blurred and fluid and what that means for the capacity to deliver new forms of social impact.

Second, the course examines trends and drivers re-shaping the dynamics of social impact. It reviews the key changes that have occurred within each of the sectors:

• The changing role of government from direct provider to enabler
• The emergence of corporate responsibility within the business sector
• The emergence of social enterprises and socially responsible businesses within the third sector and the consequent implications for leadership
• The emergence of new forms of philanthropy and social investment

The course examines the ways in which these changes drive social innovation and it concludes with a review of global trends and organisations that effect social change and impact.

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Corporate Responsibility and Accountability is a specialist course for the Graduate Certificate in Social Impact and an elective for those undertaking the Master of Commerce or MBA or MBT Programs. It examines how business manages its social, environmental and economic impact on society.

The course first reviews the historical evolution and development of the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility and Corporate Citizenship and why it is now a key part of managing the business enterprise.

Second, the course examines what acting responsibly means for corporations in terms of the market, community, environment, workplace and government. Issues covered include business and human rights, business-community partnerships, corporate philanthropy, the human resource management implications of CSR, business and the environment and businesses’ relationship with government.

Third, the course examines how business accounts for its behaviour and impact in society through sustainability reporting and the role of external assurance and outlines debates on the appropriate role of government policy in either regulating and/or enabling responsible corporate behaviour.

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Leadership for Social Impact is designed for a new generation of leaders

• Those who seek a leadership career in social enterprises, and those already in the sector who wish to enhance their professional capacity to create social and environmental value through leadership of third sector/not-for-profit organisations
• Those who aspire to hold executive positions in companies which are committed to maximising social benefit and meeting corporate responsibilities through their products and practices
• Those who wish to become senior public administrators working with community groups, or public service executives with a responsibility for developing the public policy framework
• Those individuals and foundations that seek to ensure that their social investment is applied to greatest social impact

The course provides students with an introduction to the challenges and opportunities of leading organisations with the purpose of improving social outcomes.

The course will examine the following areas:

• Current challenges in achieving social benefit
• Leadership in the social economy
• Challenges and opportunities of leadership during a time of inflexion
• A model of leadership centred on identifying adaptive challenges for leaders
• Intervention of leaders and practices for more effective and positive social outcomes
• New forms of organising designed to address breakdowns in the social economy
• Governance systems and demands
• Diagnosis of leadership challenges

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In this course you will learn some of the major frameworks that help you to understand and manage change. Starting with the change agent, you explore the skills needed and the types of analysis change agents use to decide appropriate courses of action.

You will develop your skills and learn a range of different strategies for influencing individuals, groups and the organisation. Change is also considered from an organisational perspective and you will explore how organisations respond to, resist, initiate and drive change.

Your role in understanding and managing the organisation is examined. By the end of the course you will be able to: Understand the main frameworks that describe personal and organisational change Identify the role you play in initiating and facilitating change Analyse effective and ineffective change interventions Choose appropriate strategies to facilitate personal and organisational change.

This course is a prerequisite for MBAX6274 Systems for Change.

Students who have completed MNGT6371 Managing Change are not permitted to undertake this course.

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Course outline

• PDFMBAX6271 Approaches to Change, Session 2

This course focuses on the important structural and cultural elements of an organisation’s design, when and why the elements might need to be redesigned and how to redesign them effectively We consider changes at the level of individual jobs through to strategic options such as mergers, downsizing and restructuring. There is no one perfect design, only an optimal design for each particular time and context. By the end of the course you will be able to: Describe the main features of organisations Assess an organisational design in relation to the strategy and the environment Apply an open-systems perspective to planning for change Identify appropriate interventions Recommend ways to improve the redesign process.

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Course outline

• PDFMBAX6273 Redesigning the Organisation, Session 2

This course examines how you can sustain change in yourself and your organisation and teaches you the skills to support both processes. You will learn the four-step action research method:

• Implement change, Study and reflect on outcomes, Design new interventions, Continually assess the effectiveness of your actions. The aim is to become competent in using an open-systems model to understand how organisations function.
• You will learn to analyse the extent to which systems enable and motivate sustainable change.
• About one-third of the course is devoted to applying skills to a current, action research project at your workplace.

Prerequisites: MBAX6271 / MNGT6271 Approaches to Change.

It is recommended to also complete MBAX6273 / MNGT6273 Redesigning the Organisation before undertaking this course.

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Project management involves the overall planning, control and coordination of a project. It is the process by which the responsibility for all phases is combined within one multidisciplinary function. This course introduces you to the project management skills needed during the lifetime of a project. It explores some key concepts of project management, including project risk management.

