The principles of economics and their application to business. Consumer behaviour creates a market demand. Profit maximisation drives industry to supply the market. Together, these factors and the action of government, determines the market price. Within markets, firms have to allocate scarce resources, accommodate risk and handle uncertainty. This course in business economics will show you how markets work, the importance and influence of macro-economic policy and the influence international trade agreements will have on your business.

Knowledge is power. The Information Technology revolution is giving this power to more and more people - if only they new how to use it. We are increasingly faced with a stark choice. Either we learn to use this information or it will use us. This course will show you how to use information. The concept of "management by information" is fully explained to show how information systems control businesses. New developments in the area of information technology will be introduced. You will also be given the skills to design an information system for your organizastion. You will need access to a computer.

Effective marketing is central to any modern business strategy. This course will show the contribution marketing strategy and effective marketing management, can make to a customer orientated business. You will introduced to all the components of the marketing mix and shown how they are woven together within a marketing plan to achieve marketing objectives. Every encouragement will be given to bring to the course your own experiences of marketing and your own products and services as case study material. Market research and new product development techniques are reviewed and used within the course in support of a hypothetical product launch.. Various market entry strategies for Czech and other markets, are considered. The course ends with a consideration of international marketing issues.

Management need to understand and control finance. This course will explain financial management techniques and give you the ability to construct, interpret and analyse management accounts. Accounting practices in both the Czech Republic and the European Union, will be fully explained. You will master investment appraisal and become skilled in project appraisal and selection. The course will review sources of finance available to firms operating in Czech Republic and elsewhere and show how these funds can be utilised to support project implementation. The financial control systems required within any project, firm or institution will be highlighted and various computer and paper-based systems explained. Corporate finance and risk management strategies will be explored. The capital structure of firms is described and dividend policies explained.

This course starts by considering corporate strategy selection and implementation. Important issues covered here include the business environment, your position within this environment and your selection of corporate business objectives, essentially your mission. Techniques used to help find your position and appropriate business strategies include SWOT analysis and the various ideas that have emerged from such places as the Boston Business School. From corporate management we move to the management of human resources - the workforce, the most important resource within any organisation. The management and development of people is critically important. Issues of motivation, communication and teamwork are identified and the importance of leadership emphasised. Leadership skills will be developed throughout the course in a wide variety of ways. While the successful completion of this MBA will depend upon your own individual motivation, application and effort, tasks can be made easier with cohesive team activity. Teams need leadership. You will be encouraged to take your turn in team management and leadership. Covered elsewhere in this course will be recruitment and selection policies, as well as labour law as it applies in the Czech Republic and the European Union.

The main focus of all your work will be the application of sound business management principles in the international Agribusiness sector. This course will explain the structure of this sector - the food chain, and identify the various forces that impact on it forcing change. The nature of these changes will be explored once you have obtained a good understanding of business conduct within the sector and the performance of the various industrial groupings that make up the sector. Issues to be addressed within this course include price formation and price setting strategies, the degree of competition and how this is pursued, contractual arrangements and contract law concerning food safety, packaging and environmental protection. Performance indicators will be analysed to show the relative position of companies using published data sources. Here the experience of the international teaching team will allow international comparisons of performance to be made.

To complete your MBA you will be required to submit and have accepted a report on some aspect of Agribusiness management. This report, likely to be of around 15,000 - 20,000 words, will give you the opportunity to apply the knowledge and ideas you will have acquired within core courses, to a topic of your choice. We would expect you to choose a topic relevant to your business or employer. You may, however, use this opportunity to explore a new business opportunity or management concept. All projects will be assigned a supervisor to guide students through their project.

The project will be supported by two weekends of supervision within which the MBA class will be able to critique individual projects as they are prepared.

Students, successfully completing the six core courses within a maximum period of five years, will be awarded this MBA on acceptance of the management project by the International MBA Board. An annual round of awards will be made in May by FEM CUAP. Some allowance will be made for a late submission of project reports in special circumstances, at the discretion of the board.