Accounting and Finance for Managers

15 credits
Autumn teaching, year 1

This module is designed as an introduction for non-financial managers to comparative international accounting and financial reporting and analysis within the context of converging standards. No prior knowledge of accounting procedures is assumed or required. As part of the module, you will produce a business financial analysis report.

Buyer Behaviour

15 credits
Autumn teaching, year 1

This module is intended to develop your  understanding of theories and concepts drawn from research in marketing psychology and how these shed light on consumers' motivations and behaviours. You will address the individual, situational, environmental, inter-personal and cultural (sub-cultural) factors that shape consumer behaviour. You will also examine buyer decision-making stages (processes) and the extent to which the afore-mentioned factors influence buyer decision-making and behaviours. Through a focus on contemporary issues in buyer behaviour, and the challenges these may pose marketing managers, the course enables you to apply conceptual and theoretical ideas in marketing psychology to develop marketing strategies aimed at building and maintaining strong customer franchise. The module will emphasise understanding of the array of inter- and intra-influences on consumers and to encourage you to reflect and critically evaluate your own behaviours as a consumer. In addition, the influences will be presented in both a cross-national and multi-cultural national context, in order to encourage you to consider, interpret and demonstrate practical applications of course taught theories within broader or more diverse (national and cultural) settings.

Corporate Governance and Social Responsibility

15 credits
Spring teaching, year 1

This module enables you to investigate the systems of controls within a company, the relationship between company management and stakeholder groups, and the social accountability and responsibilities that a corporation holds towards different stakeholders. You will examine these issues in the context of three major challenges to contemporary businesses: globalisation, sustainability and corporate citizenship.

The module covers the development and theoretical aspects of corporate governance, stakeholder management approaches to corporate governance and social responsibility, business ethics management, national and international regulatory frameworks, socially responsible investment, and international corporate governance. You will engage with the practical assessment tools for corporate governance and responsibility and consider the importance of policy and practice through case studies, documentaries and guest speakers. The case studies used will include those developed specifically for the module, and those from the textbooks.

Global Business

15 credits
Autumn teaching, year 1

The module will widen the perspective of aspiring managers regarding the strategic implications of global change and facilitate more informed strategic planning and implementation within companies. The module is introductory and wide ranging in scope. A balance is sought between theory and practice with seminars placing an emphasis on contemporary case studies.

Global Marketing Management

15 credits
Spring teaching, year 1

The task of marketing managers is to discover new markets and opportunities in the global market place. This module is intended to provide you with a global perspective and understanding of international marketing as a context for domestic and international business and management. In addition, it will enable you to become conversant with the theoretical background for international marketing activities as well as an overall perspective of these theories within the context of an organisation. Moreover, the module takes a practical, marketing-management approach: concepts that are applied through countless examples of situations in which international companies assess and solve their global marketing problems. This module will also provide coverage of the new marketing technologies that are revolutionising the way companies bring value to their customers such as direct and on-line marketing. Finally the module will develop a number of tools of analysis with which you can analyse and interpret the role and functions of marketing, in both internal and external environments.

International Entrepreneurship

15 credits
Spring teaching, year 1

The focus of this module is on the development and growth of new firms from establishment to the early stages of international development. Much of the core teaching in international business relates to the strategic decisions made by established large firms, but SMEs are increasingly engaged in both foreign trade and investment - as is evidenced by the phenomena of born-global firms, international new ventures, and rapidly internationalising firms. In this context, the links between entrepreneurship, innovation, and internationalisation are crucial.

International Marketing Communications

15 credits
Spring teaching, year 1

In highly competitive markets, companies must seek to differentiate their brands and to effectively communicate their value propositions to customers. Good communication is therefore a critical element in a company's efforts to build and maintain profitable customer relationships. This module aims to provide you with an understanding of the elements of the communication (promotional) mix, and to explain the use of major promotional tools, including advertising, public relations, publicity, sales promotion, direct marketing, and online and new-media marketing. You will examine the current theories and practices of integrated marketing communications, and more specifically, examine the role of brands and the importance of integrated marketing communications in achieving brand objectives. This module will give you an understanding of the strategic perspective to brand building and how this facilitates the development of the brand 'essence'. Brand marketing communications strategies frequently cross geographic borders, so you will also examine analytical frameworks for developing marketing communications within both domestic and international/cross-cultural settings. You will achieve this through considering different cultural interpretations of brand marketing communications/tools as well as the implications for marketing communications implementation in different socio-political and regulatory environments.

