Students will attend a number of briefing sessions with staff where the aim, goals and outcomes of the module will be outlined. Students will be introduced to the principles of action learning and introduced to a series of mechanisms and tools for evaluating the performance of an organisation. Students will also be introduced to a series of project planning and project management tools through which they can investigate, define, negotiate, plan and lead the project through to completion.

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This module begins with a discussion of the cultural diversity phenomenon, a day-to-day reality that brings both challenges and opportunites to today’s workplace. Approaches adopted by practitioners to managing cultural diversity will be critically examined and compared, with a particular emphasis on intercultural team-building. The module content then focuses on intercultural competence, an element that is central to the intercultural team-building agenda. Perspectives and insights will be drawn from relevant disciplines, such as intercultural communication, cross-cultural management and education. Participants will consider ways of cultivating their own intercultural competence as well as facilitating others’ intercultural competence development (especially in work-based contexts). To facilitate the exploration of these two areas, participants will engage with theories and practices in intercultural training in a peer-supported learning environment and reflect upon their own intercultural learning experience in this environment.

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The large majority of businesses today operate in a variety of economic environments and their leaders must make economic decisions taking into account market specific information. This module covers the most essential analytical tools required for economic decision making such as: the concepts of economic systems, profit and utility maximisation, demand elasticity, market equilibrium, market structures, macroeconomic objectives, government policies’ (monetary, fiscal and trade policies) tools and their impact on businesses etc.
Businesses also require funding from shareholders and lenders at the outset and subsequently need to profits and positive cash flows for investment. They are in competition with other businesses for funding, just as much as they are competition for labour and market share. On this course, you will learn to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages to the business of a range of sources of finance. You will also learn how managers report on the financial affairs and financial position of the business and how financial reports can be analysed to evaluate business performance.

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The module will cover the following content:
- Organisation Strategy and Strategic Leadership
- Determining the Strategic Direction: Mission Vision and Values
- Strategic Decision-making in Practice
- Transformational Leadership Approaches and Emotional Intelligence
- The Leader-Follower Relationship
- Team Leadership
- Strategic Decision-Making in Innovative Contexts
- Creating Systemic Innovation
- Authentic and Sustainable Leadership
- Resources and Capabilities

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The Capstone Project provides you with the opportunity to apply the understanding, knowledge, analytical and conceptual tools and personal skills gained from the taught courses to an in-depth study of a selected company. It consolidates the learning, knowledge and skills that you have already taken place as well as developing your capability to undertake inductive or deductive case study analyses. It can thus be seen as the culmination of the entire MBA programme.
In groups, you will select a company and deploy the knowledge background acquired during your studies in a specialist area of business and management to conduct your research. Common specialisms are: Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)/sustainability, entrepreneurship, HRM, innovation, leadership, marketing, operations management/supply chains and strategy. The Capstone Project enables you to put into practice theories and concepts learned on the MBA programme and provides an opportunity to study a particular company and management specialism in detail.

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N/A

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Case studies are increasingly being used in many areas of business and management, and it is widely recognised that case research can be powerful in developing, modifying and extending theory in both exploratory and explanatory research designs. However, there can be misunderstanding of the methodological underpinnings of research using case studies. Different methodological perspectives can use case studies in quite different ways. For example, the role of case studies in positivist research is quite different to their use by interpretive researchers.

This module focuses on the methodological underpinnings of case study research and the roles of case studies in different methodological traditions within the diverse fields of business and management. Examples will be provided of both quantitative and qualitative case studies. Categorisations of different methodological bases of case studies will be discussed, and the use of theory in case study research will be explored. In addition, the module will cover the characteristics of good case research design and ways of constructing 'convincing' case studies. The importance and sources of appropriate secondary data in which to provide context to case studies will be emphasised. You will be required to analyse and critique a quantitative or qualitative database of your choice.

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The material covered in the module relates to two broad areas of study: the examination of organisational behaviour, including attitudes, perception, motivation, groups, teams and leadership; and understanding managerial processes, and the development of skills important in the management of people and processes - such as corporate social responsibility. Change management is increasingly important and therefore you will examine the topic by looking at both incremental and transformational change, and the importance of power, politics and conflict.

Focusing on the behaviour of people in a work environment the module places an emphasis on understanding the vital role and importance of people in the change management process. You will develop an understanding of the dynamics of working organisations in a rapidly evolving business environment, specifically the significance of organisational culture. This in turn develops your ability to plan and carry forward sustainable system-wide change programmes.

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The module will explore key marketing management principles and theories with a focus upon practical marketing management issues. Within PPM, we will step through levels of the organisation, from corporate level, through business level, and to operational level. This approach will allow the student to view and evaluate organisational decisions across the organisation and understand issues of communication, culture, and change management amongst others. The first section of the module will consider Marking Planning incorporating elements of environmental scanning, developing and setting organisational and marketing objectives, and developing organisational and marketing strategy. Later sections of the module will focus upon marketing implementation which includes elements of media decisions, operations management, and marketing measurements.

Applying this knowledge, you will critically evaluate the macro and micro environment for the launch of a new product or service, identify appropriate strategies, logistics, pricing and communications, and outline ways of evaluating and measuring success.

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