UCNPI - via Business School Direct, Gerhard Berchtold, PhD Authorized Representative for European Development MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION (M.B.A.) in International Management Introduction
The M.B.A. curriculum consists of at least 49 credits (98 ECTS) of graduate study, offered as modular fashion. M.B.A. candidates complete eight required modules/courses (40 credits, 80 ECTS), plus a final Thesis/Dissertation (9 credits, 18 ECTS) or 3 Additional modules (3 credits or 6 ECTS each) all of these focused on a specific field or industry of management.
The Modular Masters in Business Administration Program in International Management has as a general aim of provision of an academically rigorous education designed to develop skills, expertise, knowledge and vision to enable students, whatever their chosen route, to be critical, analytical and creative. The program aims to provide opportunity for self-development in relation to career enhancement and as life-long learners.
The Program offers students the opportunity to develop their own capabilities, skills and competencies within a supported environment. The philosophy of the program can be summarized by the following objectives.
• Develop a critical approach to the use of contemporary sources as a means of exploring complex concepts, ideas and issues of relevance and value to the chosen area of study.
• Develop the power of critical enquiry, logical thought, creative imagination and independent judgment.
• Provide a forum of study that allows each student to build on his or her past academic and vocational experience in a relevant and meaningful fashion.
• Expose the student to a range of prospective, which may be applicable to both the interests and work situations as appropriate.
• Recognize the variety of sources of learning and an appropriate diversity of means for assessing achievement.
Objectives of the Program
This program intends to allow the individual student to develop their potential through a carefully selected Program of study, which includes elements of a variety of methods of study orientated around both the academic and vocational axis.
The primary objectives of the program are to:
• Enable the student to achieve an appropriate level of academic competence
• Achieve personal development and to develop critical awareness of benefit to themselves and to their organization
• Develop skills of initiation, implementation and analysis in a range of contexts
• Develop capability in the analysis and evaluation of complex issues and situations
The specific objectives of the program will vary according to the chosen named award but will include the:
• Development of knowledge at an advanced level
• Development of skills of analysis, research and policy formulation and implementation
• Unification of theoretical analysis and practice through a variety of contexts appropriate to business administration
• Issues of organization management and the management of people
Basics entry requirements
There is a common entry policy to the program whichever route or mode of delivery is being followed. All applicants will be assessed for admission with regard to their ability to fulfill the objectives of their proposed route and to achieve the standards required for the award of Masters. Students, whenever possible, will be interviewed. The interview is designed to ensure that those students accepted onto the program have the background both in terms of academic and / or professional experience and motivation to undertake a rigorous program. Given the conversion nature of the Program, applications are welcomed from candidates from wide academic and employment backgrounds.
Fully complete the application form. The admissions application is divided into two parts. Part I asks for basic information that you can quickly supply. Part II asks about previous education and employment, also requests that you submit a thoughtful essay of at least 200 words about your readiness to undertake Graduate Programs via independent study and about your educational goals. Please respond fully to these questions. Be specific about your goals. This essay is an important aspect of the admissions process.
Have completed, in a satisfactory manner, certain minimum course work in designated areas; the specific courses and amount of work depending upon the field of work which the student proposes to enter.
Copy of prior academic records sent directly from all institutions attended, including graduate and undergraduate colleges and universities
Once Admitted as Official Student
Once all requirements for admission has been submitted, reviewed, Prospect is officially admitted as formal student, Universidad Central de Nicaragua International will issue:
• Letter of Acceptance.
• Student ID Number.
• UCN Student Manual.
• Personal Study Plan.
• Assigned Course and Tutor.
• UCN institutional e-mail account.
• Invoice or Financial Statement.
• Additional details for Academic Process.
• User ID and password to get access to virtual campus and courses online.
Learning Process at UCN
Mentor: Immediately after registration, we will appoint a Mentor to take care of you in everything you need for your first module or course. You can communicate with him/her by e-mail, telephone, fax or ordinary mail
Study Plan: Your study plan, with all courses you need to take, and the corresponding credit units assigned will be sent to you without delay.
Books and Educational Technology: Technology has broadened the opportunities for students to be engaged in distance learning. Then, we will send a listing with all bibliography suggested and/or –in some cases- books, manuals and/or study material required.
