Caution
Copyright © Monash University 1996
ISBN 1320-6222
Authorised by Academic Registrar, April 1996
The general purpose of the program is to provide quality education for those wishing to move into positions of general management or be managers of one of the specialist functions of management.
In both contexts the efficient manager needs to possess competence in a variety of skills enabling understanding of the many complex problems of organisations. The continued growth of technology, the rise of large-scale organisations, the process of economic growth, the expanding role which government plays in economic affairs, the internationalisation of business, the changing character of the workforce as well as shifts in community attitudes and values are all changing the scope and character of management.
Effective adaptation to these conditions requires a sound grasp of the educational foundations of management. These foundations include:
(a) the development of the analytical skills required to identify problems and analyse alternative solutions;
(b) the learning of the concepts and methods of the behavioural, social and quantitative sciences which assist in the above processes;
(c) the separate study of the various functions which make up the management task, such as accounting, finance, information systems, labour relations, marketing, personnel and production;
(d) the development of decision-making skills through practice in decision-making in complex environments;
(e) the study of, and the learning of, techniques which assist in understanding the changing technological, economic, social, political, legal and international environment with which managers deal;
(f) the development of skills in leadership and group participation;
(g) through various integrative mechanisms, the development of a general management perspective (This perspective is acquired through synthesis of the study of the various component disciplines and functions relevant to the management task; through integration of the study of the organisation with broader social, political, technological and economic trends; and through the consideration of particular managerial problems requiring the application of a number of skills and perspectives for their solution.);
(h) the offering of opportunities for specialisation by allowing students to explore a particular segment of the managerial process in greater depth.
+ the necessary analytical and computing skills concerning both the foundation as well as the functional areas of management;
+ developed an understanding of the social, economic and political environment of business;
+ acquired a strategic outlook necessary for organisational growth and survival;
+ developed interpersonal, leadership and decision-making skills conducive to fostering a culture of innovation and change.
Students who take the degree on a full-time basis are required to take the equivalent of four subjects per semester. Students taking the course on a part-time basis are required to take the equivalent of two subjects per semester throughout the course of study.
A selection of MBA subjects will be offered over the summer semester (end of November to the end of January). By taking subjects over the summer it is possible for full-time students to complete the MBA in sixteen months. The Monash Mt Eliza Business School has more information on this.
The program is designed to encourage a degree of specialisation through the provision of a large number of electives.
Students are normally required to complete the core subjects prior to undertaking the more specialised elective subjects, with the integrative subject being completed in the final year of study.
The subjects which make up the degree fall into five categories.
or
+ MBA5550 Quantitative analysis
or
+ MBA5880 Microeconomics for managers
or
+ MBA5890 Microeconomics for policy analysis
+ MBA5180 Accounting
+ MBA5190 Corporate finance
+ MBA5220 Human resource management
+ MBA5259 Employee relations
+ MBA5270 Public management
+ MBA5310 Marketing
+ MBA5470 General operations management
+ MBA5560 Management information systems
Either MBA5180 (Accounting) or MBA5190 (Corporate finance) must be included as one of the four functional subjects. Also, if specialising in public sector management, students may do MBA5280 (Public sector finance) instead of MBA5190 (Corporate finance) provided that MBA5180 (Accounting) is included as one of their functional subjects; they may also take MBA5260 (Public sector human resource management) instead of MBA5220 (Human resource management).
