Course overview (syllabus):

The objective of the course is to provide the general framework of quantitative methods and their application in business applications. It will help participants, who do not necessarily have a background in mathematics, to understand how statistical tools and techniques are applied. It provides students with an overview of descriptive statistics, probability distributions, estimation, inferential tools and regression analysis, while special attention is given to the application of statistical methods to business applications and the recent trends in business analytics.

Learning outcomes:

On completion of this course, students should be able to:

• Understand key concepts for quantifying and managing information in business and management problems.
• Perform computer-aided data analysis using MS Excel or relevant statistical software.
• Analyze data in the context of other courses assignments.
• Understand the more advanced techniques of the next courses.
• Analyze the computer output and interpret the results.

Course overview (syllabus):

The course has two interconnected pillars:
The first pillar, covers microeconomic concepts in order to provide students with a concise and applied, but formal, knowledge of the microenvironment in which a firm operates. Students are exposed to cost measurement and how it relates to factor and production decisions, leading to optimality of decisions. Then, the course deals with market structure, where we analyse the profile and the nexus of behaviours between firms as well as between firms and potential customers across various market structures (perfect competition, oligopoly, monopoly, monopolistic competition).
The second pillar, starts with a smooth introduction of how the macroeconomy operates and the discussion of fundamental macroeconomic concepts, such as GDP and its measurement, inflation, and unemployment. In addition, we provide a formal discussion of the main economic agents, their operations and goals (government, central bank, private sector). The course then moves to the detailed discussion of macroeconomic policy, placing emphasis on the available economic tools, the execution of policies and their outcomes. In particular, the tools of fiscal and monetary policy are presented, with a detailed presentation of the channels through which these policies operate. A major building block of the course is the discussion of how these macroeconomic policies affect, alter and shape the economic environment in which firms operate and how might affect their overall decision making.               

Learning outcomes:

After completing the course, students will:

• Have a formal understanding of microeconomic concepts affecting their operations and decisions, such as the behavior of productions costs and the dynamics of profitability,
• Comprehend how a firm’s relationship with its environment is shaped. In particular, how firm decisions relate to product and demand characteristics as well as how they relate to market structure,
• Have an in-depth understanding of how the macroeconomy works,
• Have an in-depth comprehension of macroeconomic policies (fiscal and monetary), policy tools, policy goals and the channels via which policies affect the economy.

Course overview (syllabus):

“Financial Accounting and Reporting” is designed with the particular needs of the Executive MBA students in mind. It aims to develop and/or extend students' knowledge and understanding of the role and use of financial reports and other financial information, published by business organizations. The course adopts an international perspective on financial accounting and reporting, in view of the increasing globalization of the economy and the use of common accounting and reporting practices world-wide. However, links are often made with national practices in Greece and issues of current interest.
One of the arguments advanced and demonstrated in this course is that a manager of a modern enterprise – working within any functional area such as marketing, production, logistics, strategy, personnel, etc. – has a lot to gain, and to offer, by being well versed in accounting and financial reporting, as financial information is a key component to sound management decision making.
To help students with little or no prior knowledge of financial accounting, or to refresh knowledge acquired in the past, a series of three preparatory lectures is organized in September. The purpose of these lectures is to lay the foundations of knowledge (remembering and understanding in Bloom’s taxonomy) in topics such as: basic accounting concepts, definitions and principles, the workings of the accrual-based accounting system, and the preparation of simplified financial reports (financial statements), showing business performance and financial position.
Building on this foundation, the main part of the course (December-January) extends the knowledge to cover the accounting for key elements of financial statements (revenue and receivables, inventory and cost of goods sold, fixed assets and depreciation, equity, liabilities and cash flows), while financial statement analysis with the use of ratios —a standard tool used in business decision making— along with analyzes of other information from within or outside the business organization, forms in integral part of the course.

Learning outcomes:

On successful completion of the course, students will:

• Understand the definition of the various elements of financial statements, their information content, the differences, and similarities among them, and how these elements relate to the various aspects of performance, financial position and cash flows of a business organization.
• Understand and apply the rules of the applicable reporting framework (IFRSs) in accounting for transactions and events involving key elements of financial statements (assets, liabilities, equity, revenue, and expenses), and, most importantly, identify their impact on financial statement figures and how this impact may vary from statement to statement or over time.
• Recognize and evaluate the information content of each financial statement, their components and their interrelationships, and use them to shed light on the various facets of a complex business organization, to make comparisons or set benchmarks.
• Recognize the tools commonly used in financial analysis and be in a position to perform a comprehensive financial ratio analysis of a business organization, in order to evaluate business performance, financial position and cash flows. Such analyses, extended to cover information from the sector and the wider business environment, increase market awareness and demonstrate the importance of financial information for the management of business organizations. The course reinforces a holistic – systems approach to analysing business organizations, by bringing to light the underlying and sometimes hidden links between the various aspects of performance (e.g. profitability and cash flow generation), financial position (e.g. relative size and type of investments and financing), strategic decisions and wider business environment factors.
• Understand the consequences of poor or fraudulent accounting practices and the importance of integrity and ethical conduct in preparing and publicizing corporate financial information stakeholders and other interested parties.

Course overview (syllabus):

The course includes the contemporary concepts, theories, approaches, models and competencies of Management and Leadership. The course is based on a systematic approach in order to integrate the determinants of organizations’ efficiency, effectiveness, competitiveness and sustaining success. Based on this framework, we develop the crucial role of Management and Leadership as well as the roles and the competencies of successful managers and leaders.

Learning outcomes

On successful completion of the course, students will develop:

• The conceptual and theoretical background needed to understand and possess a clear big picture about the determinants of the organizational efficiency, effectiveness, competitiveness and sustaining success,
• Their System thinking,
• Understanding of differences between Manager and Leader,
• Understanding of the specific, managerial and leadership roles skills and competencies,
• Effectiveness of leadership behavior,
• Their ability to adapt their leadership style to each situation,
• Their ability to learn and to develop continuously their personal traits, virtuous, skills and competencies needed for the effective management and leadership and their successful career.

