MBA overview
In summary, to be
awarded the Hull MBA students must complete
Eight core
modules
Management and Personal Development
Human Resource Management
Marketing
Accounting and Finance for Managers
Operations Management
Management Decision Making: A Systems Approach
The Business Environment
Strategic Management
Four optional
modules, currently chosen from
Business and Government
Business Innovation
Corporate Finance
Corporate Leadership and Change Management
Corporate Social Responsibility
Financial Decision Making
Financial Statement Analysis
Information Systems Management
International Business
International Comparative Human Resource Management
International Marketing Strategy
Logistics and Supply Chain Management
Management and Organisational Learning
Marketing Communications
Project Management
Public Sector Management
Research
Methods and MBA Dissertation
MBA core modules
Management and
Personal Development
establishes the MBA as a vehicle for professional and personal development. It
introduces management development as an underlying purpose of the programme in
relation to personal effectiveness, management thinking, organisational life and
individuals as change agents. The module embraces various views on management
and organisation theory combined with each participant's ideas on management.You
will be encouraged to locate your own experiences within a historical, cultural
'map' of management thinking while focusing on the development of self-awareness
and the skills required for managing in organisations characterised by change
and uncertainty.
Human Resource
Management
develops students' understanding of the key issues of managing people in the
workplace. It combines aspects of HRM strategy and practice, and examines the
ways in which elements of HRM affect and support organisational performance,
locating the subject in an academic and vocational context. lt also integrates
individual, collective, and group and team aspects of HRM. In achieving these
objectives there is the opportunity to engage with the principles of 'best
practice' and, more importantly, to evaluate the organisational and individual
barriers to this, drawing on your own organisational experience wherever
possible.
Marketing
introduces key theoretical marketing concepts, and aspects of applied marketing
practice, within the context of strategic marketing management applied to
different business settings. It provides an appreciation of marketing philosophy
and of the practical value of key marketing functions and concepts by developing
a critical perspective on how marketing activities can help organisations build
strategic and sustainable value, resulting in competitive advantage and
sustainable competitive positions in specific markets. Interactive class
activities are employed in which students engage in mock-competitive
marketing-related activities.
Accounting and
Finance for Managers
enables students to understand the work of the accountant and financial manager
- but does not make students into accountants. To communicate effectively with
specialist staff, all managers must be able to understand financial information
and those aspects of accounting and finance of most relevance to the management
of corporate organisations. This module covers the work of the accountant and
the financial manager and considers the role of corporate financial information
in supporting managerial decision making.
Operations
Management
develops a holistic and critical perspective on the key changes and trends which
have taken place in the management of business operations in recent years. The
module builds on the experience and insights of contemporary operations
management in business and service organisations, and explores possible
strategies for improving them. The module also examines the critical importance
of logistics management for modern businesses. It does so by linking theoretical
developments with contemporary practices, both in a UK context and
internationally.
Management
Decision Making: A Systems Approach
introduces core systems concepts and holistic thinking about management decision
making and problem solving. Adopting a holistic perspective assists with
defining problems, effecting change and developing organisational learning. We
consider a range of methodologies and techniques, including metaphors and
paradigms. We consider two complementary systems approaches to problem solving:
the Viable System Model, which emphasises structures and control systems, and
Soft Systems Methodology, which emphasises participation and changing
world-views. Discussion of these approaches provides the basis for a review of
systems thinking as a means of creating learning organisations, making use of
Senge's Fifth Discipline and creative holism.
The Business
Environment
introduces the most important aspects of the business environment, including the
impact of macroeconomic factors. It gives students a broad survey of the
business environment as it impinges upon business decision making, and covers
social, political and economic factors. The module thus equips students to
Strategic
Management
encourages and develops understanding, synthesis and application of concepts and
techniques covered in other modules. This module therefore represents an
integrating 'capstone' opportunity for students, who work in groups to achieve
this aim and to enhance their teamwork and presentation skills.
Attention is focused on case studies and a business game. A significant amount
of time is spent on the analysis of large-scale, complex, unstructured problems,
which, among other things, enables participants to draw on techniques and
concepts from previous study. As well as encouraging the application of
techniques and skills developed during the programme, this arrangement also
facilitates work on developing high level transferable skills, such as
communication, analysis, problem solving and presentation.
