Programme Specifications

N/A

Business and Management

October 2023

The purposes of Business and Management degree courses are to:

• develop a critical understanding of organisations, cultures and structures, their management and wider economic, environmental and social contexts

• instil an understanding of responsible leadership

• provide preparation for and development of a wide range of careers, including in business and management

• develop relevant skills and attributes which enhance employability and equip graduates to become impactful global and inclusive citizens as well as reflective independent and collegial lifelong learners.

• develop generative learning skills that will motivate and enable graduates to engage in lifelong learning and professional development.

• enhance employability and enable the development of a successful career in business / management, whether commercial, charitable or public sector.

The learning outcomes of this programme are designed to meet the expectations of the benchmarking statement for Business and Management. The programme provides opportunities for students to develop and demonstrate knowledge and understanding, skills, qualities and other attributes in the following areas.

Knowledge and understanding should be gained within an overall subject framework made up of the three strands of organisations, the external environment in which they operate and their management, emphasising the interconnectedness of these elements. Students will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding in the following areas:

• A1. Markets and economies: the development, access and operations of markets for resources, good and services

• A2. Customers - marketing, sales, negotiation and customers: management of customer relationships, consumer behaviour, different approaches for segmentation, targeting, positioning, generating sales and the need for innovation in product and service design.

• A3. Finance - finance and accounting: the sources, practises and management of finance and the use of accounting and other information systems for planning, control, decision-making and managing the development of appropriate policies and strategies within a changing environment to meet stakeholder interests, and the use of risk and crisis management techniques, business continuity planning and communication techniques and tools to help maximise achievement of strategic objectives financial risk

• A4. People - people and organisational behaviour: responsible, inclusive and ethical leadership management and development of people and organisations, including employee engagement and the implications of the legal context.

• A5. Operations - operations and business innovation: the management of resources, the supply chain, procurement, logistics, outsourcing, quality systems, development of service excellence and project management

• A6. Data analytics, statistics, digital business, information systems and business intelligence: the development of strategic priorities to deliver business at speed through the management, application and implementation of information systems and their impact upon organisations, and to enable data-driven and informed decision-making

• A7. Business policy and strategy - the development of appropriate policies and strategies within a changing environment to meet stakeholder interests, and the use of risk and crisis management techniques, business continuity planning and communication techniques and tools to help maximise achievement of strategic objectives

• A8. Pervasive issues – ethics, behaving ethically sustainability, globalisation, corporate social responsibility, diversity, business innovation, creativity, enterprise development, knowledge management and risk management

• A9. entrepreneurship and enterprise development: taking innovative business ideas to create or co-create new products, services or organisations that will generate a return on financial and/or social investment

Teaching, learning and assessment methods used to enable outcomes to be achieved and demonstrated

Formal teaching in lectures. Use of seminars and tutorials to reinforce subject teaching, often by means of problem based scenarios and case studies. Guided learning is provided by individual module outlines and supplementary reading lists specifying sources of relevant information, available in hard copy and on blackboard. Group work and presentations may be used in some modules. Feedback on assignments.

Assessment

• coursework reports, reviews and essays

• examinations (closed and open book)

• presentations

• dissertations and projects (n/a for top-up scheme)

• posters

• discussion boards

• creation of new media content (such as infographics, videos, dashboards)

• learning journals, reflections and portfolios

• simulations

• practical activities

10.2.1 Intellectual skills

Students should be able to demonstrate a range of cognitive and intellectual skills together with techniques specific to business and management, as follows (no particular order of importance):

• B1. Cognitive skills of critical thinking, analysis and synthesis. This includes the capability to identify assumptions, evaluate statements in terms of evidence, to detect false logic or reasoning, to identify implicit values, to define terms adequately and to generalise appropriately

• B2. Problem-solving and critical analysis: analysing facts and circumstances to determine the cause of a problem, decision-making and selecting appropriate, sustainable solutions

• B3. Research: the ability to analyse and evaluate a range of data, sources of information and appropriate methodologies, which includes the need for strong digital literacy, and to use that research for evidence-based, responsible and ethical decisionmaking.

