Business Management (including foundation year) BA (Hons)

This module focuses on the skills needed for success in business. It provides students with opportunities to become aware of the essential communication, problem-solving, decision-making, commercial awareness, and the various other skills needed for succeeding in business. It is also designed to introduce and reinforce essential transferable skills with a focus on personal development, planning and reflective learning.

The module aims to:

• enhance and develop students’ communication and study skills in preparation for an undergraduate degree in Business
• develop self-awareness, and reinforce the concept of reflective practice to allow students to develop into effective reflective practitioners
• introduce students to researching subject material from a wide variety of sources
• create in students a keen awareness of the business environment and to develop creative and dynamic approaches to contemporary business problems

The module is designed to provide students with the main elements of the learning process. An important distinction is that students enter university to learn, not to be taught, and this module is designed to provide students with guidance in the learning process. It introduces the concept of the learning cycle and learning styles.

It provides students with an overview of how memory stores information as well as enabling recall of previously encountered information so that students can build on it and re-store it as new information.

In addition, students are introduced to and will practice, a wide range of skills necessary for successful academic study, such as exam technique, academic literacy, creativity and critical thinking.

This module introduces students to the contexts of business. Business functions including innovation, operations, marketing, human resource management, finance and accounting, all of which interact with one another, can only be fully understood when the environmental, organisational, and strategic contexts within which the business operates are also understood. The focus of this module is the development of students’ understanding of how business organisations work and operate in the wider environment. Students have opportunities to examine the various functions of businesses and their relevant environments. They will analyse a variety of business situations and cases.

This module introduces students to the concept of globalisation in terms of its impact on socio-cultural, political, economic and technological factors. The main aim of the module is to introduce students to the impact of various contexts on business itself, and to provide them with opportunities to enhance a wide range of academic and business skills such as commercial awareness, and sensitivity in terms of people and cultures.

This module aims to provide students with a thorough overview of the numerical and technological skills needed to analyse data in the context of business analysis. The module encompasses aspects of mathematics, statistics and information technology relevant to not only the business management but wider subjects. The module focuses on numbers and data and their computational and analysis techniques that lead to the understanding of Accounting, Finance, Business, Aviation and Economics related information. Students will make use of a range of facilities on Excel to calculate, analyse and present efficiently.

Data analysis is a top business priority. It drives the opportunity for performance improvement and, with advances in technology, data are generated at an ever-increasing rate. As such, it is not surprising business data analysis and software skills are among the top graduate skills sought by employers today.

The module introduces data-based decision making and performance measurement. It also provides students with the practical experience of using Excel to transform data into meaningful information. It further introduces students to forecasting and target setting, budgeting and project management. As such, it provides students with an understanding of the fundamentals of statistical methods for business decision making.

Overall, this module develops the analytical and communication skills relevant to understanding business Information, with an emphasis on problem-solving techniques in the context of business management, decision making and performance measurement.

Financial Accounting is a core module that is designed to lay the foundation for understanding the accounting requirements of business organisations for internal and external reporting and decision making. It examines the financial accounting techniques for sole traders and limited companies.

This module aims to:

1. Enable students to understand the underlying principles of the financial accounting processes and to prepare/construct relevant accounting statements
2. Enable students to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of accounting information systems and how they relate to the decision-making aspects of financial accounting statements
3. Enable students to analyse and interpret the financial accounting statements of a limited company
4. Enable students to understand the context of the professional accountancy framework and to enhance their employability skills.

The module introduces the marketing management process in contemporary organisations and in the context of tangible goods, services and b2b markets. The service sector accounts for a significant proportion of GDP and employment in most developed economies and thus it becomes essential for students to gain insight into the area.

In this module, students will explore a range of marketing theories such as the marketing concept, consumer behaviour, business environmental analysis, marketing research, consumer and b2b insights.

The module aims to:

• Provide an understanding of the theoretical foundations and practical application of marketing in services, private and public sectors.
• Provide an understanding of contemporary issues in marketing.
• Develop students’ academic writing, application of knowledge and interpreting data skills.
• Develop students’ researching and analysing skills.

At present, companies are employing various digital systems to support their business processes and gain a competitive advantage. Equally, developments in Internet Technology is affecting the social networks of individuals. In this rapidly changing and evolving environment of digital systems, it is vital that the students, as future managers, are equipped with the necessary knowledge and skills to exploit and manage digital business opportunities and initiatives within their respective industries.

