Master in Business Analysis & Consulting Program

By the end of the course, students should be able to:

Understand the general principles of strategy formulation and international business strategy

Develop the skills to apply basic frameworks to make effectual business decisions

Understand how to integrate into an intercultural environment

Leverage international business information to formulate solutions in complex and unfamiliar situations

Develop sustainable strategic solutions for companies

Apply in-depth knowledge to leverage opportunities in the professional field

Define the failure and success factors of international business strategy

Understand the role of different stakeholders in strategic challenges

Understand different internationalization strategies

Understand how the environment affects strategy

By the end of the course, students should be able to:

Communicate effectively in English to explain a business model

Break down complex organizational problems using the appropriate methodology, notably BPMN and UML to model business processes

Use metaphors to describe creative approaches to business problems

Convey powerful messages using contemporary presentation techniques, in particular to present, explain and discuss a business model

Identify problem areas in a process and design solutions to address them

Employ state-of-the-art management techniques (BPMN and UML)

Demonstrate expertise in the key concepts, techniques and trends of their professional field, specifically modeling, troubleshooting, improving and redesigning business processes

Be a reference point for questions and ambiguities requiring expertise in business processes

This course introduces students to consulting tools and methods, presenting the activities of consulting projects and real-life examples based on business cases.

By the end of the course, students should be able to:

Assess the values of the organization in which they work

Break down complex organizational problems using the appropriate methodology

Propose creative solutions within an organization

Organize change management processes

Employ state-of-the-art management techniques

Be a reference point for questions and ambiguities requiring expertise

Understand the nature and rigor of management consulting

Manage client relationships and effectively address problem situations with different types of executives

Demonstrate sound knowledge of the code of ethics in management consulting

By the end of the course, students should be able to:

Break down a complex problem into smaller parts, especially when the problem is non-trivial

Formulate an appropriate solution for each part of the problem, by selecting the relevant tools and the right data and by avoiding misrepresentation

Cross-check data, identify outliers and solve missing data problems

Collect relevant data using surveys and sampling methods

Understand the importance of wording and variable descriptions

Propose creative solutions based on an understanding of the data

Master basic tools such as correlation, box plots, distributions and payoff tables

Select the relevant method, such as Bayesian analysis, confidence intervals, or parametric and non-parametric tests, and check its assumptions, such as normality

Master the expected knowledge tools and understand new trends in analysis

Analyze numerical and especially categorical data

Demonstrate expertise in advanced tools and methods: SPC/SQC, acceptance sampling, process capability, control charts and decision rules

Link statistics with management methods and quality tools such as Six Sigma

Formulate, model and solve optimization problems

Remain open to new developments in their field of expertise and act as a reference point for these developments

Master professional software

By the end of the course, students should be able to:

Acquire advanced knowledge of how to interpret and analyze financial statements

Demonstrate expertise in key concepts, techniques and trends in their professional field

Understand how to apply this expertise to make effectual decisions as accountants, equity analysts, lenders, investment bankers, boards of directors or external consultants charged with monitoring or advising on corporate performance and the behavior of management

Deliver an effective oral presentation of key course concepts applied to a real-life company

Collaborate successfully within an intercultural team on any professional project involving the technical skills acquired during the course

Communicate effectively in English on any aspect of the expertise acquired

By the end of the course, students should be able to:

Identify the purpose of a business (its mission) and discuss the issues to be considered when setting its financial aims and objectives

Explain the role of management accounting within a business and describe the key qualities that management accounting information should possess

Explain the changes that have occurred over time in both the role of the management accountant and the type of information provided by management accounting systems

Define and distinguish between relevant costs, outlay costs and opportunity costs

Identify and quantify the costs that are relevant to a particular decision

Use relevant costs to make decisions

Set out a relevant cost analysis in a logical form so that the conclusion can be communicated to managers

Deduce the full (absorption) cost of a cost unit

Discuss the problems and the usefulness of full (absorption) cost information for managers

Describe the nature of the modern product costing and pricing environment

Discuss the principles and practicalities of activity-based costing

Explain how new developments such as total life cycle costing and target costing can be used to manage product costs

Explain the theoretical underpinnings of pricing decisions and discuss the issues involved in reaching a pricing decision in real-world situations

Discuss the nature and role of strategic management accounting

Explain how management accounting information can help a business gain a better understanding of its competitors and customers

This course is an introduction to accounting designed for business students. Its main purpose is to address the construction of accounting information and its external and internal use.

