Electives
An inspiring choice of more than 80 electives
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Our elective portfolio demands your creativity, energy and enthusiasm:
complete a minimum of 8 electives - target areas of special interest, widen your business lens or prepare for your next career move
schedule your classes in a variety of different formats including weekdays, evenings, weekends and intensive block weeks
Our elective options are updated annually. Faculty and programme material are subject to change.
Accounting risk, regulation of standards and corporate governance.
View electives Show lessCompetition policy, industrial economics and economic integration.
View electives Show lessDecision modelling, service operations and e-business.
View electives Show lessAdvertising, branding, competitive strategy, consumer behaviour, global marketing, marketing models and media.
View electives Show lessLeadership, groups, negotiations, creativity, culture and identity and business ethics.
View electives Show lessCreating value through superior competitive performance.
View electives Show lessIn a world of increasing change and uncertainty, successful companies can seldom rely on their past sources of advantage for long. They need to adapt rapidly, but for a future that is not at all clear. They need to become more 'agile' in the way they develop and execute emerging strategies. This elective explores different contexts of change and uncertainty, and provides tools and concepts to help companies become more agile in various respects. The impact of the pandemic has only heightened awareness of how important and pervasive is this need for flexibility and agility as much in large organizations as in small ones.
National borders matter for how firms develop and conduct their strategy. The point of departure for Global Strategy is that differences exist between countries and that these differences have implications for how firms strategize when they operate across borders.
Learn to identify these differences, how to measure them, and what they mean for fundamental decisions such as entering new markets and designing the global footprint of a firm's operations. Gain familiarity with some major public databases (e.g. POLYCON, Economic Freedom of the World Index, CAGE).
This course is relevant for anyone who intends to pursue a managerial career in a multinational corporation as well as anyone who will have to assess the strategies of multinational corporations in consulting and finance.
Seven of the top ten companies in the world by market capitalisation, and the vast majority of unlisted ‘unicorn’ companies, are players in the digital economy: they sell primarily digital products (or hardware for accessing digital products), they operate with platform-based business models that give them increasing returns to scale, they have few tangible assets and they employ relatively small numbers of people.
These features make digital organisations fundamentally different to “industrial” organisations such as food manufacturers, oil & gas companies or automobile companies, who make physical products and operate in the world of decreasing returns to scale on which traditional economic theories were built.
The purpose of this course is to help students understand the differences between industrial and digital organisations, and to provide them with frameworks and practical advice for how to manage and work in digital organisations.
Firms are accelerating the use of analytics to translate human capital into competitive advantage. This trend has increased the demand for leaders who are informed users and consumers of analytical tools to manage and develop talent. This course meets such demand, by drawing on the latest evidence-based research on people analytics and educating students on how to use these tools in a thoughtful, effective, and responsible manner.
Students will be expected to use and analyse data, hence you need a basic knowledge of statistics. However, previous experience with statistical or programming packages is not required. We will provide you with some basic code and tools in class. The goal is to help you understand what kind of data and analytical techniques are more appropriate for each problem, as well as to train you in a thoughtful evaluation of the evidence required to make sound decisions.
Strategy execution capability is critical for organisations. As they grow and become more complex, the pressure to execute successfully increases. This course focuses on how organisations can more reliably achieve their strategic objectives by 'doing the right things right.' The elective builds on the core strategy course and creates a bridge between strategy and operations. It draws on leading research and adopts a highly practical approach, incorporating much direct application by students to real organisational challenges.
Graduates with the capability to not only develop but also execute strategy will be attractive to many organisations faced with strategy execution challenges and to consulting firms. For those pursuing a career in entrepreneurship, this course will also be invaluable.
Electives are courses that help you fine-tune your skill set, following on from your pre-programme materials and core courses. The elective portfolio lists more than 80 electives, drawn from across a variety of subject areas. You will choose the elective courses that suit your professional goals and the schedule to complete them that suits you.
Over the year, you’ll complete a minimum of eight full credit electives to fulfil your programme credits.
Electives are usually taught in three-hour lessons once a week, over 10 weeks. There are also a number of intensive week-long block electives that are taught outside term time as well as evening and 5-week courses.
The elective portfolio is open to all London Business School degree students so you will be studying alongside students from the Masters in Finance, Masters in Management, Executive MBA (EMBA), EMBA-Global and Sloan programmes, as well as students from more than 30 exchange schools and our partner institutions.
Elective courses and the spaces on them are subject to availability. Initially, you will use the School’s elective bidding system to express your elective preferences. Then you will be able to amend these preferences continuously during your studies, and tailor it to your interests and career goals.
Most teaching takes the form of structured lectures and case studies. The style is participatory and classes frequently include case analysis and discussions. There are also many projects and group work, field investigations and visits, as well as individual research and simulations.
We have a duty to you, our alumni and future students to maintain the integrity and standard of the degrees we award through a rigorous assessment system. The purpose of the various assignments and examinations we ask you to complete is not simply for assessment: these are also intended to help you to structure your learning to help you gauge your progress through the programme.
The assessment system makes use of elements like course assignments, projects, group work, class participation, examinations and simulations. You will be expected to prepare for and attend class and participate actively in discussion both in class and in your group. The precise assessment model for each course - for example, whether class participation and oral report presentations count towards your final grade - will be set out clearly from the outset.
You must successfully pass all core courses. Your grades will be adjusted to a grade curve from A+ to C, with a maximum of 10% of the class achieving A+. The decision to Pass or Fail is a matter of academic judgement, and there is no obligation to fail any students.
To earn your degree, you must complete all the requirements of your programme. This includes both courses and programme elements.
Yes. Faculty consulting and research activities are brought into the class in the form of case studies. Faculty frequently share their latest thinking in electives as well as through additional lectures. A small number of students may also have the opportunity to apply for an elective and work on a research project with guidance from a faculty member.