MSc Management with Supply Chain

The module aims to develop the student’s ability to critically analyse the financial statements for single and group companies, understanding how the financial statements are prepared, considering compliance with legal and regulatory requirements and the relevant International Accounting Standards. Students taking the module will examine both financial and non-financial matters that affect a business on a day-to-day basis and develop proactive ideas to solve these issues.

The module will equip the students with the knowledge and skills necessary to understand corporate financial performance and the relevance of accounting information, including the implications for the organisation, stakeholders and for effective corporate governance. The module recognises the different types of decisions that managers are required to make and considers how financial and management accounting information can be used in support of these decisions.

The module aims to develop the skills needed to understand, apply, and critically appraise the various tools and techniques that may be used to support managers in decision-making in order to determine their relevance in different organisational contexts. The module also evaluates the impact of financial and management decisions on different stakeholders and ensures that decisions are properly made and implemented to maximise value for key stakeholders of the organisation.

The practical side of the module extends to the role of enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems in decision-making and explores the impact of cyber security on a company’s financial performance and financial reporting.

Outline Syllabus:

• Published financial statements: Income Statement, Statement of Equity, Balance Sheet and Cash Flow Statement, in the context of single and group accounts including multinational companies.
• The analysis and evaluation of complex financial and non-financial information including limitations of financial reporting.
• Appraisal of a company’s financial performance through analysing a set of company accounts and applying ratio and financial analysis.
• Capital investment decisions including the concepts of risk and uncertainty, relevant costing, and mergers and acquisitions.
• Working capital management and short-term financing decisions.
• Capital markets and long-term financing decisions.
• Cyber security in accounting and finance including the role of ERP systems in strategic decision-making.

The business world never stands still; technologies and the move towards a more global economy are creating opportunities that organisations must embrace to maintain their competitive edge. Never before has global events and innovations had greater impact on local markets. Business now competes on a global stage where marketers can do so much more with small budges ultimately shrinking the historic chasm between SME’s and large enterprise. Creative marketing that grabs the attention of the ever-demanding changing needs of the consumer takes careful planning. International Marketing Planning provides students with the fundamental building blocks to manage an organisation’s marketing function. By establishing an organisation’s current market position, unpacking their value offering to consumers and formulating a plan to meet strategic marketing objectives, the marketing planning process provides a creative framework to drive organisational success.

Outline Syllabus:

• Market analysis
  • International macro-environmental issues that impact on an organisation’s strategic direction
  • Micro-environmental issues including the capabilities of the organisation, their suppliers, marketing intermediaries, their existing customer profile, who their competitors are, and the public that may influence their strategic direction.
• Setting marketing objectives
• Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning
  • Segmentation tools to profile the desired audience.
  • Targeting strategies
  • Positioning strategies
• Implementation and control of the international marketing plan
  • Marketing mix
  • Implementation issues in effective planning
  • Contingency planning
  • Monitoring and controlling the plan
  • Module Learning Outcomes

This module is designed to provide students with a conceptual and theoretical background in leadership, and an opportunity to develop leadership competencies in themselves and others. It covers topics such as leadership style, followership, ethical and responsible leadership, gender and leadership, and cross-cultural leadership. Over the course of this module, students will gain an understanding and appreciation of the impact interpersonal skills have on leadership effectiveness. This module has an applied focus and requires students to reflect on and apply theories and techniques to their personal real-world context in order to enhance their leadership practice.

Outline Syllabus:

• Leadership style
• Situational leadership
• Leader-member exchange
• Followership
• Ethical and responsible leadership
• Cross-cultural leadership
• Gender and leadership
• Power and influence
• Communication and conflict resolution

With the rapidly changing context of modern business, the process of introducing novel technologies, products, infrastructures, or systems has become vital yet more challenging due to often conflicting stakeholder requirements, irreversible investments, operating constraints and associated risks. Therefore, any business change has to be project-managed as the current emphasis in business is on flexible, rapid response to customer demands. Managers increasingly require a project competence with a systems-oriented management style that cuts across traditional functional roles throughout the project life cycle. Project management is thus considered a crucial management philosophy of how organisations manage fluctuating business environments and bring to life something innovative or simply never accomplished before.

Through the Project Planning and Management module, students will get a solid foundation in the theory and best practice of project management and develop the practical skills of how to plan, implement and control projects. The module provides students with an understanding of the system perspective on management and a practically oriented overview of the nature and purpose of project management and its key functions (scope, time, cost, quality, etc). The role and qualities of the Project Manager and the composition of the team are also examined. Overall, the material and approach in the module incorporates world-wide best practices from major professional bodies: the PMI Body of Knowledge, APM Body of Knowledge and PRINCE2 – providing a common ground and concentrating on the underlying principles rather than specifics of any given framework.