Marketing Management

15 credits
Autumn teaching, year 1

Gone are the stable markets of yesteryear. Today's markets are characterised by rapidly changing customers' wants, accelerating pace of technological advances, and intensifying competition, presenting major challenges for both incumbent and upstart enterprises alike. For most organisations, marketing is a major determinant of success. This module is designed to help you develop an appreciation of the role of marketing and the management of marketing functions in the modern organisation. The impact of marketing and the contribution of marketing to organisational performance in the dynamic, globally competitive markets of today will be addressed. The module will also focus on what being market-oriented really means in practice to organisations operating in manufacturing and service industries, as well as in profit and non-profit enterprises.

The module will introduce you to the theories, concepts, models, techniques and current best-practices for developing and implementing marketing strategies and actions. Marketing decision-making should not take place in a vacuum, and this course will familiarise you with the components of market analysis and strategy development with respect to the organisation, its customers, competitors and collaborators. There will also be indepth coverage of marketing implementation and control issues through the concept of the integrated marketing mix: the product/service offering and customer service, communications, pricing and channels.

Marketing Research

15 credits
Autumn teaching, year 1

Marketing managers need solid information about the marketplace and consumers in order to design effective marketing programmes, evaluate marketing actions and monitor or improve marketing performance. This module aims to provide you with a broad understanding of the role of marketing research and associated research methods in enabling marketers to generate better information. In addition, it will enable you to gain an appreciation of the components of the research process and requirements of successfully conducting marketing research, giving managers the right information in the right form to make better marketing decisions.

Particular emphasis will be placed on helping you to develop appreciation of the practical applications of various research techniques and data-specific tools which can help marketers analyse, assess and solve practical marketing problems. You will not only gain knowledge of the scope of market research and the interlinkages among various components of the research process, but also learn to think more critically about the options open to marketers and researchers when applying these to practical marketing situations.

Moreover, this module will examine special marketing research considerations in the context of today's dynamic and competitive domestic as well as international, markets. Where relevant, special issues facing some market researchers, namely public policy and ethics, will also be addressed.

Marketing Strategy

15 credits
Spring teaching, year 1

One of the key tasks of marketing managers involves developing and implementing marketing strategies that create and sustain superior performance for the organisation in the marketplace. This module addresses the role of marketing in strategy formulation and the fundamental principles that guide organisational actions that ensure marketing success, not just for today, but into the foreseeable future.

The module will provide you with theoretical and practical perspectives of marketing strategy, the strategic marketing planning process and associated activities. There will be a strong focus on the strategic planning of marketing, including evolving developments in strategic marketing thinking and implications for marketing management. In addition, you will address the resource-based view of marketing, the role of organisational resources in developing and sustaining dynamic marketing capabilities and the importance of aligning resources and capabilities to the needs and requirements of the markets in which the organisation competes. Moreover, this module will enable you to develop an appreciation of the practical applications of various strategic concepts and techniques, and to critically evaluate and select strategic options available to marketing decision-makers, through case-study analyses and marketing strategy decision-making in a computer-simulated competitive industry.

Research Methods

15 credits
Spring teaching, year 1

The main aims of this module are to introduce a range of research methods for the collection and analysis of both quantitative and qualitative data, to advance your analytic research skills through practical experience, and to develop your skills in reading and evaluating journal articles and research papers.

The main topics to be covered are: literature reviews, searches and referencing; social science research; case study research - comparative and longitudinal methods; survey research; basic concepts in statistical analysis; goodness-of-fit tests & contingency tables - correlation analysis; simple comparative tests; ANOVA: one-way and RCB designs; two-variable regression and multiple regression.

Research Project (International Marketing)

30 credits
Summer teaching, year 1

You undertake an independent research project considering the factors that influence marketing decisions and implementation success in overseas markets.

Strategic Management - Business Mgmnt Course

15 credits
Spring teaching, year 1

This module aims to give you a strong grasp of the issues, tools and theoretical perspectives underlying the practice of strategy and its links with management. Using a combination of theory, practice and cases you will learn how to apply principles of strategy to companies.

The module begins by covering key skills and tools for strategic analysis. These include tools for analysing a firm's macroenvironment and competitive environment, as well as an organisation's own resources and capabilities. It then provides an in-depth summary of the strategy process as it is used by managers, and then discusses the range of theoretical perspectives that inform our understanding of this process.