If you’re creative and have great communication skills, then a career in Marketing is for you.
Accredited by the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM), our Marketing course will help you to develop an understanding of cutting edge theory and industry-relevant practical skills in handling social media, web material, advertising, and broader brand development. You’ll learn through a mix of lectures, seminars, and practical sessions delivered by our world-leading academics.
Alongside marketing topics you’ll also learn essential theory of general business to help you understand the role of a marketer in context.
As a graduate made at Kent Business School, you’ll have the skills to become successful marketer with a head start towards Level 5 CIM qualifications.
Learn how to evaluate marketing scenarios and make informed strategic decisions. You’ll be given a detailed introduction to marketing in a global context and explore topics such as digital marketing, branding, and marketing communication strategy.
Our teaching staff bring the subject to life and draw you into the conversation through lectures, seminars, presentations and computer-based simulations.
32 points overall or 16 points at HL including Mathematics 4 at HL or SL
Mathematics grade 4 / C and English grade 4 / C.
Other qualifications
Pass all components of the University of Kent International Foundation Programme with a 60% overall average (plus 50% in LZ013 Maths and Statistics if you do not hold GCSE Maths at 4/C or equivalent).
The University will consider applicants holding T level qualifications in subjects closely aligned to the course.
The University welcomes applications from Access to Higher Education Diploma candidates for consideration. A typical offer may require you to obtain a proportion of Level 3 credits in relevant subjects at merit grade or above.
International students
If you are an international student, visit our International Student website for further information about entry requirements for your country, including details of the International Foundation Programmes. Please note that international fee-paying students who require a Student visa cannot undertake a part-time programme due to visa restrictions.
Please note that meeting the typical offer/minimum requirement does not guarantee that you will receive an offer.
Please note that if you do not meet our English language requirements, we offer a number of 'pre-sessional' courses in English for Academic Purposes. You attend these courses before starting your degree programme.
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What you'll study
This module listing is based on the current curriculum and may change year to year in response to new curriculum developments and innovation.
Your first year is a compulsory introductory year, designed to provide you with a solid foundation in the understanding of business practices and their related functions, including topics such as accounting, finance, and marketing.
Compulsory modules currently include the following
The module introduces students to theories of management beginning with classical management perspectives through to contemporary management concepts. It will illustrate the continuities and transformations in management thinking throughout the 20th and 21st century. The main topics of study include: Scientific Management; Human Relations Approach; Bureaucracy and Post-Bureaucracy; The Contingency Approach; Culture Management; Leadership; Aesthetic Labour; Extreme Management.
The module will cover various aspects of the changing international business environment, and their impact upon business operations and strategy. It will give students an appreciation of the business difficulties faced; the variety of factors influencing the choices and compromises that have to be made in international businesses, and the implications of those for the future viability and effectiveness of the organisations concerned.
An indicative list of topics is given below:
1. Globalisation
2. External environment in a cross-border context
3. Introduction to international trade
4. Introduction to international investment
5. Global finance
6. Technology,Innovation and sustainability
7. Introduction to international entrepreneurship
8. Social responsibility and ecological environment
An indicative set of topics to be covered within the module are outlined below.
• Basic Spreadsheet Functionalities: Introduction to common spreadsheet features: workbooks, worksheets, menus, cells, rows, columns, data types, relative and absolute cell addressing, copying, basic formulae, naming cells, formatting, charts and graphs, printing.
• Data Management Facilities: sorting, filtering, data forms, pivot tables.
• What-If Analysis: scenario manager, goal seek, data tables.
• Basic Financial Analysis: Introduction to basic financial analysis and how to carry this out using spreadsheets: compound interest, discounting, NPV, IRR, loans and mortgages.
• Advanced Spreadsheet Functionalities: automating tasks and solving simple optimisation business problems.
The module will begin with an introduction to the link between business and accounting in order to show the value to the students of their having some knowledge of accounting. The module is designed to teach students how to prepare, read and interpret financial information with a view to their being future business managers rather than accountants.
The module will continue with a brief demonstration of double-entry bookkeeping. Students will not be examined on this, it is merely to put bookkeeping and accounting in context. Following on from this, students will be shown how to prepare financial statements from a trial balance and make adjustments to the figures given by acting on information given in a short scenario.
The regulatory framework of financial reporting will be considered as will the annual reports and accounts of a variety of organisations. The module will finish will an analysis of financial statements with students shown how to interpret data and make sensible recommendations
This module provides fundamental knowledge of a range of business organisations, business purpose, ownership types and stakeholder influence. It further introduces organisational structures, functional areas and the impact of the external environment on business. Furthermore, this module introduces the many factors that shape the nature of organisations operating in an increasingly complex business environment such as innovation, internationalisation, entrepreneurship, and sustainability. Module participants explore this dynamic nature of business and consider successful existence within modern organisations through studying and applying employability skills such as leadership, teamwork, and resilience.
