MBA Program in Montreux
MBA - Design Management

This course covers the key principles of finance. Students learn to analyze and create alternative investment projects and to prepare corresponding budgets. Topics include the managerial approach to financial analysis, budgeting, planning and control, the management of working capital, long-term assets and long-term financing.

This course analyses the micro-functions of human resources management and explores its importance in developing, motivating and retaining employees. Students will learn about recruitment and talent acquisition, training, mentoring and promotion, appraisal, fair compensation, conflict resolution and legal issues. Throughout the course students are encouraged to consider the moral and ethical dimensions of HRM decisions, which can affect stakeholders and the organization’s reputation.

This course examines basic economic principles used in managerial situations. Topics include: global interdependence and the benefits of trade; market forces of supply and demand; supply, demand and government policies; measuring a nation’s income and cost of living; production and growth; savings, investment and the financial systems; unemployment; the monetary system; and money and inflation. Students learn to apply this knowledge when making economic decisions in a global business context. Students should have basic knowledge of economic terminology.

The strategic positioning of an organization is instrumental to its success. Having a clear vision and mission that runs throughout the organization is key to both internal and external branding. To optimize the overall performance of a firm or a business unit within a firm, students learn to identify and analyze the drivers of performance and identify external changes that may affect optimal results. This course reviews the main concepts, methods and tools used in formulating strategies and implementing processes.

This course provides an overview of the functions and cost of technology. Students explore how companies make the most of their investment for managing data and for communicating both internally and externally at a time when companies’ IT budgets are continually increasing.

The effective manager must understand a wide range of technical and social relationships and be able to integrate them within the cost, performance and time constraints of her/his area of responsibility. A computer-based management simulation (CAPSTONE Business Simulation) is created, which allows the student to test alternative actions of an operating business in a competitive environment without incurring costs or the risk of implementing them in a real setting. The simulation is played over several time periods.

This seminar helps students better understand, analyze and identify future career paths. The knowledge and experience acquired during the MBA course inevitably changes the individual’s profile in the market. Reassessing that profile, preparing a new CV and perfecting a networking presentation are essential when planning for the future. The changing business environment requires a more innovative approach to job seeking, and this seminar offers practical support for finding employment after graduating.

This seminar focuses on effective oral and written communication in a business setting. Emphasis is placed key principles that will enhance communication and effectiveness, as well as the development of skills and attitudes appropriate for business communication, especially in public speaking.

This two-part personal and professional development program prepares postgraduate students for becoming next generation leaders. Each session involves different learning methods, spanning both theoretical and experiential learning, and includes self-assessment tools, self-awareness techniques, role-playing, peer-interviewing, journaling, meditation and goal setting, among others. Students will find their purpose and meaning during their EU journey, hone their emotional and social intelligence skills, and determine their career anchors and occupational types.

Students will develop an understanding of the various forms of contemporary design, an appreciation for the increasingly important role it plays in our lives and a critical approach to its impact on our environment. It emphasizes various design themes throughout history and its implications on management. Designers and international business leaders share their experience, discussing the added value of design in a company’s communications, product promotion and strategic vision.

Luxury strategy from product to selling ceremony, based on specific examples from luxury companies. The meaning of a “luxury strategy” is addressed to differentiate between the management luxury and non-luxury brands. Luxury marketing is often seen as the opposite of Fast- Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) marketing. In the context of creating luxury, the importance of design will be presented as a component of this strategy: design should always be accompanied by a complete global strategy to turn a product into a luxury product.

Rulers, wealthy institutions and private individuals have used buildings to demonstrate status and power throughout history. Today, architecture and design increasingly have a commercial objective. Students will learn established theories in the area and consider strategies for growth based on the use of architecture and design. Students are also introduced to development strategies in architectural design, focusing on hotel design, planning, construction, management and facilities. Students will also learn how cities, towns, etc., can develop their identity and appeal through architecture and design.

Students come to understand branding and identities of corporations, businesses and organizations by learning to analyze and evaluate brand identities. Students also learn not only how brand identities are created and how various design features affect this identity, but also how the performance of a brand evolves. The course does not aim to turn students into designers, but rather prepares them for leading, or participating in, brand creation processes in managerial positions.

The course focuses on understanding the different areas in business and design where photography plays in important role. Students learn about photography workflows and the application of images into the marketing and communication plan of businesses, multinational companies, as well as NGOs and non-profit organizations. The aim is to define the language of photography in support of a brand's strategic position or development. Visual language is both technical and conceptual, and it provides an identity which business and NGO leaders can use to influence their chosen audiences. This course thus introduces students to tools and methods by which managers decide on the use of photographic images – still or moving – to favor their chosen communication strategy.