Environmental Economics

Accounting & Society

Provides students with an awareness of the wider social background to accounting by introducing them to the concept of accountability in different contexts, such as (international) accounting regulation, accounting theory, auditing and corporate governance, social and environmental accounting, and accounting for internal (management) purposes

Division: AAF

Coordinator: Dr Lisa Evans

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

International Finance

Objectives

To provide an understanding of the key areas of finance within an international environment with a focus on:

• the operation of the foreign exchange market
• the relationship between exchange rates, interest rates and inflation rates
• the nature of foreign exchange risk and its management
  
• the use of derivative securities in international finance
  

Learning outcomes

Knowledge and understanding of:

• the mechanics of the foreign exchange market and how exchange rates are quoted
• opportunities to make money from currency arbitrage
• the factors which drive exchange rates, and in particular how spot and forward exchange rates are related to interest rates and inflation rates
• opportunities to make money from covered (and uncovered) interest arbitrage
• the types of foreign exchange risk which companies face
• means of hedging foreign exchange risk
• the features of an optimal currency area
• the significance of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) and the
• introduction of the euro
• how to calculate the hedged domestic currency value of future foreign currency cash flows using a forward market hedge and a money market hedge
• the principles underlying the use and pricing of currency derivative instruments: options, forwards, futures and swaps 

Division: AAF

Coordinator: Dr Kevin Campbell

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Corporate Finance

Objectives

• To provide an understanding of the major decision areas of corporate finance - how to raise funds and how to invest them.
• To examine both the theory and the practice of corporate financial decision-making.
• To examine the interaction between decision-making and capital market behaviour.

Learning outcomes

Knowledge and understanding of:

• the concept of the time value of money and its use to calculate the present and future values of a variety of cash flow patterns
• appraising an investment by calculating its payback period, profitability index, net present value and internal rate of return
• comparing the relative merits of the above investment appraisal methods
• valuing stocks and bonds
• the nature of financial risk
• the agency problem in modern companies
• the relationship between risk and return, both for individual stocks and for portfolios
• the capital asset pricing model and its application
• the meaning and implications of market efficiency
• measuring the cost of capital
• the significance of capital structure for company valuation
• the determinants of corporate dividend policy. 

Division: AAF

Coordinator: Dr Kevin Campbell / Professor Chris Veld

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Financial Reporting

Provides an appreciation of the underlying assumptions and limitations of accounting information. Measurement and reporting problems involved in financial accounting ‘solutions’ adopted by regulators are discussed. Methods for interpretation of reported accounting information are explored and applied to ‘live’ data.

Division: AAF

Coordinator: Dr Yannis Tsalavoutas

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Quantitative Methods in Finance

Objectives

• To provide students with the statistical and computing skills which are necessary fully to understand modern banking and finance operations.

Learning outcomes
Knowledge and understanding of:

• simple probability
• statistical testing
• the linear model
• least squares estimation and its properties
• the causes of failure in the linear model
• the concepts of time-series analysis
• the use of Excel to manipulate statistical data
• the use of Excel to estimate linear models. 

Division: ECN

Coordinator: Professor David Bell

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Advanced Financial Reporting

Considers a number of advanced topics in financial reporting and introduces students to the practical application of international financial reporting standards.

Division: AAF

Coordinator:

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Mergers & Acquisitions

Objectives

This module will deal with mergers and acquisitions against the background of corporate finance theory and practice. After a general introduction based on the corporate finance literature, financial and economic aspects of mergers and acquisitions will be discussed. Besides mergers and acquisitions, there will also be attention to other corporate restructurings, such as spin-offs, carve-outs, and sell-offs.

Learning outcomes

Knowledge and understanding of:

• current developments in the subject.
• mergers, acquisitions, and other forms of corporate restructuring;
• finance, accounting and economics aspects of the different types of corporate restructuring.  

Division: AAF

Coordinator: Professor Chris Veld

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Research Methods

Introduces students to generic and subject-specific research training. It also aims to prepare students for the dissertation module as well as to lay the foundations for more advanced postgraduate research.

Division: AAF

Coordinator: Dr Alan Goodacre

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Topics in International Accounting

Introduces international accounting in its theoretical context and practical relevance, and explores financial reporting in different national or regulatory contexts.

Division: AAF

Coordinator: Dr Yannis Tsalavoutas/ Sarah Jane thomson/Dr Yannis Tsalavoutas

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Corporate Finance

Objectives

• To provide an understanding of the major decision areas of corporate finance - how to raise funds and how to invest them.
• To examine both the theory and the practice of corporate financial decision-making.
• To examine the interaction between decision-making and capital market behaviour.

Learning outcomes
Knowledge and understanding of:

• the concept of the time value of money and its use to calculate the present and future values of a variety of cash flow patterns
• appraising an investment by calculating its payback period, profitability index, net present value and internal rate of return
• comparing the relative merits of the above investment appraisal methods
• valuing stocks and bonds
• the nature of financial risk
• the agency problem in modern companies
• the relationship between risk and return, both for individual stocks and for portfolios
• the capital asset pricing model and its application
• the meaning and implications of market efficiency
• measuring the cost of capital
• the significance of capital structure for company valuation
• the determinants of corporate dividend policy.

Division: AAF

Coordinator: Dr Kevin Campbell / Professor Chris Veld

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Accounting & Finance

The module aims to provide a foundation knowledge and understanding of the principles of accounting and corporate finance. The accounting section will examine published accounting information from a user’s perspective. The corporate finance section will provide an introduction to some of the major issues involved in making corporate investment and financing decisions.

Division: AAF

Coordinator: Dr Khaled Hussainey

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Entrepreneurship Theory & Practice

The module aims to improve understanding of the development of entrepreneurship as an area of study and to enhance awareness of the processes of research and scholarship in the entrepreneurship field.

Division: B&O

Coordinator: Frank Martin

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Introduction to International Business

This module aims to provide you with the means to understand and manage changes in the international business environment. It considers macro and microeconomic, political and social issues currently affecting the competitiveness of international business.

Division: B&O

Coordinator:

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Management in Practice

This module provides an introduction to management and the knowledge and skills managers need to manage.

Division: B&O

Coordinator:

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Managing International Organizations

You will be introduced to the theoretical knowledge and practical skills of managing international organisations in a global market economy, including the context of international business, the range of strategic options open to companies and how the differences between societies and national cultures affect the various functional areas of management.

Division: B&O

Coordinator: Jenoah Joseph

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Quantitative Management Techniques

You will be introduced to basic quantitative techniques used in business decision-taking and the role of modelling in business.

Division: B&O

Coordinator:

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Foundations of IT

This module is an introduction to Information Technology and covers the operation of computer system and networks.

Division: CSM

Coordinator:

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Energy & Resource Economics

Objectives

• To enable students to apply economic reasoning to issues in energy and resource management;
• To equip students to understand how energy and resource markets work;
• To enable students to think about energy and resources policy in a consistent and creative manner.

Learning outcomes

Knowledge and understanding of:

• optimal renewable and non-renewable resource use;
• market structure effects on optimal use;
• optimal electricity pricing;
• the basic market structure for fossil fuels;
• economic reserves and what sustainability means in this context;
• where to find basic data on energy supply and consumption.

Division: ECN

Coordinator: Dr Ian Lange

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Financial Economics

Objectives

• To discuss financial instruments and how they are traded.
• To introduce the key tools used by financial economists.
• To cover the major topics in financial economics including portfolio theory, diversification and mean variance analysis; asset-pricing models, efficient market hypothesis, and market anomalies.
• To discuss the pricing of bonds, stocks, and other financial instruments.

Learning outcomes

Knowledge and understanding of:

• financial instruments;
• risk and return relationship;
• diversification and mean-variance analysis;
• asset-pricing models;
• efficient market hypothesis;
• market anomalies;
• security prices and yields;
• investment performance evaluation. 

Division: ECN

Coordinator: Dr Paul Alagidede

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Consumer Behaviour

This module provides students with an introduction to the study of buyer behaviour and consumer research. The various determinants of behaviour are examined and the applications of theory are considered and critiqued. The primary aim is to provide students with and understanding of customers and to explore how theory can inform managerial decisions. The module is theory laden as necessitated by the nature of the topic and the multi-disciplinary character of consumer research. At the end of this module, students will: understand the determinants of buyer actions, both psychological and social, be able to identify the strategic and managerial implications associated with buyer behaviour and be able to critically appraise various theories and apply them to managerial problems.

Division: MKT

Coordinator: Dr Julie Tinson

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Marketing Research Techniques & Applications (previously MKTP04)

This module compares client-based and academic approaches to marketing research. It develops your knowledge and understanding of the nature, scope and types of marketing research, the range of research methods and techniques available to the market researcher, and their application to client-based and academic marketing problems. The specific objectives of this module are to develop the following skills:

• diagnosing the problems, issues and information requirements of client organisations and academic institutions,
• designing research that will obtain the required information,
• writing proposals for client-based and academic marketing research,
• distinguishing the different types of data that researchers use,
• constructing and analysing both qualitative and quantitative data,
• displaying, summarising and drawing inferences from quantitative survey data.

Division: MKT

Coordinator: Ray Kent

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Environmental Economics

Objectives

• to enable students to understand and apply economic theory and methodologies to the better understanding of environmental problems;
• to enable students to become competent in applying economic analysis to improving the design of environmental policy.

Learning outcomes

Knowledge and understanding of:

• how economics and the environment are two interlinked systems;
• the market: how it works, when it works, when it doesn't;
• the economics of pollution control: pollution taxes and tradeable permits;
• values and the environment - concepts and methods, environmental cost-benefit analysis;
• the economics of sustainable development;
• growth and the environment: the Environmental Kuznets Curve;
• trade and the environment;
• the economics of renewable resources: fisheries and forests. 

Division: BIO

Coordinator: Professor Nick Hanley

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Reflective Practice and Learning

Aim: Teamwork provides a model of how to organize market-facing work activity. As a framework for analyzing that activity, it contributes to the successful realization of retail and marketing strategies. Teamwork is an activity and skills-based way of thinking about how to deliver marketplace goals through superior planning, coordination and cooperation. It brings together the ideas of internal and external marketing pathways to competitive success. The core subject of this module is the implementation of marketplace strategies through teamwork and self-reflection. Its key vision is that successful teamwork starts with you, the individual: for unless you are able to market yourself as a service providerwithin a team context, then you are unlikely to be successful at taking goods, services or ideas to market in the service of customers. Although the successful  implementation of marketing needs teambuilding skills, it also demands a professional approach to the work of learning and development, at the core of which are skills in reflective practice. This module lays the foundation for the development of such skills through providing opportunities for formal study, reflection and practice.

Objectives: The aim of this module is to embed participants in an action learning environment through which to nurture skills in teamwork and reflective practice as a strategy for understanding how to deliver marketplace goals. Specific objectives are to develop knowledge and skills in the following:

• Understanding teamwork as a way of organization marketing work activity.
• Understanding approaches to reflective practice and their place in teams;
• Critically reviewing teamwork processes and activities;
  Putting principles into practice through a marketing strategy simulation;
  

Teaching methods: A combination of lectures, tutorials, readings and team-based simulation events to build
a culture of observation and reflection on group and individual working practices.

Assessment: 100% examination

Recommended reading: Harvard Business School (2004),Teams that Succeed, HBS Press.

 

Division: MKT

Coordinator: Professor Douglas Brownlie

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Professional Skills

Teamwork is an essential ingredient of the mix of skills that drive successful business partnerships. And as a framework for analyzing that work activity, it contributes to the successful realization of organizational strategies. Teamwork is an activity and skills-based way of thinking about how to deliver marketplace goals through superior coordination and cooperation. It brings together the ideas of internal and external marketing pathways to competitive success. The core subject of this module is the implementation of marketplace strategies through teamwork. Its key vision is that successful teamwork starts with you, the individual: for unless you are able to market yourself as a service provider within a team context, then you are unlikely to be successful at taking goods, services or ideas to market in the service of customers. This module lays the foundation for the development of skills in teamwork through providing opportunities for formal study and practice.

Division: MKT

Coordinator: Professor Douglas Brownlie

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Retail Marketing

This module aims to increase your knowledge and understanding of the role of marketing in retailing and vice versa. The overall objective of this module is to develop an appreciation of the range and variety of issues in retail marketing. These include:

• The nature of the retail ‘product’
• Segmentation and positioning
• Consumer behaviour and retailing
• Marketing communication in a retail context
• Retail branding
• Store formats, design and layout
• Customer service.

Division: MKT

Coordinator: Dr Christoph Teller

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Small Business Marketing

This module develops your knowledge and understanding of marketing in the smaller enterprise. In particular, the module is designed to put marketing theory into practice at the level of the smaller firm. The smaller firm by its very nature allows for the integration of theory and practice and requires students to take a holistic approach to marketing in the “real” world. The module reflects staff research interests in the areas of small business marketing and the marketing entrepreneurship interface.

Division: MKT

Coordinator: Dr Ian Fillis

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Sports Marketing (previously MKTP19)

This module aims to investigate the application of modern marketing techniques to the sport industry. The objectives of this module are to:

• Extend knowledge of marketing approaches and applications into a lesser known sector,
• Sport
• Utilise marketing concepts in understanding business approaches to sport marketing
• Consider the extent to which sport marketing is ‘different’ to other sectors

Division: MKT

Coordinator:

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Globalisation, Creativity & Competitiveness

Provides the analytical foundations for understanding the significance of production activities for social and economic development. Issues addressed include: governance and strategic choice in the organisation of production under globalisation, the use of creativity across economies and societies, and the meaning of competitiveness and associated policies.

Division: SISM

Coordinator:

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

People Management

This module explores the policies and procedures used in organisations to manage staff. It will deal with human resource planning, recruitment and selection, managing performance, rewards, grievance and discipline, managing relationships, learning and development, health, safety and welfare and diversity.

Division: SISM

Coordinator: Dave Edgar

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Responsible & Participative Management

This module places employee participation within a business, ethical, political and sociological context. Attention is paid to understanding issues of responsibility and sustainability in managing for employee participation. Students will develop knowledge of issues that confront managers and trade unions involved with employee ownership and employee participation.

Division: SISM

Coordinator: Dr Juliette Summers

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Responsible Business in Society

Addresses the contemporary challenges to business practice emanating from the sustainable development and responsibility agendas. It provides a strong foundation for understanding the implications of business practice on broader society, and conversely the impact that social activism, public scrutiny and pressures on the brand have on business governance/corporate strategy.

Division: SISM

Coordinator: Dr Joanne Cook

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Work, Employment & Society

You will be provided with a strong foundation for the Master’s programme and be introduced to the key structural features of, and contextual influences on, the world of work and employment.

Division: SISM

Coordinator: Ms Doris Eikhof

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Derivatives

Objectives

• To provide an understanding of options, forwards, futures and the foreign exchange markets.
• To emphasise the principles underlying the valuation of derivative securities, including valuation of forward and futures contracts, swaps and options.
• To illustrate the use of financial derivatives in risk management.
• To provide an introduction to the working of the foreign exchange market and the instruments traded on it.
• To introduce related institutional aspects.

Learning outcomes

Knowledge and understanding of:

• the working of the futures markets and the mechanics of trading futures and forward contracts;
• the principles underlying the valuation of futures contracts and their applications to contracts traded on stock indexes, financial instruments etc.;
• how the currency market functions and how exchange rates are quoted;
• the difference between the spot and forward exchange rates and how these variables are linked to expected changes in inflation rates and interest rates;
• how options can be used for speculating on price changes and for hedging price risk;
• the use of option trading strategies such as short straddles and long butterflies;
• the creation and use of synthetic securities;
• the put-call parity theorem;
• calculating the fair value of a call option contract using both the simple binomial model and the Black-Scholes-Merton model.

Division: AAF

Coordinator: Dr Kevin Cmapbell/ Yulia Veld-Merkoulova is Module Co-ordinator

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Financial Statement Analysis

Develops skills in the interpretation and use of financial statements, focusing on company valuation and identification of companies that may become insolvent.

Division: AAF

Coordinator: Dr Isaac Tabner

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Investments & Portfolio Management

Objectives

• To provide an understanding of security valuation and portfolio management, focusing on equities and fixed-interest securities.
• To emphasise the principles underlying the valuation of bonds and stocks.
• To discuss the management of equity and bond portfolios, including the application of active and
• passive portfolio management strategies.
• To introduce related institutional aspects.