This module aims to develop an understanding of the digital marketing environment and introduce the impact that digital technology has had on marketing activity and customers. It also aims to develop an understanding of the range of digital marketing tools available to marketers and how they can be used to develop marketing content.
Indicative topics are:
• Evolution of Digital Technologies in marketing
• Organisation and governance of the internet
• Digital platforms available to Marketers and how they engage with different customers
• Digitalisation and implications for consumer behaviour
• Digital brand management
• The main elements in the digital marketing toolbox
• How digital marketing tools can be used with a range of different customers
• Overview of different content options for Digital Marketing tools
• Key steps for producing successful Digital marketing content.
This module introduces students to economics in its two main components, microeconomics and macroeconomics. The module is designed to explain the main ways in which economists think about economic problems faced by individuals, firms, markets and governments. The module emphasises the use of basic economic concepts to business analysis.
The first part of the module focuses on explaining a selection of basic microeconomic topics including, the behaviour of individuals and firms; demand and supply of goods and services and determination of prices; costs in the short and long term and market structures. The second part aims to introduce the core of macroeconomic topics; for instance, macroeconomic objectives and trade-offs; unemployment; inflation; international trade; balance of payments and exchange rates; and the main types of economic policies that are implemented by governments. The attention is to understand the relevance of macroeconomics topics (e.g. interest rates, exchange rates, etc.) to business.
The module is self-contained to provide a basic understanding of simple economic concepts and debates. It is a suitable module for students interested in taking economics further, either as part of another degree programme or as part of a future professional qualification.
The process of leading employees – or managers – and helping them and yourself to be creative is very interesting.Jacquelynn Coughlin
Stage 2
Your second year allows you to develop your critical understanding of marketing, developing skills in marketing strategy, branding, marketing research and analysis, plus the opportunity to apply theory to practice.
Compulsory modules currently include the following
This module aims to provide students with understanding and experience of the theory and practice of marketing research. During the module students design and implement a marketing research plan, design a questionnaire, collect and analyse data, prepare an oral presentation and write a marketing research report.
The main topics of study are as follows:
• Introduction to marketing research: Defining and designing marketing research projects
• Understanding data: Secondary data and databases
• Primary data collection techniques.
• Questionnaire design
• Measurement and measurement scales and error.
• Sampling and sample design and error
• Entering and coding data with SPSS
• Data analysis techniques
• Communicating the results of marketing research.
This module aims to develop a critical understanding of the role of digital marketing in modern organisations. The module considers what digital marketing strategy means looking at a range of examples across business sectors. Core areas are looked at including the technologies which make digital marketing possible, the relationship between digital marketing strategies and the wider organisation, the key issues in the development and implementation of digital marketing strategies and the threats, security and other, posed by digital marketing.
Some topics are:
Enabling technologies for e-commerce: The Digital Marketing Environment, Digital Marketing Strategy; The Internet and the World Wide Web; Mobile platforms; Dot com and multi-channel; Social Media and Web 2.0; Database and data warehouses; Web site design and management; Marketplaces; B2B Digital Marketing; Business Models and Innovation.
This module introduces students to core theories about brand, branding and brand management as well as contemporary issues related to branding and brand management. It is based around understanding what brand, branding, and brand management are and illustrating effective brand management practices through a systematic and strategic branding process. This module will include:
This module introduces students to core concepts and theories about consumer behaviour, including individual and organisational perspectives. It is based around understanding the critical application of sociological, economic, socio-psychological and psychological concepts to and theories to consumption.
Indicative topics are:
• Consumer Research Philosophies: What is a consumer?
• Culture: Components of Culture, myths and rituals
The module helps prepare students to acquire and develop the employability and transferable skills necessary to search and successfully apply for work experience and graduate opportunities in the commercial and public sector and postgraduate study.
The curriculum builds on employability support offered at Stage 1 providing intermediate level knowledge and exercises in application writing, CVs, careers advice, interview and assessment centre techniques, numeracy and competency tests, and psychometric evaluation.
The law affects the commercial world in many ways. This module focuses on the importance of law in governing transactions between individuals and businesses; what is required for legally compliant contracts; what the law expects of organisations in terms of protecting the consumer, and how businesses manage and avoid disputes. By enabling students to become familiar with those parts of the law they are most likely to encounter in their careers and in business the module helps them better understand the obligations that parties have to each other in law.
