MBA elective courses you can choose in South Africa
MBA elective courses are the icing on the cake for potential graduates. These modules are subject-matter specific and designed to streamline the career of the candidate in a focused manner.
For a South African MBA graduate, this is a big deal.
Why?
South Africa is tied at the top spot with Nigeria as the continent’s biggest economy even though the latter has about 200 million people compared with South Africa’s 58 million people.
To sustain, or even surpass that feat and grow the economy further, the country requires competent professionals to manage businesses and lead its industrial expansion. From mining to transportation, innovation, and manufacturing, such MBA graduates with industry-specific training are in high demand.
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What are the most lucrative and popular MBA Elective Courses?
- Business Ethics and Corporate Governance
The course deals with the values a company holds dear and defer to in its internal and external relations processes as it deals with its internal workforce, regulators, customers, the general public, among other stakeholders.
How the business goes about sourcing raw materials, selling finished products, or firing its staff (among other activities) all boils down to ethics. It speaks to morality, legality, and the ethical implications of the company’s decisions as it strives to make a profit.
Corporate Governance, on the other hand, refers to accountability. It holds that businesses must be accountable to societal considerations and wider ethical issues in its quest to achieve its set goals.
In effect, corporate governance is about compliance with the laws and regulations that guide the industry and country where it is operating – as well as global ethical concerns.
Put together, corporate governance and business ethics determine the culture of the organisation.
MBA candidates who wish to master Human Resources Management or want to work in the Legal and Civil Society sectors, among other related industries, would find this elective very useful.
- International Management
An increasingly borderless society and loosely defined national/regional jurisdictions mean businesses can operate in virtually every country in the world if they have the capacity to do so as well as the market to patronise their goods and services.
To achieve this, such a firm would require the services and expertise of a well-educated MBA graduate well-grounded in International Management procedures and practices.
The course teaches the intricacies of managing a business in other countries apart from the host country. It exposes the candidate to the complex web of seamless management and potential leadership challenges arising from cultural and societal differences.
This module deals with local customs and laws that guide the sector in the foreign country as well as regulations and best practices required.
Other areas include knowledge of international currencies, communication barriers, political and economic realities, among other related variables.
Thus, International Management is a crucial elective module for MBA-hopefuls working in multinationals and other business concerns with one or more branches outside their host country.
- Strategic IT Management
Keeping up with the rapid evolution in the digital space has undoubtedly become one of the biggest challenges for businesses as the world fully transitions into the 4th Industrial Revolution.
Acquiring a clear understanding of the demands, challenges, and opportunities new technologies bring along will help managers and business executives make better decisions that will, in turn, affect the customers, staff, and the planet positively.
Strategic IT Management assesses the effects technology-related concepts like 5G internet and information systems will have, or already have, in the context of the organisation. The course looks at the implications for competitiveness, productivity, innovation, cost and compliance.
This MBA elective is designed to equip and empower managers across different departments, no matter what the organisation sells.
So, whether you are in finance, HR, or project management, getting the right IT-related understanding from the Strategic IT Management module will make you a better decision-maker and a knowledgable team player since you will better understand how departments, programmes, and projects are integrated towards achieving organisational goals.
- Mergers and Acquisitions
While some businesses struggle to stay above board, others are aggressively expanding, planning to capture more of the customers in the market. The contradiction is real and seems to be the order of the day but also does provide many opportunities too.
Such struggles and desires to expand, among other related issues, are the basis for mergers and acquisitions that take place in the business environment around the world daily.
As a business leader or manager, getting a good grasp of these concepts and staying prepared are crucial to how you react when such opportunities or challenges surface.
The course covers techniques, tools, and tactics managers need to have to situate themselves in the right position to handle a successful merger or acquisition process.
Also, due diligence, the complex business environmental factors, the role of culture, entry and exit strategies, and the importance of synergy in the process are discussed.
Whether it’s a startup, legacy business outfit, or conglomerates, the contents of the course conveniently covers all the angles and as such, make the outcomes relevant in any business environment or country.
Other electives you can choose
- Strategic Performance Management
- Strategic Project Management
- Organisational Development and Change
- Sales Management
- Mentoring and Coaching
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Where to next?
The future is indeed exciting and getting an MBA is a key to unlocking that future. Learning from – and passing the formative and summative tests – of any of these two MBA electives, plus the ten core modules, as well as the submission of a mini-dissertation, is all you need to get that much-desired qualification.
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