Learning outcomes

Knowledge and understanding of:

• the Markowitz portfolio selection model
• the Capital Asset Pricing Model
• factor models, including the Arbitrage Pricing Theory and the Fama-French 3-factor model
• the empirical evidence about the nature of security returns
• the theories of active and passive portfolio management
• how investment returns are measured
• the basic principles of performance evaluation
• portfolio performance attribution analysis
• calculating the various measures of rates of return on bonds
• the relationship between bond prices and interest rates
• the basic principles of bond valuation and their application to instruments traded in the fixed income securities markets
• the different types of instruments traded, and the terminology used, in the UK and other international bond markets
• the concept of duration and its application to passive bond portfolio management strategies
• the use of active bond management portfolio strategies
• hedge funds and other alternative investments.

Division: AAF

Coordinator: Professor Chris Veld

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Law of Investment Regulation

The legal system of the UK is considered in relation to rules that directly impact on those working in the sector, such as enforcement of securities laws, insider dealing and market abuse. The Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct of the CFA® Institute are also covered.

Division: AAF

Coordinator:

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Europe & the Emerging Economies

This module will focus on current business approaches and strategies within Europe, the Asian emerging markets, and provide a perspective on Africa.

Division: B&O

Coordinator: Jenoah Joseph

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Operations Management

The aim of this module is to provide students with an appreciation of the importance of Operations Management in production and service industries.  It is also intended that students should be able to understand the methods used for planning and management of operations, and to be able to analyse operations using these methods.

Division: B&O

Coordinator: Dr Gerry Edgar

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Project Management Fundamentals

The first part of the module considers the evaluation and selection of projects, while the second part examines their management. The techniques are illustrated with examples from a variety of case studies.

Division:

Coordinator: Dr Angus Yu

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Project Management in Context

The first part of the module considers the evaluation and selection of projects, while the second part examines their management. The techniques are illustrated with examples from a variety of case studies.

Division: B&O

Coordinator: Professor John Bowers

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Management Research Methods

The module will provide an understanding of

• how, creatively, to identify research and development questions and prioritise these in relation to contemporary managerial and business need as reflected in current student perceived situations, expert opinion and peer reviewed sources.
• how, creatively, to design and carry out elements of research and development projects, thereby acquiring skills needed for the realistic production of an appropriate dissertation and for subsequent postgraduate life roles.
• library research (including literature review) and the craft of writing short reports, essays, long reports and dissertations.
• tensions between perspectives on types of research (quantitative, qualitative and action), purposes for generating knowledge (enhanced control / incrementalism versus radical change) and the ethics of research.
• the principles and practice of quantitative and qualitative research (including interpretation of data) and action research with an overview of the whole process from idea to required output.

Students will be able to

• identify the disciplines, key assumptions and validity claims of published research generally.
• generate, clarify and prioritise practical research questions and refine these into tractable scope and form and engage in constructive and creative discussions.
• use creativity tools and design practical projects addressing specific questions and problems making use of appropriate methods, instruments and techniques with appropriate levels of stakeholder participation and facilitation.

Learning outcomes

Knowledge and understanding of:

• the major paradigms, purposes and current themes of management research as reflected in recent peer review publication (in fields of specific student interest).
• the nature of and relationships between research, problem solving, decision making, decision implementation and evaluation.
• the ability to design a practical quantitative, qualitative or action research project.
• the ability to use creativity methods in designing and carrying out research and development projects. 

Division: B&O

Coordinator: Dr Mike Walsh

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Strategic Management

This module provides an overall understanding of the needs, contexts and processes involved in strategic management within organisations.  To do this, the module will examine the main underlying approaches to strategic management.  These range from the commonly applied ‘prescriptive’ approaches and techniques to approaches which draw from the observation, experience and analysis of real management issues, contexts and behaviour.  They also include approaches, which see strategy as a function of competitive market forces, and approaches which see strategy as an outcome of underlying skills, abilities and routines. In essence the course is about developing your understanding of the issues within strategic management by making you aware of the different tools of analysis and presenting you with the opportunity to apply them.

Division:

Coordinator: Dr Tom Forbes

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Strategic Planning for Information Systems

Part 1 of this module in the Spring semester is focused on generic research methods and tools.  The emphasis of Part 2 explored in the Autumn semester is preparation for the dissertation and the challenges of the collection of empirical data.  Details of the aims and overall learning objectives may be found in the Autumn module outline but the issues examined this semester include: dissertation topic selection, access and the ethics of conducting research; choosing the most appropriate methods; questionnaire and interview design; triangulation and the integration of different data and analyses and project planning. 

Division: B&O

Coordinator: Dr Gerry Edgar

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Venture Management

Part 1 of this module in the Spring semester is focused on generic research methods and tools.  The emphasis of Part 2 explored in the Autumn semester is preparation for the dissertation and the challenges of the collection of empirical data.  Details of the aims and overall learning objectives may be found in the Autumn module outline but the issues examined this semester include: dissertation topic selection, access and the ethics of conducting research; choosing the most appropriate methods; questionnaire and interview design; triangulation and the integration of different data and analyses and project planning. 

Division: B&O

Coordinator: Mr Frank Martin

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Energy Markets & Policy

Objectives

• To study the function of the major markets for energy: oil, coal, natural gas, electric power, and alternative/renewable energy in a national and international context.
• To understand the technologic structure and parameters of energy supply and use.
• To understand the principle drivers of supply and demand for energy
• To apply basic econometric forecasting of supply or demand for energy.
• To understand the environmental issues related to energy use and consumption.
• To understand the effect on energy markets of national and international environmental policy.

Learning outcomes

Knowledge and understanding of:

• Global energy flows
• National energy flows
• Security of supply
• Oil markets
• Natural gas markets
• Electricity markets
• Coal markets
• Alternative/renewable energy markets
• Quantitative analysis of energy demand and supply
• Energy policy and market instruments

Division: ECN

Coordinator: Dr Ian Lange

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Seminar on Energy Management

Objectives

• To deepen the understanding of energy issues by writing essays, presenting the work at a workshop and actively participating in scholarly discussions.
• To prepare students for their dissertation.

Learning outcomes

The ability to

• search relevant literature to analyze a topic;
• understand the essential message and conclusions of sophisticated scholarly publications;
• identify the most relevant literature on a topic and to extract the essential points relevant to your own work;
• write a seminar paper in terms of style, precision, development and presentation of arguments and correct citations;
• present your work at a workshop so that others can follow your arguments and that you can answer questions;
• participate actively in discussions during workshops and present your ideas concicely and easy accessible to others;
• abstract and simplify in order to i27.11.2008ns on which an analysis is based and how assumptions drive results;
• understand the essence of a model;
• compare different models and settings and put them in a broader perspective;
• develop logical arguments;
• marshal and evaluate qualitative and quantitative evidence;
• assimilate, structure and analyse qualitative and quantitative data;
• apply general principles to a specific case;
• think critically about the limits of an analysis;
• draw policy conclusions and recognise the potential constraints on their implementation;
• evaluate alternative research strategies;

 

Division: ECN

Coordinator: Dr Frans de Vries

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

The Economics of Climate Change

Objectives

• To enable students to apply economic reasoning to issues in climate change;
• To enable students to think about climate policy in a consistent and creative manner.

Learning outcomes

Knowledge and understanding of:

• the main economic arguments which help explain why human-induced climate change has arisen;
• estimation of damage costs from climate change
• evaluation of climate change mitigation options
• problems of international cooperation on climate change policy
• distributional implications of climate change and climate change policy
• resource use within sustainable development strategies. 

Division: ECN

Coordinator: Professor Nick Hanley

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Critical Thinking

This module focuses on how academic, published research may be evaluated in terms of its theory, methodology and knowledge systems, and then shows how these apply to academic research in marketing, in particular to producing research proposals and to the design of your dissertation.

The specific objectives of this module are to develop the following skills:

• to identify the styles and approaches taken by authors of articles in the major journals that report the results of peer-reviewed academic marketing research;
• to critically review and evaluate such articles on matters of methodology and analyse the findings according to a range of criteria; write a series of aims and objectives pertaining to your dissertation;
• evaluate a range of research methodologies and select those most suited to your dissertation topic area and to choose appropriate data analysis techniques to complement your chosen research methodologies.

The module will culminate in writing a research proposal that is an acceptable basis for proceeding to the dissertation.

Division: MKT

Coordinator:

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

International Marketing

This module develops your knowledge and understanding of how the marketing concept can be applied within the framework of competitive and changing world markets. Although the module focuses on internationalising firms of all sizes, there is a specific concentration on the smaller internationalising firm. At the end of this module students will be able to differentiate between international marketing and exporting, understand the dimensions of the international environment which influence marketing activities (especially culture), be aware of how companies adapt to the international environment and be able to apply this knowledge to current issues e.g. globalisation, ethics.    

Division: MKT

Coordinator: Dr Jennifer Thomson

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Logistics & Channel Management

This module aims to develop an understanding of logistics, channel relationships and the supply chain. The objectives of this module are to: relate logistics to the economy and to business and extend knowledge of channel management, the supply chain and appropriate logistical concepts and practices.

Division: MKT

Coordinator:

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Marketing Communications

This module is designed to build on existing knowledge and to help students to recognise, analyse and criticise the diverse range of theories that underpin marketing communications activities. Students will appreciate how marketing communications inform and influence not only customers in a narrow sense, but human beings as consumers in post-industrial society.

The objectives of the module are to develop students’ skills in the following areas:

• The ability to critically appraise various theories and to apply them to the problems of marketing communications.
• The ability to critically analyse a range of marketing communications and to provide a semiotic analysis of their content.
• To understand the role of communication in the exchange process in contemporary society

Division: MKT

Coordinator: Dr Julie Tinson

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Retail Management Applications

By allowing students to make marketing management decisions typical of those undertaken within the contemporary environment, this module aims to further develop their marketing management expertise. The objectives are, firstly, to demonstrate the practical application of research techniques and, secondly, to make and communicate management decisions - on an individual and group basis - that benefit the client organisation.

Module content

This module is based on live, ‘hands-on’ projects undertaken by groups of around seven students. Each project has a financial budget for the purposes of research expenditure, whilst the clients are drawn from the private, public and non-profit sectors. As well as formulating apposite marketing management decisions in an individual and group context, the groups will have to interact and liaise with their client organisation. Project workshops will provide on-going staff support, although the emphasis is placed firmly upon student-centred learning and delivery. In addition to the submission of a written report, the process culminates with a presentation to the client’s management team and the academic staff.

Division: MKT

Coordinator: Professor Jimmy Young

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Retail Buying & Merchandising

The aim of this module is develop an understanding of the principles of buying and merchandising in the retail sector. The module will cover strategic and operational issues and will examine these from both a theoretical and a practical perspective. After completing the module, students will be able to: explain the context of buying operations as part of a retailer's overall strategy, evaluate the strategic and operational issues facing retail buyers in different types of retail organisation, describe the activities of the retail buyer, with particular reference to new product development, sourcing, supplier choice and the merchandise management functions and discuss the interaction of the buyer with other functional areas within a retail organization; for example store operations, marketing and finance.

Division: MKT

Coordinator:

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Services Marketing (previously MKTP08)

“Every business is a service business”   Philip Kotler, Professor of International Marketing, Kellogg School of Management.

Introduction

The size of the service sector is increasing in virtually all countries around the world, and it now accounts for almost two-thirds of the GDP globally. Through this module students can obtain an understanding of the distinctive nature of marketing in service organisations, and can critically assess the development of service marketing theories and their application in this diverse environment.

Objectives

By the end of this course students will be able to:

• Demonstrate an understanding of the unique challenges involved in marketing and managing services.
• Account for and explain the differences between services and goods;
• Understand how these differences influence the practice of services marketing management;
• Discuss the development of services marketing theories.

The management of customer relationships (and the behaviour of service users), which is of critical importance to organisations of all types and sizes, is a key area of focus in this module.  The measurement and assessment of service quality, both by the provider and by the user, is also studied. 

Division: MKT

Coordinator: Christine Tayor

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Social Marketing

Marketing is at a cross roads. Some are asking whether powerful tools, such as branding and segmentation, can be used to promote socially desirable goals. If billboards have sold cigarettes to generations of children, can they be used with equal success to encourage non-smoking? Others are questioning the right of commercial marketers to sell the cigarettes in the first place. These twin notions, of both learning from and scrutinizing commercial marketing, are encapsulated in the concept of social marketing. This course will explain its principles, techniques and potential.

Objectives

The module will examine:

• The theoretical foundations of social marketing
• Social marketing planning, research and communication
• Contextual and relational thinking
• International social marketing
• Ethical issues and criticisms

Division: MKT

Coordinator:

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Contemporary Issues in HRM

This module provides an in depth examination of HRM in particular sectoral contexts. It seeks to provide students with a variety of examples within which theoretical HRM debates are played out. Sectors to be examined include the interactive service sector, creative industries, public sector and the non-profit sector.

Division: SISM

Coordinator:

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Shaping International Business & Policy

Brings socio-economic development issues to life by bridging the theory, the policy and the practice of shaping international business.

Division: SISM

Coordinator:

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Sustainable & International HRM

This module examines the theoretical underpinnings and the practical implications of international approaches to human resource management. It will enable you to analyse the different models of international HRM and the major employment policies of multinational companies, to assess the implications of cross-cultural differences for managing employees and explain the differences and similarities in HRM practices in different countries.

Division: SISM

Coordinator:

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

The HRM Debate

This module analyses the concepts, practices and outcomes of human resource management (HRM) as distinct from personnel management. It assesses the background, assumptions and aims of several HRM models and evaluates them against traditional notions and practices of personnel management in the UK.

Division: SISM

Coordinator: Dr J Hallier

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Retail Strategy

Aim:  The aim of this module is to examine the role of top management in setting the direction of an organisation, and to understand how senior managers in retailing confront strategic issues.

Objectives:  By the end of the module the student will be able to:
Describe how the nature of decision making occurs both in theory and in practice in an organisation, and from this describe the process of strategic management;

• Justify the need for any organisation to develop a corporate strategy for itself;
• Undertake a strategic audit of an industry and a company;
• Specify the key factors for the success of a company;
• Illustrate planning techniques and their applications;
• Identify and evaluate choices open to a company at both corporate and strategic business unit (SBU) levels;
• Assess alternative methods of implementing a strategic plan.

 

Skills

• Independent research and study
• Critical reading and the use of secondary sources
• Written analysis and data presentation
• Oral communication of key concepts and ideas.

Teaching Methods;  This module features extensive use of ‘student centred’ learning. A package of study materials is provided for students to work through in their own time supplemented by lectures and tutorials that will examine key issues. Tutorials will make use of case studies.

Assessment:  50% coursework, 50% examination.

Recommended Reading:  Johnson, G, Scholes, K and Whittington, R (2008). Exploring Corporate Strategy:Text and Cases. 8th edition, London, Prentice Hall. This text is supplemented by articles given as part of the study materials.

Division: MKT

Coordinator: Professor Paul Freathy

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Dissertation

To enable students to apply what they have learned in the taught programme to a topic of their own choice, in a dissertation of up to 10,000 words.

The dissertation is an opportunity to plan and produce a piece of independent research.  The teaching staff give advice on the choice of issue and reading, and each student is allocated a supervisor who will discuss ideas and comment on drafts, but essentially the dissertation is an opportunity to work independently and to use many of the analytical and other skills developed over the programme.

Division: AAF

Coordinator:

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Dissertation

The Master’s degree is awarded on satisfactory completion of a dissertation, following the Diploma examinations. Dissertation topics range over all areas of relevance to investment analysis and allow completion of a case study or research topic dissertation.

Division: AAF

Coordinator:

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Dissertation in International Accounting & Finance

Successful completion of the taught modules leads to the award of a Postgraduate Diploma. The Master’s degree is awarded on, in addition, satisfactory completion of a dissertation. Dissertation topics may be chosen from either accounting or finance.

Division: AAF

Coordinator:

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

IB Dissertation

Successful completion of the taught element of the programme leads to the award of Diploma or allows you to continue for the award of MSc in International Business by completing a 15,000-word dissertation on a topic agreed with the Programme Director.