Indicative topic areas are:
• The English Legal System
• The Legal Process and Dispute Resolution
• Law of Contract – including:
• Formation
• Contract terms
• Vitiating elements, including misrepresentation and economic duress
• Performance and discharge of contract, including frustration
• Breach of contract
• Common law and equitable remedies, including damages
This module will introduce students to the key concepts of managing people involving and examination of organisational, management and human resource management theory and practice. This will be achieved through relating relevant theory to practical people and organisational management issues.
The key topics of the module are:
• The nature of human resource management
• Motivation in the workplace
• Work organisation, job design and flexible working
The law affects the commercial world in many ways. This module focuses on how businesses fulfil their legal obligations to customers, suppliers and their workforce. As well as exploring how businesses are structured and the duties on directors and partners it also considers the legal obligations individuals and organisations have over those to whom they have a duty of care. The module further covers the main laws governing the employment of staff and contractors. By applying the law to real-world business situations students are able to fine-tune their problem solving skills, and their ability to construct well-reasoned and persuasive arguments.
Indicative topics are:
The English Legal System, Legal Process, Dispute Resolution and the impact of European Union Law in the UK;
Law of Negligence – including general principles and negligent misstatement;
Law of Business Organisations - classification of business organisations; main principles applying to general and limited liability partnerships and registered companies, and directors' duties;
Employment Law - the general scope of the legal obligations owed by employers to employees, including the employment contract, discrimination and dismissal.
Students will be expected to develop the ability to use appropriate techniques of analysis and enquiry within Operations and Service Management and to learn how to evaluate the alternatives and make recommendations. Topics include:
This module provides a critical introduction to the main theories and debates in International Business and uses these theoretical lenses to explain core phenomena in international business.
• Explaining international economic transactions (trade theories, national competitiveness)
• Explaining the existence of MNEs (internalisation theory, eclectic theory, monopolistic advantages)
• Explaining the coevolution of environment and MNEs (institutional theory, resource dependence theory, evolutionary theory, investment development path, product life cycle theory)
• Explaining the growth and decline of MNEs (stages model, market entry/expansion modes)
This module is designed to provide students across the university with access to knowledge, skill development and training in the field of entrepreneurship with a special emphasis on developing a business plan in order to exploit identified opportunities. Hence, the module will be of value for students who aspire to establishing their own business and/or introducing innovation through new product, service, process, project or business development in an established organisation. The module complements students' final year projects in Computing, Law, Biosciences, Electronics, Multimedia, and Drama etc.
This module presents an overview of what workforce diversity is and its relevance and usefulness in improving our understanding and management of people (including ourselves) at work. The demographics of the population and the workplace are changing drastically because of a number of factors, such as an increasing number of ethnic minorities and women in the workforce and in management. Accordingly, there is a need to effectively understand and manage workforce diversity not only to increase organisational business outcomes but also to create an inclusive workplace in a socially responsible manner.
The module will examine issues confronting managers of a diverse workforce. In particular issues such as ethnicity, race, language, ageing, disability, gender, and intersectional identities will be discussed. Two key approaches towards managing diversity will be explained, i.e. the social equity case of managing diversity, and the business benefits case of managing diversity. The module will explore a range of diversity related concepts and topics, such as social identity, stereotyping, discrimination, intergroup conflict, structural integration, and organisational change.
Indicative topics are:
• Origins of diversity and equal opportunity in the workplace context;
• Social and psychological perspectives on workplace diversity;
• The UK and European diversity contexts;
• Business benefits case and social equity case of managing diversity;
• The legal framework for diversity;
• Organisational approaches to diversity;
• Contemporary issues central to the experiences of diverse individuals in the UK and in organisations across a range of diversity dimensions;
• Diversity management in an international context
The module provides a broad, basic understanding of strategy and strategic management, on which further strategic analysis and exploration of strategic issues can be built. It introduces students to the key vocabulary, concepts and frameworks of strategic management and establishes criteria for assessing whether or not a strategy can be successful. It introduces students to frameworks for analysing the external and internal environments and to different theories of how these relate and of their impact on strategy formulation and implementation.
Students will learn how to identify strategic issues, develop strategic options to address them and decide which option(s) to recommend. Through theoretical readings and case studies, students will develop an appreciation of strategy in different contexts and from different perspectives and of the complexity of strategic decision-making. Students will enhance their ability to read business articles from a strategic perspective and to present strategic arguments in a structured manner
The aim of this module is to provide students with in-depth knowledge about the accounting and control systems businesses use for making managerial decisions. In particular, the module focuses on profit planning decisions and it gives students a thoughtful understanding of the functioning and range of financial controls managers use for making profit planning decisions, related to both the business as a whole and its segments. Students are expected to conduct a management project: they will prepare a business plan that takes into account strategic, marketing and financial aspects. The module also enables students to know how to use accounting and control tools to assess business performance, provide feedback and give recommendations for improvements aimed to create more socially responsible and sustainable businesses. As such, this module is core to the degree program, because it gives an introduction to three key areas: managerial decision making, performance management and organisational financial management.