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• PDFMBAX9101 Project Management, Session 1

Business Management for a Sustainable Environment provides an overview of the range of environment issues facing our community, and the responsibilities of managers in addressing those issues. Via an understanding of the big picture, managers can make sound economic decisions compatible with a commitment to a sustainable environment. The more specific issues and control strategies discussed provide insights into environmental control techniques and methods for handling environmental problems, ranging from legal aspects to quantitative risk assessment.

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• PDFMBAX9103 Business Management for a Sustainable Environment, Session 1

Information Systems Management addresses current management issues in the deployment of information systems and information technology. It deals with the relationship between the organisation and its information systems, strategic and tactical planning for information systems and the management of the development and acquisition of systems and technology. Attention is paid to issues such as outsourcing vs. insourcing, business continuity planning and the provision of information for decision makers. The focus is on management, not the technology itself.

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Drawing on the application of information technology for competitive advantage, the course looks at the potential effects of e-business on the value chain, product differentiation, strategic relationships and market share. Important technologies are emerging in the vital areas of data transfer and personal interaction and these will set the foundations for the future management of e-business. Topics in the course include the potential impact of e-business in both business-to-business and business-to-consumer transactions, security and communications, legal and ethical issues, EDI and electronic payments systems and revenue-generation strategies.

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• PDFMBAX9117 E-Business Strategy & Management, Session 1

The current global business environment continues to create challenges for organisations and their managers. Managers now face increasing pressure to balance short and long-term needs for economic, social and environmental sustainability. This course examines how organisations and their management can support sustainable organisational strategies. We see how holistic and integrated approaches to people management and stakeholder relations can increase an organisation’s capability for continuous renewal and long-term viability. Managing for Organisational Sustainability deals with topics such as organisational capabilities and sustainability, triple bottom line thinking, corporate social responsibility, stakeholder management, alternative performance management systems, organisational learning and change, and managerial competencies for sustainability.

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• PDFMBAX9119 Managing for Organisational Sustainability, Session 2

Behind managing agile organisations effectively is a myriad of applicable management theory. In Managing Agile Organisations (MAO), we will demystify that theory and invite students to unleash its value in analysis of their own organisation (or another that they know well). It is becoming increasingly important in the current business environment to be able to do this to good effect.

Beyond those skills of organisational analysis, we will further investigate the importance of achieving and managing agility of politics, power, cross-functional interaction, inter-organisational alliances, commitment, managing change, and critical aspects of leadership, leaders and leading. Students of MAO are sure to undergo a transformation of their present management perspective.

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An understanding of economics is essential for the long-term viability of business. The economic environment in which business operates will have a vital bearing on day-to-day decisions. Economics in Management Practice lays the foundations for such knowledge. It provides a basic introduction to those economic principles that are important for business, as well as providing general economic literacy to enable participants to read and understand economic reports and to be able to communicate with and understand business people, economists and policy makers.

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• PDFMBAX9122 Economics in Management Practice, Session 2

Business Law and Technology provides an overview of the legal environment for and the legal regulation of business in Australia. It introduces the Australian legal system, alternative forms of business organisation and the legal framework of business regulation, and examines areas of law of particular relevance to business including business contracts and torts, restrictive trade practices and fair-trading, the protection and exploitation of intellectual property, and technology contracts.

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• PDFMBAX9124 Business Law and Technology, Session 2

In this course students examine the basic concepts and tools of supply chain management within the broader framework of integrated intra- and inter-firm operations. The aim of the course is to bring together related but traditionally separate sub-disciplines of management: operations management, which deals with the planning, scheduling and control of production activities within the business firm, and supply chain management, which focuses on the market-integrated production activities of networks or chains of specialised firms that sequentially convert raw materials into increasingly complex intermediate and final products. Although these two sub-disciplines have been taught at universities as separate management subjects, it is increasingly apparent that they should be combined. The sourcing of inputs from upstream suppliers and the distribution of outputs to downstream customers cannot be separated from the management of in-house production.

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This course considers the range of risks facing organisations in the areas of finance, operations, IT, innovation and reputation. An organisation’s culture can impact on the effectiveness of its risk management, which needs to be incorporated into all business planning and decision making. The course covers the role of corporate governance and compliance, and suggests methods of developing and implementing appropriate risk management strategies. Some of the effective tools available for identifying, assessing and quantifying risk are presented, along with emerging issues in enterprise risk management.

