Business Administration (Top-Up) BSc (Hons)

This module introduces you to how an organisational strategy takes shape and what strategists actually do. The module is organised around five themes. Firstly, it focuses on the evaluation of strategic options in terms of suitability, acceptability and feasibility. Secondly, 'intended strategy development' versus 'emergent strategy development' is examined as two broadly different approaches of strategy development. The third theme covers the role of organisational structures and systems in strategy development. The fourth theme is the leadership of strategic change. Lastly, the module discusses the practice of strategy. You'll learn about practical examples associated with Strategic Management together with key problem-solving skills.

This module will introduce students to contemporary research in business. This module will be collaborative in nature requiring the tutor to work closely with the students to facilitate their progress through the various stages of the research process. The tutor's role, at each stage of this process, will be to support student learning. This will begin with a tutor presentation on an area of contemporary business research, for example, “the impact of drones on different sectors”, “the use of big data in business intelligence”, often drawn from the tutor's own research projects. The tutor will also assign tasks to groups of students along the research journey from formulation of research questions, literature review, methodology, analysing quantitative and qualitative data and drawing conclusions. The success of each task will be reflected upon by the group with the support of the tutor. Upon completion of all set tasks students will collaborate with the tutor to ensure their work is complete and reliable before preparing a presentation for their peers in a business presentation format. The presentation will be assessed for its research content, enhancement of debate within the undergraduate community and individual contribution. This module is designed to stimulate and excite students as they explore a detailed area of business research and which will encourage students to follow a research based study programme. Students will be given the opportunity to complement their business administration studies through an independent and collaborative learning environment.

This module begins with a focus on how supply chain management has become a major focus of emphasis in organisational strategies. The effect of globalisation and the digital economy for enabling more integrated supply chain management is explored. After the strategic focus, this module then focuses on the practical side of supply chain management: managing the series of processes that get a product to the market. The renowned SCOR (Supply Chain Operations Reference) model is used as the basis of applying the design and management principles to the Plan; Source: Make: Deliver and Return processes. This module also looks at the history of supply chain strategy development through the Just in Time or Lean Management and through Agile Management.

This innovative and exciting career-focused module will help you develop the employability skills and capabilities that are needed to compete successfully in the graduate labour market whilst seeking to provide you with knowledge, support and insight into the contemporary world of work and the business market. The module will also develop your skills and is therefore practical and engages you in case study exercise, real-life scenarios, audit and skills testing techniques and invites external guest speakers and employers to provide insight and input. The lectures and seminars will provide key inputs to help introduce you to fundamental employability concepts, insights and techniques, drawn from the world of business and management, but also from other disciplines such as sociology, social psychology and the humanities.

Human resource (HR) professionals need to understand key developments in the theory and practice of employment relations, both within and beyond the immediate organisational context. This allows learners to build on their knowledge and experience to develop the skills required to make informed and effective judgements about existing and emerging models, processes and practices of employment relations in local and international jurisdictions. This is designed to encourage learners to assess and understand broader developments that influence the effective management of the employment relationship in indigenous and multinational organisations. The formative assessment includes activities such as the development of negotiation skills. The summative assessment of the module will be a 3,000 word essay evaluating the nature of employee relations through a national or organisational case study.

Climate change and sustainability offer both challenges and opportunities for economies and business across the world. This module is a “step” into addressing the requirements of private and public sector organisations looking for graduates with knowledge, skills and attributes related to environmental and sustainability issues. It develops a hands-on approach to sustainability by focusing on the development of an environmental management system (EMS) for the students’ households. It is expected that this module can contribute to the students’ wellbeing, while reducing their carbon footprint and creating sustainable transformations and pro-environmental behaviour. This module aims at developing creativity, responsibility and future-thinking amongst the participants: its ultimate goal is to enhance the students’ participation in a highly competitive job market and the opportunities for green and responsible entrepreneurship. The main pillars of this module are as follows. A. Action Learning & Reflective Practice: This module encourages students to start working on their assessment from day 1, offering a wide variety of tools to record their progress in the implementation and monitoring of their environmental management system. B. Creativity and Use of Technology: This module relies on the students’ creative skills in the use of social media and use of digital learning platforms such as Canvas. C. Employability: At the end of this module students will be able to identify and provide evidence of a wide range of skills and attributes for future jobs and enterprises. Overall aims at encouraging the ability for self-reflection and a commitment to life-long learning becoming and acting as responsible citizens. This module is approved by Institute of Environmental Management & Assessment (IEMA), which means that upon completing it, you are entitled to a free student membership (of £25 value). The perks include access to extra resources, such as webinars, publications, networks and more. It can not only enhance your academic performance, but also differentiate you from other graduates and help you launch your career in environmental sustainability.

