Educational philosophy

The Maritime MBA educational philosophy is based upon the concept of interactive processes enabling participants and teachers to share their experience and best practices while putting them in perspective with the state of the art in maritime and management theory.

According to the contents and modules the pedagogical method implies:

• face to face lessons
• case studies
•  team working
• conferences
• conducted discussions
  
• personal presentations
• workshops

Before the opening of the programme (optional ) and between the nine one-week sessions, at six weeks intervals,  the Maritime MBA participants will be provided with distance learning tools in order to progress at a pace that corresponds with each individual’s  possibility and at the same time maintaining a permanent link with Euromed Management  teaching community.

These tools include:

• Cyberlibris: an electronic library with 6 000 publications
• E-learning tools: a Knowledge Management System consisting in the principal management concepts
• Virtual campus and discussion platforms
  

Programme Overview

The Maritime MBA is a one year part-time academic programme which consists of six building blocks, taught in 9 modules of one week. The six headings of the building blocks are: the maritime industry in a global perspective, maritime competences, management skills, leadership, culture and vision, and strategy thesis project.

Management courses

A substantial knoledge in Management is required to take best of the Maritime MBA and guarantee a common language and culture among the students.

4 basis management courses are provided to the students as an optional programme to be taken by distance learning: Strategy, Marketing, Finance end Human Resources

The students will choose the modules of courses in the domains they needto improve.

The school will organise individual assessment and the teaching staff of Euromed Management will provide individual coaching.

• Global Perspective
• Maritime Competences
  
• Management Skills
  
• Leadership
  
• Culture and Vision
  
• Strategy Thesis Project
  

Module I:    The maritime industry in a global perspective
week 37 -2008

• Shipping markets and international trade
• Maritime and port economics
• Global logistics and supply-chain management
• Maritime clusters and open business models
• Team building programme     
  

Module II:    Management skills (1)
week 43 -2008

• Finance and investments, risk management
  
• Corporate strategy and maritime business cases 
  
• Organisation, human resources, business skills training
  
• Maritime Value chain analysis and management     
  

Module III:    Maritime Core Competences (1)
week 49 -2008

Marine technology and shipping innovation
Maritime operations and fleet management
Maritime information and communication  technology
Maritime institutional framework, maritime law and insurance.

Module VI:    Management skills (2)
week 3 -2009 week 4 -2009

• Accounting, investment analysis and ship finance
• Maritime market analysis and B-B marketing
• System modelling and decision support systems
• Personal creativity, the innovative organisation, managing strategic change
• Corporate problem analysis and opportunity search; Introduction to the Strategy Thesis Project (STP)
• Company visits and strategic discussions: business trip from Saturday week 3 to Tuesday week 4    
  

Module V:    Leadership (1)
week 9 -2009

• Team dynamics and conflit management
• Leadership, personal development and interpersonal communication
  
• Trust and leadership
• Negociation, time management, reporting      
  

Module VI:    Maritime Core Competences (2)
week 15 -2009

• Maritime economics and port competition
• Structured finance and derivatives in the maritime industry
• Maritime procurement and contracts; E- Commerce and E-Business models
• Global sourcing of ships, marine equipment, labour and supplies
• Life cycle management and sustainability in shipping      

  Module VII:    Culture and Vision
week 21 -2009

• Geopolitics, strategic resource supply and its impact on maritime markets
• Global economic growth, social development and politics
• From Maritime History to the Global Village: cultures and civilisations
• Managing multi-cultural and global organisations, and maritime personnel
• Ethics and corporate governance; managing maritime liabilities      
  

Module VIII:    Leadership (2) and Strategy
week 27 -2009

• Corporate strategy in the maritime industry
• Creating the future and surviving the present
• Creating the strategy team and structuring the business plan
• Implementing the strategic and business plan within the organisation
• Presentation of individual Strategy Thesis Projects     
  

Module IX:    Strategy Thesis Project

• Deadline for submission of first draft of the STP’s: week 34 - 2009
• Final STP presentation and examination: week 39 - 2009    
  

Graduation
week 46 -2009

• Marseille Maritime Conference
• Graduation Ceremony
• Advisor Board Meeting
  
• Corporate Network Meeting   
  

Description of the Modules

The Maritime Industry in a Global Perspective

Module I
The maritime industry is the critical enabler of international trade and thereby of the global economy. Understanding the structure of the maritime industry and its intimate relationship with trade and economy is a prerequisite to understand the drivers of the maritime markets. In this first module the focus is on four themes: shipping markets and international trade, maritime and port economics, global logistics and supply chain management, maritime clusters and business models.
The other modules will be introduced, as well as the course work method and examinations.
Apart from that, during the evening sessions, a team building programme will take place, supplemented by special group events.

