M.S. in International Management Curriculum

MGT 502 Introduction to Marketing

This course is an introductory class in marketing that aims at illustrating the concept of marketing plan and its key components (market analysis, strategy definition, strategy implementation, value creation). Students will learn about the most important marketing decisions (e.g. segmentation, targeting, positiong and differentiation) that companies across industries must take when setting the marketing strategy. The course provides students with both a theoretical and applied understanding of the importance of the marketing plan in the overall marketing strategy of businesses.

MGT 503 Introduction to Economics

This course is an introductory class in micro- and macroeconomics that introduce students to the following concepts: demand and supply, markets, household behavior and consumer choices, GDP, inflation, unemployment, fiscal and monetary policies. Since the course does not require any previous knowledge in economics, its approach is mostly based on reading, discussing and understanding these basic concepts from press releases of companies, commercial/central banks, newspaper articles etc. By the end of the course, students should have acquired the basic concepts of economics, developed a critical thinking towards the most current (and recurrent) economic phenomena and become able to describe in their own words an economic trend/situation as they will be required to do in almost any future occupation.

MGT 504 Introduction to Finance

This course is an introductory class in financial accounting and corporate finance that teaches students the language of finance as well as the basic theoretical and practical foundations in financial decision-making. First, students will be learning about the basic knowledge of financial accounting concepts. Afterwards, students will be introduced to the fundamental topics of finance such as the time value of money, bonds, stocks and capital budgeting. Finally, examples from the corporate and investment world will be used to link the theoretical concepts learned in this course to real world applications.

MGT 506 Introduction to Management

This course is an introductory class in management that gives students a brief understanding of fundamental principles and practices in management. In this course, students will be introduced to the roles and functions of managers in organizations and the fundamental background models of management theory. Additionally, the course will cover different managerial tools to analyze and overcome challenges in managerial practice, emerging during planning, decision-making, organizing, leading and motivating, and controlling. Upon completion of the course, students will have a strong understanding of management concepts, which will equip them to tackle the advanced topics covered in international management.

MGT 510 International Management

The goal of this course is to familiarize graduate students with the field of international business, management and operations. In this course, students will review, critically consider, and discuss a variety of contemporary issues within international management, including how today’s managers are challenged to also act as Geopolitical Executive Officers (GEO). During this course students explore and learn about different managerial practices in different continents around the globe.

MGT 511 Digital Transformation

Digital transformation brings great possibilities of growth for companies and institutions, but it is a broad, complex, demanding process that, in order to express its full potential, has to impact, influence and sometimes change even the very core of a business. The course offers a critical approach to digital transformation, exploring the advantages and opportunities it provides, but also the challenges, risks and resistances that can oppose, slow down or even prevent its proper implementation (especially in established, non digital-native businesses). The main objective is to offer students a strategic perspective on its main laws and frameworks related to the four main areas of impact: • Business models and ecosystems • Value chain and innovation • Customers and experience • Organization and operational excellence Through the analysis of real scenarios and best (and worst) practices in the field, the course objective is to provide a synthesis between theoretical and reality-based perspectives.

MGT 515 Business Analytics

Business Analytics is a necessary skill for everyone in our big data world where evidence-based decision-making is crucial regardless of whether you are working in private business, in an NGO/Cultural Institution, or in any level of Government. In this course, students will learn how to acquire data, clean and validate the collected data, analyze them, and communicate the results obtained from the data. These four steps will be performed using Business Intelligence softwares.

MGT 519 Thesis and Methodology

Meeting the complex challenges of tomorrow requires us to take a systematic and methodologically informed approach to understanding the key mechanisms, actors, and issues involved. This course introduces students to both qualitative and quantitative methods taken from a number of different disciplines, but all aimed at understanding and managing real world challenges. As such, this course enables future managers to utilize methods taken from the social and natural sciences. The course consequently is designed to prepare students for their thesis projects, and to enable students to pursue their individual research interests. But it also aims at providing students with a methodological skill-set that transfers to future projects and facilitates active managerial engagement.

