BA Honours Business Management (Supply Chain and Logistics)

In years one and two you will study modules that develop essential skills and knowledge in business management and the wider business environment. In the final year you will study strategic management together with 3 supply chain specific modules. These are designed to raise your awareness of the critical issues related to managing operation and how to solve problems, as well as enhancing your capabilities in sourcing and managing suppliers, and measuring performance. You will learn to work effectively in teams, gain analytical and creative problem solving skills, and be able to present and communicate using a variety of media.

Note: Both core and optional modules are constantly updated and under review. As with most academic programmes, please remember that it is possible that a module may not be offered in any particular year, for instance because too few students opt for it. Middlesex University reserves the right to vary or withdraw any course or module.

• • Logistics (15 Credits) - Compulsory

    This module aims to develop students’ knowledge and understanding of logistics within a variety of organisations. It examines the role of logistics in business, and the management of key logistics functions. Students will learn to evaluate, select and apply relevant logistics concepts, tools and techniques to solve problems, make informed decisions and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of business processes.

• Year 1
  • Financial Concepts of Business (30 Credits) - Compulsory This module aims to develop the financial understanding and knowledge of students within business organisations so as to enable them to make effective decisions and to assess the cost, economic and financial implications of these decisions. It aims to provide an understanding of the fundamental roles of accounting and finance for business students who do not need to develop specialist knowledge as well as to provide an understanding of key economic principles that inform business thought and practice.
  • Quantitative Methods for Business (30 Credits) - Compulsory The aim of this module is to provide an introduction to the use of computer software to collect, analyse and present business data. Students will learn to solve business and management problems using Excel or other appropriate software with an emphasis on the application of methods to solve problems, and the interpretation and communication of results. The main aim is to enable the student to become a discerning user of quantitative methods and computers in business analysis, which can be built upon in further study.
  • Marketing Theory and Practice (30 Credits) - Compulsory This module is designed to provide students with an overview of key marketing concepts and techniques, as they apply in a variety of organisations and in both conventional and online environments. Students will develop knowledge and understanding of the core role of marketing in determining the growth potential of an enterprise, including the value of the marketing mix in ensuring successful marketing implementation and the significance of external and internal operating environments for marketing practice.
  • Management Concepts (15 Credits) - Compulsory The aim of this module is to develop students understanding of the management of organisations. It will introduce management concepts such as the business functions,organisational structure, work design, entrepreneurship, and business ethics. Students will develop the ability to analyse the strengths and weaknesses of various management theories and their application in the management of organisations.
  • People Management (15 Credits) - Compulsory The aim of this module is to develop students understanding of how people in organisations interact. It will introduce various people management concepts and human resource processes and practices. Students will develop the ability to compare and contrast a variety of organisational psychology and sociological theories and their application in the management of people.
• Year 2
  • Operations Management (30 Credits) - Compulsory This module aims to broaden and expand students knowledge of the concepts and techniques required for the design, operation and control of business processes. Cases and practical exercises are relevant to a variety of commercial, manufacturing and service organisations. The module builds on the IT and quantitative skills developed in the first year.
  • Business Environment (15 Credits) - Compulsory This module aims to provide you with an understanding of economics from a business perspective. This includes an understanding of how competition, the behaviour of the financial markets and government economic policy can influence an organisation. You will also gain the ability to apply economic theory in both microeconomic and macroeconomic contexts.
  • Management Information Systems (15 Credits) - Compulsory This module aims to provide students with the ability to apply key skills in information systems to the business management domain. The module also aims to enable students to obtain important aptitudes towards using information technology solutions such as business intelligence (e.g. data analytics), digital technology solutions (e.g. smart environments) and modern forms of communication (e.g. social networks) to improve business processes.The module enables students to acquire knowledge in a number of topics aligned to the following key areas: (i) information systems and business intelligence (in particular the development, management, application and implementation of information systems and their impact upon organisations, (ii) communications (in particular the comprehension and use of relevant communications for application in business and management, including the use of digital tools) and (iii) digital business (in particular the development of strategic priorities to deliver business at speed in an environment where digital technology has reshaped traditional revenue and business models).The cross-discipline nature of the module ensures that students will gain experience in using information systems, while engaging in strategic management activities and following a pattern of work resembling project management practices in controlled environments.
  • Principles of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (15 Credits) - Compulsory This module provides students with an introduction to innovation and entrepreneurship. It examines different forms of innovative and entrepreneurial practice including commercial and social enterprise. This includes an introduction into management issues faced by entrepreneurs and small business owners. The module will also introduce students to such concepts as opportunity recognition and the ability to act upon opportunities and problem solving.
  • Organisational Behaviour (15 Credits) - Compulsory The aim of this module is to enable students to identify the multifaceted social processes that are imperative to organisational life. The module will cover a wide array of theories pertaining to organisational behaviour. Students will develop their own abilities to analyse these theories, build up their own views on how to think and feel about these emergent issues as well as empower themselves with the capacity to argue and support these views in an academically rigorous manner.
  • Trade and International Business (30 Credits) - Optional The aim of this module is to provide an understanding of the theories relating to trade and international business and how they are being applied in an increasingly interdependent world. The module commences with an introduction to the world trade system, the process of trade liberalisation and multilateral trade negotiations, the pros and cons of free trade. In the second part of the course we introduce the perspective of international business, in particular a focus on the role of multinational enterprise in the world trade system. Taken together these elements should equip students with a broader sense of running a business beyond the domestic market.
  • Business Law (30 Credits) - Optional This module will examine the laws regulating the conduct of business and business organisations. The first part of the module sets the context and provides essential material on English Business law (English Legal system, Contract, Tort & Employment) whilst the second part covers Company law and Corporate Governance.
  • Human Resource Management in Practice (30 Credits) - Optional The aim is to introduce non-HR specialist students to the key areas of HRM and to build on relevant knowledge and skills developed in introductory organisational behaviour modules. By the end of the module students will be familiar with a wide range of generalist HR policies and practices within the five key areas of the discipline: employee resourcing, employee reward, performance management employee relations, and employee training and developmen
  • Accounting and Finance for Business (30 Credits) - Optional This module aims to further develop and enhance the financial understanding and knowledge of students within business organisations on the subject areas of financial accounting, management accounting and financial management. It aims to provide a more in-depth understanding of the roles of accounting and finance for business students who do not need to develop specialist knowledge and to train students to apply their accounting and finance knowledge and skills into a range of different business situations.
  • Marketing Research and Insights (30 Credits) - Optional

    This module aims to familiarise students with the importance of marketing research and insights to business and, in particular, the marketing management process. Students will learn how to conduct a marketing research project, including establishing business research needs, gaining insights into the consumer market, designing an appropriate research design, creating research instruments, gathering data primary and secondary data, conducting both qualitative and quantitative data analysis, and using the findings to improve marketing decision-making.

• Year 3
  • Logistics (15 Credits) - Compulsory

    This module aims to develop students’ knowledge and understanding of logistics within a variety of organisations. It examines the role of logistics in business, and the management of key logistics functions. Students will learn to evaluate, select and apply relevant logistics concepts, tools and techniques to solve problems, make informed decisions and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of business processes.

  • Global Supply Chain Management (30 Credits) - Compulsory This module aims to present the international nature of business supply chains and how companies work in a global marketplace. Students develop a critical understanding of the theories and practices of how companies grow and manage their global supply chains. The module enhances students understanding of business competitiveness in global marketplaces. Students will be taught the underlying theories that will enable them to evaluate the choices given by organizations and how these are linked to the management of these international networks.
  • Strategic Management (30 Credits) - Compulsory