Executive MBA programs are designed for full-time employees of organizations or owners of businesses who have a significant investment in their careers and who cannot afford to give up their full-time jobs. Rather than pursuing a traditional MBA degree on a part-time basis, these professionals can complete an Executive MBA program while continuing their full-time employment

Program Objectives:

1. Provide graduate students the foundation of effective business management that will enable them to assume executive responsibilities and related functions in a dynamic global business environment.
2. Produce graduate students for professional career in business especially in entrepreneurial, procurement, supply and logistics, project management, financial and marketing management; and to
3. Produce quality and pro-active business managers attuned to the challenges of regional, national and international development.
4. To foster teamwork and leadership in the business environment.
5. To develop and enhance business and organizational skills those are applicable to a wide range of organizations.

EMBA in FINANCE PROGRAM

Program Grand Total Credits = 46 credits

Course Description

EMBF 601                                        Project Management                                                 4 credits

This course prepares students for managing organizational change through projects. It focuses on projects involving major changes, including projects related to new products, new plant and equipment and new operating systems, which will affect the lives of people both within and without the organization.  This module takes a high level, critical and evaluative view of project management, emphasizing managerial and strategic use of the techniques of project management.

EMBF 603                             Strategic management                                              4 Credits

This course will introduce students to strategic management.  It seeks to widen the student's perspective and understanding of the theories and practice of management.  As the world of business becomes increasingly interdependent, it is vital that students become aware of the nature and complexity of the business environment, how to analyze resources and strategic capability through internal and external audit.  This will lead to how to evaluate and select strategic options in relation to an organization’s structure and strategy. Key aspects and issues of strategy implementation will also be covered.

EMBF 605                                                   Marketing Management                               4 credits

This course provides students with an in-depth knowledge of the elements of the marketing mix and the practice of contemporary marketing underpinned by a consideration of theoretical perspectives on consumer behavior.  The components of marketing will be explored from manufacturing and service sector perspectives.

EMBF 602                                        Organizational Behavior & HRM                           4 credits

This course provides a thorough grounding in the theories of organizations, the processes of organizational designing, and the practice of human resource management. The first part of the module concentrates on the concepts of organizational structure and behavior.  The second part reviews the changing nature of the employment relationship and critically evaluates the contribution of HRM to organizational effectiveness and efficiency.

EMBF 604                                 Corporate Finance                                                    4 Credits

 Although some fundamental financial management techniques will be covered in the course, the major aim of the course is to examine and discuss some controversial issues in corporate finance.  As a result, students are encouraged to adopt a questioning approach to the theories and to develop a habit of critical evaluation of reported empirical tests' results.

EMBF 606                     Financial Analysis for Managers                                         4 Credits

This course is designed to develop students’ ability to interpret and use financial information within the strategic framework of a business. It is oriented toward the user rather than the preparer of corporate financial statements. The first half of the course provides students with the practical tools for assessing financial performance and economic condition of a business. Considerable emphasis will be placed on the financial reports of real-world public companies. The second half of the course introduces the key concepts of managerial accounting and illustrates how to identify relevant costs for short-term and long-term decision making.  It will examine the choice of financial and non-financial measures for evaluating the performance of business units or divisions.  The course aims to provide a solid foundation for students’ progression to other finance modules.

EMBF 701                                                    Institutional    Investments                            4 Credits  

After successfully pursuing this course, students will have knowledge of particular institutional investments and their relative merits from the perspective of retail investors. They will have an overview of the role of institutional investments in the economy in general, and personal financial planning in particular. They will have insights into the operation and management of institutional investments, and the specific types of investment fund available.  

EMBF 703                                                                Research Methodology                     4 Credits

The objective of the course is to equip the students with the concept and methods of Business Research. The students will be able to plan, design and earn out business research using scientific methods and prepare research report(s) / paper (s).  It introduces the requisite concepts and skills to conduct a piece of individual research or problem-solving of a strategic nature.

EMBF 705                             Financial Risk Management                        4 credits

This course focuses on the management of financial risks (market, credit, and liquidity risks) by banks, insurance companies, asset managers, and hedge funds. It presents quantitative methods used by financial institutions to measure and manage these risks: value at risk, market volatility, corporate credit risk, retail credit risk, sovereign credit risk, trading costs, stress tests, etc. It also provides a critical analysis of how these models perform in normal times and during financial crisis, and covers specific issues of financial regulation including: liquidity and capital requirements in banking, the regulation of insurance companies, sovereign risk and debt sustainability, debt restructuring, systemic risk and the resolution of financial crises. Topics include measures of risk; mapping, hedging, and VaR systems; models of volatility; credit ratings and migration; credit derivatives; liquidity risk; regulation of banks; back testing and, stress testing; systemic risk and macro-prudential regulation; regulation of non-bank entities; etc.

EMBF 708                                 International Financial Markets                              4 Credits

The aims of this course are to enable students to understand the characteristics and organization of the international financial markets and to identify their potential uses in business situations. The module also aims to enable students to identify the potential risks and dangers in the use of these markets.