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This is a core course in Business Analytics, which enables organizations to make quicker, better, and more intelligent decisions to create business value in the broadest sense. This course addresses the context of business analytics and the management actions required for organizations to manage business analytics such that they can create value from their data and make progress on the transformational journey to becoming data-driven. Emphasis will be placed on the managing and sourcing data, the analytic process and the role of leadership in supporting the organizational and cultural change associated with the transformation to becoming a data-driven organization.

As part of the business analytics process you will build predictive models. This requires a basic understanding of statistics and you will therefore be required to study the material on basic statistics provided by Harvard online training. IBM’s Watson Analytics will be used to build predictive models and communicate analytic insights.

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Course outline

• PDFMBAX9135 Business Analytics, Session 1

This course builds on MNGT5202, providing a hands-on internship experience, allowing for immersion in a real-world startup environment. Students undertake an internship in a local startup, experiencing first-hand the thrill of growing an entrepreneurial business. The challenge in the course is to provide the startup with expertise that they may not have, while at the same time living and breathing the startup world from the inside.

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The exact type and structure of a 'financial analysis' depends largely on the specific decision making context in which the analyst is placed - is it equity investment, credit extension, analysis of supplier/customer health, competitor analysis, regulatory overview or intervention, or valuation for take-over or restructuring purposes? However, many of the techniques of financial analysis are common to each. This course devotes considerable attention to these 'techniques' and the difficulties associated with their application; primarily in the context of equity investment/valuation and credit extension decisions. The emphasis is on sharpening analytical abilities in financial statement analysis from a managerial standpoint. Particular attention is placed on developing an ability to 'pierce the accounting veil' to get at the underlying bottom line - cash flow and the inherent volatility thereof. The Core Finance and Core Accounting courses are prerequisites for this elective.

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Through the use of case studies, this course applies the basic concepts introduced in core Finance (MNGT5220) course to the firm’s financial decisions.

We focus on the determinants of the firm's capital structure and dividend policy, estimation of the cost of capital, the valuation of strategic investment opportunities and the application of valuation techniques to the acquisition of other firms.

This course was previously known as ‘Corporate Finance’.

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The venture capital and private equity industry has expanded by at least 3000% over the past fifteen years and is playing a critical role in shaping our economy and supporting innovation. Yet venture capital firms often operate in mysterious ways, with little real public visibility. This course seeks to understand what venture capital is, what venture capitalists do and the way venture capital organisations work. This course is primarily geared towards students interested in working in venture capital, or other private-equity organizations. It is also intended for students who expect to work alongside venture capitalists or other private equity investors, whether as managers of firms financed by such investors, as investment bankers taking their firms public, or as money managers investing in these funds. Finally, it is designed for students interested in exploring how aspects of private equity investing can be transferred to the management of projects in established organizations.

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This course provides a conceptual framework within which the key financial decisions of the multinational firm can be analysed. The course first considers the environment of international financial management, emphasizing the determination of exchange rates. We study international exposures, then analyse investment and financing decisions as they are made by a multinational entity.

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Course outline

• PDFMNGT5325 International Finance, Session 4

The objective of this course is to supplement basic marketing and marketing strategy courses by focusing on problems and strategies specific to marketing of services.

Problems commonly encountered in marketing services – such as difficulty in controlling quality, managing service failure and recovery situations and an inability to inventory – will be addressed.

Strategies used by successful services marketers to overcome these difficulties will be discussed.

This course was previously known as ‘Services Marketing’.

• recognize the similarities and differences between the marketing of services and goods
• critically analyse service-related issues faced by real companies and offer viable solutions and gain a deeper appreciation of the number and extent of their own service encounters

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• PDFMNGT5356 Digital Business and Marketing , Session 4

The aim of this course is to improve decision-making skills and to provide strategies for further improvement in the future. We cover how individuals and groups make decisions and solve problems, individually and in organizations. By the end of the course, students will understand their own decision styles and personal dispositions, make decisions more deliberately and systematically will be able to use decision analysis techniques and group processes, integrate their values into their decisions, and, generally, have increased confidence in their decision-making.

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• PDFMNGT5374 Managerial Decision Making, Session 4

Negotiation is a central element in managerial life. Negotiations are required not only with external parties but also within the firm. The course will consider both co-operative and competitive dimensions of negotiation and examine the ethical issues which arise.

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• PDFMNGT5388 Negotiations and Strategy, Session 4

The aim of this course is to provide students with the skills required to model and analyse business problems that have financial (revenue and cost) implications and to enable them to effectively present data for effective communication to a business audience.

