Master of Business Administration

You will explore with the techniques needed to conduct authoritative research in business and management and, in doing so, assess alternative approaches to research that might be utilised or consulted to inform strategic management decisions.

Specifically, the module will support you as you create an academic output (through the International Business Dissertation) or an applied consultancy output (through the business consultancy project). Either way, your output should have the potential to improve some aspect of organisational performance.

You will explore different approaches to business and management research and how specific research methods are underpinned by specific philosophical perspectives. You will learn how to be clear in your research objectives and ensure that outputs are relevant and rigorous and have the potential for beneficial impact to an organisation. You will explore how to assess the business context and utilise relevant literature in developing your research proposal. You will also develop your skills in data collection, analysis and presentation – for both quantitative and qualitative research.

The importance of ethics in guiding research will be emphasised throughout.

The “Career and Future Focus” module is a comprehensive programme designed to enhance students’ employability skills and prepare them for future career challenges. This module is structured to bridge the gap between academic learning and practical workplace requirements, emphasising the development of essential competencies and skills needed in today’s dynamic business environment.

Throughout the course, students will engage in various activities that foster critical thinking, problem-solving, effective communication, and leadership. The module begins with self-assessment exercises, enabling students to identify their strengths and areas for improvement. It then progresses to workshops and seminars offering insights into current market trends and expectations.

Key components of the module include CV building, interview techniques, and networking strategies. These practical sessions are designed to equip students with the tools necessary to effectively present themselves to potential employers. Additionally, the module includes case studies and real-world project work, providing hands-on experience in addressing business challenges.

By the end of this module, students will have a clearer understanding of their career aspirations, improved employability skills, and a robust plan for their professional future. This course is not only a stepping stone to a successful career but also a platform for continuous personal and professional development.

Upon completion of this course, students will achieve a Birmingham Newman University Certificate in Careers. The achievement of this certificate will be a mandatory requirement for the degree award.

You will explore how to create a market-focussed organisation and develop a critical understanding of how international companies design and implement marketing strategies to create customer value and competitive advantage. You will develop your critical understanding of the nature of markets and marketing, in both customer and consumer contexts. Specifically, you will explore Strategic Marketing Planning, recognising the needs to align market opportunity with organisational capability and competitive landscape.

Through developing your understanding of Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning, you will explore how organisations can align operations and communications to the needs, wants and aspirations of target customer / consumer groups to create genuine competitive advantage.

You will explore how to build and manage marketing strategies, recognising the challenges and opportunities presented by changing consumers (increasingly sophisticated and demanding consumers), emerging social trends (ageing populations and increasing global mobility), environmental sustainability (climate change and biodiversity) and emerging digital technologies (social media, AI, big data). To do so, you will investigate real-world examples from a range of geographies and market sectors.

Any management role is likely to involve substantial exposure to the management of projects and an appreciation of approaches to project management and how individual projects might relate to the broader organisational context will be helpful.

In this module, you will explore ‘hard’ aspects of project management alongside the ‘soft skills’ involved in facilitating successful projects, including substantial change-management projects.

You will develop an understanding of the human and organisational factors that might impact on organisations seeking to run effective projects, some of which may involve cross-border working.

You will explore current best practice and latest research to plan and manage a project across the lifetime of that project – from inception to completion and beyond. You will be exposed to alternative project management methodologies and professional standards.

You will explore how to manage time, cost and quality; how to create an effective project team; how to manage risk and deal with unexpected issues as they emerge and how these considerations might be impacted when projects are international or span different organisational cultures.

You will develop an appreciation of Corporate Strategy and Strategic Management, particularly focussed on how strategy development might inform SMEs operating internationally, often in a rapidly changing business ecosystem.

You will explore and asses a range of frameworks and factors that inform strategy development, and how these frameworks might apply in SMEs operating locally and internationally. You will explore Creativity and how it might help drive organizational performance.

Specifically, you will explore how to:

Develop an appreciation of increasingly complex and dynamic business and competitive environments and how these inform the development of business strategy.

Assess organisational resources, including financial resources, and identify the distinctive capabilities of organisations that will support competitive position and underpin sustainable competitive advantage.

Make sustainable strategic business recommendations suitable for organisations operating in specific sectors.

Responsible management is a commitment to acknowledging the social, ethical, environmental and economic impact of business decisions, ensuring businesses make a positive and sustainable impact.

You will have an opportunity to reflect on how you can become a responsible manager and help to advance sustainable development across the organisations that you work for and interact with. You will also explore the importance of developing shared organisational values around global social responsibility and how these values might inform business practice.

You will develop an appreciation of stakeholders such as investors, employees, customers, suppliers, communities or governments (at all levels) and the value of collaboration with key stakeholders to enhance organisational performance (across a range of KPIs).

Specifically, you might explore issues such as ethical consumerism, the green economy, the circular economy and workplace diversity and equality.

You will explore an organisation’s key resource – its people – and how to optimise organisational performance through outstanding team leadership and people management. You will develop your knowledge and skills in team and talent management, exploring key concepts in human resource management (HRM) and human resource Development (HRD), including staff recruitment, selection, induction, management, development, motivation and departure. You will explore diversity in all its forms – including, for example, age, sex, sexuality, background and aspects of neuro-diversity – and how diversity can be harnessed to enhance organisational performance. You will explore how to create, lead and manage diverse teams – who may work remotely, and have a range of motivations and aspirations. You will explore how to work with the HR function to support individuals and add value to an organisation.

You will explore models for the management of change and the knowledge, skills and credibility needed to be an effective champion of change. Concepts of diversity, equity and inclusion will inform your work throughout this module.

In this module, you will explore the sources, uses and management of finance to optimise organisational performance and how financial resources might be most effectively allocated to business operations and projects.

You will explore the use of accounting, budgetary and other information systems in managerial planning, decision-making and control. You will learn to apply appropriate analytical tools and techniques, such as the balanced scorecard, key performance indicators, cost-volume-profit analysis and budget variance analysis.

You will develop an understanding of performance management and control in contemporary international organisational business settings. Specifically, you will explore:

Core financial reporting tools that allow you to assess an organisation’s financial performance.

How to allocate costs appropriately to inform sustainable business decisions.

Techniques and processes used to set budgets, and management issues that arise in budgeting.

The four dimensions of a Balanced Scorecard and how do they inform the development of business.

How variance analysis techniques might be used to control individual activities and manage overall organisational performance.

You will also gain an appreciation of capital investment and a range of risk assessment techniques that inform strategic investment decisions.

You will, as part of a small team of consultants, address a specific client problem in a public, private or 3rd sector organisation. You will develop your ability to apply your knowledge of conceptual frameworks and your analytical ability to solve a real-world challenge facing a real-world client. Your task will be to develop and recommend viable and implementable solutions and present those solutions in a format to support the client’s decision-making process.

Working with your client, and with the support of your supervisor, you will clearly define the client problem and scope of the consultancy project, identifying shared project objectives and outputs. You will collect, analyse, present and interpret data and present appropriate management recommendations to your client.

You will start your project with a one-day intensive development programme working through the consultancy process and approaches to ensure effective team-working both within your team of consultants and with your client / client organisation.