Assignments and Examinations: You start studying and contact your mentor whenever you need to. After completing a course, you may ask for the established assignment or examination.
Correction: Your assignments or exams are corrected and results computed on your transcript. Upon completion of all subjects, you will get your degree.
General View of the Program
CODE
Subject
Credits
Total
MODULE 1
ECN-523
Economics of the Business Environment
5 (10 ETCS)
MODULE 2
FIN-533
International Financial Management
5 (10 ECTS)
MODULE 3
MNG- 541
Operations and Logistics Management
5 (10 ECTS)
MODULE 4
MKT-571
International Strategic Marketing
5 (10 ECTS)
MODULE 5
MNG-611
Human Resource Management
5 (10 ECTS)
MODULE 6
MNG-619
Strategic Management
5 (10 ECTS)
MODULE 7
MNG-627
Management Decision Making
5 (10 ECTS)
MODULE 8
MNG-671
Total Quality Management
5 (10 ECTS)
MODULE 9
MNG-701, MNG-702, MNG-703
3 Elective 3 credits each (9 Credits)
3 (6 ECTS)
3 (6 ECTS)
3 (6 ECTS)
49 Credits
(98 ECTS)
THS
or
Final Thesis Dissertation (9 Credits) 20,000 words count.
9 (18 ECTS)
UCN typically offers a choice of a specific field of business and industries:
- Pharmaceutical Industry
- Trade on Wall Street
- Import and Export
- Non-Profit International Organizations
- Entrepreneurship
- Educational
- Information Technology
- General International Management
Module 1.
ECN-523 Economics of the Business Environment (5 Credits)
About this module
Business does not operate in a vacuum. Firms are subject to a complex network of external factors, chief among which are economic influences. This module is designed to provide the student with the basic tools for analyzing the economic environment. As well as promoting technical competency, the module, through the use of specially selected seminar discussion topics, also stresses the link between theory and practice.
The most successful managers, whether they are specialists in sales, planning, personnel, finance or production, are those who can understand the implications of developments in the economic environment for their own particular business and devise an appropriate strategy. Accordingly, this module provides crucial underpinning for other parts of the program and encourages the student to place the firm in its wider business context.
MODULE 2.
FIN-533 International Financial Management (5 Credits)
About this module
Private and public enterprises are required to maximize shareholder wealth by satisfying consumer wants in competitive markets.
Modern financial theory is based on the concepts of risk and cash flow. Important as these strategic concepts are, however, it is simpler accounting concepts and techniques which continue to inform the day to day discussions and decisions of many financial managers.
This module primarily concerns itself with these simpler concepts and techniques; since it is with these that the non specialist manager will tend to come into contact with their daily business lives. They are also, however, an essential and excellent base for the manager wishing to move on later to specialist financial management approaches and skills.
MODULE 3.
MNG- 541 Operations and Logistics Management (5 Credits)
The pursuit of operations performance at every stage of an organization’s activities, from raw material procurement to the distribution of the service or product to the customer, is now recognized as essential for economic success. It is a task not only for the manufacturing / service operations sections of an organization but one that must be addressed by all the segments of the organization that support and service these activities. To this end, operations must be developed as a fundamental competitive weapon that must be integrated into an organization’s activities at the strategic as well as tactic level.
This module complements the other management modules by looking critically at all stages of the procurement, production and delivery cycles in the supply chain, and ensuring that the process and procedures undertaken give satisfaction to the corporate goals of management and the desires of the customer alike.
The module is structured around the development of an operations strategy and its translation into an effective operations transformation system. Emphasis will be placed on viewing operations as a competitive weapon, not only within the production / service centres, but also in the logistics and physical distribution systems that are becoming so important to an organization’s competitiveness.
MODULE 4.
MKT-571 International Strategic Marketing (5 Credits)
About this module
In a business environment where identifying and meeting the needs of customers is vital to achieve competitive edge, an understanding of international marketing which permeates the whole business organization is needed.
This module introduces and explains the basic concepts and theory of marketing and its application in domestic and international markets. It meets the growing demand for managers and staff who know what effective marketing involves, and who recognize its critical importance for the overall success of the company or organization.
