MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

This is the area in my web page, which I have created for the the Masters course in Business Administration started, in October 2010. I see this as a great challenge. I expect to gain a broaden overview throughout this process and advance my career opportunities. It is a University of Sheffield MBA, delivered at CITY College, Thessaloniki, which is the International Faculty.

I still believe that education has no age limits. On the contrary, it is the best ally of human nature. Surprisingly, I have managed to complete succesfully my previous degree MSc in Technology, Innovation & Entrepreneurship with a First Class Honors, awarded last February 2010.

Small achievements, are enough to provide you with adequate courage and attitude to keep on walking.

I intend to upload below, the assignments that I submit for each module of the MBA hoping to create a good portfolio for futher use and study.

Module delivered on October 2010: UNDERSTANDING ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR. I have chosen to study in Workplace Communication. Here is my assignment submitted on the 26th of November 2010. The assignment was evaluated by the Module Leader of the course with 80 out of 100.

After five months, since the assignment was evaluated with a very good score i have decided to send it in an International Conference. I have made a small restructure and an additional research on the topic trying to emphasize in the knowledge side. It was accepted to be presented in June 2011 in Slovenia.

Module delivered on November 2010: BUSINESS ECONOMICS. I have to prepare a report on micro-macro effects of crisis both in global and regional level, including the impact in the company that i work and the specific industry it belongs. Also i have to discuss future potentials for my company. I am trying to create a backbone upon which to base my paper. I aim to cover all micro and macro factors so it might be a trap if not including smth. I have started by decoding what we were taught in the class during the three days sessions. I have uploaded them here in mind map diagrams. That helps me for sure. (it is a rar zipped version). The assignment was submitted on 18 January 2011 and you may find it here. The assignment was evaluated by the Module Leader of the course with 77 out of 100.

Module delivered on January 2011: DEVELOPING MARKET PRESENCE. The third module was a real fun, full of positive vibrations as the subject was more than extraverted. I have enjoyed mostly the in-class cases as well as the lectures. The assignment is related to marketing mix. Interesting and challenging, especially when I dont have so strong background in marketing issues. I always kept a distance from that sector although I have been involved several times both for professional and academic reasons. I will start by applying the mind-mapping technique in the three-days lectures. Presentations were clear and understandable so this will help me to decode easier the meanings and elevate the key points. The mind maps can be found here. I have submitted a few days ago the assignment and this can be found here. The assignment was evaluated by the Module Leader of the course with 80 out of 100.

Module delivered on February 2011: FINANCIAL REPORTING & MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING. The subject of the assignment is very interesting but I have to find a company that will have plenty of financial information, meaning annual reports, financial statements as well as any other useful supportive info. I am close to NBG (National Bank of Greece). I have to research on my choice first and then finalise my action plan. I have studied on the NBG Annual Report of 2009 and I have prepared a small one-page plan, where you can see the structure of the report easily. After a thorough research on literature and relevant material, I have concluded in NBG Group. The book of Michael Jones, which was the main textbook or the module, helped me very much. During my study on the book I had made some book-mappings, which actually is a mind mapping tool that can help you to identify the points and the meanings easily. Then you choose and develop your assignment. I think I should include them here: first part, second part, third part and ratio analysis. On the 1st of April 2011, I submitted the assignment which can be found here. The assignment was evaluated by the Module Leader of the course with 72 out of 100.

Module delivered on March 2011: LOGISTICS & SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT. A wide approach on business logistics and supply chain management issues. A really interesting 3-day session, focusing in almost the total processes of a company having to do with transportation, warehousing, procurement, inventory and customer service. I have already made a first small investigation on the SMARTKPIs web site which I found helpful and well-organised. Plenty of KPIs and detailed presentation of each one, accompanied with its popularity and comments. My intention is to devote my assignment in Education Management and develop a number of KPIs on administrative processes. A first literature review approach showed that there is no significant research on this area in terms of real metrics. Beyond the financial measures, the non-financial measures are hard to implement and find their distinct contribution in the educational process. It seems that this will be a challenge for me. I will work on that. On 4th of May 2011, i have submitted my assignment in the module. KPIs in education found to be interesting and challenging subject to work for. I focused in customer service and procurement and it was a great opportunity to recommend a number of new KPIs in terms of the process of daily lectures. The assignment can be found here. The most important thing was this assignment gave me the opportunity to approach usual operations from another perspective focusing in the incorporation of qualitative elements during the scheduling of classes. This paper was accepted to present in the International Conference on Education and Educational Psychology.