Students must take at least one subject to be chosen from the following three:
+ MBA5330 Business and government
+ MBA5350 International business
+ MBA5870 Macroeconomics for managers
+ MBA6350 Strategic management
or
+ MBA6360 Strategic management in the public sector
+ MBA5300 Health economics
+ MBA5889 External economic environment
+ MBA6130 Financial markets and instruments
+ MBA6140 International finance
+ MBA6150 Auditing and accountability
+ MBA6160 Law and business decisions
+ MBA6170 Company groups
+ MBA6180 Accounting for planning and control
+ MBA6190 Corporate financial policy
+ MBA6200 Hospital administration
+ MBA6229 Management skills (half-weighted)
+ MBA6239 Managing change (half-weighted)
+ MBA6240 Organisation and management
+ MBA6259 Industrial relations
+ MBA6260 Managerial psychology
+ MBA6270 Health services law
+ MBA6280 The Australian health care system
+ MBA6299 Advocacy and negotiations
+ MBA6300 Epidemiological methods
+ MBA6310 Services marketing
+ MBA6320 Strategic marketing
+ MBA6340 Corporate planning techniques
+ MBA6360 Strategic management in the public sector
+ MBA6370 Public policy process
+ MBA6380 Business-to-business marketing
+ MBA6390 Integrated marketing communication
+ MBA6400 International marketing
+ MBA6410 Public enterprise management
+ MBA6420 Management of information technology
+ MBA6429 Technology and organisational change
+ MBA6430 Health policy and planning
+ MBA6440 Public sector financial management
+ MBA6449 Structure and management of cooperative businesses
+ MBA6450 International human resource management (half-weighted)
+ MBA6459 Comparative management (half-weighted)
+ MBA6460 International business operations
+ MBA6480 International economic environment
+ MBA6490 Management of research and innovation
+ MBA6500 Telecommunications and corporate management
+ MBA6510 Pacific rim - employee relations
+ MBA6520 Information industries: economic and social perspectives
+ MBA6530 Manufacturing management and strategy
+ MBA6540 Inventory management (half-weighted)
+ MBA6549 Business and economic forecasting (half-weighted)
+ MBA6550 Technology and government
+ MBA6559 Quality control
+ MBA6569 Applied operations management
+ MBA6570 Computer models for business decisions
+ MBA6580 Project management
+ MBA6590 Special topics in technology management
+ MBA6600 International tourism management
+ MBA6610 Language and communication in international business
+ MBA6620 Overseas study in international and comparative management
+ MBA6640 Modern Europe: a regional study
+ MBA6650 Strategy and structure
+ MBA6660 The growth of the firm
+ MBA6700 Restrictive trade practices
+ MBA6710 Theories of the firm and industry structure
+ MBA6720 Telecommunications law, economics and public policy
+ MBA6870 Environmental economics and policy
+ MBA6880 Social economics
+ MBA6890 Applied economic analysis for public enterprises
+ MBA6930 Business and government in Eastern Asia
+ MBA6960 International trade policy making
Candidates who have special management education needs not covered by the listed subjects may be permitted to select:
(a) not more than two special subjects based on an especially appropriate undergraduate third-year subject;
(b) normally not more than one reading subject, providing they are not taking the MBA thesis option;
(c) subjects from the Master of Economics program;
(d) subjects from the Graduate Diploma/Master in Industrial and Employee Relations;
(e) subjects from the Master of Public Policy and Management;
(f) not more than two particularly relevant postgraduate subjects offered by other faculties.
Although there is no strict order in which compulsory subjects must be taken students are advised to include either MBA5460 or MBA5550 in the first semester's work and to study:
(a) MBA5180 (Accounting) before MBA5190 (Corporate finance);
(b) both MBA5180 and MBA5190 before MBA5310 (Marketing);
(c) MBA6350 (Strategic management) or MBA6360 (Strategic management in the public sector) in the last year of the coursework because it subsumes much of the other subjects.
+ General management
+ International business
+ Accounting and finance
+ Marketing
+ Employee and labour relations
+ Hospital/health administration
+ Human resource management
+ Information systems/operations management
+ Public sector management
+ MBA5180 (Accounting) if they have passed the equivalent of two years study in accounting at an undergraduate level;
+ MBA5190 (Corporate finance) if they have passed AAF3140 (Business finance) (previously AF314);
+ MBA5210 Organisational behaviour if they have passed MGC2230 (Organisational behaviour) (previously AS223);
+ MBA5259 if they have passed MGC2420 (Employee relations) or equivalent;
+ MBA5460 (Principles of quantitative analysis) if they have passed a third-year subject in statistics;
+ MBA5870 (Macroeconomics for managers) if they have passed a first-year subject of at least one semester's duration concerning macroeconomics.
Candidates with other degrees may also be obliged to substitute in a similar way to Bachelor of Economics or Commerce graduates as shown above. This will depend upon the subjects taken during their undergraduate courses. Students required to take substitute subjects may select from any of the electives permitted. Substitution may also be required in relation to elective subjects in appropriate cases.
Leave of absence is not granted in a student's first semester unless there are very special circumstances, eg medical reasons. In such cases a student wishing to withdraw from all subjects, or all but one subject, must withdraw from the program but may reapply for admission to the MBA program in a subsequent year.