Programs

The MBA Middle Manager Program Curriculum

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

1. The MBA Middle Manager Program is a non-thesis program offered on a trimestral basis with fifteen (15) weeks of classes. Students participate in class one (1) night per week, from 6:00 p.m. to 9:15 p.m. except for STRAMA. The maximum number of students per class is thirty (30).
2. The degree can be completed in two (2) years and one (1) trimester or seven (7) trimesters.
3. The maximum load per trimester is two (2) courses. Additional load per trimester requires approval from the cluster chair and the faculty member assigned to handle the class.
4. The MBA Middle Manager Program consists of the following courses:
   

   Core Courses	33 units
   Electives	6 units
   Integrating Course	3 units
   Total	42 units

5. Each course has a detailed learning guide (module) for the entire course, as well as for every class meeting. The module serves as the road map for both the students and their professors. Each meeting has a well-defined goal and objective.
6. The reading materials and cases for each session are provided prior to the start of the classes. Thus, on the first day of the class, students are expected to have read the reading assignments and to be ready for discussion.

PROGRAM DELIVERY: FACILITATION AND STUDENT PARTICIPATION

The curriculum for the MBA Middle Manager Program includes analytical learning through time intensive courses designed specifically for working adults. The design of the courses recognizes that adults learn most effectively and most rapidly through a process of self-learning, bringing both life and work experiences that can be a learning resource for the other students in the class.

Self-learning occurs before class so that each participant can contribute in a meaningful way to group discussions and be an effective resource in shared-learning. Shared-learning occurs in the classroom, where each participant learns from the life and professional experiences of others.

Each adult learner must be an active participant in the learning process. The principal responsibility of the facilitator is to assist in this process, not to teach the technical content of the course. The facilitator is a technical expert in the field and will answer questions beyond the competence of the participants, but the primary responsibility for learning belongs to the student. Ordinarily, the facilitator will not lecture for extended periods of time.

The level of learning to meet the learning objectives of the courses is quite high. Students will need to think at the creating and evaluating levels. They operate at the evaluation level when they form judgments and assessments by combining their own medley of experiences and learning with disparate conflicting and complex facts. They operate at the creating level when they originate, integrate, and combine ideas into a product plan or proposal that is new. They will find that all elements of these courses will focus on learning outcomes primarily at the creating and evaluating levels.

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MBA Middle Manager Program Course Sequence

Course Descriptions

1. Core Courses
   • Business Ethics (MMETHICS)
     Many business schools in the world today require Business Ethics courses in order to develop business students’ sense of moral and social responsibilities. There is a growing recognition that managers have a tremendous power to shape not only business organizations but the surrounding community as well. Recognizing this, the public is increasingly demanding that managers use this power responsibly and that business be accountable not only to its stockholders and internal stakeholders but to society at large.It has been said that business is good for society since it creates wealth, products and services benefiting human beings. But white-collar crimes, wrongdoings and excesses committed by both individuals and business organizations, often overshadow these goals.The course will discuss the foundation of ethics in general and of business ethics in particular. It will attempt to help students critically examine moral values and principles. The course will help students understand how moral character is developed. It aims to improve their ethical decision-making by presenting a model for ethical reasoning to analyze dilemmas involving employee relations, employee-organization relations and corporate-employee, corporation-community relations.

     Through this course, students will be taught that business should not be purely driven by profit but that it should contribute to the well being of employees and the community in which it operates.

