MSc Management

This module is designed to provide you with the ability to critically assess issues related to leadership and management in organisations, with a particular emphasis on management consulting. This is achieved by reading and discussing relevant literature, as well as simulating and studying real life examples. The key aims of this module are to (1) introduce you to key contemporary themes, debates and theoretical frameworks in the area of leadership; (2) examine key leadership themes and applicability of theoretical frameworks in relation to real-world cases; and (3) develop your capacity for critical and reflexive thinking about leadership theory and practice. Each week's content is based on a particular leadership issue or set of issues and builds on the previous week to generate a coherent learning journey. 

From the shop-floor to the board-room the ways individuals and teams employ digital technology to execute strategy can make the difference between success and failure. Using the latest strategy learning techniques used in leading firms and consultancies (business simulations, interactive workshops, live video case studies, apprentice-style challenges), this module will take you on a learning journey. At the end of the module, through analysis and immersion in real-life strategy situations, you will develop a toolkit to help you grow as a competent strategist and deal with agile transformations. These skills are essential for a career in consultancy or strategy roles.

This module will:

• Allow you to critically discuss a selection of current issues in digital strategy and agile transformation
• Enhance your critical thinking and creativity in individual and group settings
• Develop your skills in analysing complex, real-life strategic problems.

This module focuses on how digital technologies enable organisations to offer digital services that aim at improving customer experience as well as firm performance. The module assumes no prior knowledge of technology and prepares students to engage with technology-related conversations (e.g., designing a new digital service) at the modern workplace. 

The module has three themes. The first theme is gaining competitive advantage using a digital business strategy and covers concepts such as motivations for digital transformation. The second theme provides an overview of what today’s managers need to know about the advantages and disadvantages of cutting-edge technologies including artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality, internet of things (IoT), cloud computing, social media, and data analytics. The last theme focuses on the lifecycle of digital service provision, covering key concepts such as technology selection and sourcing, agile implementation, and risk management

This module will enable you to understand the fundamental need for finance in entrepreneurial companies, the flow of capital around entrepreneurial young companies and how to execute a practical fundraising strategy for a start-up.

Please note the structure of this module is subject to approval and may change. 

The main module aim is to build on your knowledge of the global economic and business environment and link this to strategies for managing in changing global contexts.  Key questions are:  How do changes in this environment affect the ways in which companies do business and managers manage across borders:  How should firms and individual managers respond (in theory)?  How can they respond (in practice)?

Topics will include: the drivers and processes of internationalisation, cross-cultural management challenges, the assessment of overseas investment opportunities and the specific challenges of emerging markets.

Entrepreneurship is a comprehensive mindset that enables people to identify, evaluate, and act on opportunities in a variety of contexts, settings and organisations – it’s not just about starting new businesses.

This module will help you develop an entrepreneurial mindset, attitude and skillset – the necessary hallmarks of successful value creators.

Through a combination of lectures, case studies, readings, guest lectures, brainstorming and creativity exercises, you will learn how to research, identify and develop entrepreneurial opportunities, engage in problem-solving, and evolve your critical thinking. You will gain insights into the practical steps needed to establish a new business venture.

By giving students the chance to research and prepare a crowdfunding pitch, we encourage them to gain more insights into the practical steps needed to establish a new business venture and enable value creation.

Please note the structure of this module is subject to approval and may change. 

This module introduces you to the theory and practice of conducting business analytics projects. It adopts a business analytics methodology which enables you  to (a) analyse a complex business situation, (b) identify high value opportunities for business analytics and (c) deliver an effective business analytics project. The module adopts an experiential learning philosophy by giving you a guided and mentored experience of conducting a realistic consulting project.

The module aims to provide training in applying data science methods to contemporary economic problems by looking at case studies. Specifically, the module aims to give you the opportunity to conduct a data science project using economic data. You will discover how to replicate and extend a data science case. The module aims to give the appropriate grounding in economic analysis, while developing your research and communication skills.

A formative group exercise will be set whereby groups will be given data and asked to conduct a statistical analysis of the economic problem. This will serve as a "dummy run" for the individual assignment, and there will be in-class feedback.

The module will show you which skills, concepts, tools and techniques might fit within both the constraints of the environment and general consulting models. Further to this, you will discuss your own softer skills and focus on ways to develop your own capability ready for a successful career in consulting.

You will cover the following three module elements:

Key Softer Skills:

• Understanding the different models of consultancy and the influential consulting organisations within each mode
• Professional skills and skill development. The firm versus the individual. Ethics and professional integrity
• Relating to clients - interpersonal factors and skills: listening skills, relationship building, understanding group dynamics, culture, teams and performance, connecting with gatekeepers and champions.