MGT 524 Corporate Sustainability

This course provides insights into the discourse on corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability management and their practical relevance to corporations. The goal of the course is to enable students to gain an in-depth understanding of core theories of CSR—relating them to how corporations deal with ecological and social sustainability issues and stakeholder demands. Students will examine corporate initiatives that attempt to address sustainability challenges and how they are being evaluated in the public eye regarding the risk of greenwashing. Further, students will learn about various CSR standards and reporting tools that corporations can use to develop, implement, evaluate, and communicate about their environmental and social impacts. Attention will be paid to the rising topic of corporate digital responsibility and new frontiers of CSR regarding artificial intelligence and digital data governance. The course perspective is international, highlighting cases and approaches from various countries. Learning methods of the course also aim at developing practical skills, including teamwork, presenting, and debating.

MGT 530 Strategic Marketing

This course focuses on customer centricity and its strategic implications in creating and delivering value for the company and for its clients. Students will learn how to design a customer centric strategy for businesses building on the marketing plan framework. Students will also discuss the major challenges that marketers face when implementing a customer centric approach such as data collection, integration and dissemination within the company, the creation of a unique and centralized approach to customers relationship both in an online and offline setting and the intersection of marketing activities with the other company's functions (e.g. finance, operations, procurement, human resource and IT). Emphasis will be given to best practices and business cases across multiple industries.

MGT 536 Intl Trade, Prod & Fin for Global Manag

This course builds on a basic knowledge of micro- and macroeconomics concepts, providing graduate-level students in management with a solid foundation in international economics. The course will introduce students to a variety of topics including international trade, international production and international finance, with the aim of equipping them with the economics knowledge needed for effectively fulfilling analytical and managerial roles in the international corporate sphere. Students will be encouraged to analyze key topics, such as trade policy, international production, and financial crisis management critically from multiple perspectives, utilizing theory, empirical evidence and normative analysis to inform their views, which they will be required to articulate effectively during in-class discussions and presentations. Theoretical concepts introduced in the reading material and in-class lectures will be actively utilized to analyze global issues and challenges of relevance to society and the corporate world, such as climate change, automation and multinational corporate responsibility.

MGT 545 Advanced Corporate Finance

In this advanced course in corporate finance, students will deepen their understanding of financial management by relying on what students have learned in the introduction to finance course. In the first part of the course, students will acquire advanced knowledge of capital structure theories in order to delve deeper into capital budgeting. An emphasis on the use of leverage and the estimation of the cost of capital is given. Next, students will enhance their knowledge of important corporate financial policies such as investment, cash and payout policies. In the last part of this course, students will learn how companies raise capital. In particular, students will learn about the main financial markets and institutions that are relevant for providing external capital to corporations. This course will rely on textbook material, case studies, news articles as well as academic papers to teach students relevant concepts in corporate finance.

MGT 551 Graduate Readiness

This course aims to prepare students for both academic and professional pursuits. Transitioning from undergraduate to graduate studies and from university to the job market can be challenging. In this course, students will learn how to decipher and engage with expectations that arise in academic and professional contexts. Thus, the course aims to equip students with the necessary knowledge and skills to succeed both during and after their studies. The course covers, among other things, research and information literacy, academic integrity, career planning, and professional development. Engaging in individual and group projects helps students develop teamwork abilities and intercultural fluency while appreciating their liberal arts education for future careers.

January Term

MGT 522 Visual Arts and Team Building

Team development is the most important team process, since team norms, cohesion, and trust are inextricably connected to and depend on it. Team development usually requires time but organizations can accelerate it through team building, which consists of formal activities, aiming to improve the development and functioning of a work team. This course introduces students to team-building activities and has a twofold purpose. First, the students will delve into the topic of team building; in particular, they will discuss the structure of the team development process, the content, and goals of team building activities, and will analyze a company case. Second, the students will be introduced to team-building projects using the visual arts in studio-based practice. Indeed, visual arts practice encourages creativity and innovation, thinking beyond conventional boundaries, exploration of new perspectives, and the design of novel solutions. In order to understand and be ready to use this tool, the students will complete two visual arts projects. This course will increase the students' theoretical knowledge of team dynamics as well as their level of analytical, teamwork, and communication skills.

MGT 550 Innovation and Design Thinking

This course emphasizes Design Thinking, an innovation approach that constantly focuses on customer needs and leads to solving problems and developing new ideas. Similar agile approaches are also considered: Lean Start-Up, Prototyping, Value Proposition Design, or the combination of Design Thinking with Data Analytics or System Thinking. In an interdisciplinary team, students learn to recognize the latent needs and expectations of various stakeholders. From these expectations, as many ideas as possible are generated, implemented, tested and refined in order to ultimately arrive at innovative solutions that offer real added value.

