GTEL - Postgraduate Certificate in Telecommunications Business Management

The purpose of this course is to study fundamental topics for the administrative task of telecommunications companies. To start with, a general approach on business administration is provided, and administrative and economic aspects are addressed. Finally, current topics in the energy and telecommunications sectors are addressed.

One of the objectives of this course is to foster the development of analytical and decision-making abilities. It provides the students with the necessary tools to interpret and analyze the market-related situations that companies face on a daily basis. Marketing Management is visualized as an integral part of business, and from this perspective, its implications and relations with other functional areas of the organization are studied. Additionally, the abilities required to design marketing strategic alternatives are developed based on the elaboration of a plan. The purposes of this program aim to: n Analyze the competitive atmosphere of industries n Orient the strategy towards the alternative use of infrastructure n Provide the companies with added value n Conduct research on the current necessities of clients in the IT market n Identify the reach of strategic implementation.

These unit intends to familiarize students with the juridical framework of telecommunications in Colombia from a practical perspective. Therefore, it is targeted to study the problems that telecommunications companies face everyday. For these purposes, the unit has a general institutional section to deal with aspects related to the State entities in charge of monitoring, controlling and regulating telecommunications activities in Colombia and the general framework surrounding them. Subsequently, a number of specific relevant issues will be addressed in regard to the companies in the telecommunications sector, such as rivalry in the local market, interconnections, typical contracts in the sector, alternatives for the settlement of disputes and convergence from the legislative and regulatory perspective. Since, in this specialty most of the students do not take part in legal studies, it becomes fundamental to open a space to teach the necessary legal knowledge to develop telecommunications activities. In this regard, this unit is presented from three perspectives closely related to the topic of telecommunications: Aspects related to management performance (I), notions of contracting (II), public accountability (III) and fundamentals of mercantile law for the management of telecommunications companies (IV). At the end of this unit, students will be able to identify some relevant juridical features, which could be useful to perform their daily tasks in their correspondent work sites.

This course seeks to develop an analysis (thinking structure), historical and functional base vis-á-vis the management skills a person with executive or management responsibilities in an organization must currently have. Emphasis is made on the models of thought and mental schemes that condition the conduct of individuals and the need to acknowledge the complexity of today´s organizations. These courses show, both in an experiential and a conceptual manner, some outstanding aspects of four of the skills required by an executive: critical thought, negotiation capacity, creativity and leadership.

The program intends to provide a general vision of mainstream and modern theories on the industrial organization type, specifically, the structure of the firms, the markets and their interaction. The program intends to respond the following question: Why regulate the market of telecommunications? It is done based on three fundamental aspects. First, the use of the classic theory of regulation of monopoly under the premise of full information. Then, weakening the assumption that the information exists and is available, the program explores the theory of incentives in an atmosphere characterized by asymmetry of information. The third aspect under study is related to the governmental necessity of assuring the existence of a telecommunications network available for consumers and operators alike. the aforementioned is achievable through the interconnection of networks and operators. At this point it becomes fundamental to understand what the role of the access positions is

The purpose of the course is to get students familiar with the concept of strategy as key element in telecommunications company management. Provide elements for telecommunications experts to better contribute to the business development. Provide tools and concepts to increase competitiveness. Share experiences with experts in the sector. Provide elements to build new " new business models ".

Additional seminars to complete student education with some current topics not addressed during the specialization.

At the end of this specialty, each participant solves and presents a practical case of Telecommunications Companies Management, analyzing in the light of their previous experiences and the knowledge acquired during the program. This final assignment permits them to know the Colombian reality, and is used as a pedagogic tool for future promotions and serves as an illustration to the companies for their cooperation in the definition of sector and global policies for scientific and technologic development. During the presentation of the assignments, the drawn conclusions are analyzed.