   • The Call to Leadership (MMLEADER)
     The course aims to introduce the students to a depth of thinking about individuals and collective patterns of leadership practices. Designed as an interactive and reflective course, the learning interventions will focus on guiding the students to reflectively process or understand leadership patterns and dynamics as applied in their personal and professional lives. Reflective/critical thinking and ethics-based reasoning and decision making are emphasized.
   • Applied Management Science (MMMANSCI)
     The course is designed for graduate students that provide formal training on the use of quantitative tools or techniques in analyzing and/or solving management problems encountered in finance, marketing, production/operations, human resources, and other functional areas. The approach is conceptual and problem-oriented using EXCEL to derive solutions to mathematical models. The students are expected to formulate decision problems mathematically, derive computer solutions, interpret solutions/results, perform sensitivity analysis (analyze impact of various “what if” scenarios on model solutions) and most importantly, be able to draw managerial insights from quantitative solutions.
   • Operations Management (MMOPEMAN)
     The course is designed to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of the operations management (OM) concepts, techniques, and applications in contemporary setting. It is a practical course that covers strategic, tactical and operational issues involved in both manufacturing and service sectors. It is about the creation of competitive advantage through the use of appropriate operational skills and tools. While providing students with technical and quantitative methodologies, it will focus more on the managerial aspect of operations, as well as on the ethical and social implications of OM decisions.In addition to the traditional OM topics, the course shall give special attention to the study of project management and supply chain fundamentals. This is for the purpose of giving the students the opportunity to see how projects can best be managed within time and budget constraints. The supply chain concepts on the other hand shall expand the students focus on the entire distribution system from material sourcing to product and/or service distribution.The first part of the course will require a lot of classroom work; while the second part will involve hands-on application of project management principles by way of the organization of an operations forum seminar.
   • Managerial Accounting (MMMANACC)
     Managers need information in their planning and control functions. Financial information is provided not only to report the firm’s financial position and operating results but to guide managers in optimizing the resources entrusted to the firm by its many stakeholders.The course introduces a business-management approach to the development and use of accounting information particularly for internal reporting and decision making. Topics include the analysis of financial reports, cost concepts and cost accumulation methods, CVP analysis, standard costing, operational and capital budgeting, segment reporting, relevant costing, and cost management and pricing strategies. In discussing the various topics emphasis will be given on how cost and profit information can guide managers in making operational and strategic decisions. Ethics, corporate governance, enterprise risk management and corporate social responsibility will also be discussed in relation to accounting practices by firms.
   • Financial Management (MMFINMAN)
     The course deals with the application of contemporary finance theory to the solution of management problems. The focus is on policy formulation and decision making under uncertainty. Critical evaluation of concepts is emphasized to assess their usefulness in practical business situations. Problem-solving methodology is used to illustrate the theories and tools in financial decision-making.The course likewise tackles the ethical issues and dilemmas faced by the finance manager in his day-to-day work and how these are solved. The learners will be taught how to resolve these issues using an ethical decision analysis framework. The course also discusses the implications of financial management decisions in the life of the enterprise and how such impacts the national economy as a whole.Learners attending this course are expected to have completed the prerequisite Managerial Accounting course.
   • Principles and Dynamics of Management (MMPRIMAN)
     The course provides an introduction to management and the knowledge and skills to competently cope with the challenges facing today’s management. Business enterprises and nonprofit organizations operate within a complex and rapidly changing global environment. The field of management is undergoing a revolution. Globalization, economic deregulation, trade liberalization, technological advancement and the widening growth of the urban poor have created new opportunities and threats confronting managers. The course is designed to familiarize learners with the accepted management standards, procedures and techniques employed by corporate, business and functional level managers.
   • Human Resource Management (MMHUMRES)
     The course emphasizes the alignment of Human Resource Management practices and programs with the goals and strategies and values of the organization. This course presents powerful tools for analyzing strategic alignment for enabling the learner to understand the most vital resource of the organization – its human resources.It provides a fresh perspective on the role of HR and its function as change agent in partnership with top management and how together, they can build one of the most critical sources of sustainable competitive advantage – an organization whose design, culture, and people are aligned with strategy and values.It addresses human resource topics such as reward systems, performance management, high-performance human resource systems, training and development, recruitment, retention, work-force relationships from a strategic perspective.
   • Management Concepts for Information Technology (MMINFOTE)
     Information systems and technologies are vital components of successful businesses and organizations. They constitute an essential field of study in business administration and management.This course presents management concepts that lead to an understanding of information technology and its role within the enterprise as well as in building a nation. It includes enhancing awareness of the digital and economic divide within a nation and how a business performs its economic activities while at the same time investing in marginalized sectors and communities.Building consensus among business and technology professionals using modern approaches to strategic planning, business process re-engineering and systems development are discussed highlighting the ethical and legal principles that impact this environment.