Course overview (syllabus):

The first pillar, covers microeconomic concepts in order to provide students with a concise and applied, but formal, knowledge of the microenvironment in which a firm operates. Students are exposed to cost measurement and how it relates to factor and production decisions, leading to optimality of decisions. Then, the course deals with market structure, where we analyse the profile and the nexus of behaviours between firms as well as between firms and potential customers across various market structures (perfect competition, oligopoly, monopoly, monopolistic competition).
The second pillar, starts with a smooth introduction of how the macroeconomy operates and the discussion of fundamental macroeconomic concepts, such as GDP and its measurement, inflation, and unemployment. In addition, we provide a formal discussion of the main economic agents, their operations and goals (government, central bank, private sector). The course then moves to the detailed discussion of macroeconomic policy, placing emphasis on the available economic tools, the execution of policies and their outcomes. In particular, the tools of fiscal and monetary policy are presented, with a detailed presentation of the channels through which these policies operate. A major building block of the course is the discussion of how these macroeconomic policies affect, alter and shape the economic environment in which firms operate and how might affect their overall decision making.

Learning outcomes

On successful completion of the course, students should be able to:

• To assess business opportunities by relying on corporate information on the financial position, performance and liquidity of organizations. Most importantly students will develop a management mentality which will be based on understandings of the fundamentals of corporate financial information.
• To organize, inspire and guide colleagues through persuasive, rational proposals, and allocation of tasks on the basis of actual business information and sound corporate financial knowledge.
• To conduct analyses of complex and diverse financial organizational contexts and make rational investment decisions and consultation.
• To delve into the organization’s financial statements, industry factors and wider economic factors and apply an internationally employed methodological analysis.
• To become acquainted with standards of integrity and ethical conduct which underly professional life and social attitude and pave the way for corporate decision making for the benefit of a wide range of stakeholders.

Course overview (syllabus):

“Financial Accounting and Reporting” is designed with the particular needs of the Executive MBA students in mind. It aims to develop and/or extend students' knowledge and understanding of the role and use of financial reports and other financial information, published by business organizations. The course adopts an international perspective on financial accounting and reporting, in view of the increasing globalization of the economy and the use of common accounting and reporting practices world-wide. However, links are often made with national practices in Greece and issues of current interest.
One of the arguments advanced and demonstrated in this course is that a manager of a modern enterprise – working within any functional area such as marketing, production, logistics, strategy, personnel, etc. – has a lot to gain, and to offer, by being well versed in accounting and financial reporting, as financial information is a key component to sound management decision making.
To help students with little or no prior knowledge of financial accounting, or to refresh knowledge acquired in the past, a series of three preparatory lectures is organized in September. The purpose of these lectures is to lay the foundations of knowledge (remembering and understanding in Bloom’s taxonomy) in topics such as: basic accounting concepts, definitions and principles, the workings of the accrual-based accounting system, and the preparation of simplified financial reports (financial statements), showing business performance and financial position.
Building on this foundation, the main part of the course (December-January) extends the knowledge to cover the accounting for key elements of financial statements (revenue and receivables, inventory and cost of goods sold, fixed assets and depreciation, equity, liabilities and cash flows), while financial statement analysis with the use of ratios —a standard tool used in business decision making— along with analyzes of other information from within or outside the business organization, forms in integral part of the course.

Learning outcomes

On successful completion of the course, students will:

• Understand the definition of the various elements of financial statements, their information content, the differences and similarities among them, and how these elements relate to the various aspects of performance, financial position and cash flows of a business organization.
• Understand and apply the rules of the applicable reporting framework (IFRSs) in accounting for transactions and events involving key elements of financial statements (assets, liabilities, equity, revenue and expenses), and, most importantly, identify their impact on financial statement figures and how this impact may vary from statement to statement or over time.
• Recognize and evaluate the information content of each financial statement, their components and their interrelationships, and use them to shed light on the various facets of a complex business organization, to make comparisons or set benchmarks.
• Recognize the tools commonly used in financial analysis and be in a position to perform a comprehensive financial ratio analysis of a business organization, in order to evaluate business performance, financial position and cash flows. Such analyses, extended to cover information from the sector and the wider business environment, increase market awareness and demonstrate the importance of financial information for the management of business organizations. The course reinforces a holistic – systems approach to analysing business organizations, by bringing to light the underlying and sometimes hidden links between the various aspects of performance (e.g. profitability and cash flow generation), financial position (e.g. relative size and type of investments and financing), strategic decisions and wider business environment factors.
• Understand the consequences of poor or fraudulent accounting practices and the importance of integrity and ethical conduct in preparing and publicizing corporate financial information stakeholders and other interested parties.

Students of the Executive MBA are expected to develop the ability to combine the knowledge base gained in Financial Accounting with knowledge and skills gained in other modules of the Programme, so as to enable them to form a more concrete and comprehensive basis for making sound management decisions (investment, finance, marketing, production, etc.), at the middle-to-senior management level. Inter alia, such decisions include developing and evaluating business strategies, identifying strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats, handling business risks, identifying opportunities for investment or areas that warrant divesting, managing working capital, setting benchmarks, etc. The knowledge and skills acquired in the course help students built and develop leadership competences, i.e. the capacity to develop, understand or evaluate strategies and to organize, inspire, guide and control corporate staff.

Course overview (syllabus):

This course introduces students to the fundamentals of Operations Research / Management Science and aims to present the decision-making process and its applications for solving complex business problems. Specifically, it deals with creating conceptual backgrounds, mathematical models (e.g., models, methodologies, techniques, concepts, systems, etc.) and the development of tools for systematic decision-making in real business situations. Focus is given on examining and understanding the various models, their applications in various areas of operation, intuitive and their economic importance in decision-making and the application of modern software tools in decision-making. The course will cover 3 main categories, namely linear programming models, integer programming models and decision trees, while in parallel it will refer to multi-criteria and simulation models. Together with the theory and methodology, for each model category the students will be exposed to the use of software tools, based mainly on Microsoft Excel, and they will have the opportunity to test their skills on various problem settings.

