M.A.

Global Management & Governance

In view of the “War of Talents” already being waged in business, the further training and retention of employees is becoming more and more important. It is the aim of the HSBA to train well-qualified young managers together with companies in Hamburg.

The courses offered so far by the HSBA, which train young business people in a dual system of practice and theory, lead to a first professional university degree, the Bachelor of Arts (B.A.). With this degree, Bachelor graduates are already qualified to start working in the company and can be gradually trained to assume managerial tasks.

However, some departments in the company require not only basic knowledge in business administration and methods, but also more detailed specialist and methodological know-how. Companies also need employees with special qualifications in analytical/scientific areas – and, of course, with good application skills. Furthermore, the on-going internationalisation of the business world demands solid knowledge of international markets.

This training aim can be achieved by means of a Master course following on from a first university degree in Business Administration.

The Master course in Global Management & Governance offers people who are working and interested in studying the opportunity to qualify themselves for global management tasks after completing a first university degree in business administration. The HSBA M.A. programme, which can be taken while working full-time, makes it possible for the person to plan her or his career. Master students can pursue their career aims in their companies and at the same time develop at the HSBA their methodological and specialist competences for the global requirements of the business world. These competences are then expressed by the student achieving the “Master of Arts” (M.A.) degree.

General information:

M.A.-brochure

Forbes article "Europe's Masters"

Core elements:

Course start: October 1st every year
Duration: 30 months
Extent: Approx. 900 hours of tuition
The study programme accompanies normal work: tuition is held during regular working weeks and at extended weekends (Thursday to Saturday).
The study programme concentrates on in-depth academic studies of Business Administration issues with a special focus on Internationality and Governance
Patronage and mentoring by the ‘Versammlung eines Ehrbaren Kaufmanns zu Hamburg’
Officially and internationally recognised Master of Arts (M.A.) degree, entitling the graduate to apply for a doctorate (assuming that 300 credit points, including the first degree, have been acquired)
Credit points: 120
Studying in seminar groups of not more than 24 students
Tuition in English
Tuition fees: 7,500 Euro per semester, in total 37.500 Euro. Support from grants of the HSBA student support fund is possible. Partial payment of the tuition fees by the employer may be agreed. In addition, banks cooperating with the HSBA offer student loans on special terms.

Information on the individual modules:

In the module General & Applied Management, the content acquired in the first professional university degree course is revised and the core elements of corporate governance and their implications for entrepreneurial behaviour are presented.

In International Politics & Economics, international markets and the conditions surrounding them are analysed and basic mechanisms in international politics and in international economic relations are described. In this context, special focus is placed on taxation systems in particularly relevant countries, possible mechanisms for stimulating investment and international regulation mechanisms as seen in practical terms by the company. Furthermore, the effects of different control instruments on social welfare are discussed.

Decision-making & Organisational Behaviour looks at the people involved. It deals with the question of which elementary psychological aspects are significant for the behaviour of people in an organisation. Cross-cultural aspects are especially important here and knowledge acquired from decision and game theories is also taken into account, so that students become acquainted with the most successful management theories and can discuss them.

International Production and Marketing Management looks at the product, its production and sale (value-added process), whereby the way in which the company handles markets and resources is of prime importance. The essential point here is to complement the knowledge of business administration learnt in the first course of study and to consider international aspects and to bring them together in an international context.

The module Corporate Governance deals with the design of the corporate structure against the background of medium- and long-term changes. Organisational alternatives are presented and their implications, e.g. for taxation purposes, disclosure obligations and liability questions, as well as work with corporate supervisory bodies and regulatory authorities are explained. Special attention is paid to questions concerning legal form and choice of location. The aim is to give students basic evaluation principles for central strategic decisions at managerial level.

The module Law, Business Ethics & Alternative Dispute Resolution Mechanisms concentrates on companies’ relations with other companies and with other players. Implicit and explicit contractual forms are examined, whereby the focus is on designing relations in such a way as to prevent conflicts and particularly on the effect of ethical business behaviour. Another aspect are the limits on contractual forms in the international context, whereby the students should be acquainted with mechanisms which, in cases of conflict, permit the use of alternative ways of resolving disputes that lie beyond national courts of law. In addition, the challenges to management in dealing with corruption and other potentially critical activities are discussed.