Division: B&O

Coordinator:

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Management Dissertation

The MSc award requires you to complete a 15,000-word dissertation.

Division: B&O

Coordinator:

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Dissertation in Energy Management

In the summer you complete a dissertation on a topic approved by the Programme Director.

Division: ECN

Coordinator:

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Knowledge Management & Practice

The Knowledge Management and Practice module (to include reflective journal and an individual or group business focused piece of work) will be of utmost benefit to the students and prepare them more fully for the world of work (as this is the path most of them take) as opposed to the world of academia. Consequently, the new module offers 2 pathways towards fulfilling the research practice requirements of the final semester.

1. For those students who are disposed to a career in research/academia, the new module provides a pathway towards a sizeable piece of independent scholarship which leads to the production of an account of knowledge development in the form of a dissertation.

2. For those students disposed towards a career in business, industry and commerce, the new module provides a pathway towards a sizeable piece of group project work which leads to the production of an account of knowledge development in the form of a professional management report.

Both pathways represent a considerable opportunity to test and further develop skills in problem definition, information processing, critical thinking, decision-making, project management, reflective practice and interpretive reporting. The differences between the pathways are those of emphasis, style and form. But the overarching theme of both pathways is that of knowledge management and reflective practice.

Division: MKT

Coordinator:

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Dissertation in Socio-Economic Development

Should essentially reflect your own understanding and knowledge of selected topics learnt during taught courses, as well as your capability to critically position related issues in a socio-economic development framework.

Division: SISM

Coordinator: Dr Silvia Sacchetti

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

HRM Dissertation

Successful completion of the taught element of the programme leads to the award of the Diploma or allows you to continue for the award of the MSc in HRM by completing a 15,000-word dissertation on a topic agreed with the Programme Director.

Division: SISM

Coordinator:

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

MBA Project

This module is the capstone of the MBA programme where the students carry out a significant piece of academic work on their own utilising the skills and knowledge attained throughout the taught elements of the programme. The module culminates in the submission of a report or dissertation which will be achieved through one of the following routes:

• Internship Research Report – this will involve students being embedded in a selected external organisation, carrying out analysis that is relevant and useful to both parties, and that culminates in a written report for the host organisation and for the University. These internships will be awarded on a competitive basis to the best performing students.

• Company-Based Research Dissertation – this will be based on analysis of an organisation, typically on a problem or an issue, that involves interaction with that organisation i.e. visits to collect data.

• Secondary Research Dissertation – this piece of work will be based entirely on secondary data sources.

Students will also complete an online 'reflective practice' log based on their experience of the whole process and what they have learned throughout. 

Division:

Coordinator:

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

The Public Service Manager

Equips you with knowledge about the fundamental principles and practice of management in public service settings, and provides a foundation for subsequent management modules.

Division: B&O

Coordinator: Jenoah Joseph

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

The Political Environment

Gives you an understanding of the political environment in which public services operate and equips you with the necessary skills to respond to this environment.

Division: B&O

Coordinator: Roger Mullin

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Managing People

Develops the skills required to enable managers in the public sector to manage their people more effectively.

Division: B&O

Coordinator: Dave Edgar

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Managing Finance

Introduces the purpose and nature of financial statements and equips you with the understanding and skills necessary to prepare them. The purpose of budgets and their preparation is also considered.

Division: B&O

Coordinator: Steve Renwick

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

The Economic Environment

Considers the role of government, market failures, central versus local government provision of services, public expenditure and its growth, distribution of income and the relief of poverty.

Division: B&O

Coordinator: David King

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Managing Information

Concentrates on the business and management context of information systems and technology. It also considers a number of important issues relating to the management of information systems.

Division: B&O

Coordinator: Dr Peter Flett

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Marketing & Public Relations

Aims to develop your understanding of the applications of marketing ideas and techniques within a public service context.

Division: B&O

Coordinator: Dr Andrew McAuley

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Decision Support Systems

Modern organisations generate large quantities of data.  The challenge is to use the data to provide insights and improve the understanding of decision makers.  This module introduces students to the use of decision support systems.  It emphasises the use of the PC software and a variety of models to develop the understanding of the key factors and their inter-relationships necessary in effective decision making.  While decision support systems make use of much quantitative data, it is also important to appreciate the need to consider the perspectives of the different parties; some structured approaches to ensuring the effective involvement of all stakeholders are examined.

Division: B&O

Coordinator: Professor Rob Ball

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Strategic Planning in the Public Service

Introduces the role of strategic management in public service organisations, and enables you to use essential strategic management techniques.

Division: B&O

Coordinator: Dr Tom Forbes

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Strategic Financial Analysis

Introduces you to the role of financial and business planning in the strategic planning process and identifies the main sources of finance available to public service organisations.

Division: B&O

Coordinator: Steve Renwick

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Research Methods & Dissertation Planning

Aims to introduce you to research methods for managers and also explores how these methods are used in practice. The module covers essential qualitative and quantitative research techniques as well as issues associated with topic selection, access and data collection.

Division: B&O

Coordinator: Dr Tom Forbes

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Managing Change in the Public Sector

Covers the issues and difficulties associated with managing change in complex public service environments.

Division: B&O

Coordinator: Roger Mullin

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Managing Risk

Based on recent experience of projects across the public sector, the module will focus on, defining risk management and linking risk management to strategic and operational management.  Highlighting the main push and pull factors associated with managing risk effectively.  Developing and reviewing a risk management strategy in the public sector and applying a systematic approach to identifying and managing risk (to support strategy implementation).

Division: B&O

Coordinator: Judith Allison

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Dissertation

This involves carrying out an independent investigation into a management problem or policy issues which are often of direct relevance to the needs of the student's employer.  The objectives of the project is to give students experience of applying the knowledge and techniques learned in the programme in a practical situation.  Seminars will be provided on approaches to carrying out the project, and students will be required to produce a dissertation of a maximum of 20,000 words.

Students will be supervised by a member of academic staff who will provide assistance in defining the research project, turning it into a manageable piece of work and to help keep progress satisfactory.

Regular seminars giving students the opportunity to discuss progress with staff and other students will be held during the dissertation period.

Division: B&O

Coordinator:

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Contemporary Issues in Public Policy & Management

Public service organisations do not exist in a vacuum.  They are part of a complex and ever changing policy and service environment, involving a wide range of actors, agencies and relationships.  Consequently, public services are constantly undergoing change and are continually the subject of reform programmes and service developments.

This module seeks to examine a selection of such developments and to explore the extent to which these issues are challenging the way services have traditionally been managed and delivered.  During the course of this module students will examine a number of ‘contemporary issues’ which are affecting the management and delivery of modern public services and policy.  Issues explored include; e-government, efficient government, sustainability, Single Outcome Agreements, data protection and information sharing, and issues associated with international comparative public management.  Each of these issues is explored in detail and each offers the possibility of deep-rooted and radical reform.  For this reason it is essential that students have an understanding of how these issues relate to public services generally and to their service organisations specifically. 

Division: B&O

Coordinator: Dr William Webster

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Managing Partnerships

An entire module devoted to partnership working was delivered on the MBA (PSM) programme for the first time in Spring 2009.  This is because partnership working has become increasing important to the delivery of Public Services and it is likely that most Public Service Managers will be involved in partnership working during some part of their career.

Partnership working has developed partly because of the desire of the public services to tackle “wicked” issues such as deprivation and social care.  The current government regards the use of partnerships as a viable way to deliver services and in many cases superior to the use of hierarchies or markets.

Division: B&O

Coordinator: Professor Rob Ball

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Managing Service Quality

The aim of this module is to provide students with an insight into Quality Management. Students who complete the module should gain an understanding of Quality and the challenges of the Public Sector.  The Cost of Quality and the need to recognise the cost of non-conformance, both from a financial and from a customer/consumer confidence point of view.  Customer Service – what does it mean in a Public Service context with specific reference to the benefits of adopting a customer focus and the challenges of ensuring Continuous Improvement.

Division: B&O

Coordinator: Christine Taylor

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Managing Projects

During the module we shall look at particular kinds of partnerships in detail; this will include partnerships involving Community Safety, Community Planning, PFI/PPPs and Social Care.  There is also a tendency to regard partnership working as a ‘good thing.’ Thus partnership evaluation techniques will be presented.  

Managing Partnerships differ from managing a single organisation and we shall discuss types of skills needed for effective partnership management.  Seminars will cover a range of topics and give students the opportunity to reflect on practice.

Division: B&O

Coordinator:

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Managing the Strategic Environment

AIM

The aim of this module is to examine the role that senior management play in setting the direction of an organisation. It offers students the opportunity to examine the strategic issues and problems confronting companies in the retail sector. The issues and problems are by nature unstructured and complex. Their resolution often involves making decisions based upon imperfect and limited information. This module provides a framework for managers to help overcome these difficulties.

OBJECTIVES

By the end of the module students will be able to:

• describe how the nature of decision making occurs both in theory and in practice in an organisation, and from this describe the process of strategic management;
• justify the need for any organisation to develop a corporate strategy for itself;
• explain what is meant by the planning process and specify the stages of that process;
• undertake a strategic audit of an industry and company, specifying the key factors for the success of a company;
• identify and evaluate the potential choice open to a company at both the corporate and strategic business unit (SBU) levels;
• understand the process by which a strategy is implemented and highlight the role of implementation within the overall process of strategic management.

TOPICS

Subjects covered in the module include:

• the development of mission statements and their role in strategic planning;
  
• goal setting and the importance of quantifiable objectives;
• analysing the internal and external environments;
  
• corporate growth strategies;
  
• financial and non-financial control strategies. 

ASSESSMENT

The assessment is coursework 50%, examination 50%. 

Division: IRS

Coordinator:

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Retail Management Context

This module is to examine the principles of retailing in terms of their function and roles within the channel of distribution. It will examine alternative models of change in retailing and the forces which influence change.

OBJECTIVES

By the end of the module students will be able to: understand the key influences on retail change in the social and business environment; describe the theories and models of institutional change in retailing; explain the functional relationships and power relationships between participants in channels of distribution;  identify the management and market structure factors which influence channel form and behaviour; consider the key characteristics of retailing and wholesaling and the mechanisms of change.

TOPICS

Subjects covered in the module include:  definitions of environmental change, complexity and turbulence;  the interaction between retailing and the human, business and legal environment;  environmental, cyclical and conflict based models of institutional change;  the implications of change on organisational form, selling technique and location; changing distribution channel definitions, roles and behaviour.

ASSESSMENT

The assessment is coursework 50%, examination 50%. 

Division: IRS

Coordinator:

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Managing the Supply Chain

To give students an understanding of the importance of supply chain management to retail businesses.

OBJECTIVES

By the end of the module students will be able to: 

• evaluate the role of supply chain management in company’s retail strategies;
• discuss the importance of channel relationships upon logistical networks;  understand the changing role of buying in retail organisations;  
• highlight the challenges facing logistic managers in sourcing and distributing products into different international markets;  
• identify the role of storage, inventory, materials, handling and transportation in business operations;  
• identify future trends in supply chain management.
  

TOPICS

• Subjects covered in the module include:  evolution of the logistics and supply chain concept and its applicability to the retail sector;
  
• relationships in the supply chain - efficient consumer response (ECR) and its implementation; category management and the buying function;
  
• retail logistics - international comparisons; 
  
• trade-off analysis in the logistics mix; 
  
• potential impact of environmental and technological factors upon supply chain management.
  

ASSESSMENT

The assessment is coursework 50%, examination 50%.

Division: IRS

Coordinator:

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Managing Finance

This module aims to introduce the three financial disciplines of financial accounting, management accounting and financial management.

OBJECTIVES

• By the end of the module students will be able to:
• identify the key influences on the financial reporting of companies; understand the differences and inter-relationships between the main annual financial statements;  
• critically evaluate a companies performance based on their published financial statements;
• prepare forecast budgets and prepare reports on differences between budgeting figures and actual figures;
• understand the role of the financial manager within the business.
  

TOPICS

• Subjects covered in the module include; the balance sheets, profit and loss account and funds flow statements;
• ratio analysis;
• budget preparation;
• variance analysis;
• basic investment appraisal and portfolio theory;
• financial instruments and the capital markets.

ASSESSMENT

The assessment is coursework 50%, examination 50%.

Division: IRS

Coordinator:

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Managing People

This module provides a strategic overview of managing people within the retail industry. It examines the context of HRM decision making in terms of the employment structure in retailing, and outlines some of the processes and techniques required by managers for the effective management of the workforce.

OBJECTIVES

By the end of the module students will be able to:

• describe and analyse the changing structure of employment within the retail sector;
• critically analyse their own skills and techniques to help maximise personal effectiveness as a good manager;
• understand the key skills and competencies required to manage and develop the potential of employees to the mutual benefit of the employee and employer in support of the organisation’s overall business objectives;
• analyse the methods used to develop the attitudes, knowledge and skills of employees;
• understand the factors which motivate people at work and the management strategies which may be utilised to enhance work performance; identify the nature and process of communication and conflict in the context of people influencing one another.

TOPICS

Subjects covered in the module include:

• characteristics and composition of retail employment;
• management styles;
• leadership; training and development; performance appraisal;
• motivation;  
• methods of communication.
  

ASSESSMENT

The assessment is coursework 50%, examination 50%. 

Division: IRS

Coordinator:

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Retail Marketing

This module aims to define the role of marketing within retail organisations. It explains what it means for a company to be marketing-led and emphasises the need to integrate marketing policy with business strategy.

OBJECTIVES

By the end of the module students will be able to:

• understand the relevance of marketing to retail organisations;
• understand the need to create and develop customer-related values;
• describe the principles that lie behind the development of marketing strategy;
• consider the use of information by retail companies and the relevance of direct marketing principles to their operations;
• explain the principles necessary for the successful communication of values to customers;
• understand the means of delivering values to customers and using these means to increase customer-related values.

TOPICS

Subjects covered in the module include the:  

• importance of the marketing function to organisations; 
  
• marketing exchange process; measures of the effectiveness of an
• organisation’s marketing programmes;
  
• issues surrounding the implementation of marketing strategies.
  

ASSESSMENT

The assessment is coursework 100%.

Division: IRS

Coordinator:

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Locational Strategy (Advanced)

The aim of this module is to provide a strategic view of store location and design and explain how locational analysis and property development are undertaken. It will illustrate the importance of store planning and design to operational effectiveness.

OBJECTIVES

By the end of the module students will be able to:  

• evaluate critically present and proposed store locations;  
  understand the key issues in store location, store layout and store design; 
  
• evaluate the relative importance of the various factors affecting the property development process in retailing; 
  
• understand the land use planning process as it affects retailing; 
  
• evaluate the effectiveness of a store design; 
  
• appreciate how store design interacts with marketing and operational factors within a corporate strategy.
  

TOPICS

Subjects covered in the module include: 

• types and characteristics of retail locations;  
• methods of locational analysis;  
• the role of property development in the retail sector;  
• the principles and practice of land-use planning policy;  
• key factors affecting site utilisation and store planning;  
• the role of the store design function in retailing.

ASSESSMENT

The assessment is coursework 100%.

Division: IRS

Coordinator:

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

International Retailing (Advanced)

The aim of this module is to provide an understanding of the process management of international retailing. This is achieved through analysing the processes and companies involved as well as reviewing major retail areas of the world in a search for the effects of internationalisation.

OBJECTIVES

By the end of the module students will be able to: 

• appreciate the role and meaning of ‘internationalisation’ in a retail context;  analyse and evaluate the key features of retail structures and systems in non-domestic markets;  
• identify the motives for and methods of international market entry; 
  
• understand the different approaches to retail internationalisation of the management implications of these.

TOPICS

Subjects to be covered in the module include: 

• definitions and approaches to retail internationalisation;  
• motives and methods of achieving internationalisation;  
• key factors in comparative retail and distribution systems;  global and multinational approaches to retail internationalisation;  
• the future of international retailing.

ASSESSMENT

The assessment is coursework 60%, examination 40%.

Division: IRS

Coordinator:

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Dissertation

This dissertation is equivalent to four modules out of the total of fourteen for the programme. This is indicative both of the high importance that the programme places on the dissertation and of the time that you should devote to this part of the degree.

The dissertation is an opportunity for you to show that you are able to undertake a research project on an important topic of your choice. We envisage that your dissertation will grow out of the general body of theory and practice as evidenced by coursework which you have undertaken for the MBA in Retailing.

