UNADE · Business & Finance
MASTER'S IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION (MBA).
Program Overview
In the MBA in Business Administration, students acquire comprehensive knowledge of business management within an international environment. Throughout the MBA in Business Administration, students will learn how to manage and lead organizations in competitive, global, and dynamic environments.
The aim of this MBA in Business Administration is for students to develop management skills that enable them to lead complex projects in all types of organizations. Therefore, this MBA in Business Administration responds to the real needs of the business world.
The American University of Europe (UNADE) aims to train competent professionals capable of understanding human beings from a holistic perspective. Students enrolled in the MBA in Business Administration will develop problem-solving skills applicable to challenges that arise at the business level.
Furthermore, participants are expected to act thoughtfully and self-critically, drawing on scientific research. They will be able to search for and analyze information related to Business Administration in a professional manner.
Ultimately, the aim is for students to develop their professional careers in the field of business administration and management. The program is designed for students and professionals who wish to acquire the resources and skills needed to manage a company efficiently.
Study an Online MBA in Business Administration
In this MBA in Business Administration, students will learn about aspects of strategic management, such as the process of implementing a strategy. In other words, they will learn how to translate a strategic plan into concrete and successful actions and results.
In this master's degree, we will examine how strategy formulation is a market-driven business activity, while strategy implementation is management-driven. In other words, implementation revolves around the management of businesses, people, and organizational processes.
A Business Administration expert must consider the alignment between the chosen strategy and its implementation. Poor strategy formulation can lead to failure. Our program provides students with the preparation required to formulate strategies successfully.
Another aspect addressed in this MBA in Business Administration is financial analysis. Traditional financial analysis has been used to assess the feasibility of strategies and investments.
In this program, we will approach strategic choice as a financial investment. In Business Administration, when we invest in human or material resources, the purpose is to obtain a future benefit. Therefore, financial analysis will enable students to relate the benefits obtained by a company to their corresponding associated costs.
Students will also learn how to analyze the value of capital. To do so, it is necessary to focus on the impact that a strategy could have on the company's capital value.
Companies and Their Functions
The curriculum of this MBA in Business Administration examines what a company is and how it operates. In other words, students will learn how a company is organized, how its different functions are interconnected, and what role each function plays within the organization. These are fundamental aspects of business administration.
Students will learn that companies operate for profit. Therefore, their primary objective is to generate a return for the investors who have contributed their capital, particularly in a sustainable manner over time.
In recent years, companies have been required to comply with applicable laws, particularly those related to taxation, employment, consumer safety, and the environment, as well as to generate profits for shareholders.
However, in this MBA in Business Administration, we will examine how recent trends in business organization have changed. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is one example. A company is increasingly viewed as a fundamental actor within society that interacts with and contributes to it. Therefore, it should contribute to the sustainability and generation of wealth.
In this MBA in Business Administration, we will analyze the main functions of companies. The key functions include:
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Manufacturing: All activities aimed at producing a good or service that constitutes the company's core business activity.
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Sales and Marketing: All activities required to meet customers' needs.
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Finance: Obtaining the financial and capital resources necessary for the organization's normal operations.
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Human Resources: All tasks required to manage the people who form part of an organization. These tasks include recruitment, training, motivation, and hiring.
Decision-Making in Business Administration
The MBA in Business Administration explores business decision-making in depth. Students will learn that business decisions consist of a set of actions adopted at a specific point in time, as well as the result of applying certain rules and policies to the particular conditions existing at that time.
The MBA in Business Administration demonstrates that making a business decision involves choosing the best option from all those available. Therefore, it is important to carefully analyze each alternative.
Students will learn how to obtain as much information as possible about each alternative and its potential consequences. We will demonstrate that information is essential to decision-making: it is the raw material upon which a decision is based. Once the information has been analyzed, consensus has been reached, and the best option has been selected, it is put into action.
Upon completing this MBA in Business Administration, participants will have a detailed understanding of the stages involved in the decision-making process. The stages covered include:
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Problem Identification: Requires studying and understanding the business environment and the existing business reality.
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Evaluation of Available Information: The data used may come from a variety of external and internal sources. It may also vary in its degree of accuracy, ranging from objective data to information based on intuition and experience.
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Development and Analysis of Alternative Solutions: At this stage of the process, hypotheses are formulated to explain the problem at hand. Explanatory models of cause-and-effect relationships are developed.
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Decision Selection: The possible alternatives must be evaluated and, based on their ability to achieve the desired objective, the most appropriate option will be selected.
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Execution or Implementation: This requires adapting the organizational structure and allocating the necessary resources to ensure that the decision can be carried out.
The Balanced Scorecard
A Business Administration expert should have knowledge of the Balanced Scorecard. This enables them to carry out effective business management.
