International Management BSc

This module explores the (inter)relationships between business, society and the environment through the theories and practices of business ethics and sustainability. You will be introduced to different ethical frameworks that can be used to understand a business' responsibilities to a broad range of stakeholders; ranging from investors and customers, to employees, communities and ecosystems.

The module equips you with the capacity to describe and address specific situations that enable and/or constrain ethical and sustainable decision-making in businesses. Ultimately, the module develops your 'moral imagination' - to become responsible managers of the future - in light of competing stakeholder expectations, situational factors, and broader challenges of sustainability.

This module will engage you in the more practical elements of innovation and enterprise activity, in terms of creating new businesses and entrepreneurship within the corporate environment. You will become prepared for enterprise activity across a variety of contexts. 

This module examines the managerial and organisational factors that influence the formation and subsequent realisation of strategy. It enables you to develop skills in the analysis of strategic processes and practice with particular reference to the role of organisation in strategy development and execution, strategic leadership, strategic change, internationalisation and stakeholder management in strategic management.

This module will discuss some or all of the following topics:

• Pricing decisions and profitability analysis
• Measuring business performance
• Strategic management accounting (including strategic cost management)
• Issues in management accounting and control
• Current issues in management accounting

This module will provide an introduction to econometric techniques for modelling data. Topics to be covered include:

• panel data modelling (difference-in-difference models; regression discontinuity designs; experiments)
• qualitative response models
• time series models

This module will provide you with an understanding of methods, results and models of behavioural economics and behavioural finance. We will talk about experiments and their importance in several fields. Within this context we will cover topics such as:

• how to design an experiment
• asset markets
• labour markets
• social dilemmas
• bargaining
• contests
• behavioural finance
• market structure
• risk

You will learn how to design your own experiment and how to interpret empirical results.

This module is an opportunity for you to work largely independently and in depth on a subject of your choice to be approved by staff from the Business School. 

You will be encouraged to understand the political and institutional frameworks within which business operates. Businesses do not simply react to policies set by government however; they are intimately involved in the processes of policy formation and decision making will be examined. You will be encouraged to think critically about policy formation and the role of business in this process. 

This module introduces and develops frameworks which enable businesses to understand the buying behaviour of consumers.

This module introduces you to key contemporary debates and practices, giving you a chance to engage with these debates and practices. You will gain an understanding of the human resource management approaches managers take as you grapple with the challenges of the global economy and a demanding and diverse workforce within an international context.

This module examines the antecedents and consequences of corporate restructuring. Factors triggering corporate restructuring are considered in a number of alternative organisational settings. In particular, the role of corporate governance in inducing and shaping corporate restructuring receives special attention (in particular, executive compensation and the market for corporate control).

The process of restructuring is discussed against a background of resource-based, agency and behavioural theories of the firm. The impact of corporate restructuring on the size, complexity, incentive systems and ownership structure of large firms is examined. Finally, the evidence relating to the effects of corporate restructuring on performance, employment, R&D and corporate governance is examined.

The module includes lecture content to consider the background, need for, and potential of ‘entrepreneurship for social change’. This includes reviewing

• the fundamentals of the business and society relationship
• the emergence and potential of social and environmental entrepreneurship
• the organisational forms where entrepreneurship for social changes takes place, for example, Cooperatives, Charitable Foundations, Social Enterprises, B-Corps
• the ecosystem that supports entrepreneurship for social change, for example, social venture capitalists, institutions, networks

Further, the module introduces a series of concepts and engages you in using practice tools/ frameworks for entrepreneurship for social change, at times these will be anchored by the UN’s SDGs.

This module will offer an introduction to some theoretical concepts related to the allocation of risk by financial institutions. Then it will apply these concepts to the analysis of financial and banking crises.

This module covers:

• introduction to law and economics: the Coase theorem, property rights and transaction costs
• economics of corporate law: ownership, agency and governance structures
• economics of contract law: efficient breach and efficient remedies
• economics of tort law: efficient liability rules
• economics of criminal law: fines and imprisonment
• economics of legal processes: litigation, settlement and trial
• competitive markets: products liability
• non-competitive markets: economics of antitrust law and regulation

The module provides an introduction to logistics and supply chain management (LSCM) within the international context. It examines how LSCM strategies contribute to businesses' competitive advantage, the relationship aspects between business partners in delighting end-customers and supporting operational activities and the international transport of goods. The module is taught by reference to academic literature and management practice, including case-studies and application to special topics such as humanitarian logistics and international trade. 