This module helps the understanding of principles of digital business management in various contexts. It will focus on

• The applications of technology,
• Exploring such important issues as the integration of the business environment,
• Business models,
• Internet marketing,
• The understanding of theory, implementation and maintenance issues.

Overall, the module aims to develop a view of digital business in practice

The focus of this module is to equip students to understand organisations in contexts past, present and future, and enable them to analyse the macro, micro, internal and external business and economic environments in which they operate. An understanding of the environments will facilitate the interpretation of situations and enable decisions that add value for businesses. The focus of the module is on the external and internal influences on organizations and the effect these have on business practices.

The module is designed to be used by Level 4 undergraduate students on a range of programmes. Examples, illustrations and case studies will be drawn from chosen industry sectors such as advertising, aviation, events, finance, marketing, music, transport, tourism, and applied to reinforce basic concepts. This will enhance the ability of students to understand particular business problems and aspects of the business and economic environment. Topics and case studies will cover business issues that are contemporary and relevant to the real world.

This module introduces the management of people in organisations, or as it is commonly known “Human Resource Management”. It is aimed at students from a variety of disciplines, and not just those looking to pursue a career in HRM.

Ultimately, the management of people is often the responsibility of line managers and supervisors so it is important that all graduates are equipped with the knowledge and skills to implement this effectively in practice.

This module will take a critical perspective, illuminating to students not only the ways people management can contribute to performance and employee well-being but also the potential problems implementing this in practice.

This Professional Practice module will enhance the students’ understanding of what it means to be a business professional. This module will support the preparation for their future career by encouraging them to develop, put into practice and evidence the skills and behaviours that employers want to see.

Students will explore:

• How to learn effectively and efficiently either in the workplace or in a simulated context.
• How to use all the resources available to reflect on their progress.

As such this module aims to:

1. Build understanding of the expected workplace knowledge, skills, competencies and attitudes so that they become intrinsic performance and growth motivators.
2. Ensure the adoption of skills, attitudes and behaviours that improve self-awareness to aid reflective practice

The focus of this module is management and the development of students as managers.  Managers are crucial to getting things done, for example, they plan, organise, lead and coordinate the work of others in order to meet organisational goals efficiently and effectively. The challenges of managing in today’s ever-changing, increasingly uncertain, complex economic environment requires managers to have the knowledge, ability and skills to take action, such as managing information, delegating tasks, setting goals, building teams, motivating others and, along with numerous other activities, achieve organisational success.

The traditional view of the purpose and role of management in the world of work was to seek stability and efficiency in a top-down hierarchy aimed at achieving bottom-line results. In contrast, the contemporary management approach expects managers to engage in motivating people and harnessing their creativity, sharing information and power, leading change, and finding shared vision and values in an increasingly diverse and complex workplace.

Today’s managers require the knowledge and ability to draw on both traditional and contemporary approaches to management when formulating workplace decisions. They also need the skills, tools, and techniques to manage their own career trajectory based on the acquisition of sound employability skills and accompanying behaviours.

In addition to knowledge, the module focuses on developing students as managers

which involves the ability to interact with, and motivate, a diverse range of people.

The module aims are to:

• enable students to identify and explain major developments in the history of managerial thought;
• provide students with the opportunity to develop management, leadership and employability capability to enhance their individual potential;
• develop students’ appreciation of the different management approaches that can be used when managing in uncertain and complex environments;
• enable students to develop their management and employability skills, such as critical thinking and writing, interpersonal skills, self-management, communication, team-working, problem solving, and presentation skills, in order to maximise their competitive edge in the business world

This module aims to develop students’ ability to understand and apply problem solving methods and analysis in relation to issues that may arise in business and management subject areas.

The module offers an opportunity for students to collect, present, analyse and interpret qualitative and quantitative data from a variety of data sources such as ONS and other sources.  It seeks to enhance students’ knowledge and understanding of the business environment and develop their data management and data analysis skills using IT packages as appropriate.

The module provides the quantitative and qualitative data analysis skills that underpin the success of an empirical research project. This module helps to build the sound foundation required to undertake a final year project / dissertation module.

This module provides students with an understanding of leadership in both theoretical and practical terms. Using multi-media, students will analyse how an understanding of leadership theory can contribute to developing, leading and managing business organisations.