MBA optional modules
Along
with the eight core modules, students must also choose four options which allow
them to demonstrate the diverse breadth of their business studies or highlight
their specialist knowledge in a particular area of business. Modules can be
chosen from the selection below.
Business and
Government
fosters knowledge and understanding of the ways in which key government policies
can affect businesses, their management and the interface with the market. The
module also assesses how businesses can and should react to these policies.
Key economic
concepts are considered, and topics such as privatisation, economic regulation
of utilities and competition policy are included. The focus is on what
governments, regulators and competition authorities do rather than on the
theories which may underlie their actions. The module makes significant use of
group activities such as the setting of price controls for a privatised utility
and merger policy between two or more firms.
While emphasis is placed on government activity in the UK, some material
considers and compares competition policy within the European Union and the
United States.
Business
Innovation
is concerned with the role of entrepreneurship in an increasingly competitive
world which has a much-reduced emphasis on state industries providing
employment. Many countries now have a greater concern for providing the
necessary environment for entrepreneurial activity to become established and to
grow.
Understanding
entrepreneurial development requires an understanding of socio-political and
economic events which affect companies in the global economy. It also requires
an understanding of how entrepreneurs visualise and commercialise 'value added'
in their companies, often through more efficient allocation of human and capital
resources.
This module
therefore explores a range of aspects critical to innovation and entrepreneurial
behaviour; including
Corporate
Finance
is concerned with the decisions made by corporate managers with a view to
maximising the wealth of their corporate shareholders. It promotes a critical
understanding of corporate finance, and enables students to become familiar with
the practical problems involved in contemporary financial management.
The current
financial environment is an undeniably competitive, unpredictable and complex
place. For corporate financial managers such an ever-changing environment
presents many problems and raises many key issues. Financial managers therefore
require an understanding of and ability to apply a range of practical financial
tools and techniques. It is these financial tools and techniques, and their
underpinning theories, that form the basis of this module.
The module
explores a range of issues related to long-term investment appraisal (including
cost of capital issues); the valuation of bonds, equities and convertible
securities mergers, acquisitions; and corporate valuations; portfolio theory and
risk management; debt policy; dividend policy; and resource management.
Corporate
Leadership and Change Management
explores the relationship between leadership skills and abilities and, on the
other hand, the continual development and evolution of organisations - including
how and why organisations can manage change in response to internal and external
pressures. Change is both reactive and proactive, incorporating organisational
vision, processes, projects and often politics. Transformation of an
organisation requires both individual leadership skills and conceptual
understanding of all the elements necessary to ensure change.
Senior managers
are expected to provide leadership and direction in the achievement of
organisation-wide change. This module provides future senior managers with an
awareness of factors that will influence their abilty to act in this way.
Corporate
Social Responsibility
encourages students to adopt a critically reflective perspective on business and
its role in society. Businesses are being asked to consider the economic, social
and environmental impacts of their activities and a broader range of
stakeholders are finding ever more creative ways of exercising their power and
influence. Rather than simply responding to these pressures, many businesses are
driving forwards an enhanced way of doing business - an approach known as
corporate social responsibility (CSR).
The module aims
to develop a critical and multidisciplinary understanding of CSR that includes:
the broader context of business and its social and environmental impact; how to
include social and environmental concerns in management decision making and the
development of business strategy; sustainable business practices; stakeholder
analysis and related issues; and diversity issues and employment practices.
Financial
Decision Making
seeks to develop an appreciation of the major types of strategic, operational
and ad-hoc decisions that managers need to take in the normal course of business
in public and private sector organisations.
Students also
develop their abilities to understand and evaluate contemporary theories and
empirical evidence concerning management accounting issues, and the techniques
that are used to provide relevant management information so that the best
options in financial terms can be chosen.
Financial
Statement Analysis
employs an international perspective as students develop an understanding of the
contexts in which financial reporting information is used, for example by
security analysts, and an ability to evaluate the technical and alternative
languages and practices of financial reporting.
Students develop
the ability to review the contemporary theories and empirical evidence
concerning financial reporting that are explored during the module.
