Master of Science in Strategic Leadership & Governance
- About The Programme
- Uniqueness of the Programme
- Students’ Admission, Progression and Graduation
National Relevance
Globally, competent and strategic leadership and governance are recognised as key to economic and political success of a nation. High growth organisations and institutions have been found to be characterized by effective leadership. Failed institutions have been diagnosed to have poor and incompetent leadership and governance structures. The core purpose of this programme therefore, is to develop a new crop of leaders that provide solutions to 21st century challenges. Graduates of the programme will be empowered to solve complex governance problems as well as leadership challenges and explore emerging global issues that affect governance and leadership in business organisations, civil society, private and public sectors.
The programme targets leaders in middle and senior level positions in all sectors and organisatons who are looking up to greater responsibilities of being at the helm of globally competitive organisations and institutions. Learners will acquire skills that will enable them to support their organisations to further achieve success through proper governance for economic progress. The thrust is to empower learners with practical and research-based knowledge for business decision making.
This is a one-year programme which provides a platform for middle and senior level leaders, to interface theory with practical experience in order to bring out innovative solutions in tandem with the ever changing environment. The programme is a learner-centered curriculum, which is geared towards widening one’s perspective in developing skills and strategies that focus on global governance environment as it affects institutions and organisations’ strategic market positioning. It seeks to attract professionals with diverse expertise across industry and functional governance areas. The programme will be run by experienced industry and academic professionals with excellent delivery skills and hands-on experiential learning.
Inadequacies in Skills
Leadership knowledge and skills are necessary for business development. The inadequacies of the skills in business leadership and governance coupled with strategic change management and implementation in addition to entrepreneurship and innovation is a phenomena of concern hence the introduction of this programme to help solve the situation. The programme will help produce skillful leaders.
Aim
The programme seeks to develop competent, well-rounded leaders in Strategic Leadership and Governance with clearer understanding of procedures and processes as well as necessary skills, knowledge and attributes that can transform public, private and civil society sectors. It will instill in learners the sense of accountability and direction in leadership and corporate governance for organisational effectiveness.
Objectives
To produce well rounded and sharp leaders who can transform organisations and overall contribute to national development. The programme will provide the learning opportunity to practitioners to acquire relevant knowledge and skills so as to apply:
- Leadership theories to practice for effective business operations
- Business strategy to organisations in building unique competencies needed for business effectiveness and sustainability
- Innovation to business practices
- Corporate governance principles and accountability for business growth
- Sustainable business practices in business operations
Intended/Expected Outcomes
The expected learning outcome includes:
- Learners will acquire knowledge in the area of leadership practice and corporate governance principles to drive responsible discharge of top management duties.
- Learners will acquire relevant skills in strategy design and implementation, skills in managing change and skillful application of innovation to leadership and corporate governance practice for business sustainability.
- Learners with acquired competences in leading with sound, accountable corporate governance principles; will be able to apply innovation and sound sustainability business practices in ever changing business environment to drive business growth that contribute to national development through strategy crafting and implementation.
Target Market and Employability:
The programme targets leaders in both for-profit and non-profit organisations occupying middle and senior level positions who are looking up to greater responsibilities of being at the helm of globally competitive organisations and institutions.
For-profit and non-profit organisations, consultancy and advisory firms, educational and training institutions, financial institutions and Government or Public services
Uniqueness of the Programme
The content of the programme integrates leadership, strategy, change management, corporate governance; entrepreneurship and innovation and that make the content unique. This integration aims to produce contemporary leaders with relevant strategic orientation for innovation and entrepreneurial activities having sound corporate governance prowess to lead and manage all the sectors of the economy for an enhanced effectiveness and sustainability.
The programme’s uniqueness also lies in it flexible delivery mode where technology is leverage on to make the programme accessible for wider coverage; that is, learners study both online and in person; and the modular system shall make room for international learners to travel occasionally to campus to study. The use of case studies, presentations, group discussions and the intermittent use of guest or industry professionals also make the programme unique.
By and large while making an emphasis on experiential learning, the Programme will blend real life situations and case studies, against a theoretical background that would create relevance to the Ghanaian and African context.
Globally, many organisations face leadership and governance challenges. This calls for highly qualified personnel with knowledge and research skills to take up leadership and governance roles in various organisations and institutions. Senior leaders in management and in business require high level skills to predict, analyse and develop strategies to deal with real life situations; that they are likely to encounter in the competitive changing organisational environments within the business landscape. The high dynamism in the current organisational and business environments requires senior leaders and managers to devise different ways of doing things that will enable them create sustainable competitive advantage over other institutions. This requires transformative leadership, integration of technology, holistic approach to corporate and business in courses such as strategic change management, strategic management, business ethics and governance, conflict management and negotiations, among others.
Current research supports the notion that senior leaders who have new skills in creativity, innovation and proper governance impact positively in their organisations. Likewise, senior leaders in management of today’s business organisations are seeking higher skills. These skills would enhance their capacities as drivers of transformative leadership, improve their creativity and innovation and advance education success. Consequently, leaders would turn into change agents that would transform their organisations and the society at large.
Individuals in the public and private business sectors wishing to pursue courses in leadership and governance have limited opportunities in the training in leadership and governance competences. The Marshalls College’s Master of Science in Strategic Leadership and Governance Degree Programme targets individuals who wish to take up leadership and governance responsibilities in public and private sectors. The programme will equip its learners with skills and tools to interrogate real life situations to enable them develop innovative and transformative strategies that will not just make their organisations better, but also transform them into innovative entities.
Students’ Admission, Progression and Graduation
The following shall be eligible for registration for the Master of Science in Strategic Leadership and Governance degree in the School of Graduate and Professional Studies:
- A First degree, preferably in a Business related area or in a relevant field of study from any recognized/accredited institutions. Applicants with third-class or pass degree may be considered based on several years of relevant experience and have passed a selection interview, would be considered for admission.
- Any other professional equivalent qualification in business related area recognized by Ghana Tertiary Education Commission.
iii. UK Ofqual regulated level 6 Diploma or other relevant vocational equivalent qualifications in Business related area. Such qualifications shall be referred to GTEC for verification and evaluation.
The minimum pass mark for each course shall be 50%. A candidate who fails to satisfy the requirement may be permitted to take supplementary examinations in the failed course in any semester. The maximum mark attainable in each course examined in supplementary examination shall be 50%.