By the end of the course, students should be able to:

Understand the process of accumulating, identifying, measuring and recording economic information

Evaluate the use of accounting information for both external and internal decision-making by breaking down complex organizational problems and applying the most relevant methodologies

Construct expert knowledge from cutting-edge information

This course provides students with the knowledge and critical perspectives needed to address the sustainability and ethical challenges facing organizations in a rapidly changing global environment.

The first part of the course introduces major sustainability issues affecting businesses, including:

Climate change

Biodiversity loss

Social justice

Labor conditions

Global supply chains

Students explore key concepts, frameworks, tools, and standards for assessing environmental, social, and governance (ESG) impacts, and how organizations can rethink their strategies and redesign their business models to support sustainability transitions. Throughout the course, they reflect critically on ecological limits, stakeholder responsibilities, and the ethical role of business in advancing sustainable development.

The second part of the course is devoted to program-specific applications tailored to the needs of each master’s program.

By the end of the course, students will be able to critically evaluate sustainability and ethical challenges, apply relevant ESG frameworks and ethical reasoning to organizational decision-making, and propose practical solutions that contribute to sustainable business practices.

Credited language courses for all levels are included in the program. French is mandatory for all non-French-speaking students.

Native French-speaking students can choose another language (Chinese, Spanish, German; list subject to change).

This course is based on a business management simulation game that integrates the functional areas of production, marketing, logistics, finance and strategy. It raises participants’ awareness of what running a company involves from a general management perspective.

By the end of the course, students should be able to:

Understand how to design and implement a strategy for different kinds of markets

Interpret and forecast market situations and financial results and translate them into goal-oriented decisions

Analyze problems, find solutions and make decisions in a context characterized by change

Recognize the interactions among the various companies and external stakeholders in a complex and interrelated environment

The course objective is to cover supply chain strategy and concepts, and to give students a solid understanding of the analytical tools necessary to solve supply chain problems.

By the end of the course, students should be able to:

Describe how a company achieves strategic fit between its supply chain strategy and its competitive strategy

Identify the major drivers of supply chain performance and understand how they are related

Understand the trade-offs between different supply chain networks

Apply concepts to improve supply chain performance

Analyze a supply chain network, identify problems and suggest improvement solutions focusing on the key drivers of the supply chain

Model a simple supply chain network as a mixed integer programming problem and solve it

Use decision trees efficiently to compute the NPV of different supply chain network alternatives

Analyze global supply chain network design decisions in an uncertain environment

To demonstrate their understanding of the material, students will have to present their work effectively in English. They will also have to show their ability to give constructive feedback.

This course aims to familiarize students with the issues and opportunities of change management, and to give them tools and methods to analyze a change situation, its possible obstacles and how to manage them, so that they can act as responsible change agents in their future company.

The first part of the course focuses on understanding where resistance to change may come from, and how to diagnose the problems organizations may face when implementing new technologies or other types of change intervention. The second part focuses on solutions and best practices in change interventions.

By the end of the course, students should be able to:

Understand the drivers and motivations for change in organizations

Design a complete change management process, with its different phases, using change concepts, models and analytical tools

Understand and address the change management challenges companies face, such as resistance to change

Agile business transformations are at the heart of corporate clients’ challenges, even more so in contexts of growing, complex, and ambiguous change. This course provides an understanding of the challenges of transformations and their operational implications while giving students the opportunity to gain a consulting perspective and become SAFe SA certified.

Developed and designed in collaboration with Sopra Steria Next, a major player in management consulting and digital transformation, the course is organized in four modules:

Introduction to agility

Leading SAFe training

Experience sharing from real missions carried out by Sopra Steria Next

Coaching and preparation to pass the SAFe Agilist certification

By the end of the course, students should be able to:

Measure and explain producer performance

Define and measure efficiency and productivity

Apply microeconomic analysis to the decision methods of businesses or other management units

Bridge economic theory and management practice

Use quantitative techniques such as index numbers, productivity accounting and price recovery

Apply benchmarking and performance analysis to real managerial data

Develop a research project within a multicultural student group

Present results orally to a committee of academic and professional members

By the end of the course, students should be able to:

Communicate effectively in English: debate and present an informed argument about the pros and cons of various management control systems

Organize change management processes: understand how management control systems affect decisions and practices and how they take part in change processes, and put this understanding into practice

Appraise the performance of a team: evaluate the performance of a business unit in its various aspects (variance analysis, financial indicators, multidimensional performance, etc.)

