BA (Hons) Business Management

Academic & Professional Skills

This module is designed to facilitate a smooth transition when entering university, fostering both academic and professional skill development. It places a strong emphasis on personal growth, encouraging you to reflect on your development while also valuing the contributions of your peers. With a focus on academic skills and personal development, the module aims to equip you with the tools necessary for success in both your academic pursuits and future professional endeavours.

Assessment:
3,000-word Portfolio

Consumer Psychology

This module will equip you with the fundamentals of consumer behaviour. You will critically appreciate the importance of psychology to decision making and the field of marketing. You will also analyse and evaluate individual aspects of consumer behaviour and social and group aspects of consumer behaviour during your studies.

Assessment:
3,000-word Report

Entrepreneurial Mindset

This module is an exciting opportunity for you to not only understand entrepreneurship but also apply it in a real-world context. By engaging with real clients and tackling genuine problems or opportunities, you can develop a practical understanding of entrepreneurial thinking and innovation.

Working collaboratively in small groups fosters teamwork and diverse perspectives, while also allowing room for individual creativity and initiative. The emphasis on delivering value to the client and showcasing an entrepreneurial mindset through practical implementation and strategic recommendations ensures a holistic learning experience.

Assessment:
15-minute Presentation
1,800-word Report

Introductory Law for Managers

This module aims to introduce you to the subject of law relevant to the commercial world. The module looks to provide you with sufficient understanding of the law so that, as managers, you can recognise and understand its relevance and application within a commercial context.

Assessment:
1.5 Hour Exam
1.5 Hour Exam

Introduction to Sustainability

Collaborative exploration of sustainability not only fosters deeper understanding but also cultivates vital skills like ethical reasoning and effective communication. Encouraging you to examine sustainability within specific sectors or industries can lead to insightful discussions and innovative solutions to real-world challenges.

Assessment:
Poster and 10-minute poster presentation with Q&A.

Management and Organisations

This module is an excellent gateway to the world of management and organisational behaviour. By encouraging exploratory learning, it offers you a chance to develop not only academic knowledge but also self-awareness and interpersonal skills. Such an approach is vital for preparing you for the complexities of the modern workplace and can inspire a lifelong curiosity in the subject.

Assessment:
Individual 3,000-word report

Marketing Principles & Practice

This marketing module offers a comprehensive exploration of marketing’s significance in today’s business landscape, covering essential tools and concepts. You will delve into the extended services mix, buyer behaviour, segmentation and market research, while also examining broader business facets like contemporary society, digital advancements, and disruptive business models. Through real-world examples, interactive discussions and engaging activities, you will gain a practical understanding of marketing principles and their application in various contexts.

Assessment:
3,000-word Report

Technology for Business

This module is designed to introduce you to the use of technology, primarily information systems, and how organisations adapt and leverage digital technology solutions to gain a competitive advantage.

Assessment:
3,000-word Report

Data Driven Decision Making

The aim of this module is to introduce you to the concept of data and market research for decision making.

Assessment
2,250-word Leaflet, Brochure, Poster
750-word Explanation Document

Finance for Managers

This module aims to introduce and develop essential financial concepts and tools necessary for understanding and evaluating business performance from a primarily financial perspective.

It assumes minimal prior accounting knowledge and targets those who aren’t necessarily pursuing an Accounting and Finance degree.

Assessment:
3,000-word Coursework

Key HR Practices

This module provides you with a deep dive into essential aspects of effective people management. By covering theories, practices, and contemporary issues, it equips you with a holistic understanding of HR within diverse organisational landscapes.

The focus on workforce planning, performance management and talent retention reflects the evolving needs of modern businesses. Integrating literature and practical tasks ensures you can apply your knowledge in real-world scenarios, both nationally and internationally. Overall, it seems like a robust foundation for future HR professionals.

Assessments:
1,500-word Portfolio
1.15-hour Examination

Leadership

This module invites you to explore the challenges of leadership in organisations through a critical examination of theory, practice, and possible future directions. It encourages you to avoid simplified prescriptions for effective leadership and encourages you to expand your thinking on alternative strategies as you look forward to your future role as potential leaders in organisations.

