STAGE 1 MODULES
Introduction to Accounting and Finance
To teach students the role of accounting and its development and the nature and significance of accounting information. Students will be introduced to record keeping and data processing.
Financial statements, performance and asset management. Accounting concepts and conventions, accounts of limited companies. Basic interpretation of accounts, relevant costs, cost behaviour, break-even analysis, cost-profit-volume analysis, marginal costing, full costing, overhead absorption and job costing. Introduction to variance analysis and budgeting. Financial corporate objectives and financial arithmetic, sources of finance, functioning of stock markets and investment appraisal.
Organisational Behaviour and Sociology of Work
To provide the foundations for the behaviour of people at work and to understand the broader social and organisational context of their existence. Evolution of management and control; the manager’s role in work organisational; the growth of organisations; organisational culture and structure; HRM and motivation; the social context; bureaucracy, class and society; the labour process; control and cooperation; gender and race; trade unions.
The Macroeconomic Environment of Business
To provide an analysis of the macroeconomic environment of business using basic business tools of economic analysis. To develop an understanding of the national and international economic environment, focusing on their impact on business. Unemployment; Inflation; National income and output; Money and interest rates; Macroeconomic policy; International trade; Protectionism; Multinational corporations; International investment; Trading zones; The European Union; The balance of payments; Exchange rate.
Business Law
To provide an understanding of the main legal structures in business with particular reference to Law of Contract, Tort and an introduction to Agency, Partnership and Company law. Formation of contract; Terms of a contract; Vitiating factors; Discharge of contracts; Remedies for breach of contract; Sale and supply of goods and services; Law of agency; Law of partnership; Law of torts; Company law.
Business Economics
To introduce students to key economic concepts, principles and policy instruments in the context of the business environment. Theory of demand; Markets – Supply and Demand; Competition; Monopoly; Oligopoly; Economic issues related to labour markets and boundaries of the firm; Market failure and government intervention.
Organisational Information Systems
To develop the basic awareness of information systems (IS) in an organisation. To develop an awareness of the nature, the process, and the organizational and the contextual issues involved. Digital and information age; Systems thinking; Information systems development methodologies; IS tools and techniques; Telecommunications and networks; Internet and E-Commerce.
Quantitative Methods in Information Management
To teach students the skills of analysis and the use of mathematical / statistical techniques to tackle business problems. Descriptive statistics, Concepts of probability and probability distributions; Confidence intervals and Hypothesis testing; Linear regression; Normal and T-Distribution.
Foundations of Marketing
To introduce students to the concepts and principles of marketing and their application. Marketing environment; Consumer and organisational buying behaviour; Market segmentation, targeting and positioning; Marketing planning and control; Product and pricing strategies; Marketing channels and supply chain; Marketing communication strategy.
Foundations of Production and Operations Management
Provide an understanding of the roles and contributions of production in organisations and the basic transformation model. Introduce the concept of a product or service in the context of delivery system design; explore the principal issues that concern the operations manager and techniques that can be used to support decisionmaking activities. The 5Ps of Operation; Product and service package; Product / service design process; Capacity management; Variety management; Operating system design; Work study; Total quality management; Operations planning and control; Health and safety.
STAGE 2 MODULES
Marketing Management and Strategy
To gain an understanding of a full range of marketing management and strategy frameworks. Strategic marketing; Consumer behaviour; Organisational buying behaviour; Competitive macro environment; Strategic marketing analysis; Marketing strategy formulation; Relationship marketing strategies; E-Marketing strategy; Marketing strategy for mass-mediated services.
Consumer Behaviour
To create awareness and understanding of the influences on consumer behaviour and the process of decision-making. To put these concepts into the context of marketing management. Nature of consumer behaviour; Individual and environment influences on the consumer; Decision-making and consumption process; Attitude formation and change; Consumer behaviour and marketing.
Management of Service Operations
This course aims to improve the understanding of course members of: (i) the characteristics of organisations (or parts of organisations) which produce services instead of goods; (ii) the problems which arise because of the nature of services; and (iii) to look at ways in which these problems may be dealt with. The sessions focus on issues which are of extreme importance in the service context and which are not necessarily relevant in a manufacturing setting. All the above are taught within a framework that acknowledges corporate and social responsibility.
Marketing Research
To gain an understanding of the many marketing research techniques available to marketing managers to aid decision-making. Research process; Writing a research proposal; Research methods; Implementing qualitative and quantitative research; Data preparation and analysis; Statistics for decision making; Presenting results for marketing decisions; Evaluating research.
Integrated Marketing Communications
To understand the role and tools of integrated marketing communications. Overview of integrated marketing communications; Advertising and promotion; Media planning and strategy; The communication process; Below-the-line promotion; Public Relations; Business-to-Business communications.
Economics of Industry
To provide students with an awareness of the organisational structure of industry, with an emphasis on interactions among firms in an industry. Students will gain a better understanding of how firms compete and organise themselves. Market and competitive analysis; Boundaries of the firm; Position and dynamics; Economies of vertical integration; Diversification; Market and industrial analysis; Strategic positioning; Competitive advantage; Internal organisation.
