The Mini-MBA

Course overview

Few people can afford the three years – or the money – for an MBA course. But this does not mean that you cannot use the key principles of an MBA to your advantage in your day-to-day business life. This twelve module, self-managed, flexible, distance learning course will give you the key business skills of an MBA but at a pace decided by you.

How does this distance learning programme work and what do you get?

• Twelve modules, each requiring between 3 to 4 hours study to be completed as you choose
• Professionally printed hard copy version or online options available
• Course access from anywhere through your own personal login and administration suite
• Easy to use note taking and book marking facilities to return to areas of interest and re-study
• At your convenience: at your desk, from your tablet or from your home computer
• Individual modules or the full course can be downloaded as PDF files to print or file as you decided
• Each module has self-assessment progress questions and model answers.
• The course has an optional on-line multiple choice assessment at the end, with a certificate of completion being awarded.

This distance learning course will:

• Advance your strategic planning with current tools, techniques and thinking
• Boost your leadership ability
• Improve your financial awareness to have a direct impact on the bottom line
• Update your knowledge of key strategic marketing tactics
• Get-to-grips with the key deliverables of successful project management
• Practically focus on the essential theory, practice and techniques of an MBA
• Save one or even two years and the huge costs involved in enrolling for a traditional MBA course

Plus receive a 30% discount off Falconbury's Executive Mini-MBA

As an option, you are entitled and encouraged to attend Falconbury's Executive Mini-MBA in the UK in July 2012 – an ideal opportunity to further enhance your skills and knowledge, again with the emphasis on techniques of practical relevance to your everyday working life provided by a superb faculty of speakers.

Course modules

Module 1: Managing yourself and others – Part 1

• First learn to master yourself
• Performance management
• Communicate and motivate
• Effective coaching
• Tackling poor performers

Module 2: Managing yourself and others – Part 2

• Managing your team
• ... And also your time
• Ensure that all meetings are positive
• How to be assertive, not aggressive

Module 3: Learn to be a leader – Part 1

• What do we mean by management?
• A survey of leadership styles
  • Sun-Tzu – The art of warfare [for executives]
  • Sensitive leadership
  • Exemplary leadership
  • Inspirational leadership
• The leader as mentor
  • Transforming organisations
  • The leader as coach
  • Coaching in action

Module 4: Learn to be a leader – Part 2

• The processes of decision making
• The realities of problem analysis
• Different personalities – different leadership – different decisions
• Integrating the key players and mobilising the effort
• Building a champion team
• What distinguishes successful, high-achieving teams?
• 'Drivers' profile

Module 5: Strategy is the key – Part 1

• The keys to business success
• Techniques of strategic analysis
  • Environmental mapping
  • Industry mapping
  • SWOT analysis
  • Root cause analysis
• Effective market analysis

Module 6: Strategy is the key – Part 2

• The volume – cost – profit relationship
• Mastering option appraisal
  • Force field analysis
  • Stakeholder analysis
  • Identifying financial sensitivity and evaluating risk exposure
  • Evaluating business development options
  • 'AID' analysis
• Monitoring and managing performance
  • Key performance indicators: strategic, financial
  • City key performance indicators

Module 7: Master marketing – Part 1

• How marketing works
• Customers' needs
• Choosing your customers: market selection
• Segmentation
• The marketing mix: what 'products' are
• Marketing pricing
• The product life cycle
• Marketing pricing strategies

Module 8: Master marketing – Part 2

• Getting to market – distribution
• Managing the distribution channel
• Effective promotion and communication
• Understanding marketing communications
• The role of advertising and promotion
• The marketing plan
  • The marketing programme
  • The marketing audit
  • Control mechanisms
  • Building the budget

Module 9: Demystifying finance – Part 1

• Understand basic accounts
  • Profit and loss
  • Balance sheet
  • Assets and liabilities
• How to analyse performance
  • Balance sheet measures
  • Finance ratios
• Working capital management
• Detailed case study
• External analysis: the press
  • Understanding the stock market, PE's, yields and market cap

Module 10: Demystifying finance – Part 2

• Accounting principles
  • Fixed assets and depreciation
  • Long-term liabilities
  • Owner's equity
  • Notes to the accounts
• The budget
• Setting a budget
• Reviewing a budget
  • Zero-based budgeting
  • Monitoring your budget
• Management accounting

Module 11: Demystifying finance – Part 3

• Analysing costs
  • Break-even
  • Building up costs
  • Decision-making and golden rules
• Making sense of the future – techniques for decision making
  • Rate of return and pay-back period
  • Time value of money
  • Discounted cash flow

Module 12: Successful project management

• What's it all about?
• The early stages of a project
  • Invitation to tender
  • Proposals
  • Negotiating
• Building a rock-solid plan
  • Schedules and budgets
  • The project plan
• ... Making sure it sticks: follow through
  • Delivering the goods
  • Evaluation