The module is specifically strong on transferable skills for boosting students’ professional development and employability: practical problem solving and decision making in conditions of uncertainty and ambiguity; planning capability; adaptability to work in different contexts – all highly valued by employers.

Outline Syllabus:

• Systems approach and project integration
• Traditional and alternative project life cycles
• Project requirements definition and scope management
• Sequencing and scheduling of project activities
• Resource allocation and levelling
• Cost estimation and project budgeting
• Quality management in the project environment
• Risk assessment and mitigation
• Stakeholder and communication management
• Project execution and control

In our current globalised world, individuals in leadership and management positions within organisations across sectors are often confronted with a myriad of ‘wicked’ problems which demand for a comprehensive and cohesive strategy. To succeed, individuals in position of responsibility must develop a range of capabilities needed to gain competitive advantage in markets and in the globe. This module seeks to equip students with crucial knowledge and strategy making skills to perform as a strategist and contribute to responsible business strategies to give their organisation a competitive advantage. Students who fully engage with the module will develop the knowledge and professional expertise needed for the formation, implementation, and analysis of responsible business strategies; to make appropriate choices between strategic options; and then to follow a strategic route that will deliver results that are robust, ethically sound and socially responsible.

Outline Syllabus:

• Introducing strategy
• Making sense of strategy making and execution process
• Understanding and Analysing the External Environment Using Analytical Tools
• Understanding and Analysing Industry/Sector Contexts Using Analytical Tools
• Understanding and Analysing the Internal Context of an organisation Using Analytical Tools
• The crafting of a strategy and the achievement of a competitive advantage
• Designing organisational control systems to sustain effective strategy and promote ethical business behaviour and environmental sustainability.

The purpose of this module is to develop students’ understanding and management of people at work. This will be achieved by introducing students to key concepts and theories in the field of organisational psychology and their application to different organisational settings. A wide range of topics relevant to effective people management are covered including personality, selection and assessment, training and development, team working, motivation, work design, stress and well-being, and organisational change and culture. The module will also provide the opportunity for students to reflect on their own experiences and competencies as managers.

Outline Syllabus:

• Individual differences
• Personnel selection and assessment methods
• The psychological contract
• Groups, teams and teamwork
• Motivation
• Work design
• Training and development
• Stress and well-being at work
• Organisational change and culture

The supply chain is now recognised as a key source of value add and with it as a critical contributor to the success of any organisation. Taking a strategic view of the supply chain will not only serve to reduce costs but also to enhance customer value, hence supply chain management is regarded as key to achieving competitive advantage. It is argued that it is supply chains that compete in today’s globalised economy and not companies. The ability to understand, develop and manage global supply chains gives organisations access to strategic resources and enables them to compete in global markets. However, whilst supply chains offer many strategic opportunities, they also present many risks and responsibilities. Successful global supply chain strategies are those that can balance the opportunities and risks, without undermining the organisation’s ability to be a responsible global citizen. This module will give students the opportunity to examine global supply chains in detail evaluating issues such as network strategies, supply chain relationships, ethics, sustainability, and corporate social responsibility and integrating contemporary phenomena such as offshoring, supply chain disruptions, innovation and future challenges whilst applying a variety of theoretical frameworks to relevant, topical and practical global supply chain issues and challenges.

On completion of this module, the student will not only have a better understanding of the challenges associated with the development of strategic global supply chains but will also be aware of some of the tools and techniques available to implement effective and responsible global supply chain management.

Outline Syllabus

• Globalisation and the integration of markets in the global economy.
• Achieving global competitive advantage through the supply chain
• Strategic global supply chain design achieving strategic fit
• Sourcing strategy
• Managing risk in the supply chain
• Complexity and network design and overcoming barriers to supply chain integration
• Supply chain resilience and creating a sustainable supply chain
• The supply chain of the future

Procurement and Supply Chain Management is the business function that ensures identification, sourcing, access, and management of the external resources that an organisation needs to achieve its strategic objectives. As a business discipline it has changed considerably in recent years and in many organisations has moved from a back-office function to one that is a priority for executives and the board room. Considering the amount of money generally involved in the preparation and execution of procurement and supply decisions this is not a surprise, and it has been argued that an effective and efficient procurement and supply chain function can make a significant and positive contribution to company results and overall success. The procurement and supply function exists to explore supply market opportunities and to implement resourcing strategies that deliver the best possible supply outcomes for the organisation, its stakeholders, and customers. The procurement department is now regarded as a vital contributor to the efficiency and effectiveness of the organisation as it acts as the intermediary which is charged with negotiating the agreements and contracts with suppliers and subsequently monitoring and measuring supplier compliance against these. This change in emphasis has seen procurement and supply chain managers assume more strategic roles within organisations, focused on getting better performance from suppliers and the active management of supplier relationships. As such, procurement and supply managers are expected to apply the science and art of external resource and supply chain management through an associated and growing body of knowledge and academic discourse. This module introduces.

students to fundamental concepts, tools, and techniques in the area of procurement and supply chain management. The module places procurement and supply within the wider context of strategic business networks, with a particular focus on the procurement cycle and management of supplier relationships. The approach taken to this module is interactive, with a focus on industry case studies and insights from experienced procurement and supply professionals.

