Executive MBA

Build your "antifragility"

I had the unique opportunity to observe the development and evolution of our MBA program for the last 40 years.

The first MBA program was conceived 100 years ago, and it became the driving force behind the development of management practices in the world of business or inside various organizations.

Saturation with managers holding an MBA diploma is definitely the highest in the United States and is certainly one of the most important factors, which makes the country's economy the most powerful in the world.

MBA programs have their own philosophy and logic. These are very comprehensive programs that allow students to acquire knowledge and skills in a wide range of fields used in broadly understood management. This versatility allows participants of the MBA program to build their "antifragility" (according to Nassim Nicholas Taleb), i.e. the ability to leave the "meeting" with "black swans" with relatively low losses.

The MBA program is a unique opportunity to exchange experiences between students, which is expressed by mastering a kind of lingua franca or specific managerial jargon. This, in turn, allows for an excellent mutual self-understanding of managers from various departments in the company, which affects the efficiency of themselves and the whole organization.

This is just a small fraction of the benefits you will get from our Executive MBA adventure.

Prof. Witold T. Bielecki
Rektor of Kozminski University
Director of Executive MBA Program

Triple Crown of Accreditations

Kozminski University holds three of the most prestigious international accreditations known as the ‘Triple Crown’ (AASCB, EQUIS, AMBA). Only 99 business schools globally (less than 1% of all business schools) enjoy such outstanding recognition. These accreditations attest to the highest internationally certified quality of educational programs administered by the university and provide assurance that graduates will obtain up-to-date skills required to handle contemporary business challenges and will be internationally recognized in various industries.

The Goal of the Executive MBA Program

The goal of the program is to provide you with a holistic perspective on the most important managerial problems. Handling tactical and strategic decisions made at the executive level, monitoring performance and taking remedial actions, addressing changes in the business environment, negotiating pivotal deals, designing flexible and efficient communication systems - all these responsibilities require diligence, technical preparedness, and emotional intelligence. Our Executive MBA is, in particular, focused on helping you to grow as a leader and change your mindset. We put a high emphasis on developing your leadership potential.

This program sets the goal of assisting you to challenge yourselves in multiple dimensions, and as a result, help you to engineer smarter solutions for sustainable value creation.

Networking

It is believed that networking, as well as relationships building, is at the very heart of every business, and we do our best to provide you with the space for such activity - during your studies and also after. We hope that even after you graduate from Kozminski University and will have your MBA diploma, we can still be in touch with you. We are always pleased to see you at our MBA Alumni Reunions, Christmas MBA Alumni Reunions, various networking events, Kozminski Lions Competition, and many, many other activities that we organize just for you!

Program and Schedule

During 18 months of intensive classes based on workshops, live discussions, and advisory, the program participants will delve through all the dimensions of modern executives' responsibilities.

Hands-on projects, business simulations relying on state-of-the-art solutions (software and databases), presentations, exams, and most importantly a comprehensive consulting project should equip the participants with a cutting-edge toolkit capable of advancing their careers or bringing a pending business project to fruition.

Subjects and Schedule

• Integration-Information Session
• Self and Team Management, and Taking Responsibility for the Decisions Made

Block I: Fundamental Managerial Knowledge

Explore the trends shaping the modern economy. Infer its consequences for your business across financial and managerial domains. Gain a strong grasp of corporate finance, strategic reporting, marketing, quantitative and analytical techniques. Enhance your negotiation skills.

• Managerial Economics
• Management Accounting
• Corporate Finance
• Business Statistics
• Management
• Civil and Commercial Law
• Marketing
• Negotiations

Block II: Strategic and Tactical Management

Draft a plan for managing all the company's resources. Understand and reverse-engineer the sources of competitive advantage. Explore the key value drivers and conduct a comprehensive analysis of the business' performance record. Draw a timeline for important strategic decisions and equip yourself with an adequate toolkit to execute them.

• Strategic Management
• E-business Strategies
• HRM Strategies
• Decision Support Systems
• Strategic Negotiations
• Simulation Business Game

Block III: Actionable Leadership

Learn to navigate disruptive transformations. Elaborate a digitization strategy for your company. Hone your team management skills. Learn how to convert personal leadership capital into a company's competitive advantage. Appreciate the role of trust and ethics in the modern agile management structures. Come up with improvements to internal communication systems.

