The MBA degree is a widely recognised brand that symbolises high quality leadership and management training. MBA itself is a acronym for ‘Master of Business & Administration’ and is a internationally recognised business and management qualification. Its a popular degree course that carries a lot of prestige and can lead to better pay and career opportunities for those who hold it. The MBA programme is highly sought after by students, job seekers, employed professionals and entrepreneurs, all of whom want to gain an edge in the business world by learning specialist skills.

Most students on part time MBA courses are working professionals from a diverse array of industries, cultures and skilled backgrounds. They all however have one thing in common and that is a desire to deepen their knowledge and understanding of the scientific approaches to business and management processes.

This page aims to give you all the information that you need about short study MBA courses in London. Thereby enabling you to firstly make a more informed choice about where to study and secondly to be prepared for what to expect on a course.

What will you learn on a MBA course

Courses involve rigorous training, assignments, reports, presentations, and group projects all of which are aimed at giving students the necessary abilities needed to successfully handle real-life business situations. Although there are many subjects to choose from the core topics will be;

  • Corporate finance
  • Management & leadership
  • Financial Accounting
  • Marketing strategies

The benefits of having a MBA
Apart from becoming more aware of your strengths, weaknesses and achievements, there are many other long term benefits to making a commitment to and taking on the challenge of a MBA course. Listed below are the main reasons why this programme has always been a popular choice for ambitious professionals and entrepreneurs.

Improve your career prospects
If you work for a large corporation, are stuck in a stagnant career and want to move on then having a prestigious MBA under your belt is a excellent way to break the mould and gain that promotion you’ve always wanted.

For entry level job seekers it can help get you past the application stage and to the interview by making you stand out from other applicants. This is particularly true if you are applying for managerial or leadership positions, indeed for some company’s it is a requirement for anyone seeking a senior management role.

Become part of a select group of people
As one of the most coveted post graduate degrees it can propel you into a elite club of professionals.

Networking and making contacts
The course is a excellent place to network and make contacts with your like minded classmates, many of whom will go on to become successful managers in various industries. Personal friendships formed with other undergraduates on a part time MBA course can prove to be invaluable in the future.

Earn more
It has been proven to make a significant impact on a individuals earning potential, mainly because employers will recognize your increased skill level and potential to propel their company in the right direction. Surveys have repeatedly shown that many graduates who have obtained a MBA are more likely to be earning above average wages over the course of their working life.

Learn more useful and practical skills
In a world where industries change swiftly and business practices transform overnight it is vital to keep your mind fresh and gain new perspective on business related matters. A part time MBA course will do this as well as also teach you about the hard and soft skills which are critical for effective management. The hard skills will concentrate on subjects like basic economics, finance, marketing, operations, management, and accounting. While the soft skills will focus on areas like leadership, teamwork, ethics, and communication.

Decision making
Discover techniques that will show you how to make timely, well considered and better decisions. A logical, organised and systematic decision making process will help you to map out the likely consequences of any actions you take, balance different factors, and choose the best way forward to proceed in any tough business situations you encounter. You will learn how to;

  • Establish your objective or desired outcome.
  • Identify important factors.
  • Identify key people to involve.
  • Analyse the risks and implications of each course of action.
  • Explore the opinions of other interested parties.
  • Organise brainstorming sessions to come up with good alternatives.
  • Explore in detail the alternatives and come up with a solution that matches your objective.
  • Think through the consequences of any action.
  • Take action.

Association of MBAs
The UK based Association of MBAs (AMBA) provides accreditation for the programmes and also regulates universities and business schools which teach MBA programs. The AMBA is also a professional membership association for students and academic institutions which run MBA degree courses, there are currently over 9000 members from 88 countries.

MBA Business terminology

Balance sheet
This is one of the most important parts of a company’s accounts as it summarises and provides a snapshot of a business’s assets, liabilities and financial commitments at a given point in time. All of the information included in it is useful to investors, creditors or shareholders who want to assess the worth of a business or its performance.

It will give detailed information on what a company owes to its creditors in the form of overdrafts and loans, however it will not show the day-to-day transactions of a business or its current profitability. To get a clear and accurate picture of a business’s financial position a balance sheet must be looked at alongside its Profit & Loss accounts. What a balance will disclose is the solvency of a business, the proprietary interest of a owner and the amount of capital being employed. It can also help in the comparison of assets and liabilities of the business on two separate dates so as to ascertain what progress has being made.

Having a strong balance sheet can show good credit worthiness and go a long way towards helping a company borrow money or raising funds from banks or investors.

In the UK it is a legal requirement for Limited company’s and limited liability partnerships to produce a balance sheet as part of their annual accounts. A balance sheet will show;

  • Fixed assets
  • Current assets
  • Tangible assets
  • Intangible assets
  • Property
  • Plant & equipment
  • Investments
  • Receivables
  • Cash in hand and at the bank
  • Money owed by customers
  • Liabilities
  • Goodwill
  • Intellectual property rights
  • Tax
  • Long term debt
  • Equity
  • Share capital
  • Stock

Liquid assets
These are assets that a individual or business may own and which can be converted into cash quickly. Liquid assets are regarded by many business people as being very similar to cash because firstly their prices are relatively stable when they are sold on the open market, secondly they are items of value that are readily available and thirdly they can be easily converted to cash without any great monetary loss. Examples of liquid assets are stocks, shares and government bonds. Houses, cars and pieces of art are not considered liquid assets because they are more difficult to value, take a long time to sell, and on many occasions the price at which they are sold at is markedly less than the value at which they were bought.

 Net profit
Commonly referred to as the ‘bottom line’, it is the ultimate measure of profitability for a company. It is also known as net income or net earnings and is calculated by subtracting a business’s total expenses from its total revenue, thereby showing what the company has earned (or lost) over a given period. In the UK a company’s net profit can be found on its Profit & Loss accounts. If you’ve ever wondered why its called the ‘bottom line’ its because it is very often listed at the bottom of a Profit & Loss statement.

Net profit = Sales revenue – Total costs

Overheads
Refers to the expenses involved in running a business operation. The term is used to group together variable and indirect costs such as legal fees, advertising costs, insurance, travel costs, rent and utility bills etc. Also called ‘indirect costs’ or ‘operating expenses’, they do not include direct costs such as raw materials, stock and labour expenditure.  They are those expenses which are incurred in the running of the business but which are not directly associated with a specific job.

Turnover
The amount of services or products sold by a company during a particular period of time. The simplest way to calculate a company’s turnover is to total up all the sales it made during a year. Having said that, in some industries there are complex accounting guidelines which may preclude certain sales to be recognized as such. Turnover is normally listed in a company’s Profit & Loss accounts. It is fair to say that strong sales can mean a high turnover, which can demonstrate a healthy business.

Business administration
This is part of the process of managing a business and is essential to the effective organising, controlling, directing and utilising of resources and people. In most businesses there is usually a dedicated team of administrators who handle the day-to-day administrative tasks in an office and make sure things run smoothly. Without these administrative staff information would be hard to find, meetings would be missed and businesses would be less productive. Business administration encompasses all aspects of operations including its financial, staffing, marketing and planning aspects. It covers anything to do with the monitoring and reporting of a company’s activities.

Capital
This is the accumulated amount of cash and other assets owned by a business. It can include accounts receivable, equipment and any land/buildings owned by the business. In simple business terms it means the cash in the bank, less any money owed.

Equity
In basic accounting terms equity is total assets owned minus total liabilities. In finance terms it can mean the share capital that has been invested in a business. The actual word Equity is derived from the Latin word ‘Aequitas’, which is generally taken to mean fairness.

 

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