Three programs will be available to develop students' expertise and specialized skills.
Training the Business Leaders of the Future
Business today is characterized by ever-increasing competition and complexity. The business leaders of the future will require not only a sound theoretical grasp of management principles, but also the ability to apply that knowledge to the wide range of problems they are likely to encounter in their careers.
The Management Program of the International Management Course is designed to provide students with this combination of theory and practice - with an understanding of the broad field of management as well as the specialized knowledge and skills required for them to play a leading role in the increasingly competitive global business environment.
Students intending to join this Program will have taken Management as one of their Core courses, and must include International Management as one of their Basic courses.
Other Basic courses, and all Advanced courses, are options from which, in consultation with their supervisor, they will select a ‘mix’ appropriate to their needs.
On the one hand they will be expected to take a number of management-focused courses such as Corporate Strategy, Management Information Systems or Designing Organizational Systems. At the same time, however, they will also be encouraged to reach beyond the field of ‘management’ as narrowly defined, by taking courses such as Japanese Business, Human Resource Management, or courses in Finance and Marketing, to ensure that they are equipped with the broad range of expertise required of the business leaders of the future.
Meet the Challenges on the Frontiers of Marketing Management
The Marketing Program of the International Management Course offers basic to advanced courses in marketing management. The curriculum is designed to give sound practical skills as well as solid theoretical bases to those students who aspire to a career in marketing practice.
In this program the students are expected to learn in depth how to manage the marketing management process, namely, the planning (plan), execution (do), and control (see) process that is associated with customer-oriented marketing strategies and tactics. Students will have to obtain the requisite knowledge and skills for marketing managers that are fundamental and not merely in fashion at present, together with the “marketing mind” (i.e., viewing the world from the customers' point of view).
On the other hand, such advanced concepts and techniques as brand equity, customer relationship management (CRM), and supply chain management (SCM) have become crucial keys to solving complex and dynamic problems at the frontiers of marketing management. Students are strongly advised both to learn the techniques of collecting, analyzing and interpreting quantitative and qualitative data, and also to improve their ability to apply such techniques to practical situations. The courses in this program are designed to assist students in achieving these study objectives.
Courses such as Marketing Management, Marketing Strategies, and Marketing Communication are essential for basic understanding, and Marketing Research, Brand Management, Marketing Case Analysis, International Marketing Practice, and Product Innovation are designed to give advanced knowledge of the subject and/or to improve students' ability to put their knowledge into practice.
In addition, students who are proficient in Japanese may take courses in the Corporate Strategic Management Course, such as Distribution Systems, Channel Management, Service Marketing, Consumer Behavior and Logistics, and can include up to six credits obtained from those courses in their MBA completion requirement (with the Dean's explicit permission). By freely combining those courses, it will be possible for students to develop a curriculum pattern to fit their career plans and develop solutions for their individual business problems.
Value Creation of a Firm through its Financial Decision Making
Financial markets and practices have undergone rapid change and growth in the past few decades. Exciting new markets and opportunities have evolved in financial risk management, financial product innovations and advanced asset valuation. This evolution in finance in general has been sparked by increased market volatility and increased investor and financer demands for quality and variety in financial products.
The Finance Program of the International Management Course offers a variety of courses from basic to advanced to provide those who wish to develop their practical knowledge and professional skills in financial management, management of financial institutions and professional money management with a full preparation. Core courses, such as Accounting for Decision Making, Business Economics and Statistics, form the prerequisites for these finance-focusing students to move on subsequently to basic and advanced courses.
The Basic course entitled Principles of Finance is a compulsory course for these students before they take any finance content courses. A student wishing to specialize in corporate financial management might take Corporate Finance, International Accounting and Corporate Restructuring. If he or she wishes to specialize in the management of a financial institution, Financial Risk Management and Financial Institutions Management would be appropriate. In the area of investment management, the basic and advanced courses Capital Markets, Portfolio Investment and Financial Reporting & Analysis would be suitable choices.
In addition to the standard use of textbooks for lectures, students in the Program are expected to carry out in-depth financial analysis using the Internet and other information and IT resources to enhance their practical skills as professional managers in finance.