MGT 554 Organizational Behavior

This course examines the discipline and the art of organizational design with a focus on designing for purpose, responsiveness and collaboration. Sustainable success of organizations is heavily influenced by the extent to which the organizational structure and culture enable the execution of the chosen strategy. Organization Design & Development (OD) is the art of designing and implementing the right structure, and to develop and foster the appropriate culture. This interactive course is designed to provide students with a carefully selected set of frameworks and tools to align organizational structure and culture with strategy. Through case work, students will practice tools and methods to understand and cope with the wider complexity of organizational design and development.

Common Courses

MGT 512 Cult Intelligence Diversity Pract Bus

Evidence from research and practice demonstrates that cultural intelligence and diversity management practices positively affect different dimensions of organizational performance. In this course, we aim to introduce students to two groups of practices, explain the rationale behind using them in organizational settings, and discuss their implications for employees, companies, and society. In the first part of the course, students will examine cultural intelligence practices in global business contexts; analyze various correlations and impact on performance; cultivate greater awareness of how a heightened sensitivity to cultural intelligence can be integrated into successful, sustainable strategic plans that are aligned with values informed by respect for human differences. Understanding those differences through critical thinking, reflective exercise and role play simulations will complement the analytical work driven by student data collection and research assignments. In the second part of the course, students will understand the mechanism behind prejudices, stereotypes, and discrimination in organizational settings, discuss diversity management practices and policies that can help organizations and employees benefit from diversity, and increase their awareness on diversity topics.

MGT 516 Remuneration Management

While economics teaches us about the supply and demand of labor, more is needed to predict or explain how exactly people, including executives, get paid. This course will look at the whole topic of money and work. It will introduce the student to the approaches and tools used by companies and public organizations to shape salaries and other components of compensation. It will also touch on related subjects such as talent management, the role of human resource functions, performance management, and the governance of compensation. In addition, it will examine the topic from a larger societal perspective, including the debates on pay fairness, the promotion of teamwork and innovation, and positive and negative influences of financial incentives on motivation and performance. Interactive and interdisciplinary in nature, this course brings together economics, management, communications, political science, and social justice/sustainability.

MGT 517 Understanding Negotiation Dynamics: Pys

This course offers a comprehensive overview of negotiation psychology, with a primary focus on how personal traits influence negotiation styles. Drawing from theories and research in personality, social psychology, and organizational behavior, and utilizing various teaching methods such as role-play simulations, self-reflection exercises, and case studies, the course aims to provide students with a well-rounded understanding of negotiation dynamics. By the end of the course, students will have explored fundamental concepts such as distributive and integrative bargaining, as well as the role of cognitive, motivational, and emotional processes that either hinder or enhance negotiation effectiveness. Upon completion, students will possess the skills necessary to navigate the intricacies of negotiations and secure win-win, mutually beneficial outcomes.

MGT 518 Leadership and the social sciences

What does it mean to be a leader? What are the characteristics of a good leader? These questions are central to our contemporary societies where (effective) leadership is essential to the success of groups, organizations, and companies. This course introduces students to the study of leadership from a social scientific perspective. Using readings from across the social sciences (psychology, sociology, business, political science, and others), we will examine topics that are central to leadership. For example, we will discuss what individual and contextual characteristics make people likely to emerge as leaders. We will also consider issues of power, politics, digital transformation, and cross-cultural differences through the lens of leadership. Throughout the course, we will place a special emphasis on empirical studies of leadership. Students will be asked to choose a few figures of leaders on whom they will conduct targeted in-depth studies to be presented to the rest of the class. This course is important for future leaders, those interested in careers in business, sociology, psychology, economics as it will provide a more holistic understanding of leadership.

MGT 521 Global Governance and the Management

Today, international management takes place in an interconnected and globalized world. Many of the most pressing challenges can therefore no longer be addressed by individual actors alone – be they managers, businesses, states, or international organizations. Rather, meeting global challenges like climate change, under-development, public health, or international security, calls for cooperation that brings together problem solvers from different fields, situated at different levels. To better understand the global context in which management challenges emerge, this course introduces students to a global governance perspective which traces the problem-solving capacities and interconnectedness of a multitude of different actors at global, regional, and local levels. Moving beyond a purely problem-solving focus, this course also focuses on the normative dimension of addressing global challenges today and tomorrow.

