Economic, Social, Political and Cultural Environment - Understanding Business Environments (700N1)

15 credits, Level 7 (Masters)

Autumn teaching

In today’s globalised world, organisations interact with a diverse range of stakeholders, including customers, shareholders, employees, competitors, governments, NGOs, media and activists.

This module explores how the interaction of economic, social, political and cultural factors shapes the external environment for organisations operating locally or globally. It emphasises the market (economic) and non-market (socio-political) forces that influence business strategies, with a key focus on how companies can (and should) respond to these forces to develop an integrated approach to their strategy.

The module combines theory with practical activities, helping you analyse the economic and socio-political forces that impact business strategies.

Contact hours and workload

This module is approximately 150 hours of work. This breaks down into about 32 hours of contact time and about 118 hours of independent study. The University may make minor variations to the contact hours for operational reasons, including timetabling requirements.

We regularly review our modules to incorporate student feedback, staff expertise, as well as the latest research and teaching methodology. We’re planning to run these modules in the academic year 2026/27. However, there may be changes to these modules in response to feedback, staff availability, student demand or updates to our curriculum.

We’ll make sure to let you know of any material changes to modules at the earliest opportunity.