MSc Sales & Marketing (Greece)

The Reflective Leader runs in parallel to the curriculum across the first three semesters.

This module will cover key concepts of reflective practice and its role within personal and professional development. This will include theories relating to learning styles, reflective practice as an enabler of high performance, emotional intelligence and the human and relationships role within leadership and adaptability of leadership styles.

Alongside the theoretical underpinning, the class will utilise a number of models, tools and practical techniques to support an effective personal and career development planning; methods to examine current KSBs; techniques for reflection and feedback and the impact these can have on continuous development.

The Managing Digital Transformation class aims to help students understand the importance of effective internal and external digital communications and their associated tools to create and sustain relationships, promote products and services, and deliver customer service value.

Brief case studies and paradigms illustrate the importance of communications planning in delivering marketing solutions. It explains the way in which the concept of a product and its associated brand management can enable organisations to deliver customer value.

This is achieved by outlining the components of the marketing communications mix and the integrated digital marketing campaign, while highlighting the impact the salespeople have and their role in the digital communication strategy of the company.

The purpose of this class is to support students in thinking about people and organisations. Some key questions this class explores include:

• why do organisations take the forms they do?
• why are organisations so difficult to change?
• how do organisations influence individual behaviour and vice versa?
• under what conditions do employers get the best performance from their people?
• what motivates people?
• how do employers and employees respond to and resolve differences of interest at work?

Organisational behaviour is the academic body of knowledge that has been produced by social scientists (psychologists, sociologists, political scientists) to investigate some of the above questions. Specifically, Organisational behaviour is concerned with the study of human behaviour (both at the individual and group level) within work organisations, and how organisational systems and structures affect human behaviour.

The Managing People in Organisations class will focus on organisational behaviour. The aim of the class is to provide you with a range of ideas, insights and evidence that will help you to understand what happens in your own organisation or organisations with which you engage. This will support you in making judgements about your behaviour, and that of others. Reflecting on the subject matter in this class should help you to understand and influence organisational practice and outcomes more effectively.

An essential skill that every salesperson requires in dealing with customer objectives, achieving the customer’s agreement while at the same time securing a good relationship with the customer. Through this core workshop (10 credits), students will learn how to achieve win-win agreements that satisfy the interests of both the seller and the buyer.

Continued from Semester 1.

The primary aims of the Financial Management class are to develop an understanding of the principles of finance and financial decision taking, the nature of financial markets and institutions, and corporate financial theory.

The principles of financial decision taking will consider applications covering personal finance, the public and private sectors. The analysis of financial markets and institutions will provide a general introduction to the financial environment. The primary focus of the class will be on corporate financial theory and this will address two basic questions. How should a company evaluate proposals to invest in additional assets (the investment decision)? And secondly, how should funds be raised to finance the purchase of these assets (the financing decision)?

Marketing Management introduces major marketing concepts and techniques and the marketing planning process. This includes exploration of what marketing is, understanding of marketing orientation and buyer behaviour.

The development of an appropriate marketing strategy for an organisation will be emphasised to enable the manager to make important marketing decisions. The changing role of marketing, within and between organisations, will be studied incorporating information technology, new organisational structures and different forms of market relationships.

Continued from Semesters 1 & 2.

The class aims to provide students with in-depth knowledge and understanding of those key concepts, methods, tools and techniques that are fundamental to effective and efficient running of supply chain operations from suppliers’ suppliers to customers’ customers.

Students will also understand what is the definition of “a project”, understand the importance of planning and scoping a project and comprehend the potential direct and indirect stakeholders involved in managing a project and their potential impact on the ability to complete a project.

The students will also learn about risk assessment, setting priorities within a specific project, costing and budgeting for the project as well as the main alternative approaches to project execution. On completion, the students will be able to design and manage operational supply chain planning, scheduling and controlling systems for complex and disparate operations.

This is particularly important for B2B salespeople because, often, they have to work in close collaboration with managers from the buying organisation to develop and deliver joint projects in terms of new product or process innovation development.

This module looks at the marketing of products and/or services when the buyer is not the individual consumer but rather another company or organisation. In any given economy, the bulk of the transactions are between companies and organisations.

The latter, compared to the consumer, have a much different buying behaviour, which in turn explains why marketing for B2B customers is significantly different from marketing to consumers. At the same time, while all customers are clearly important, some are of vital, strategic importance to the supplier.

Managing the relationship with such customers is thus essential for the financial success of the supplier. Hence this class aims to familiarise the students with the idiosyncrasies of the B2B customers and help them understand the implications for the suppliers’ approach to marketing and sales.

The sales profession is one of the most eclectic and rewarding, attracting candidates from literally every discipline in sciences, technology, engineering and social sciences.  This core module examines the capabilities, attitudes, skill sets and knowledge required by high-performing sales manages and leader. Strategic Management requires a complex set of management and leadership skills focusing on areas including sales and marketing planning, competitive strategies and resources management. This module helps to develop the knowledge, skills and behaviours necessary to provide leadership and management to the members of the salesforce.

The rationale behind the module is two-fold – it increase students understanding of the difference between operational sales and strategic sales management and it helps them to understand how to manage their own continuous professional development in order to be a more effective leader.

To allow you to tailor your studies to your particular career needs, you will choose a total of two elective subjects.

The final transformational project gives you an opportunity to examine in-depth a managerial, organisational or environmental issue of your choice over an extended period of time.

The project allows you to put into practice the knowledge and skills that you have developed throughout the MSc in Sales and Marketing Management.

The final project is an integral part of your studies and can be done on an individual basis or as part of a group.