During the program, students will learn that the Balanced Scorecard was developed by Kaplan and Norton and subsequently applied to the business world. Its objective was to measure organizational activity and performance while overcoming the limitations of financial indicators.
Initially, these indicators provided information about results. Therefore, the information often arrived too late to correct potential problems. Moreover, they did not identify the drivers that would determine future results.
In this MBA in Business Administration, we demonstrate that the Balanced Scorecard is more than a measurement system. It is a management system that will help future professionals to:
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Measure whether the expected results are being achieved.
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Confirm that the organization is progressing toward the objectives established in its strategy.
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Use it as a communication tool with the organization to explain how strategic objectives are being achieved.
Likewise, in this MBA in Business Administration, students will be able to explore the perspectives commonly used in practice. These are:
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Financial: The economic results expected by the company.
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Customers: The strategy for creating value in relationships with customers in ways that affect financial results.
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Internal Processes: The processes in which the organization needs to excel in order to satisfy customers.
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Learning and Growth: What the organization needs to do to develop the internal resources required to achieve excellence in key processes.
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Individuals who wish to receive training in Business Administration in order to manage and lead organizations of all types.
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Professionals in the field of Business Administration who are interested in advancing to managerial or executive positions within an organization.
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Individuals seeking to update their knowledge of business management in both national and international contexts.
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Develop the ability to analyze, synthesize, and manage business information holistically across economic, technological, and human environments.
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Analyze and synthesize relevant information for informed managerial decision-making, ensuring an ethical and socially responsible approach to professional practice, while fostering the capacity for critical reflection and self-assessment, learning from and overcoming mistakes in pursuit of organizational development.
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Formulate functional-level strategies that enable organizations to successfully respond to today’s dynamic business environment, while developing the skills and attitudes required to lead companies, teams, individuals, and business units.
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Analyze, evaluate, and synthesize the economic and financial position of the firm. Understand and plan appropriate tools and criteria for market selection, product development, distribution strategy, pricing, and sales communication in modern productive organizations.
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Equip participants with the ability to develop key managerial competencies, providing them with an integrated and comprehensive perspective on general management and the role of the firm within its broader environment.
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Broaden participants’ perspective beyond the functional and operational integration of the firm, fostering an understanding of the organization as an integrated system operating in a rapidly changing and complex environment.
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Promote a proactive and initiative-driven approach to the management of business organizations.
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Understand the firm as a core driver of multidimensional value creation.
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Address, from a practical perspective, the study of the accounting cycle as the set of steps followed from the beginning of a fiscal year to its closing, in order to understand the financial and economic functioning of the firm.
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Analyze and synthesize the company’s financial and economic information, including its financial position and performance results, as well as understand how such information is prepared.
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Formulate business diagnoses and action plans based on the analysis of financial and economic information.
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Understand the organization and management of logistics processes within companies in order to develop diagnoses that support the design of strategic improvement plans.
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Understand the applications of new technologies in business across the different areas of the organization.
Admission & Graduate Profile
Entry Profile
Applicants should have a university-level academic background and an interest in developing advanced competencies in business management and organizational leadership. They should demonstrate analytical and critical-thinking skills, an aptitude for decision-making and problem-solving, and an interest in understanding organizations from an integrated economic, financial, technological, and human perspective. A proactive attitude, ethical awareness, adaptability, and willingness to work collaboratively in dynamic business environments are also desirable.
Graduate Profile
Graduates will be prepared to assume managerial and leadership responsibilities with a comprehensive and strategic understanding of organizations. They will be able to analyze economic, financial, accounting, commercial, logistical, technological, and organizational information; formulate business diagnoses and action plans; design functional and corporate strategies; and make informed decisions in complex and changing environments. Graduates will also be equipped to lead teams and business units, integrate new technologies into management processes, promote continuous improvement, and contribute to sustainable value creation through ethical, socially responsible, and proactive management.
Career Opportunities
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Senior executives and corporate managers.
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Business unit or departmental executives.
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Asset management.
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Marketing and corporate communications.
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Brand management (branding).
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Business development.
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Corporate finance.
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Investment banking
Study Plan
Semester 1
Course 1. Business Environment and Strategy
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A framework for strategic analysis.
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Analysis of the industry environment, resources, and capabilities.
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Strategy formulation.
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Strategy implementation.
Course 2. Marketing, Sales Management, and Market Research
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Core concepts and foundations of marketing
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Determinants of marketing.
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Market research.
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Market selection and market structures in foreign markets.
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International marketing strategies.
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Communication policy and international positioning.
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Commercial organization and its departments
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New technologies: CRM.
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The sales plan.
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Commerical management control.
Course 3. International Trade
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Theory and practice of international trade in logistics and transport
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Payment and collection methods in economic transactions.
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Financing in international trade.
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Technical barriers in foreign trade.
