Business Analytics and Management

How do you effectively manage people in organisations? In this module, we’ll tackle that question by exploring decision-making processes concerning work design, organisational structure, and accountability.

We'll consider classical management perspectives such as scientific management and human relations theory, as well as contemporary issues like culture management and diverse leadership styles. Through case studies, you’ll develop critical thinking skills and gain an understanding of contemporary business operations with an emphasis on reflecting on the ethics and fairness of current workplace practices.

How do companies measure, assess and communicate their financial performance? Managers prepare, read and interpret financial information daily and they use it to communicate company financial results to a variety of stakeholders.

In this module you’ll learn how sole traders and limited companies record accounting transactions using bookkeeping and how they summarise and report their financial results to external stakeholders using financial statements. You’ll also gain essential knowledge of the regulatory framework of financial reporting which guides the process of preparing annual reports for a variety of companies.

By the end of the module, you will have developed the analytical skills needed to both prepare and analyse financial statements. This will enable you to holistically assess company financial performance and provide recommendations, an important skill in your future career.

Given the startling pace at which human-driven changes are occurring to our social and ecological systems, what skills do you need to be ready for whatever challenges await you when you graduate?

You’ll look at the biggest challenge facing businesses in every industry today: how to organise themselves in ways that ensure a sustainable future for the global community. You’ll look at various case studies to examine the impact climate change is having on business. You’ll also consider the key theories, concepts, and practices of sustainable business, including the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals.

In doing this, you’ll develop the skills you need to succeed as you navigate university and professional life, so that you can make a positive impact — both in your local community and globally during your time at Kent, and in your career afterwards.

Economics are a crucial tool for business to utilise to help make informed decision that support success and drive growth. Devloping a knowledge of microeconomics will help you understand how millions of consumers and producers make decisions, how they interact and use scarce resources.

You will learn how to apply microeconomic theories and tools to understand consumer and producer behaviour, resource allocation, and pricing policy, including cost and benefit analysis. The application of microeconomic theory to real-world situations will help you make efficient decisions as a manager and as an entrepreneur.

You ability to both understand and apply microeconomics theories to real business situations is vital to not only launching your career, but making rapid progress and delivering results on a managerial or executive level through informed decision making.

Excel is the industry standard software for data processing and modelling, so if you want to hit the ground running in your career, mastery of Excel is crucial. You'll learn the techniques of Excel and spreadsheet modelling through realistic problems and extensive exercises, giving you real hands-on experience to make rapid progress.

By the end of the module, you wont only have mastered excel to report, model and forecast for businesses, you'll have also developed the confidence you need to present your insights to managers, stakeholders and business leaders. This makes you a vital asset for businesses focused on growth, and gives you an extra edge when looking to make progress in expanding industries.

Quantitative methods are becoming increasingly important for successful businesses. As business data becomes more complex and sophisticated, higher-level mathematical knowledge is required to understand operational problems better and make informed decisions.

Throughout this module, you’ll develop and consolidate your mathematical knowledge and skills, ensuring that you understand core mathematical concepts and how to apply them to business problems.

You’ll also develop knowledge in using Excel to solve mathematical problems and learn about statistical analysis methods and techniques. You’ll focus on real-world case studies and practise tackling the types of issues that businesses face. This means you wont only be able to apply quantitative models to businesses, you'll be able to confidently and effectively communicate actions and outcomes from the stories the data reveals.

Operations management is the highly important activity of managing the resources devoted to production and delivery of products and services.

We'll explore conceptual, analytical, and practical aspects of how to effectively manage operations in manufacturing and service companies. We’ll look at various types of businesses including in the private, public, and third sector as well as start-up organisations.

You’ll develop highly sought after knowledge, understanding, skills and abilities in analysing, judging and decision-making in these areas. All of these will be very valuable when starting out in your career.

What are the key policies and practices that shape how we manage people in organisations? You'll learn about all areas of human resource management theory and practice — from planning and recruiting for your human resource requirements through to effective performance and reward management, employee relations and the ethical treatment of staff.

By the end of the module, you will have increased your awareness and developed your knowledge and skills in effective management by looking at practices currently applied within organisations. This skill set is crucial as you progress in your career in HR management through this module, you should have everything you need to thrive in your career.

Project management has rapidly emerged as an essential discipline for businesses seeking to achieve strategic and sustainable goals. It can be applied across industries, offering indispensable tools for organisational development. Whatever field you are working in, project managers are in the driving seat of progress.

