Program structure

INTRODUCTORY MANAGEMENT SEMINAR

This course on management skills looks at the importance of the environment, the interdependence of managers’ actions, and the opportunities and constraints created by functional interfaces, as well as the leadership skills and work habits of effective managers. Using interactive simulation (GLOBSTRAT), the participants make financing, marketing, production and management decisions.

CORPORATE MANAGEMENT

This course covers the main trends that have historically influenced management concepts and examines emerging trends as well. Special attention is paid to the significance of such trends for managers and the importance of taking specific contexts into account.

MANAGERIAL ECONOMICS

The objective of this course is to give participants the economic tools needed to understand the functioning of market economies in general and the workings of the energy sector in particular. Various market structures are analyzed with reference to the energy sector. Energy policies are examined from the standpoint of the concepts developed in the course.

DECISION SUPPORT TOOLS

This introductory course enables students to acquire skills required for the mathematical modeling of concrete problems. Special attention is paid to linear programming and its extensions as a decision-aid tool. Examples drawn from refinery operations planning and power plant management are used.

FINANCIAL ANALYSIS

This course covers the basic concepts of corporate financial diagnostics. The subjects covered are analysis of financial statements using ratios and evaluation of corporate liquidity. The concepts are illustrated with the annual reports of energy companies. Special attention is paid to analysis limitations based on accounting information.

HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT

This course covers the basic human resources functions at an energy company and the alignment of human resources management policies with corporate and individual needs. Students learn to develop a human resources policy adapted to the company and its personnel. Human resources management strategy and personnel mobilization and competencies are covered.

MARKETING

In this introductory course, participants gain an understanding of the main energy sector marketing concepts and their application. The importance of marketing in different business contexts will be emphasized.

MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING

The first objective of this course is to provide tools to better understand the role and mechanisms of a budget and to position budgets within the larger context of management control. The second objective is to provide participants with the tools they need to enhance their decision making process.

ECONOMIC EVALUATION OF INVESTMENT PROJECTS

This course examines the ways economists evaluate a project’s economic profitability for society and the different constraints managers face in the public and private sectors. While it does not explain how to perform an economic analysis, it nevertheless teaches managers to critically judge an analysis prepared by employees or consultants.

FINANCIAL EVALUATION AND FINANCING TECHNIQUES

This course covers the main methods used to evaluate the profitability of energy projects and the financing of such projects. Evaluation and financing concepts are placed in context and illustrated with concrete examples. Participants will complete practical assignments.

ENERGY PLANNING AND DEMAND FORECASTING

In this two-part course, participants gain an understanding of the macro-economic issues affecting the energy sector, especially substitution of energy sources and their relative economic importance, and then learn to analyze them. They then use time-series or econometric models to prepare an energy demand forecast for the country of their choice.

RISK ANALYSIS

This course covers the quantitative analytical tools used for tactical and strategic decision making in the uncertain context of the energy sector. The tools include modelling of decision problems according to decision and utility criteria, scenario analysis, simulations and decision trees, as well as specialized problem-solving software. Analysis and interpretation are emphasized.

OPTIMIZATION APPLICATIONS IN ENERGY

This course covers the operations research applications used most frequently by the energy sector. Using application contexts, the participants represent decision problems in the form of mathematical models, identify the required solution techniques and interpret results provided by specialized software.

OPTIMAL MANAGEMENT OF PRODUCTION SYSTEMS

This course introduces operations research techniques that extend or complete linear programming. The participants model concrete problems using Lagrange multi-pliers, deterministic and stochastic dynamic programming, optimization by separation and evaluation, non-linear programming and heuristics. The examples involve oil refinery and power plant production planning.

ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Participants study the environmental issues that will affect the future and survival of energy companies. An economic approach is used to analyze these issues, with emphasis on the role of public policy. Environmental considerations within corporations and their response to public policies are then examined.

INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZATION IN THE ENERGY SECTOR

This course provides an overview of the energy sector from the standpoints of its organizational structure, level of competition, entry barriers and corporate strategies, with emphasis on the changes occurring in the natural gas and electricity markets, especially deregulation and privatization. The crude oil market is also covered.

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT OF THE ENERGY SECTOR

This course covers the main integration concepts and modern strategic analysis techniques, with emphasis on planning and relationships between strategy and structure and between strategy and managers’ values, as well as general strategy implementation.

MANAGEMENT OF CHANGE

This course examines the types of change that large businesses may undergo, especially in the energy sector. It defines economic, political and social issues that lead to organizational change and their roles in legitimizing change. It also evaluates major organizational change, explains its psychosocial characteristics and conditions, and provides the tools for more suitable change scenarios.

STUDY PROJECT

The D.E.S.S. courses enable students to acquire new aptitudes and distinctive management skills. The study project provides the opportunity to put this knowledge into practice and apply it either in cooperation with companies facing new challenges or in the course of a research project. It essentially consists in fulfilling a consulting mandate and working within a company or any other organization seeking to take advantage of the training provided throughout the D.E.S.S. program. It can also consist of a research project that applies one or more of the management concepts taught during the program to a problem in the energy sector.