Online MBA: curriculum

Intended as an introduction to operations management in both service and manufacturing organisations, this module explains how the operations function fits within the organisation overall. Learn the basic principles which are broadly applicable to most organisations and study the basic principles of how to adopt ‘lean’ principles in practice.

Study the nature of marketing and how this function fits within the value chain. Learn the broad scope of marketing activity and establish an understanding of the core concepts underlying the field. Find ways to use analytical frameworks, tools and techniques to identify new marketing opportunities within the broader business landscape.

Explore how global environmental changes affect the ways in which companies respond strategically, both within regions and countries, and across borders to generate greater return on investment. Look at the theoretical prescription and immerse yourself in the real practice of global business management.

All business leaders must be able to interpret and apply financial information in their decision making. It’s almost impossible to discuss the cost and finance implications of activity without an appreciation of the processes, information sources, and methods of presentation. Gain an appreciation of the perspective and tools available to accounting and finance professionals, and the limitations and caveats to the financial information that they can provide.

Explore the way people behave and interact in organisations and critically develop knowledge in the fundamental challenges within the management of organisations. Learn the main HR functions and place them in the context of important new HR developments – academic and professional – that have occurred in the last decade.

The global world of commerce is becoming more dynamic and complex, requiring managers to formulate and implement strategies based on consistent congruence between the firm and its environment. The module will focus initially on systematic external and internal analysis, and then cover formulation and implementation of corporate and business level strategies.

The dissertation is submitted to fulfil the requirements for the award of the Master of Business Administration degree. The subject of the dissertation can be related to your work environment or to an area of interest to your employer, which may encourage employers to support time for study or financial assistance.

Gain an understanding of the economic and wider political and social contexts in which businesses operate. Learn the internal economics of the firm, the environment in which firms operate, and in turn how these factors can be used to inform management decisions. Study the fundamental concepts and analytical approaches used in economics and find out how these concepts are applied in business decision making.

Learn how to improve organisations to make them better for customers and service providers. Build upon knowledge gained in the core operations management module and develop a wider understanding of the concepts, tools and techniques relating to process design and delivery.

The study of business performance and management cannot be achieved using a single analytical lens. Similarly, real management problems, and hence the practice of management, are multifaceted too. There is therefore a need for an integrative module which allows you to holistically apply MBA disciplines to business problems. Learn to address general management challenges and study the role of management consultants in improving organisational performance.

Extend the depth of knowledge about the development of marketing strategies, and their implementation and understand the processes adopted by marketing professionals and the ways in which these strategies are implemented. Learn how to make strategic marketing decisions at a senior level than and develop your ability to: choose the most effective analytic strategies.

Learn about organisational change and its significance for organisations. Be exposed to the multiple perspectives, models and analytical frameworks for analysing organisational change, and how change can be managed. Spend time exploring and critically evaluating examples of failures to manage change effectively. Learn the role of senior managers as change agents.

This module is all about creativity, and creative problem solving. It is not confined to the context of new ventures and start-ups and explores a range of different perspectives on entrepreneurship and the activities of entrepreneurs. Learn how to develop the understanding, attitude and skills that will help you create and implement something new.

Gain an understanding of (and learn how to apply), the tools and methodologies of contemporary finance theory. The module will build on the introductory finance and accounting module to explore the financial decision-making processes of organisations. In so doing, students will look at the role of financial managers and the scope/remit of their decision making.

Building on the core strategy module, advanced strategy takes an in-depth view at the process of strategy formulation and implementation through the lens of key themes/topics pertinent to the contemporary strategists. Take a step further in challenging your intuition, creativity and critical thinking to explore the dynamics, challenges and complexities underpinning the strategy process and the ‘elusive’ sustainable competitive advantage, and the elements that characterise ‘success’ of the modern firm.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is concerned with the broader role that organisations play in society. Business ethics is the study of the morals of behaviour at the level of the whole organisation. The module borrows theory from strategic management, business policy, politics, sociology and philosophy. These multiple analytical lenses provide a toolkit to critically appraise organisational challenges in respect of ethics, responsibility, justice and values.