International Business (Top-Up) BSc (Hons)

Undertaking a Major Project allows you to engage in a substantial piece of individual research, and/or product development work, on a selected topic within the broad business and management field, relating to your particular interests and background, although closely linked to our wide range of staff interests and research. You will have many group sessions to support your project, plus the supervision by an academic member of staff. The project also encourages students to share ideas and approaches. The chosen topic will be in your course subject area and require you to identify/formulate problems and issues based on a range of topics provided by conducting a literature review and evaluating information. You will investigate and adopt a suitable desk based methodology and determine solutions, perhaps developing hardware, software and/or media artefacts as appropriate. You will critically appraise and present your findings, reflecting upon the limitations of your research and the research process.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.