• Leadership
• Change Management
• Interpersonal Communication
• Emotional Intelligence – Personal Leadership Asset
• Digital Transformation
• Building Strategic Advantage Through Ethical Behavior and Trust
• Networking
• Professional Public Presentation

Block IV: International Perspective

Get an international perspective on contemporary managerial issues. Learn to leverage intercultural differences. Familiarize yourself with business practices from international industry leaders.

• International Strategy
• Innovation and Entrepreneurship
• Intercultural Leadership
• Company Visit

Block V: Consulting Project

Time to reflect on the upcoming business opportunities, a pivotal project, which will take your career to the next level. A plan for a new venture, buyout, important operational restructurings, M&A. Your plans and assumptions will be confronted and reviewed by a panel of industry experts (guaranteeing non-disclosure)

Total number of teaching hours: 580* ( including 92 hours of online classes)

*one teaching hour = 45 minutes

Requirements for Graduation

The studies finish with a written final project covering a solution to a specific management problem. The diploma project is developed in groups of 3-4, and is to be defended before an examination committee. An additional condition to finish the studies is to pass all courses taught during four semesters of the program.

Residential Week

During the residential week in Berlin, participants attend a range of courses taught by the leading faculty of ESCP Business School. The goal is to present the participants with an international perspective on entrepreneurship, strategy, and innovation, which shape industry champions.

During the residential week, participants visit two companies in order to explore the best managerial practices, analyze their competitive advantages, and understand the challenges they face.

Companies visited in previous editions of the Executive MBA:

• 2017 - BMW Motorcycles and Hub: raum
• 2018 - APX Axel Springer Porsche, Talentwunder, KORSCH AG
• 2019 - Bridgemaker and IC!Berlin.

Courses to be taken:

• International Strategy
• Innovation and Entrepreneurship
• Intercultural leadership

Participants receive a recognized credential from ESCP Business School: a certificate of completion of the “International Management and Entrepreneurship” program.

Consulting Project

The program ends with the preparation of a consulting project. Projects are prepared in groups of 3-4 participants, which encourages networking and the creation of cross-industry interdisciplinary managerial teams capable of delivering complex business solutions.

Projects are prepared under the supervision of an experienced faculty member. Along the way, participants have an opportunity to receive several opinions on multiple aspects of their project. At the end of the program, projects are defended in front of a panel of experts.

Any important tactical or strategic business decision that was taken at a senior level requires thorough analysis and discussion. While some are nurturing the idea of finalizing some new business ventures, others are managing complex hierarchical corporate structures requiring multi-level implementation procedures and building consensus to bring any large-scale business project to fruition. The structure of the Consulting Project Module allows accommodating the specifics of any particular business environment.

A Further Option: Master's Degree

Those willing to expand their academic background and to obtain a recognized credential from Kozminski University may choose to extend their studies by one additional semester which covers the curriculum of the Master in Management Program.

Master in Management is a rigorous academic program administered by Kozminski University. It is administered as a graduate degree program. Normally studies last 4 semesters, however, the Executive MBA students would need to complete only one semester of additional studies to qualify for the degree.

Courses to be taken:

• Research Methods: Qualitative and Quantitative
• Dissertation Seminar
• New Product Development Process
• Design Thinking in Innovation Processes & Innovative research techniques

Master Dissertation

The coursework of the Master in Management program ends with a defense of a Master Dissertation - an academic project prepared under the supervision of an experienced KU faculty member. Methodological correctness and academic rigor are the primary distinguishing features of a master thesis.

Following the successful defense of the dissertation and the completion of all mandatory courses, the graduates will be awarded the Master in Management degree.

Rankings

• Best business school in Central and Eastern Europe according to the Financial Times ranking – ranked 48th in Europe
• Best economic higher education institution in Poland according to the Perspektywy ranking
• Best non-public higher education institution for 21 years according to the Perspektywy ranking

Target Audience

Each of our MBA participants is exceptional. From that diversity comes an extremely fruitful learning circle. Our students come from different industries with varied areas of expertise and business experiences, and they all share your desire to grow. We believe, that when everyone shares their knowledge and experience, everyone benefits. You will see the world of business in a different dimension and discover new opportunities.

The program is designed for:

• high potential managers
• people with experience working at senior management positions
• owners of medium and big private businesses
• people aspiring to become top executives

The requirement is to have at least 8 years of professional experience, including 5 years working as a manager.