MSc Management Timetable and Modules

Michaelmas Term	Hilary Term	Trinity Term
Entrepreneurship and Innovation Human Resource Management Marketing in the Digital Age Operations & Supply Chain Management Strategy & Global Business	Company Consultancy Project Complete Leadership Cross Cultural Management Ethical Business & Sustainability Financial Management Project Management	Company Consultancy Project  This project allows students to showcase the knowledge they have gained by working with companies in a particular area of business and management.

Michaelmas Term (September to December)

• Entrepreneurship and Innovation
• Human Resource Management
• Marketing in the Digital Age
• Operations & Supply Chain Management
• Strategy & Global Business

Hilary Term (January to April)

• Company Consultancy Project
• Complete Leadership
• Cross Cultural Management
• Ethical Business & Sustainability
• Financial Management
• Project Management

Module Descriptions

Entrepreneurship and Innovation

The aim of this module is to provide students with:

• Framework for approaching the creation of a new business opportunity
• Set of core entrepreneurship skills and mind-set.
• Critical perspective of the major trends, dynamics, and opportunities currently marking the field of entrepreneurship and innovation.

Over the past two decades, entrepreneurship has become one of the most relevant disciplines in business and has attracted the interest of scholars, policymakers and practitioners from all over the world. Entrepreneurship is deemed a key driver to innovation and economic development, regional and urban competitiveness, and a critical source of jobs. Yet entrepreneurship has also been criticized for underpinning wealth and income inequality, particularly in “winner takes all” markets. As entrepreneurship progresses and generates opportunities as well as controversies, a multi-disciplinary and international perspective is required.

Having successfully completed this module, the student should be able to:

• Understand the process of entrepreneurship and the major phases undertaken to create a successful innovation driven venture.
• Discover and quantify entrepreneurial opportunities.
• Create, formulate and present a new business idea.
• Display personal skills including creativity, idea generation, initiative, research and reflection.
• Critically evaluate the role of entrepreneurship in an international content.

Human Resource Management (5 ECTS)

One of an organisation’s most valuable resources is its workforce. Understanding how organisations can leverage their employee's potential to achieve organisational success is key to organisation longevity. In this module students explore how human resource management (HRM) policies, practices and theories are essential to the survival and performance of organisations. Students will examine fundamental HRM concepts, strategies and frameworks that assist organisations to attract, select, manage, and develop people in ways that are consistent with the organisations mission, culture and strategy.

Having successfully completed this module, the student should be able to:

• Explain and apply the key concepts and theories of HRM into practice;
• Critically evaluate the role and responsibilities of the HR function in organisations and the context within-which HR professionals operate;
• Search for and identify reliable, appropriate and high quality HR research, and evaluate its relevance to real-world HR practice and cases;
• Clearly and professionally communicate in oral and written formats.
• Assess the role and impact of sustainable HRM and its influences on employees and other societal actors.
• Critically evaluate and understand the use of HR practices (e.g., retention, training, performance management, etc.) and its influence on the organisation’s strategy and performance.

Marketing in the Digital Age (5 ECTS)

This module equips students with the skills to critically evaluate and align marketing solutions with relevant theories, tools, and practices, with an emphasis on digital competencies. It addresses the dynamic marketing technology landscape, focusing on key areas such as AI-assisted marketing and data-driven decision-making. The course covers technology-assisted situational analysis, strategy formation, and tactical specifics, among others.

Having successfully completed this module, the student should be able to:

• Apply a range of theories, frameworks, and digital technology tools in context toward addressing core marketing management challenges within the contemporary digital-centric business environment.
• To develop basic knowledge about the concepts of national culture, cultural differences, sterotyping and cultural sense-making.
• To develop and understanding of a range of international management practices and how culture impacts upon them: work, leadership, cross-cultural communication and decision-making, negotiation and trust, knowledge transfer , ethics.
• Apply your knowledge of comparative management models and their implications for management in different national / regional contexts to evaluate the challenges of development and implementing people management practices in cross cultural contexts.
• To provide the knowledge and tools to enable students to work effectively in cross cultural contexts.
• Effectively present in written and oral format in a means appropriate to a professional audience.

Operations & Supply Chain Management (5 ECTS)

This module is concerned with the process of creating and delivering products and services and aims to introduce students to the core theories, concepts, models, tools and techniques associated with operations management. The prototype organisation transforms inputs (raw materials, money, information, human resources, knowledge) into outputs (finished goods, services, and waste) – in the module we draw upon examples of organisations across a variety of industries. The module also aims to examine the linkages between operations management and the other business functions (represented by the other modules on the MSc programme). No prior knowledge of business and management is required, we start with the fundamentals of operations management and build from there.