Maritime Core Competences

Module III
The Maritime MBA assumes a basic knowledge of the maritime industry, either based on prior academic learning, or through extensive work experience. In this module, the fundamentals of the maritime professions will be revisited.
These include the basics of marine technology (ship design) and shipping innovation, maritime operations and fleet management, maritime information and communication technology, and the maritime global institutional framework, including an introduction to maritime law and the various types of insurance.

Module VI
The second module on Maritime Core Competences deepens the understanding of maritime economics and explores a fundamental approach to port competition. The use of structured finance and derivatives in the maritime industry builds on the finance lectures within the Management Skills modules (modules II and IV).
Maritime procurement and contracts, as well as E-commerce and E-business, precede the subjects of global sourcing of ships, marine equipment, crews and supplies.
This module is concluded with life cycle management of ships and the way forward towards sustainable and safe ships, ship operations and maritime innovation.

Management Skills

Module II
The maritime industry is capital intensive and ships have a long life of over 25 years. Investment and finance decisions, as well as risk management are therefore crucial subjects within a maritime company. The module teaches the basic theory and tools and their applications. Investing in new ships and markets should be based on formal or informal strategic analysis.
Corporate strategy concepts are explored and business cases are discussed from within the maritime industry. The maritime industry operates on a global basis which places special demands on the organisation, human resources management and business skills and these subjects are therefore part of the programme.
The module is concluded with the methodology of analysis of the maritime value chain and how to manage specific parts of the chain.

Module IV
The second Management Skills module starts with basic accounting theory and applications, investment analysis and ship finance. The maritime markets are often specialised and require a different approach to market analysis and business-to-business marketing. The analogy with other capital goods sectors (i.e. aeronautics)
is presented as well as advanced simulation tools and other decision support systems in the maritime industry.
Management skills draw upon a basic level of personal creativity and problem solving capability. How to become aware of one’s own creative potential is part of this module.
How to create the innovative organisation (i.e. open business models) and how to manage strategic change and the resistance to change are essential topics.
At the end of the module the Strategy Thesis Project is introduced as students have to start early with a corporate problem analysis or opportunity search in order to find a subject for their graduation thesis project.

Leadership

Module V
The Maritime MBA programme is not only about academic teaching, but also about the more specific human qualifications, in particular elements of personal and corporate leadership. To this end two modules have been included in which the participants discuss and experience team dynamics and conflict management, leadership, personal development and interpersonal communication, and the importance of trust.
Besides, practical subjects like negotiation skills, time management and effective reporting conclude this module.

Module VIII
Leadership in the maritime world is about setting the course of the organisation. But “if you do not know where you are, you do not know where you are going to” this requires a thorough understanding of the current SWOT of the company. Corporate strategy is revisited from the perspective of personal leadership, while the inputs from other modules is used to “create the future” of the company, but at the same to stay with two feet firm on ground in order to survive in the challenging maritime markets of today.
Creating a balanced and diversified team for a strategic plan exercise, and the structuring of business plans are other building blocks for a high-level maritime executive’s position.
Implementing the strategic and business plans require special attention as well.

Culture and Vision

Module VII
The history of the world is determined by many forces, among which the struggle for scarce resources like food (grain), water, oil, ores, and so on. International politics is often determined by these so-called geopolitics, which have an important impact on global resources and maritime markets.
Global economic growth is not evenly spread around the world, which leads to differing levels of economic, social and cultural development and consequently to political tensions. The differences in factor costs result in comparative advantages which stimulates the division of labour around the globe. The end result is often increased levels of trade, maritime transport, but also of labour mobility.  The maritime industry is and has been for thousands of years the most international sector of the economy and is therefore used to dealing with multi-cultural organisations and working in the various civilisations of the world. Managing this colourful fabric of professional human beings is one of the challenges that an executive is faced with. How to deal with these aspects and the differences in ethics and corporate governance is also part of the module.
 
Strategy Thesis Project

Module IX
“The proof of the pudding is in the eating” would be an apt paraphrase of the Strategy Thesis Project. The student has to write a thesis in which contents taught in the Maritime MBA are integrated into a logical whole. The student is invited to select a topic for the thesis within his parent organisation. If required, course management will assist the student in this process. The selection of a topic starts early in the year in order to have the time to do a comprehensive thesis project. The Strategy Thesis Project will form the basis of the final oral graduation examination.