Key Technical Skills:

• Reporting to the client and to the consulting firm, measuring results and formulating proposals, implementation, control, follow up and review
• Consulting Tools: Diagnostic tools, managing data, time and attention management, managing client relationships
• Writing the project report and presentations.

The Firm:

• Developing organisational capabilities within the constraints of different consultancy models
• Managing the intellectual supply chain (i.e. the value chain). Outsourcing and off-shoring consulting services.

The aims of the module are to:

1) Introduce students to the principles, theories and research underlying the academic disciplines concerning the behaviour, leadership and management of people and organisations (Organisational Behaviour, OB and Human Resource Management, HRM) at four levels of analysis: individual, group, organisational and societal.

2) Develop a critical appreciation of the behavioural and social sciences as they relate to the study of behaviour in organisations.

3) Introduce students to a critical understanding of the practice of management, leadership and people management in particular.

4) Provide students with structured opportunities to practice applying OB and HRM principles, theories and research to analyse and solve organisational problems.

The module will be split into three key sections, featuring practical input from industry speakers, and group work activities throughout.

Introduction:

• Why consulting?
• What is consulting? An overview of the history and origins of consulting and the range of consulting roles in existence today
• Understanding the wider role of consultancy including further context - where consulting is of most use - examples of (good and bad) consulting interventions
• Overview of the consulting landscape
• Modern developments in consulting- the role of technology.

The Consulting Process:

• An introduction to the methodology and generic processes that enable successful consulting assignments: entry, client brief, diagnosis, data collection, selecting principles, developing solutions and evaluating alternatives, implementation and project closure. This will include an introduction to diagnostic tools and techniques
• Proposals and assignment management: planning, budgeting, preparation of the assignment, diagnosis, evaluation of the existing situation, choice of methodology, presentation of the process, getting paid
• The typical application process – the unique value that is given to case studies.

The Management Consultant:

• The organisational structure of a typical consultancy – levels, accountabilities and responsibility at these levels
• The make-up of a consultant - personal factors and skills.

Strategic human resource management is concerned with the creation of value through the management of human and social capital in organisations. The value of HRM is realised when the capacities and motives of individuals, groups are directed towards the strategic objectives of the organisation. The aim of the module is to provide you with a deep understanding of this strategic role of human capital management and the tools with which to analyse and manage it.

We will consider what it means to align the HR function with strategic objectives. We will ask whether all human capital is equally valuable. We will debate the extent to which human capital and its associated outcomes are quantifiable in a meaningful way. We will examine whether HRM can support both efficiency and flexibility at the same time. Ultimately, the class will provide a range of models and tools for managing human capital in a strategic way.

Want to put your theory into practice? This module offers a unique opportunity to gain first-hand experience at a company of your choosing, be that in the UK or overseas. 

Optimise your critical evaluation skills as you appraise and reflect upon your experience. Understand your successes, why they worked out and how they could be improved further should you ever repeat the process. Analyse your more challenging moments - how and why problems arose, and how they can be avoided or mitigated in the future.

Your placement will last between four and twelve weeks, and will take place any time after the course’s international elective modules conclude in May, with a dissertation to be submitted in September.

Exposure to the global economy brings new ideas, technologies, and management practices to a business. Whether looking to build a new plant, sell to a new market or find global business partners, exploiting opportunities in new markets or regions poses fresh challenges.

Many of those challenges arise from the different business environment that's present in countries around the world. What does an understanding of economics tell us about which countries and regions will see markets develop quickly in the medium term? Which governments act in ways that pose macroeconomic risks and which do not? How can resources and intellectual property be managed effectively? Which economic theories offer strategies to foster talent and help staff respond to new opportunities?

The patterns of world trade and the responses of governments have always been in constant flux. Businesses can't rely on traditional markets in the medium- to long-term. The pandemic has disturbed even the recently-established patterns of global economic growth. Strategic business decisions require an appreciation of the economic thinking that underpins these new patterns of growth and the changes in international finance that support them.

This module will provide real world examples and case studies to illustrate how economic thinking helps businesses make the most of new opportunities, while managing the risks associated with expansion into new markets and regions.

The module has been developed for business and management students across the WBS MSc portfolio and draws on ideas and research from macroeconomics, microeconomics, international finance, business strategy and development economics. No previous experience of economic analysis is required.

How does culture impact business practice? This module will enhance your understanding of international business and management.

Discover how local areas value and utilise their sustainable resources, and how the political, social and economic climate of a country can mould and shape their business strategy.