This module will explore more advanced management and organisational theory to facilitate students' examination of the challenges that face managers in contemporary organisations. As well as considering these challenges from a mainstream managerial perspective, the module will also draw on the perspective of critical management studies as a means of providing an alternative viewpoint on contemporary management issues. Indicative areas to be covered may include:
• Identity in organisations and how the construction and performance of it requires managers to cope with existential challenges around anxiety and freedom.
• The uses and abuses of managerial power and the inequality and insecurity that comes with it.
• Neoliberal capitalism and its various consequences for organisational life.
• Pressures to make organisations more sustainable, socially responsible, equal, diverse, and fair.
• Organisational cultures based on entrepreneurialism.
• The performance of gender in organisations.
• New organisational forms and their emphasis on Speed.
• The intensification of the control of Bodies, Spaces, and Time in contemporary organisations.
Making decisions is one of the most important things any manager or business must do. Making smart decisions, however, can be extremely difficult due the complexity and uncertainty involved. Decision Analysis (DA) provides a structured and coherent approach to decision making. It involves a wide range of quantitative and graphical methods for identifying, representing, and assessing alternatives in order to determine a best course of action. DA is regularly employed by many leading companies in the pharmaceutical, oil and gas, utilities, automotive, and financial services sectors. In this module, you learn about the basic concepts of DA and how to apply it in a variety of practical business planning situations.
The module aims to provide a critical understanding of the challenges of managing creativity and innovation within contemporary organisations. The experience of work and employment, management practices are affected by rapid technological change, intensifying global competition and changing demographic profiles and values of the work force. Contemporary organisations are pressurised to tackle these developments through creativity, innovation and new organisational forms. This module examines the nature, antecedents, processes and consequences of creativity and innovation and their complex links with organisation, while also exploring major social and technological changes relating these to organisational creativity and innovation. Students will be introduced to the main concepts and theories on creativity, innovation and organisation through readings and discussions of the main themes and debates in the field. Case studies will be used to illustrate how these concepts are connected together and how they could impact upon management decision making within contemporary organisations. Students will be encouraged to explore some of the most notable historical and contemporary shifts in media and technology and discover how new organisational forms and methods have been devised to exploit them. They will develop awareness for the cross-fertilisation between disciplines in analyzing the dynamics of creativity, innovation and organisation and their complex relationships.
Topics include:
• Conceptual foundations of creativity, innovation and organisation
• Personality and individual creativity
• Organisational creativity and innovation
• Cognition, knowledge and creativity
• Models and processes of innovation
• Organisational culture and systems for supporting creativity and innovation
• Leadership and entrepreneurship
• Creative organisations across fields/ industries
• Socio-technological change and new forms of organisation.
This module offers a critical analysis of how multinationals select their target markets and modes of entry and how they manage their various functions in an international context, balancing the needs for global integration and local responsiveness respectively.
• Managing the internationalisation process
• Country selection
• Choosing and designing entry modes
• Managing collaborative arrangements
• International marketing
• International human resource management
• International supply chain management
• International finance
• Research and development in an international perspective
• Managing multinationals using electronic commerce
This module presents an overview of what work psychology is and its relevance and usefulness in improving our understanding and management of people (including ourselves) at work. Many work places operate sophisticated and expensive systems for assessing the costs and benefits of various workplace elements but often do not extend this to the management of employees. This module aims to demonstrate the benefits of having a comprehensive understanding of the role psychology can play in the management of people in contemporary organizations. Indicative content includes:
Students will be expected to develop the ability to use appropriate techniques of analysis and enquiry within Operations Management and to learn how to evaluate alternatives and make recommendations. Topics are likely to include:
• Strategic role of operations and operations strategy
• Design of processes and the implications for layout and flow
• Design and management of supply networks in national and international contexts
The aim of this hands-on and highly practical module is to introduce students to the power of data intelligence in transforming the way businesses operate. Students will learn how to develop a successful big data strategy and deliver organisational performance improvements through the use of data analytics. Students will have hands-on exercises primarily based on spreadsheet tools such as Excel and will gain a basic knowledge of coding tools such as Python.
Indicative topics covered in the module include: business intelligence principles, data visualisation and dashboards, data warehouse and integration, artificial intelligence in business applications, big data, social network analysis, text mining, and participatory approaches for problem structuring.
Students will be exposed to a variety of case studies which demonstrate how pervasive data intelligence and analytics have become in every industry and sector, including examples from supply chain management, transport, marketing, finance, healthcare, and human resources. By the end of the module, students will have an understanding of how specific companies use big data and a grasp of the actionable steps and resources required to utilise data effectively.