Make effectual organizational decisions: know how to use management control systems to make efficient decisions

Students choose two electives of 2 ECTS each from the following list:

Data Analysis with Python: an introduction to the basics of programming with Python and its application in data analytics

Introduction to Financial Data Analysis & Firm Valuation: the principles and techniques of firm valuation and their role in value management and strategic decision-making, from the analysis of financial data to risk, growth and ESG factors and valuation in special situations, with the use of Bloomberg to retrieve financial data, perform industry analysis and peer comparisons, and build forecast inputs for valuation models

Excel VBA: a review of selected advanced Excel features and basic VBA programming structures

SAP for Business Process Management: the study of ERP systems, and of SAP ERP in particular, covering process integration, data structures, SAP modules and implementation, with practical work in the HCM module

The Mindful Manager: an introductory seminar, conceived as a learning journey into mindfulness practice for business school students and future managers, that introduces mindfulness theory and practice and lets participants experience how it can be useful in their professional life

This course equips students with the knowledge and skills required to investigate complex organizational challenges through rigorous research methods. Students learn to identify and analyze business problems, select and apply appropriate research methodologies, and critically engage with academic and professional sources to build robust, evidence-based knowledge.

Emphasis is placed on developing creative solutions to organizational issues and communicating research findings effectively through clear, persuasive, and professional presentation techniques. The course combines a common foundation in research methods with program-specific applications that reflect the research needs and practices of each master’s program.

By the end of the course, students will be able to design and conduct methodologically sound research that supports informed decision-making in organizational and business contexts.

The Career Program aims to help IÉSEG students build and implement their career plan in line with their aspirations, skills and the socio-economic reality of the market.

The objective is to facilitate their integration into the job market, in an environment that allows them to develop personally and professionally.

All students benefit from a credited program tailored to their track or major, taught by a dedicated team of experienced professionals. The Career Program includes collective credited courses, digital resources, and on-demand coaching provided by the Career team for those who need additional support.

A cycle of thematic events fosters connections with companies and helps students build their professional networks. Our teaching approach blends various methods, including digital modules, interactive and blended learning, coaching, peer-to-peer learning, learning by doing, live scenarios, debriefing, and reflection, in line with IÉSEG’s teaching and learning strategy.

Credited language courses for all levels are included in the program. French is mandatory for all non-French-speaking students.

Native French-speaking students can choose another language (Chinese, Spanish, German; list subject to change).

This course gives a global view of human resources management, with a chosen focus on how to build engaging organizations and foster engaged people and teams, rather than describing process-only policies. It combines lectures, discussions, individual work and team workshops.

By the end of the course, students should be able to:

Outline the interactions between human capital management and organizational performance in a multicultural environment

Understand the key differences between satisfaction, motivation and employee engagement

Demonstrate basic knowledge of what drives team performance and behavior, and of what characterizes an engaging leader

Discuss how HR and CSR can monitor organizational engagement and improve the employee experience at work

In this course, students learn actively by working with data themselves, from data manipulation and cleaning to analysis and visualization. As students come from different backgrounds, and some may already have experience in statistics or data analytics, the course offers a range of projects from which each student chooses the one that best matches their background, with individual instructions during project sessions.

The projects are based on real-world data, which allows students to develop relevant skills. The course is essential for any future career involving data, and the knowledge gained is particularly useful in finance and management contexts.

This course is designed to provide an overview of machine learning and artificial intelligence approaches, and to demonstrate how those techniques are applied in decision-making.

Course contents:

Overview of machine learning and artificial intelligence in day-to-day life

Fundamental supervised learning algorithms, with case studies

Fundamental unsupervised learning algorithms, with case studies

A brief look at artificial neural networks and deep learning

Best practices in data science

The course will conclude with open discussions on the future of ML/AI in industry and in society in general.

This course equips students with the knowledge and skills required to investigate complex organizational challenges through rigorous research methods. Students learn to identify and analyze business problems, select and apply appropriate research methodologies, and critically engage with academic and professional sources to build robust, evidence-based knowledge.

Emphasis is placed on developing creative solutions to organizational issues and communicating research findings effectively through clear, persuasive, and professional presentation techniques. The course combines a common foundation in research methods with program-specific applications that reflect the research needs and practices of each master’s program.

By the end of the course, students will be able to design and conduct methodologically sound research that supports informed decision-making in organizational and business contexts.

