Master of Business Administration (MBA) - MBA

In this module the nature of entrepreneurship and the importance of entrepreneurship for the vitality of a national economy with specific emphasis on the UK and European context will be discussed. This module is hands-on in nature and the focus is on experiential learning. Through a simulation game, students gain an understanding of the complexity of initiating a business, the array of decisions that are required based on incomplete information, and the dynamic and competitive nature of the marketplace in which new products and services are introduced. Using simulation as an educational tool, students engage in entrepreneurial core activities: Identifying and exploiting market opportunities.

Much attention will be paid to the concept of business models, the search for an appropriate business model and the validation of business models. This module also features voices from the world of entrepreneurship, i.e. entrepreneurs that speak to students in class and interaction with entrepreneurs through visits to start-ups.

A critical aspect of any entrepreneurial activity is the acquisition of resources, primarily financial and human resources. Different alternative funding mechanisms will be discussed. In addition, various strategies will be highlighted to profit from an innovation created by entrepreneurs.

Further, we discuss the internationalisation aspects of entrepreneurship, and strategies to internationalize new ventures. Finally, the module stresses that entrepreneurial activity may not only occur through individual efforts by entrepreneurs, but may also occur in existing corporate settings.

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The objective of this module is for participants to understand the nature of effective leadership in the context of a complex and dynamic organisational environment. Participants will acquire the practical, communication and negotiation skills that they need to become effective leaders. They will engage in several negotiation exercises, which will serve as common touchstones toward understanding the negotiation process. Effective leadership is also about understanding what motivates and inspires people to perform at their best. Thus, participants will critically evaluate alternative HRM approaches to unleashing the productive potential of employees for superior organisational performance and to managing organisational change effectively.

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In introducing Corporate Social Responsibility, a key context used in the discussion is globalisation. This is because Multi-National Corporations are at the centre of the public's criticism of globalisation. It is within this context that Responsibility and Accountability agenda such as UN Global Compact and responses to Social and Environmental obligations are discussed within the international agenda.

CSR approaches from the explicit and implicit perspectives are also introduced as different countries usually have tendencies to adopt different models because of institutional structures, societal expectations and corporate cultures.

Business Ethics also varies across the world and this is evident in three main areas: Culture, Law and Accountability. As such, relevant differences in mainstream Business Ethics debate in Europe, North America and Asia needs to be highlighted in terms of ethical theories development, implementation and management in practice.

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The use of data and analytics has become the corner stone for generating business value, supporting innovation and driving sustainable change in global companies. The aim of this module is to give students an intensive grounding in analytics modelling and hands-on experience in using industry-standard spreadsheet software (Microsoft Excel®) to structure, analyse and solve a variety of problems encountered in business and management.

Topics covered in the module include:

• Descriptive analytics: How to visualise, analyse and interpret data to gain business insights.

• Predictive analytics: Using statistical models, such as regression and forecasting, to make predictions about the future from historical data.

• Prescriptive analytics: How to determine optimal strategies in situations involving several decision alternatives using optimisation and decision analysis techniques.

Students will learn how to build analytics models for a variety of complex business problems, including problems in finance, marketing, human resources, production planning and project management among others.

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Delivering Innovation is an exploration of the conception, creation and diffusion of new products and services within modern economies. It examines the many challenges faced by firms and others in the process and the solutions and management practices that have been developed to deal with potential innovation barriers. The module also explores the evolving nature of innovation itself and outlines how firms and others can benefit from new and different forms of emerging opportunity.

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The module will introduce various tools for conducting financial analyses that will support management decision-making. There will be emphasis on the relevance of each tool in the context of decision-making and assumed objectives. There will be emphasis given to discussions on the interpretations of outcomes, the complex interrelationships involved and the implications of an uncertain decision-making environment.

Although further development of numerical competency is likely to be one outcome of this module it is not a key focus. The module has been designed to capture the financial perspective of Strategic thinking that underlies management decision-making.

The module will include macro and micro focuses for decision-making, as well as considering the necessary adjustments for the risky environments in which mangers operate.