Your final year has a greater focus on capstone marketing modules such as new product marketing, digital marketing applications and marketing communications with the opportunity to undertake a marketing management project.
Compulsory modules currently include the following
This module will introduce students to the key concepts, theories and issues involved in international marketing. In doing so it will enable students to understand how to identify and evaluate opportunities in international markets and assess the different market entry modes available to companies. In addition students will consider the need to adapt marketing mix elements for different international markets. Indicative topics of study are as follows:
• Introduction to international marketing: Definitions, theories, approaches and motives.
• International Marketing Research
• Assessing international markets: The political and economic environment
• Assessing international markets: The Sociocultural environment
• Theories and frameworks for International market evaluation and selection
• Market entry modes: export, intermediate and hierarchical
• International marketing plans and strategy: Segmentation, targeting and positioning
• Designing the global marketing mix: Product, pricing, communication and distribution decisions
The module will provide students with the tools of marketing communications. Specifically students taking this module will be able to evaluate strengths and weakness of marketing communications channels. Over the course of a term the module will provide students with an understanding of the principles, methods and strategies of marketing communications. The main tools of marketing communications will be discussed as well as their suitability and effectiveness:
Topics may cover:
• The communications process
• Advertising
• Strategy and media planning
• Image, brand management and packaging
• Direct marketing
• Digital and interactive media
• Sales promotion, merchandising and point of sale
• Public relations and corporate identity
• Exhibitions, trade shows, product placement and sponsorship
The module looks at how digital marketing applications can be used by modern organisations. The module considers the fundamental technologies that support digital marketing along with the regulatory and societal challenges that must be taken into account, for example, privacy and data protection. The methods available to attract customers through digital marketing are covered making a distinction between paid methods, such as sponsored search, and non-paid methods, such as an organisation's own social media assets. Issues around loyalty are considered especially in the context of falling search costs which enable customers to switch providers.
The unique nature of digital products, for example music downloads or video streaming, are outlined with the marketing challenges and opportunities this presents. The module stresses the importance of implementation, using applied examples, and the uncertainty involved.
Indicative topics are: The digital marketing environment; Enabling technologies for digital marketing; Website design, implementation and analysis; Social media; Social commerce; Customers in the Internet age: knowing, reaching & retaining the customer; Network effects and versioning; Loyalty, Customer Relationship Management and Data Mining; E-Marketing campaigns; Brands in the Internet age; Data protection, privacy and legal issues; Digital marketing and globalisation
This module allows students to extend their knowledge and understanding of innovation and new product marketing. It is based around conceptual understanding of what a new product is and illustrating effective new product marketing practices through a systematic new product marketing process. Indicative topics are:
• New Products Marketing and Innovation
• New Product Strategies
• Models on New Product Development
• Market Research and its Influence on New Product Development
• Managing the New Product Development Process from Idea Generation to Commercialisation (and this includes national and global rollouts).
The module aims to provide students with a broad perspective of the role of marketing in society. The module will also provide students with the tools to analyse and reflect on their own consumption behaviour in relation to sustainability and broader societal implications. Specifically, students will be able to examine the current trends and challenges facing society, including sustainability, social responsibility, poverty, ethics and other social-economic related issues. Ultimately, the students will be able to develop a deeper appreciation of the role and impact of marketing and business practice on today's society. Sessions in this module will cover concepts such as:
• Concepts, theories and debates about the roles and responsibilities of marketing in society
• Societal and green marketing - definitions and frameworks.
• Pillars of sustainability
• Designing, implementing and evaluating social marketing programmes
• Transformative consumer research
• Subsistence and 'Bottom of the Pyramid' marketing
Many developed economies are dominated by services, and service organisations require a distinctive approach to marketing strategy both in development and execution. The module will demonstrate how a holistic approach to the incorporation of a services perspective is crucial for marketing in general. The module will explore the distinctive characteristics of services and explain how they impact on the marketing approaches used by firms. Sessions in this module will cover concepts such as:
• The nature of services and their importance in creating value for customers
• Developing effective services marketing strategies that create competitive advantage for firms
• The customer decision making processes within service encounters
The module helps prepare students to acquire and develop the employability and transferable skills necessary to search and successfully apply for work experience and graduate opportunities in the commercial and public sector and postgraduate study.
The curriculum builds on knowledge and experience gained in related employability modules delivered at Stages 1 and 2, providing further guidance and more advanced practical exercises in application writing, CVs, careers advice, interview and assessment centre techniques, numeracy and competency tests, and psychometric evaluation. The aims here are to support students during their final year in applying for good graduate jobs and MSc degree programmes.
This module will introduce students to the key concepts of managing people involving and examination of organisational, management and human resource management theory and practice. This will be achieved through relating relevant theory to practical people and organisational management issues.