Assessment:
10-minute Presentation
2,100-word Written Submission

Operations Management

Operations management is the backbone of how organisations create and deliver their goods and services. While the concept seems straightforward – input, operations, output – the reality is often much more intricate due to the complexities of business processes.

This module seeks to give you a deep understanding of how organisations navigate these complexities to efficiently manage their resources, facilities and assets. Ultimately, the goal is to ensure consistent quality in delivering goods and services that meet customer needs effectively.

Assessment:
20-minute Presentation with 10-minute Q&A

The Professional Graduate

This module integrates practical elements to enhance career progression, emphasizing the significance of professionalism in the workplace for graduates. It promotes personal and professional development through activities such as career planning, professional placements, and projects.

Reflective practice is highlighted as a key tool for fostering continuous growth and the acquisition of relevant competencies.

Assessment:
3,000-word Assessment Portfolio

A Sustainable Economy

Sustainability in business is essential, aligning with global goals like the United Nations Sustainability Development Goals. It spans various dimensions, from societal and environmental concerns to economic and ethical considerations.

As climate change and resource limitations become more pressing, companies must prioritize sustainability to reduce carbon emissions and address inequality. Moreover, heightened societal awareness demands greater corporate social responsibility and ethical values.

This module will delve into sustainable practices, highlighting their benefits for both businesses and consumers and how effective operations and strategies can manage sustainability challenges through best practices.

Assessment:
3,000-word report

Economics for Business

This module aims to equip you with a foundational grasp of applied economics, crucial for informed decision-making as future leaders. Focusing on macroeconomics, it delves into economic history, assessing various schools of thought shaping today’s markets. Through abstract models and case studies, you will gain insights into business strategy and governmental economic policies, enhancing your ability to navigate the complex dynamics of the marketplace.

Assessment:
3,000-word Report

Employee Development

This module expands on prior knowledge about management, organisations and HR practices, focusing on cultivating a skilled and talented workforce. It delves into the advantages of having such a workforce, examines the factors shaping workforce development and assesses the breadth of learning and development within talent management strategies.

Additionally, it evaluates various methodologies and frameworks for gauging the efficacy of workforce development initiatives.

Assessment:
1,200-word essay
1,800-word Report or 1,800-word equivalent presentation

Project Management

This module introduces you to the world of project management, a subject that is highly sought after whether the organisation is an SME or a multinational.

The content is based on the Association of Project Management (APM) Body of Knowledge (Bok). This is the leading association for project management in the UK and provides a holistic and generic approach to the wide range of skills necessary to manage projects efficiently and effectively.

Assessment:
3,000-word Report

Research Project

The module offers you a chance to delve into a specific area of interest within various organisational contexts, fostering both professional and intellectual growth.

Under the guidance of a supervisor, you will undertake independent research, showcasing your ability for critical thinking and analysis. The chosen topic typically revolves around management issues in either public or private sectors, with a focus on generating findings applicable beyond specific cases.

There are optional placement routes – Industry, Consultancy, or Entrepreneurship – each tailored to align with career goals and academic pursuits.

Assessment:
At the end of stage 2, you will submit a final version of your research project. This will look like the following, depending on the option chosen:

• Completed dissertation (industry route) or consultancy report (consultancy route) which is structured and presented according to the module guidelines (9,000 words)
• Entrepreneurship 2 year growth strategy and professional discussion around key findings on the viability of the business idea from the experience of starting up the business (6,000-word report and 3,000-word equivalent presentation)

Professional Practice

This module offers you a chance to gain 270 hours of experience in an organisation, building on your work in the Professional Development module. You will secure a placement and develop your Personal Development Planning for future career goals and better employability.

Typically paired with the Research Project, it allows you to focus on personal development within your work placement, enhancing skills for your chosen careers and gaining practical and research expertise in your field. You can choose from options like a Short Work Placement, a Consultancy Project (remote), or Entrepreneurship (requiring Entrepreneurship in semester one).

Assessment:
Assessment 1: 1,800-word Personal Portfolio
Assessment 2: 3,000-word Learning Logs
Assessment 3: 10 minute Personal Presentation

Strategic Management

The module encourages you to think critically and creatively about strategic management from the formation of strategy through to frontline implementation. It is aimed at those that may have little or no personal experience of strategic management.

