Business Management and Modern Languages & Cultures BA | 2021-2022 | Undergraduate

Core business management modules:

Business Management in Context

The module covers a range of issues relevant to the modules covered in a Management Studies degree. It will be made plain that the accumulation of information is but a small part of education, and of little value without the ability to assess and use this information. The module will impress on students the importance of questioning and the dangers of simply accepting what they are told.To this end, the module is intended to be provocative. Nothing is presented as right or wrong, but rather as a point of view. The module is also intended to be entertaining, on the grounds that enjoyment is an aid to learning. It is also quite demanding in that there is preparatory work for each lecture, and there are tasks are to be carried out after each lecture.The module leader will present lectures in semester 1. A wide range of management issues will be covered. The aim is to be contentious, to examine what may be familiar issues in ways that are probably unfamiliar. The objective is to enable students to look at issues ¿ and not just those covered in this module ¿ critically.In semester 2, each weekly lecture will be presented by a different academic, charged with: ¿explaining from his own activities just what academics do and why they do it¿demonstrating that things are things worth knowing for reasons other than earning marks, that curiosity matters, that finding out can be fun¿that universities can do more than grant degrees and that employers want much more than qualifications.

20 credits

Management Themes and Perspectives

The module introduces students to some of the key themes and perspectives within a number of different subject disciplines within management. Through a series of 4 four-week `packages’ the module will introduce students to key issues within marketing, sustainable development, operations management and strategic management. The module is designed to help students to start to identify the interconnections between the different disciplines within management and to see how differing perspectives tackle key contemporary challenges. The module will be delivered through a series of 4-week subject `packages’ by experts in the different disciplines. While the lectures will provide the foundation for student learning, this will be supplemented by guest speakers from within industry to apply concepts to actual business settings. Seminars will provide space for more detailed discussion of issues and topics covered during the module. Key skills sessions will also be interspersed between the different subject packages so that students will be able to develop these generic skills which they can utilise in the various assessments components and for which they will receive feedback.

20 credits

Business Economics

This module introduces the essential concepts of economics at an introductory level for non-economics specialists. Most of the module will focus on microeconomics, considering in particular the demand and supply model of markets, an analysis of production and costs within firms, profit maximisation and the firm’s output decision, and the impact of market structure on price and quantity outcomes. The module will conclude with an introduction to macroeconomic analysis, focusing on key economic indicators such as the money supply, interest-rates, unemployment and inflation.

10 credits

Introduction to Behaviour at Work

This module is an introduction to psychological and behavioural approaches to the study of work and organisations. The major aim is to introduce students to some of the basic analytical tools and concepts from work psychology that encourage an understanding of the behaviour of individuals and groups in the workplace. The syllabus contains the following: Introduction to Organisational Behaviour, Individual Differences, Perception, Learning, Human Motivation, Job Satisfaction and Work Attitudes, Conformity and Obedience, Leadership, Groups at Work, the formal and informal organisation.

10 credits

Core business management modules:

Business Strategy

This course will introduce students to business strategy and the strategic management process. It seeks to enhance their understanding of the theories and practice of strategy. Students will be able to learn why, and how, companies make strategic decisions in the context of today’s complex and dynamic world of business. Students will be introduced to various strategic analysis frameworks and learn how these can be used to help organisations better understand their strategic position and formulate feasible and suitable growth and competitive strategies. Based on a sound understanding of the theories, students will be required to apply the concepts through the use of innovative strategic planning teaching and learning technologies and case study material.

20 credits

Essentials of Marketing

This module aims to introduce the field of marketing to Level 2 students. The coverage will include the basics of marketing strategy including segmentation, targeting and positioning as well as the practical domains of strategy development like product and brand management, services marketing, pricing methodologies, promotional strategies, distribution and logistics.

20 credits

Organisational Behaviour

This module builds on and develops the basic concepts introduced in MGT120. Organizational Behaviour is concerned with understanding the effects of how workers think, act, and interact with each other. This involves considering a wide range of issues such as power, culture, gender and stress. However, to understand what happens inside organizations, it is also necessary to also take account of their external social, economic, and cultural environments/contexts. While considering the `general principles¿ of Organizational Behaviour, this module will also relate them to issues of contemporary relevance, such as the growing importance of management by culture, and the move towards flexible working practices.

