Structure
The AGSM MBA (Social Impact) is a part-time program and can be completed in anywhere between 2-6 years. There are 12 courses in the program, includes six core courses and six specialisation courses.
Compulsory core courses
-
This course is a comprehensive introduction to the topic of leadership. It aims to help students to build the confidence, knowledge and skills to engage in effective leadership in a broad range of contexts. It also provides guidance on self-leadership and actively managing the process of growing as a leader.
-
The Strategy course aims to equip students with the skills, knowledge and experience to formulate, evaluate and implement value-creating strategies for organisations. The course introduces students to the contemporary principles, tools and frameworks of strategic management that support the work of successful strategists in leading sustainable organisations. Whether students work in small or large organisations, whether in a startup, scale up or incumbent, domestically focused or a major international or global organisation, in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors, strategic management plays a central role in achieving the objectives of the organisation as we navigate an increasingly complex, disrupted, technology-infused, and dynamic business environment.
Core courses - choose four
-
Marketing Management is a course designed to introduce fundamental marketing concepts, theories and analytical tools to managers working in today's highly competitive and complex business environment. The course places particular emphasis on the management of profitable exchange processes in the context of modern organisations and covers a diverse range of marketing topics including marketing strategy and planning, the marketing environment and how to monitor it, consumer and organisational behaviour, marketing research, market segmentation and development of target markets, new product development, pricing, distribution, promotion and international marketing. Participants are required to tackle real life marketing problems and demonstrate their ability to apply classroom knowledge to their own work situations.
-
Accounting and Financial Management is designed for those who use accounting information, rather than those whose task it is to prepare it. The focus is on the understanding and use of accounting information as well as the composition and meaning of the financial statements. The course covers accounting reports prepared for external users as well as accounting reports used by managers to plan, control and make decisions.
-
An understanding of economics is essential for the long-term viability of business. The economic environment in which business operates will have a vital bearing on day-to-day decisions. Economics in Management Practice lays the foundations for such knowledge. It provides a basic introduction to those economic principles that are important for business, as well as providing general economic literacy to enable participants to read and understand economic reports and to be able to communicate with and understand business people, economists and policy makers.
-
This course stresses the fundamentals of corporate financial decision making with special reference to investment, financing and dividend distribution. The course develops distinct conceptual frameworks and specialised tools for solving real-world financial problems at both the personal and corporate level. Examples include funds management, mergers and acquisitions, capital raisings, portfolio selection of financial securities, public floats and the pricing of assets in the stock market. Illustrations from real-life corporate practices are used to highlight the importance and relevance of financial management to the realisation of personal and corporate financial objectives.
-
Managing People & Organisations examines the different ways in which organisations approach the management of their employees. We explore the behaviour of people at work, and the impact this has on others and on the organisation itself. We consider the relationship between people management and the organisation's strategy and locate the management of 'people at work' within various theoretical, philosophical, historical and regulatory contexts.
-
Evidence-based decision-making, supported by a data-driven culture, is critical to the success of organisations. It is essential that professionals can define problems clearly and systematically, know what techniques can be applied in order to solve these problems, and communicate the results concisely and effectively. This course helps students to frame business problems in a quantitative matter and learn how data collection and experimentation can help provide management insights. As the second step, students will learn how to solve problems through predictive models. This requires a basic understanding of statistics and therefore students will study the basics of regression provided by the Harvard Quantitative Methods online course during the first five weeks. This will help improve students’ data literacy in order to communicate more effectively with data scientists, as well as contribute to the democratisation of data within their business. Finally, students will learn the basics of using Tableau, one of the leading Data Analytics and Visualisation tools in the field. Through data storytelling, students will learn to communicate data more effectively and improve their ability to simplify problems and facilitate decision-making.
Social Impact specialisation courses - choose six
Must choose 4 Social Impact specialisation courses from below and two other electives. Or complete six Social Impact specialisation courses.
COMM5701 Social Impact is compulsory and must be taken as the first course within the specialisation.
-
This course examines the accelerating economic relationship between government, business and the third sector to deliver social (including environmental) value in communities and the way in which this drives social innovation.
The course first examines the social economy through the emerging spectrum of organisational forms that generate both social and economic value: from traditional charities, to social enterprises, through to socially responsible business and traditional corporations. Second, the course examines trends and drivers re-shaping the dynamics of social impact.