Information
Systems Management
takes a boardroom perspective on issues related to information and communication
technologies (ICT). ICT are clearly a strategic resource and they bring about,
or facilitate, major changes in industry sectors, in competitive behaviour and
in an organisation's own strategy, structure and functionality. It is therefore
necessary for managers to have an understanding of the effective and responsible
deployment and management of information systems (IS) in today's global
information society. ICT are a significant part of successful organisations, and
they therefore constitute a vital field of study for senior managers and
represent a major functional area of business operations.
This module aims
to develop sophisticated insights into current IS practices and to develop
approaches to evaluate claims made by IS suppliers, consultants, practitioners
and academics.
International
Business
considers the changing international context of modern organisations.
Contemporary businesses, even those that operate wholly within their local or
national markets, are subject to ever more competitive forces of international
origin as a result of increasing market integration both regionally and
globally. In turn, regional integration and globalisation are the result of a
complex and controversial mix of legal, political, economic, social and
technological forces.
More than ever
before, senior managers need to have an international perspective, and this
module has been designed around three themes that contribute to the acquisition
of such a perspective. First the module begins with an analysis of the
international business environment and how it relates to and impacts on
business. In particular; it engages with the globalisation debate and issues of
regulation of business in a world with fewer barriers between markets. Second,
the module looks at the firm within its international context, from both a
theoretical and a practical perspective, and, unusually, deals with small and
medium-sized enterprises as well as with the traditional multinational. Third
the module looks at specific issues that impact on the firm as a result of
increasing internationalisation. These include issues such as free trade,
environmental concerns and the labour market.
International
Comparative Human Resource Management
develops understanding of managing human resources in an international context.
The recognition of the significance of human resource management for
organisational effectiveness has led to a significant increase in interest in
human resource management internationally. The impact of globalisation and the
increasing significance of the multinational company support this developing
interest.
The module takes
account of key HRM issues as they relate to the increasingly multinational
nature of businesses and is comparative in orientation. This provides a vehicle
to compare and contrast some key similarities and differences in human resource
policies and practices across a range of international contexts.
International
Marketing Strategy
introduces students to the opportunities and challenges that globalisation
presents to marketing strategy and practices. Globalisation, in its many guises,
is continuing to increase the interdependency and interconnections of national
economies across the world. For managers such a trend presents real but
demanding opportunities in the form of potential new markets and in market
retention. The module helps students to develop the key skills, aptitudes and
knowledge to operate effectively in an international environment.
The module also
challenges students further by encouraging a critical appreciation of both the
global marketing environment and the management process. Central to this is the
debate in global marketing management about standardisation versus adaptation.
Logistics and
Supply Chain Management
recognises that effective logistics and supply chain management are fundamental
to sustainable business growth and core to business success. It therefore offers
critical perspectives on the contemporary theory and practice of the subject
exploiting the expertise, research and industry links available through Hull's
Logistics Institute. Students gain practical knowledge through exercises using
case studies and multimedia presentations that reinforce their ability to apply
relevant theoretical principles in the context of wider business settings.
Consideration is
given to: inventory management; freight movement; procurement and outsourcing;
lean and agile supply chain principles; the 'beer' game; supply network design;
and supply chain integration and relationships.
Management and
Organisational Learning
provides a strong conceptual base from which to develop students' knowledge
about the relationship between learning, managing and organising, and uses the
expertise within the school's research centre in the subject to show the
richness and diversity of academic work in the area. This research centre has a
history of strong links to practitioners and the module attempts to set
scholarly ideas firmly within managerial and organisational contexts.
Students will
develop increased awareness and understanding of this subject as it informs
organisation studies; gain insights into learning processes and understanding of
different perspectives on management and organisational learning; and be able to
reflect on their own experience in order to understand management learning, with
an increased awareness of the rational, relational, emotional and political
issues it raises and of the implications of non-traditional methods of
management education.
Marketing
Communications
teaches the importance for organisations of communicating with present and
potential stakeholders. The role of communication in the marketing approach
adopted by an organisation is critical to its effectiveness. This module allows
students to gain an appreciation of how to conceptualise this process and
translate it into practical action. Students
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