Develop your critical thinking skills as you apply your learnings to real-world topic examples such as luxury brand management, digital innovation, design thinking and big data.

Through this module you’ll be introduced to a range of debates that are central to the human resource management and employment relations field, including the 'high commitment' models of human resource management. It will also provide you with an in-depth insight into a number of the specific HR practice areas, including: recruitment and selection; training and development; job design and teamworking, pay and rewards; unions and HRM, and equal opportunities and diversity management.

During this module you will:

• Demonstrate an understanding of the development of human resource management as a field of study.
• Critically appreciate the contribution made by each of the core disciplines (e.g. sociology, psychology, law, economics).
• Analyse specific human resource management problems in their wider social context.
• Understand, evaluate, and marshal critical social science research on human resource management.
• Extrapolate from existing research and scholarship to identify new or revised approaches to human resource practice
• Demonstrate advanced study skills including written communication, location and retrieval of relevant reading from library stock and electronic resources, using information technology, employing appropriate quantitative methods.

Understand the wider institutional location of business activity within the polity and the society. The module puts particular emphasis on corporations’ responsibilities in global society and discusses key governance issues related to this agenda. Firms will be seen as both 'takers' and 'givers' of governance and regulation in a variety of formal and informal ways. The module is not a traditional course in business ethics but explores the influence of the non-market environment on businesses’ strategies and operational practices and will confront some 'critical issues' topics.

To be effective in modern organisations requires an understanding of the dynamics of digital work. This module equips students with a broad understanding of the tools and organisational arrangements driving this shift towards digital working, and provides them with techniques and frameworks to operate effectively in this more dynamic and fluid work environment.

The module reviews major trends and changes in the workplace arising from the increased adoption of digital tools to support work practices in modern organisations. It reviews major drivers of adoption of these tools and the emergence of new dynamics of interactions and patterns of work.

There are two specific features about project management theory which make it a slightly different type of subject to most other academic modules. Firstly, the subject has its origins in large-scale, complex operations. This means that a large proportion of the published theory concerns the planning and control aspects of the management of such processes. Secondly, most of the concepts were developed in the heyday of the 1960s, where a lot of activity was taking place in the aerospace, defence and construction sectors. This means that most of the basic literature is reasonably old and technically focused.

In the modern context, project management methods are now used for a much wider variety of applications including change management, Third World development programmes and IT-based projects. As a consequence, this module aims to span a range of sectors and be as multi-disciplinary as possible. The planning and control aspects of the module occupy only about 20% of the total time available.

You will:

1. Develop an understanding of current project and programme management approaches and to make comparisons with your own organisation.
2. Develop sensitivity to different project environments and to make comparisons and conclusions about them.
3. Increase your understanding of commercial and behavioural issues in the management of projects.
4. Provide experience of handling project management problems in a simulation setting.

This module introduces you to the ways in which economists and psychologists have used behavioural theories and experimental methods to provide extensions to, or alternatives to, the conventional economic wisdom described in the first term module Fundamentals of Economic Behaviour. It will examine recent cutting-edge research, and consider the implications of that research for individual decision making, the operation of markets and public sector policy making.

This module will provide you with an overview of how today's firms use digital marketing practices to achieve their business objectives, giving theoretical and practical subject knowledge and understanding, cognitive and methodological skills, and social/soft skills.

You can expect to cover similar topics to those in the indicative syllabus: Introduction to Digital Marketing, Website Design, Social Media, Digital Platforms and Tech Giants, Digital Advertising and SEO, Emerging Trends, Analytics and Integrated Marketing, Big Data, Data Science, and Digital Marketing.

The module aims to providing training on methods that aid decision making when managers face an uncertain future. The module covers methods for short-term and long-term forecasting of product demand and macroeconomic variables. The module discusses how forecasting aids decision-making.

Get an introduction to the principles of Corporate Finance and learn how the basic tools and techniques of modern finance theory can be applied to analyse and improve the investment and financing decisions of the firm.

Indicative themes include:

• Financial calculus
• Financial markets
• Valuing bonds
• Valuing stocks
• Portfolio choice and diversification
• The capital asset pricing model
• Capital budgeting
• NPV in action
• Market efficiency
• Financing and capital structure
• Payout policy
• Corporate risk management

You'll synthesise, apply and extend the knowledge you have gained in the taught component of their course in this 6,000 word dissertation.

The investigation of a contemporary research topic will help to develop your theoretical and practical understanding of current problems in your pathway area, as well as your research and communication skills. Emphasis will be placed on taking a critical approach to the assumptions of prior literature and the methodologies you adopt to address yourresearch question.