Division: IRS

Coordinator:

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Retail Buying & Merchising

This module aims to give students an overview of the buying and merchandising process and to explain how merchandise decisions within retail organisations are made. Both strategic and operational issues are covered.

OBJECTIVES

By the end of the module students will be able to:  

• describe the context of the buying operation, including how it is structured and the scope of its influence and control; 
  
• explain the strategic and operational issues facing the buying function within retail organisations; 
  
• appreciate the importance of the planning process with regard to buying and understand the financial implications of buying decisions;
  
• understand the network of relationships, both inside and outside the retailer, that are critical to successful buying.
  

TOPICS

Subjects covered in this module include:  

• the buying process and context; the buyer’s role; 
  
• the planning and the merchandise management process;  buying and the store.
  

ASSESSMENT

The assessment is 100% coursework.

Division: IRS

Coordinator:

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Accounting I

This module is the first module on accounting and finance degree programmes and provides the stepping stone for further study of accounting and finance. We look at different organisation types from sole traders to partnerships and limited companies and examine their legal, tax and accounting characteristics. You will learn basic double-entry bookkeeping and use this knowledge to prepare profit and loss accounts and balance sheets. We discuss accounting for stock and fixed assets, two important accounting areas, and the various sources of finance available to businesses. 

By the end of the course, you will apply your knowledge to some basic ratio analysis.

The module assumes no prior knowledge of accounting as a subject and begins with an introduction to the subject, its purpose, role and limitations.

Division: Accounting & Finance

Coordinator: Alan Goodacre

Prerequisites Pass in mathematics at Standard grade, or equivalent.

SCQF Level 8

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Accounting II

This module provides an introduction to management accounting. Management accounting is concerned with providing information to managers, that is people inside an organisation who direct and control its operations. Management accounting provides the essential information which an organisation needs in order to run efficiently.

The focus of this module is in the use of management accounting information in order to help managers in a decision making capacity.

Division: Accounting & Finance

Coordinator: Khaled Hussainey

Prerequisites Pass in mathematics at Standard grade, or equivalent.

SCQF Level 8

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Finance I

his module provides an introduction to the theory and practice of finance. In particular, it provides an understanding of the basic concepts underlying two major areas of corporate finance: the financing decision and the investment decision. It also explores the relationship between investment risk and return and the pricing of assets in financial markets.

Please note that students who wish to train as a chartered accountant with ICAS and seek exemption from the first level (Test of Competence) Finance module need to pass both FIN9F3 and FIN9F4 at a minimum of 2F level, in addition to passing all required modules.

Division: Accounting & Finance

Coordinator: Yulia Veld Merkoulova

Prerequisites ACC9A1 or ECN111

SCQF Level 8

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Finance II

This module provides an introduction to further aspects of the theory and practice of finance. It focuses on the cost of capital; the factors which determine the capital structure and dividend policies of companies; the role of working capital management; the efficient markets hypothesis; and mergers and acquisitions.

Please note that students who wish to train as a chartered accountant with ICAS and seek exemption from the first level (Test of Competence) Finance module need to pass both FIN9F3 and FIN9F4 at a minimum of 2F level, in addition to passing all required modules.

Division: Accounting & Finance

Coordinator: handra Thapa

Prerequisites FIN9F3

SCQF Level 9

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Quantitative Methods for Business Decisions

This module is for students who want an introductory course in statistics and quantitative methods relating to business, or who need such a course to meet professional accounting body requirements.

The focus of this module is the analysis and interpretation of quantitative information. In particular, students will gain an understanding of statistical methods at an introductory level and of mathematical tools for business decision making.

Division: Accounting & Finance

Coordinator: Catherine Howie (Mathematics Department)

Prerequisites ACC9A1 or ACC9A2

SCQF Level 10

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Auditing

The focus is on the external audit of financial statements. The practice of auditing is introduced by examination of its historical roots, its current role in society and the auditor’s duties and responsibilities under legal and professional rules.

Issues such as auditor independence, responsibility for fraud detection and reporting, and auditor liability are explored in some depth. The audit process is covered in some detail from the initial auditor engagement to audit planning and risk assessment, to completion, review and reporting the audit opinion. The module therefore offers a practical as well as a theoretical perspective on auditing.

Division: Accounting & Finance

Coordinator: Professor Ian Fraser

Prerequisites ACC9A4

SCQF Level 10

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Personal Financial Planning

On the one hand we are constantly told that we need to save more, or work longer, in order to provide for our retirement goals. On the other hand we continually hear accounts of hardworking individuals who have done just that only to discover that their pension or mortgage endowment provision falls far short of what they were led to expect by their employer, mortgage advisor or financial planner. This module aims to alert students to the key forces driving the financial services industry and help them to identify the steps that they need to take in order to take control of their finances, hopefully at a stage that is early enough to make a difference.

Students should also study the time value of money chapter in "Corporate Finance" by Ross Westerfield and Jaffe which is the essential text for Finance I and Finance II (FIN9F3 and FIN9F4) respectively.  With respect to time value of money, students should focus on present value, future value and annuities.  Parts of the essential text for the module, Securities and Investments (FIN9FS), are also useful for this course.  Therefore, students who plan to study FIN9FS in the future, may wish to purchase that text in time for their study of Personal Financial Planning.

Division: Accounting & Finance

Coordinator: Dr Issac Tabner

Prerequisites FIN9F3

SCQF Level 10

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Introductory Economics

This module provides a broad introduction to both microeconomics (the operation of individual markets and the behaviour of firms) and macroeconomics (the determination of national income, unemployment, inflation and government policies to control the economy). It covers all the topics required for professional accreditation.

In order to allow study of Economics to a higher level if desired, it includes all the topics that are essential prerequisites for the intermediate level modules ECN113 and ECN212. As compared with ECN111 Introductory Microeconomics and ECN112 Introductory Macroeconomics, these topics are covered in less detail. Other topics in ECN111 and ECN112 that are not essential for an understanding of later modules are omitted. In view of the overlap with ECN111 and ECN112, this module cannot be counted towards degree requirements with either ECN111 or ECN112. In view of the briefer coverage of the main topics, a grade 2C or better is required in this module in order to progress to other Economics modules.

This module is compulsory for all BAcc programmes except BAcc with Economics and is not open to students on other programmes except with special permission.

Module Learning Objectives

Knowledge and understanding of

• Key concepts of microeconomics
  
• The economic problem of scarcity
  
• Supply and demand, elasticity of demand
  
• Costs, revenue and profit maximisation
  
• Theories of the firm: perfect competition, monopolistic competition, monopoly
  
• Comparative advantage
  
• Key concepts of macroeconomics
  
• National Income measurement
  
• National Income determination
  
• The causes of unemployment and inflation
  
• Government policy to control unemployment and inflation
  

Division: Accounting & Finance

Coordinator:

Prerequisites Rigistration for a B.Acc degree

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

External Reporting

Effective financial reporting is vital to investors and to company stakeholders. Recent crises [e.g. Enron, WorldCom, Parmalat] have highlighted the importance of confidence in financial reporting to international capital markets.This module considers both the theory and practice of external reporting.

We commence with three weeks on basic bookkeeping and financial statement preparation; this leads on to a consideration of the UK, and basic international, regulatory requirements for external reporting. Critical balance sheet areas are then examined in depth including the highly contentious area of financial instruments. This is followed by a study of the theory and practice of cash flow statements.

The traditional historic cost accounting model has been the subject of much criticism so in the concluding weeks of the course we look at alternative ways of measuring income and value before concluding with a look at the need for accounting to develop an accepted conceptual framework.

Division: Accounting & Finance

Coordinator: Sarah Smith

Prerequisites ACC9A1 and ACC9A2

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Advanced Financial Accounting

Financial Reporting is rapidly adopting an international perspective and knowledge of international accounting standards is vital to the aspiring financial manager or controller in multi-national companies.This module is firmly grounded in international generally accepted accounting principles.

Most multi-nationals are multi company entities and debates about the value and appropriateness of different ways of accounting for business combinations continues unabated in a business world often obsessed with mergers and acquisitions.

A significant part of the course is therefore concerned with the theory and practice of consolidated financial statements. The remainder then considers some of the most important and contentious international accounting standards. Accounting for leases can be a recipe for businesses more concerned with cosmetics than portraying reality and so a firm grasp of the issues here is vital.

Companies’ most important assets, in twenty-first century knowledge economies, are no longer plant and machinery but intangibles so these assets receive our critical attention in the course. Other international standards studied include these on foreign currency translation and deferred taxation.

Division: Accounting & Finance

Coordinator: Ian Fraser

Prerequisites ACC9A4

SCQF Level 10

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Accounting Information and Employment

To facilitate future employment in an accounting / business setting. This module aims to provide knowledge of advanced double entry book-keeping skills. In light of the current economic conditions it is important to have an awareness of how to prevent and detect errors, deliberate or otherwise, within an accounting information system designed around double entry book-keeping.

A further aim is to provide an understanding of some of these controls and concepts and to develop the double-entry book-keeping skills by introducing an accounting information system incorporating appropriate controls. It promotes an awareness of ethics, of employability skills and develops computer skills in spreadsheets and accounting packages.

Division: Accounting & Finance

Coordinator: Alisdair Dobie

Prerequisites ACC9A$

SCQF Level 10

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Taxation

This module provides an introduction to the taxation of income and gains in the UK together with an introduction to personal financial planning and the taxation of investments.  It also covers the basic law of trusts.

The main focus of the module is upon the rules applying to determine what is and what is not taxable and how income and gains are measured for tax purposes. There is a particular emphasis on businesses and the computation of tax liabilities of individuals. The administrative system and the operation of the self-assessment is also covered.

Division: Accounting & Finance

Coordinator: Professor D Stopforth

Prerequisites ACC9A1 or LAW9L5

SCQF Level 9

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Applied Management Accounting

The role of management accounting is to measure, analyse and report information that is required for planning, control and decision making within the business. This module provides the essential development of management accounting concepts into a practical understanding of business cost behaviour.

This module builds on the foundations laid in the introductory Accounting course (ACC9A2), and focuses on the issues that arise when the basic theories of management accounting are applied to business data. We examine techniques like variance analysis, target costing, regression modelling of indirect costs and linear programming with the intention of understanding why they are used, as well as how they work.

Division: Accounting & Finance

Coordinator: Bill Collins

Prerequisites ACC9A2; FIN9F3; ACC9A5 and FIN9QA

SCQF Level 10

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Research Methods

This module will help with the preparation for the dissertation.  During the course of the module some guidance will be given on what is involved in planning and researching a dissertation.  It will deal with areas such as how to conduct and plan a literature review; data collection methods and how to produce a topic analysis.

Division: Accounting & Finance

Coordinator: Dr Alan Goodacre

Prerequisites Completion of third year Honours programme

SCQF Level 10

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Accounting Dissertation

The accounting dissertation will give you the opportunity to research and write in an area which you find of particular interest. As such it will enhance your communication skills, particularly your writing skills. It will also enable you to improve you time management and self learning skills. You will be able to choose your topic from any area of the curriculum.  

Previous dissertation topics have included:

• Women’s progress in accounting
  
• Accounting and auditing standards
  
• Corporate governance following the collapse of Enron
  
• Internal controls within an organisation and their behavioural impact
• Justification of non-audit services
  
• Corporate fraud
  
• Training of accountants
  
• Performance reporting by Charities 

Division: Accounting & Finance

Coordinator: Bill Collins

Prerequisites ACC9DD

SCQF Level 10

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Mergers and Aquisitions

This module examines the motives for, and consequences of, merger and acquisition (M&A) activity against the background of corporate finance theory and practice. It will also entail an examination of other corporate restructuring activities, including spin-offs, carve-outs and sell-offs.

Module Learning Objectives

• A familiarity with the different types of corporate restructuring, including M&A
• An understanding of the justifications for and motives behind M&A activity
• An ability to apply various M&A valuation techniques
• An awareness of financing mechanisms for M&A
• An understanding of strategies and tactics employed in the takeover process by bidders and targets
• An understanding of the reasons for, routes to and success of divestment activities

Division: Accounting & Finance

Coordinator:

SCQF Level 10

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

International Finance

This module provides an understanding of the key areas of finance within an international environment. It focuses on the operation of the foreign exchange market; the relationship between exchange rates, interest rates and inflation rates; the impact of EMU and the euro; the nature of foreign exchange risk and its management; the use of the main derivative products in international finance; international portfolio diversification and the financing of overseas projects; and country risk analysis.

Division: Accounting & Finance

Coordinator: Patrick Herbst

Prerequisites FIN9F4

SCQF Level 10

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Securities and Investments

Securities and Investments (Investment Management) builds upon the material covered in Finance I and Finance II.  However, it looks at financial markets from the point of view of an investor, rather than an issuer of securities. 

The aim is to provide an overview of the main types of securities traded on the World’s capital markets including equities, derivatives and bonds.  Popular investment strategies are examined including an introduction to short selling. 

The importance of benchmark indexes and robust performance measurement techniques for evaluating the performance of investment managers are also demonstrated. 

Students are given the chance to grapple with the key issues facing the investment industry in a written group assignment and presentation.  Tutorial and self study exercises draw on material in the Chartered Financial Analyst® (CFA®) candidate curriculum giving students an opportunity to sample professional examination questions. 

The different career opportunities available in Finance and Investment are identified throughout the course.

Division: Accounting & Finance

Coordinator: Isaac Tabner

Prerequisites FIN9FS

SCQF Level 10

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Financial Startement Analysis

This module will enable students to develop skills in the interpretation and use of financial statements.  For example, to aid in the decision as to whether to buy, hold, or sell a particular firm’s stock.  It focuses on company valuation. It includes a project in which a group of students work together to write, and present, an investment analysis report on a UK quoted company based on the company financial statements and other publicly-available information.

The module will benefit students who are interested in pursuing careers in the city, or as accountants or consultants.

Division: Accounting & Finance

Coordinator: Isaac Tabner

Prerequisites ACC9A4 or FIN9F4

SCQF Level 10

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Introductory Microeconomics

To provide an introduction to Economics focusing on the distinction between microeconomics and macroeconomics and the underlying economic problem of scarcity.

To provide an introduction to microeconomics: the factors that determine the prices and the quantities that are traded in markets of different types, and how governments can influence prices and quantities.

Division: Economics

Coordinator:

Prerequisites Basic mathematics- Not open to students who have passed ECN115

Knowledge and understanding of

• the economic problem of scarcity and the concept of opportunity cost;
  
• the production possibility frontier;
  
• how prices are determined by supply and demand;
  
• the concept of market equilibrium;
  
• the causes and effects of changes in supply and demand;
  
• the elasticities of supply and demand;
  
• the different categories of costs;
  
• the importance of marginal valuations;
  
• the short-run pricing and output decisions of firms;
  
• how monopoly compares with competition;
  
• factor markets and the reasons why returns to factors vary.

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Introductory Macroeconomics

To provide an introduction to the concepts, theories and models of the economy which are the foundation blocks of macroeconomics.

To make possible informed discussion of how the macroeconomy functions and the main fiscal and monetary policy options.

Division: Economics

Coordinator:

Prerequisites Basic mathematics

• what the key issues in macroeconomics are;
• the measurement of National Income, inflation and economic welfare;
• the nature and determinants of economic growth;
• unemployment;
• inflation;
• how financial markets work;
• the determination of interest rates;
• the Keynesian income-expenditure model and the concept of the multiplier;
• the aggregate demand/aggregate supply model;
• fiscal policy, in theory and in UK practice;
• the definition of money, the operations of banks and other financial intermediaries;
• the role of the central bank, money supply and demand, and monetary policy in theory and in UK practice;
• the potential benefits and cost of a currency union. 

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Intermediate Microeconomics

This module builds on the introductory module in microeconomics. It presents a more formal treatment of the foundations of microeconomic theory, with the aim of providing a deeper insight into the nature of economic theorising, introducing key results and methods of analysis that will be developed in later economics modules and providing a preview of the issues discussed in these modules. 