The key topics of the module are:
• The nature of human resource management
• Motivation in the workplace
• Work organisation, job design and flexible working
The law affects the commercial world in many ways. This module focuses on how businesses fulfil their legal obligations to customers, suppliers and their workforce. As well as exploring how businesses are structured and the duties on directors and partners it also considers the legal obligations individuals and organisations have over those to whom they have a duty of care. The module further covers the main laws governing the employment of staff and contractors. By applying the law to real-world business situations students are able to fine-tune their problem solving skills, and their ability to construct well-reasoned and persuasive arguments.
Indicative topics are:
The English Legal System, Legal Process, Dispute Resolution and the impact of European Union Law in the UK;
Law of Negligence – including general principles and negligent misstatement;
Law of Business Organisations - classification of business organisations; main principles applying to general and limited liability partnerships and registered companies, and directors' duties;
Employment Law - the general scope of the legal obligations owed by employers to employees, including the employment contract, discrimination and dismissal.
Students will be expected to develop the ability to use appropriate techniques of analysis and enquiry within Operations and Service Management and to learn how to evaluate the alternatives and make recommendations. Topics include:
The module aims to develop critical appreciation of the management activities and leadership skills required in dynamic organisations operating in both national and international contexts. Current theory and research on the role which appropriate leadership behaviours can play in improving managerial and organisational effectiveness is explored. In addition a core feature of the module is student engagement in a range of individual and group development activities and their subsequent self-reflection on their progress and ongoing development needs. In doing so the module aims to develop self-awareness and emotional intelligence in the practice of management, as well as promoting the importance of personal strategies relating to career management, and individual leadership behaviour.
Areas to be covered will include:
• Review of Management Activities and Roles: Planning and decision making, organising and resourcing, controlling and accountability including performance management responsibilities.
• Leadership v Management: Consideration of the differences in these roles within organisations.
• Development of Leadership Theories: From transactional to ethical, authentic and transformational leadership approaches and models of 'leaderful' practice.
• Strategic leadership: Business values, organisational culture(s) and business ethics.
• Leadership in Different Cultures: International perspectives on leadership behaviour and effectiveness; communicating across cultures.
• Managing Self: Self-concept; impression management, networking; organisational power and politics; career development strategies.
• Managing & Influencing Others: Emotional intelligence, assertiveness, ethical power and influence strategies, delegation, empowerment and trust.
• Managing & Leading Teams: Creating high performance teams; team roles; stages of group formation/team life cycle; team building.
This module provides a critical introduction to the main theories and debates in International Business and uses these theoretical lenses to explain core phenomena in international business.
• Explaining international economic transactions (trade theories, national competitiveness)
• Explaining the existence of MNEs (internalisation theory, eclectic theory, monopolistic advantages)
• Explaining the coevolution of environment and MNEs (institutional theory, resource dependence theory, evolutionary theory, investment development path, product life cycle theory)
• Explaining the growth and decline of MNEs (stages model, market entry/expansion modes)
This module is designed to provide students across the university with access to knowledge, skill development and training in the field of entrepreneurship with a special emphasis on developing a business plan in order to exploit identified opportunities. Hence, the module will be of value for students who aspire to establishing their own business and/or introducing innovation through new product, service, process, project or business development in an established organisation. The module complements students' final year projects in Computing, Law, Biosciences, Electronics, Multimedia, and Drama etc.
This module facilitates the development of an entrepreneurial mind-set, and equips students with necessary cutting-edge knowledge and skills vital for generating value in a knowledge based economy. The curriculum will include the following areas of study:
• Broader application of entrepreneurship
• Co-creation as a new form of generating value in an innovation ecosystem.
This module presents an overview of what workforce diversity is and its relevance and usefulness in improving our understanding and management of people (including ourselves) at work. The demographics of the population and the workplace are changing drastically because of a number of factors, such as an increasing number of ethnic minorities and women in the workforce and in management. Accordingly, there is a need to effectively understand and manage workforce diversity not only to increase organisational business outcomes but also to create an inclusive workplace in a socially responsible manner.
The module will examine issues confronting managers of a diverse workforce. In particular issues such as ethnicity, race, language, ageing, disability, gender, and intersectional identities will be discussed. Two key approaches towards managing diversity will be explained, i.e. the social equity case of managing diversity, and the business benefits case of managing diversity. The module will explore a range of diversity related concepts and topics, such as social identity, stereotyping, discrimination, intergroup conflict, structural integration, and organisational change.