• B4. Identifying, formulating and solving business problems, demonstrating the ability to create, evaluate and assess a range of options together with the capacity to apply ideas and knowledge to a range of situations

• B5. Commercial acumen: based on an awareness of the key drivers for business success, causes of failure and the importance of providing customer satisfaction and building customer loyalty in sustainable ways

• B6. Innovation, creativity and enterprise: the ability to act entrepreneurially to generate, develop and communicate ideas, manage and exploit intellectual property, gain support and deliver successful and sustainable outcomes

• B7. Numeracy: the use of quantitative skills to manipulate data, evaluate, estimate and model business problems, functions and phenomena

• B8. Networking: an awareness of the interpersonal skills of effective listening, negotiating, persuasion and presentation and their use in cultivating business contacts

• B9. Leadership: boundary-spanning, influencing, relational and collaborative working, including ability to work in partnerships across organisation and sectors

Teaching, learning and assessment methods used to enable outcomes to be achieved and demonstrated

Formal teaching in lectures. Use of seminars and tutorials to reinforce subject teaching, often by means of problem-based scenarios and case studies. Guided learning is provided by individual module outlines and supplementary reading lists specifying sources of relevant information, available in hard copy and on blackboard. Group work and presentations may be used in some modules. Feedback on assignments.

Assessment

• coursework reports, reviews and essays

• examinations (closed and open book)

• presentations

• dissertations and projects (n/a for top-up scheme)

• posters

• discussion boards

• creation of new media content (such as infographics, videos, dashboards)

• learning journals, reflections and portfolios

• simulations

• practical activities

10.2.2 Professional practical skills (where appropriate)

Students should be able to:

• C1. develop a critical understanding of organisations, cultures and structures, their management and wider economic, environmental and social contexts

• C2. instil an understanding of responsible leadership

• C3. develop the capacity to identify, formulate and solve business problems, using appropriate conceptual models, empirical evidence and quantitative and qualitative skills. Plus, conceptual, systemic and critical thinking, analysis, synthesis and evaluation.

• C4. enhance communication skills using a range of media, including the effective use of communication and information technology.

• C5. facilitate effective self-management in terms of time, planning and behaviour, motivation, self-starting, individual initiative and enterprise

• C6. develop capability to perform effectively within a team environment, including leadership, team building, influencing and project management skills. Plus, the ability to work collaboratively and inclusively with both internal and external stakeholders

• C7. develop interpersonal skills of effective listening, negotiating, persuasion and presentation

• C8. develop skills of self-reflection: self-analysis and an awareness/sensitivity to diversity in terms of people and cultures - this includes a continuing appetite for development.

• C9. enhance employability and enable the development of a successful career in business / management, whether commercial, charitable or public sector.
  
  

Teaching, learning and assessment methods used to enable outcomes to be achieved and demonstrated

Formal teaching in lectures. Use of seminars and tutorials to reinforce subject teaching, often by means of problem-based scenarios and case studies. Guided learning is provided by individual module outlines and supplementary reading lists specifying sources of relevant information, available in hard copy and on blackboard. Group work and presentations may be used in some modules. Feedback on assignments.

Assessment

• coursework reports, reviews and essays

• examinations (closed and open book)

• presentations

• dissertations and projects (n/a for top-up scheme)

• posters

• discussion boards

• creation of new media content (such as infographics, videos, dashboards)

• learning journals, reflections and portfolios

• simulations

• practical activities

  
  

• D1 ability to work collaboratively and inclusively with both internal and external stakeholders

• D2 verbal, non-verbal and digital communication

• D3 empathy and inclusivity

• D4 digital literacy and etiquette

• D5 conceptual, systemic and critical thinking, analysis, synthesis and evaluation

• D6 self-management: development as independent learners, a readiness to accept responsibility and flexibility, to tolerate uncertainty, handle complexity, challenge assumptions, use evidence to inform critical thinking, be resilient, self-starting and appropriately assertive

• D7 self-reflection: self-analysis and an awareness/sensitivity to diversity in terms of people and cultures - this includes a continuing appetite for development.

Teaching, learning and assessment methods used to enable outcomes to be achieved and demonstrated

Formal teaching in lectures. Use of seminars and tutorials to reinforce subject teaching, often by means of problem based scenarios and case studies. Guided learning is provided by individual module outlines and supplementary reading lists specifying sources of relevant information, available in hard copy and on blackboard. Group work and presentations may be used in some modules. Feedback on assignments.

Assessment

• coursework reports, reviews and essays

• examinations (closed and open book)

• presentations

• dissertations and projects (n/a for top-up scheme)

• posters

• discussion boards

• creation of new media content (such as infographics, videos, dashboards)

• learning journals, reflections and portfolios

• simulations

• practical activitie