Having successfully completed this module, the student should be able to:

• Understand from the perspective of the general manager the central role of operations and its relationship to the other business functions.
• Appreciate the strategic contribution of operations to value creation and organisation success, and an awareness of the impact of operations decisions and activity beyond profit to the wider economy and society.
• Demonstrate the application of the course material in both services and manufacturing contexts.
• Select and apply appropriate theories, concepts, models, tools and techniques to improve the operations and supply chain management.
• Appreciate the role of trade-offs in operations and supply chain management and understand that cost reduction and value addition are often not mutually exclusive.
• Demonstrate an awareness of the key processes in a supply chain and how these are linked together by materials, information and financial flows.

Strategy & Global Business (5 ECTS)

This module seeks to develop students’ understanding of the fundamental principles of strategic management providing knowledge and understanding of the key frameworks and analytical tools needed to conduct strategic analysis of organisations operating in international markets. It also highlights the pertinent environmental variables that affect their international business decision-making and strategies operating in global markets. Students will also gain insight into key theories explaining paths to firm internationalisation and strategies explaining how firms select and enter foreign markets.

On successful completion of this module, students must be able to:

• Identify key concepts, frameworks and theories behind strategic management.
• Diagnose and analyse a business’s strategic activities from the manager's perspective in the context of an ever-changing international/global operating environment.
• Gain an understanding of pertinent social, cultural, economic and policy issues that affect strategic decisions of organisations operating in a global context.
• Describe the motives for firm internationalisation and appraise the various international market selection and entry strategies available to firms when internationalising.
• Work effectively in teams to assess international strategic issues of an organisation and provide recommendations.

Company Consultancy Project (30 ECTS)

The Consultancy Project (hereafter referred to as the Project) is a core component of the MSc Management degree.

A capstone project for the programme, students work in teams to apply the techniques and knowledge acquired from the taught modules to a managerial problem of real-world social, strategic or economic concern.

This allows students gain experience in areas of genuine organisational consequence, while at the same time acquiring practical work skills, along with the investigative and analytical skills to facilitate the pursuit of a career in international management. While students will be guided through the process with workshops, seminars and the support of a mentor, completion of the Project is centered for the most part on self-directed student-based learning.

On successful completion of this module, the student should be able to:

• Contribute to resolving a significant issue for the host company by analysing the business environment, the organisation’s strategy, capabilities, values, and culture.
• Apply appropriate tools and frameworks in diagnosing and exploring these issues.
• Demonstrate their capability to be effective management practitioners, with a good understanding of the practical aspects of work life, including presentation and communication skills.
• Demonstrate a clear ability to be an effective member of a high-performance team and exercise sound judgment when confronted with significant constraints (e.g., time deficits, information deficits).
• Evaluate their own capabilities as a management practitioner and build related leadership and management skills.

Complete Leadership (5 ECTS)

Complete Leadership is the ability to lead across multiple stakeholder groups (internal and external to the organisation) over an increasingly long-term time horizon utilising a full spectrum of relevant business disciplines (e.g. finance, strategy, HRM, OB, psychology and communications) in order to enable businesses to realise their purpose and achieve their performance goals.   Complete Leadership is particularly relevant in the contemporary business context where firms need to be innovative/entrepreneurial, deliver Environmental, Societal and Governance (ESG) objectives, usually in an international context and where Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity (VUCA) present the challenge of leading under often unpredictable change.

Having successfully completed this module the student should be able to:

• Learn leadership content from the various fields within business studies and be able to apply them in the interactive context of complete leadership. In this regard, understanding the fundamental concepts, theories and practices in the field of leadership for purposeful and performance-driven organisations.
• Gain an understanding of how the purpose and context of businesses in the 21st century require more complete leadership.
• Understand the process of leading the creation of a mission, vision and strategy for an organisation, which fits the purpose, values, culture and capabilities of an organisation. Also, learn how this is differs when short and long term perspectives are taken; especially in relation to organisational culture and values.
• Learn what is entailed in nurturing and leading leaders. In particular, selecting, advising, mentoring, supporting and coaching leaders – with an understanding of the techniques used to coach individuals (TGROW) and groups of people (GROUP).
• Understand the challenges and opportunities for leadership in creating and managing an ambidextrous organisation.
• Learning the communication and personal engagement leadership skills utilised both within and outside an organisation in order to lead across all relevant stakeholder groups. This also includes blended communication skills that can use storytelling through combined verbal, visual, financial and data channels. 