This module aims to develop your understanding of quality management. It begins by introducing you to the ways in which thinking about quality has developed historically. You’ll discuss different definitions and concepts of quality and the specific quality management needs in the manufacturing and service sectors.

Compliance is concerned with the process by which an organisation seeks to ensure that employees and other stakeholders conform to applicable internal and external norms, regulations and expectations. This module provides you with the key elements to implement an effective compliance management strategy in your organisations. It places them in the shoes of both corporate decision-makers and external stakeholders seeking to influence corporate policies and practices.

During the module you will develop knowledge about soft and hard regulation at national and international level and learn how to design compliance strategies. Besides an overview of the regulations proposed by organisations such as the UN and the OECD, you will also analyse the relevant ISO standards, and the current development about corporate liability frameworks to prevent employees and senior’s executives’ misconducts.

This module covers:

• social, political, and legal context of managing diversity
• concepts used in diversity management, including equality and inclusion
• stereotyping and unconscious bias
• intersectional approaches to understanding inequalities
• business case approaches and their limits
• organisational practices and interventions in diversity management
• trade unions and diversity

This module provides a broad-based introduction to the theory and practice of using computer and communication systems to solve problems in organisations.

The module is designed to provide the theoretical knowledge and technology-based insights needed in order to manage effective problem solving with information technologies and systems (IT&S), and to extract the most value from an actual or potential application of IT&S.

Specific domains include the strategic management of IT&S; the development, implementation and use of IT&S; the impacts of specific IT&S on organisational forms and activities.

An overview of marketing and society, macro-marketing issues, responsible and sustainable marketing, consumer response to marketing activities, marketing's impact on society and consumption.

The ability to develop and manage new product and services is crucial for the long-term survival of the firm and lies at the heart of the marketing concept. This module is designed to develop an appreciation of the latest theory and practice in the management and development of new products and services.

This module aims to develop an understanding of new product and service development (NPSD) as a strategic process and will explore and apply a variety of approaches to its management. In particular it pays attention to the role of market research/marketing analytics, and new approaches to using the Internet and social media. The NPSD process models will be evaluated and this will include critiques of the ideation process/creativity, design, new product launch management and marketing communication strategies.

In addition, contemporary themes around user innovation, co-creation, sustainability and international NPSD will be explored.

The module covers examination of key forms of social theory, both classical, and more contemporary versions and consideration of the applicability of these theories in relation to organisations and work.

This module provides an understanding of the factors which influence a company's choice of location, and of how to approach the design of layouts to support a company's strategic objectives and maximise the efficiency of its operations.

This module covers:

• introduction to purchasing - its importance, role and impact in organisations
• strategic sourcing decisions and approaches
• the stages of a typical purchasing process and introduction to various tools buyers use
• internal organisation of the purchasing function such as centralisation vs decentralisation
• supplier evaluation and selection issues, total cost of ownership (TCO) and quotation analysis
• portfolio and segmentation approaches to supplier management
• incentives and behavioural issues in managing suppliers
• negotiations
• special issues in purchasing: service sourcing and public procurement
• industrial case studies

This module will discuss the processes utilised by corporate enterprises to manage the risk of fortuitous loss. Once corporate risks have been identified and their impact on the firm measured, risk management attempts to control the size and frequency of loss, and to finance those fortuitous losses which do occur. 

This module examines individual decision-making under conditions of risk and uncertainty, and investigates the effectiveness of insurance as a means of controlling risk.

This module introduces you to key strategy and innovation concepts and tools which are relevant to dynamic markets in which there is rapid change in knowledge and skills, technologies, products, and services. Topics covered include:

• creating and sustaining competitive advantage in dynamic markets
• dynamic capabilities
• first and second mover advantages in innovation
• industry life cycles
• new product development and technology lock-ins
• innovation in services (public and private sector)

This module aims to provide you with the skills, knowledge and practical experience required to respond to the challenges involved in managing, commercialising and marketing technological innovation and new business development.