     The goal is to help students learn how to use and manage information technologies to revitalize business processes, improve decision making and gain competitive advantage. Major emphasis is placed on up-to-date coverage of the essential role of the IT in providing a platform for business, commerce and collaboration processes among all business stakeholders in today’s networked enterprises and global markets.

   • Marketing Management (MMMARKMA)
     The course is designed to provide learners with knowledge on the fundamental concepts and practices of Marketing in the context of the new economy. It will focus on the formulation and implementation of marketing strategies in the areas of brand equity, products and services, pricing, distribution, advertising and promotion, and competition. These strategies will be discussed considering the current business environment including such realities such as hyper competition, digitalized technologies and the empowered consumer. The course will also help learners gain a good understanding of administrative processes where Marketing plays a central role in the game of demand creation, customer satisfaction and customer relation management. Furthermore, it will also show how ethical and socially responsible Marketing practices can help in nation building.
   • Economics for Managers (MMECOMAN)
     This 3-unit course in Economics for Managers has been designed to give MBA students a working knowledge of Economics, the social science that deals with the optimal use of scarce resources to maximize the satisfaction of human material needs and wants. It consists of two parts:
     • First half (pre-midterms): Microeconomics, the use of the analytical tools and techniques to enable the managers of an enterprise to make sound decisions that maximize the productivity of scarce organizational resources and the attainment of organizational goals; and
     • Second half (post-midterms): Macroeconomics with a business perspective, focusing on basic concepts and models concerning the nature and workings of a modern free-enterprise, market-based economy, particularly the key variables that affect the business environment, both national and global

     The course provides students with a working knowledge of the most critical aspect of the business environment in which their organizations operate, and a familiarity with the tools of analysis that will help them navigate successfully through its turbulence.

2. Electives
   • Brand Management (MMBRANMA)
     The course will enable students to analyze and evaluate brands and identify strategies to manage them effectively. It will present principles of branding and brand management that will be useful in appraising the range of theories and frameworks that help create a strong, differentiated brand. It will equip students with skills that will make them leverage branding to sustain competitive advantage, increase customer loyalty and increase profitability.
   • Controllership (MMCONTRO)
     The course is an elective course for those who wish to deepen and widen their knowledge, understanding, application, and analysis of the role of controllership in the organizations. It integrates the concepts, principles and tools of controls gained by the student from the foundation and core courses involving planning, controlling and providing reliable information for corporate decision-making.As this is an elective course that utilizes knowledge and understanding gained from previous courses, the student is brought to the level of integration and synthesis by performing an actual management control analysis paper of a chosen company and submitting this paper as a major requirement of the course.The course largely makes use of the dynamics of management control to achieve corporate objectives.

     The student should have already taken up Accounting and Finance courses and the other core functional disciplines to be able to understand and integrate the role of controllership in the organization.

