Some programs use their first year to weed out students who are not ready for the challenge to prepare the rest for challenging careers. At McGill, however, we recognize that the changing realities of the global workplace require robust, flexible, well-rounded leaders able to build and manage strong teams. To that end, we have redesigned the traditional first-year curriculum as an integrated, streamlined Core.
The Core is completed in one regular semester - running from late August to mid-December. Emphasizing proactive management and effective teamwork, the Core provides organizational and environmental context for the rest of the program - enabling cross-functional, whole-system, and integrative thinking.
Core components
The Core is comprised of five integrated modules and a final case competition, completed by all full-time students in the first (fall) term of the program.
- Global Leadership provides a cross-disciplinary perspective on leading business issues, including international firm management, multicultural workforce management and sustainable development.
- Business Tools lays out the foundational principles of various management tools.
- Managing Resources introduces students to the issues of acquiring and developing financial capital and human talent. It also opens discussion of two largely-neglected forms of capital: natural and intellectual capital.
- Value Creation explores the uses and development of the concept of 'value' from both demand and supply perspectives
- Markets and Globalization examines how firms develop strategies to compete an ever-globalizing marketplace.
The Core closes with the case competition. Opening with a key concepts session outlining principles of case analysis, the event culminates with a weeklong competition at the end of the term.
