Accounting and Financial Management (MBA) only

15 credits
Spring teaching, year 1

This module is designed for non-financial managers to understand Accounting and Financial reporting and analysis within the context of a business environment.
The assessed coursework output from the module is a Business Financial Analysis Report. You will research and write up a study which should incorporate an appraisal of financial performance, including comparisons, together with an assessment of value.

Acquiring relevant skills and techniques will be enable you to draw conclusions regarding the performance and evaluation of competitive firms or comparable units. Sponsored participants may wish to examine the competitive performance and valuation of their own organization as part of this module.

MBA Directed Study

15 credits
Autumn teaching, year 2

MBA Directed Study

15 credits
Spring teaching, year 2

MBA Directed Study

15 credits
Summer teaching, year 2

MBA Directed Study

15 credits
Summer vacation, year 2

Economic, Social, Political and Cultural Environment - Understanding Business Environments

15 credits
Autumn teaching, year 1

Understanding external business environments is a fundamental first step in identifying opportunities for businesses. This involves: identifying external factors shaping organisations' abilities to offer products or services and capture value from these; broad scanning of contexts for relevant and reliable information on those different factors; careful analysis of that information to derive useful knowledge of environments, and the implications this raises for the design of the business models organisations intend to implement.

In the context of a world where many organisations are increasingly looking internationally or even globally for their suppliers, collaborators, and customers the influences at regional, national and international levels become increasingly important to identify. The module will explore how economic, social, political, and cultural environments shape the external environment for organisations whether they are developing/supplying products or services, locally or internationally.

Topics include: frameworks for mapping the external environment (such as LoNGPEST, and the National Systems of Innovation framework); different sources of information useful for the analysis of the external environment (spanning academic, commercial and policy domains); and theory and tools for analysing information on the external environment (including ways of understanding markets, risks, regulations, and competition).

Innovation and Entrepreneurship (MBA)

15 credits
Spring teaching, year 1

This module aims to equip you with the knowledge to understand and the skills to manage innovation at the operational and strategic levels. The management of innovation is inherently interdisciplinary and multi-functional, so we aim here to provide an integrative approach to the management of innovation. Specifically, we aim to integrate the management of market, technological and organizational change to improve the competitiveness of firms and effectiveness of other organisations. The module argues that the process of innovation management is essentially generic, although organisation, technological and market specific factors will constrain choices and actions. The module provides you with a broader understanding of the entrepreneurial process and the development of new ventures. Conceptual foundations are matched with practical training to enable you to formulate and explore entrepreneurial ideas and opportunities.

Managing People and Organisations

15 credits
Summer teaching, year 1

The module is delivered over two three-day blocks. The first block is designed to equip you with relevant conceptual tools and theoretical frameworks. The second drills down into some specific managerial challenges which you have experienced, or will experience, at some stage in your career.

The module is designed to support your learning and development as a reflective and critical practitioner. The focus throughout will be on learning through reflection in order to challenge, critique and exercise independent judgement on organisatonal issues.

There will be opportunities (in Assessment 1 and formative activities) for collaborative learning with and through other module members and to explore managerial practices in a diverse range of organisational settings. Assessment 2 builds on this and gives you the opportunity to 'drill into' a specific and anticipated managerial challenge and to generate solutions and assess it as a platform for professional development.

We will discuss issues of professionalism and ethics within your current managerial context and anticipate (and enhance) career development. Thus, the module should be relevant to current and future needs and equip you with the analytical skills which will enable you to progress both within the MBA programme and in your subsequent career trajectories.

The module should be relevant to current and future needs and equip you with the analytical skills which will enable you to progress both within the MBA programme and in your subsequent career trajectory.

Strategy and Leadership

15 credits
Autumn teaching, year 1

This module, which is intended as an integrative and summative component of the programme, explores various aspects of the strategic planning process, including environmental scanning, strategy formulation & implementation, and strategy evaluation & control. Through case study analysis, it explores how leading firms use strategy to gain competitive advantage, and how they relate strategy and leadership in a wide range of different organisations and contexts.
Leadership practices are not restricted to those in formal leadership positions but happen across all functions and levels, necessitating the development of new concepts and frameworks and a more inclusive approach. Core leadership functions include communication, motivation and the creative construction of goals and options. Realising these in practice often involves skilled negotiation whether formal or informal, internal or external. The module introduces fundamental concepts and skills in negotiation, and the challenge of developing negotiating capabilities in a modern organisational context.

Management Accounting in Action

15 credits
Spring teaching, year 2

This elective module seeks to build upon the introduction to management accounts provided in the first year of the MBA. Whilst the first year module covered the conceptual framework of managment accounting, this module will look at the practical application of management accounting in modern businesses. The module will focus upon the application of management accounting in SMEs; these are typically organisations that face the greatest challenge in developing adequate management accounting techniques with limited resources.

The module will cover the following issues:

• The different types of costs; fixed, semi variable and variable
• The practical application of marginal and full costing in SMEs
• The use of historical data versus projections going forward
• The importance of cash budgeting, working capital management and variance analysis
• What should and shouldn't be included in management information packs

You will be expected to comlpete a critique of the management accounts from your individual organisations as your assessment for this module.

Managing Operations and Quality (MBA)

15 credits
Autumn teaching, year 2

This module provides you with an understanding of how the fundamental principles of operations management can support the improvement of management performance in both public and private organisations. These principles may be applied equally to both manufacturing and service operations. You will develop an understanding of the systemic and interactive nature of operations and quality management problems and their relationship to the external environment, through the application of quantitative and qualitative analytical skills, utilising guided problem-based activities and case study analysis. You will explore quality management processes: the ideas, theories and tools that are central to organizational development, change management, and the performance improvements that are generally desired for individuals, teams and organisations. You will also analyse and apply methods used to measure organisational performance other than financial output or profit including focusing on the essential activities, resources and other factors that impact on outputs.

