MBA drafted

Program Overview

---

The MBA is a general management course aimed at aspiring and established middle managers from a range of business sectors.

The course has been designed to account for current (local, regional and international) market trends and has recently been updated to provide additional flexibility, choice and opportunity and to help apply taught management skills.

The overall objective of this course is to educate and develop individuals as managers and business specialists, adding value through an integrated, applied and critical understanding of management and organisations, as well as the development of professional, transferable and intellectual skills that are essential for successful general and strategic management in private, public and third sector organisations.

This programme is also available as

MBA with Advanced Practice

, which includes either an internship or project.

Students will have the opportunity to develop knowledge, skills and insight in the following areas:

Develop multidisciplinary and international perspectives, concepts and issues in the major management disciplines

Gain an understanding of relevant toolkits and techniques for analysing business and management issues

Cultivate the ability to analyse, synthesise and apply knowledge and understanding to solve management problems critically, rationally and rigorously

Gain an appreciation and application of contemporary management and information systems to aid strategic decision making in business and management

Develop an appreciation of appetite and responsibility for lifelong learning and personal development

Develop skills for leadership and transformational roles in business in the changing external context within which they are likely to operate

Develop strategic thinking, innovation and entrepreneurial skills

Improve interpersonal and group-working skills

Teaching methods

You will be taught using a wide variety of teaching methods across the modules including lectures and seminars, totalling around

12 hours per week

.

In addition to your time in class, you will also be expected to engage in approximately

30 hours of self-study time per week.

You’ll be

taught by experienced lecturers

who will bring practical business-related experience into the classroom to enable students to understand how business works in the real world.

You will have

access to Blackboard

, our online learning environment, where you can access module resources and reading lists that will assist your preparation for classes and self-study.

---

---

---

---

Assessment

You will be assessed by coursework, including assignments, group assignments, presentations and class tests.

Response to Covid-19:

Our focus is on providing a safe and welcoming learning environment for our students. More information about our

response to Covid-19 and FAQs are available here

.

---

---

---

---

Careers and postgraduate opportunities

The course places a strong focus on enhancing the employment prospects of its graduates. Previous Ulster University alumni have secured positions within large multinational organisations such as Diageo, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Deloitte and KPMG as well as small to medium-sized enterprises. Others have used the programme as a valuable springboard to gain a thorough understanding of business and management principles before starting up their own business.

Related reading

Business reading:

MBA at Ulster University London Campus: The Best of Both Worlds

Modern Careers for Modern Students

Study Business at our London and Birmingham Branch Campuses

Enterprise Festival – Summer 2017

Masters reading:

The Benefits of Studying an MBA

Studying a Masters Degree In London

Postgraduate Loans: Changes for UK and EU Students Studying in the UK

Program Outline

Modules

All modules are core and 15 credits unless specified

Level 7 MSc Workshop (0 credits)

This module aims to review and enhance participants’ existing academic writing skills in contexts relevant to the modules it complements. It will also introduce skills and frameworks specific to postgraduate study, with weekly opportunities for participants to transfer these elements to their own assignments and to obtain feedback on their progression. As it provides the skills required to succeed in all written assignments, this module is compulsory

Marketing

This Marketing module focuses on the challenges management faces in developing and implementing both a marketing philosophy and successful marketing programmes.

The critical importance of marketing arises from its role as the boundary function between the organisation and the marketplace. Changes in the market require changes from the company; changes made by the company create changes in the market. Marketing is concerned with managing this ever-changing relationship.

Accounting and Finance

The overall aim of the module is to introduce you to the key areas of financial and management accounting.

To achieve this, you will be exposed to some numerical calculations during the module. However, there will be significant emphasis passed on understanding the issues around the numbers and the context within which they are set. In particular, the assessment for the module will strike a balance between calculation, interpretation and discussion.

In summary, whilst it is not intended to equip you with detailed knowledge to enable you to pursue a career in accounting, the module aims to take you to a point where you are capable of engaging in an intelligent discussion with financial experts and to be able to grasp the big picture rather than get lost in the detail.

Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Innovation and entrepreneurship are important drivers for value creation in modern economies. A central idea for both disciplines is the identification, evaluation and exploitation of opportunities. This module presents a contemporary exploration of the nature of innovation and entrepreneurship whilst also providing you with an opportunity to examine emerging sources of innovation in either a sector or organisational context.

Economics and the Business Environment

This module examines the internal and external environments within which firms must operate and helps managers to audit their business environment so as to establish a strategic approach to their business activity. It introduces managers to the principles of economics as they apply to the business environment and aims to enhance managers understanding of, and ability to adapt to, changes in the environments in which it operates.

Managing People in the Organisation

This module aims to enable you to develop knowledge and understanding of individual and group behaviour within organisations, and the core areas of Human Resource Management, and to be able to apply this knowledge and understanding in a range of organisational settings.

Operations Management

In the dynamic environment in which businesses operate the importance of business improvement cannot be ignored. Customer focus through streamlining of value chains is imperative. It presents challenges in terms of how we classify, relate to and manage the internal and external chain of customers. The ability to remove costs, optimise value creation, understand the competencies, and effectively reconfigure the organisation in the context of a continuous improvement philosophy is crucial.

Leadership and Change

This module will give you the knowledge and skills to be an effective leader. You will consider the key theories of leadership and consider their application in the context of leading organisational change.

Management Research

The module seeks to expose you to business development and innovation to the range of research methods, consultancy skills, and project management techniques available. You will acquire appropriate knowledge and understanding of the various research and project management methodologies for the purposes of developing an applied project proposal and project plan in preparation for undertaking their business project.

Digital Transformation

This module aims to provide you with an understanding of digital transformation in a range of organisational contexts. On successful completion of the module, you will be able to:

assess how digital technologies can disrupt industries by transforming industry value chains

patterns of demand and competitive pressures

understand how digital technologies and frameworks can be applied in a digital transformation strategy

understand the organisational and people capabilities required to support and implement a digital transformation strategy

and critically evaluate current practice and theory on digital transformation.

Strategy

This module is designed to introduce you to the key concepts in business strategy.

On successful completion of this module you will:

have an in-depth knowledge of strategy

be able to conduct a strategic analysis of an organisation, its environment, and its future strategic options

understand the fundamentals of formulating an international strategy

appreciate some of the key issues associated with strategy implementation

critically evaluate current theory and practice on strategy

Business Project (30 credits)

The core aim of the business project is that you should investigate an important issue to the business. It is expected that you will demonstrate an understanding of practical, ethical and strategic issues within your chosen area. The research should be work-based and it is expected that the subject and design will be such that you will normally be working with primary, as well as secondary data.

The total process seeks to develop and test your conceptual and analytical ability, to enhance both your work-related abilities and prepare you for further research studies.

Please note: this programme is undergoing a review in Spring 2023 and modular content is likely to change. Please refer to this course page for the most up-to-date information.

The course information displayed on this page is correct for the academic year 2022/23. We aim to run the course as advertised however, changes may be necessary due to updates to the curriculum (due to academic or industry developments), student demand or UK compliance reasons.