Executive MBA Health Services Management

A University of Plymouth Executive MBA programme.

The Executive MBA Health Services Management is aimed at decision makers in the public, private and not-for-profit sectors. The programme provides relevant management training and a well respected postgraduate qualification to those seeking more senior posts in primary and secondary health care.

The programme combines the study of health services management and general management. The programme allows health professionals to obtain the necessary skills to manage health care services in rapidly changing and increasingly business-like environments.

The EMBA in Health Services Management can only be taken in the part-time (24 months) mode.

Aims and Objectives
The main philosophy of the programme is that health services management can be taught as a unified body of knowledge, applicable to any health service organisation.

The programme aims to develop the analytical skills of the course members within the context of health services management. These skills embody the knowledge and techniques of each area of study and focus on the identification of problems and their solution. Emphasis is also placed on the interrelationship of health services management problems and tasks.

Programme Modules

Strategic Management and Policy In the Health Service

Module Description
The determination of policy and its influence on the planning of a health care system are fundamental to the quality of health care. The introduction of business methodology to these processes has changed the environment of decisions in health care. It is important therefore that managers in the health care sector are fully aware of these changes.

Module Content
Nature of strategy and content of health care policy; influence of pressure groups including political pressures; public opinion; central policy and local applications; management and the development of business plans in health care including marketing applications; methods of resource allocation in the context of objective setting; evaluation of risk and cost benefit analysis; negotiating contracts; developing service specifications; monitoring, controlling and evaluating contracts; quality assurance process and the limitations of business techniques to health service policy.

Leadership and Human Resource Management In Health Care

Module Description
Effectiveness in the delivery of health care services depends upon the quality of leadership as in all organisations. Particularly the interaction between those whose responsibilities are primarily managerial and other human resources employed in health care is crucial to success in achieving objectives. Thus it is important for all personnel to understand the nature of management and the role of leadership in human resource management and change.

Module Content
Nature and content of responsibilities of management and leadership in health care; the process of change and the management of change; methods of understanding and overcoming resistance to change; management cultures and the role of leadership; management strategies relating to personal development, training and team building; evaluating organisational performance and effectiveness; managing the interactions with stakeholders and the reconciliation of financial and professional objectives; identifying management functions and accountability; relating the pace of change to organisational flexibility; effective leadership.

Risk Management and Needs Assessment In Health Care

Module Description
The development of health care provision entails a combination of expected benefits and risks. It is important to understand what risks are occasioned and why they arise. In the planning of the strategy of health care the trade off between the cost of provision and the entailment of risk is necessary to clarify in a situation of limited resources and ever growing needs. This module provides a means of evaluating the most acceptable combination of these factors in order to optimise the allocation of resources.

Module Content
Nature of risk in the management of health care; risk/benefit analysis of expenditure on health care; method of resource allocation when risk is involved; risk and welfare; the ethical basis of risk assessment; guidelines for risk and trust decisions; sources of information available to identify health care needs; relationship between health care needs and strategy; providing for health care needs efficiently, effectively and equitably; monitoring cost/effectiveness of health care; risk empowerment and control.

Management, Partnerships and User Involvement In Health and Social Care

Module Description
The management of health care operations is crucial to their success. As an element in the implementation of health care policy the quality of management is an important concern to ensure the effectiveness of such policy. For these reasons it is necessary to examine the institutional arrangements and to relate these to patient needs. This module provides an examination of these issues in the context of partnership and user involvement in health and social care.

Module Content
The nature and content of health care; means of delivering health care including partnerships between the NHS and Social Services; strategy of health care and planning; management of delivery including partnerships with the private sector and the involvement of voluntary organizations and local communities; professional and multi disciplinary working; the use of management techniques to improve the quality of provision of patient care; the use of information and the widening of patient choice and patient representation in health care; identification of patient needs; determining the reasons for and methods of change in the management of health care services.

Accounting and Finance For Managers

Module Description
For non-specialist accountants this module introduces the basic concepts and techniques of Accounting and Finance and demonstrates the tasks and methods of identifying and resolving management financial issues.

Module Content
The purposes of accounting; the uses of accounting information; the role of the financial accountant and the management accountant; the nature of financial information; company financial statements; the use of financial statements for management decisions; nature and techniques of financial controls; investment appraisal; raising finance; allocation of resources; use of working capital.

Marketing Planning and Promotion

Module Description
As an essential element of the management of organizations, marketing is significant as a theoretical and practical base for all managers. Whatever their specialist roles, all managers should be aware of the nature of the markets served and the relationships with their customers, since these factors have an impact on the ways in which all operations are planned and managed.

Module Content
The strategic nature of marketing; market segment characteristics; bases of consumer behaviour; elements of marketing plans; assessing marketing opportunities by using market information; marketing mix; use of controls in marketing; integration of marketing communications; promotion and communications; integration of marketing policies with other management functions; applying marketing and customer communications to particular company situations and public sector organizations; setting a promotion plan; identifying the promotion mix; measuring the cost effectiveness of promotion; relating sales and promotion policy to market size and structure.

Management Information and Communication Systems

Module Description
Successful organizations depend upon the quality of the information available and the system of communicating both within the organisation and externally with suppliers and markets. Thus the technology employed is a crucial factor in effective management. It is therefore imperative that managers understand and are able to use this technology to enhance the quality of their decision-taking.

Module Content
The dependence of management decision on information and communications systems; the strategic role of MICS; the technological features of MICS; innovation in MICS; the formation and integration of functional management policies; evaluation of MICS; the limitations of systems; the differing needs of organizations according to size, structure, technology employed and markets served; use of systems for control purposes; private and public sector management applications; developing MICS capabilities and knowledge management; e-commerce applications.

Research Skills and Project Management

Module Description
This module provides a grounding in project planning, literature review and the principles of research methodology as a preparation for undertaking the major project as a culmination of the programme. The module covers the selection of an appropriate topic for the dissertation; methods of identifying and recording primary and secondary sources of information; strengths and weaknesses of different types of research methodology; methods of referencing information gathered from published work; compiling a bibliography; effective presentation techniques including a logical connection between objectives, methods, evidence and conclusions.

Dissertation

Module Description
Managers should be capable of investigating the nature of and optimal solutions to a major business problem (or set of related problems) in one company or a number of companies operating with similar technologies or in similar markets. Such an investigation encompasses knowledge acquired from the subject matter of the taught modules of the programme and also methods of research of both a primary and a secondary nature.

The dissertation element of the MBA programme involves the preparation and presentation of a project of approximately 15,000 words in length directed towards the identification of a significant business problem of a company or industry and recommendations for policy making and action based upon a thorough examination of evidence and information relevant to the problem. The dissertation will also contain an examination of the published literature and will select a methodology appropriate to the problem investigated.

Mode of Study
- Executive (Weekends) 24 Months
24 months part-time: 7 weekends [Fri afternoon; Sat & Sun all day] and 3 Saturdays
Intakes
- January
- February
- April
- May
- June
- September
- November