Master of Business Administration (MBA) – International

This module will explore the complex global environment in which organisations operate, requiring leaders in all sectors to act as entrepreneurs rather than traditional managers. The module will consider how technology has created a new dynamic of unpredictable volatility in the world from business innovation to political and cultural change, requiring leaders to develop an increased international awareness and an ability to lead across international, cultural and ideological boundaries.

The module will consider a variety of theories and concepts relating to the increasing need for entrepreneurial leaders to embrace positive disruption and ‘chaos’ in the marketplace in order to innovate and remain competitive and relevant in a complex environment.  As organisations need to be increasingly adaptive in order to survive and thrive the module will address the pressing issue of how organisations become institutionally flexible and opportunistic, whilst simultaneously maintaining structural and strategic coherence.

Operations is the business function which makes the goods and services that customers want. The practice of operations management problematizes the acquisition and use of non-human resources, and the work processes which are applied to them. In commercial operations there is a paying customer, so the performance advantage conferred by effective operations management can be understood in terms of customer satisfaction and market factors.

This module has a practical focus on evaluation and improvement of real-world operations. The volatile international business environment will be addressed in the first six weeks of delivery, assessed through an individual case study of the operations strategy of a single multinational company (covering supply network strategy, ‘make or buy’ decisions, regulatory factors, location and capacity, benchmarking, agility etc.).

In the last six weeks of delivery, the focus will be on the operation and the process. Students will form teams and participate in writing a consultancy report about the management and improvement of a simulated operation (covering process design and control, process performance, production layout and flow, quality control, etc.). This will be a structured and guided process facilitated by the module lecturer, designed to harness students’ entrepreneurial instincts to the improvement of production and distribution operations in a fictional SME.

This module focuses on the leadership and management of start-up and small and medium-sized enterprises, mature and multi-national enterprises, multi-divisional businesses; multi-industry, multicultural organisations, and the complexities of achieving and sustaining an international competitive advantage.

The overarching goal of the module is to allow students to demonstrate their capacity to develop and execute organisational strategies in an actual simulated business game. Participating, within teams, the Business Strategy Game will assist students to achieve the following:

• Develop an understanding of the fundamental concepts in strategic management: the role of directors and the senior management team in implementing strategy; the levels and components of strategy, competitive analysis, and the evolution of organisations over time.
• Develop the ability to analyse the competitive environment facing a firm, assess the attractiveness of the industry and isolate potential sources of competitive advantage and disadvantage.
• Develop an understanding of the nature of international strategic competitiveness.
• Develop business-level strategies by defining the type of advantage sought, the scope of operations and activities required to deliver the chosen strategy. Assess the likely sustainability of organisations strategies and competitive positions.
• Develop a sustainability framework within which business strategies can operate; including using sustainability as a source of competitive advantage
• Develop courses of actions that incorporate the actions of multiple stakeholders in the marketplace.
• Outline and evaluate the ethical and corporate responsibility of the enterprise.

This module encourages the manager to recognise the role played by Human Resource Management in the effectiveness and efficiency of the organisation nationally, internationally and globally.  It explores the range of HRM functions and practices and the location of the responsibility for such activities within the management hierarchy.  The role that managers need to play in the application of sustainable and strategic HRM in supporting the development of strategic management is identified and evaluated.

The importance of effective HRM in the management of change, organisational development, ethics, corporate social responsibility, global citizenship and sustainability is identified and analysed, as is the process of internationalisation and the management of human resources in different organisational and national cultures.

The Research Methods and Ethics Module provides a change of pace in Trimester 2. It is intended primarily as a training course to prepare students for the independent research work they must undertake for their Major Project in Trimester 3.

The module aims to demonstrate the strengths of relevant research methodologies and provides the opportunity for students to enhance the skills needed to analyse pertinent primary and secondary sources, as well as the evaluation and review of academic literature. The module also aims to introduce students to a wide range of potential sources of business information, including over 200 databases of secondary data provided by the University.

By the end of this module, the student will be able to make informed choices about a feasible topic for their research, and right kind of methodological approach. These choices will be explained and justified in the summative assessment for this module, which is a 2,500-word research proposal. Students will also be supported in the completion of their Research Ethics Applications, which must be approved by the University before they can start their own research projects.

The aim of this module above all is to ensure that students begin their own research projects in Trimester 3 with a head start – this has been greatly appreciated by the existing MBA students who have taken this module.

This module, as said in the title, is designed to help students to develop a strategic marketing strategy for new ventures.

Students will be required to prepare an in-depth strategic marketing plan for a new business of their choice. This will be a practical, creative and innovative process. Students will also be required to consider methods of fund raising for their new business venture including: seed capital from angel investors; venture capital enterprises, Venture Capital Trusts (using Seed Enterprise and Investment Schemes).

All students will be required to successfully complete the Postgraduate Major Project. Subject to the student’s preference and professional context this may take the form of a Work-Based Project/Consultancy Report or a Dissertation.

This module is the culmination of knowledge and skills learnt throughout the course.  Students will be required to write a 12,000-word academic piece of work that will include a literature review, methodology, analysis, interpretation and evaluation of research, and conclusions and recommendations.

Students can choose their own title and subject area.  They will be assisted and supported throughout the module by a supervisor of their choice.