The course examines the ways in which these changes drive social innovation and it concludes with a review of global trends and organisations that effect social change and impact.
-
This course examines the accelerating economic relationship between government, business and the third sector to deliver social (including environmental) value in communities and the way in which this drives social innovation.
The course first examines the social economy through the emerging spectrum of organisational forms that generate both social and economic value: from traditional charities, to social enterprises, through to socially responsible business and traditional corporations. Second, the course examines trends and drivers re-shaping the dynamics of social impact.
The course examines the ways in which these changes drive social innovation and it concludes with a review of global trends and organisations that effect social change and impact.
-
Major changes are reshaping the role of philanthropy both internationally and in the Australian context:
- Global economic realignments, the privatisation of community services
- New patterns of wealth distribution and of inter-generational wealth transfer
- Greater expectations of the role of corporate citizenship and of corporate philanthropy
These forces are also extending the meaning of philanthropy by encouraging the growth of new forms of social investment, in which commercial enterprise is being shaped by social as well as financial goals, to create innovative, and sometimes hybrid, models of sustainable community services, environmental protection and social development, as well as new business opportunities.
This course will introduce the history, core concepts and current issues in the fields of philanthropy, fundraising and social investment. It will also examine patterns of fundraising and giving, ethical and philosophical perspectives and the management and legal aspects of social investment programs.
-
Demonstrating Social Impact is an elective subject for the Graduate Certificate in Social Impact and M Com, MBT or AGSM MBA programs. It provides an overview and introduction to evaluation and social impact assessment, the underpinning principles of evaluation and social impact assessment and examines some of the key social impact measurement approaches increasingly used by leading Third sector organisations in Australia and internationally, including Logic Models such as LogFrame; Social Return on Investment (SROI); and Social Accounting and Audit (SAA). Other frameworks used to measure the impact of corporate social initiatives will also be discussed.
The course will provide the knowledge and tools necessary to understand and apply social impact frameworks and methodologies at a project and organisational level.
-
Social innovation, the outcome of the work of social entrepreneurs and others can be developed in almost any context. It is often a response to an identified problem, issue or opportunity. Design thinking and methods take a whole systems, rather than a silo, approach to offer different perspectives to the traditional business tools.
Design for Social Innovation offers participants the opportunity to learn and apply design tools and methods to real projects with a focus on social outcomes.
This course is an elective subject for the Graduate Certificate in Social Impact, and an elective available for all postgraduate students. It provides an overview and introduction to the role and application of design concepts in social innovation and social enterprise.
The course will provide the knowledge and tools necessary to understand and apply design principles at a project or organisational level.
-
This course is an individual student driven project bringing together learning from the core COMM5708 along with 2 Elective courses. It applies the cumulative learning of students' three previous courses so it cannot be studied until the student has completed three GCSI courses.
This course places students, through negotiation, with an agreed suitable host, in a practical working environment with a social impact focus. Students may choose to work individually, or in a team of two.
Students will work at least one day a fortnight at a host organisation’s premises on a project with a social impact focus agreed between the organisation, the Graduate Certificate in Social Impact Program Director and the student(s).
Suitable projects should come from any of the areas studied in the other Graduate Certificate courses: social enterprises, the measurement of social value creation, social finance, leadership for social impact, corporate responsibility and accountability. The course has no formal classes; all sessions are arranged between the supervisor and the student. The course requires a written interim and final report.
-
Corporate Responsibility and Accountability is a specialist course for the Graduate Certificate in Social Impact and an elective for those undertaking the Master of Commerce or MBA or MBT Programs. It examines how business manages its social, environmental and economic impact on society.
The course first reviews the historical evolution and development of the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility and Corporate Citizenship and why it is now a key part of managing the business enterprise.
Second, the course examines what acting responsibly means for corporations in terms of the market, community, environment, workplace and government. Issues covered include business and human rights, business-community partnerships, corporate philanthropy, the human resource management implications of CSR, business and the environment and businesses’ relationship with government.
Third, the course examines how business accounts for its behaviour and impact in society through sustainability reporting and the role of external assurance and outlines debates on the appropriate role of government policy in either regulating and/or enabling responsible corporate behaviour.