The theme of the module Corporate Social Responsibility & Corporate Communication is the social responsibility of companies, whereby the criteria for economic success are taken into account. What is important is that not only hard commercial factors determine the long-term success of the company, but that its behaviour also has a great influence on its attractiveness as an employer, the motivation and loyalty of its employees, the willingness of consumers to buy its products and other soft factors. In this context, the module presents possible ways for the company to communicate effectively to mould public opinion and analyses how companies can work towards legislation which is positive for the economy and for employment.

In Leadership & Human Resource Management, relevant results from research on leadership are communicated and the various approaches appraised through the eyes of an ethically minded businessperson. Human Resource Management deals especially with the challenges involved in leading employees in international corporate structures and project teams. In addition, essential techniques are taught for achieving efficient stakeholder management so as to ensure the long-term success of the company.

In the module Financial Management & Corporate Choice, central corporate financial subjects (company valuations, mergers & acquisitions) are dealt with, whereby questions of corporate culture and organisation are covered as well as questions of corporate financing.

In the modules Current Research Issues I + II, students can choose an alternative focus on Finance, Marketing or Entrepreneurship. Additionally, Current Research Issues II deals with topical issues from economic research. In this context, Master students are expected to produce their own research.

In a large-scale Project Paper, students are given the task of developing scientifically based solutions to a concrete business problem.

The specialisation modules: Finance, Marketing and Entrepreneurship

Finance:

The specialisation module Finance is linked to financial management in this Master’s course, and concentrates on the ability to value projects, financial titles, and whole corporations on an advanced level. The first part of the module takes an in-depth look at general questions of valuation. The second part explains the valuation of derivatives and illustrates the implementation of derivatives in risk management. The third part discusses the purchaseand sale of corporations and business divisions. Success or failure of the acquisition of an enterprise depends on many of the aspects that have been discussed in previous modules, so that students can apply their knowledge of former modules. Finally, the last part of the module examines legal aspects of financial instruments and financial transactions.

Marketing:

The specialisation module Marketing deals intensively with three major aspects in marketing. In all three parts of the module, academic models are introduced to quantify interrelations in marketing. Part 1 deals with the question of how innovations become accepted in the market and discusses the role of marketing in measuring, predicting and influencing the diffusion progress. Part 2 concentrates on customers and introduces the basic concepts in value-based customer management. It makes particular use of customer-lifetime-value models for this purpose. Part 3 deals with the control of all marketing activities in a corporation. It

discusses and analyses established models and new models with a view to applicability. The aim is to develop approaches that contribute to better quantification of return on marketing.

Entrepreneurship:

This specialisation is about Entrepreneurship in a broad understanding which includes topics such as company startups, management of small and medium-sized companies, innovation management, and the launching of new business units within existing company groups. The business idea and the entrepreneur always take centre stage for the considerations in this module. The sub-module on company start-ups discusses the fundamentals of entrepreneurial targets and activities, including life-cycle analysis and management, growth management, and internationalisation strategies.The Business Modelling section includes several concepts of business models and examines their logic and their transformation into a business plan. The Corporate Venturing section discusses specific circumstances of starting-up new operational activities within an existing corporation or in a separate entity founded by a company. It also covers legal and financial aspects. The Innovation Management section examines new operational activities of existing corporations and/or processes. It focuses among other things on the legal protection of intangible assets created by the company, such as brands, patents and other intellectual property rights. The SME management section concentrates specifically on the needs of small, medium-sized, and family-oriented companies. It examines aspects of management, continuity in top management, and succession planning. These themes are also discussed from a corporate governance perspective. The concluding part of the module, Change Management, deals with critical situations of companies which might lead to downsizing, restructuring, or even business failure. Students learn how to cope with difficult business situations. It also covers certain aspects of corporate governance.

Description of the modules

Mentoring programme:

In cooperation with the Versammlung eines Ehrbaren Kaufmanns zu Hamburg e.V. (VEEK):

Personal coaching of HSBA Master students by members of VEEK
HSBA Master students have the status of permanent guests of VEEK
VEEK awards exceptional Master theses

Admission requirements:

First university degree in Business Administration or Economics with grade ‘good’ from German higher education institutions, or equivalent
Ability to study in English (TOEFL 90 points)
Letter of recommendation
Successful completion of the HSBA selection procedure

Application process:

Admission process

Schedule:

Schedule October 2010

Schedule October 2011

Financing:

Scholarship programme

Contact:

HSBA Hamburg School of Business Administration

Alter Wall 38

20457 Hamburg

Contact person:

Alexander Freier

Phone: +49 (040) 36 138 - 743

E-mail: Alexander.Freier@hsba.de

Accredited by: