MSc Business & Finance

This module studies issues and questions that the financial community is concerned with around announcements of mergers and acquisitions, value consequences of M&A transactions for both target and acquirer shareholders, sources of value creation, and the selling process.

This module will cover the juncture of modern technology and finance. Its main aim is to provide a foundation across the spectrum of financial concepts driving innovations of the principal intermediation functions (money, payments, capital raising, market aggregation, price discovery, mass distribution) with examples of business models and products (neobanks, robo-advisors, crypto exchanges etc). It will facilitate better understanding of the value propositions, best practices, regulation and technology encountered in fintech start-ups and help to structure your thinking about new business and partnership opportunities from traditional financial institutional and venture funding perspective.

Learning Outcomes

- The principal varieties of fintech. What is being disrupted in traditional money, payment, lending, banking and investment industries, how it is happening, and who is responsible.

- The basic features of data, algorithms and technology within fintech start-ups, value chains and wider financial networks.

- Fintech engagement and management of innovation in retail and B2B markets, examples of successes and failures, impact on traditional players.

This module provides systematic understanding of relevant knowledge about key risk factors that firms might face and how firms can reduce their risk using various financial instruments.

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.

Gain an introduction to the psychology of human judgement and decision making. This field provides the foundation for understanding the decision-making processes involved in financial markets. The module encourages you to: see how the insights from this work can help understand the origins of rational and irrationality in financial decision makers and financial markets; improve your own financial decision-making; gain a broader understanding of decision-making throughout the finance industry.

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.

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 Fundamentals of Economic Behaviour module. 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.

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.

The module aims to provide 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.

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

The module aims to develop an understanding of entrepreneurs and the firms they create and manage. Entrepreneurship is not only about new ventures or 'small' business or 'early-stage' business, nor even exclusively about for-profit business. Rather, it is a method of creative problem solving in business and a logic for taking action in a variety of settings where business can make a positive difference. The module, therefore, will explore a range of different ways of thinking about what entrepreneurship is and what entrepreneurs do. Our intention in the module is to try and help facilitate you in developing a more entrepreneurial mindset. This module also provides you with an opportunity to develop a Feasibility Study for exploiting an entrepreneurial opportunity - a precursor to a formal Business Plan.

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.

This module aims to develop a greater understanding of how to foster an innovative work environment. In this module the role of the leader will be examined as he/she facilitates innovative ventures by identifying and defining problems worth pursuing (where potential payoffs justify risks), creating a context that allows for multiple parties to work together in generating viable ideas (those with a chance of successful implementation) and managing the context of idea development and fielding – to ensure that viable ideas are likely to be adopted in the marketplace. This module also aims to understand how to develop leaders for innovation.

 It is further aimed to develop an understanding into issues such as:

•  Why is innovation important (especially now)?
•  What makes a leader more or less successful at leading for innovation?
•  What is the role of the team in the innovation process?
•  How might leading for innovation vary by domain (i.e. IT, marketing, etc)?
•  How can crowdsourcing be used to foster innovation?

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 aim of this 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 is 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

If you select the Dissertation route you will work with an allocated academic supervisor and research a topic relating to Business & Finance. This route will enable you to test and apply the techniques and theories you have learned throughout your MSc year. The module is assessed by a 6,000 word formal dissertation. 

In total you will study eight compulsory modules and one optional module, and complete a dissertation and a Research Methodology module

The Business in Practice module is the core capstone module for students who choose this route instead of the dissertation route. It will illustrate business theory in practice by combining academic lecture input with expert practitioner insights, and will also provide intensive personal work-skills development via the WBS CareersPlus team. The module is taught over two intensive weeks incorporating an innovative and exciting business simulation. 

If you select the dissertation route, Research Methodology becomes a compulsory module for you and it gives you the academic skills to confidently approach your dissertation 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).