In an increasingly global business environment, those involved in international business and management must develop the insights and skills to interact with customers and stakeholders in a culturally sensitive way. The module introduces and examines the work of important researchers in the field such as Hofstede, Hall, Watson, Tayeb, Holden, Hampden-Turner and Trompenaars. It explores the application of these theories to decision making at an organisation level. Presenting cultural diversity as a central element in the phenomena of business change and organisational development through the use of case studies and interactive scenarios. It draws on the diversity of the student group as a resource and attempts to generate dynamic learning experiences.

Climate change and sustainability offer both challenges and opportunities for economies and business across the world. This module is a “step” into addressing the requirements of private and public sector organisations looking for graduates with knowledge, skills and attributes related to environmental and sustainability issues. It develops a hands-on approach to sustainability by focusing on the development of an environmental management system (EMS) for the students’ households. It is expected that this module can contribute to the students’ wellbeing, while reducing their carbon footprint and creating sustainable transformations and pro-environmental behaviour. This module aims at developing creativity, responsibility and future-thinking amongst the participants: its ultimate goal is to enhance the students’ participation in a highly competitive job market and the opportunities for green and responsible entrepreneurship. The main pillars of this module are as follows. A. Action Learning & Reflective Practice: This module encourages students to start working on their assessment from day 1, offering a wide variety of tools to record their progress in the implementation and monitoring of their environmental management system. B. Creativity and Use of Technology: This module relies on the students’ creative skills in the use of social media and use of digital learning platforms such as Canvas. C. Employability: At the end of this module students will be able to identify and provide evidence of a wide range of skills and attributes for future jobs and enterprises. Overall aims at encouraging the ability for self-reflection and a commitment to life-long learning becoming and acting as responsible citizens. This module is approved by Institute of Environmental Management & Assessment (IEMA), which means that upon completing it, you are entitled to a free student membership (of £25 value). The perks include access to extra resources, such as webinars, publications, networks and more. It can not only enhance your academic performance, but also differentiate you from other graduates and help you launch your career in environmental sustainability.

In an increasingly global business environment, those involved in international business and management must develop the insights and skills to interact with customers and stakeholders in a culturally sensitive way. The module introduces and examines the work of important researchers in the field such as Hofstede, Hall, Watson, Tayeb, Holden, Hampden-Turner and Trompenaars. It explores the application of these theories to decision making at an organisation level. Presenting cultural diversity as a central element in the phenomena of business change and organisational development through the use of case studies and interactive scenarios. It draws on the diversity of the student group as a resource and attempts to generate dynamic learning experiences.

Economic and political aspects of the European Union are explored on this module. You will be introduced to important areas of EU policy affecting, for example, the extent and pace of EU enlargement, the competitiveness of the EU, and migration. This module also explores the reasons for economic integration, and the costs and benefits of the single currency. The EU is constantly evolving and this module will reflect this in its use of contemporary events and current controversies.

Successful branding creates consumer value and can provide protection from price competition and pressures towards commoditization. This involves complex processes which transform experience from satisfaction of basic needs to becoming a medium of social exchange. Brands are very important to consumers and firms. In this module you will learn about how to manage these valuable assets and the concept of brand equity whilst developing and exploring the work of leading marketing theorists and practitioners. You will not only examine leading global brands such as Coca Cola and Apple, but also lesser known brands in the context of strategic brand management.

The Law impacts upon every aspect of the domestic and international business environment. This module is an introduction to a broad range of legal issues including the nature and sources of Business and Employment Law in England, the Law of Contract, the Law of Tort, in particular, negligence and vicarious liability, the rights of employees and workers and discrimination in the workplace. Assessment is by means of a 3,000 word assignment. This will comprise an essay on a legal topic and a case-study report on a workplace scenario.

