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MBA in Design Management

EU Business School Barcelona, Spain
MBA in Design Management
Next enrollment cycle March 2024 See all cycles
Total Cost KES 3,589,460
Course Accredited By IACBE
1 Years On Campus Postgraduate Degree

Companies now have more options than ever to promote their products and brands. Practical knowledge of design, current trends and how they affect corporate practices is quickly becoming a key component of running a successful organization. Through this program, students will develop their creative thinking skills and gain a general understanding of design history and esthetics while learning how to best apply them to business and productive management practices.

  • Design is a ubiquitous discipline that extends into every sector. During this program, students will gain understanding of design history and esthetics as well as photography, graphic design and corporate identity. The curriculum also offers students a solid foundation in business to provide them with a global understanding and knowledge base of companies and their operations.

Enrollment Cycles

  • March 2024
  • October 2024
  • January 2025

Entry Requirements

  • certified copy of bachelor's degree and transcripts
  • Proof of English level: TOEFL score 89 (internet-based), 233 (computer-based); IELTS 6.5; CAE C1 with a minimum score of 176; PTE score 59; English native or equivalent
  • Candidates who wish to apply for the MBA dual qualification with University of Roehampton in London, U.K., in Switzerland and Barcelona or for the MBA program in Munich, must have 2 years of professional work experience in addition to the requirements listed above.

Applicants must also meet one of the following:

  • A GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale
  • A satisfactory score on the GMAT or GRE
  • An interview with the academic dean
  •  Students not meeting these criteria will have an interview with the admission committee and will be considered on a merit basis. For more information, please contact the admissions department of your chosen campus.

The MBA in Design Management (90 ECTS) is a one-year, three-term degree. Students complete five to six course modules per term which are combined with seminars, company visits, guest speaker sessions and case studies among others. In order to graduate, students must complete a management research methods module and a dissertation. This program is also available as a two-year, six-term, part-time degree.

YEAR 1

TERM 1
(18 CH | 23 ECTS)

Transformational Management & Leadership

This course introduces the knowledge framework of management and how it differs from leadership. It examines in depth the management of processes and management functions, including organizational processes such as planning, organizing, leading, and controlling. Transformational leadership is essential in the fast-paced changing environment and students will analyze the four key elements: idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation and individual consideration.

3 CH | 4 ECTS

Organizational Behavior

An analysis of organizational behavior in the context of contemporary business, both locally and globally, is presented during this course. Students will review factors affecting the behavior of individuals and groups within organizations and how organizations affect their internal culture and respond to their environments. The course will be broadly divided into three parts: (a) individuals in organizations, (b) group or team processes, and (c) organizational processes. Students will also be asked to consider current challenges for managers, such as the impact of today's rapidly changing socio-cultural environment, globalization, evolving technology and shifting employment relationships.

3 CH | 4 ECTS

Financial Reporting & Analysis

An understanding of financial and management accounting fundamentals for managers, stockholders, financial analysts and creditors and other professionals. The first part of the course focuses on financial accounting by understanding how economic events like operating activities, corporate investments and financing transactions are recorded in financial statements (i.e., income statements, balance sheets and statements of cash flow). The second part provides both a framework and the essential tools for analyzing financial statements. The third part examines management accounting from the perspective of a decision-maker to help students develop a framework for understanding managerial reports.

3 CH | 4 ECTS

Marketing in a Digital World

The course focuses on the shift of power toward the customer and on creating and capturing customer value and trust. The course also dives into understanding new customers – Gen Y and Gen Z, which are the current and next frontiers for marketers. It demonstrates how to connect with customers and discover their wants and needs, as well as examining methods for identifying new customers, market segments and target groups and for successfully communicating a product’s value proposition.

3 CH | 4 ECTS

Data Analysis for Managers

This course is designed to introduce the essential quantitative methods for analyzing business situations, making business decisions and finding optimal data- based management solutions. In this course, students will acquire a greater comprehension of the importance of the business analytical approach, particularly when dealing with complex contexts, thus minimizing risk and uncertainty. Students will explore the most important theories and practical applications of data mining, data assembly and data assessment. This course will encourage students to examine different cases critically emphasizing the role of data in drawing conclusions.

3 CH | 4 ECTS

Negotiation

The seminar focuses on the need for negotiation skills, which arises whenever joint decision making is necessary. It develops student confidence in their negotiation skills, abilities, and enables them to become better decision-makers with clear goals and objectives. A unique element of the seminar is that students experience the interaction of need, compromise, and fear-based negotiations, focusing on the possibility of losing the deal. This seminar also offers an opportunity to discover and experiment with different techniques that help lead to the desired outcomes and clearer decisions.

1 CH | 1 ECTS

Consulting Lab

This seminar provides a unique opportunity for the student to learn-by-doing with a real business or institution, solving real problems. Students will work in teams on a project operating much like a consultancy firm. Using a consultative approach, students will be facing decision-making situations, and learn how to successfully present the consultancy project to the clients.

1 CH | 1 ECTS

Crafting Your Future

This two-part personal and professional development program prepares MBA students for becoming next generation leaders. Each session involves different learning methods, spanning both theoretical and experiential learning, and includes self-assessment tools, self-awareness techniques, role-playing, peer-interviewing, journaling, meditation and goal-setting, among others. Students will find their purpose and meaning during their EU journey, hone their emotional and social intelligence skills, and determine their career anchors and occupational types.

1 CH | 1 ECTS

TERM 2
(21 CH | 27 ECTS)

Corporate Finance

This course covers the source, uses and management of corporate finance. Students learn to analyze and create alternative investment projects and to prepare corresponding budgets. Topics include the managerial approach to financial analysis, budgeting, planning and control, the management of working capital, long-term assets and long-term financing.

