Postgraduate Program Guide - Navitas

Unit descriptions
MBA5710 Managing Globally and Locally
Prerequisites: Nil
Description: This unit is an introduction to
managing in organisations and integrates the
diversity of elements that are the concerns
of managers operating in global as well as
domestic business environments. It will be
achieved through a critical discussion of
the roles of managers and characteristics of
managerial work; the environment, structure
and culture of organisations. The course
includes the of the analysis of the evolution of
management as well as the analysis of current
managerial practice: ways of understanding
managing, approaches to learning about
managing; the nature of managerial work such
as planning, organising, leading and controlling.
The course will also critically examine the
management of the organisation’s internal and
external environments, the structural control
of organisations. This unit will also examine the
manager as a person, their roles and activities.
Assessment: Coursework and final examination
MBA5711 Leadership & Change Management
Prerequisites: Nil
Description: The capability to lead change is
critical for ambitious organisational managers
working in complex 21st century organisations.
This unit aims to take the theories and
approaches to leading and managing change
off the page of texts and into the workplace
practice. This unit examines both the strategies
and the practices of leading change to generate
a critical understanding of effective change
leadership and process management in diverse
contexts. It aims to build practitioner capability
through the experience of exploring multiple
case studies of change agent methodologies
and practices. The class interaction will help
the student build a taxonomy of different
change approaches and practices, through
analysing organisational case studies, and
determining best fit change options for
specific contexts. Participants will review the
capabilities underpinning successful change
leadership and make a personal self-assessment
and development plan. Participants will use
frameworks developed in class to investigate the
leadership of change within a workplace with
which they are familiar as a progressive action
research assignment to apply their learning.
Assessment: Coursework and final examination
MBA5712 Managing People for Performance
Prerequisites: Nil
Description: This unit examines the
management of people as key organisational
assets in achieving high performance
organisations and competitive advantage.
Managing people from both a strategic and
operational perspective is covered showing that
Human Resource Management (HRM) is for both
specialists and line managers. The link between
HRM, strategy and performance is explored
along with developing high commitment people
strategies and the impact which this can have on
organisational performance. Key research and
case study material is covered. The contribution
of HRM functions and activities such as
resourcing and staffing, HRM planning, training
and development, performance and reward
management and compensation and effective
people management is covered.
Assessment: Coursework and final examination
MBA5713 Business Strategy
Prerequisites: MBA5710, MBA5715 & MBA5705
Description: The unit introduces, outlines
and explores the major themes, models,
principles and practices of strategic
management. This will include and emphasise
the contrast between conventional intended
strategy and the new concept of emergent
strategy. The unit commences with a review
of a strategic management model and three
ways or “lenses” of examining strategic
management in organizations and then
moves to the description and discussion
of each major element in the strategic
management model. It also covers the strategy
development processes and the emergent
theory embedded in chaos/complexity.
Assessment: Coursework and final examination
MBA5718 Business Economics
Prerequisites: Nil
Description: The aim of the unit is for students
to develop a grasp of economic theory and its
applications to business management. This unit
enables students to master selected aspects
of economic theory and their application to
business management. The unit follows a
‘constructivist’ approach to student learning
through a student-centred program of study.
Students select a real world enterprise or
organisation that they study in depth. Each
student will construct a scenario for the business
they have selected and develop a 4-year
competitive strategy using the tools of economic
analysis acquired in unit studies.
Assessment: Coursework and final examination
MBA5716 Finance for Business Decisions
Prerequisites: Nil
Description: Financial decisions are made to
create value. This unit is designed to develop
an understanding of how value creation is
critical to a firm. It examines the critical role
the finance manager plays in providing support
to the various areas within the organisation
in determining the use of limited resources to
obtain optimal reward. The unit will introduce you
to the basic analytical skills required to evaluate
assets and investments and make corporate
financial decisions. The functions of the capital
market and financial institutions, and the tools
used in the valuation of securities traded within
the markets will be examined. The unit will
introduce you to capital budgeting techniques
and risk analysis through the use of appropriate
case studies. It will also look briefly at some
contemporary issues facing the finance manager
like corporate governance and ethical dilemmas.
Assessment: Coursework and final examination
MBA5715 Accounting for Management
Decision Making
Prerequisites: Nil
Description: This unit addresses the fundamental
principles of financial and management
accounting, financial statement, analysis, and
the use of management accounting in planning,
control and decision making. The unit has a ‘user’
focus. It is not concerned with the preparation
of accounts (i.e. debits and credits, and journal
entries), but rather the interpretation of financial
information. Performance measurement and
financial statement analysis are employed to
facilitate ethical internal decision making. The
unit adopts a case study approach to highlight
the effective use of financial resources a a key
element in successful management and explores
some of the tools that are available through the
financial system of a business organisation.
Assessment: Coursework and final examination
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