This module provides in-depth insights into project management concepts, principles, and applications, giving you essential approaches, tools, and techniques which you can apply to various contexts.

You’ll enhance your analytical, critical and reflective thinking skills. By integrating project management expertise with discipline-specific knowledge, you’ll have a competitive edge when you finish the module, enabling you to succeed in both project and non-project-oriented careers.

Python has become the most popular general-purpose programming language. It enables fast development, has great community support, and is an industry-standard tool for visualising and analysing business data.

Developing computer programming skills is an important tool in business analytics. You’ll explore the fundamentals of programming, covering essential concepts such as flow control and loops, before advancing into the realm of object-oriented programming.

You’ll explore the practical applications of Python packages, focusing on those specifically relevant to business analytics. These include solving equations, data visualisation, and generating descriptive statistics. Through hands-on exercises and real-world examples, you’ll develop a robust skill set, making you proficient and confident in using Python for effective business analytics.

In today's business context there is a wealth of data available. Many businesses currently struggle to transform that data into useable information that they can use to make meaningful decisions. We'll learn to extract insights from historical data through interactive visual analytics, communicating complex information effectively and gain hands-on experience in using data to drive positive change in business, environment and society.

We'll also explore advanced techniques for pattern recognition and forecasting, providing the ability to foresee future outcomes and trends. We'll explore real-world case studies from diverse industries, offering a deep understanding of how data analytics is integral to sectors like supply chain management, marketing, healthcare and finance.

By the end of this module, you'll be equipped with the skills and knowledge to transform data into actionable insights and predictions, making an impact on any organisation that you work at.

Making decisions is crucial for managers and businesses, as they shape our lives and impact outcomes at work. However, making smart decisions in the face of complexity and uncertainty can be challenging. How can data support our decisions in such uncertain contexts? Together we'll explore various quantitative and graphical methods that help identify, represent, and evaluate different possibile options and make optimal decisions. These tools will equip you to make sound decisions in uncertain situations, enabling you to influence and lead effectively. By the end of the module, you'll have a deep understanding of informed decision-making methodologies. You'll learn how to analyze problems, identify potential solutions, and evaluate outcomes in uncertain conditions.

In the rapidly evolving world of business, developing and implementing effective strategies is vital for success. This module equips you with the knowledge and skills necessary to excel in the field of strategic management.

You’ll engage in rigorous analysis and critical thinking to explore a range of strategic concepts. These include the fundamentals of strategic planning, advanced topics in supply chain dynamics, and issues such as quality management, technology-driven innovation, and project/event management.

Throughout the module, you’ll engage in interactive discussions, group projects, case studies, and hands-on exercises to enhance your problem-solving and decision-making skills. By the end, you’ll have the ability to analyse and apply critical thinking to evaluate strategic alternatives and make informed recommendations.

Prescriptive analytics goes beyond simply describing past events or predicting future events. It provides insights into what actions organisations can take to make better decisions. Together we’ll learn how to formulate complex problems mathematically and solve them using various techniques.

You’ll discover how to turn data into optimal decision-making strategies by creating powerful mathematical models known as Linear Programming (LP). Through exploring different LP solutions and conducting sensitivity analyses, you’ll be able to inform better decision-making with data.

Additionally, you’ll delve into network models, tackling problems such as transportation, assignment, shortest path, maximum flow, and minimum spanning tree. You’ll learn how to model these scenarios and explore common approaches to solve them effectively. You’ll focus on solving optimisation problems using Excel Solver, which will give you practical skills for real-world scenarios.

As digital marketing and social media become increasingly important to business strategy, knowing how to use analytics to drive success has never been more important. Digital analytics produce a wealth of insights that enable marketing managers to evaluate the success of digital and social media marketing initiatives. They are also useful for forecasting trends to inform future marketing decisions.

You'll learn how to use a range of analytical tools to interpret and evaluate data on consumer behaviour and preferences and social media engagement. You’ll also discover how to use key performance indicators (KPIs) - which are specific to digital and social media campaigns - to help drive improvement and performance.

The module will equip you with the analytical and data skills necessary to interpret digital data, enhancing your employability and preparing your for a range of careers in marketing or business.

