Business Management (Fast-Track) BA Honours

Course content

What will you study on the BA Business Management (Fast-Track)?

Your studies will focus on the development of key business skills and experience, preparing you for the workplace. Organisations require graduates who are able to demonstrate critical and analytical problem solving skills, with the professional acumen to deal with challenges in the fast-paced world of business. You will study the operations of organisations: their functions, structure and management and the models and techniques used to achieve successful results. The Entrepreneurship and Small Business modules provide an excellent foundation for setting up and running your own business.

What will you gain?

You will learn to work effectively in teams, and be able to present and communicate business management ideas with confidence. We will also ensure you develop specialist knowledge in:

• Stakeholders: their expectations and behaviour
• The environment of business and its impact on strategy
• Design, production and distribution of products and services
• Business resources: acquisition, application and control
• Business process: planning, improvement and control
• This fast track programme is studied full -time over two years in an accelerated pattern. In each year you will study four 30 credit modules within the Autumn-Summer semesters and then two modules in the ‘Summer School’ block-taught format.

Modules

This module aims to develop the financial understanding and knowledge of students withinbusiness organisations so as to enable them to make effective decisions and to assess thecost, economic and financial implications of these decisions. It aims to provide anunderstanding of the fundamental roles of accounting and finance for business students whodo not need to develop specialist knowledge as well as to provide an understanding of keyeconomic principles that inform business thought and practice.

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 bothconventional and online environments. Students will develop knowledge and understanding of the core role of marketing in determining the growth potential ofan enterprise, including the value of the marketing mix in ensuring successfulmarketing implementation and the significance of external and internal operatingenvironments for marketing practice.

The aim of this module is to provide an introduction to the use of computer software tocollect, analyse and present business data. Students will learn to solve business andmanagement problems using Excel or other appropriate software with an emphasis on theapplication of methods to solve problems, and the interpretation and communication ofresults. The main aim is to enable the student to become a discerning user of quantitativemethods and computers in business analysis, which can be built upon in further study.

This module aims to develop students’ knowledge and understanding of operationsmanagement within a variety of organisations. It examines different aspects of operationsmanagement relevant to the design, planning, control and improvement of businessoperations. Students will learn to evaluate, select and apply relevant operationsmanagement concepts, tools and techniques to solve problems, make informed decisionsand improve the efficiency and effectiveness of operational processes.

The aim of this module is to develop students understanding of the management oforganisations. It will introduce management concepts such as the business functions,organisational structure, work design, entrepreneurship, and business ethics. Students willdevelop the ability to analyse the strengths and weaknesses of various managementtheories and their application in the management of organisations.

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.

This module aims to develop students’ knowledge of internal and external business environment and their impact upon choices available to business in planning and decision making. Students will learn to analyse business environments and handle information using different techniques, models and frameworks.

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.

This module aims to present a broad and integrated view of strategic management in organisations and outline a range of critical perspectives on key concepts of strategy. It will introduce generic strategies at the corporate, business and functional levels and provide a range of analytical models and concepts that can be applied in assessing the strategic capability of an organisation and the environment in which it operates.

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 the 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.

The aim of this module is to enable students to identify the multifaceted social processesthat are imperative to organisational life. The module will cover a wide array of theoriespertaining to organisational behaviour. Students will develop their own abilities to analysethese theories, build up their own views on how to think and feel about these emergentissues as well as empower themselves with the capacity to argue and support these views inan academically rigorous manner.

The aim of this module is to develop students' understanding and critical awareness ofissues associated with managing contemporary workforce. Students will learn howincreasingly diverse workforce composition and the changing nature of work and socioeconomicenvironment result in new and unique challenges that managers face today.Through using cutting edge research, case studies and self-reflexive exercises the modulewill encourage a critical re-evaluation of traditional management thinking and practices andexplore alternative approaches and responses to the contemporary management issues.

This module enables students to develop an understanding of strategies commonly used inprofessional discourse. It integrates concepts and approaches from applied linguistics andsocial psychology into the management of professional communication in a range ofbusiness settings. By exploring and contextualising professional discourse strategies,students will develop systematic and explicit approaches to analysing, evaluating andconstructing strategic communication.

The aim of this module is to develop students’ understanding of the key areas of HRM and to develop their skills and competence in human resource management practice. Students will become familiar with a wide range of generalist HR policies and practices within the five key areas of the discipline: employee resourcing, employee reward, employee relations, performance management and employee training and development. They will also be provided with the opportunity to develop competencies in areas such as selection interviews, performance appraisals, managing conflict, and conducting grievance and disciplinary interviews.

The aim of this module is to develop in-depth understanding of theories relating to trade andinternational business, their application to an increasingly interdependent world, the role ofmultinational enterprise in the world trade system, and practical issues, such as incoterms,documentation, payment process and instruments, and trade compliance. Taken togetherthese elements should equip students with comprehensive knowledge and a broader senseof running a business beyond the domestic market.

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.

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.

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.

This module aims to demonstrate to students the importance of integrated businessfunctions to achieve business success. The module uses a business simulation to providestudents with experience of how a firm can integrate key aspects of business andmanagement in order to succeed in a competitive environment.

This module focuses specifically on the development of the competences needed to developsustainable business. The module aims to provide the knowledge and skills of sustainablebusiness to enable students to make a strong contribution to society, economy and theenvironment. Students will be enabled through a competency-based approach that linksreal-world orientation, with personal development and coaching, to the development andmanagement of sustainable business.

All contemporary organisations operate in an increasingly dynamic environment. Thismodule aims to develop students critical understanding of organisational change andmanaging organisational change. It explores different theoretical frameworks, concepts,techniques and tools for managing change.

You can find more information about this course in the programme specification. Optional modules are usually available at levels 5 and 6, although optional modules are not offered on every course. Where optional modules are available, you will be asked to make your choice during the previous academic year. If we have insufficient numbers of students interested in an optional module, or there are staffing changes which affect the teaching, it may not be offered. If an optional module will not run, we will advise you after the module selection period when numbers are confirmed, or at the earliest time that the programme team make the decision not to run the module, and help you choose an alternative module.