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The module will cover a variety of aspects imperative for a strategic analysis at a global level underpinned by economic rationales focusing on the business environment and the way firms interact either as multinational organisations or uni-national organisations that compete with multinationals. It will cover the following areas:

• Globalisation and the global business environment

• Global strategies and their determinants

• The economic rationale for globalisation and international expansion

• Building a global organisation through the successful creation of new ventures

• Risk analysis, country risk, political risk institutional environment and organisational responses

• Non-market strategies

• Ethics and corporate social responsibility in the global context

• Managing strategic Innovation and change

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The module will serve to provide students with an overview of the scope and expectations of a Research project for the MBA students. It will examine the ethical challenges of doing empirical research in the 21st century and prepare students for carrying out an independent piece of research within a given timeframe. If the research project requires ethical research approval, an application will be submitted to the School research ethics committee.

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The focus of the module is on the strategic aspects of managing people within an organisational context. Specifically, the module will focus on the following key topic areas:

Human resource management, strategy, and corporate performance

Managing and motivating individual and group performance

Employee engagement, involvement and participation

Managing diversity

Employee resourcing

Employee relations

Job and work design

Organisational design and development

Individual development and careers

Managing knowledge and talent in organisations

Ethical and sustainable approaches to people management

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The focus of the module is to look at the importance of customer orientation, its strategic and operational role in gaining competitive advantage together with the interrelationship between operations and marketing. The module will focus on the following key topics:

The management of processes in:

* Services

* Manufacturing

Key processes in operations management, including:

- Fitting operations into the organisation's strategy

- Competing through operations

- New Product and process design and analysis

- Supply network design and performance

- Capacity management

- Quality Improvement towards excellence

- Project management

- Sustainable operations management

- The application of information technology in operations

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The curriculum aims at providing the students with the latest thinking and practice in strategic marketing and communications, with a particular twist on marketing of innovation, and growth and sustainable performance of firms. Topics will typically include:

• Company marketing analysis and planning

• Segmentation, targeting, positioning and marketing mix

• Product/services, branding and product packaging decisions

• Brand/product and market portfolios and positioning of individual brands/products

• Rejuvenating the Product/Brand Portfolio, new product development /elimination decisions

• Distribution issues

• Market research methods/approaches. Deciding on innovation/new product attributes

• Consumer behaviour theories and relevant topics including CSR and responsible management

• Strategic Communications - Integrated communications strategy and particularly digital marketing communications and applications

• Risk and marketing communications: Transparency, trust, risk/ hazards, crises and their management

• Stakeholders and stakeholder management and Critical Systems Heuristics

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This module is a unique capstone module which provides students the opportunity to apply and explore key areas of learning relating to the MBA priorities of developing transformational leadership through sustainable innovation and entrepreneurship.

This is achieved with four MBA Challenges and a final MBA Report:

1. Personal Development Challenge

This challenge runs throughout the student's time on the MBA. It allows students to step back from their busy lives and self-reflect on their current skills, learning preferences and leadership styles and to support their MBA learning journey with the following activities:

• Induction leadership workshop

• One to One Executive Coaching

• Knowledge transfer & Networking opportunities by engaging with the MBA Lecture series and Business Summit events

• Academic mentorship

2. Consultancy Challenge

A week’s programme developing consultancy skills and applying these to a live company brief. The students work in a team to provide a solution to the business issue and present recommendations to the organisation. The involvement and commitment of the students adds value to local business owners and students benefit from the opportunity to apply academic and practical skills to real-world situations.

3. Business Start Up Challenge

A week’s programme working with our Aspire team and external entrepreneurs to explore and develop a Business plan for a new business/new business development within a current role/industry.

4. International Challenge

This is the opportunity to work with our European Business connections to explore the practicalities of doing business in Europe and working with International organisations. The week involves workshops and seminars, cultural visits and an international consultancy project to develop consultancy skills further

5. MBA Report

This final report provides the opportunity for students to diagnose and investigate a complex issue related to their interests or their career aspirations after completing their MBA. The applied nature of the report requires a critical evaluative approach, academic investigation to locate the work within the body of contemporary knowledge, to collect and analyse data, to derive supportable conclusions and to make practical and actionable recommendations. It requires reflection on the implications for business from an ethical, professional and continuous professional development standpoint, including an account of what has been learned during the project and how this can be applied in the future.

There are three options for the MBA report:

1. Consultancy report

This report identifies a specific company challenge or opportunity which you will research and provide a recommended solution to impact change.

2. Analyst report

This report identifies a specific challenge or opportunity in a sector or a community which you will research and provide a recommended solution to impact change.

3. Entrepreneur’s report (business plan).

This report explores a new business idea which you will research and provide a Business Plan for implementation.

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