20 credits

Core business management modules:

Corporate Social Responsibility

The Johannesburg Earth Summit, the runaway success of No Logo, the corporate scandals and subsequent questioning of the regulatory structures within capitalism, all suggest that the relationship between business, the state and civil society is being debated with greater urgency than at any time since Milton Friedman declared the business of business is business. Again we are asking `what is the role of the firm?¿ Much of the dialogue and debate surrounding this issue is being conducted under the rubric of the concepts of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Corporate Citizenship. The emergence of these concepts and the implementation of strategies to emphasise and improve the socially responsible practices of companies represents a significant development in the ongoing debates surrounding the role of business in modern society. Supporters suggest we are witnessing the emergence of a new breed of `Corporate Citizen¿ as companies seek greater interaction with civil society, look to adopt more ethical business strategies and engagement about their practices through the provision of greater openness and access to information.This module seeks to provide an initial introduction to the key issues and themes that are emerging within the CSR field. It examines the pressures encouraging companies to adopt more ethical business strategies, the types of practices and strategies which different companies have sought to adopt in this field, and the potential advantages that are identified for a socially responsible business.

20 credits

Optional business management modules:

Critical Perspectives in Work and Organisational Psychology

In general terms, Work and Organisational Psychology is concerned with the application of psychological theories and techniques to the analysis and resolution of problems that confront the personnel or human resource function, in its endeavours to select, train, appraise and develop a competent workforce. Work and Organisational Psychology has traditionally positioned itself within the broad terrain of experimental social psychology, a discipline that emphasises the importance of the application of empirical scientific methods to the study of human behaviour. The aim of this unit is to critique this positioning and to present arguments that we need alternative knowledges to enable us to fully understand workplace behaviour.

20 credits

Digital Marketing

This module is intended to guide students on the applications of marketing theory to the Internet. Teaching will involve building upon existing marketing concepts while questioning the validity of existing theory in light of the differences between the Internet and other media, and differences between digital marketing and other forms of marketing communications. The module covers how organisations (both public and private sector) use digital media to connect, interact, establish and maintain productive dialogue with customers. The module explores the impact of the Internet on marketing and branding activities and the techniques employed to enable the development of meaningful customer relationships.

20 credits

International Business

This unit introduces key theories of international business development ¿ those concerning the rationales for international expansion, the choice of foreign market entry strategy and the impact on the economies of host countries. This theoretical understanding will then be illustrated and examined by reference to the way particular companies in contrasting industries have developed and implemented their international strategies. Particular attention will be devoted to the role played by the international business environment and its institutions, and to key strategic management issues such as global supply chain management, knowledge management, intellectual property protection and risk management,

20 credits

International Marketing

This module provides students with an understanding of international marketing. The module will prepare students for the challenge of global marketing and enable students to have sufficient knowledge to be able to take on international related work, if faced by this challenge in industry.

20 credits

Socially-Responsible Marketing and Consumption

The module provides students with a comprehensive understanding of socially responsible marketing and consumer behaviour and will demonstrate how marketing and consumer behaviour principles can be used to tackle social issues (such as smoking, unhealthy eating, etc), support non-profit organisations, aid sustainability, support government policy development and benefit consumer welfare. In doing so it will, both theoretically and practically, through current examples and case studies, examine social marketing, non-profit marketing management, health communications, charity marketing, sustainability marketing and transformative consumer research in a range of industry sectors including arts, education, healthcare, social entrepreneurship and the public sector.

20 credits

Work-Related Health & Well-Being

This module is designed to introduce students to a broad range of topics relevant to good understanding of employee well-being in the workplace of today. Indicative topics that might be covered include: stress/burnout, workplace bullying/violence, absenteeism (& presenteeism), musculoskeletal disorders, job crafting, job redesign etc. In addition, the module will examine potential workplace/organisational interventions designed to limit the risks to employees of these factors, for example, organizational stress policies, bullying policies & reporting systems, HR initiated health & well-being programmes, mindfulness.

20 credits