Marketing Management (MBA)

15 credits
Autumn teaching, year 2

Today's markets are characterised by unprecedented customers' demands for superior value in the products and services they purchase, accelerating pace of technological change, and ever-fiercer competition, posing extreme challenges to incumbent, and upstart, enterprises alike. In the face of complexity and radical market changes, marketing, the implementation of market-driven strategies, and the pursuit of market-driving innovations, constitute major determinants of organisational success.

This module aims to provide you with a comprehensive knowledge of the role of marketing and marketing management functions in the modern organization and the key concepts and tools to guide effective marketing analysis, planning and implementation. The impact of marketing activities and the contribution of the marketing function to organisational performance in the dynamic, globally competitive markets of today will be addressed.

The module will also focus on what being market-oriented means, in practice, to organisations operating in manufacturing and service industries, as well as in profit and non-profit enterprises. You will be introduced to the theories, concepts, models, techniques and current best-practices for formulating and implementing marketing strategies and actions.

Marketing decision-making should not take place in a vacuum. The module will familiarise you with the components of market analysis and strategy development with respect to the organisation, its customers, competitors and collaborators. There will be more indepth coverage of marketing implementation and control issues through the concept of the integrated marketing mix: the product/service offering and customer service, promotions/communications, pricing and channels.

Specific learning objectives include:

• developing knowledge and comprehension of key theories, concepts and models (tools) in marketing to guide the formulation of marketing strategies, marketing plans and actions;
• developing the skills to critically analyse marketing situations facing organisations;
• gaining understanding of marketing decision options and refining decision-making and analytical skills; and
• developing written and oral presentational skills relating to marketing case studies.

The Management of Negotiation (MBA)

15 credits
Spring teaching, year 2

This module equips you with the knowledge, understanding and skills to manage the negotiation process at the tactical and strategic levels. Managing negotiations is inherently interdisciplinary and multi-functional, therefore the approach in integrative. Organisations, behavioural and psychological elements are studied together, with the objective of improving the effectiveness of negotiations.

The principal argument is that the main techniques are common to all negotiations, however organisational, behavioural and psychological considerations constrain choices and actions in specific contexts. The module provides you with a broad understanding of the negotiation process and the development of negotiating strategies and tactics across a range of contexts. Conceptual foundations are studied and combined with role play and live scenario building (including video feedback), enabling you to formulate and explore ideas, and providing opportunities to extend your negotiating skills.

Project Management (MBA)

15 credits
Spring teaching, year 2

Strategic Information Systems Management

15 credits
Spring teaching, year 2

In today's globally networked and volatile business environment, a key means of achieving business success comes from the ability to respond to new business opportunities before your rivals. There is a trend towards adopting corporate wide information systems such as Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP). Decisions must be made regarding strategic options such as outsourcing, cloud computing, emerging (and potentially disruptive) technologies. Effective strategy formulation and implementation are therefore essential. This module introduces the student to the concepts and processes of using information technology/information systems (IT/IS) to transform a company and gain competitive success. It provides the student with an awareness and understanding of Strategic Information Systems Planning (SISP), and the strategic analysis and implementation issues associated with the introduction of new technology.

We also take a critical approach to the strategic use of IT and question the real value of IT to organisations and how this is measured. This module examines, at a relatively high level, current research issues and themes which relate to the strategic use and management of information systems in organisations.

The aim throughout the module is to broaden your business and IT/IS perspectives; acquiring the practical skills required to develop and implement IT strategies; and on stressing the use of information and 'systems' as a strategic weapon. Emphasis is placed on the importance of frameworks for Information Systems management, the alignment of IT and business strategies, re-structuring business processes (eg BPR/BPO), IT/IS SMART outsourcing, Cloud Computing) and current trends in information systems management (including organisational analysis and IT evaluation/scorecards and benefitis realisation). You will be encouraged to study and comment on the relevance of these topics through discussion and critical review based on your professional practice.

Since this is a postgraduate-level the module is organised as a seminar (or series of seminars), and not merely as a series of lectures. This approach assumes that the lecturer, you and your fellow students can work together in a collaborative fashion. The role of the lecturer in this environment is to establish a framework and put together a set of materials for discussion, and to create the conditions suitable for learning. The underlying assumption is that we are all co-producers in learning.

Running the module as a workshop means that you and your fellow students are expected to participate and contribute equally to the discussion. It is assumed that you will have read and thought about the assigned materials before class and come prepared to contribute to the class discussion. The classes are intended to be a forum for critically reviewing and discussing the set readings; you are expected to participate fully in this process. Additionally, you are strongly advised to read more widely such as additional articles from any recognised journal in IS.

Strategic Supply Chain Management

15 credits
Spring teaching, year 2

The module introduces you to the nature and scope of issues relating to Strategic Operations Management within private and public sector operations in both service and manufacturing environments. In essence, this module focuses on the strategic view of an operation and the decisions that influence the configuration of its resources. This focus builds upon the models and concepts delivered on the Managing Quality and Operations module and is intended to provide you with the ability to take an overview of operations and processes and to make decisions regarding the viability of operations within the ever-changing operating landscape.

Summary Outline:

1. Positioning Operations within the competitive landscape
2. Examining Strategic Operations Management models and tools
3. Critical appraisal of the 'resource' and 'market' perspectives of operations strategy
4. Configuring operational resources within a global context (capacity, procurement and outsourcing decisions)
5. Exploring the content and process of operations strategy
6. Managing the supply chain and developing effective supplier relationships
7. Establishing and monitoring 'fit', 'sustainability' and 'risk'
8. Implementing Operations strategy
9. Module summary