Learning outcomes

On successful completion of this course, Executive MBA students should be able to:

• Understand the basic building blocks of optimization models, analyze and select the appropriate model and method that should be applied based on the nature of the problem and the available data.
• Understand the fundamentals of mathematical programming, build models for framing a decision-making problem in terms of objective function, input parameters and decision variables.
• Understand the fundamentals of multi-criteria design making, apply goal programming and analytical hierarchy processes.
• Apply and solve models using Microsoft Excel Solver.
• Understand the solver report, perform sensitivity analysis and examine in a systematic way the decision alternatives.
• Understand and design decision trees for making decisions in an environment under risk, analyze alternative scenarios and examine the sensitivity of key parameters.
• Evaluate and design effective computational strategies for solving both complex and realistic size business applications.

Course overview (syllabus):

This course introduces concepts from two major fields of study, Organizational Behavior (OB) and Human Resource Management (HRM).
Human resource management (HRM) is one of the most important determinants of organizational development and effectiveness. This module aims at introducing students to the recent theories and practices of HRM and highlighting the value of human capital in today’s work environment.
Organizational behaviour (ΟΒ) will enable students to understand, explain, and ultimately improve the attitudes and behaviors of individuals and groups in their organizations. Τοpics such as motivation, empowerment, teamwork, interpersonal communication, are studied in the light of the 4th Industrial Revolution. Furthermore, the role of emotional intelligence will be analyzed and through experiential learning, participants will develop critical leadership and emotional skills for the future.

Learning outcomes

After successfully completing the course, students will:

1. Demonstrate the ability to analyze, apply, and evaluate key organizational behavior theories and recommend actions that improve the attitudes and behaviors of individuals and groups in their organizations.
2. Demonstrate the ability to analyze, evaluate, and create bundles of human resource practices to facilitate executive-level strategic decision making.
3. Demonstrate capacity to employ different channels to effectively communicate with different levels of personnel and meet organizational goals.
4. Develop critical leadership and emotional skills and competences needed to motivate, empower, develop, coach and reward their people in order to achieve high performance.

Course overview (syllabus):

Global business practice has clearly manifested the key role of marketing in the success and longevity of any business. This course aims to provide students with an extensive understanding and appreciation of the role and importance of marketing and to acquaint students with the process of developing, designing, and using a number of different marketing tools, models, and applications. Special emphasis will be given to the persuasion, nudge and choice architecture logic and tools; the many different forms, methods and applications of market research; the consumer behavior analysis models and mechanisms, the competitive advantage and customer value generating mechanisms; the strategic marketing planning process; the digital transformation of marketing; as well as the customer retention and customer relationship management value, significance, and best practices.

Learning outcomes

• Understand the logic, philosophy, functions, and responsibilities of marketing. Appreciate the centrality of persuasion for marketing. Comprehend the mutually beneficial linkage between behavioral economics and marketing through the use of choice architecture and persuasion. Formulate communication strategies that utilize these principles.
• Evaluate the importance of the optimal usage of market research for a solid understanding of consumer behavior for business success. Assess the strengths of different market research tools and techniques, compare the relative usefulness of each method, and appraise the possible synergies between the different methods.
• Develop an appreciation of the importance of marketing in developing, communicating, and sustaining a competitive advantage. Examine the characteristics of successful and enduring value propositions and competitive advantages in real business practice.
• Appreciate the stages and the processes involved in the strategic marketing planning process. Evaluate the relative importance of each stage and the different ways through which we can approach each stage. Compare the strategic planning process that is optimal for a large corporation and a small/medium-sized company.
• Evaluate the challenges that companies face in the digital transformation era and examine the different marketing tools and techniques we can draw upon to turn these challenges into opportunities.
• Ascertain the importance of loyalty and customer relationship management. Compare the different customer retention methods and approaches and formulate customer relationship management plans

Course overview (syllabus):

The course consists of four main sections:

1. The importance of information systems for organizations: principles of information systems management, strategic information systems, business process reengineering and information systems.
2. The use of information systems in various aspects of organizational work: decisions support systems, transaction processing systems, data and knowledge management, integrated systems (ERP).
3. Network dimensions and information systems: Internet, Groupware, Electronic Commerce.
4. Information Resources Management issues such as: information systems planning, financial management of information systems, information systems development and managing the information systems department.

Learning outcomes

On successfully completing the course, students will be able to:

• understand the basic dimensions of the usage of information systems in organizations and the main issues related with its effective utilization.
• obtain the necessary conceptual background in order to understand the issues management faces in relation to information systems.
• identify the main functions of information systems management, and the basic theoretic and applied models that help the management of the IS function.
• make an overall evaluation of information systems status within an organization and suggest an integrated plan of action from a general management perspective.

Course overview (syllabus):

The purpose of the present course is to introduce students to the basic theory of Corporate Finance. In the introduction the course examines the maximization of shareholders’ wealth as the primary objective of financial management, and the functions of financial management, that is investment decisions, financing decisions, and financial analysis and planning. The main topics of the course are: time value of money, capital budgeting, cost of capital, capital structure, and equity and bond financing.
Capital budgeting involves evaluating investment proposals to acquire fixed assets. In doing so, the analyst needs to know the investment cost and the relevant incremental net cash flows that the investment is going to generate over its life. The main techniques for appraising investment projects, such as accounting rate of return, payback period net present value, profitability index and internal rate of return are discussed extensively.
Equity financing defines stock capital, the rights of shareholders, the types of stocks and the various values of stocks. It also discusses in detail the increase of stock capital, which can be implemented by selling new shares to the public, by transferring the firm’s reserves to the stock capital, and by incorporating the fixed assets appreciation to the stock capital.
Bonds are a major source of long-term debt financing for companies. Bonds are classified in various types. Bonds are retired in a number of ways. Bond refunding is widely used to “roll over” corporate debt, particularly when interest rates have fallen. The analysis of refunding is treated like a capital budgeting problem. The objective is to determine the net present value of the savings less investment outlay. The discount rate used is the after-tax cost of the new bond issue.
To decide the appropriate financing a company usually considers both the cost of capital and the risk involved in the various alternative sources of financing. It is proposed that risk is minimized when companies finance their fixed assets and a part of their current assets, with long-term financing.