-
Creating Shared Value (CSV) is a business strategy aimed at enhancing a company’s competitiveness through finding business opportunities through addressing social problems. As an organisation and business ethos, CSV seeks greater integration of organisational economic imperatives with the identification of social needs that can be addressed via the expansion of economic markets and business innovation. Complementing existing strategies of corporate philanthropy, corporate social responsibility and sustainability, CSV is aimed at creating shared value by reconceiving products and markets, increasing productivity in the value chain, and enabling development of clusters of stakeholders. This course will examine the fundamentals of CSV and how businesses might co-create sustainable financial and social value.
-
This course examines key concepts and frameworks of sector collaboration and develops your capacities to undertake highly effective collaboration with existing and emerging partners. Primary topic areas include: cross-sectoral leadership, building and sustaining strategic partnerships, creative collaborative management, collaboration dilemmas and tensions and effective collaboration design and implementation. In completing this course, you will gain a deeper understanding of the knowledge and frameworks required to develop and sustain cross sectoral collaborations to achieve social impact and outcomes. You will also have the opportunity to develop a range of skills and competencies that can be applied to build collaborative partnerships with government, business and the third sector within your workplace.
-
Leadership for Social Impact is designed for a new generation of leaders
- Those who seek a leadership career in social enterprises, and those already in the sector who wish to enhance their professional capacity to create social and environmental value through leadership of third sector/not-for-profit organisations
- Those who aspire to hold executive positions in companies which are committed to maximising social benefit and meeting corporate responsibilities through their products and practices
- Those who wish to become senior public administrators working with community groups, or public service executives with a responsibility for developing the public policy framework
- Those individuals and foundations that seek to ensure that their social investment is applied to greatest social impact
The course provides students with an introduction to the challenges and opportunities of leading organisations with the purpose of improving social outcomes.
The course will examine the following areas:
- Current challenges in achieving social benefit
- Leadership in the social economy
- Challenges and opportunities of leadership during a time of inflexion
- A model of leadership centred on identifying adaptive challenges for leaders
- Intervention of leaders and practices for more effective and positive social outcomes
- New forms of organising designed to address breakdowns in the social economy
- Governance systems and demands
- Diagnosis of leadership challenges
-
This course is optional and must be approved by the UNSW Centre for Social Impact to enrol in towards the end of program progression.
The main aim of the capstone course is to enable graduates to synthesize all their learning from across the MBAX Social Impact program and, to achieve a common understanding of the degree qualification.
The capstone course will add significant value to your Master's degree by building on your knowledge and skills from across the core business discipline courses within the MBAX Social Impact program financial, legal, marketing, etc.) in addition to the specialist knowledge and skills in Social Impact that you have developed throughout your study and professional experience.
As a graduate of MBAX (Social Impact) program it is expected that you will be able to perform effectively at a high level across social impact field within either the corporate, social purpose, or government sectors. You should now be able to demonstrate effective leadership and management in the field of Social Impact by combining strong generic strategic management skills with specialist social impact expertise.
Electives
Students can take up to two elective course from any courses with an AGSM prefix (e.g. core courses and courses from other specialisations) including the AGSM9155 Strategic Consulting Project or participate in an international exchange.
-
This course provides you with the opportunity to develop and practise your problem-solving skills by integrating your knowledge, skills, experience and various tools you have acquired during your MBAX studies. By investigating a particular strategic issue in an organisation, working as a team on the client issue, identifying solutions for that issue, and presenting practical recommendations to the client, you will acquire the skills and practical experience to become effective leaders and innovators.
-
AGSM @ UNSW Business School partners with over 30 elite business schools across Asia, Europe, UK and the USA to provide exchange opportunities for MBA students.
AGSM is a proud member of both the PIM and GNAM international networks through which students have access to short and international experience.
Partnership in International Management (PIM) is an international consortium of business schools from around the world which provides a framework for international cooperation primarily at the graduate level. Through this network of 65 leading business schools AGSM students can access exchange opportunities.
Global Network for Advanced Management (GNAM) is a powerful network created by 32 of the world’s leading business schools. As the only Australian university in the network, AGSM students have a unique opportunity to apply for participation in Global Network Weeks and Global Network Courses during their MBA program.
^There is sufficient difference in the learning outcomes of all three courses that MBA (Social Impact) students could, if they wanted to, undertake all three COMM5902, COMM5205 and AGSM6131