To develop their knowledge of leadership in practice students will use real world case studies to develop their understanding of leadership dilemmas and how theory can be used to help solve them. Students will explore the role of Power, Influence and Ethics in the role of the leader and how this can be developed to create a more ethical approach to leadership. In addition, students will examine how leaders deal with conflict in the workplace through workplace examples and cases.

Students will have the opportunity to identify, reflect on and develop their own leadership skills. They will conduct a self-leadership audit through identifying their leadership style, traits and skills, e.g. negotiation, communication and then develop a self-reflective piece to evidence their leadership skills development. They will then develop a plan to demonstrate what they have learned and how they might apply their new leadership knowledge in practice, in their future career roles.

Selling is an essential function of business. This module provides students with the opportunity to gain and develop essential selling and negotiation knowledges and skills. It will particularly consider the international perspective in selling to prepare the students for the importance of considering the richness of our current global context.

The module supports a marketing management perspective. Indeed, it includes understanding the selling function and learning from it to improve the overall marketing management function.

Currently, one of employer’s biggest challenges is to find employees with selling skills. They argue that ‘selling is a life-blood of businesses’ since businesses cannot survive without effective results from this important function. Accordingly, this module should give students the edge over other students without such knowledge when seeking employment opportunities.  Past students of this module have confirmed the importance of undertaking this module in helping them find a job. Additionally, selling has a broader perspective as it enables students to learn how to be more persuasive while remaining ethical in their business transactions.

The module introduces and explores a range of key topics related to organisation studies. A broad range of organisation theories is drawn upon to encourage students to develop a critical approach towards their understanding and analysis of key issues within contemporary organisations.

The University has a policy that undergraduate students must, take a Work Based Learning (WBL) module. It should be a module which requires them to directly experience and operate in the real world of work. They will be able to reflect on that episode in order to identify skill and knowledge areas that they need to develop for their career.

Students will be challenged to be creative in identifying a new business opportunity and in examining the viability of all aspects of the idea in the real-world context e.g. testing potential customers’ views. As a result of client brief and feedback, business concepts and/or ideas will develop over the duration of the module. In terms of promoting work related skills, the module specifically focuses on practical techniques for responding to client briefs in evaluating and developing business ideas. In addition, it requires students to examine market potential and prepare a presentation of their findings assuming the role of a business consultant.

Students develop an understanding of the role of business start-ups, business growth and development.

These skills and techniques will be useful to anyone considering:

• developing a business,
• working for a Small or Medium sized Enterprise (SME)
• taking on an intrapreneurial role within a larger organisation

Consultancy is big business and the sector continues to experience strong growth. Management consulting involves engaging with stakeholders to provide objective, specialist advice.

The Practice of Consultancy module develops the practical research and consultancy skills required for a career in Business Analyses and Management Consultancy. Also, it prepares students for the final year Consultancy Project.

Specifically, the module introduces research methods for consultancy and aims to develop a practical understanding of the tools and techniques of problem analysis and issue a clarification. Finally, this module aims to develop student’s communication skills through the preparation of a report to present the outcome of the consultation to their client.

We live in a more diverse society than ever before. Structural changes in labour markets have led to increasing numbers of women, older workers and disabled people in employment, with fewer younger people in many industrialised economies. Globalisation and migration has also lead to greater ethnic diversity. We are also clear about the business for diverse workforces, and the benefits this can bring to society.

However, there is a question as to whether a diverse workforce always equals inclusion. There is evidence that many of these groups are marginalised and face employment disadvantages in practice. The aim of this module is to illuminate some of the inequalities experienced by these groups, and then to examine theoretical perspectives helping explain these and provide insights into how these can be better remedied in practice.

This module will therefore look at the meaning of inclusion and how it differs from concepts of equality and diversity – what it adds and where it might be lacking. We will examine closely the different dimensions of diversity (gender, age, race/ethnicity and so forth) in order to understand the specific barriers these groups experience, and what methods organisations can develop to ensure more inclusive workplaces – so that everyone feels valued regardless of identity or background.

A broader aim of the module is to provide students with an opportunity to ‘step into the shoes’ of diverse marginalised groups and the specific barriers they face, so they are better prepared to identify and promote inclusive workplaces, as social justice champions of our future

This module introduces you to fundamentals of the marketing communications process and the role of an integrated marketing communicating approach in both traditional and digital communication formats, in achieving marketing objectives. The changing environment and impact of technology are explained as background for synthesis of the communications process.