MODULE 5
MNG-611 Human Resource Management (5 Credits)
About this module
The module begins from the premise that the interaction of people in order to achieve set objectives forms the basis of management in organizations. An understanding of people and the ways in which they relate to others within an organization is therefore vital to the process and function of effective human resource management (HRM).
The content of the module address two areas:
Þ The functional and organizational aspects of human resource management
Þ The individual and the interactive processes within the work framework-identifying in particular the conflict and tensions which exist in the real world of work, and noting links with the social processes which take place outside the work environment.
The first of these areas is covered through lectures, while group seminars are the learning vehicle for the second. This enables the functional and behavioral issues to be focused upon separately, but to be clearly interlinked through the integrated lecture and seminar program
MODULE 6
MNG-619 Strategic Management (5 Credits)
About this module
Recent years have seen developing recognition of vital role of strategic management in the long term viability, efficiency and success of organizations both in the private and public sectors. As distances become shorter and the world becomes more and more of a global market place, so the consistency, responsiveness and flexibility of organization to respond appropriately to their changing circumstances is crucial. It is the strategic management of the organization that gives it the framework and rationale around which to base its responses and strategies. Strategic management gives the functional areas of an organization the long-term, overall perspective within which they must work and set their aims.
Given its nature, strategic management requires a holistic approach. It draws upon functional modules previously studied in areas such as marketing, finance, operations and human resources management; and it integrates the skills and knowledge they provide to enable students to develop realistic responses to strategically important issues. It is indented to enhance the students’ awareness and understanding of corporate issues and of the increasingly international context of corporate activity
MODULE 7
MNG-627 Management Decision Making
The module and its aims
It is obvious that the quality of management decision making (MDM) must be a critical factor in the success of any business organization, and that the more fully the factors involved in it are understood, the more likelihood there is that good decisions will be made. To develop such an understanding demands much more than the frequently simplistic, mechanical approach to decision making process that is often met with in dealing with this subject. It means becoming aware of all the ‘unmeasurable’ influences that may be at work on people involved in decision making situations, as well as those aspects of a situation that can be readily quantified, measured or estimated.
The primary aim of this module therefore is to make students aware of the multiplicity of influences acting on the human decision maker (eg. social, psychological, political, and ethical) and their problematic effects on all levels and domains of management decisions making. To this end, students will be introduced to a wide range of social science material and encouraged to read extensively. A further aim will be to get students to relate this reading to their practical experience and to reflect on real life decision making, especially their own, so as to understand at first hand the operation of powerful phenomenon that are often taken for granted, go unchallenged or are ignored. In the process of doing this, the fundamental idea of the manager as a rational decision maker will be subjected to critical scrutiny.
MODULE 8
MNG-671 Total Quality Management, (5 Credits)
About this module
In any competitive economy, continuous cost reduction and quality improvements are essential if an organization is to stay in business. Competitiveness is measured by quality, price and delivery.
Quality has developed as a fundamental competitive weapon, and for many companies, TQM is the new way of managing for the future. It is not a technical activity-though there are techniques which can help to incorporate the principles and culture of TQM in an organization’s daily operations.
This TQM module underpins other management modules by looking critically at all aspects of a company’s products, processes and people to ensure that outputs give complete customer satisfaction.
It examines what managing in a total quality ways means and sets out the essential steps for successfully introducing TQM in a structured, meaningful and practical manner.
This module seeks to show:
Þ How the practical requirements for defining and achieving quality and the language of quality reflect common basic principles
Þ How these principles are used for the achievement of TQM throughout all the activities of an organization.
MODULE 9
3 Elective 3 credits each (9 Credits)
Codes: MNG-701, MNG-702, MNG-703
or
Final Thesis Dissertation (9 Credits)
Code: THS
In addition to the eight required modules (courses), students select three courses at 3 credits each (9 units) of electives to complete their MBA Program. These 9 credits will be applied as a field of concentration and specialization for the MBA.
Although Universidad Central de Nicaragua International MBA Program has a general manager's perspective, students may also use their choice of electives to select a concentrated emphasis.
However, a concentration will be reflected on a student's official transcript if the concentration is declared when the student petitions to graduate and all completed courses required for the concentration are documented. Although the awarded concentration will appear on the student's official degree transcript, the concentration does not appear on the student's diploma.