3 CH | 4 ECTS

People & Talent Management

This course analyses the micro-functions of human resources management and explores its importance in developing, motivating and retaining employees. Students will learn about recruitment and talent acquisition, training, mentoring and promotion, appraisal, fair compensation, conflict resolution and legal issues. The 21st century brings new challenges to the field of Human Resources (HR), owing to changing employee–employer relationships and changing employee expectations. Throughout the course students are encouraged to consider the moral and ethical dimensions of HRM decisions, which can affect stakeholders and the organization’s reputation.

3 CH | 4 ECTS

Global Economics

International managers in industry and organizations need a comprehensive understanding of how economic, environmental, social and political change impact their work and decision making. This course examines basic economic principles used in managerial situations. Topics include: global interdependence and the benefits of trade; market forces of supply and demand; supply, demand and government policies; measuring a nation’s income and cost of living; production and growth; savings, investment and the financial systems; unemployment; the monetary system; and money and inflation.

3 CH | 4 ECTS

Strategy & Decision Making

The strategic positioning of an organization is instrumental to its success. Having a clear vision and mission that runs throughout the organization is key to both internal and external branding. To optimize the overall performance of a firm or a business unit within a firm, students learn to identify and analyze the drivers of performance and identify external changes that may affect optimal results. This course reviews the main concepts, methods and tools used in formulating strategies and implementing processes.

3 CH | 4 ECTS

Information Systems & Technology

This course provides a comprehensive overview of the functions, costs, and implications inherent in the use of Information Systems and technology today. Students explore how companies make the most of their investment for managing and tracking data as well as communicating both internally and externally at a time when global issues have led to rapid, unprecedented change, forcing companies and individuals to adapt to professional work conditions via an ever-increasing reliance on computer systems and technologies.

3 CH | 4 ECTS

Communication for Success

This seminar focuses on effective oral and written communication in a business setting. Emphasis is placed key principles that will enhance communication and effectiveness, as well as the development of skills and attitudes appropriate for business communication, especially in public speaking.

1 CH | 1 ECTS

Legal Issues & Business Ethics

As businesses are increasingly required to adapt their strategies to meet ethical standards, a sound understanding of the legal complexities of such issues is essential. Businesses today must embrace a plethora of ethical issues and practices or risk expensive litigation or damage to their reputations. This short seminar introduces the concept of ethics and the growing demands made on businesses. Then it enumerates some issues where law and ethics intersect in business issues, such as the concept of stakeholder capitalism; IPR and access to medicines; and data protection and privacy. Finally, the course discusses a few case study examples that highlight the issue.

1 CH | 1 ECTS

Crafting Your Future

This two-part personal and professional development program prepares MBA students for becoming next generation leaders. Each session involves different learning methods, spanning both theoretical and experiential learning, and includes self-assessment tools, self-awareness techniques, role-playing, peer-interviewing, journaling, meditation and goal-setting, among others. Students will find their purpose and meaning during their EU journey, hone their emotional and social intelligence skills, and determine their career anchors and occupational types.

1 CH | 1 ECTS

Business Strategy Simulation

The effective manager must understand a wide range of technical and social relationships and be able to integrate them within the cost, performance and time constraints of her/his area of responsibility. A computer-based management simulation (CAPSTONE Business Simulation) is created, which allows the student to test alternative actions of an operating business in a competitive environment without incurring costs or the risk of implementing them in a real setting. The simulation is played over several time periods.

3 CH | 4 ECTS

TERM 3
(15 CH | 20 ECTS)

Introduction to the World of Design

Students will develop an understanding of the various forms of contemporary design, an appreciation for the increasingly important role it plays in our lives and a critical approach to its impact on our environment. It emphasizes their design themes throughout history and implications on management. Designers and international business leaders share their experience, discussing the added value of design in a company’s communications, product promotion and strategic vision.

3 CH | 4 ECTS

Luxury & Design

Luxury strategy from product to selling ceremony, based on specific examples from luxury companies. The meaning of a 'luxury strategy' is addressed to differentiate between the management luxury and non-luxury brands. Luxury marketing is often seen as the opposite of Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) marketing. In the context of creating luxury, the importance of design will be presented as a component of this strategy: design should always be accompanied by a complete global strategy to turn a product into a luxury product.

3 CH | 4 ECTS

Architecture & Hotel Design

Rulers, wealthy institutions and private individuals have used buildings to demonstrate status and power throughout history. Today, architecture and design increasingly have a commercial objective. Students will learn established theories in the area and consider strategies for growth based on the use of architecture and design. Students are also introduced to development strategies in architectural design, focusing on hotel design, planning, construction, management and facilities. Students will also learn how cities, towns, etc., can develop their identity and appeal through architecture and design.

3 CH | 4 ECTS

Graphic Design & Corporate Identity

Students come to understand branding and identities of corporations, businesses and organizations by learning to analyze and evaluate brand identities. Students also learn not only how brand identities are created and how various design features affect this identity, but also how the performance of a brand evolves. The course does not aim to turn students into designers, but rather prepares them for leading, or participating in, brand creation processes in managerial positions.

3 CH | 4 ECTS

Photography & Management

The course focuses on understanding the different areas in business and design where photography plays in important role. Students learn about photography workflows and the application of images into the marketing and communication plan of businesses, multinational companies, as well as NGOs and non-profit organizations. The aim is to define the language of photography in support of a brand's strategic position or development. Visual language is both technical and conceptual, and it provides an identity which business and NGO leaders can use to influence their chosen audiences. This course thus introduces students to tools and methods by which managers decide on the use of photographic images – still or moving – to favor their chosen communication strategy.

3 CH | 4 ECTS

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