Financial Management
An introduction to the key aspects of financial management to boost the profitability of a business entity as well as create and improve shareholder value. To develop an understanding of how businesses are financed and how methods of financing can affect decision-making. Investment appraisal; Risk and return; Bond valuation; Valuation of shares and firm; Cost of capital; Basic capital budgeting decisions; Dividend policy and share repurchase; Basic capital structure theory; Working capital management.
Practice of Management Skills
To develop an understanding of key managerial concepts, both traditional and modern, related to management as a profession. Evolution of management; Management and organisation structures; Ethics and social responsibility; Decision-making; Problem solving; Managing change and organisational development; Strategic management process.
Organisational Design
Develop an understanding of the conceptual foundations of organisational performance across a wide range of organisations and of the design factors needed to achieve high performance. Including: approaches to studying organisations, performance, social norms, decision making, structures - functional and product, motive and other structures, competitive strategies, co-operative strategies, voluntary associations and public service organisations.
The Transformation of Work
This is a topical course and subjects may change to reflect this but important topics include the following: Sociological approaches to work; Traditional work organisation; Class, occupation and identity; New forms of work; Identity and work; Emotional labour; Hidden work; Surveillance; Gender and Masculinity; Race; Conflict and Misbehaviour.
STAGE 3 MODULES
International Marketing
To provide an understanding of the concepts of direct marketing, the different direct marketing database techniques and its role within the business environment. To be able to plan and evaluate direct marketing campaigns. Scope and strategic role of direct marketing; Customer acquisition and retention strategies; Agencies and direct marketing specialists; Interactive direct marketing; Production and fulfillment.
Retail Marketing
To introduce the changing nature of the retail marketing environment. To familiarise students with marketing principles and theories that can be specifically applied to retail organisations. To provide students with a practical application of retail marketing and concepts.
The outline syllabus includes distinctive aspects of retail marketing, methods and approaches to retail strategy and marketing planning. Consumer behaviour and retail operations. The management of service and quality in retailing. The retail marketing mix and the retail product. Merchandise management, retail pricing, retail communications and promotions. Retail distribution and supply chain management. Retail location strategies and decisions. Management of the retail brand. Application of IT to retail marketing. Consumerism and ethics in retailing.
Marketing and Entrepreneurship
To stimulate interest in, and understanding of, research into entrepreneurs, entrepreneurship and marketing. To examine the interaction between entrepreneurship and other disciplines, especially marketing. Personal characteristics of entrepreneurs; Marketing and entrepreneurship interface; Market opportunity recognition; New business formation; Entrepreneurial firm growth; Entrepreneurial succession.
Services Marketing
To provide students with a comprehensive understanding of the key issue in the marketing of services, to demonstrate practical applications of the services principles across a broad range of industries and the growing importance of relationship marketing within services.
The outline syllabus includes an introduction to services marketing and the important differences with product marketing, key principles of relationship marketing and how to make relationship marketing work within services. The role of customers and building customer relationships in service businesses. Strategic issues in services marketing and how demand affects the marketing of services. The marketing mix and the relationship of marketing implications – service product, distribution, people, communications and service quality.
Corporate Marketing
To understand and evaluate corporate identities and corporate brands in a business context. Overview of branding and design; Brand proliferation; Corporate identity management, Organisational and visual identity; Corporate communications; Corporate image and corporate reputation; Corporate brands; Corporate level marketing.
Electronic Commerce
To develop an understanding of the management implications of electronic commerce needed for making informal operational and strategic decisions about electronic commerce and its business exploitation. Framework and infrastructure for electronic commence; Applications of electronic commerce; Security; E-Commerce business models; Internet marketing; New technology and trends.
Understanding Strategic Management
To develop an understanding of, and ability in, the theory and practice of Strategic Management. Students will be exposed to the concepts and frameworks for the analysis of the external and internal environments of organisations, generations of strategic alternatives, as well as implementations and evaluations of strategies. Environment scanning and industry analysis; Internal scanning and organisational analysis; Strategic formulation; Strategic choice; Strategy Implementation; Evaluation and control strategic audit.
Applied Strategic Management
To develop the relevant knowledge, understanding and analytical abilities to undertake an in-depth strategic analysis of business organisations. Strategic implementation; Strategy andstructure; Portfolio management; Corporate parenting; Managing strategic change; Measuring company performance.
International Business Strategy
To develop an understanding of the theories and concepts that underpin the strategic moves of organisations in their internationalisation process. Addressing strategic issues in the context of regional and global competitive factors. International trade theory; Modes of foreign market servicing; Strategy, structure and control; Functional strategies.
Global Business Environment
Establish a firm foundation in the practice of international business through an in-depth understanding of the key environmental factors that impact on the global competitive moves of companies. lobalisation; Political, economic and cultural environment; International apital flows and financial volatility; Regionalisation of world economy; egulation of international business.
Management Project
To enable students to apply the knowledge and experience gained in the aught component of the programme to a relevant topic or project. To foster individual development of critical enquiry and application of research techniques and to develop students in their planning of time and resources, data analysis and report writing.