This course gives participants an in-depth understanding of entrepreneurship, new business development, and business plan writing.

Through lectures, testimonials, fieldwork, and group assignments, participants are confronted with the how, where, when, with whom, and why of starting and developing new business activities.

As part of an international and multicultural team, participants work on an operational business plan with one of two aims:

The creation of a new venture (NVC track)

The acceleration of new business for an already established SME (NBD track)

The course thus goes beyond theory: hands-on experience is gained through out-of-class fieldwork covering all steps of the entrepreneurial decision-making process, for example idea generation, feasibility analysis, industry study, market analysis, marketing plan, production plan, product development, and financial statements.

In doing so, participants acquire entrepreneurial knowledge and behaviors that support innovative solutions and new value creation.

This course equips students with the analytical tools and strategic perspective to understand how geopolitical dynamics impact global business environments. Through an interdisciplinary approach, students explore the influence of political risk, international relations, and global power shifts on trade, investment, supply chains, and corporate strategy.

Emphasis is placed on real-world cases and interactive discussions to help students assess geopolitical risk and adapt business decisions accordingly. By the end of the course, participants will be able to integrate geopolitical thinking into strategic planning, enabling responsible and resilient decision-making in complex international contexts.

Particular attention is given to the social impact of geopolitical shifts, encouraging students to consider how business decisions can promote inclusive growth, ethical practices, and long-term societal resilience.

This is a modular, asynchronous course designed to give participants a comprehensive and integrated understanding of AI and its transformative impact on business strategy. Bridging technical knowledge and strategic insight, the course guides learners through a rich curriculum that explores how AI drives innovation, enhances operational efficiency, and creates sustainable competitive advantages.

The learning journey culminates in real-world case studies that demonstrate how leading organizations have successfully integrated AI into their strategies, operations, and innovation processes. These examples provide actionable insights and help bridge theory and practice.

Crucially, the course also addresses the broader societal and environmental impacts of AI, placing ethical, ecological, and workforce considerations at the heart of strategic decision-making. By the end of the course, participants will understand not only how AI works, but also how to deploy it responsibly and strategically for long-term business success in complex, dynamic environments.

Creativity is one of the critical components of an organization’s ability to survive and thrive in today’s competitive and dynamic markets. This course gives participants a rich understanding of how creativity can be fostered and managed in a work setting.

They will acquire knowledge of the various theoretical conceptualizations of creativity (how to define it), its antecedents (what makes you and others more creative) and its outcomes (what impact it has), as well as of design thinking techniques and tools to lead teams through the creative journey.

Here are some of the questions we will address:

How do creative ideas happen?

How can we foster our creativity and the creativity of those around us?

What are the paths of creative development of individuals who succeed in their creative endeavors?

What are the implications for fostering and managing creativity in the workplace?

What are the obstacles to creativity?

What is the nature of creativity in teams and organizations?

During the course, a variety of teaching and learning techniques (including design thinking) will be used to help participants think critically and imaginatively about different perspectives on creativity.

To make learning a shared experience between participants and the instructor, the course integrates real challenges and practical experiences of creativity: projects, presentations, experiential exercises, and critical reflection on the course materials.

This advanced course offers a comprehensive exploration of how organizations can effectively manage, measure, and align performance at individual, team, and organizational levels. It begins by clarifying the concept of performance management: what it is, what it is not, and what characterizes effective strategic performance practices.

Students will examine the challenges of defining and measuring performance accurately, and how to align performance indicators with broader strategic goals such as employee engagement, retention, and organizational growth. Throughout the course, they will work with a range of human resource management tools applicable at the various stages of the performance management cycle. Legal, ethical, and reporting considerations, as well as software solutions, are also addressed to provide a holistic understanding of modern performance systems.

A key focus of the course is the social dimension of performance management. Students will explore how to design systems that are valid, reliable, and fair for all employees, with a strong emphasis on eliminating bias and supporting diversity, inclusion, and social justice.

The course encourages critical assessment of whether performance systems genuinely enable all individuals, regardless of background, to demonstrate their full potential. This includes addressing how organizational culture, leadership behaviors, and system design can unintentionally disadvantage certain groups, and how such challenges can be effectively mitigated in practice.

Credited language courses for all levels are included in the program. French is mandatory for all non-French-speaking students.

Native French-speaking students can choose another language (Chinese, Spanish, German; list subject to change).

4- to 6-month internship or work experience anywhere in the world. Alternatively, students can opt for a consulting project or a thesis.