Learning outcomes

On successfully completing the course, students will be able to:

• Understand the role of the Corporate Finance Manager and its main links to business objectives.
• Implement the concept of the time value of money and be able to use basic time value concepts.
• Demonstrate the ability to evaluate investment decisions using a variety of appraisal techniques.
• Appraise the key features that are typically outlined in the bond indenture, describe the key features of a bond, compute its yield to maturity and identify the main categories of bond ratings.
• Develop an understanding of the cost of capital for a business, and how the riskiness of a company affects its cost of financing.

Course overview (syllabus):

This course introduces students to the design, analysis, optimization, and functional control of operations, i.e., production and service provisioning systems, in both industrial and service companies. It highlights the need for effective management of the constrained resources of these systems. Through the course, the student will understand the organizational structure and the various components, sub-systems and functions of a production or service provisioning system. They will gain knowledge about the problems arising during their design and operation, and how these can be addressed through strategic choices, specific methods, and analytical techniques.
The topics of the course cover all complex and interrelated business processes inherent in the system's operation, e.g., Operations Strategy – Lean Management, Product/Service/Process Design, Productivity, Capacity Planning, Forecasting, Quality Management, Material Requirements Planning, Supply Chain Management, Inventory Management, Revenue Management and Sustainability. The course aims at providing a comprehensive perspective of most aspects of Production and Operations Management and presenting an overview of the main managerial techniques that are used by today’s enterprises in managing their operations. Emphasis is placed on the strategic importance and impact of decisions that relate to the operations of organizations.

Learning outcomes

On successfully completing the course, the students should be able to:

• Understand the scope and building blocks of Operations Management, and its international dimension. Analyse how organizations function from a process perspective of interconnected tasks and activities that often span geographical borders.
• Understand, apply, analyze, and evaluate a variety of qualitative and quantitative tools and methods used to address and solve operations, process and supply chain problems and inform decision-making in support of the strategic priorities of an organization.
• Analyze and appraise how operations impact on competitiveness, productivity, and strategy in organizations with both local and global presence.
• Evaluate state-of-the art operations concepts and strategies with the objective to develop strategic recommendations for improving operations and design appropriate supply chain strategies for products/services with distinct characteristics of demand and supply.

Course overview (syllabus):

This course aims to introduce students to the world of business strategy. It starts with the definition of strategy and continues with the analysis of the external environment (PEST, Five Forces, Strategic Groups, Scenario planning), internal environment (resource based view, value chain) and vision/mission. The rest of the course deals with issues of strategy formulation (e.g. growth strategies, retrenchment strategies, competitive strategies) as well as strategy implementation (i.e. mergers, acquisitions, alliances, the role of leadership, structure, systems, people). 
The course will provide frameworks for identifying the challenges of different competitive environments. We will give you some analytical approaches that are useful to widely different strategic problems. Our final aim is to help you understand how to build a strategically responsive organization by tuning systems, structures, and people to strategy, and how to effectively manage the process of strategizing

Learning Outcomes

On successfully completing the course, students will be able to:

• Understand how to analyze the external environment of the company (Structural Analysis of Industries-5 Forces, Strategic Groups, Scenario Planning, PESTEL analysis) and develop ideas on how to design the best possible strategy to position the company against the external environmental forces.
• Understand and appraise the role of resources, capabilities and core competences, in achieving, maintaining and improving a firms market positioning (strategy as the creation of dynamic capabilities, Value Chain, Organizational Culture)
• Develop ideas on how to direct the company into the future (mission/vision/strategic intent)
• Analyze the available corporate strategies (horizontal, vertical, diversification, product growth, market growth etc), evaluate them comparatively and create insights on the most suitable, acceptable and feasible strategies to be implemented. 
• Understand the available strategic choices/vehicles to implement a given strategic move (i.e. mergers, acquisitions, alliances, Greenfield investment), comparatively evaluate them and create the best possible strategy to successfully implement the chosen vehicles of strategy.
• Understand the available competitive strategies (Generic Competitive Strategies, Value Disciplines and Strategy Clock) and create the appropriate structures, systems, skills, values, to successfully implement the chosen strategy.

Course overview (syllabus):

As the complexity of the problems facing managers has increased in recent years, so has the need for information – about the business environment, about the competition, and particularly about the customer. As a marketing manager or general manager, you will almost certainly come in close contact with market research frequently throughout your career.
This course is designed to give you the tools to become an intelligent user of market research. The goal is to provide you with a good understanding of the logic of market research, various types of market research and the market research process, and the role of market research in decision making. Obviously, a major focus will be method, but our discussion will not be as detailed as would be required of a market research supplier.

Learning outcomes

On successfully completing the course, students will be able to:

• Understand the role market research plays in decision making
• Understand the market research process and the interrelationships among its steps
• Apply the market research process in real life situations
• Evaluate alternative research designs and to develop and select the most appropriate one for a particular problem situation.
• Develop and design a market research project, by assembling and integrating all relevant market research concepts.

Course overview (syllabus):

The course focuses on the day-to-day tasks of the Chief Financial Officer. Specifically, we examine the decision-making process on working capital issues, such as inventory management, cash management, credit policy, short-term cash investments, as well as operational and financial leverage. For each of these topics, the material taught analyzes best practices from various corporations and the impact of working capital management on corporate profitability and liquidity. The course consists of six sessions. Each session includes lecture material and a case study pertinent to the subject examined.

Learning Outcomes

On successfully completing the course, students will be able to:

• Understand the concept of working capital management and its impact on corporate performance.
• Analyze the class="gkBullet4"-offs between liquidity/risk and profitability involved in working capital management.
• Evaluate the risks and benefits involved in working capital management and apply a strategy pertaining to the working capital management.
• Assess and actively manage the level of operational and financial leverage of the firm. 

Course overview (syllabus):

This course is designed to enable business executives, experienced engineers, managers, decision-makers, team leaders and employees at all levels of the organization to understand that creativity is a skill that can be learned and thus improve their ability to think creatively and generate innovative ideas and solutions to everyday challenges. To this end, this course presents a systematic start-to-finish decision making framework that integrates the most successful creative thinking techniques and strategies.