This module looks at the financial options available to businesses whilst introducing you to the wider financial markets operations, including derivatives and hedging. The main focus will be on ways in which to generate capital financing from the capital markets though shares, debentures and loans building on the core learning co-delivered through the financial management modules. At the centre of the module will be on-going tracking of a portfolio of market investments where you’ll be expected to consider alternative methods for corporate valuations and evaluate changes in market valuations.

Human resource professionals need to understand key developments in the theory and practice of employment relations, both within and beyond the immediate organisational context. This module allows you to build on your knowledge and experience to develop the skills required to make informed and effective judgements about existing and emerging models, processes and practices of employment relations in local and international jurisdictions. This is designed to encourage you to assess and understand broader developments that influence the effective management of the employment relationship in indigenous and multinational organisations.

This innovative and exciting career-focused module will help you develop the employability skills and capabilities that are needed to compete successfully in the graduate labour market whilst seeking to provide you with knowledge, support and insight into the contemporary world of work and the business market. The module will also develop your skills and is therefore practical and engages you in case study exercise, real-life scenarios, audit and skills testing techniques and invites external guest speakers and employers to provide insight and input. The lectures and seminars will provide key inputs to help introduce you to fundamental employability concepts, insights and techniques, drawn from the world of business and management, but also from other disciplines such as sociology, social psychology and the humanities.

In any management role within an organisation you’ll require an appreciation of the power and influence of Digital Marketing. This module aims to increase your employability by providing individuals with many of the necessary skills, as well as a critical understanding, of Digital Marketing. Covering both profit and not for profit organisations as well as examining evidence of the change in Consumer Behaviour and increase in online activities such as social activism. You’ll also be required to investigate the influence of Tribes, Communities and Virtual Crowds in online behaviour and the effective use of Word of mouth and Viral Marketing as part of campaign tactics. Important consideration of legal and regulatory issues affecting Digital Marketing, together with emerging codes of practice and ethical issues are addressed.

Does Human Resource Management operate in a global environment? Although people are at the heart of all organisations, there are significant differences in how citizens around the world participate in the workplace. This module sets out to investigate how, and if, HRM operates in the international arena. This is done by considering differences in national HRM policies and practices and by examining how businesses overcome the numerous 'people problems' associated with operating in more than one country.

How can you be an effective leader during the current turbulent times? Organisations are facing constant organisational, environmental and economic change. In addition, smart technology and increasingly flat hierarchies in organisations emphasise the importance of effective team management and networking across different cultures. This module explores the role of leadership to facilitate effective management of uncertainty, ambiguity, complexity and to create a vision and strategy for future success and sustainable performance of organisations. This module enables you to make links between the theoretical and practical aspects of leadership by solving case studies and also by reflecting on own leadership challenges - from previous jobs, work placements or volunteering.

The global financial crisis highlighted the importance of the financial services sector. It demonstrated that the way in which financial products are designed and marketed can have implications for the stability of the global financial system and for social well-being. This module explores the principles and practice of marketing in a financial and professional services context. Key themes covered include: current thinking in services marketing and how this relates to the concept of value from a product provider and intermediary perspective; how financial firms have responded to and should continue to respond to the fallout from the financial crisis; building services brands; understanding the decision-making process for financial and professional services buying decisions; understand the relationship between marketing and the regulatory regime. A range of issues concerning ethics and sustainability are considered including: levels of financial literacy; commission and compensation; mis-selling, financial scandals and the regulatory regime.

The Reward Management module provides the learner with a wide understanding of how the business context drives reward strategies and policies, including labour market, industrial and sector trends, regional differences and trends in pay and international comparisons; the financial drivers of the organisation, the balance sheet and the impact of reward costs. These are vital tools for the business leaders of tomorrow.

This module applies core marketing principles in a retail context and develops specialist knowledge of the retail industry from a marketing perspective. You’ll explore retail and shopper marketing and the clear links to other business curriculum areas: marketing management, consumer behaviour, human resources, operations management and economics. The module explores: retail marketing mixes and strategies, customer satisfaction, internet retailing and the emerging use of 'shopper marketing', sustainable and ethical issues and the growth of consumerism. You will examine a wide range of case studies that focus on different types of retailers and their marketing activities.