Indicative topics are:
• Origins of diversity and equal opportunity in the workplace context;
• Social and psychological perspectives on workplace diversity;
• The UK and European diversity contexts;
• Business benefits case and social equity case of managing diversity;
• The legal framework for diversity;
• Organisational approaches to diversity;
• Contemporary issues central to the experiences of diverse individuals in the UK and in organisations across a range of diversity dimensions;
• Diversity management in an international context
The aim of this module is to provide students with in-depth knowledge about the accounting and control systems businesses use for making managerial decisions. In particular, the module focuses on profit planning decisions and it gives students a thoughtful understanding of the functioning and range of financial controls managers use for making profit planning decisions, related to both the business as a whole and its segments. Students are expected to conduct a management project: they will prepare a business plan that takes into account strategic, marketing and financial aspects. The module also enables students to know how to use accounting and control tools to assess business performance, provide feedback and give recommendations for improvements aimed to create more socially responsible and sustainable businesses. As such, this module is core to the degree program, because it gives an introduction to three key areas: managerial decision making, performance management and organisational financial management.
This module will explore more advanced management and organisational theory to facilitate students' examination of the challenges that face managers in contemporary organisations. As well as considering these challenges from a mainstream managerial perspective, the module will also draw on the perspective of critical management studies as a means of providing an alternative viewpoint on contemporary management issues. Indicative areas to be covered may include:
• Identity in organisations and how the construction and performance of it requires managers to cope with existential challenges around anxiety and freedom.
• The uses and abuses of managerial power and the inequality and insecurity that comes with it.
• Neoliberal capitalism and its various consequences for organisational life.
• Pressures to make organisations more sustainable, socially responsible, equal, diverse, and fair.
• Organisational cultures based on entrepreneurialism.
• The performance of gender in organisations.
• New organisational forms and their emphasis on Speed.
• The intensification of the control of Bodies, Spaces, and Time in contemporary organisations.
This module extends students' knowledge and understanding of strategic management and strategic issues. It introduces a range of contemporary issues associated with the formulation and implementation of corporate and business strategies with an emphasis on identifying and implementing strategic change within the organisation, building dynamic capabilities and developing coherent strategies. Issues might include strategies in the face of uncertainty, global strategies, knowledge-based strategies, strategies where profit is of secondary (or no) importance.
This module will introduce students to the key concepts of managing people, involving an examination of organisational, human resource management and industrial relations theory. This will be achieved through relating relevant theory to practical people and organisational management issues.
Topics of study are:
The theory of strategic HRM; Strategic HRM and Business Strategy;
Making decisions is one of the most important things any manager or business must do. Making smart decisions, however, can be extremely difficult due the complexity and uncertainty involved. Decision Analysis (DA) provides a structured and coherent approach to decision making. It involves a wide range of quantitative and graphical methods for identifying, representing, and assessing alternatives in order to determine a best course of action. DA is regularly employed by many leading companies in the pharmaceutical, oil and gas, utilities, automotive, and financial services sectors. In this module, you learn about the basic concepts of DA and how to apply it in a variety of practical business planning situations.
The aim of the module is to provide students with an opportunity for an in depth independent study of an aspect of marketing management chosen by the student in agreement with the convenor and supervisor. It also aims to develop student's research, writing and communication skills.
The topics covered will include:
• Developing marketing plans and strategies
• Literature search and data collection
• Use and analysis of consumer research and market information
• Preparing and structuring the Marketing Report
• Referencing, Citations and Developing writing skills
The module aims to provide a critical understanding of the challenges of managing creativity and innovation within contemporary organisations. The experience of work and employment, management practices are affected by rapid technological change, intensifying global competition and changing demographic profiles and values of the work force. Contemporary organisations are pressurised to tackle these developments through creativity, innovation and new organisational forms. This module examines the nature, antecedents, processes and consequences of creativity and innovation and their complex links with organisation, while also exploring major social and technological changes relating these to organisational creativity and innovation. Students will be introduced to the main concepts and theories on creativity, innovation and organisation through readings and discussions of the main themes and debates in the field. Case studies will be used to illustrate how these concepts are connected together and how they could impact upon management decision making within contemporary organisations. Students will be encouraged to explore some of the most notable historical and contemporary shifts in media and technology and discover how new organisational forms and methods have been devised to exploit them. They will develop awareness for the cross-fertilisation between disciplines in analyzing the dynamics of creativity, innovation and organisation and their complex relationships.
Topics include:
• Conceptual foundations of creativity, innovation and organisation
• Personality and individual creativity
• Organisational creativity and innovation
• Cognition, knowledge and creativity
• Models and processes of innovation
• Organisational culture and systems for supporting creativity and innovation
• Leadership and entrepreneurship
• Creative organisations across fields/ industries
• Socio-technological change and new forms of organisation.