Learning Outcomes

On successfully completing this course, students should be able to:

• discover new ways to break conceptual mental blocks and move beyond traditional thinking patterns and behaviors
• identify problems and analyze the target problem
• generate fresh perspectives and new ideas to achieve real competitive advantage by thinking differently from your competitors
• choose and implement the best solution
• employ the creative thinking techniques and strategies in various work-related situations.

Course overview (syllabus):

This elective course is designed to introduce EMBA students to big data management concepts, as evolved in the last few years in the context of big data applications. The course is going to cover issues related to data modeling, SQL, business intelligence, analytics, visualization tools and modern data management systems.

Learning Outcomes

On successfully completing the course, students will be able to:

• Design a relational database.
• Use SQL to write simple and somehow complex queries.
• Design a simple star schema for a data warehouse and build OLAP reports.
• Use a popular visualization tool for data analysis.
• Understand the fundamentals of next generation data management systems.

Course overview (syllabus):

The course deals with the principles, tools, and challenges of project management, the vital function of managing complex projects in contemporary organizations and companies. It offers a practical and structured approach to managing projects or programmes throughout their implementation lifecycle. It is designed to provide students with a broad understanding of modern project management principles, concepts, tools and techniques applied from project initiation to project planning, execution, and control. Main topics covered in the course include methods for project selection and evaluation, principles of project organization, time scheduling methods, cost management and time-cost trade-off analysis, resource allocation and management, as well as project monitoring techniques.
The course addresses all decision making levels for various types and sizes of projects or programmes and it is targeted to entry-level project managers, project team members, and experienced project managers who intend to boost the efficiency of their day-to-day work by applying modern project management concepts and methods. Special emphasis is placed on causes of project failures and frequently encountered risks and how to mitigate these issues through proactive planning and early identification of project threats.

Learning outcomes

This course aims to build project management skills and competences that will increase the ability of students to initiate, plan, organize, implement and control projects more efficiently and effectively. Upon completion of the course, students will be able to:

• Evaluate and select the most promising project proposals;
• Analyze the work structure and assign clear roles, responsibilities and measurable outcomes;
• Analyze, schedule and evaluate the project execution with simultaneous consideration of scope, time and cost-trade-offs;
• Analyze and apply an efficient allocation of various types of project resources to different project tasks/activities;
• Create, apply and monitor/analyze realistic project plans using scope, cost and schedule baselines as a means of evaluating project progress.

Course overview (syllabus):

Innovation is critically important for firms, industries, and regional and national economies alike. Today, managers are called upon to innovate their way out of the crisis, and from a broader societal perspective all are becoming more engaged in innovating our way to a more sustainable development of industrial and business systems. Innovation has to do with something novel in terms of products, processes or administrative procedures. It is traditionally linked to improving competitiveness from unique offerings providing enhanced value to users and consumers by meeting unmet needs.
In this context, demands for creative thinking and for processes canalizing this thinking into innovations that pay off in the marketplace are raised on leaders, managers and all members of organizations. In this vein, the course aims at developing an understanding of innovation and creativity as phenomena and processes in organizations, how they can be managed and enhanced, and how practical tools and methods can be used in order to achieve more and better innovation.
Technology has always been both a major driver and key enabler of innovation. Hence, the processes of technology generation and deployment play a pivotal role in what innovation develops and how it develops. The course also touches upon major trends and specific concepts for analyzing and managing technology.
The course aims at opening up the “black box” of innovation, and equipping the students with concepts, frameworks and methods that will help them apprehend and better manage innovation.

Learning Outcomes

On successfully completing the course, students will be able to:

• Understand that innovation can come in many different shapes and how it thus can be implemented in any organization and in many different ways. Identify, connect, and explain different innovation types,
• Understand creativity as an organizational phenomenon and demonstrate how it can be canalized towards innovation (Directed Creativity),
• Apply enablers of innovation and creativity, and analyze how enablers of operational, tactical and strategic nature, should be compared and organized in order to enhance and develop innovation and a creative climate in organizations,
• Appraise how the dynamics of innovation that stem from global technology development and collaborative arrangements among companies and other stakeholders (Open Innovation), should be incorporated in firm strategy. Analyze and judge alternatives to select technology and collaborative strategies for case companies and organizations,
• Develop ideas, actions and strategies for enhancing innovation in organizations. Evaluate and assemble all factors analyzed in the course to design an action plan that will strengthen the innovation performance of a focal company.

Course overview (syllabus):

The course focuses on the analysis and the use of financial accounting and cost accounting data in managerial and business decisions.

Learning outcomes

On the successful completion of the course, the students should be able to:

• Understand the global theories and techniques of managerial accounting as well as the contemporary trends in this discipline.
• Choοse the most appropriate tools and methods to use for the extraction and processing of suitable information regarding the decision to be taken.

Course overview (syllabus):

The growth of the Internet and electronic commerce in the last decade has dramatically changed the business landscape and the way that enterprises communicate with their customers and the broader business community (consumers, public administration, or other firms). The world-wide-web in combination with new technological infrastructures and business models provides opportunities for novel business activities, more effective management of interorganisational processes, and efficient interactive communication through electronic means.
This course covers the area of e-Commerce and e-Business through an interdisciplinary approach, combining business and technology application elements. The course has a practical focus, aiming to support decisions related to the development and management of e-business initiatives. At the end of the course, students will have gained the appropriate knowledge and skills needed to reach effective business decisions regarding e-Commerce and identify growth opportunities through e-Commerce applications. In addition, students will be able to assess the characteristics of an e-commerce platform and develop a “real-life” e-shop.

Learning outcomes

On the successful completion of the course, students should be able to:

• To obtain the ability of designing a new ecommerce and digital marketing strategy
• To obtain the ability of analyzing a market using digital tools
• To be able to design and implement a new ecommerce company.