Cross Cultural Management (5 ECTS)

This module aims to develop the awareness, skills and knowledge required by managers seeking to work abroad as international executives. The module provides a key grounding in the nature of management in the global context by increasing awareness and understanding of the soft skills in international management, particularly those relating to cross-cultural management.

• Develop an understanding of the challenges of working internationally.
• To develop basic knowledge about the concepts of national culture, cultural differences, sterotyping and cultural sense-making.
• To develop and understanding of a range of international management practices and how culture impacts upon them: work, leadership, cross-cultural communication and decision-making, negotiation and trust, knowledge transfer , ethics.
• Apply your knowledge of comparative management models and their implications for management in different national / regional contexts to evaluate the challenges of development and implementing people management practices in cross cultural contexts.
• To provide the knowledge and tools to enable students to work effectively in cross cultural contexts.
• Effectively present in written and oral format in a means appropriate to a professional audience.

Ethical Business & Sustainability (5 ECTS)

The concept of ethical business should always be investigated in context. While most people would agree that business should be conducted in an ethical manner, there is a more fundamental disagreement about the purpose of business. This is sometimes reduced to the stakeholder versus shareholder debate, but is more complex. The module will start with a more theoretical investigation of ethical theory, and then move rapidly to the application of ethical theory in a business context (ethical business).

In the second part of the module sustainability is introduced through the lens of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) components. In conclusion, the final dimension of disclosure is used to investigate the ways in which companies measure and report on their ethical and sustainability performance.

Having successfully completed this module, the student should be able to:

• Learn to analyse complex business situations and be conscientious of the underlying ethical dilemmas facing businesses and individuals;
• Be conversant with major aspects related to Ethical Business, namely stakeholder logic, corporate governance, and CSR;
• Critically evaluate current debates concerning the purpose of the business, and the social and environmental impact of businesses;
• Distinguish between a range of stakeholders in relation to the functioning of business, identify their various interests and concerns; and appraise the complexity involved in managerial decision making;
• Understand how businesses approach their social and environmental responsibilities and evaluate their potentials and limits;
• Effectively work as an individual and as a member of a dynamic multi-disciplinary and cross-cultural team.

Financial Management (5 ECTS)

The Finance function is a critical aspect of any organisation. The success or failure of a firm may be influenced significantly by how it manages its’ finances. It is therefore important for managers and employees to understand the principals of financial management. An understanding of the concepts of financial management is useful regardless of what position an employee has within an organisation. This course is designed to provide an introductory understanding of financial management. It focuses on analysing and evaluating investments using various techniques. It covers several topics related to financial management such as portfolio theory, dividend policy and how to maximise corporate value. The information provided on this module will also be useful in managing your personal finances. Throughout this module, students will become familiar with the concepts of Financial Management and financial language and terms used within the literature and the media.

Having successfully completed this module, the student should be able to:

• Explore the concept of financial management and its importance to organisations.
• Appraise capital investments through the use of appropriate methods and techniques.
• Understand the relation between risk and return and the importance of managing this relation in corporate decision-making.
• Use financial mathematics, statistics, excel routines and pricing techniques to value bonds, stocks and other risky assets.
• Understand the basic elements of investment, financing, capital structure and dividend decision processes.
• Explain how businesses create value.

Project Management (5 ECTS)

The successful delivery of projects within organisations has become more critical than ever. Project management is a core skillset for all organisations and their management teams to maintain competitiveness in a business environment where the pace and complexity of change is ever increasing. This module develops a core understanding of project management and provides students with a fundamental knowledge of the subject and practical insight into where it provides the most value. These skills can be applied in any business setting to achieve successful outcomes and further career development. Overall, this module equips the student to assume the role of project manager.

• Articulate the role of project management and how it aligns to strategy and operations in any organisation.
• Understand the project management.
• Utilise the major methods and approaches to project management and, the ways of working required to successfully deliver a project.
• Make accurate use of the frameworks and models covered in the course, applying them to a wide range of situations.
• Demonstrate the importance of leadership, including soft skills, to project success.
• Utilise the major approaches to project management and the ways of working required to successfully deliver a project.
• Articulate the importance of project governance, assurance and reporting
• Understand the management of international projects including specific ways of working and other key factors.