Master of Business Administration (MBA)

This course briefly reviews the main financial information produced by organisations, before moving on and focusing on how this information can be used by managers. The module provides a platform for managers, developing from basic financial systems to evaluating financial information and its uses in making decisions. The module will allow you to reflect on some of the current critical debates This module is about the role and positioning of financial information in organisations, as well as being able to place financial information and decision-making in the wider context of organisations and their roles in society.

This module recognises that the effective management of people is of fundamental importance to any organisation, as is a coherent, well-thought-through company strategy.  An increasing number of organisations are recognising the need for strategically integrated people management policies that inform all major decisions. This change requires greater strategic awareness from Human Resources (HR) managers. Indeed, the UK HR professional body, Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) has encouraged all HR professionals to be cognisant of their role in the effective achievement of organisational strategy. This module will enhance your knowledge of, and competence in, strategic human resource management to help you meet increasing demands for a strategically sensitive approach to people management.

In this module, you will develop your skills and awareness of research methodologies and techniques that are specifically appropriate for undertaking, analysing and writing-up academic research in the form of a dissertation or practitioner/consultancy research. You will be encouraged to explore a wide range of methodologies and develop the necessary conceptual, methodological, practical and ethical skills necessary for management studies research.

This module is designed to provide you with an understanding of marketing planning including the synerginistic planning process and its links with the delivery of effective and sustainable competitive advantage. Effective marketing strategy and planning is essential for all organisations. The module considers the complexities of the marketing environment and the impact this has on the creation of marketing plans and their successful implementation and execution. This will enable you to contribute along with other directors and senior managers to an organisation’s competitive strategy.

In this module, it provides a critical, reflective and evaluative examination of historic and contemporary debates relating to business strategy and strategic planning. The module focuses on the decision-making process with regard to strategy formulation and implementation and contextualises and evaluates the process through examination of business approaches and practices. You will develop the ability to formulate and implement strategy in order to maximise organisational effectiveness and business performance. In addition, you will be encouraged to evaluate the impact and influence of sometimes complex strategic decisions and actions on a range of organisational stakeholders.

Creation to Implementation ponders the process for turning a really good idea into a product or service and reflects on how to judge if a creation is ‘innovative’. Innovation involves the development and release of a new product/service, or the repackaging of an existing one, to provide competitive advantage or even create new markets. The module explores the difference between an idea, an invention and an innovation. It will provide you with a case-led understanding of the process in action from creation to implementation. Moreover, it provides you with a number of tools and techniques to critically evaluate success.

Dissertation requires you to undertake a piece of independent research based upon, or linked to, a specific topic or issue related to a relevant organisational or management development matter. You will provide a theoretical rationale for the dissertation, collect and organise research data, present it within a coherent, rigorous and analytical framework, and reach a well-argued and integrated conclusion.