Course overview (syllabus):

Services undisputably dominate the business landscape. The services sector is the dominant driving economic force worldwide and marketing and management practices in this field are evolving rapidly to accommodate the challenges that managing services entails. At the same time, the servitization trend in manufacturing and the service-dominant logic make understanding the services practices and the services way of thinking even more broadly relevant for a multitude of organizations across the board and a source of competitive advantage for all businesses. This course aims to enable students to understand the services way of thinking; to appreciate the breadth, the significance and the centrality of the customer experience; to comprehend the notion of the customer journey and the tools that enable us to analyse it; to appreciate how to manage, enhance, and optimize the customer experience and how to achieve service excellence, via the optimum management of the service provision process, the people involved, and the service environment multi-sensory atmospherics. Students are exposed to a number of services management tools and techniques and through the hands-on, practical application approach of the course they learn how to use them by applying them to real life examples.

Learning outcomes

On successfully completing the course, students will be able to:

• Develop an appreciation of the services way of thinking and its implications. Understand the challenges in managing services and know how to implement the appropriate methods and utilize the right tools to manage these challenges. Acknowledge the differences in all aspects of customer behavior in services and their managerial implications. 
• Comprehend the methods that can lead to the successful implementation of a customer focus in services. Ascertain the superiority of design thinking and its implications in customer value creation. Develop an appreciation of the necessary ingredients to achieve service excellence. Appraise the different mechanisms that can direct different service organizations to service excellence.
• Comprehend the centrality of the customer experience for services management. Demonstrate the ability to analyze the customer experience. Design customer journey maps, evaluate the customer experience, and integrate the findings into recommendations for service improvements.
• Apply the services blueprinting tool and examine the ways through which it enables the optimization of the service process management. Appreciate all the different actions and aspects involved in the service production and delivery process. Question the necessity of addition and/or elimination of steps in the service production and service delivery process. 
• Apply the environmental management perspective in services and appreciate the impact that all the environmental stimuli have on the emotions, cognitions, and behavior of customers and employees. Manage the multiplicity of elements comprising servicescapes and make optimal decisions in servicescape development.
• Demonstrate knowledge of the centrality of the role of people in services. Appraise the differences in priorities between front office and back office employees in services. Examine the use of internal marketing for human resource management purposes. Formulate optimal strategies for employees and customers management.

Course overview (syllabus):

The module aims to present valuation methods and discuss the most important instruments of modern money and capital markets. More specifically, the module discusses fixed income security markets, swap markets, future and option markets, and stock markets. Furthermore, important issues on the informational efficiency of these markets are critically evaluated along with theoretical inconsistencies and puzzles.

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of the course, students should be able to:

• Understand the functioning of modern international money and capital markets
• Understand and be able to price financial instruments such as stocks and bonds.
• Understand and be able to price derivative instruments such as interest and currency swaps, futures, and options.
• Understand the notion of market efficiency and the role of information in the pricing mechanism.
• Understand the reason behind financial innovations in modern money and capital markets

Course overview (syllabus):

The main objective of this course is to familiarize students with the mechanisms that determine the effectiveness of advertising and integrated marketing communications (IMC) both at a brand and at a corporate level. A balanced approach is adopted with a focus on both the theoretical and managerial aspects of advertising and IMC. The course emphasizes the close relationship between business strategy, marketing strategy and communication strategy. In addition to advertising, a range of other communication tools (e.g., sales promotion, personal selling, direct marketing, public relations, publicity, corporate advertising, digital and social media communication) are presented and their synergistic use is discussed. The process and issues surrounding the development of an IMC plan as well as the methods for assessing its effectiveness are analyzed. The challenges of advertising and IMC at a local and at an international level provide a central focus throughout the course.

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• To understand the nature of communication and the psychological and social processes involved. To apprehend the complexities and challenges of business communication and the need for integration.
• To understand, evaluate and effectively implement appropriate strategies and tactics in real life conditions. To apply the acquired knowledge in the planning and development of communication programs that serve business objectives, are aligned with the highest ethical standards and work for the benefit of all stakeholders.
• To implement their skills to successfully cooperate, organize and coach others within and outside the organization in the process of communication planning and implementation. To develop initiative and assume leading roles through sophisticated propositions and efficient task allocation and by providing inspiration to team members.
• To appraise a business situation, make use of proper data and make information-based strategic decisions. To develop novel, creative ways to communicate with customers and other stakeholders.
• To apprehend the complexity of communication both within an organization and with external audiences. To take a holistic approach and consider a variety of parameters when approaching a business situation.  To distinguish the different agents involved in the process and how they interact to shape the outcome of communication efforts.  To consider local and international factors.
• To increase their self- and other-awareness and improve their self- and other-management skills. To understand and apply standards of integrity and ethical conduct and to work for the benefit of the organization and other stakeholders.

Course overview (syllabus):

An executive MBA strives to develop the leadership and strategic competences of its students. The present course has at its core the strategic innovation (strategic/disruptive innovation). Undoubtedly in any sector of activity innovations occur. These often come from companies outside the boundaries of the industry/sector. For example in the banking industry we witness the Fintech revolution. Banking services are offered by technology companies (e.g. apple, google, Samsung), retail companies (e.g. Walmart) even automobile companies. Technology revolutionizes the retail industry, even the education industry. There exists no sector of activity where strategic innovations do not occur. They strive to change the rules of the game, often at the expense of incumbent companies. Efficient response by incumbents to strategic innovations is a matter of life or death. At the same time unexpected events as the covid-19 pandemic accelerate strategic innovations in any sector of activity.

