Master of Business Administration

In today’s volatile environment, where the pace of change is quickening, organisations that successfully manage strategic projects save more money and are positioned to outperform their competitors.

Since organisations now operate in a much more dynamic environment than they did in the past, change management is a topic we discuss frequently.

This module’s goal is to give students the skills they need to analyse the competitive environment, identify their organisation’s strategic capabilities, and formulate effective business strategies in a changing environment.

Managerial Economics teaches students how to apply economic theory and methods to commercial and administrative decision-making.

Additionally, it explains the financial effects of managerial behaviour and aids managers in understanding how economic forces impact organisations.

This module combines traditional economics and theory, decision sciences, and business practices to develop vital tools and skills for effective managerial decision-making and forward planning.

Every organisation needs specific marketing goals, and strategy will play a key role in determining how to get there. Therefore, it is crucial to understand the distinction between strategy and tactics.

This module aims to help students comprehend how marketing management adds value to an organisation by exploring the fundamental ideas behind the marketing idea and emphasising its core principles.

Over the last four decades, the world has experienced multifaceted and revolutionary change. A shift is taking place from the traditional, largely bipolar, to multipolar world order.

Economics and politics are closely linked in all countries. As such, the challenges and complexities of organisations can’t be separated from more significant global trends and developments.

Organisations function in a globalised world with interconnected economies and civilisations. Furthermore, countries are connected through their business economic systems in international trade and competition.

This module focuses on the study of international political economy, identifies current databases, and summarises major analytical frameworks so that students have a thorough understanding of the relationship between economics and politics.

In order to compete, survive, and prosper in this competitive global economy, managers must always look for ways to improve organisational performance and human skills.

One of the main differences between success and failure in any organisation is how its leadership uses its human capital resources to take advantage of strategic opportunities.

In the context of a legal framework and a dynamic organisational environment, this module describes the task and scope of human resources management. It also offers a critical analysis of the leadership phenomena.

The media has been flooded with stories about global and local governance failures, which have lowered public trust in the free market system.

The sheer scale and complexity of business make it challenging to comprehend all the possible issues that exist for organisations that appear to be successful. Complications are increased by globalisation and the widespread use of technology. Additionally, it is recognised that human activity affects the environment and ecosystems.

This module covers governance, sustainable development, and globalisation topics that managers need to know and be aware of to adjust and enhance their business processes.

Operations Management (OM) is the management of resources and activities that produce and deliver goods and services to customers.

With the increased market share, the ability to respond to customer and market requirements swiftly, at a low cost, and with high quality has become vital in gaining a competitive advantage and attaining higher profitability.

Thus, operations need to be managed efficiently. This module focuses on the concepts, issues, and techniques for practical value chain activities and functions.

This module aims to equip students with the skills necessary to make strategic financial decisions as part of the financial management.

It will allow students to build practical skills for budgeting, cash flow analysis, analysing organisational expenses, and making short- and long-term investment decisions.

Students that study accounting and finance will also be able to identify different financial sources, assess other costing systems, and develop working capital management strategies.

All enterprises in the private or public sector need excellent information and knowledge strategies to succeed.

The collective expertise of the workforce is frequently seen as an organisation’s most valuable resource. To some extent, worker’s knowledge and foundational data can be archived and made widely available within the organisation.

This module’s goals are to evaluate the importance of information as a resource to an organisation’s value chain and how data is managed and used within a company.

The goal of this module is to provide students with information about the vital roles that creative entrepreneurship and business management play in developing a country’s economy and creating jobs.

Students will learn how to integrate business management ideas in a technical and innovative setting to meet the demands of today’s dynamic business environment.

Additionally, students will understand how integrating entrepreneurial and business management procedures improves organisational performance.

This module aims to give students an understanding of social science research — with the emphasis being on the student developing a diligent approach to the research process.

The subject gives students a comprehensive introduction to the research procedure and an understanding of various research philosophies and ethics.

Statistical inference study allows students to make generalisations based on sample data and answer questions such as estimating product reliability, testing investment strategies, and predicting product sales based on its features.

This module aims to introduce students to current public sector trends with a specific emphasis on topics that are important to a business.

