ESAM : École Supérieure d'Administration et de Management

TheESAM,The ESAM offers ‘professional application exercises’ throughout the curriculum which introduce students to the ins and outs of professional life. They help the students set professional goals and become actively involved in shaping their own lives. They must be capable of positioning and assuming responsibility .

These "applications" encourage the students to express their qualities of imagination, communication, curiosity and leadership.

Business game Normally scheduled for the beginning of the year, the ‘business game’, is a team activity aimed at making the students discover how companies work in a dynamic and entertaining way. It uses a simple and practical role-play scenario: A company is confronted with a large number of events and situations that intervene and have consequences on its activity. It is a way to measure the impact that the environment and decisions on management, organisation and strategy can have on company activity.		Company diagnosis The diagnosis is a tool for decision-making: learning to discover and to structure multidisciplinary problems which affect the company pinpointing the threats and opportunities harboured in the environment and how they affect the company’s strengths and weaknesses identifying the options which might solve the issues rising from the preceding confrontation choosing and then implementing the solution 3rd year students have to imagine these different steps using a company of their choice and draw up a written document.

Case study Different types of case studies (Marketing, Management, Finance…) in French or in English are studied throughout the program. They encourage the students to be pragmatic and to grasp different company functions.		Business plan The Business Plan is either for a company creation or an expansion. The ‘reader’ has to measure the scope and pertinence of the ‘project’, to perceive the objectives and the means that have to be put in place in order to achieve them. Generally, it brings together all the information necessary for putting the project together: people, skills, products, services, markets, strategy, legal and financial aspects. The Business Plan is written up in the 4th year. It is an indispensable document required for all company development initiatives and makes an excellent analyzing/summarizing exercise for the students, helping them to integrate horizontal structures in the company.

Professional Activity Report (RAP) Written in (French and/or a foreign language) after each internship or professional assignment in France or abroad, the RAP (professional activity report) is evaluated. The objective of the report is: to make the student think carefully and describe how the internship progressed and what was learnt and achieved to evaluate his/her analytical and summarizing skills as well as his ability to step back and make an informed assessment to judge his/her writing abilities: accurate choice of vocabulary, spelling and ability to write in French with clear lay-out and structure.		Applied research thesis In the 4th and 5th years, the students must write a thesis. It is an in-depth analysis of an issue relating to a French of foreign company, a product, a branch or sector of activity and must also be presented orally before a panel. It lays out the student’s independent research work and findings. It must highlight not only the theoretic knowledge acquired throughout the studies, but also the student’s practical and professional experience.

Association development project This project is yet another way to develop the students’ entrepreneurial skills. It is a ‘tool’ for practicing what they have learnt in class. It is an excellent way to make students aware of the organization of a company and of economic realities. The project for developing associations is carried out in teams and at the students’ initiation. It incites real passion and enthusiasm and builds up the students’ self-esteem throughout their studies.		Consultancy assignment In the 5th year the students undertake a consultancy assignment for a company which asks them to solve a real problem which may be strategic, legal, organisational or financial… With the support of a tutor or consultant from the ESAM and also a professional from within the company, the students carry out the work and offer their recommendations to the firm’s management. The work is carried out in parallel to the coursework and students must provide a written report for assessment.

Monography The ‘Monograph’ is an assignment given in the 1st year. It is a complete and detailed research study that aims to give an in-depth look at a very precise socio-economic subject. The ‘Monograph’ can also lead students to discover more about how companies work by carrying out field studies.