This module offers a comprehensive introduction to the area of cross-cultural management research. Based on a critical analysis of the assumptions underlying various approaches to studying national cultures, frameworks are applied to understand cross-cultural issues managers in international organisations may face. Indicative topics are:
• Management and culture
• Different approaches to cross-cultural management
Project Management aims to provide an understanding of the key concepts and practices within the context of the organisational setting and the wider business and technological environment.
This module aims to develop a critical understanding of project management to enable students to recognise the importance of the discipline in a variety of organisational and functional contexts. Students should develop a critical understanding of the concepts employed in project management at strategic, systems and operational levels, and an appreciation of the knowledge and skills required for successful project management in organisations.
Included topics of the module are:
• Project life cycles and alternative development paths;
• Feasibility studies;
• Time management;
• Project planning and control techniques, including Gantt charts, CPM;
This module presents an overview of what work psychology is and its relevance and usefulness in improving our understanding and management of people (including ourselves) at work. Many work places operate sophisticated and expensive systems for assessing the costs and benefits of various workplace elements but often do not extend this to the management of employees. This module aims to demonstrate the benefits of having a comprehensive understanding of the role psychology can play in the management of people in contemporary organizations. Indicative content includes:
Students will be expected to develop the ability to use appropriate techniques of analysis and enquiry within Operations Management and to learn how to evaluate alternatives and make recommendations. Topics are likely to include:
• Strategic role of operations and operations strategy
• Design of processes and the implications for layout and flow
• Design and management of supply networks in national and international contexts
The aim of this module is to provide students with (1) a systematic understanding of how information technology is driving business innovation, (2) the methods and approaches used by managers to exploit new digital opportunities, and (3) an appreciation of the knowledge and skills needed to manage the business innovation. By the end of this module, students will be equipped with the necessary knowledge and tools to deal with current business issues including digital transformation and emerging business models via technological innovations.
The aim of this hands-on and highly practical module is to introduce students to the power of data intelligence in transforming the way businesses operate. Students will learn how to develop a successful big data strategy and deliver organisational performance improvements through the use of data analytics. Students will have hands-on exercises primarily based on spreadsheet tools such as Excel and will gain a basic knowledge of coding tools such as Python.
Indicative topics covered in the module include: business intelligence principles, data visualisation and dashboards, data warehouse and integration, artificial intelligence in business applications, big data, social network analysis, text mining, and participatory approaches for problem structuring.
Students will be exposed to a variety of case studies which demonstrate how pervasive data intelligence and analytics have become in every industry and sector, including examples from supply chain management, transport, marketing, finance, healthcare, and human resources. By the end of the module, students will have an understanding of how specific companies use big data and a grasp of the actionable steps and resources required to utilise data effectively.
Our enthusiastic team of international teaching staff are all experts in their field of study and are regularly published in leading journals worldwide. They guide and support your learning, bringing their subject to life and drawing you into the conversation through lectures, seminars, presentations and computer-based simulations.
Your progress is assessed through a mix of coursework – including reports, essays and presentations - and exams. Undergraduate students can expect around 8 contact hours per week, depending on year of study and optional module choices made. The remainder of the working week consists of self-guided study.
Contact hours
Undergraduate students can expect around 8 contact hours per week, depending on year of study and optional module choices made. The remainder of the working week consists of self-guided study based on degree programme content and requirements of specific modules. For a student studying full time, each academic year of the programme will comprise 1200 learning hours, which include both direct contact hours and private study hours. The precise breakdown of hours will be subject dependent and will vary according to modules. Please refer to the individual module details under Course Structure.
Our Marketing graduates go on to careers in all aspects of marketing, business and management, finding both overseas and in the UK in a wide range of companies and organisations, including:
For details of when and how to pay fees and charges, please see our Student Finance Guide.
For students continuing on this programme, fees will increase year on year by no more than RPI + 3% in each academic year of study except where regulated.*
Your fee status
The University will assess your fee status as part of the application process. If you are uncertain about your fee status you may wish to seek advice from UKCISA before applying.
Kent offers generous financial support schemes to assist eligible undergraduate students during their studies. See our funding page for more details.
The Kent Scholarship for Academic Excellence
At Kent we recognise, encourage and reward excellence. We have created the Kent Scholarship for Academic Excellence.
The scholarship will be awarded to any applicant who achieves a minimum of A*AA over three A levels, or the equivalent qualifications (including BTEC and IB) as specified on our scholarships pages.
Scholarships
We have a range of subject-specific awards and scholarships for academic, sporting and musical achievement.
If you are from the UK or Ireland, you must apply for this course through UCAS. If you are not from the UK or Ireland, you can apply through UCAS or directly on our website if you have never used UCAS and you do not intend to use UCAS in the future.
You can make a direct application to Kent if you pay international tuition fees, live outside the UK or Ireland and do not have or intend to have a UCAS account or application.
There is no application fee for a direct application to Kent.