Simulation modeling is increasingly important in business, used in industries, consulting and policy-making. With many software options available for simulation modeling, it's essential for business graduates to understand its philosophy and techniques. We'll learn how to use simulation modeling as a powerful tool for decision-making in complex systems, with a focus on practical applications, analyzing computer models of real-world processes. Through this, you'll gain skills in building and analyzing simulation models, empowering you to estimate and compare alternatives in different situations. Ultimately, you'll be equipped to tackle the challenges of decision-making in complex scenarios through simulation modeling.

Big Data and Machine Learning are making big changes in many industries, affecting how computing and cloud technology function. We'll study the basics of processing big data and learn to use practical tools through real-world examples and hands-on exercises. You'll also learn about various machine learning techniques, including supervised, unsupervised and reinforcement learning. Starting with simple linear regression, you'll progress to advanced topics like neural networks and convolutional neural networks and also explore important concepts like the bias-variance trade-off for model selection. In addition to model training, you'll also learn how to evaluate model performance using standard metrics, refining your skills in the process.

An introduction to the concept of behavioural science and how its insights can be applied to the workplace. Behavioural Science is drawing from multiple scientific disciplines (e.g. psychology, behavioural economics). It aims to give new insights into how our minds operate in the modern business world. Applied to the workplace it can help us to shed new light onto a wide range of issues relating to HR. You'll gain a first insight as to how the developing cross-disciplinary field of behavioural science and provide you with novel tools to overcome organisational challenges. For example, you'll cover how behavioual sciences can help us to understand how our decision making can be inherently biased and affect selection and assessment processes or equality and inclusivity within the workplace, how humans are motivated, how the workplace environment can be affected by workplace interactions both between individuals and teams, or how stress or wellbeing are influenced by a number of workplace factors.

The law expects businesses to be governed responsibly and individuals within them to be mindful as to how they fulfil their legal obligations to their customers, the environment, their workforce and the public. You'll study negligence, company, employment and discrimination law, emphasizing responsible business governance and individual accountability. By analysing current legal issues and applying them to real-world scenarios, you'll enhance problem-solving skills, understanding of diverse impacts and ethical decision-making in business. Navigating complexities and ambiguities fosters critical thinking and integrity, preparing you for future studies and careers.

Study the different ways in which people operate within organisations. You're introduced to the strategic use of data in people operations to tackle workplace challenges effectively. You'll learn various methodologies for analysing and interpreting data to improve organisational performance and employee well-being. Explore diverse data collection, processing and utilisation techniques. Through practical exercises and case studies, you'll learn to extract valuable insights, recognise patterns and make informed decisions to optimise human capital management. Ethical considerations such as privacy and confidentiality are emphasised, ensuring responsible data usage. You'll leave with a thorough understanding of how data-driven approaches can positively impact organisational culture and productivity.

How do you think creatively for business and startup planning? You'll address opportunity recognition, product development, business proposal creation and entrepreneurial finance. Through teamwork, you'll develop leadership, problem-solving, communication and analytical skills. Analogies from diverse cultures aid personal connections, while the curriculum emphasises sustainability, lifelong learning and systems thinking. You'll gain entrepreneurial confidence, adaptability, opportunity recognition, risk management, and innovative mindset for diverse career paths.

Understand corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability through ethical theory and stakeholder perspectives. You'll engage with essential readings and cases to recognise key issues raised by stakeholder groups, including shareholder activism, socially responsible investment, employee discrimination, working conditions, ethical marketing, consumer protection, accountability, collaboration with civil society organisations, and governmental corruption. We emphasise collaboration with internal and external stakeholders which contributes to understanding contemporary social issues in business.

Designed to ignite your entrepreneurial spirit, inspire you to recognise the potential for international success and equip you with the knowledge and tools to navigate the complexities of the modern industrial age. Through a combination of theoretical concepts and interaction with entrepreneurs, you'll gain insights into international opportunities, the critical factors contributing to initial success, and strategies for sustained growth.

Interdisciplinary thinking is encouraged, fostering the ability to merge theories from different subjects to solve complex problems. You'll develop independent study skills and effective communication, both orally and in writing, while honing their critical thinking abilities. You'll consider teamwork in multicultural settings, preparing you to work efficiently and effectively in diverse, cross-border collaborations.

You'lll emerge with a multifaceted skill set, including the capacity to work across disciplines, plan and study independently, communicate effectively, think critically and understand the intricacies of entrepreneurship on a global scale.