Course Outline
Course Structure
Drawing on many actual case studies and emphasising the practical application of accepted theory, the Birmingham City Business School MBA is a challenging, innovative and respected course that gives you a comprehensive understanding of organisations, the external environment in which they operate and how they are managed.
It offers an understanding of advanced theories, concepts and methods related to the functional aspects of business and management, how to apply relevant techniques to the solution of business and management problems, and how to critically evaluate their utility in practice.
Supported by the expertise and real-life experience of lecturers and guest speakers, you consider specific issues such as the strategic impact of operations and process management; the supply network and how it is configured and managed; resource planning and control; as well as inventory and quality management.
With businesses facing increasingly unpredictable and complex environments where ongoing change is the norm for both organisations and individuals, you consider organisational dynamics and culture, approaches to change, characteristics of a good leader, and issues of change and sustainability.
The course explores strategic analysis, development and implementation. It covers crucial topics such as the external environment and the role of culture in the delivery of strategy. It also investigates developing competitive advantage through resource and market-based opportunities; as well as issues linked to the process of managing the strategy process.
The vital area of entrepreneurship is considered in depth, allowing you to look at entrepreneurial activity in a local, regional and international context. You explore family and non-family businesses, issues in business start-up and sources of finance. You also examine business plans from research to design to implementation.
Not only that, you gain knowledge of the vital relationship between governance and risk, allowing you to provide high quality assurance on the effectiveness of risk management in the context of good corporate governance.
Finally, you will be able to apply the skills of data collection, analysis and synthesis to form defensible conclusions and, where relevant, appropriate recommendations in a 10,000 word dissertation on a chosen research topic.
Modules
Modules you can expect to study, and the level at which they are studied, can be found below:
Certificate stage:
- Managing Marketing
- Managing Financial Performance
- Managing People and Organisations
- Managing Business Processes
- Personal Development
Diploma stage:
- Thinking and Managing Strategically
- Entrepreneurship and Business Venturing
- Leading and Managing Change
- International Management
- Research Skills
Masters stage:
- Contemporary Issues in Business and Management
- Corporate Governance and Risk
- Dissertation
Assessments
Assessment is of a practical nature and is undertaken both individually (summative) and as a member of a team (formative). The programme uses different types of assessment, which range from assignments, reports, presentations and examinations. The most common form of assessment is reports, which involve some form of problem solving analysis