Assessment:
10-minute presentation
2,000 word Assignment

Corporate Finance

This is an excellent way to bridge the gap between theory and real-world application in corporate finance. By starting with core concepts and then delving into specific areas such as corporate valuation and M&A activity, you can gain a comprehensive understanding of how these concepts play out in practice.

Introducing more advanced topics like Portfolio Theory and the Capital Asset Pricing Model adds depth to your knowledge and prepares you for analysing complex financial scenarios. The emphasis on “corporate finance in action” is particularly valuable, as it encourages you to apply what you learn to current developments and occurrences in the corporate world, fostering critical thinking and adaptability.

Assessment:
1-hour In Class Test
2-hour Examination

Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility

This module introduces you to a range of ethical issues, concepts, theories and techniques that affect people and organisations that you can reflect on in relation to your own values and ethics.

From an organisational perspective, you will consider ethical frameworks and decision making, for example in relation to corporate social responsibility and the UN Sustainability Goals. At a personal level, you will be encouraged to consider and reflect on your own ethical and moral stance and the impact this has on your future choices.

Assessment:
3,000-word Portfolio

Entrepreneurship

Ever wondered what it’s like to run your own business and unsure of how you would go about it?  This level 6 module adopts a practical approach to investigating the small business sector and developing business ideas.

The module concentrates on the planning involved when setting-up a new business venture.  The main output of the module is the creation of an early-stage business plan that could be used to either set-up a new or develop an existing business.

Even if you decide that running your own business is not for you, going through the experience of developing and writing a business plan, will provide insight into both strategic and operational small business decision making; and increased employability skills that will prove valuable to a future employer.

Assessment:
3,000-word Business Plan + Financial Appendices

Global Business Today

This module introduces you to current global issues relevant for organisations aiming to compete and thrive in a highly competitive global business landscape.

Weekly exploration of various global topics will utilise both quantitative and qualitative data from reliable sources commonly used by global decision-makers. This approach aims to give you a comprehensive grasp of the key responsibilities and challenges confronting diverse organisations, shedding light on the global dimensions of local and regional business issues.

Particularly appealing to those interested in understanding the intersection of world events and business, the module offers a diverse array of contemporary topics each week, emphasising their global ramifications and the diverse challenges faced by economies, countries, and organisational types.

Through analysis of organisation and country case studies, you will gain insights into business challenges, opportunities, and potential solutions.

Assessment:
20-minute conference presentation + 10-minute Q&A

Psychology in Context: Cultural Psychology

The module adopts an interdisciplinary approach to Psychology, covering key areas such as biological, cognition, development, emotions, health, individual differences, morality and justice, motivation, relationships, and the self, all within the context of a multicultural world.

While primarily focusing on psychological theories and research, it also draws insights from Anthropology, Biology, Geography, History, Sociology and Zoology.

Emphasising the neglect of cultural perspectives in mainstream Psychology, the module aims to integrate insights from diverse cultures to provide a comprehensive understanding. It poses overarching questions such as how universalist assumptions have influenced Psychology’s knowledge, how culture intersects with Psychology, the similarities, and differences in psychological findings across cultures, the evidence supporting these findings, and how such insights can enhance health and well-being.

Assessment:
3,000-word Essay

Strategic and International HRM

The module emphasises how Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM) intertwines with business strategy, organizational culture, and design, showcasing how it’s implemented using various management tools and techniques.

It upholds the significance of HRM by highlighting current themes, developments, and issues, both nationally and internationally. Moreover, it underscores the practical application and outcomes of these developments for organisations.

Assessment:
1,800-word report
1.15-hour Examination

Strategic Marketing Management in a Global Environment

The module looks at the role of marketing in strategy and how marketing contributes to organisational success. It will provide you with a detailed knowledge of theoretical and practical perspectives of marketing strategy in order to develop an appropriate strategic marketing plan.

You will use a range of different contemporary information sources and strategic marketing theory to make informed decisions and to develop your ability to think critically about marketing scenarios. We will examine the core strategic considerations when operating in a contemporary global environment.

Assessment:
Poster
Marketing Plan