MBA Global

The focus of this module is on the internal accounting and finance function and how this data is deployed to inform organisations in their planning processes and decision making. The module will include, from an external perspective, analysis and interpretation of key financial statements and corporate reports, consideration of shareholder wealth maximisation and value creation, and the measurement of performance within this context. Internally, the module will cover data generation and conversion into information for management use within planning, control, decision-making and performance management.

Module learning outcomes

On successful completion of the module, you will be able to:

1. Critically analyse financial data and interpret information, evaluating timeliness, relevance and validity
2. Critically evaluate the wider role of fundamental analysis within the context of corporate performance
3. Critically evaluate using financial management practices to produce information appropriate for management to aid planning, control and decision-making at strategic, tactical and operational levels

Module content

• The objectives of financial reporting
• The main financial statements
• The interpretation of financial statements
• Fundamental analysis of corporate performance
• Shareholder value creation
• Capital investment appraisal
• Internal costing structures - tools and techniques required for assisting management in controlling and decision-making
• Absorption costing, marginal costing and activity-based costing
• The purpose, structure and integration of budgets, from a planning and controlling perspective
• Measurement of divisional performance
• Key decision-making processes
• Strategic management accounting

The module will lead you through a critical evaluation of the variety of strategies available to an organisation, whether that be local, national or global, incremental or transformational, planned or emergent.

In determining any strategic intention, an organisation must have a clear understanding of the market within which is wishes to compete, so a full market analysis will need to be undertaken, coupled with complete awareness of resource availability. This will allow managers to identify the organisations capabilities, which in turn will act as the driver for implementing strategy.

The recognition and management of both internal and external relationships with the market will consequently move the organisation towards effective operations and performance. It is therefore necessary to understand how to manage the organisation's impact on, and interplay with, the global marketplace.

Through these analyses, appropriate strategies may be identified to place organisations in a position of competitive advantage and strength in terms of market share.

Module learning outcomes

On successful completion of this module, you will be able to:

1. Critically analyse the importance of effective sustainable business operations and the conditions necessary for effective and efficient work
2. Critically evaluate organisational strategy and how this is developed in light of market and resource position
3. Critically evaluate how customer value can be maximised through marketing activities to produce sustainable, strategic, competitive advantage
4. Reflect on current trends and critical issues that are pertinent to the successful strategic alignment of sustainable value to markets and organisations

Module content

• Business operations as a system
• Sustainability through systems design - sourcing, distribution and managing the value-added activities and minimising wasteful activities
• The integrative nature of strategic management
• Synthesise contrasting perspectives founded in the tension between competitive positioning and the resource based view of the firm
• The impact of the complex external environment - local, national and global, macro and micro - on organisational strategy, behaviour and management
• The marketing orientation and centrality of the customer/consumer
• Understanding the needs and values of customers
• Marketing objectives, strategy, marketing sustainability and marketing tactics
• Integration of organisational operations to achieve strategic aims
• Creating and delivering customer value and innovation
• Product and services designs, including the 7Ps
• Marketing planning, actions, implementation, risk and controls
• Critically compare the concepts of strategic management and strategic marketing

The aim of the module is to assist you in becoming an effective manager and leader in the workplace. For businesses to maintain a competitive advantage in the market, business leaders and managers have to manage contemporary challenges such as globalisation, innovation, technology and sustainability. Therefore, this module provides a broad representation of the diverse concepts and theories that reflect current debate among academics and practitioners alike. It explores how today’s leaders and managers utilise and manage competitive intelligence and knowledge in diverse cultural, industrial and organisational contexts in order to develop innovative strategies for sustainable competitive advantage.

The module will challenge you to reflect critically on theory and your own practice, as well as drawing experiences from global strategic leaders and managers. You will be encouraged to develop the skills to deal with the current challenges in organisations. Overall, you will develop a wider global and international perspective and increase your awareness of the different leadership and management approaches for successful strategy development and implementation in a variety of organisational, industrial and cultural contexts.