MGT 527 AI Enhanced Research and Analysis

This course introduces emerging research methods to analyze and report on research data using Artificial Intelligence (AI). Students will learn how AI can facilitate a workflow that connects a thesis statement to data, and from analysis to report. The course scaffolds upon the introduction of an AI assistant as a tool for analysis in the broad and general sense, which was introduced to students in the Fall semester. In this course, students will specialise its use, developing their AI assistant around a their own chosen topic and utilising it to develop their own research interests to aid in the completing of their final graduate thesis.

MGT 539 Managerial Decision Making

This course introduces students to scientific theories and empirical evidence emerging from the interdisciplinary decision and behavioral science fields. Individuals make thousands of decisions daily, but some make decisions that are particularly impactful, affecting other individuals, entire organizations and, at times, society at large. Managers are at the forefront of the decision-making process and are frequently under pressure to make effective, rapid, and complex decisions that are of consequence to those they lead and the organization they represent. Students are introduced to the cognitive processes involved in various types of managerial decision-making. Further, the course offers an overview of typical managerial decision traps resulting from inappropriate heuristics or the interference of biases. Students will gain a nuanced understanding of human psychology and the fragile balance between influence and manipulation, which requires reflecting ethics and responsibility.

Arts and Luxury track

MGT 532 Arts Management

The course introduces key players in the cultural sector and the most pressing management challenges they face today. It provides an overview of current theories affecting cultural policy and outlines the socio-economic impact of the arts sector. It then offers, in its core section, insights into the managerial perspective of arts organizations - from small private galleries to state-funded museums - looking at best practices in governance, ethics as well as financial and environmental sustainability. Management theories will be presented in combination with an analysis of real life examples of organizational strategies.

MGT 533 Art Finance

This course explores the role of art as a financial asset and how financial wealth management services are leveraging on its importance. By illustrating the logistic, tax-related, financial and legal aspects of art related transactions, the course will outline the complexity and challenges of the financial aspects of the art market, acknowledging trends and discovering the role of intermediaries.

MGT 537 International Business, Arts, and Luxury

This course explores the intersecting fields of luxury and arts in analog and digital contexts from an international business perspective. Luxury firms and conglomerates increasingly appear as strategic actors in the creative and luxury sectors operating as sponsors, collectors, and patrons. Building on an introductory understanding of luxury from a theoretical and historical perspective, the course will investigate the current landscape of corporate archives, museums, and art spaces. In addition, the interconnections between art collaborations, luxury products and consumer experiences will be explored. These investigations will extend into the digital realm, focusing on recent luxury brand experimentations and co-productions with digital creatives. Students will be encouraged to step beyond the glamour and glitz to critically review, assess, and discuss luxury firms’ approaches to the arts in the global cultural landscape.

Digital Transformation track

MGT 514 Digitalization and Future of Business

How is the digital transformation changing the way private businesses and public institutions organize and operate their daily activities? How can established businesses innovate and adopt new technologies to compete in a highly competitive and digitalized landscape? Digital technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), cloud computing, internet of things (IoT), and more recently non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are rapidly transforming traditional industries while enabling fundamentally new business models. This course will enhance students' understanding of digital technologies and strategies. It will explore the managerial implications of such implementations on business practices within the main functional areas of a business, such as finance, marketing, and strategic management.

MGT 526 Digital Finance

This course explores the intersection between finance and technology and enables students to comprehend how technology is transforming the finance industry. The main emphasis of this course is the in-depth analysis of the digitalization in finance from the perspective of a company. Students will first learn about key technological trends including blockchain technology, cryptocurrencies, and artificial intelligence in finance. The course will then focus on two main areas affected by technological transformation: Lending and Payments. Finally, students will learn about challenger banks that are disrupting the financial service industry and that offer new opportunities for client firms.