While much of the information specifically mentions South Africa, other countries of Africa — particularly those that have previously broken free from British rule — receive significant attention. An extensive range of issues are covered, including, but not limited to:

Public finance and development (state budgets, development plans, etc.)
A local government with a focus on service delivery.
Ethical concerns regarding the conduct of public officials.
Procedures for making and implementing policies.
The significance of new technologies for how governments function today.
Strategic planning and management.

The focus will be on researching issues relating to the public sector, which will involve reading policy documents like “white papers” and development plans, as well as speaking with officials, service providers, and members of the public who need service delivery.

The administration of healthcare organisations in a setting with changing problems is the main focus of this subject. It looks at the setting in which healthcare is provided and investigates aspects of functional management that apply to healthcare organisations.

These include human resource management, financial management, marketing management, communication management, change management, and strategic management. In addition, there is a large focus on managing HIV and AIDS.

Islamic financial institutions have expanded significantly recently, with annual growth rates exceeding 15%.

Following the global economic meltdown of 2007/2008, there has been increased attention to and interest in Islamic Banking and Finance.

Islamic finance derives its intrinsic strength from the moral precepts embodied within the Islamic tradition, which is consistent with the principles of the Shari’ah (Islamic Law).

Islamic products are competitive since they focus on ethics and are fast attracting not only Muslims but non-Muslims.

In South Africa, initiatives have been put in place to facilitate Islamic Banking and Finance, such as the amendment of Tax Laws, to attract petrodollars from the Middle East countries and to make South Africa the hub of Islamic Banking on the African continent.

The overwhelming demand for Islamic windows in conventional banks has resulted in an increasing demand for professionals conversing with the principles and intricacies of Islamic Banking and Finance.

This module intends to contribute to addressing this need and will also contribute to human capital development.

This module provides cutting-edge academic insight into management, administration, and leadership. Influential leaders and education managers must find new ways to address regulatory, leadership, and management challenges to incorporate modern prospects and opportunities in the educational environment.

Due to the complexity of today’s educational systems, numerous programs have been designed to promote knowledge and skill transformation to improve innovation, technology, human resources, teacher/lecturer attributes, and accountability.

In a time of perpetual change, this module is developed to address the needs of educational managers. It incorporates the latest strategic thinking in educational leadership and management.

The program intends to advance management, interpersonal, financial, and communication abilities to enable educators to draw on management theory and practice.

It is related to schools and higher education institutions like colleges and universities and may also contribute to governmental agencies, private companies, and not-for-profit organisations.

Students who work in educational management may take on roles as researchers, consultants, or policymakers to help assess and find ways to improve the educational system at all levels.

This is necessary for modern companies to develop infrastructure, execute changes, provide services, and boost quality.

Project management and senior management abilities are the main topics of this module. The module aims to increase managers’ abilities to enhance output and service delivery, which boosts organisational effectiveness.

It also enables the development of quantitative project finance skills. Effective Project management impacts the growth and advancement of most organisations and is a much sought-after skill. The project management elective is suitable for people who are often involved in projects or work in an environment where projects are carried out frequently.

The dissertation draws together the threads running through the MBA programme.

It allows students to apply general management issues to an area of specialisation. As the dissertation is a science-based business research project, the candidate first learns appropriate research methods.

The MBA program’s final component entails selecting a research topic, using appropriate research techniques in an organisational setting, and then analysing and summarising the findings in a dissertation of between 12,000 and 15,000 words.

The research project aims to pinpoint and investigate a significant management problem while also achieving individual career goals, academic requirements, and organisational goals.

One of the following is likely to be the dissertation’s primary focus:

Finding and researching a business or management topic that will be useful or interesting to students in their future jobs.
An organisation-based project, generally with the student’s employer.
The investigation of a business concept, which could lead to self-employment or a business start-up

Various opportunities for organisation-based projects may arise out of the RBS range of networks and relationships with external stakeholders.

After the research proposal has been submitted and approved, a research supervisor will be assigned to the student. The student’s supervisor will be an expert in the area of study they want to research, and they will help with the dissertation writing process.

In addition, the research department and library will also be available to help with sourcing the material required for writing the dissertation.

Research clinics are also held regularly to aid progress and help overcome obstacles to successful completion. Such thorough dissertation support enables the student to work conscientiously, give their best and complete the dissertation in the allocated time.

“The RBS MBA degree provided me with the necessary skills required for different aspects of a business. It provided the appropriate platform to successfully lead and manage the business I am involved with. It has become the cornerstone for my future.”