FlexiMasters in General Management

Strategic Management

Gain insights into the practice of strategy formulation in their relevant contexts by studying cases of how organizations have deployed their capabilities to achieve strategic outcomes in their business(es).

Participants will understand and apply the concepts, principles and frameworks for formulating strategy. Participants will also learn how strategic capabilities may be developed and deepened in their organization so that they may more effectively achieve strategic outcomes for their organization.

People Management

The global economy presents many opportunities and challenges for businesses and their leaders.

Managers need to develop a repertoire of people management capabilities to remain effective. This course aims giving participants both theoretical and practical understanding of what is required to lead people in organizations, be it in your own country of origin, in a different country, or leading across many countries or cultures (where people may be similar or quite different to you in different respects). You will realise the importance of developing interpersonal relationships and building social networks, gaining better self-awareness when working within teams and alongside ‘machines’. It will also prepare you to lead yourself and teams authentically in a VUCA workplace within a world with ‘less work’.

You will gain insights about your own leadership competencies and will get a chance to further develop many of them, acquiring a systems perspective of your role as a leader in advancing the good in the workplace and society. You will also gain a deeper understanding of organizations’ perspective on Talent Management and how firms use strategic HR processes to ensure the execution of business strategies. 

Operations

The operations function in an organisation is responsible for the design, control, and improvement of systems concerned with the production and delivery of goods and services. As operations account for a significant portion of the value add and cost in any business, even a small advantage in operations can mean the difference between winning and losing in a competitive marketplace.

In this course, we will demonstrate that operations management can serve two purposes: (1) to support corporate strategy, and (2) to inspire business model innovation. To succeed in either of these two endeavours, this course will introduce the fundamental concepts, best practices, and key challenges/issues in managing business operations.

The course will use a mix of case studies, readings, exercises, and lectures to convey the course content. This course is particularly relevant if you are interested in a consulting career or have entrepreneurial inclinations. If you are interested in other business functions such as finance or marketing, you may appreciate the material in this course as it provides a better perspective on the overall workings of a business organisation.

Business Ethics & Corporate Governance

Business Ethics & Corporate Governance (BE&CG) will stimulate the mindset of managers and leaders to balance the key, often conflicting priorities faced in leadership, business, government, family owned businesses and in the not-for-profit work environment. The aim is to develop strategies to make difficult, but crucial organisational decisions considering the dynamic external environment.

BE&CG provides insights into what it takes to develop and/or strengthen an effective governance structure to enable the organisation to meet increasingly challenging goals aligned with different stakeholders’ sometimes conflicting needs. We will discuss pertinent and topical issues to provoke you to think about what accountability and responsible risk-taking really mean and foster an understanding of incorporating and embedding ethical practices in your strategy.

We will cover Ethical Leadership; Corporate Social Responsibility (Human Rights, Labour and the Environment); Anti-Bribery & Corruption and Corporate Governance.

Cultural Intelligence & Business Negotiation

The global economy presents many opportunities and challenges for businesses and their leaders. Senior executives need to develop a repertoire of strategic leadership capabilities to remain effective and manage stakeholders. One of the most important capabilities needed is cultural intelligence (CQ) – the ability to function effectively across a variety of cultural contexts. This course will equip participants with a working understanding of Cultural intelligence (CQ) and with a three-steps process (self-awareness, cultural mapping and style switching) that will enable them to work more effective across cultural boundaries globally and in Asia.

Not many objectives in life can be achieved unilaterally. In order to get things done, we often need to obtain the agreement and cooperation of other people or organisations. Negotiation is essential not only in a professional or business context, but also in social and personal settings. Strong negotiation skills are therefore an important prerequisite for professional and personal success. You are a good negotiator if you can get what you want from your negotiating counterparts; you are an excellent negotiator if those negotiating counterparts are happy to deal with you again. Good negotiation skills can be innate; excellent negotiation skills require careful thought and attention to the process.

This module is designed to allow you to have a deeper understanding of your own negotiation strengths and weaknesses, to equip you with the tools and framework for analysing and preparing for negotiations, and to help you hone the negotiation skills so crucial for success in leadership roles and in dealings with internal as well as external parties. This module adopts a variety of instructional methods, from lectures, videos and discussions to experiential learning through role-playing and simulation exercises. The negotiation exercises are drawn from a variety of contexts, and include bilateral and multilateral negotiations. The exercises will cover negotiations for deal-making as well as negotiations for resolving conflicts or disagreements.