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• PDFMNGT5520 Quantitative Business Modelling for Managers, Session 4

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• PDFMNGT5540 Business Modelling, Session 4

The MNGT6303 AGSM Masterclass is a new elective has a strong emphasis on shaping the agenda of the future. It provides MBA candidates with injections of global thought leadership, future scenario planning, frameworks and conceptual tools as well as clinics to solve real dilemmas. The Series consist of ½ day workshops jointly facilitated by industry leaders and academic staff on different contemporary topics. Six workshops will be offered each year. Over a maximum of 24 months students need to attend five and successful complete assessment tasks. Topics will vary each year. Example topics include: Digital disruption/ disruptive technology; Design thinking; Systems thinking; Agility; Operational excellence; Social media strategy; ‘big data’; Storytelling and narrative; Creativity.

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The forces of globalisation have increased the permeability of traditional boundaries around countries, economies and industries. These forces include the expansion of international trade and investment, the growth of multinational corporations (MNCs), the ability of information and communications technology to span time and distance, and the shift of the world’s economic centre of gravity from the West to Asia. Because of globalisation, the environment of business is now more complex, more dynamic, more uncertain, and more competitive than ever before.

This course examines important strategic, organisational, and operational issues from the perspective of managers working for local Australian firms or subsidiaries of MNCs based in Australia. Its main objective is to develop an understanding of the international business opportunities and challenges facing these firms and how they can best address these issues when competing in the global marketplace.

New course outline to be finalised soon for Session 3 2016.

Course outline

• PDFMNGT6582 International Business, Session 1

This course explains accounting techniques and terminology, providing you with sufficient conceptual and practical skills to give you the knowledge and confidence to understand complex financial strategies and make better financial decisions. The course assumes that you have limited prior knowledge of accounting and financial management.

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• PDFMNGT8620 Integrated Reporting, Session 1

The first course in the ‘Executive Agenda’, the aim of Strategic Leadership is to provide a learning context and experience that helps students increases their effectiveness as a strategic leader. Strategic leadership brings together the skills of effective leaders (vision, decision making, consultation, emotional intelligence) with strategy formulation and implementation, to address the challenges of modern organisations in ways to enhance prospects for the long term success and sustainable futures. The course builds on the Know, Do, Be model The value of this model resides in the fact that it emphasises three key domains (cognition, behaviour, and identity) important for producing lasting learning and change. In this course students consider how value is created and the challenges facing modern organisations in volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous environments while developing the skills and mindsets needed to successfully navigate these environments at a professional and personal level.

The course adopts a blended approach to teaching, whereby students complete a series of self directed and facilitated activities online in conjunction with an intensive 4 day residential program held on the UNSW Campus.

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• PDFMNGT7495 Strategic Leadership, Session 3

Innovation is vital for personal, professional and organisational success. Building on the themes from Strategic Leadership, the second Executive Agenda course, Innovation, provides students with a learning environment in which they develop knowledge and skills to respond to business challenges in innovative and transformational ways. The course approaches innovation from two perspectives. Students acquire knowledge and skills from the field of strategy to create and evaluate business opportunities. At the same time, students further enhance their strategic leadership capabilities through structured activities and experiences focused on creating innovative mindset.

The course adopts a blended approach to teaching, whereby students complete a series of self directed and facilitated activities online in conjunction with an intensive 4 day residential program held on the UNSW Campus.

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• PDFMNGT7496 Innovation, Session 2

Building on the themes of earlier Executive Agenda courses, this course extends your strategic thinking and analysis skills to formulating effective growth strategies for your organisation. Successful organisational growth is often a priority for the Board of Directors and senior management, but growth strategies frequently fail to deliver the projected results. For this reason, we adopt an experiential learning model for you to learn how to develop smart growth strategies that create real value. Throughout the course, you will apply strategy concepts and tools to identify, evaluate, and plan the implementation of value-creating growth options.

The course adopts a blended approach to teaching, whereby students complete a series of self-directed and facilitated activities online in conjunction with an intensive 4-day residential program.

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• PDFMNGT7497 Growth, Session 2

Transformation is the final course in the Executive Agenda. Transformation means dealing with the challenges of uncertainty and change. In today’s business environment, transformation is increasingly an on-going activity rather than a once-a-career event. In this course students learn to accept and embrace uncertainty and build important skills and mindsets to lead organisational business model shifts and transformation projects with confidence in challenging environments. As the final course in the MBA(Exec) program, this course also provides an opportunity to re-calibrate your personal and professional transformation journey, refining your path to success as you exit the program.

The course adopts a blended approach to learning, whereby students complete a series of self directed and facilitated activities online, both individually and in teams, in conjunction with an intensive 4 day residential program held on the UNSW Campus.

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• PDFMNGT7498 Transformation, Session 2