Course 4. Introduction to Social Media Marketing
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Online marketing strategy derived from the company’s overall strategy.
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Social Media Marketing: definition and new business models.
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Social media and the role of the Community Manager.
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Online corporate reputation.
Semester 2
Course 5. Executive Leadership Skills
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Time management for executives.
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Negotiation.
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Conflict resolution.
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Effective meetings.
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Delegation within the company.
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Teamwork.
Course 6. Corporate Social Responsibility Management
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Corporate social responsibility.
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Corporate image management.
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CSR management models in leading companies.
Course 7. Talent and Human Resource Management
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Management of individual and collective talent.
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Employer branding as a talent attraction strategy.
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Competency-based talent management.
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Strategic human resource management.
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Human resource management.
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Human capital organization.
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Job description, analysis, and evaluation.
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Personnel recruitment and selection.
Course 8. Technology, Systems, and Innovation Management
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ICT in companies.
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New marketing technologies.
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New technologies applied to labor and tax management.
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Application of new technologies in human resource management.
Course 9. Logistics Processes
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Organization and process management.
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Logistics processes: procurement, production, and distribution.
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Time and methods measurement (MTM). Quality management, cost of quality, and related tools.
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After-sales service.
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Reliability and traceability.
Semestre 3
Course 10. Financial Management and Financial Statement Analysis
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The financial and economic functioning of the firm.
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Long-term investment decisions.
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Long-term financing decisions.
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Optimal capital structure and dividend policy.
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Working capital and liquidity management.
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Active treasury management: cash management.
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Financing and management of short-term deficits.
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Financial system and financial institutions.
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Financial statements.
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Balance sheet analysis.
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Income statement analysis.
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Working capital analysis and current asset management.
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Analysis using sectoral data.
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Consolidated financial statement analysis.
Course 11. Research Preparation
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Scientific research.
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Types of research and research designs.
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Research methods.
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Research techniques.
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Problem definition and development of the theoretical framework.
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Hypothesis formulation and sample selection.
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Data collection and data analysis.
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Preparation of a research project.
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Formal and structural aspects of a doctoral dissertation.
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Statistical software: SPSS.
Course 12. Research: APA Guidelines.
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References.
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Citations.
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General paper format.
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Introduction.
Semestre 4
Course 13. Degree Completion Seminar
Academic Itinerary
Semester 1
Course 1. Business Environment and Strategy
Course 2. Marketing, Sales Management, and Market Research
Course 3. International Trade
Course 4. Introduction to Social Media Marketing
Semester 2
Course 5. Executive Leadership Skills
Course 6. Corporate Social Responsibility Management
Course 7. Talent and Human Resource Management
Course 8. Technology, Systems, and Innovation Management
Course 9. Logistics Processes
Semestre 3
Course 10. Financial Management and Financial Statement Analysis
Course 11. Research Preparation
Course 12. Research: APA Guidelines
Semestre 4
Course 12. Degree Completion Seminar
Research Lines
Research Area 1: Entrepreneurship and the creation of new companies (start-ups). Determinants of success and failure. Entrepreneurship in industrial firms. International comparisons of company creation from a legal perspective. The entrepreneurial profile. Public aid, subsidies, and financing for business creation in different countries. Venture capital, business angels, and seed capital.
Research Area 2: Organizational innovation in companies. New management styles in organizations. Competency-based management. Project management. Organizational change. Corporate sustainability. Knowledge management and intellectual capital.
Research Area 3: Strategies for the acquisition, protection, and exploitation of technology. Innovation management within firms.
Research Area 4: Social responsibility. International comparisons of corporate social responsibility. Impact of CSR management on companies and their environment.
Research Area 5: Online sales. The benefits of social media management in companies. New business opportunities on the internet. E-commerce and digital marketing. Market research. Interdisciplinary research on the functioning of the economic system and consumer behavior. Corporate communication. Innovation in marketing. Internal marketing in organizations. Development of a marketing plan for the relaunch of a sector or a company in crisis. SWOT analysis of a sector or comparative SWOT analyses of companies competing within the same sector.
Research Area 6: Strategic Management of Firms. Resources, capabilities, and competitive environment. Business strategy. Internationalization and multinational enterprises.
Research Area 7: New governance protocols for family businesses.
Research Area 8: Logistics. Supply chain and distribution management. Outsourcing. Servitization. Operations management.
Research Area 9: Quality management. European, American, and Asian models for quality excellence and comparative analysis among them.
Research Area 10: Economics and finance. Financial products and innovation in financial instruments. Company valuation from a financial perspective. Financial risk measurement models in firms. Economic valuation of companies. Studies for stock market listings. Liquidity management planning in firms. Comparative analysis of financial statements of representative companies within the same sector. Financial measures for companies in crisis. Innovation in corporate financing.