Division: Economics

Coordinator:

Prerequisites ECN111

Knowledge and understanding of

• the assumptions of consumer choice theory relating to preferences and constraints on choice;
  
• derivation of the main results about demand;
  
• the application of consumer choice theory to payments in kind, subsidies and lump-sum benefits;
  
• consumer welfare – measures of welfare and cost-benefit analysis;
• labour supply;
  
• capital supply;
  
• the theory of costs and production;
  
• the long-run theory of perfect competition, monopolistic competition and monopoly;
  
• the behaviour of oligopolistic markets.

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Intermediate Macroeconomics

This module builds on the introductory module in macroeconomics. It presents a more formal treatment of the foundations of macroeconomic theory and policy, with the aim of providing a deeper understanding of how the macro-economy operates.

Students will be introduced to business cycle measurements and facts.

Division: Economics

Coordinator:

Prerequisites ECN112

Knowledge and understanding of

• stylized macroeconomic facts ;
  
• income and wealth accounting;
  
• the classical approach to aggregate demand and supply;
  
• New-Keynesian theory of aggregate supply;
  
• the IS-LM model of income and interest rate determination;
  
• the trade off between inflation and unemployment;
  
• demand and supply of money.

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Introduction to Quantitative Techniques for Economics

To provide an introduction to the basic mathematics and statistics needed for a full understanding of the economics covered in later modules. The module is designed to be of benefit both to those with little previous mathematical training and to those who are already proficient. It aims to make the concepts easier to grasp by concentrating throughout on economic applications.

Division: Economics

Coordinator:

Prerequisites ECN112 and ECN211

Knowledge and understanding of

• the mathematical treatment of the economic problem of optimisation subject to a constraint - elementary algebra;
  
• the concept of a derivative and a partial derivative;
  
• rules for calculating derivatives;
  
• simple optimisation and constrained optimisation;
  
• the economic application of the mathematical techniques covered.
  
• the econometric estimation of a relationship between two economic variables -
  
• the principles and difficulties of collecting data by sample surveys;
• methods of summarising and representing data, including frequency distributions, measures of location and dispersion and index numbers;
  
• the basic concepts of probability theory;
  
• the key concepts of statistical inference - point estimation, interval estimation and hypothesis testing;
  
• the method of least squares;
  
• the economic application of the statistical techniques covered. 

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Advanced Microeconomics

To introduce major new topics in microeconomics including general equilibrium, welfare economics and game theory.

To extend understanding of the applications of microeconomics. 

Division: Economics

Coordinator:

Prerequisites ECN211

Knowledge and understanding of

• choice and rationality;
  
• general equilibrium;
  
• efficiency in consumption and production;
  
• the pure exchange model;
  
• individual welfare changes;
  
• trading at false prices;
  
• Pareto optimality;
  
• market failure, property rights and public goods;
  
• game theory.

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Advanced Macroeconomics

To extend the analysis of ECN212 to a dynamic context, focusing in particular on the analysis of the process of economic growth, reviewing alternative approaches with a view to attaining a greater understanding of the diverse experience of different economies, and suggesting policy implications.

To extend the IS-LM and AS-AD model to an open economy context, enabling analysis of exchange rate determination, monetary and fiscal policy in an open economy, and the implications of alternative exchange rate regimes.

In contrast to the static analysis conducted in ECN212, the importance of dynamic analysis in modern macroeconomic theory will be explored, by employing an inter-temporal framework to analyse the government budget, economic growth and monetary and fiscal policy. 

Division: Economics

Coordinator:

Prerequisites ECN211 and ECN212

Knowledge and understanding of

• the factors which can explain international differences in income levels and rates of economic growth;
  
• alternative theories of economic growth;
  
• policies designed to increase the rate of economic growth;
  
• the design and implementation of monetary policy in theory and practice;
  
• the government budget – deficits/surpluses and debt;
  
• the design and implementation of fiscal policy in theory and practice;
  
• alternative macroeconomic models of the open economy;
  
• the determinants of both real and nominal exchange rates;
  
• alternative exchange rate regimes;
  
• currency crises.

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Using Economic Data

Many Economics graduates and employers report that skills in data analysis are among the most important and regularly used of the skills needed by economists working in industry, government and commerce. This module aims to develop these skills. As well as being valued in the workplace, they are valuable as an aid to understanding the applied economics literature, to writing dissertations, and as a preparation for postgraduate training in Economics.

The module aims first to develop skills in the use of computer spreadsheet software for the analysis of economic data and an understanding of the main statistical technique used, multiple regression; and then to discuss the application of the analysis to some areas of applied economics. The latter will develop skill in two sorts of work: the critical appraisal of applied econometric results and original applied work involving formulation of an economic model, data gathering and statistical estimation.

Division: Economics

Coordinator:

Prerequisites ECN213

Knowledge and understanding of

• extension of the method of least squares introduced in ECN213 to handle estimation of relationships between many variables;
  
• the problems of econometric estimation, their causes, diagnosis and solutions;
  
• the use of computers for least-squares estimation;
  
• the application of econometrics to the study of major areas of economics.

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Economic Policy in Britain and Europe

To discuss issues of topical policy interest relating to Britain and Europe. Emphasis is placed on developing communication skills that will be useful both in dissertations and when going for job interviews.

Division: Economics

Coordinator:

Prerequisites ECN311 or ECN312

Knowledge and understanding of

• the current state of the British economy;
  
• fiscal and monetary issues of current concern in the UK;
  
• pension funding;
  
• the housing market;
  
• the private finance initiative;
  
• economic problems of the Credit Crunch;
  
• costs and benefits associated with a Monetary Union, endogeneity of Optimal Currency Area;
  
• major economic issues of the European Monetary Union Community - fiscal policy, monetary policy;
  
• analysis of the financial markets in the Euro Area. 

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Dissertation in Economics

The dissertation provides an opportunity to develop the skills required for independent research. It involves the development, analysis and presentation of a small piece of independent research, under the supervision of a member of the Economics staff. There is a wide range of possible topics. Potential supervisors advertise the broad areas in which they have a specialist interest. Students choose an area that interests them and decide on a specific topic in discussion with the supervisor.

Division: Economics

Coordinator:

Prerequisites ECN414 and ECN313

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Dissertation in Money and Banking

The dissertation provides an opportunity to develop the skills required for independent research. It involves the development, analysis and presentation of a small piece of independent research, under the supervision of a member of the Economics staff. There is a wide range of possible topics. Potential supervisors advertise the broad areas in which they have a specialist interest. Students choose an area of money and banking that interests them and decide on a specific topic in discussion with the supervisor.

Division: Economics

Coordinator:

Prerequisites ECN414 or ECN313

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Marketing Decisions

This double-weighted core module is designed to build upon the work of the previous six semesters and to prepare you for the final semester to follow.  Specific preparation for your final semester will involve a programme of lectures to guide formulation of your dissertation research proposal and will be delivered as an integral but discrete and free-standing part of M7.  (Full details of this dissertation component are provided in a supplementary MKT9M8 Marketing Dissertation handout and WebCT.)   This integration has been designed to lay a solid foundation in both group and individual research skills that should also promote the prospects of your future career using marketing. 

The M7 module has been deliberately designed to be different, demanding and to be especially enjoyable too.  You should exit the completed module with a noticeably different and improved skills set and knowledge base which will further shape your existing USPs.  But to get all this, your full and complete commitment, right from the very start, to both the individual and group components of the module is vital.

Division:

Coordinator: Professor James A Young

Prerequisites

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Retail Operations

The aim of this module is to provide an overview of the key elements – impacting on and affecting consumers – that are relevant when successfully formulating and managing retail operations. 

Division: Institute for Retail Marketing

Coordinator: Eric Calderwood

Prerequisites RMK9R4

The objectives of this module are to enable students to:

• identify and assess the key issues associated with customer service in a retail environment;
  
• explain the principles of retail design/ merchandising;
  
• review how retailers can use technology within their operational environments;
• appreciate the key issues associated with the effective control and management of stock;
• understand the background factors and consequent tactics associated with retail pricing;
• evaluate the key drivers of effective financial management/sales performance within a retailing outlet;
• appreciate the scale of retail crime and the measures deployed to ensure retail security;
• understand how the different elements of retail operations contribute to a retailer’s productivity and efficiency.

SCQF Level 10

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Marketing Strategy

The aim of this module is to provide you with a comprehensive and critical understanding of the processes, content and context of marketing strategy.  In many respects, this module differs from many conventional marketing management courses which often synonymise strategy with ‘planning’ or particular configurations of the (infamous) ‘4Ps’. Such approaches tend to oversimplify and generalise the uncertainties, tensions and complexities in which marketing decisions are actually ‘made’ within organisations – and, we argue, offer little long-term value to students.  

In this module we emphasise much more of an ‘integrated’ approach to the closely related yet separate topics of marketing strategy, marketing organisation, and marketing planning and control, drawing on recent theoretical developments and empirical evidence in marketing as well as corporate and business strategy research.   The treatment given to these topics and the methods of learning employed will provide the basis for integration – however, it is up to you to "close the loop".  This involves you critically examining what you learn and its practical application. The skills of analysis, creativity and evaluation as well as the more practical skills of communication will also be practised in preparation for future courses and, ultimately, your re-entry into the "real world". 

On successful completion of this module you will have further developed your:

• Analytical skills: apply a disciplined, and theoretically informed, approach to the analysis of various complex marketing problems and their resolution;
• Integrative skills: the ability to conceptualise and analyse the key dimensions of marketing strategy, organisation, and planning and control and to put these skills into practise (through case study analysis);
• Discussion and negotiation skills: reinforcing knowledge and understanding by exploring ideas and suggesting ways of resolving the issues through both individual study and group work;
• Planning and time management skills: through the division of work between team members and the efficient planning of tasks to allow both personal and team objectives to be met;
• Presentation skills: opportunities will be provided for individuals and teams to practise putting forward their reasoned arguments in both verbal and written forms;
• Reflexive skills: evaluating the processes and outcomes of learning, identifying individual and group strengths and weaknesses to enable future successes.

 

Division: Retail Marketing & Marketing

Coordinator: Markus Thompson

Prerequisites 45R4

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Marketing Communications

This module is designed to develop students’ knowledge and skills in managing the processes of informing and persuading customers through planned marketing communication programmes.

 "Knowledge based objectives will enable students to:

• Understand the processes of marketing communications and their relationship to marketing objectives and strategies in contemporary society.
• Be critical of the culture of advertising and the use of the mass media to inform and persuade markets.
• Define and describe the roles of specific marketing communication practices in achieving marketing objectives.

Division:

Coordinator: Dr Julie Tinson

Prerequisites

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Marketing Decisions (Cont)

This double-weighted core module is designed to build upon the work of the previous six semesters and to prepare you for the final semester to follow.  Specific preparation for your final semester will involve a programme of lectures to guide formulation of your dissertation research proposal and will be delivered as an integral but discrete and free-standing part of M7.  (Full details of this dissertation component are provided in a supplementary MKT9M8 Marketing Dissertation handout and WebCT.)   This integration has been designed to lay a solid foundation in both group and individual research skills that should also promote the prospects of your future career using marketing. 

The M7 module has been deliberately designed to be different, demanding and to be especially enjoyable too.  You should exit the completed module with a noticeably different and improved skills set and knowledge base which will further shape your existing USPs.  But to get all this, your full and complete commitment, right from the very start, to both the individual and group components of the module is vital.

Division:

Coordinator: Professor James A Young

Prerequisites RMK9R4

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Introduction to Marketing

Introduction to Marketing aims to give students a basic understanding of what Marketing is, how it can be used and how a Marketing approach can be implemented and managed in a range of situations and organisations.

Division:

Coordinator: Ian Fillis

On completion of this module students will be able to:

• describe the nature, content and application of marketing ideas and concepts;
• apply a customer focus in a range of situations;
• specify the requirements for effective marketing;
• outline the marketing management process and describe a range of techniques used to implement marketing strategies;
• demonstrate the importance of marketing ideas and techniques in a range of organisations.

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Understanding Consumers

The aim of this module is to provide students with the opportunity to develop a theoretical understanding of consumer behaviour in conjunction with the skills to apply this knowledge to practical marketing situations.  We also aim to develop your critical reading and writing skills.

Division: Business & Marketing

Coordinator: Dr Julie Tinson

Prerequisites

Pre-requisities   MKT9M4

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Marketing Research

The Module introduces you to marketing research and demonstrates its fundamental importance in making appropriate business decisions.  It provides an understanding of what are data; and how they are captured, collected and analysed.  It outlines how research is designed both for the purpose of commercial research and for undertaking academic research in marketing.

Division: Business & Marketing

Coordinator: Adelina Broadbridge

Prerequisites MKT9M4

 

After completing the Module you should be able to:

• understand the nature and scope of marketing research and its importance in making business decisions;
• distinguish between the different types of data that arise from the research process;
• appreciate how variables are measured;
• understand the techniques for data capture: questionnaires, diaries, recording devices;
• design questionnaires and diaries;
• select techniques of data collection that are appropriate to the problems, issues or opportunities that are the focus of the research;
• know when sampling is needed and how samples may be designed to maximise efficiency;
• analyse data, both qualitative and quantitative;

SCQF Level: 10

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Brands and Branding

The purpose of this module is to provide students with an understanding of brands and branding from a variety of perspectives – psychological, socio-cultural, financial, legal and creative – and how brands are used to create and add value to an organisation’s offerings.  This module will examine the language and vocabulary of branding, explore how the brand function fits with the other functions of an organisation, and underscore how this knowledge can be applied in a managerial context. Students will learn to use their powers of logic and deduction to infer brand and business strategies from an examination of the observable elements of brand expression, and in the process they will explore the vital importance of creativity and emotion in marketing and business. The module will cover the following interrelated themes: i) building successful brands; ii) measuring brand equity, and; iii) designing and implementing brand strategies – drawing on examples of consumer, service, retail and business-to-business brands.

Division: Retail Marketing & Marketing

Coordinator: Dr Jonathan Elms

Prerequisites MKT9M4

 

On successful completion of this module, students will have developed their:

• Analytical skills: applying a disciplined, and theoretically informed, approach to the analysis of brands and branding;
• Integrative skills: conceptualising and analysing the key issues surrounding brands and branding and by putting these skills into practice;
  
• Discussion and negotiation skills: reinforcing knowledge and understanding by exploring ideas and suggesting ways of resolving the issues through both individual study and group work;
  
• Planning and time management skills: through the division of work between team members and the efficient planning of tasks to allow both personal and team objectives to be met;
  
• Presentation skills: opportunities will be provided for individuals and teams to practise putting forward their reasoned arguments in both verbal and written forms;
  
• Reflexive skills: evaluating the processes and outcomes of learning, identifying individual and group strengths and weaknesses to enable future successes.

SCQF Level: 10

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Services Marketing

The service sector is the largest sector of the British economy encompassing areas in both the public and private sectors, such as travel, communication, recreation, and finance.  Marketing techniques are being developed and applied within these competitive environments where there is often a high level of contact with the consumer.  Increasingly these techniques are also of interest to other sectors of the economy as changes in the marketing environment and new technologies mean that virtually all products having an important service level

The module aims to give students an understanding of the distinctive nature of service organisations and of the development of theory and practice of marketing in this diverse environment.

By the end of the module students will be able to:

• describe the special characteristics of service organisations, both public and private;

• explain the role of the consumer in the supply of services;

• account for and explain differences in the application of marketing to service organisations;

• understand the importance of services marketing in all forms of organisations.

Division:

Coordinator: Dr Keri Davies

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

The Firm

As the foundation for the range of degrees offered by Stirling Management School this module concentrates on the firm – mostly profit-making but there is also some consideration of not-for-profit firms as well. The firm is the main source of employment and wealth creation in society. More generally, of course, the firm is the basis of our economy and society and it is important, therefore, to understand why some are successful and grow and why others decline and cease to exist. To answer these questions attention focuses on the firm’s strategy – the choices made by senior managers about products or services, customers, methods of production and delivery, the use of technology and how to manage competitors.

Division: Business & Management

Coordinator: Dr Stewart Butts

By the end of this module, through completion of the coursework assessment and examination, attendance at lectures and participation in tutorials and computer laboratories you will have gained knowledge and understanding of:

• the general decision making process within different types of business organizations,
• common business problems and how these may be diagnosed,
• how basic principles and theories of management can be used to generate potential business solutions,
• the information and data needs for decision making and analysis.
  