Module learning outcomes

On successful completion of the module, you will be able to:

1. Critically evaluate the contemporary research and debates on the relationship between management and leadership practices and organisational outcomes
2. Critically evaluate how the role and nature of the organisation affects the knowledge, skills and behaviour needed by leaders and managers
3. Critically analyse the contemporary issues facing the successful formulation and implementation of organisational strategies

Module content

• Exploration of contemporary strategic theories on leadership and management
• Strategic management in context: its history, evolution and role in corporate development and the role of leaders and managers as innovative strategic thinkers
• Strategic management in a changing environment; change and competitive advantage; managing strategic change and developing dynamic response in dynamic and volatile environments
• Strategy development and implementation: approaches and challenges in various contexts
• Leadership styles and organisational structures and cultures and how leaders and managers can develop in an organisation
• Understanding motivation, team and group dynamics, personality, attitudes and behaviours, and the effects that these have on organisational and individual performance
• Power, politics and conflict
• Vision and the effective school thought
• Developing a collaborative culture
• Cross cultural leadership and management styles
• Strategic thinking and management of corporate governance, social responsibility and ethical issues
• Developing a collaborative culture
• The 'Social Enterprise' and 'Shared Values' agendas
• Globalisation and strategic management theories
• Strategic competitive advantage through innovation
• Leadership and the corporate level strategy and culture
• Strategic knowledge management
• Managing and leading strategic change

Module learning outcomes

On successful completion of the module, you will be able to:

1. Identify, search for and critically review relevant academic and business information following academic conventions
2. Acknowledge supporting material and evidence in written work and present in an effective manner for a range of audiences
3. Undertake critical self-reflection of business skills and develop strategies for improvement

Module content

• Orientation and induction to university
• Self-Management, time management, prioritising, meeting deadlines
• Effective communication skills for different audiences
• Presentation skills
• Team working
• Learning and reflection
• Enterprise and initiative
• Personal organisation and planning
• Problem solving
• Academic practice – critical, professional and academic writing skills, avoiding plagiarism, Harvard Referencing
• Using appropriate information resources (databases, Library resources)
• Information collection, analysis and interpretation
• Word-processing, PowerPoint presentations, Excel spreadsheets, SPSS statistical processing
• Digital literacy and data privacy

This 0-credit module has been designed explicitly for you to reflect on your current personal competencies. By studying this module, you will be directed to a range of resources to help you to develop in the future, with a view to pursuing your CMI Chartered Manager application.

The module also develops an understanding, application and evaluation of practical tools to support coaching and mentoring processes, applicable to management issues such as managing team performance, supporting staff through change, innovative problem solving, building supportive relationships and mentoring the growth of talent. Through this journey you will create an individualised leadership and personal development plan and the skills required for ongoing self-reflection and appraisal of your capabilities to support your future career aspirations.

Module learning outcomes

On successful completion of the module, you will be able to:

1. Critically reflect on your personal strengths and weaknesses and use a range of reference points to support your career development
2. Demonstrate self-awareness in terms of personal motivation, supporting and restricting beliefs and attitude in proactively setting goals for your career and professional development
3. Understand, apply and critically evaluate the underlying principles and approaches that have contributed to the growth of coaching and mentoring as development tools in the workplace

Module content

• The changing economic, cultural, organisational and demographic context of careers
• understanding personality and personal style at work
• Leading self and others
• Authentic leadership
• Cross cultural awareness
• Mindfulness and resilience
• Emotional Intelligence
• Definitions of coaching and mentoring
• Coaching skills, trust and rapport, listening and challenge, question technique
• Coaching process models; GROW, OSCAR and SCORE
• Giving and soliciting feedback, Johari window
• Self-assessment/evaluation tools e.g. skills audits/personal SWOT analysis, personality testing, psychometric tests
• Ethical standards in professional recognition – their value and implication for career progression
• Becoming a Chartered Manager (CMI)

This 0-credit module has been designed explicitly for you to reflect on your current personal competencies. By studying this module, you will be directed to a range of resources to help you to develop in the future, with a view to pursuing your CMI Chartered Manager application.

The module focuses on your progression as you develop into becoming an independent thinker, capable of articulating and synthesizing the data, information and knowledge gained from the programme. You will select a work problem or issue that is of professional and personal development interest to you or of benefit to an organisation. You will design a methodologically sound approach as to how you will collect data and critically analyse, evaluate and present the findings of your investigation.

