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MN10565: Business context

[Page last updated: 05 August 2021]

Academic Year: 2021/2
Owning Department/School: School of Management
Credits: 6 [equivalent to 12 CATS credits]
Notional Study Hours: 120
Level: Certificate (FHEQ level 4)
Period:
Academic Year
Assessment Summary: CW 100%
Assessment Detail:
  • Coursework 1 (CW 50%)
  • Coursework 2 (CW 50%)
Supplementary Assessment:
Like-for-like reassessment (where allowed by programme regulations)
Requisites:
Aims: The unit aims to equip students with vital skills necessary to succeed both in subsequent units of study on their programme of study, but also whilst on placement and subsequently in professional life. Such skills include analytical ability, presentation skills, negotiation skills, group work and self-management. The unit will also aim to give students a clear understanding of how the different business functions within a corporation works both individually an collectively. This is an important step in first year undergraduate business' students learning progression given their lack of actual experience from a working corporations.

Learning Outcomes: The intended learning outcomes for the unit include:
1. Ability to work in group and manage themselves in a group context. This includes placing their own strengths in the context of the group, fully participate in group based outcomes and manage their own time and involvement in the group setting
2. Develop analytical ability through engagement with the data, databases, the sourcing of information and the application of the data to salient cases studies
3. Present material - communication skills are key in a business context, and presentation skills will be developed through the case studies, where students will be given the opportunity to present their analysis and material to their peers
4. Negotiations - this will take place through group negotiations where students, again using data analysis and group work will negotiate an outcome for a designed business case
5. Explain the link between the firm's macro economic competitive context and the firm's strategy
6. Analyse academic research into the firm's different functions such as marketing, Human Resources, and operations and articulate how this research can be translated into functioning firm strategy.

Skills: Presentation skills, group work, analytical ability, negotiations, self management and independent research.

Content: The unit will contain a total of three case studies. Case study one will address the business function of Human Resources and training and operations management. The second case study will address Corporate Social Responsibility, environmental management and community engagement, foreign market entry, marketing and product strategy. The third and final case study will address the firms location decision, macro economic context and strategy.

Topic 1 will address the issues associated with Human Resource management, training and recruitment of employee and the impact of national competitive advantages for successful business management.

Topic 2 will address the operations function and will address operations management, the running of Just-In-Time, location decisions in light of logistics requirements and topics related to operations strategy.

Topic 3 will deal with the impact of manufacturing and business management of large businesses on the local community, the natural environment and the firm's business strategy in light of environmental concerns.

Topic 4 will consider the International Business & strategy function and will touch on marketing. The topic will consider location decisions in emerging markets and appropriate product strategies for that market.

Topic 5 will be concerned with strategy and operating in the Eurozone.

Programme availability:

MN10565 is Compulsory on the following programmes:

School of Management
  • UMMN-AYB06 : BSc(Hons) International Management with Year Abroad (Year 1)
  • UMMN-AFB04 : BSc(Hons) Management (Year 1)
  • UMMN-AKB04 : BSc(Hons) Management with Year long work placement (Year 1)
  • UMMN-AKB05 : BSc(Hons) Management with Marketing with Year long work placement (Year 1)

Notes:

  • This unit catalogue is applicable for the 2021/22 academic year only. Students continuing their studies into 2022/23 and beyond should not assume that this unit will be available in future years in the format displayed here for 2021/22.
  • Programmes and units are subject to change in accordance with normal University procedures.
  • Availability of units will be subject to constraints such as staff availability, minimum and maximum group sizes, and timetabling factors as well as a student's ability to meet any pre-requisite rules.
  • Find out more about these and other important University terms and conditions here.