Also, you will have developed skills in:

• information gathering and processing,
  
• using case studies to identify and illustrate business problems and solutions,
  
• presenting material in both written scholarly essays and oral presentations,
  
• working effectively as a team,
  
• the use of spreadsheets to describe, graph and model data.
  

SCQF Level 8

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Project Management

All significant human undertakings can be viewed as projects; some have more successful outcomes than others. Project management is essential both to the individual worker planning his own work and the multinational company developing new production facilities for the next century. The first stage is to examine the possible projects, estimating their costs, benefits and risks. The best options are then analysed in more detail: their costs, time schedules and resource implications are all assessed. Alternative project plans are considered and the best plan is implemented. Throughout the project the manager must keep control of the schedule, cost and technical quality to ensure successful completion on time and to budget.

This course introduces various techniques and their application. The first part of the course considers the evaluation and selection of projects, while the second part examines their management. The techniques are illustrated with examples in a variety of industries, including software systems’ developments.

Division: Business & Management

Coordinator:

Prerequisites MAN9N4 or MAN9N5 

• Appreciate the practicalities of project evaluation and management;
• Understand and use techniques for the evaluation, planning and management of projects;
• Examine the issues and problems in being a project manager;
• Experience the use of computer software in project evaluation and management. This will centre on the use of Microsoft Project and Excel

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Management Dissertation

The dissertation is one of the most important parts of your degree at Stirling.  Having completed three years at University you should be in the position to demonstrate your ability to produce an organised piece of research independently. 

Division: Business & Management

Coordinator:

Prerequisites MAN9M7 or combined honours programmes only

• define a problem or topic for study in a Management Science related area;
• identify and use a suitable methodology for conducting the research;
• review relevant academic and management literature and relate this to the topic in question;
• work independently, with guidance from a supervisor;
• understand and report the implications of the research in a dissertation and presentation. 

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Strategic Management

The aims of the module are to provide students with a broad understanding of the nature of strategic management through a comprehensive overview of key theoretical and practical issues on the topic. The module seeks to combine the broad theoretical background of strategic management with practical implications to the way modern organisations are run. A key deliverable of the module is to provide students with tangible strategic analysis, design, and implementation skills that they can readily put into practice.

Division: Business & Management

Coordinator: Dr Tom Forbes

Prerequisites MGT9A3

• To develop students’ ability to think strategically about a given organisation, its business situation, how it can gain sustainable ‘competitive advantage’, and how its strategy can be implemented and executed successfully;
• To learn to understand different industry contexts and different competitive situations, and the strategic implications of these for organisations;
• To build students skills in conducting a strategic analysis of an organisation;
• To enhance students’ ability to effectively communicate the results of their analysis and to provide appropriate recommendations based on their findings.

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Modelling for Management

This course aims to build on the material covered in the introductory Business and Management courses MGT9A1, MGT9A2, and MGT9A3 by developing a basic understanding of Management Science and how some of the most important Management Science models and methods are used in making decisions and managing manufacturing and service operations today.  The course attempts to give precise descriptions of these methods and to illustrate how they have been applied in classic contexts. Modern businesses have vast amounts of data.  Often data are overwhelming and add to the confusion of managers striving to control their organisation.  But a knowledge of a few basic techniques can help you use the data to gain insights into problems and explore possible solutions.

Division: Business & Management

Coordinator: Ms. Gill Mould

Prerequisites MGT9A3

This module combines two linked themes: statistics and modelling. 

Statistics seeks to clarify and summarise numerical data and then make deductions from it.  For example, following an expensive marketing campaign this year’s sales have increased but is this just due to chance or a result of the campaign?  Statistics provides a language for examining uncertainty and distinguishing acceptable business risks from foolhardy gambles.

Modelling for management entails the idea of building and running a model, usually based on a computer package, and examining the effects of changes: a simulation model of a factory production line can be used to experiment with different options, identifying the best approach to eliminating bottlenecks and increasing capacity. 

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Management & the Environment

Managers in both private and public sectors have to be increasingly aware of environmental issues and fully incorporate them into policy and decision making.  This situation has arisen partly because greater recognition of environmental and social problems has resulted in tighter legislation and regulation and enhanced public awareness.

Environmental issues can make managerial decision-making high profile and controversial (e.g. Shell in Nigeria, Macdonald’s etc).  Some companies have used a reputation for environmental awareness (whether deserved or not) as a major marketing issue (e.g. Body Shop, B and Q).  We should also note BP’s attempt to relaunch itself as a green company.

The contribution that businesses may make to sustainable development received considerable media attention in the recent earth-summit in Johannesburg.

Public sector managers are also having to respond to environmental concerns.  All planning application for large developments now have to be accompanied by an environmental impact statements and some local authorities require the environmental consequences of all committee proposals to be spelt out in the appropriate paper.

Managers also need to be aware of environmental issues because of a large and growing market for equipment and services that might facilitate environmental improvement.  This provides a major business opportunity.  It has been estimated that the annual value of this market in the EU alone is around £30 billion per annum.  An example of this is the large European market for Danish wind-power equipment. 

Division: Business & Management

Coordinator: Professor Rob Ball

Prerequisites BUS924 or MAN9N4

The objectives of this unit:

(1)        To develop students’ understanding of sustainable development and its implications for    decision making for managers in business and the public service.

(2)        To enable students to appreciate and use appropriate methods for analysing such issues and sustainability.  These include cost-benefit analysis, use of performance indicators and environmental impact analysis.

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Managing Organisations

Managing Organizations is a core advanced module of the Business Studies and HRM degree programmes and provides a foundation for later advanced units in these degrees. The module is open to all students who have successfully completed MGT9A3, and it offers grounding in contemporary management and organization theory and practice. It is more demanding than earlier non-advanced modules and regular attendance at lectures and tutorials is vital for successful completion. In addition, the teaching contact hours for this module need to be supplemented by extensive private study and external reading focused on the topics covered by the module.

 

Division: Business & Management

Coordinator: Dr R. Guerriero-Wilson

Prerequisites MGT9A3

Managing Organizations aims to develop a broad and constructively critical understanding of management and work organization in advanced industrial societies. This aim is pursued in the following ways:

First, the module shows how ideas have developed in the study of Organizational Behaviour and forms a foundation for the development of practical tools for the analysis and management of organizational situations. Second, it provides students with a systematic and thoughtful understanding of relationships amongst complex organizations, individuals and modern society

SCQF Level 9

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Management and Information Technology

The aim of the course is to promote practical ability and an understanding of the current state of information technology and its uses in business. The course concentrates on the business context of information systems: the management of information systems, how IT has become a strategic resource for management particularly in a corporate context. Case material on specific technologies will be explored which students are expected to make use of in exams.

Students will also develop a range of skills during workshop sessions, where database theory from lectures will be applied to practical exercises. This will include an updating of Excel skills and an introduction to database design and relational databases with Access.

Division: Business & Management

Coordinator: Dr Peter Flett

Prerequisites MGT9A3

• Appreciate the value of information as a resource
• Discuss issues relating to the management of information systems
• Understand how information systems underpin change and strategic improvement
• Appreciate the role of IT as a strategic business resource
• Understand e-commerce business models and strategies based on the Internet and world wide web
• Understand the rudimentary principles behind  database design and management
• Be able to identify the most suitable software for business applications
• Have gained sufficient expertise in Excel and Access to develop applications with the aid of a manual

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Introduction to Human Resource Management

Managing people is essential to all organisational success, and understanding how to select and recruit the right people, how best to train, reward and motivate them, is a critical ability for all managers, not only human resource specialists.  After examining the meaning of work and employment in the twenty first century and looking at the development of HRM in the contemporary organisation, the module will introduce students to the key issues of both theory and HRM practice which arise from the complexities of the employment relationship.

Division: Business & Management

Coordinator:

Prerequisites MGT9A3 or LAWL3

By the end of the course students should understand:

• The meaning of work and employment for the employee and different theoretical approaches to the employment relationship
  
• The historical development of the HRM function
  
• The essential elements of the recruitment process and the basic principles of selection
  
• Ethical and practical issues in the management of diversity
  
• The circumstances and procedures surrounding the termination of employment
  
• The role of collective bargaining in pay determination
  
• The role of trade unions in the organisation in the 21st century
  
• The identification of training needs
  
• The theoretical bases of training approaches and the different methods of training
  
• The role of management development in organisations
  
• Different approaches to the management of performance
  
• The meanings attached to the goal of employee commitment
  
• The role of communication and approaches to employee involvement
• The nature and causes of discontent and industrial action
  
• The role of the State in the wider context of the labour market 

ScQF Level 9

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Business and Organisational Research

The course is essential preparation for the Honours dissertation, and will focus on the know-how required in this research enterprise.  A number of techniques are covered, including research and questionnaire design, interviewing and other methods of data collection, and the analysis of data sets using a computer software package specifically designed to analyse questionnaires (SPSS). The nature of management research, qualitative methods, survey research, and related theoretical issues are also covered.  

We are not aiming to make this purely a ‘research methods’ course. The process of doing research frequently tells us a great deal about the real world of management. The aim therefore is to help you conduct research at the broadest level of manipulating data, understanding research materials and producing reports.

Division: Business & Management

Coordinator: Professor Robin Fincham

The research process and research design Ethics in Research Research approaches in business and management: quantity vs. quality Introduction to quantitative research methods: questionnaires and surveys I Introduction to quantitative research methods: questionnaires and surveys II Sampling in business research Data analysis and presentation I Data analysis and presentation II Report writing and presentation of quantitative research Basic issues in qualitative research Methods of qualitative data collection Qualitative data analysis Case study research Secondary data and e-research Writing up your research

The research process and research design Ethics in Research Research approaches in business and management: quantity vs. quality Introduction to quantitative research methods: questionnaires and surveys I Introduction to quantitative research methods: questionnaires and surveys II Sampling in business research Data analysis and presentation I Data analysis and presentation II Report writing and presentation of quantitative research Basic issues in qualitative research Methods of qualitative data collection Qualitative data analysis Case study research Secondary data and e-research Writing up your research

Prerequisites BUS924

The assessment weighting is coursework (50%) and a two-hour end of semester examination (50%). Coursework consists of an individual project.

SCQF Level 10

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Personnel Management

This module provides a broad overview of the function of personnel management. It examines the range of practices and policies undertaken by a personnel department in different contexts.  The changing role of personnel managers in a competitive business environment is analysed and students are introduced to a variety of practical skills through role plays, discussing people management issues, and analysing case studies.

Division: Business & Management

Coordinator:

Prerequisites HRM9R4

By the end of the course students should understand:

• how personnel management has evolved as a specialist management practice;
• the different activities involving the personnel department;
• the role of employment legislation and its importance to the personnel function;
• the importance of ethics in personnel management and the dilemmas which can arise;
• the use of consultants and their role in Personnel & Development;
• the changing nature of personnel management and the growing interest in new initiatives in the management of people and the organisation of work.

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Industrial Relations

The aim of this course is to introduce students to the British system of industrial relations and the general principles, processes and outcomes of the area of Industrial Relations. The course will consider different theoretical approaches to the study of industrial relations and then examine the role and objectives of trade unions, employers and the state, and the processes and outcomes of their interactions in collective bargaining, employee participation and industrial conflict. The course thus provides a foundation for those students taking Comparative Industrial Relations and Industrial Democracy.

A word of warning. This course is quite different from how other courses are taught. It is therefore essential that you read this handout to understand the nature of the course and what it requires of you.

Division: Business & Management

Coordinator: Dr Scott Hurrell

Prerequisites HRM9R4

SCQF Level 10

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

International Business

International Business is a multi-disciplinary module that considers the macro and micro economic, political and social issues currently affecting the international business community.  The module content is structured within four areas.  The ‘foundation and context’ of international business considers the theoretical aspects of international trade as well as the global and regional institutions that influence or seek to regulate international business.  The process of ‘internationalization’ considers issues faced by individual companies that already conduct their business internationally or are seeking to do so. ‘MNE operations’ introduces the international aspects of some key business concerns—strategy, HRM, marketing. Finally the ‘context of IB’ is an overview of the most economically powerful regions in international business today

Division: Business & Management

Coordinator:

Prerequisites BUS924

• to familiarise students with the key theories and ideas in the field of IB;
• to begin to develop understanding of business practices in international contexts;
• to place key business topics such as strategy, HRM and marketing, firmly in their global and regional contexts;
• to provide a firm foundation for more specialised and advanced treatment of comparative business organisation and practic 

SCQF Level 10

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Learning and Development

This module provides an understanding of the role of learning and development in contemporary organizations at a time when increasing competition is placing greater importance on the knowledge and skills of the workforce.

The module begins with the national context of learning and development: the provision of secondary, tertiary and vocational education and training.  Comparisons are made between the UK and other industrial societies.  Next, processes of learning and development are examined together with the different techniques and methods which have been developed for both skilled workers and managers. 

The module concludes with the learning and development function’s role within an organization by analysing its structure, management, funding as well as links with the overall strategy and other functions.

Division: Business & Management

Coordinator:

Prerequisites HRM9R4

SCQF Level 10

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Human Resource Management

The aim of this course is to introduce students to the concepts and practice of human resource management as distinct from personnel management, and the environmental and organisational contexts of its application.   Module Content

1. Human Resource Theories and Definitions            

Definitions of Human Resource Management (HRM).  Similarities and differences between definitions, objectives and assumptions of HRM and Personnel Management.  Comparisons between the prevailing practice of Personnel Management and the HRM model.  Empirical evidence for the existence of HRM.

2. Issues in Human Resource Management Strategy

The relationship between Industrial Relations strategies, Corporate Strategy.  HRM as organisational change strategy. HRM and cultural change.  HRM and Partnership.  HRM’s contribution to business performance.

3. Key Practice Areas of HRM

The main functional activities of Personnel Management and their integration within the HRM framework.  Barriers to the effective adaption of Recruitment, Selection, Training and Development, Financial Reward Systems and Employee Involvement within the HRM model.

4. HRM : Current Status and Future Prospects

Overall status of theories, definitions, research and practice of HRM.  Potential for the wider adoption of HRM strategy and techniques.  Limitations to the application and introduction of HRM.  The HRM/performance relationship.  The place of ethics in HRM. Priorities for the future of HRM.

Division: Business & Management

Coordinator: Dr Jerry Hallier

Prerequisites HRM9RA

By the end of the course students should understand and be able to evaluate:

(a) The current debate surrounding Human Resource Management and Personnel Management

(b) The major contexts in which Human Resource Management is applied.

(c) The relationship between Human Resource Management and other strategic management activities within an organisation.

(d) The role and influence Human Resource Management might have in the overall corporate structure.

(e)  The major areas of activity undertaken in management of human resources.

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Industrial Democracy

The aim of the course is to introduce students to the theoretical debates surrounding the concepts of industrial democracy, employee participation and employee involvement and to examine the resolution of these debates in a range of practical settings.  The course will focus particularly on how the trade union led demands for industrial democracy of the 1970s gave way to management initiated employee involvement (EI) strategies in the 1980s/1990s.  Further, the course will examine the continued evolution of EI in the 2000s.

Division: Business & Management

Coordinator: Dr. Juliette Summers

Prerequisites HRM9RI

By the end of the course students will have been presented with both a theoretical foundation and an assessment of the range of contemporary involvement and communication methods.  Students should therefore have an understanding of :

(a)  The differences between the concepts and practice of industrial democracy, employee participation and employee involvement.

(b)  The relationship between industrial democracy and employee participation and theories of power and the labour process.

(c)  The reasons for managerial support of employee participation and involvement schemes.

(d)  Trade union approaches to industrial democracy, employee participation and involvement.

(e)  The development of industrial democracy and employee participation in the UK focusing on key 1970s developments, particularly, the Bullock Report and Worker Cooperatives.

(f)   The changing context of the 1980s and the shift new forms of employee involvement (EI) and communication

(g)  How EI policies and practices operate in a number of contemporary workplaces,    emphasising the various types of task-based participation, including team working.

(h)  Trade Union approaches to the emergence of HRM and EI.

(i)  The impact of EU legislation and the challenges facing the current Labour government.

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Human Resource Management Dissertation

The 8th semester dissertation for honours students gives you the opportunity to do a number of things: the first issue is choosing what!  The dissertation covers two modules.  It has to be completed by mid-April.  The choice of subject is up to you.  You can, for example, investigate a particular conceptual framework theory, issue or idea which has interested you during your studies.  You might see how it is handled by management, by visiting or telephoning some.