   • Demand Management (MMDEMMAN)
     Demand Management is an approach employed by supply chain managers to see to it that business needs are appropriately satisfied and resources are utilized in optimal ways. This elective course is designed to study the operational and strategic management of demand and to examine the role of supply chain practitioners in this area with the objective of improving organization’s competitiveness. The course will tackle the crucial and practical elements associated with specifying requirements and planning supply, and will present tools that supply chain managers can use in performing their functions.
   • Economic Development (MMECODEV)
     The course deals with the economics of long-term growth and development. It focuses on areas and issues of policy-making that are likely to remain of primary concern in the efforts of underdeveloped and developing countries to achieve economic growth and development.
   • Electronic Commerce (MME-COMME)
     The course is designed to guide managers through the process of overcoming the fear of change and embracing the benefits of e-commerce for customers, employees and shareholders. The economic evidence of the growth of e-commerce and its benefits for streamlining the business relationships between a company and its customers, suppliers, and employees are examined. The highest pay-off e-commerce applications and principles of using e-commerce to create competitive advantage are identified.How companies are getting CEOs on board, how they are managing their change process to create effective e-commerce strategies, and how they create cultures that can sustain the benefits of change in the future are discussed.The role of senior management in translating the vision of e-strategy into a concrete reality is explored. This course also discusses how managers should participate in the design of e-commerce architectures; handle the most effective techniques for evaluating e-commerce suppliers and negotiating contracts; and manage e-commerce projects to enjoy the benefits of e-commerce.
   • Entrepreneurship (MMENTREP)
     Entrepreneurship is the ability to see business opportunities, to turn those opportunities into an actual business venture and to manage that venture into a growing and viable enterprise. Entrepreneurship is for those who seek an alternative to employment and are not daunted by the challenges of setting up their own businesses.This course will strive primarily to inspire and to encourage entrepreneurship, through the examination, discussion and analysis of contemporary entrepreneurs.The course provides sound principles, concepts and evaluation techniques to assess entrepreneurial capability, resource requirements and risks for increased likelihood of strategic success.
   • Financial Engineering (MMFINENG)
     Financial Engineering is a course on the basic concepts and the application of the principles of financial innovation. This process seeks to adapt existing financial instruments and processes and to develop new ones so as to enable financial market participants to cope more effectively with the changing world.
   • Global Marketing (MMGLOBMA)
     This course covers concepts and practices relating to global marketing and addresses various issues faced by international marketers. It highlights the emerging trends in most companies in the design of strategies pertaining to their products and services, pricing, promotion and distribution. It will touch on the contemporary environmental forces that impact on their marketing mix strategies and programs and their implementation and control. The following specific areas will be covered:
     1. Overview of global marketing
     2. The global marketing environment
     3. The global strategy in entering foreign markets
     4. Design of the global marketing mix
     5. Organization, implementation and control of the global marketing effort
     6. Impact of information technology in global marketing
     7. Ethical and social dimensions in global marketing
     8. Integration of global marketing with finance, production and human resources.

     This course is open only to students who have completed the core course of Marketing Management.

   • Investment Management (MMINVEMA)
     The course deals with the application of the principles of investment analysis and portfolio management to corporate and personal finances. The steps and procedures involved in the investment process are discussed and simulated by the students to provide them the skills at creating their own corporate or personal investment portfolios in the future. Risk and return management strategies are discussed and analyzed as they particularly apply not only to the global investment setting but also to the specific investment situations in the Philippine market.An actual visit of the local exchange bourse will be required of the students to be arranged by the faculty member in consultation with the Cluster.At the end of the course, the students will be required to submit a final report of their own investment programs for their own companies or personal finances. The mechanics of this report will be discussed by the faculty member at the start of the session. The ethical dimensions of investment decisions will be tackled as part of this course.
3. Integrating Course
   • Strategic Management (MMSTRAMA)
     The course serves as the capstone course for the MBA program. It aims to enable the learners develop and implement strategic cross-functional decisions towards the attainment of their organizations’ vision, mission and objectives using strategic management principles and integrating knowledge and skills acquired by the learners from the other MBA courses.The learners will apply the strategic management process consisting of strategy formulation, strategy implementation and strategy evaluation, as well as the various analytical frameworks and strategy formulation tools that can aid them in strategic decision making. Through this course, the learners’ strategic thinking capability is expected to be strengthened as they are made to critically analyze and integrate information about their companies’ external and internal environment in the local and global context, and to use this in formulating and implementing innovative strategies that can help their companies build a sustainable competitive advantage. The learners will likewise be made to understand the different strategy choices and to evaluate strategic management issues and concepts that are important to managing in today’s global environment. This course also aims to promote among its learners ethical business decisions, the practice of corporate social responsibility and making a contribution towards nation building.

Contact Details

Registrar: Rey R. Reyes, MBA

Contact Persons:

• Danny Cruz (88997691 loc. 2215)
• Patrick Ignacio (88997691 loc. 2233)
• Ral Lacsamana (88997691 loc. 2234)