UCN typically offers a choice of a specific field of business and industries:
- Pharmaceutical Industry
- Trade on Wall Street
- Import and Export
- Non-Profit International Organizations
- Entrepreneurship
- Educational
- Information Technology
- General International Management
However, these nine credits can be applied also to a Final Thesis of 15,000 words count.
Student may elect to register for Independent Study (blended modality fashion) to fulfill this additional nine (9) credits requirement.
To obtain permission to register for Independent Study, students should prepare a complete proposal well in advance of the quarter in which they wish to undertake the study. The proposal must be reviewed and signed by a full-time faculty member who thereby agrees to supervise and evaluate the study. The proposal will then be reviewed by the department chair who, if in agreement, will sign the proposal. The proposal must then be submitted to Division of International Programs, University Extension at Universidad Central de Nicaragua International Office for final review.
A signed copy of the proposal must be on file in the Office of the Registrar before registration. An Independent Study is graded pass/fail unless otherwise indicated.
Convenience
Another big advantage that distance learning offers versus in-person classroom attendance is money savings. With traditional on-campus education, there are everyday expenses that quickly add up:
1. Gas, if you commute (which is now an even larger expense!)
2. Vehicle maintenance or bus fare
3. Dorm room fees, if you live on campus
4. Meals at a local restaurant or campus cafeteria
5. Clothing, makeup, etc.
Distance learning eliminates virtually all of that!
Additionally, more and more programs are becoming nearly or even completely paperless. No more outrageous textbook fees, blue books, pens, Scantron forms, book bags, and all the other incidentals that accompany the old way of doing things.
Exactly the Same Degree Online as On-Campus
At Universidad Central de Nicaragua International online degree programs, you'll learn from award wining faculty professors who teach on campus and at international universities.
You'll follow the same curriculum, use the same textbooks as traditional campus-based students and earn the same degree as on campus.
You'll just do it all online. It's easy! We'll help you through your online experience every step of the way.
And you can even walk through your Commencement ceremony alongside your on-campus graduating class!
1. History & Government Accreditation: The university is accredited and recognized by the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Nicaragua via the Consejo Nacional de Universidades (The National Council of Universities (CNU) of the Republic of Nicaragua (see position 25 of this web page)) in official government session No. 10-1998 operating under the law No. 89 of the Republic of Nicaragua with full autonomy designing, delivering and granting degree programs at undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate level.
2. International Accreditation: As fully recognized by the government of the Republic of Nicaragua, the university is listed in United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) International Association of Universities under the country of Nicaragua and International Handbook of Universities, an official guide/directory of international accredited universities published by United Nations.
3. Academics: The university is offering degree programs both undergraduate and postgraduate level at its campus under faculties/schools of Medicine, Business Administration, Accounting, Computer Science and Engineering, Tourism, Sciences & Humanities, Legal Studies and Political & Economic Studies.
The university is offering professional degree programs with world wide recognition. Doctor of Medicine & Surgery Program (M.D.), a six year program, delivering on campus is recognized by the Government of the Republic of Nicaragua and is accredited for full Medical Licensure once all objectives have been completed; medical licensure is granted by the Ministry of Health of Nicaragua. Also the Medical School is listed with the (ECFMG) Educational Commission of Foreign Medical Graduates / FAIMER. Being listed with the ECFMG allows medical graduates the opportunity to sit for the USMLE STEPS 1, 2, & 3 and eventually may obtain Medical Licensure in their countries of origin (make sure you check with the Licensure laws of your home Country to make sure a degree awarded by Universidad Central de Nicaragua is eligible for state Licensure). Doctor of Veterinary Medicine Program (DMV) is recognized by the Government of the Republic of Nicaragua and is accredited for full licensure once all objectives have been completed. DMV licensure is granted by the Ministry of Health of Nicaragua. All of the Nursing programs, i.e. Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN), Bachelor Degree in Nursing (BScN), Master Degree in Nursing (MScN) and Doctor of Nursing (PhDN), are recognized by the Government of the Republic of Nicaragua and are accredited for full Licensure once all objectives have been completed.