Learning Outcomes

On successfully completing the course, students will:

• Understand how strategic innovators (who are usually startups or companies outside the industry) think in their attempt to change the rules of the game in a given industry? Understand the existing techniques/ways of thinking that can help innovators analyze the market and create strategic innovations (e.g. blue ocean strategy, who/what/how thinking). Given that empirical research shows that strategic innovators usually fail, understand the main factors which lead innovators to failure. Analyze and evaluate the main lessons that innovators can draw from empirical research in order to create and sustain long lasting innovations to the benefit of society and maximize their chances of success.
• Understand why incumbents usually ignore or even falsely react to strategic innovations and in many cases become pray. Analyze and evaluate the factors that prevent incumbents not only from responding but even from having a basic understanding of the threat that strategic innovations pose. Understand the role of stereotypes/mental models, organizational structures, values, capabilities and systems. Help incumbents evaluate the situation and create the best possible strategies to respond to strategic innovations. Understand how incumbents could create the strategic innovations in their own industries. Analyze and understand the leadership, organizational, systemic and other enablers to strategic innovations.
• Understand that even the most successful strategic innovation can be imitated/overcome. Students should understand, analyze and evaluate the enabling mechanisms that could help organizations transform themselves into learning organizations (i.e. organizations that learn by themselves and adapt to innovations before they have to). Ideally, we would like our organizations to become serial innovators and create the innovations of the future

Course overview (syllabus):

This elective course is addressed to Executive MBA students, who are interested in deepening their knowledge in HRM systems and processes and learn how to effectively carry out HR practices. We will take a fresh, critical look at people functions within the organization and we will discover more robust, precise and insightful ways to assess and build capability in a team, a unit or across an organization using HRM systems and tools. Moreover, students will learn how HR systems can help them deliver a more skilled, fulfilled and motivated workforce – one that is able to work in newly flexible ways, treated fairly and rewarded for their efforts. A key objective of this course is to show that HR management is a central and strategic organizational activity of increasing complexity and importance. More specifically, we will focus on the bundles of HRM systems organizations adopt with the objective of adding value to the organization through recruiting, retaining and motivating the human asset. These HRM systems include selection, learning and development, performance management, high performance work systems.

Learning outcomes

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• Develop an understanding on how HR strategies and systems can be aligned to the business context and organizational strategies  in order to be effective and add value to the organization.
• Effectively use the appropriate human resource practices by selecting, training and developing, assessing and rewarding employees in order to organize, inspire and guide employees, teams and business units to enhance long-term performance.
• Analyze and recognize the conditions that promote a high-performance work system and effectively participate in decisions concerning the human capital of the organization.
• Understand the fit among the different HR systems and how they form an effective bundle (internal fit), the fit among the HR systems and other organizational systems to support the organizational strategy (external fit), and the fit with the wider business and economic environment.
• Become acquainted with ethical standards and considerations that must be taken into account when managing human resources by promoting diversity, well-being, corporate responsibility and sustainability.

Course overview (syllabus):

Sales force management involves three interrelated activities: (1) the formulation of a strategic sales program, (2) the implementation of the sales program, and (3) the evaluation and control of sales performance. The purpose of this course is to provide an intensive review of activities in each of these domains. The course covers the three interrelated processes of sales force management in sequence. First, the course will provide an understanding of the “fit” between sales management and marketing and the formulation of the strategic sales program. Second, we turn our attention to implementation activities. Here, we will discuss topics such as salesperson performance, sales aptitude, recruiting personnel and the design of compensation systems. Finally, we address issues related to the evaluation, assessment, and control of sales management activities.

Learning outcomes

On successfully completing the course, students will be able to:

• Comprehend how the strategic sales program is related to the company’s strategic marketing planning.
• Know the three interrelated processes of a sales program.
• Design and organize an effective sales program.
• Implement successfully a sales program – hiring and training sales personnel, motivating salespeople and rewarding sales force.

Course overview (syllabus):

The objective of the course is to introduce basic concepts, principles, and methods related to the planning, design and operation of contemporary supply chains of companies and organizations. The course highlights the strategic role and importance of logistics and supply chain management along with the associated key and supporting business processes in companies and organizations. Particular emphasis is placed on the performance assessment and optimization of supply chain network design decisions, inventory and warehouse management, as well as distribution management. Furthermore, the course discusses the introduction of ICTs and emerging trends in Supply Chain Management (SCM) in the global business landscape.

Learning outcomes

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• plan, design and execute the primary and supporting SCM functions;
• decide on the appropriate type of supply chain operation, taking into account the characteristics of the products/services and their resulting requirements/constraints on supply chain operations;
• adopt a systemic and holistic approach (integrative supply chain management) with simultaneous consideration of strong interdependencies and cost trade-offs among interdependent business functions;
• apply the appropriate methods/tools and emerging technologies for the optimization of supply chain design and operation
• deploy measures and metrics for supply chain performance assessment.

Course overview (syllabus):

Managers are confronted by a rapidly changing competitive landscape. Abrupt changes such as globalization, deregulation, technology advances change the nature and rules of the game. Firms are continuously attempting to remain competitive in this turbulent context, either fighting to defend their competitive advantage or seeking to create new ones. A major strategy for these purposes is Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A). The sheer volume of deals now being transacted on a global basis, with record levels being recorded in 2020, shows how pervasive this phenomenon is. They have multi-level impacts affecting national economies, the structures of industries, how organizations compete or co-operate with the competition, how firms organize and re-organise internally and how individual teams and executives can achieve change. These multiple and substantial impacts mean M&A should be examined critically particularly as conventional wisdom suggests that the majority fail.
Traditionally M&A is taught as a finance topic or, if within strategy, from more of an economics perspective. It is the contention of the current module that any single disciplinary approach cannot capture the complexity of M&A, and this may go some way towards explaining why we still do not have adequate understanding of M&A and why so many are deemed to fail. To this end this module recognises the multi-disciplinary nature of M&A and emphasizes plurality of perspectives rather than narrow focus upon one perspective or another. In this way, the lens of strategic management is useful in providing coherence and integration across other key disciplines such as economics, finance, accounting, law, organisational behaviour and psychology.
The module will allow students to experience the full M&A process from strategic conception, through target analysis, negotiation, post acquisition integration and performance outcomes. Students will need to take into account all of these aspects in order to process complex data thoughtfully and creatively. They will need to be able to convince others of their analysis and recommendations, and in the process develop critical skills.
The module is designed to combine cutting edge M&A research with practical application through a mix of lectures, in-class case-study discussions, role–play, individual and group project. Whether you aspire to a career in industry, consulting, or the public sector it is highly likely you will be affected by M&A at some point and it will be invaluable to be able to look beyond the obvious and understand the implications of these major organizational changes

Learning outcomes

On successfully completing the course, students will:

• Understand major concepts of M&As and appreciate their practical implications
• Develop a deep understanding of the complex problems of M&A with regard to their transaction and post deal management
• Analyse M&A targets and make recommendations
• Understand how M&As can radically affect an organisation’s strategic positioning, capabilities, strategy development and strategic options
• Evaluate strategy methods (M&As, strategic alliances, organic development) using multiple sources of data in an analytical and rigorous way to develop sound strategic recommendations.