Module learning outcomes

On successful completion of the module, you will be able to:

1. Critically evaluate the various research approaches, methods and techniques for your chosen workplace problem/topic of further study/research
2. Critically examine the contribution primary and secondary data sources can make to research studies in respect of sampling, analysis and data presentation techniques
3. Propose and justify a research project in business management

Module content

Key areas of study may include:

• Research approaches, philosophies and strategies
• Justifying research questions including testing hypotheses where relevant
• The collection of ethical primary data for a chosen research project
• Primary data collection methods and tools
• Basics of qualitative designs, including case study, phenomenology, narrative inquiry, grounded theory and ethnography
• Basic quantitative designs including experimental and quasi-experimental, survey and causal-comparative
• Secondary data collection sources and ethical review of secondary data from within your own organisation
• Sampling techniques and analysis
• Issues of validity and reliability
• Bias, error and accuracy in the research process
• Ethical issues in research approach and design and recognition of the University's research ethics policy guidelines (University of Derby Code of Practice on Research Ethics)
• Creation of research questions and objectives relevant to your research project
• Content analysis and construction of a literature review
• Debate of a research methodological strategy
• Analysis of data collection methods in terms of processing and presenting
• Drawing and then testing the findings emerging from business research

This module seeks to critical analyse the management of risks within the global business environment, and how effective management can lead to successful performance. You will consider, using a variety of live and historic case studies, risk identification strategies, risk analysis approaches and the management of risks.

This will then lead on to consideration of disaster and continuity planning, as well as the role of corporate governance and risk regulation. This module will be applied in nature and focus considerably on practical scenarios.

Module learning outcomes

On successful completion of the module, you will be able to:

1. Critically evaluate and analyse the holistic nature of risk management within strategic decision making in organisations
2. Critically evaluate the use of quantitative and qualitative techniques in order to manage risk
3. Critically evaluate internal and external influences on approaches to risk management and disaster planning

Module content

• Defining risk and uncertainty in a global environment
• Identifying and assessing risk
• Risk analysis - risk profiling, risk mapping
• Risk management systems - ERM
• Influences on risk management processes
• Measuring risk and risk impact
• Risk management and containment strategies
• Risk transfer - insurance, security, derivatives
• Linking risk management to performance
• Corporate governance and risk regulation
• Disaster planning

The module will facilitate the analysis of the pressure to improve internal operations, how logistics strategies should evolve and be implemented and how integrated supply chains are developed. You will gain a critical appreciation of a breadth and depth of disciplines and how they culminate in impacting upon the supply chain, and how these impacts should be managed.

Module learning outcomes

On successful completion of the module, you will be able to:

1. Critically analyse the management of resource within the global supply chain
2. Critically evaluate the need to either outsource or in-source elements of the supply chain, from a global, national or local perspective
3. Critically evaluate backward and forward growth in the supply chain, and how to manage supply chain risk
4. Undertake comprehensive and critical research of both academic and organisational materials, showing a suitable breadth and depth of sources in the development of reasoned conclusions

Module content

• Introduction to the development of management accounting
• Managing intangibles in a changing environment – such as supply chain relationships
• Managing information, knowledge management, learning organisations
• Understanding value chain integration
• Impact of technology across the supply chain
• Contingency theory and institutional theory related to the design of processes and systems. Leading to continuous improvement, lean thinking, JIT, TQM
• Outsourcing of elements, or all, of the supply chain – supply chain management as a service
• Link to M&A activity – backward and forward integration in the Supply Chain – the consideration of the internalising of transactions
• Measuring supply chain costs and performance
• Risk Management of the supply chain

The module builds on the knowledge and skills within the Business Research Methods and Data Analysis module, in shaping students into becoming independent thinkers. The module provides an opportunity for students interested in specialising in any business related area to explore an in-depth topic relevant to their own context. It also provides the opportunity for you to reflect on the research experience and use what you have learned to guide your future development via a reflective statement and development plan.

Module learning outcomes

On successful completion of the module, you will be able to:

1. Critically evaluate, with appropriate academic rigour, a business or management research problem or issue
2. Conduct a research methodology that investigates a business problem or issue, reviews pertinent literature, analyses primary and/or secondary data to an appropriate depth and demonstrates strategic awareness within a chosen business related discipline
3. Reflect on the process of undertaking a significant piece of independent research

Module content

The dissertation represents a major learning experience for students, providing an opportunity to pursue in considerable depth and with suitable academic rigour a specific area of management and/or strategy, building on the study of relevant concepts, models and paradigms. Each research project will be supervised by a specialised research supervisor. At the beginning, and as part of this module, a dissertation topic and research objectives will be individually negotiated and agreed. This initial collaboration with the supervisor will demonstrate that the proposed research and objectives can be achieved. Students will also have to complete an ethical approval form that meets the University of Derby’s ethics guidelines. The final work will comprise a dissertation or action-based study, a reflective statement and development plan. This whole process will normally be independently assessed by two tutors, one of whom will be the Dissertation Supervisor.