Alternatively, you may find a particular company, organisation or sector of interest (such as biotechnology, health care, banking and insurance).  You might wish to investigate it, employing a range of approaches or techniques learned at Stirling. The possibilities are considerable.  You will receive support. You will be guided towards a supervisor who has interests similar to yours, who will be available to advise you throughout.  During the Autumn semester prior to your dissertation, you discuss your ideas with prospective supervisors.  There is also a formal programme to provide additional guidance.  The dissertation is an ideal opportunity to explore a topic, occupation, organisation, or economic sector.  It may form a basis for ideas about your future career.  In every case, however, it gives you the opportunity to show how you can take charge of a task, and see it through to a successful conclusion.

Division: Business & Management

Coordinator: Mr Dave Edgar

Prerequisites HRM9RA or HRM9RM or HRM9RC

SCQF Level 10

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Business Dissertation

The 8th semester dissertation for honours students is the culmination of your studies, when you test and/or develop ideas studied in previous semesters.  The dissertation covers two modules. It has to be completed in April.  You may, for example, investigate a particular management issue or theory which has interested you during your studies and/or at some place of work.  You might see how it is handled by business owners and staff, including professionals and managers, by interviewing and/or observing some or by using a questionnaire to conduct a survey.

You may find a particular company or other organization or sector (e.g. biotechnology, health care, insurance, marine engineering) of interest.  You might wish to investigate it, employing a range of approaches or techniques learned at Stirling.  The possibilities are considerable.  You will receive support. You will be informed about potential supervisors who have interests similar to yours.

During the Autumn Semester there is a programme of classes linked to three of the BUS9BR lectures to provide important practical guidance. Before starting your dissertation, also during the Autumn Semester, you prepare and submit a dissertation proposal while discussing your ideas with (a) prospective supervisor(s). You are then allocated to a suitable supervisor.

The dissertation is an ideal opportunity to explore a topic, occupation, organization, or economic sector.  It may form a basis for ideas about your future career.  However you approach your dissertation, it gives you the opportunity to show how you can take charge of a task, and see it through to a successful conclusion. 

Division: Business & Management

Coordinator: Mrs Christine Taylor

SCQF Level 10

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Retailing Dissertation

The dissertation is perhaps the most important part of your degree at Stirling.  Having completed three years at University you should be in the position to demonstrate your ability to independently produce a piece of research which addresses a particular issue which you have identified as being worthy of research. You might also find that completing your dissertation can be one of the most rewarding aspects of your degree.

Division: Retail Marketing & Marketing

Coordinator:

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

The Business Environment

All businesses are driven by the need to satisfy a market. Even many government departments now think in terms of supplying a product to customers in a market. This course considers various examples of markets and how organizations respond to changing conditions, ensuring that the correct resources are available to enable them to deliver the desired products.

The module is required for all Honours degree programmes offered by the Business & Marketing Division of Stirling Management School. It is part of the sequence of modules MGT9A1, MGT9A2 and MGT9A3 which together provide a general foundation in business and management.

Division: Business & Management

Coordinator: Dr Jovo Ateljevic

The course aims to provide:

• an introduction to the different types of markets;
• an insight into some of the external factors, such as government and international influences on markets;
• an introduction to the critical resources of: finance, entrepreneurship and the human resource;
• further experience in the use of spreadsheets, presentation skills, report writing and essay writing.

SCQF Level 8

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Business in the 21st Century

The module presents an overview of modern management theory and experience. To do that the module covers developments over a wide area: business studies, entrepreneurship, management in production environment, project management, the interaction between consumer and product markets, tourism, and management in the public sector.  These developments are placed in the context of changing employment in the 21st century.

Division: Business & Management

Coordinator: Dr Keri Davies

SCQF Level 8

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Operations Management

The aim of this module is to provide students with a thorough grasp of the nature of Operations Management in production and service environments.  It is intended that students should be able to understand and apply the most important methods for planning and management of operations.  The module looks at operations management in a wide range of industries and services, including: hospitals, retail sector banks, utilities and manufacturing industry.

The module covers Concepts and Strategy [operations in manufacturing and service; operations strategy; facility location; behavioural factors], planning and scheduling [forecasting; capacity planning; scheduling operations] Management and Control [materials management; materials requirement planning (MRP); Just-in-Time systems; quality and reliability and behavioural aspects of reliability].  The module uses a variety of teaching methods including: games, video discussions, case studies and industrial visits.

Division: Business & Management

Coordinator:

• To understand the importance of the operations function in the context of the business as a whole
• To understand the key differences between manufacturing and service operations.
• To understand the need for planning in operations management.
• To be familiar with the techniques of short, medium and long term planning in operations management.
• To understand the relevance of quality in operations.
• To understand the need for resource management

SCQF Level 9

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Introductory Economics

This module provides an introduction to economics as a discipline.  Lectures will focus on micro and macro essentials of economics, whilst seminars will apply economic principles to understanding decision making in the context of ‘sustainable development’.

Division:

Coordinator:

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Knowledge Management and Practice

The Knowledge Management and Practice module (to include reflective journal and an individual or group business focused piece of work) will be of utmost benefit to the students and prepare them more fully for the world of work (as this is the path most of them take) as opposed to the world of academia. Consequently, the new module offers 2 pathways towards fulfilling the research practice requirements of the final semester.

• For those students who are disposed to a career in research/academia, the new module provides a pathway towards a sizeable piece of independent scholarship which leads to the production of an account of knowledge development in the form of a dissertation.
• For those students disposed towards a career in business, industry and commerce, the new module provides a pathway towards a sizeable piece of group project work which leads to the production of an account of knowledge development in the form of a professional management report.

Both pathways represent a considerable opportunity to test and further develop skills in problem definition, information processing, critical thinking, decision-making, project management, reflective practice and interpretive reporting. The differences between the pathways are those of emphasis, style and form. But the overarching theme of both pathways is that of knowledge management and reflective practice.

Division:

Coordinator:

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

International Business & Emerging Markets: Contemporary Issues & Debates

You will learn how to minimise the risks of doing business in and with emerging economies through an in-depth analysis of the challenges faced, and strategies adopted by western organisations in relation to emerging economies.  The module also explores the business strategies of those firms in emerging markets.

Division:

Coordinator:

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Advanced Leadership & Strategy

This module brings together leadership theory and practice in a personal challenging environment which will expose students to some of the leading leadership thinking to help them develop confidence in their abilities and understanding of their own leadership strengths.  The module also provides an overall understanding of the needs, contexts and processes involved in strategic management within organisations.  

Division:

Coordinator:

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Completion of dissertation is required to be awarded MBA in Public Service Management

Division:

Coordinator:

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Risk Management

Module Outline      

• Risk management – an overview
• Risk management in the public sector
• Developing a systematic approach
• Identifying and assessing risks
• Controlling and reviewing risks
• Risk management - conclusions 

Module Aims

Based on recent experience of projects across the public sector, the module will focus on:

• defining risk management
• linking risk management to strategic and operational management
• highlighting the main push and pull factors associated with managing risk effectively
• developing and reviewing a risk management strategy in the public sector
• applying a systematic approach to identifying and managing risk (to support strategy implementation).

An interactive approach will be adopted, using break-out sessions to look at a prepared case study. This will be drawn from a live example relevant to the module material/attendees.  The material is based on:

evolving expectations of risk management across the public sector
practical examples of undertaking risk assessments to inform high profile decisions (in high profile projects and ongoing service delivery)

 

Division:

Coordinator: Judith Allison

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Retail Buying

By the end of the module students will be able to:

• explain the role and key responsibilities of functions involved in the retail buying process, including the retail buyer and product merchandisers;
• identify and evaluate the nature of retail buying structures;
• understand the relationship between buying and supply chain strategies and corporate objectives;
• assess the issues pertinent to the management of buyer-supplier relations and understand factors influencing successful negotiation;
• understand the importance of visual merchandising within the buying process;
• evaluate the role of the buyer in the development of own-brands and the promotion of the buy;
• explain the importance of stock management in the retail buying process.

Division:

Coordinator: Eric Calderwood

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Retail Supply Chains

To introduce, examine and understand modern approaches to retail supply chain management.

This module introduces students to the subject of retail supply chains and provides an understanding of the issues and (retail) management’s role in supply chains.

By the end of the module students will for retailers and their support organisations be able to:

• Relate logistics to the business and the economy
• Discuss the importance of channel relationships upon logistical networks
• Understand the vital importance of customer service
• Be aware of the role of storage, inventory and transportation in business operations
• Identify the key elements of planning and controlling retail supply chains
• Discuss the potential for new technologies and ‘greening’ of the supply chain

Division:

Coordinator: Professor Leigh Sparks

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Human Resource Management

After completing the Module you will be able to:

• describe and critically analyse the structure of employment within the retail sector;

• understand the core practices of employee resourcing, including human resource planning, recruitment and selection;

• understand the factors which motivate people at work and the management strategies which may be utilised to enhance work performance;

• identify the nature and process of communication and conflict in the context of people influencing one another;

• understand the key skills and competencies required to manage and develop the potential of employees to the mutual benefit of the employee and employer in support of the organisation's overall business objectives.

Division:

Coordinator: Adelina Broadbridge

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Locational Strategy

After completing this Module you will be able to:

• understand the basic principles believed to underlie retail location and retail agglomeration;

• identify the key methods used by retailers in determining the locations for their outlets;

• explain the various approaches to retail location taken by regulatory bodies and the reasons for those approaches;

• evaluate the relative importance of the various factors affecting the property development process in retailing;

• appreciate how store design interacts with marketing and operational factors within a corporate strategy.

Division:

Coordinator: Dr. Keri Davies

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Marketing Dissertation

This double-weighted core module is designed to build upon the work of the previous six semesters and to prepare you for the final semester to follow.  Specific preparation for your final semester will involve a programme of lectures to guide formulation of your dissertation research proposal and will be delivered as an integral but discrete and free-standing part of M7.  (Full details of this dissertation component are provided in a supplementary MKT9M8 Marketing Dissertation handout and WebCT.)   This integration has been designed to lay a solid foundation in both group and individual research skills that should also promote the prospects of your future career using marketing.  

The M7 module has been deliberately designed to be different, demanding and to be especially enjoyable too.  You should exit the completed module with a noticeably different and improved skills set and knowledge base which will further shape your existing USPs.  But to get all this, your full and complete commitment, right from the very start, to both the individual and group components of the module is vital.

Division:

Coordinator:

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

International and Export Marketing

By the end of this module students will be able to:

• Understand the role of culture and its implications for international marketing;
• Account for internationalisation processes in companies;
• Identify the mechanisms within marketing for creating and sustaining customer value in international markets;
• Describe the mechanisms through which products are exported and
• Reflect on the role of marketing within the globalisation debate.
• Appreciate the increasing role of the small and medium sized enterprise in contributing to international and export markets.

Division:

Coordinator: Dr Ian Fillis

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Accounting Information and Employment

To facilitate future employment in an accounting / business setting. This module aims to provide knowledge of advanced double entry book-keeping skills. In light of the current economic conditions it is important to have an awareness of how to prevent and detect errors, deliberate or otherwise, within an accounting information system designed around double entry book-keeping. A further aim is to provide an understanding of some of these controls and concepts and to develop the double-entry book-keeping skills by introducing an accounting information system incorporating appropriate controls. It promotes an awareness of ethics, of employability skills and develops computer skills in spreadsheets and accounting packages.

Division:

Coordinator: Alisdair Dobie

Prerequisites ACC9A4

SCQF Level 10

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Quantitative Methods for Business Decisions

This module is for students who want an introductory course in statistics and quantitative methods relating to business, or who need such a course to meet professional accounting body requirements.

The focus of this module is the analysis and interpretation of quantitative information. In particular, students will gain an understanding of statistical methods at an introductory level and of mathematical tools for business decision making.

Division:

Coordinator: Catherine Howie

Prerequisites ACC9A1 or ACC9A2

SCQF Level 10

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Advanced Financial Accounting

Financial Reporting is rapidly adopting an international perspective and knowledge of international accounting standards is vital to the aspiring financial manager or controller in multi-national companies.This module is firmly grounded in international generally accepted accounting principles.Most multi-nationals are multi company entities and debates about the value and appropriateness of different ways of accounting for business combinations continues unabated in a business world often obsessed with mergers and acquisitions.A significant part of the course is therefore concerned with the theory and practice of consolidated financial statements. The remainder then considers some of the most important and contentious international accounting standards. Accounting for leases can be a recipe for businesses more concerned with cosmetics than portraying reality and so a firm grasp of the issues here is vital.Companies’ most important assets, in twenty-first century knowledge economies, are no longer plant and machinery but intangibles so these assets receive our critical attention in the course. Other international standards studied include these on foreign currency translation and deferred taxation.

Division:

Coordinator: Professor Ian fraser

Prerequisites ACC9A4

SCQF Level 10

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Applied Management Accounting

The role of management accounting is to measure, analyse and report information that is required for planning, control and decision making within the business. This module provides the essential development of management accounting concepts into a practical understanding of business cost behaviour. This module builds on the foundations laid in the introductory Accounting course (ACC9A2), and focuses on the issues that arise when the basic theories of management accounting are applied to business data. We examine techniques like variance analysis, target costing, regression modelling of indirect costs and linear programming with the intention of understanding why they are used, as well as how they work.

 
 

Division:

Coordinator: Khaled Hussainey

Prerequisites ACC9A2; FIN9F3; ACC9A5 and FIN9QA

SQF Level 10

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Business & Society in Europe

This module aims to cover a variety of business issues confronting European firms.  It will enhance students’ knowledge of the European Union within a global business environment characterised by rapid political and economic change.  Key components of the module will consider European integration from the Treaty of Rome to the present, key business issues affected by the EU, management styles within Europe, the Single Market and the Euro, multinational operations within Europe, and Europe’s global role and relations.

Division:

Coordinator: Dr Robbie Guerriero-Wilson

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Issues in Accounting

The two main areas covered in this module are as follows:

1. Management Accounting

    Management accounting relates to the provision of appropriate information for decision making, planning and control and performance evaluation.  This part of the module looks at a critique of management accounting practices which surfaced in the 1980’s.  Since then management accounting practitioners and academics have sought to modify and implement new techniques relevant to today’s business environment.

2. Interdisciplinary Accounting
Accounting is a social science, and accounting research has for some time now been concerned with a wider interpretation of accounting, examining accounting and accountability in settings other than the business-entity. This part of the module explores critical approaches to accounting research, including investigations of the ‘dark side’ of accounting, and its social, political and ideological functions.

Division:

Coordinator: Professor Lisa Evans

Prerequisites Pre-requisite: ACC9AA and ACC9A6

SCQF Level 10

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

International Finance

Covers the workings of the foreign exchange market, factors that determine exchange rates, and how corporations may manage their foreign exchange and interest rate risks using a variety of derivative products

Division:

Coordinator: Dr Kevin Campbell

SCQF Level 15

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Strategic Management

The aim of the module Strategic Management is to give the participants an understanding of the nature of strategic management, by providing a overview of issues, both theoretical and practical, on the topic. The module aims to combine broad theoretical background of strategic management with practical implications to the way modern companies are run. An important objective of the module is to provide students with tangible strategic analysis, design, and implementation skills that they can readily put into practice.

This module is designed

• To develop students’ ability to think strategically about a given company, its business situation, how it can gain sustainable competitive advantage, and how its strategy can be implemented and executed successfully;
• To learn to understand different industry contexts and different competitive situations, and the strategic implications of these for companies;
• To build students skills in conducting a company’s strategic analysis;
• To enhance students’ ability to effectively communicate the results of their analysis and to provide appropriate recommendations based on their findings.
  

