MSc Business with Operations Management

This module aims to enable students to apply innovation principles in real-world contexts through an intensive, hackathon-style learning experience. Students will work on live challenges and develop AI-driven solutions that address meaningful economic and social problems.

Students will engage with and apply the core stages of the innovation process — search, select, implement, and capture value — moving from opportunity identification to the development of a functional prototype and competitive pitch. The module emphasises learning through action, experimentation, and iteration in a fast-paced, team-based environment.

Working in multidisciplinary teams, students will demonstrate the ability to design, develop, and test AI-enabled solutions under time constraints. Through engagement with mentors from industry, students will analyse real-world feedback and adapt their solutions accordingly, gaining insight into entrepreneurial and investor perspectives.

The module supports the development of key employability skills. Students will demonstrate capabilities in teamwork, leadership, problem-solving, and communication, and apply tools for rapid prototyping and pitching relevant to innovation and venture contexts.

Alongside the team-based hackathon experience, students will critically evaluate their individual contribution, decision-making, and learning, reflecting on their development as innovators operating under uncertainty.

This module gives participants theoretical and practical knowledge about applying Artificial Intelligence in real-world business and managerial environments. Participants will explore the different types of Artificial Intelligence, they will discover how they are developed, they will discuss their implication on jobs and tasks and tackle the ethical and environmental challenges associated with it.

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.

You will:

• develop a deeper appreciation of the consulting industry and specifically business operations consulting
• acquire the skills necessary to undertake business consulting projects in a wide range of organisations across all sectors and operating in different business environments
• be able to critically assess the design, implementation, use and review of business operations tools and frameworks
• link business operations tools and practices at inter-organisational, organisational and individual levels
• appreciate the main technological, cultural and behavioural aspects related to business operations.

This module will:

• Provide you with an opportunity to examine different design concepts and methodologies for generating ideas.
• Give you an understanding of the scope and content of design.
• Hone your critical thinking skills by looking at the value, use and effective application of design thinking ideas in organizations.
• Develop your understanding of the various normative design process models.
• Explore information requirements that enables creative decisions.
  Provide insights into the management of professional designers, as well as the content of a design brief.
• Explore the dilemmas of the design/business interface.

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 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.

This module is designed to provide you with a broad understanding of the theory and practice of entrepreneurship, with a special focus on the entrepreneurial mindset. Entrepreneurship is a comprehensive mindset that enables you to identify, evaluate, and act on opportunities in a variety of contexts, settings, and organisations—not just start new businesses.

The module will allow you to develop an entrepreneurial mindset, attitude, and skills—the essential hallmarks of successful value creators. Through lectures, case studies, readings, guest lectures, brainstorming and creativity exercises, and self-reflection, you will learn how to research, identify, and develop entrepreneurial opportunities, while strengthening your problem-solving and critical-thinking abilities. By researching and preparing a group presentation to pitch a new venture idea, you will gain insight into the practical steps involved in establishing an entrepreneurial venture and creating value.

If you select the Research Paper route, Research Methodology becomes a compulsory module for you and it gives you the academic skills to confidently approach your Research Paper topic. The focus is on epistemological foundations, the design of a research project, the preparation for and execution of valid and reliable business research (whether qualitative or quantitative), and on the writing up and presentation of research results.

You will:

• receive training on analytical approaches and research techniques widely used in Finance and Accounting
• be taught basic programming skills in Matlab and STATA                                    
• receive training on how to use the various datasets available                               
• receive formal guidelines on how to structure research projects (writing a literature review, conceptualization and construction of hypotheses and research questions).    

If you would like to develop further applied skills and specialist knowledge to suit your career aspirations, you can complete your studies with our applied Business in Practice module. You will develop deep functional and industry expertise with practical insights from our faculty and industry experts.

In total you will study eight core modules, two optional modules and also complete the Business in Practice capstone module.

Apply your knowledge with a 6,000 word final dissertation. Students choosing this route must select the Research Methods optional module.

This course offers the opportunity to self-source a summer internship, to increase your employability by applying your theoretical learnings to a real-world industry setting.