EMBF 710                                             Master’s Thesis or Project                            4 Credits

The thesis includes the application of lessons and skills attained from the study of research methods and gives students the opportunity to enact a piece of individual research or problem-solving of a strategic nature, thereby demonstrating their competence in applying the concepts and skills acquired during the taught part of the program.                                                   

EMBA in PROCUREMENT AND SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT PROGRAM

Program Grand Total Credits = 46 credits

Course Description for Procurement and Supply Chain Management

EMSC 601                                 Project Management                                                 4 credits

Prerequisite:           

This course prepares students for managing organizational change through projects. It focuses on projects involving major changes, including projects related to new products, new plant and equipment and new operating systems, which will affect the lives of people both within and without the organization.  This course takes a high level, critical and evaluative view of project management, emphasizing managerial and strategic use of the techniques of project management.

EMSC 603                                    Supply Chain Management                                     4 credits

Prerequisite:           

This course reviews the nature, role and contribution of supply chain management and its application to business supply chains. It equips participants with an understanding of the importance of supply chain management from both a customer and supplier perspective, and aims to prepare them for starting a managerial role within an industrial or commercial supply organization.

EMSC 605                                    Quality Management                                    4 credits

The intention of this course is to convey the importance of Quality as a strategy for continuous improvement in business performance. Accordingly, the course evolves through strategies for competitive quality, quality in design and manufacture and the customer supply chain to the concept of Total Quality.

EMSC 602                               Lean Operations                                                        4 credits

Lean Manufacture is based upon the principle of eliminating waste at all levels throughout the manufacturing system. This course reviews the skills and techniques required to analyse manufacturing systems and to design improved methods and layouts. It will use value stream mapping to understand and appraise the current state. Future state mapping will be used to develop a vision of value-added flow.  The application of lean into the service industries will also be considered. The focus of this course will be on the application of the techniques through case studies and industrial experience, and will identify the benefits to be gained by their successful implementation. 

EMSC 604                               Logistics operations                                                   4 credits

This course addresses the various functions and elements related to logistics and the associated distribution systems involved in handling freight in local, national, and international contexts. The material covered relates to procurement and inventory management, warehousing and storage, materials management and the operation of freight transport systems. The concept of the supply chain within which these activities are managed, the importance of coordinating both physical and information flows and the support provided by IT systems are explored.

EMSC 605                   Purchasing Management                                                     4 credits

The overall aim of the course is to provide an in-depth knowledge of purchasing and procurement management and a critical understanding of how the concepts may be applied both strategically and practically in an industrial organizational context.

EMSC 701                                             Contracting Management                            4 credits

Project management professionals should have an awareness of the relevant legal duties, rights and processes that govern in a particular project situation. This is not intended to replace the need for professional advice and services. There should be an awareness of the potential causes of disputes, liabilities, breaches of contract, means of resolving a dispute and the basics of contract law. This course is intended to provide the student with the knowledge necessary to make choices based on reasoned arguments and discriminate between strategic alternatives in the effective use of contracts in project management.

EMSC 703                             Research Methodology                                             4 Credits

The objective of the course is to equip the students with the concept and methods of Business Research. The students will be able to plan, design and conduct business research using the scientific method and prepare research report(s) / paper (s).  It introduces the requisite concepts and skills to conduct a piece of individual research or problem-solving of a strategic nature.

EMSC 705               Sustainability and Environmental Management Systems    4 Credits

This course is designed to discuss, analyze and investigate the operation of environmental systems and the issues of sustainability within and between manufacturing companies.  It will enable students to evaluate the opportunities such approaches give to organizations to allow world class manufacturing methodologies to function, continuously improve, and meet diverse stakeholder needs and requirements. It will discuss the need for and structure of organizational systems and allow students to critically analyze systems with reference to organizational failures.  This systems approach will be synthesized to form the basis of understanding word-class quality and environmental management systems.  The course will conclude with the organizational mechanisms that allow optimal deployment in these systems, emphasizing the human interactions that are required for adoption, operation and development.

EMSC 708                             Supply Chain and Information Technology           4 Credits

This course deals with the impact of information technology (IT) in supply chain management. Its emphasis is on the role and use of IT in the management of material and information in production-distribution networks with the aim of reducing costs, increasing product availability and increasing responsiveness to changes in the market. It covers the applications of IT to get the high firm performance that comprises the three major criteria: marketing performance, financial performance, and customer satisfaction. It analyzes the interrelationships among these criteria and how the application of IT affects marketing performance and customer satisfaction. It considers the implications of IT in supply chain management in a Liberian company or industry through case study and analyzes the limitations for its current applications and the directions for its future applications in supply chain management.

EMSC 710                               Master’s Thesis or Project                                      4 Credits

The project includes a study of research methods and provides students with the opportunity to demonstrate their competence in applying the concepts and skills acquired during the taught part of the program.  The project may be a solution to a practical problem or a piece of research.  The project must be relevant to the particular award the student will receive.