Module delivered on April 2011: STRATEGY FORMULATION & BUSINESS DECISION. A three-days session full of strategic thinking and approaches on strategy as a fundamental function of business. I found the delivery and performance of lectures of high level and quality. The interaction in the class and the group works were among others exciting and many ideas came up from all classmates. The diversity of cultures and industries where people come from are opportunities for cultivating innovative thinking. The module started with a case, JetBlue Airways, actually two weeks before the 3-days session. We, as students should have read the case and submit a pre-assignment report, identifying the key strategic issues that the specific company faced. The deadline was up to one week before the module starts. You may find this small report here. It is true that a mindmap helped me to clarify some of the case's aspects. The main assignment is a group project actually. We formed groups of 4-students and we have to brainstorm and introduce a new product or service through a Business Plan. The plan will be presented from the whole team sometime in September, in front of a team of experts. Challenging but tough. Meanwhile we are supposed to present our concept in the module leader within the next 2 weeks, meaning right after Easter days. There is an overlap in terms of the obligations we already have taken with the assignment of Logistics which is still under process. Time management efforts should be articulated in order to cope with the high demands of the programme.

Since i have submitted my assignment in Logistics i am fully operational for the Strategy now.We have already formed our group (4 students), and have made a first meeting to specify the idea. We have submitted our concept statement. Now the project starts. I am involving with the mind-mapping of Business Plan as well as the lectures' notes that took place through the 3-days sessions. A decoding is necessary as a first step. If we catch up the meanings then we will be able to define the pathway to our business plan. I intend to make the skeleton of the assignment with as many details as possible. What to do, when, and how.

14 May 2011: I have concluded with the review of lectures' notes. I have retrieved a number of useful information from the modules of (a) Entrepreneurship and (b) New Product Development that i had done in my previous Master degree (the TIE). Also i have gathered some extra data from my past papers. I have made a mind map of the business plan trying to include all possible points that we should cover. Actually it was a big one, so i had to print it in A0 size which is more like a poster than a simple paper. Anyway, at least this can serve as a compass for the group work. In addition i have prepared two additional mind maps about strategic thinking and the 5 tasks of strategic management. I try to organise my thoughts and concerns in order to align my work with the expected outcomes.

21 May 2011: After two weeks, among others i have managed to complete the full Business Plan skeleton as originally have stated. This may be found here. I think it is a good job. If you want to read it, you have to print it in poster size of A0 size. Although it seems complicated, it is an effort to entrap the useful info in one-page reading it starting from the right to the left. At least this can be used as a compass to proceed with the hard group work. The sources that helped me were (a) Mr Kehaghias' lecture notes (and the other lecturers taught in the module), (b) the useful notes from two other masters modules i have attended in my previous master degree (Entrepreneurship by Prof Ketikidis and New Product Development by Dr Nikolaidis) as well as (c) additional literature gathered from my first approach for the assignment's requirements. Moreover, i have made two extra mind maps, the one to map my thoughts on the Strategic Management process and the other to map the five tasks of Strategic Management. These two small maps can guide us throughout the whole experience.

In addition a significant number of literature have already been collected and i am in the phase of reviewing it. Although i found the idea of wholesaling simple, i start to believe that if we do it well then we can create value and diffuse it in the region. Its not only the vision. On the contrary, it is the vision precision and how we will administer the river of information that we will engage with.

Anyway, the study experience continues.

The business plan experience directed me to the decision of creating a page especially for this. The material is too much to keep it here. Therefore if you press here you will be directed to the page of Strategy Formulation and Business Decision where the experience continues.

Modules delivered on June 2011: The STUDY WEEK at the University of SHEFFIELD, was a fantastic experience. This took place between 13-19 June 2011. During the week we had the opportunity to attend an explanatory seminar on the Information Management Module (the on-line module), at the Mappin Hall. Also we had a day to work on Negotiation Skills, a real challenge and practice on modern techniques. Finally the module of Operations and Process Management (Developing Business Processes and Operations) took place the last three days. For me, the most exciting experience was the one-day lectures and visits at (a) the Sloan Medical Center of Sheffield, (b) the Health Sciences Department of the University and (c) the Orthopaedic Clinic of the Sheffield's Hospital. That mix was a great exprerience, especially now that I have chosen the HealthCare Management track as a specialisation for my MBA.

