EMBA

Objectives
The VU Executive Master of Business Administration (EMBA) program enables high-caliber, experienced managers, executives and entrepreneurs to combine business education with their professional lives. Committed to learning, VU cares about the participants' personal and career development. EMBA participants hold management positions in their organizations. Therefore, they can immediately apply what they have learned in a professional context. An advantage of the EMBA over full-time programs is the rare chance it offers EMBA participants to go back-and-forth between school and work. VU's EMBA program is designed with this in mind, which provides comfortable off-campus periods for the EMBA participant to connect theory to practice.

Program Structure
The EMBA program structure is similar to the MBA program structure. The duration of the total EMBA course is one year and EMBA participants must successfully complete all courses. The courses are assessed by means of both coursework and examination.

EMBA Cores
GBME 500   Managerial Economics
GBFA 500   Finance and Accounting
GBPM 500  Production Management
GBOB 500  Organization Behavior
GBMT 500  Management Theory 
GBMM 500  Marketing Management

[Course Descriptions]

EMBA Concentration Course Strategy and Leadership Development

Decisions
GSST 580  Strategic Thinking
GSSM 581  Strat. and Managerial Control
GSGB 582  Global Business
GSEC 583  E-Competencies

Industry Focus
GIIA 590  Industry Analysis (proj. work) 
GIIS 591  Industry Strategies
 

[Course Descriptions]

Industry Focus

VU's Industry Focus prepares participants for management positions with a high degree of responsibility in leading international companies. Participants can choose either a regional focus (e.g. Switzerland, China, South Africa) or an industry focus (creative industry, watch industry, financial industry, pharmaceutical industry). The participant will gain a deep understanding of the structure and the challenges of these industries in today's international marketplace. VU's lecturers are well connected to local, regional, and global business networks.

GIIA 590 Industry Analysis (project work)

The Industry Analysis is a complete strategic analysis of a real, well-defined business problem or opportunity. In essence, two questions need to be answered:

• Is the company's strategy consistent with its internal strengths and weaknesses and its challenges and opportunities in its external environment?
• What changes should be made in the current strategy, and investments in resources and capabilities, to improve or sustain overall performance?

Participants will have to analyze every aspect of a company and its environment and integrate their findings into a comprehensive understanding of the company's current situation. Participants will gather information from various sources, analyze the data, develop and evaluate alternative solutions then formulate conclusions and recommendations. A high-quality analysis will have several well-supported and internally consistent recommendations that present an integrated strategic option that can be implemented by the company: recommendations need to include what can realistically be done to improve the company's performance.

Project work can be undertaken individually or by a team of 3 to 5 participants. Team project work analyzes larger projects than individual project work. The final length of the analysis is 2o pages maximum. This amount of pages does not include title, references, appendices, etc. Normally, a project lasts for about 12 weeks.

Please note: participants of the Chinese Business Program must choose a China-related topic for their Industry Focus (analysis and strategies).

GIIS 591 Industry Strategies (thesis)

It is compulsory to create a thesis to finish the program. The thesis shows the participant's comprehension of the material studied. The participant can choose a mixture of a research-based paper, a business report, a case study or a business plan. Qualitative and quantitative research needs to be conducted. The thesis must give data and ascertain validity together with examining the importance of events.

The thesis has to be undertaken individually. The minimum length of the thesis is 25,000 words. This amount of words does not include title, references, appendices, etc. Normally, writing a thesis lasts for about 22 to 28 weeks.

Please note: participants of the Chinese Business Program must choose a China-related topic for their Industry Focus (analysis and strategies).