The module aims to:

• Develop a deeper knowledge and understanding of relevant concepts, theories and context of Integrated Marketing Communications as the relate to B2B and B2C customers.
• Understanding of the SOSTAC + 3M’s IMC planning model and how both old and new marketing thinking contributed to its development.
• How to select the relevant communications tools and develop a fully integrated marketing communications campaign and how the plans are controlled and evaluated.
• Foster a critical awareness and understanding of the latest developments in marketing communications and the regulatory framework in which marketing communications operate.

You will develop a critical understanding of appropriate concepts, theories, tools and models of integrated marketing communications as they relate to how to set campaign objectives, implement a campaign, measure and evaluate its success.

You will critique increasingly complex nature of communications within the management, delivery and control of strategic marketing plans.

This module requires students to

• Pick up research threads introduced and developed in previous analytical modules,
• Identify a topic of their interest
• Deepen their knowledge Further through research, data collection, analysis and write up of a dissertation

Their research will involve the review of a wide range of publications (secondary data sources) around the broad area of investigation. This will lead to the formulation of a research proposal for their dissertation.

Students will pursue a robust enquiry into a theme emerging from their investigations in their chosen industry. As the theme emerges, the research methodologies, appropriate methods of data collection, data processing and analysis are evaluated.

This module provides an introduction to the developing field of cross-cultural management, explored in relation to both international and intra-national contexts, and drawing on perspectives from social anthropology, social psychology, organisational behaviour and management theory. It is assessed via a group report and presentation, and an unseen examination based on a case study given in advance.

Strategy is a crucial subject, concerned with the development, success and failure of all kinds of organisations. Accordingly, strategy constitutes a key element of all professional business and management qualifications. It is aimed at students wishing to fulfil up-to-the-minute strategy roles. They will be using business intelligence, web solutions and agile methods to develop and deliver the strategy in today’s technology-dependent business environment.

In brief, the module equips aspiring and digitally aware managers and leaders with the knowledge, skills and techniques required to analyse contemporary organisations within changing environments nationally and globally. Students will also learn how to formulate, evaluate and defend realistic and creative proposals for future strategic direction. Finally, they will explore how to plan for the effective implementation of the strategy selected.

In this module, students will experience the practice of management from three differing yet integrated approaches:

1. Academic development, where the students will study and apply a range of theories to gain a wider and more profound understanding of the socio-cultural issues in corporate business.
2. Professional Development, where the students will study current corporate governance theory and policy, and study the management and performance of selected PLCs in light of their approach to corporate governance.
3. Personal development, where the students undertake a range of psycho-metric tests, management exercises. They will study selected texts on personal development, and based on these, produce a Personal Development Plan (PDP) which will guide them in their future post-degree career and studies.

This module aims to enable students to study and apply in practice a range of leadership theories and techniques to critically evaluate

• and develop their own personal leadership style
• contemporary innovation practice, and organisations in a range of industries engaged with innovation practice
• contemporary innovation processes, and organisations in a range of industries that innovate

The Module will be based on two themes:

Theme 1: Leadership, where they will study, reflect on, and use leadership theories and techniques to assess and develop their own personal leadership style.

Theme 2: Innovation, where they will study, analyse, and evaluate the innovation processes of selected organisations and industries and how innovation is achieved and operates within the contemporary economy.

This module underlines the role personal judgement plays in personal finance, and the many perspectives that inform personal judgement, enabling students to formulate and employ Action Learning strategies for the development of knowledge, skills and attitudinal competencies in personal finance, and for increased ability and confidence in dealing with the complexities of making financial decisions in the five domains of financial capability identified by the FSA.

This module covers, ecological financial worlds, scenario analysis and takes the approach of Competency based Action Learning for effective financial performance.

Students will also explore Behavioural finance, the Psychology of financial decision-making, budgeting, investment management, forecasting and personal planning processes.

With the challenges presented by new media, shifting media patterns, and divided consumer attention, the optimal integration of marketing communications takes on increasing importance. The module is designed to build on your level 5 knowledge and enable you to unlock the power of integrated marketing communications (IMC) by taking advantage of the unique strengths of different communication options, and combining and sequencing them strategically.

The module provides you with key industry-standard skills needed to develop a successful career in marketing communications, digital marketing and social media. It enables students to gain a first-hand experience in setting up live marketing communications campaigns in different contexts by combining both traditional media and new digital options, and industry standard programmes such as Creative Cloud, Adobe or Project.