Islamic Finance (MBA) (Executive) part-time

Programme Specification http://programmes.bolton.ac.uk/BAM066-P-UOB-MX

What you will learn

You will study a contemporary curriculum with a focus on Islamic Business Transaction Law, Islamic Finance and Investment and the key functional areas of management: Human Resource Management, Financial Management and Decision Making, International Marketing Management and Strategic Management and Leadership, many of which will be beyond the borders of your current, familiar management responsibilities. The aim is to stretch your management competencies into new areas of potential responsibility in the field of Islamic finance.

The MBA programme offers a suite of contemporary modules which will allow you to develop your knowledge of organisations and their management in today’s fast-moving global economy, in order to reflect and improve your own management practice.

What you will study Islamic Business Transaction Law

This module will introduce you to Islamic law. The methodologies and concepts of Islamic law will be investigated to provide in-depth knowledge related to various Islamic business transactions. You will gain a critical understanding of fiqh al-mu’amalat including maal (property), huquq (rights), milkiyah

(ownership), and ‘aqd (contract). You will develop an in-depth knowledge of Islamic schools of thoughts and Usul Al-Fiqh. The concept of riba (interest) and gharar (ambiguity) and contemporary related issues will be critically explained and discussed. In addition you will gain enhanced knowledge and skills in the application of Islamic commercial and financial transactions. The module will also evaluate current Islamic finance issues related to Sharia governance and regulation.

International Marketing Management

This module aims to provide you with a critical understanding of the global marketing process and the opportunity to develop and refine relevant skills in the practice of global marketing. You will gain experience of evaluating and analysing the challenges faced by managers in the development and deployment of a global marketing strategy, and you will develop an advanced awareness of the need to consider a range of alternative approaches to dealing with strategic planning and management issues in order to achieve global or regional competitive advantage.

To gain and enhance your critical knowledge and understanding you will consider and critically evaluate key stages of the organisations’ global marketing planning process. By the end of the module you will have developed a superior appreciation of the processes and outcomes in the implementation of the global marketing planning process.

Financial Management and Decision Making

This module is designed to introduce managers (usually who have no previous background in finance) to the concepts of financial management, and to explore the corporate aspects, and their differing organisational contexts, that determine sources of corporate funding. The module will also consider legal and other key issues, affecting corporate financial management. It will develop your knowledge and understanding of the theoretical concepts of financial management, and enable you to analyse and evaluate financial statements to provide a basis for informed decision-making. You will develop an understanding of capital budgeting, strategic financial issues and control systems and how they can assist more informed decisions.

Human Resource Management

This module aims to provide a general introduction to HRM in organisations. It will show an awareness of the merits and difficulties associated with new and different forms of work patterns and job designs aimed at enhancing performance, motivation and commitment. It will contribute to the wider debate by examining the organisational functions that are attributed to human resource managers.

Islamic Finance and Investment

This module will help you to develop a critical understanding of the concepts and practical operations of the Islamic financial sector. It will also help you to critically assess the unique issues associated with Islamic financial products and operations. In addition, you will be able to identify the risk elements related to Islamic financial products and mitigation techniques relating to Islamic banking. You will also develop a clear understanding of Zakat and Waqf and their crucial role within the Islamic financial sector. This module will also help you to extend your analytical skills to assess the developments and contemporary issues related to the Islamic capital market and Sukuk. An introduction to takaful will be delivered giving an in-depth knowledge of the prohibited elements in conventional insurance from an Islamic perspective. Takaful models will be explored and discussed to enhance critical understanding of this important area of Islamic Finance. Corporate governance and regulations will be comprehensively introduced followed by issues and challenges faced by the Islamic finance and investment sector.

Strategic Management and Leadership

Strategic Management and Leadership is a fundamental and necessary requirement for organisations faced by rapidly changing socio-economic and political landscapes. The module appreciates the relationship between leadership skills and abilities, and the incessant strategic development and evolution of organisations. This is set against a context where leadership is seen as a proactive and dynamic process incorporating organisational vision, processes and politics.

The module is designed to enhance your knowledge of the importance and role of strategic planning and decision-making within contemporary organisations. It seeks to explore the complex challenges and issues faced by organisational leaders and provide the framework and tools to think about these in a structured and systematic way. Skills of strategic thinking and analysis will be applied to current and future challenges in a way that demonstrates both theoretical understanding and practical application. In this regard, you will be required to critically evaluate a strategic plan and make innovative recommendations for improvement.

Research and Study Skills

This module supports your success on the MBA Islamic Banking programme as a whole and allows you to develop your academic skills including writing skills, information literacy skills and presentation skills.

Research Methods

This module prepares you for the dissertation. It will enable you to make informed decisions about which research methods are appropriate under particular circumstances and specifically in relation to your own research. You will develop your knowledge of a range of research tools and analytical techniques. You will also receive guidance on the structuring of your dissertation.

MBA Dissertation (Islamic Finance)

The dissertation provides you with the opportunity to undertake an extended and substantial piece of research; to synthesize the academic knowledge acquired from the taught MBA Islamic Finance modules and to produce an evaluative and critical discussion of strategic issues relevant to the international Islamic Finance topic under study. The dissertation follows the completion of the research methods module which is a prerequisite for commencement of the dissertation. Following receipt of feedback from the second research methods assignment, you will improve the initial three chapters and in conjunction with your supervisor’s guidance, you will then undertake data gathering either by fieldwork or desk research or some combination of both, evaluate and synthesize the findings and present them clearly. You will also present a set of conclusions drawn from the findings.