Division:

Coordinator: Dr William Webster

Strategy and management External analysis: Industry structure (Part I) External analysis: Industry structure (Part II) Internal analysis and the resource-based view Internal analysis and the Value chain Business strategies Corporate strategies and growth Strategy & Choice (Part I) Strategy & Change (Part II)/Assignment help session Strategic management in the public services (Part I) Strategic management in the public services (Part II) Innovation and Managing Risk Strategy and structure International and internationalization strategies Foreign market entry strategies

Strategy and management External analysis: Industry structure (Part I) External analysis: Industry structure (Part II) Internal analysis and the resource-based view Internal analysis and the Value chain Business strategies Corporate strategies and growth Strategy & Choice (Part I) Strategy & Change (Part II)/Assignment help session Strategic management in the public services (Part I) Strategic management in the public services (Part II) Innovation and Managing Risk Strategy and structure International and internationalization strategies Foreign market entry strategies

Prerequisites MGT9A3: Evolution and Development of Management

Module assessment is on the basis of student presentations and participation in all seminars (10%), one written assignment undertaken individually by each module participant (40%) and an unseen written examination (50%).

SCQF Level 10

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Introduction to Law and Business Law I

This module introduces BA students to the study of law in three parts. In Part I we study the sources of law, including the court sytems, the way that the Westminster and Holyrood Parliaments make law and the role of the EU in law making. Part 2 deals with contract law, from how contracts are made to how they come to an end. The law of delict is studied in Part 3: this includes the study of negligence and the liability of one party for injury or loss caused to another. It is a compulsory module for certain BA degree programmes (please check the calendar) but can be taken by a wide range of students and will appeal to anyone who intends to work in business after graduation. Assessment is by way of a class test and an open folder end-of-semester examination.

Division: School of Law

Coordinator: Fraser Davidson

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Business Law II

This module allows students to find out how the law regulates the way that the main types of business vehicle in the UK are set up and operated. It is taught in three parts: Part A covers the Law of Agency and Partnership, Part B covers Company Law and Part C covers Corporate Insolvency. The module is compulsory for some BA degree programmes (please check the calendar) but is of interest to a wide range of students who intend to work in business after graduation, whether as an entrepreneur or adviser.

Division: School of Law

Coordinator: Lorraine Wilson

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Introduction to Human Resource Management

Managing people is essential to all organisational success, and understanding how to select and recruit the right people, how best to train, reward and motivate them, is a critical ability for all managers, not only human resource specialists.  After examining the meaning of work and employment in the twenty first century and looking at the development of HRM in the contemporary organisation, the module will introduce students to the key issues of both theory and HRM practice which arise from the complexities of the employment relationship.

 

By the end of the course students should understand:

• The meaning of work and employment for the employee and different theoretical approaches to the employment relationship
• The historical development of the HRM function
• The essential elements of the recruitment process and the basic principles of selection
• Ethical and practical issues in the management of diversity
• The circumstances and procedures surrounding the termination of employment
• The role of collective bargaining in pay determination
• The role of trade unions in the organisation in the 21st century
• The identification of training needs
• The theoretical bases of training approaches and the different methods of training
• The role of management development in organisations
• Different approaches to the management of performance
• The meanings attached to the goal of employee commitment
• The role of communication and approaches to employee involvement
• The nature and causes of discontent and industrial action
• The role of the State in the wider context of the labour market

 
 

Division:

Coordinator:

Prerequisites Prerequisites MGT9A3 or LAWL3 

SCQF Level 9

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Launching a New Venture

The module aims to give a broad overview of the business start-up process, mainly from a practical point of view, but also with some theoretical perspectives.  It is designed to:

• set the context for entrepreneurship;
• consider characteristics of entrepreneurs;
• examine the nature and role of small business start-up;
• assist students to understand the importance of the planning process;
• enable students to produce a business plan.
  

On completion of the module students will be able to:

• describe the main motivations for starting a business;
• demonstrate a knowledge of theories pertaining to the importance and role of the entrepreneur;
• apply various concepts such as the MAIR model to an understanding of new business creation and growth;
• describe the main types of support provision to the small business;
• explain the role and importance of the SME sector in the economy;
• identify the practical steps involved in starting a business;
• understand the purpose and content of business plans;
• produce a business plan;

Division:

Coordinator:

Prerequisites Prerequisites MGT9A3

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

European Business and Society

This module will begin by exploring the historical development and current features of the European Union, the institution that provides the political, legal and economic context for business in Europe. It will then focus on current business issues and concerns by beginning with an exploration of the ‘human dimension’ of European business. Topics studied under this heading include education and training, management styles and working conditions in Europe.

The European business environment will then be analyzed through an exploration of the ramifications of the Single Market and the Single currency. Businesses operations within the European business environment will be explored from the perspective of SMEs and both European and non-European MNEs, including a consideration of their internationalisation processes and strategies within the context of Europe.

Division:

Coordinator:

Prerequisites Prerequisites BUS915

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Management & Information Technology

The aim of the course is to promote practical ability and an understanding of the current state of information technology and its uses in business. The course concentrates on the business context of information systems: the management of information systems, how IT has become a strategic resource for management particularly in a corporate context. Case material on specific technologies will be explored which students are expected to make use of in exams.

Students will also develop a range of skills during workshop sessions, where database theory from lectures will be applied to practical exercises. This will include an updating of Excel skills and an introduction to database design and relational databases with Access.

The course should enable students to:

• Appreciate the value of information as a resource
• Discuss issues relating to the management of information systems
  Understand how information systems underpin change and strategic improvement
• Appreciate the role of IT as a strategic business resource
• Understand e-commerce business models and strategies based on the Internet and world wide web
• Understand the rudimentary principles behind  database design and management
• Be able to identify the most suitable software for business applications
• Have gained sufficient expertise in Excel and Access to develop applications with the aid of a manualatabase design and relational databases with Access.

Division:

Coordinator: Dr Pete Flett

Prerequisites Prerequisites MGT9A3

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Partnership Working

The aim of this module is to introduce students to the UK public sector and core public services.  The module examines the history, structure and function of the various institutions and bodies which constitute the public sector.  Areas covered include; central government, Parliament and the legislative process, the civil service, devolved government, local government, quasi government, the NHS and the non-profit sector.  The exploration of these key institutions provides the context for understanding the distinct features of management and administration in the public – as opposed to the private – sector.

Division:

Coordinator: Dr William Webster

Prerequisites Prerequisites MGT9A3

SCQF Level 9

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Monetary Economics

Objectives

• The role of money in modern society;
• How monetary policy actions are transmitted to the real economy;
• How monetary policy is conducted by modern Central Banks.

 
Learning outcomes

Knowledge and understanding of

• the demand for money;
• the money supply;
• the transmission mechanism of monetary policy;
• monetary policy operating procedures;
• Central Bank independence and accountability.

 

Division: Economics

Coordinator:

Prerequisites Prerequisites ECN212 and ECN311

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Financial Economics

Objectives

• To discuss financial instruments and how they are traded.
• To introduce the key tools used by financial economists.
• To cover the major topics in financial economics including portfolio theory, diversification and mean variance analysis; asset-pricing models, efficient market hypothesis, and market anomalies.
• To discuss the pricing of bonds, stocks, and other financial instruments.

 
Learning outcomes

Knowledge and understanding of

• financial instruments;
• risk and return relationship;
• diversification and mean-variance analysis;
• asset-pricing models;
• efficient market hypothesis;
• calendar anomalies;
• security prices and yields;
• derivatives;
• the financial crisis 2007-08.

 

Division: Economics

Coordinator:

Prerequisites Prerequisites ECN211

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Retail Studies

The module is part of the portfolio of educational programmes from the internationally renowned Institute for Retail Studies. The Institute for Retail Studies is one of the leading retail research centres in the world. Its staff are involved in path-breaking retail research, have regular contact with leading industry figures and businesses and provide management development programmes to many leading retail companies. Members of the Institute also provide research and retail policy advice to various tiers of government. The Institute is the co-ordinating hub of the SHEFC funded Centre for the Study of Retailing in Scotland (CSRS).

Retailing is one of the largest, most accessible and dynamic sectors of many economies. In the UK retail companies are amongst the largest and most innovative of all businesses and the status of the sector within the economy has grown accordingly. Retailing as a business is also one that most people have some experience of, whether as an employee or as a consumer.

Working within a framework of constant changes, retailing provides a vibrant and exciting subject to study. Retailers are major recruiters of graduate talent to manage retail shops and businesses and to work in specialist retail functions. Important opportunities for graduates are also available in smaller retail businesses. There is also a long track record of retail entrepreneurship to emulate. An awareness of the retail sector and its components can be of assistance in understanding the possibilities and demands.

This fourth semester advanced module is the entry module for the Retail Marketing degree or can be taken by any business or marketing student as an option module in fourth, sixth or even eighth semester.

By the end of the module students will be able to:

• account for and explain retail change
• discuss the main types of businesses and strategies in retailing
• detail the merits of various locational choices for retailers
• comprehend the operational issues in retailing
• undertake more specialist study in retailing
• understand the opportunities for graduates in retailing. 

Division: Institute for Retail Studies

Coordinator: Dr Keri Davies

SCQF Level 9

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Introduction to Marketing

Introduction to Marketing aims to give students a basic understanding of what Marketing is, how it can be used and how a Marketing approach can be implemented and managed in a range of situations and organisations.

Prerequisites: On completion of this module students will be able to:

• describe the nature, content and application of marketing ideas and concepts;
• apply a customer focus in a range of situations;
• specify the requirements for effective marketing;
• outline the marketing management process and describe a range of techniques used to implement marketing strategies;
• demonstrate the importance of marketing ideas and techniques in a range of organisations.

Division:

Coordinator: Dr Jennifer Thomson

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Operations Management

Course Aims

The aim of this module is to provide students with an appreciation of the importance of Operations Management in production and service industries. It is also intended that students should be able to understand the methods used for planning and management of operations, and to be able to apply some of these techniques in simple situations.
 

Course Objectives

• To understand the importance of the operations function in the context of the business as a whole
• To understand the key differences between manufacturing and service operations.
• To understand the need for planning in operations management.
• To be familiar with the techniques of short, medium and long term planning in operations management.
• To understand the relevance of quality in operations.
• To understand the need for resource management

 

Division:

Coordinator:

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Decision-Making for Responsible Business

This module is designed to introduce students to a broad range of critical and self-reflective material on the role of business in society. It contains a specific business ethics element whereby students are encouraged and supported to examine the relationships between individual, group, organisational and societal ethics and values. 

Division:

Coordinator:

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Marketing

Students will be introduced to the concepts of marketing that are relevant in emerging global economies with an understanding of the implications of the marketing function within a management setting. The notions of corporate responsibility and sustainability with specific reference to the marketing function will also be explored. Whilst the module is an introductory one where the key concepts associated with marketing will be established, the strategic role of marketing as a management function will also be considered. 

Division:

Coordinator:

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Research Project Management

This module introduces various appraoches to researching in the field of business and management. You will be shown how these methods can be used in practice. The module enables students to focus in particular on the research methods and appraoches that are best suited to their project

Division:

Coordinator:

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Introduction to Law and Business Law 1

This module introduces BA students to the study of law in three parts. In Part I we study the sources of law, including the court sytems, the way that the Westminster and Holyrood Parliaments make law and the role of the EU in law making. Part 2 deals with contract law, from how contracts are made to how they come to an end. The law of delict is studied in Part 3: this includes the study of negligence and the liability of one party for injury or loss caused to another. It is a compulsory module for certain BA degree programmes (please check the calendar) but can be taken by a wide range of students and will appeal to anyone who intends to work in business after graduation. Assessment is by way of a class test and an open folder end-of-semester examination.

Division: School of Law

Coordinator: Fraser Davidson

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Financial modelling and forecasting

Objectives:
This provides students with the theory and practice of econometric modelling of financial decisions and markets. Students will learn most recent tools required to model nonstationary time series and compute forecasts from financial econometric models.

Division:

Coordinator:

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Law of banking and finance

Objectives:

This introduces the core legal aspects of banking and finance, financial regulation in in the UK and at the international level.

Division:

Coordinator:

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

People Management

This module provides a broad overview of the management of people. It examines the range of practices and policies undertaken by a human resource department in different contexts.  The changing role of the human resource manager in a competitive business environment is analysed and current issues are explored.

Division: Stirling Institute for Socio-Management

Coordinator:

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Corporate Finance

Objectives

• To provide an understanding of the major decision areas of corporate finance - how to raise funds and how to invest them.
• To examine both the theory and the practice of corporate financial decision-making.
• To examine the interaction between decision-making and capital market behaviour.

Learning outcomes
Knowledge and understanding of:

• the concept of the time value of money and its use to calculate the present and future values of a variety of cash flow patterns
• appraising an investment by calculating its payback period, profitability index, net present value and internal rate of return
• comparing the relative merits of the above investment appraisal methods
• valuing stocks and bonds
• the nature of financial risk
• the agency problem in modern companies
• the relationship between risk and return, both for individual stocks and for portfolios
• the capital asset pricing model and its application
• the meaning and implications of market efficiency
• measuring the cost of capital
• the significance of capital structure for company valuation
• the determinants of corporate dividend policy.

Division: AAF

Coordinator: Dr Kevin Campbell / Professor Chris Veld

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Economics for Business and Finance

To introduce students to economics as a discipline.

To focus on aspects of economics most relevant to later modules in the Programme and for a career in banking and finance.

Learning outcomes

• The organisation of an economic system based on specialisation and exchange
  
• the behaviour of economic modules such as households and firms
• how firms behave under different market structures and under alternative behavioural assumptions
• the main issues of macroeconomics
• the circular flow of income and its link with aggregate supply and aggregate demand in the economy as a whole
• the determination of national income and the role of fiscal policy
• the supply of money and the demand for money
• interest rates and monetary policy
• the reasons for international trade
• the European Union.

Division: ECN

Coordinator: Dr Stephan Heblich

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Banking and Financial Institutions

• To provide an introduction to financial instruments.
• To provide an understanding of financial markets.
• To provide an understanding of a modern banking system.
• To provide an understanding of the international monetary system.

Learning outcomes
Knowledge and understanding of:

• the core principles of money and the financial system;
• the role of financial institutions, financial instruments and financial markets;
• risk, return and diversification;
• the capital asset pricing model;
• the interest rate and its determinants;
• the efficient markets hypothesis;
• financial markets and their characteristics;
• forwards and futures; options and swaps;
• fundamentals of banks and financial intermediation;
• on-balance-sheet and off-balance-sheet activities of banks;
• different types of banking;
• retail banking: the bank multiplier;
• the banking sector in different countries;
• central banking: monetary policy instruments;
• the international monetary system and international financial system;
• issues in banking: after the crisis.

Division: ECN

Coordinator: Dr Tianshu Zhao

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Quantitative Methods in Finance

Objectives

• To provide students with the statistical and computing skills which are necessary to fully understand modern banking and finance operations.

Learning outcomes
Knowledge and understanding of:

• simple probability
• statistical testing
• the linear model
• least squares estimation and its properties
• the causes of failure in the linear model
• the concepts of time-series analysis
• the use of Excel to manipulate statistical data
• the use of Excel to estimate linear models. 

Division: ECN

Coordinator: Professor David Bell

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Modern Banking

Objectives

This module analyses the theory of modern banking firms. The topic covers the theoretical foundation of the banking industry, banking risks and risk management, structure-conduct-performance, competition and bank efficiency.
   

 

This module analyses the theory of modern banking firms. The topic covers the theoretical foundation of the banking industry, banking risks and risk management, structure-conduct-performance, competition, bank efficiency,
   
 

 

This module analyses the theory of modern banking firms. The topic covers the theoretical foundation of the banking industry, banking risks and risk management, structure-conduct-performance, competition, bank efficiency,
   
 

This module analyses the theory of modern banking firms. The topic covers the theoretical foundation of the banking industry, banking risks and risk management, structure-conduct-performance, competition, bank efficiency,
   
 

Division: ECN

Coordinator: Dr Tianshu Zhao

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.

Mergers and Acquisitions

Objectives

This module will deal with mergers and acquisitions against the background of corporate finance theory and practice. After a general introduction based on the corporate finance literature, financial and economic aspects of mergers and acquisitions will be discussed. Besides mergers and acquisitions, there will also be attention to other corporate restructurings, such as spin-offs, carve-outs, and sell-offs.

Learning outcomes

Knowledge and understanding of:

• current developments in the subject.
• mergers, acquisitions, and other forms of corporate restructuring;
• finance, accounting and economics aspects of the different types of corporate restructuring.  

Division: AAF

Coordinator: Professor Chris Veld

This module information is representative of what is included in the module in a given year. Details of actual reading, lectures and coursework may vary year to year and will be available at the beginning of the semester.