 

On completion of this module, the student will not only have a better understanding of the challenges associated with the development of strategic procurement and supply chain processes and procedures but will also be aware of some of the tools and techniques available to implement effective and efficient procurement and supply chain management.

Outline Syllabus

• The scope and influence of procurement and supply chain management
• Strategic procurement
• Procurement policy, procedures, and legal challenges
• Strategic sourcing
• Development and management of strategic supplier relationships
• Supply chain structure and performance measurement
• Sustainability, environmental and ethical issues in procurement and supply
• Future challenges for procurement and supply

Many different products and services are consumed each day, but how to they reach the end.

customer? This is the challenge faced by the logistics and operations function within the organisation. Moreover, we must also consider the associated cost against calls for efficiencies as well as the processes and procedures which ensure effective production and delivery of those products and services. Add to this the increasing global awareness of related environmental issues and responsibilities and the challenge for the logistics and operations function is clear. This module introduces students to the key business concepts within Logistics and Operations Strategy, through a framework within which they can critically analyse the performance of these functions from a sustainable business perspective, i.e., efficacy, efficiency, and effectiveness. This framework links the delivery of value with sustainable organisational activities through diverse strategic approaches. Students will evaluate and critically analyse the links between the Logistics and Operations functions and other organisational disciplines within the context of organisational success and value add. The different configurations that organisations may adopt to deliver Logistics and Operations Management in a sustainable manner in today’s complex global economy will be considered, and a range of systemic tools for the analysis of customer requirements and core competences will be discussed. The module places logistics and operations within the wider context of strategic business

networks. The approach taken to this module is interactive, with a focus on industry case studies and insights from experienced logistics and operations professionals.

 

On completion of this module, the student will not only have a better understanding of the challenges associated with the development of strategic logistics and operations processes and procedures but will also be aware of some of the tools and techniques available to implement effective and efficient logistics and operations management.

Outline Syllabus

• The scope and influence of logistics and operations
• Operations strategy and performance
• Leveraging logistics globally
• The contribution of logistics to supply chain strategy
• Strategic delivery and design
• Operations development and continuous improvement
• Sustainability, environmental and ethical issues in logistics and operations

The professional Inquiry Project allows students to demonstrate their mastery of management within the field of their degree. It is an individual and independent project in which students can bring together and apply their learning from the programme to help to solve a chosen business problem or challenge, a real-world issue, or a research topic. Through bringing together learning from across their degree programme, students will demonstrate their accumulated knowledge and understanding of management within their field and its application to organisations, through synoptic assessment.

This module seeks to enable and facilitate innovation and creativity in terms of project foci, form and output. Rather than being prescriptive, students are required to not only undertake an in-depth study of a topic related to the title of the degree but also to take responsibility for their own learning and negotiate the form and output of the final project. The choice of topic and format of the final assessment will be negotiated with the tutor, which will ensure mutuality of intent, process, practice and format of assessment. Although the foci and form of the final project are to be negotiated, the following are indicative of the potential formats students may choose: work based project, client based project; or other negotiated project.

The module requires students to draw upon the framework for research methods and requires the in-depth development of a proposal for the Business Project. Students will be responsible for finding an organisation and negotiating access where necessary with regard to client-based projects. Students who are employed will normally undertake a project based on an agreed business problem that forms part of their role and agree the project title and support arrangements with their employer and tutor.

Completing the Professional Inquiry Project gives you a unique opportunity to undertake an extended piece of personal research on a topic of your own choosing. By undertaking the project students will be demonstrating their ability to research and critically analyse and integrate complex information necessary in the world of contemporary management.

Outline Syllabus

Whilst the specific content of each project will vary, in general it will be underpinned by a process of research; interpreted in an applied, rather than a pure academic, sense.

Projects will typically include a number of activities:

• Mapping ideas for research/project topics
• Identification of the stages of a project which is appropriate for the professional context
• Project planning focusing on aims and objectives, methodology, resources and criteria for evaluation.
• Critically surveying current knowledge
• Arguing and advocating
• Considering ethics and principles of responsible management
• Undertaking research, data analysis and interpretation, problem solving and / or decision-making techniques
• Use of evidence-based tools and ethical approaches to undertake problem solving and support decision making.
• Discussing findings, making conclusions, and constructing recommendations
• Reflecting and identifying future directions
• Presenting project process and outcomes in appropriate manner and format