MGT 529 Managing the Digital Transformation

Artificial intelligence systems are set to transform the world we live in, profoundly affecting the way we learn, produce, consume and communicate. Managers across industries will need to keep pace with lightning-speed change and must prepare to evolve with their industry and society at large. This course will challenge students – managers of the future – to contemplate the implications of the increasing role of artificial intelligence in future work, education and daily life. Through a mix of lectures, reading, extensive discussion and experimentation with current AI tools, students will assess the digital transformation along three core themes: 1) the role of liberal arts and lifelong learning in the era of AI 2) ethical considerations surrounding the development and utilization of AI systems; 3) future tensions between practical and ethical considerations in the debate on replacement versus augmentation of human skills in the workplace. Drawing on theories from the fields of general management, political economy, and digital humanities, this course aims to sensitize future managers to the multidimensional and complicated nature of the debate on the future of AI in the workplace and beyond. Ultimately, the course emphasizes critical reflection on challenges related to the digital transformation and the role of managers in responsibly shaping the adoption and use of AI systems.

Business and Sustainability track

MGT 523 Understanding Environmental Issues

Using practical examples from Ticino and Switzerland, this course will expose students to the effects that climate change is having on (fresh)water ressources and on the water cycle in general. Each specific example will show how climate change driven modifications of the water cycle affects not only the functioning and the ecology of the system at hand (e.g., lake, river, groundwater reservoir, or glacier), but also their management and usage and therefore us. For each example, students will also investigate and critically assess the different attempts put in place to mitigate or minimize such changes.

MGT 531 Global Issues and Responsible Leadership

This course will confront students with a company's sustainability challenge, requiring them to develop solutions and strategies to tackle the challenge while considering the long-term implications of their suggested plans. The sustainability challenge will be introduced during the first days of the course. This will include understanding why Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) is an important concept and what opportunities and tensions it entails as understandings of ESG evolve. Subsequently, students will work in teams to develop their strategies. The course will be highly interactive and requires students to think critically about what it means to be a responsible leader and what organizational challenges companies face, striving to become responsible players in light of changing environmental and societal expectations. Among other important national and transnational standards, the United Nations 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals will be considered. The course demands that students formulate how global managers need to prepare themselves and their companies to be sustainable by 2030 and beyond. Through expert examples and guidance, the course will explore what is being discussed in international organizations and corporate boardrooms and how organizations are revisiting their business models and value chains to ensure long-term success. With this knowledge, students will be better equipped to successfully engage in social, environmental, and global issues and use this knowledge to manage and lead organizations responsibly.

MGT 534 Corporate Climate Action

This course will provide students with a comprehensive introduction to the business response to climate change. Climate change is a major challenge for business and society, with severe and often unforeseeable consequences for human life and business conduct. Companies worldwide are increasingly asked to contribute to a climate-resilient future by reducing their greenhouse gas emissions. In this course, students are introduced to the theoretical foundations of carbon accounting and management. Equipped with the fundamental understanding of how and where greenhouse gas emissions emerge from corporate activities, students will examine various mitigation measures, including the role of cap-and-trade programs, carbon offsetting, and capture. The long-term and financially sustainable minimization of corporate emissions calls for students' critical reflection on the potential and limitations of carbon management programs. Thus, students will learn about the risk of greenwashing and the need to analyze the quality of offsetting schemes. The course outlook sheds light on future trends, such as the impact of distributive ledger technology and its potential for corporate climate action and the governance of carbon markets.

MGT 601 Practical Experience

The practical experience is a required component of the MSIM program, at least 6 weeks long,that provides students with the opportunity to work, according to their track of specialization, on an applied project under the supervision of both the academic coordinator at FUS and the host supervisor at an external partner institution or company. Students will learn how to carry out and develop the project being in charge of all the required tasks and activities: from information and data gathering, data analysis and reporting, interaction with the different parties and stakeholders involved, communication and delivery of the results. Each student will be assigned to a specific project that will enable them to gain further concrete insights into their field of specialization. The outcome of the project will be presented and evaluated by the academic coordinator and the host supervisor.

MGT 608 Master's Thesis

Students will be required to complete a thesis (except when otherwise stipulated by program director). The thesis is a written research project that is intended to demonstrate the ability to do mature and original work within the field of international management. The thesis topic must be developed in conjunction with the thesis advisor. It is the student’s prerogative to choose the main disciplinary focus. The thesis committee can include faculty from diverse disciplines. Students should liaise in their first semester with the track coordinator or the program director to discuss their thesis path and make appropriate course selections.