EMBA personal learning assignments

In your Executive MBA studies, you can include numerous learning and development assignments that can be completed anywhere and anytime. You can choose to learn from business literature, another company or manager, or even a group of your EMBA colleagues.

At the end of the studies, each student must write an assessment of the EMBA studies and their impact (EMBA learning analysis, 1 ECTS cr). In contrast, the following six assignments are optional. They emphasise the impact of the EMBA studies and setting your personal learning goals. The EMBA is a way to the develop your own thinking, but the studies also work as a means for networking. How does it sound to have deep benchmarking with different companies or coaching discussions with managers you respect, as part of your studies?

1  Business literature, 2 ECTS cr./book

Many of the leadership themes and models are well described in various books for business management. High-quality business literature is an effective way to take over key management perspectives. 

You can complete the literature studies by writing essays where you apply what you have learned by identifying the essential from your readings and making connections between the core ideas of the books and your work experience and reality. In fact, one of the main benefits of the EMBA studies is the ability to read and understand different management industry products. You can improve on this skill, as well as on the ability to produce fluent text based on the literature you have read, by writing the literature essays.

Your study advisor will help you select the readings. We are constantly reviewing current business literature of different topics, making sure the EMBA readings stay up-to-date. 
 

2   Mentoring, 2 ECTS cr.

One of the main goals of the EMBA studies is your personal professional development. The university provides you with a personal study advisor, your tutor, to support you in your studies. You can also employ a mentor to support your improvement, and incorporate the process in your EMBA studies. The mentor comes from your organisation and often is an indispensable support and coach in your development assignments, not to mention the EMBA thesis. The mentor can also come from outside of your organisation; the choice is yours. You will receive separate instructions for planning the mentoring process, including tips.

3    Organisation case analysis, 2 ECTS cr.

The goal of this work form is to examine the challenges of another company as closely as possible. You will aim to understand what does the management of the given company involve and where do the challenges and opportunities of management arise. Moreover, you will become familiar with the company operations and management but also bring in your own visions and ideas that can, in turn, provide new vision for the managers of the company.

You can also choose your own organisation for the x-ray. For example, you can expand your knowledge of your company’s operations by working in a completely different job for a few days. We have had marketing experts who have scanned their company’s product development and managers of service companies who have worked at the customer interface. You will write a report of the assignment.
 

4    Leadership analysis, 2 ECTS cr.

The executive analysis is a type of interpersonal professional bench-marking - becoming familiar with somebody’s job and management thinking. The purpose is to find out how the subjects describe and model the most central duties in their job, analyse the changes that have occurred during their careers, how they see their management and the management requirements to develop in the future etc.

In the executive analysis you will study another manager and his or her way of thinking. Typically, the analysis benefits both parties. This assignment, also reported in written form, can also be an excellent means of networking. As a part of your EMBA studies, you can deepen those relationships that are essential for your work.
 

5   Foreign field of life, 2 ECTS cr.

The world is full of opportunities. The factor preventing us from seeing these opportunities is often our own consciousness. Through this learning assignment you will expand your awareness by entering a foreign organisational environment or sphere of life and report your learning experiences. EMBA executive students have visited volunteer programmes or completely foreign industries to expand their worldview. There is a lot of talk about leaving your comfort zone; this work form is an educational way of doing it.

6   Group assignment, 2 ECTS cr.

The EMBA studies are largely about networking and learning in dialogue with other experienced business managers. The group assignment involves a learning assignment carried out in a group of EMBA students: reflecting, learning and analysing together.

The focal point of the assignment can be a joint interest, for example, around which the group members want to build an expert group. The group is a place to share knowledge and opinions of the philosophies and perspectives of a mutual EMBA thesis theme. The group can also set a learning goal and employ different methods to achieve it (group meetings, company visits etc.)

Ask for further instructions for completing the assignments from your EMBA tutor.