Course overview (syllabus):

This course aims to help students develop a broad knowledge and understanding of the asset management process and practice. The investment management industry is globally one of the largest and most complex industries, handling transactions in financial assets worth of trillions of dollars annually. The asset management industry plays an important role in the financial sector globally, by managing the investments of private and institutional clients.
Students will have the opportunity to understand practical issues that arise in managing client portfolios, either private or institutional. Main topics covered include the investment policy statement, applying portfolio theory in practice, portfolio risk management, performance measurement, asset allocation, security selection and professionally managed portfolios. The course has a very practical emphasis, and all methods are applied in a series of class exercises and cases.

Learning outcomes

On successfully completing the course, students will be able to:

• Have an advanced knowledge of portfolio management techniques and how those techniques can be put into practice.
• Be able to apply the main portfolio management techniques to real datasets of company share prices, and to give informed advice on the construction of portfolios.
• Critically evaluate financial assets in terms of attractiveness for portfolios of specific clients.
• Demonstrate the ability to value stocks using discounted cash flow methods.
• Appraise companies in terms of relative valuation controlling for differences arising from their risk profiles and growth patterns.

Course overview (syllabus):

This course introduces participants to the principles of Total Quality Management (TQM) and continuous improvement. Quality management can be the key to diversification and can become a strategic competitive advantage.
The topics covered during the course are: quality concepts, introduction to various standards and quality models, presentation of tools to improve quality and achieve excellence as well as key elements of cost of quality. There are also exercises and projects of TQM application not only on Organizational basis but also on personal level (personal quality)
The course gives focus on Leadership as a quality criterion leading to improvement and analyses in depth the role of Leaders in achieving quality and good performance results.
Moreover, the course is related to the following courses: Managerial and Leadership Theories and Skills, Organizational Behavior and HR, Management and Leadership of Changes and HR Systems, as they all include concepts and methods concerning concrete managerial and leadership skills which lead the way of Total Quality Management (TQM).

Learning outcomes

On successfully completing the course, students will be able to:

• Understand the necessity of applying quality programs
• Become familiar with the requirements of quality standards and the criteria of different quality models.
• Implement improvement initiatives themselves;
• identify ways of approaching quality by analyzing case studies and good practices for implementing Quality Tools and Systems.
• Apply Quality Tools and Methods on Personal Basis (Personal Quality)

Students will learn to prioritize quality problems and implement quality actions both on organization as well on personal basis. At the end of the course, participants will be familiar with the requirements of ISO 9001 as well as the principles and criteria of applying the EFQM model and the Model of the European Business Ethic Network (EBEN) based on Business Ethics, Corporate Social Responsibility and Corporate Governance. Moreover, they will understand the function of basic quality tools such as the QFD Deployment (House of quality) and the Six Sigma Methodology.

Course overview (syllabus):

Organizations operate and grow in a constantly changing environment. In order to survive, they need to be able to adapt to these changes and manage effectively the human resources by understanding their key role in organizational success. Modern managers need to constantly monitor the environment for changes and develop the skills to deal with them. The course is designed to equip students with tools and techniques to analyze the environment and manage changes effectively. The course will cover the fundamentals of change management theory, with a special emphasis on the role of human resources.

Learning outcomes

On successfully completing the course, students will be able to:

• plan and to implement organizational changes effectively
• gain people’s commitment and put them on board to implement changes
• consult effectively people and organizations
• manage and change organizational culture.

Course overview (syllabus):

Organizations operate and grow in a constantly changing environment. In order to survive, they need to be able to adapt to these changes and manage effectively the human resources understanding their key role in organizational success. Modern managers need to constantly monitor the environment for changes and develop the skills to deal with them. The course is designed to equip students with tools and techniques to analyze the environment and manage changes effectively. The course will cover the fundamentals of change management theory, with a special emphasis on the role of human resources.

Learning outcomes

After successfully completing the course, EMBA students will be able to:

• To plan and to implement organizational changes effectively
• To gain people’s commitment and put them on board to implement changes
• To consult effectively people and organizations
• To manage and change organizational culture

Course overview (syllabus):

The course aims at demonstrating the importance of financial statement analysis and relevant disclosures for rational decision making in the realm of business. It is designed for students with some knowledge of the basic financial accounting concepts and processes and focuses on cases studies of well-known internationally firms such as Aegean, Flybe, Honda, Thomas Cook and Carillion (the list is enriched or changed each year).
By employing a time series analysis of important financial ratios on performance, liquidity, capital structure and solvency, students make sense of how certain events and decisions affect the financial position of such organizations, strategies and operational decisions and develop a management mentality which will be based on an understanding of the fundamentals of corporate financial information.
Moreover, students learn how to delve into the organization’s financial statements, industry factors and wider economic factors and apply certain methodological analysis. The course enables participants to conduct analyses of complex and diverse financial organizational contexts, identify crucial financial indicators such as negative equity, excessive debt, inadequate liquidity, prolonged losses and so on in order to make rational investment decisions, future projections and consulting.

Learning outcomes

On successfully completing the course, students will be able to:

• assess business opportunities by relying on corporate information on the financial position, performance and liquidity of organizations. Most importantly they will develop a management mentality which will be based on understandings of the fundamentals of corporate financial information.
• organize, inspire and guide colleagues through persuasive, rational proposals and allocation of tasks on the basis of actual business information and sound corporate financial knowledge.
• conduct analyses of complex and diverse financial organizational contexts and make rational investment decisions and consultation. 
• delve into the organization’s financial statements, industry factors and wider economic factors and apply an internationally employed methodological analysis.
• become acquainted with standards of integrity and ethical conduct which underly professional life and social attitude and pave the way for corporate decision making for the benefit of a wide range of stakeholders.