At late August (31st of August 2011), i have submitted my assignment in Information Management, which had to do with education. I took 2 weeks extension. That was my first extension request, and it was due to my increased job obligations. The full assignment can be found here. The Module Director Dr Kawalek marked this with 63 (Class 2.i).

At 18th October 2011, i have submitted my assignment in Developing Business Processes and Operations, for which i got an extension as well. The extension was 4 weeks. The full assignment can be found here. The Module Director Dr P. Kastanas marked this with 65 (Class 2.i).

Module delivered on October 2011: CURRENT ISSUES IN MANAGEMENT. The first module of the second year. Very Interesting module and challenging since the assignment was requested to be a literature review in an area chosen from the subjects taught during the three days. Although i did not expect that, i truly have enjoyed the process of literature review, subject definition and the journey of writing my assignment. Actually my aim was triple. First to present a very good assignment, worth reading and open minded. Second to continue approaching issues about education, analyse and build on the education governance and create the conditions for my future research aspects. Third, to produce a conference-leveled report and send it to participate in a conference. In this manner i continue my last year's effort to send my papers in international conferences and get feedback from high level reseachers.

The assignment can be found here. It has already been submitted, since 07 December 2011. The subject remains in two keywords: resilience and repositioning.

This assignment gave me the opportunity to recall and apply again the literature taxonomy methodology. I had applied that technique in the dissertation of my previous master and this was proved really helpful. Although there are specialised applications for taxonomy i prefer to use excel and process the data. You may find the taxonomy templates here: first - second - third.

This module had an obligation of submitting a pre-assignment. This can be found here. My pre-assignment, deals with an interesting issue and is still subject to further research. May be at a later time. This is more related to the Information Management sector.

The paper on resilience inspired me to work a little more on it, and prepare a small presentation trying to integrate some meanings found through my literature review. The notion of resilience is high-promising and possibly the next challenge for the global society.

The paper was marked by Dr Szamosi, the Module Director of the course and Academic Director of the programme with 74 in total (Class I). The feedback was really helpful for me. Among others i have lost points due to the exceeded size of the study. The limit was 3000 words while the study took me approx. 5000 words. The paper was for 80+. Nevertheless, i am trying to balance with one of my initial targets; to present papers that might have an international standing and follow international conferences' guidelines. I assume that this is not so easy but it is a good challenge for my future career advancement.

The subject overall took me almost two months to cover and I am still involving with resilience.

Surpirisingly right after getting my paper's evaluation from the Department, i received an e-mail from the University of Loughborough at UK. The paper has been accepted to present in the 2nd International Conference on Geographies of Education, to take place on 10-11 September 2012 at Loughborough, UK. The paper is participating in the second sector of: Education, Cities and States and specifically in the theme of: Regional Economies and Governance.

I felt satisfaction for my choice and my work on this subject. This is a challenge for me and i have already started processing the issue of my participation in this international conference.

Module delivered on November 2011: LEADING & MANAGING PEOPLE. Another awesome current issue of management. The whole session was an excellent experience learning about chaos, complexity and leadership. Of course the module included more subjects placed under the framework of Human Resource, but actually this was beyond the ordinary information and knowledge. The assignment for once more challenging and difficult in terms of specifying the case and match it with the literature. I will take it. After all, it would be intriguing for me to discover new paths and trigger my mind in deep. I already have some thoughts but I need to analyse it more and find an attractive subject to present and enjoy.

The assignment had a deadline of 20th January 2012 but i have decided to ask for 2 weeks extension. Although, i had the paper ready by the 20th, i prefered to keep it 2 more weeks on my availabiliy to revert with changes and second thoughts. This tactic has been proved very useful in my experience. When you have a ready paper to proof read, there are always second thoughts and chances for corrective actions. Reviews and findings mature on your mind and enables you to critically analyse your study from different perspectives.

On the 3rd of February 2012, i submitted my paper entitled: "The Monograph of Greece: Exploring Complex Adaptive Leadership in a European Country."

Ebooks

Some literature used for my courseworks

Literature for Business Economics (Europe)

Literature for Business Economics (Global)

Literature for Business Economics (Global II)

Literature for Business Economics (Greece)

More to come...