MBA Master of Business Administration

Strategic Leadership Development is designed to be a reflective leadership journey for each MBA student, in which a personal portfolio is constructed to track and action-plan personal strategic leadership development outcomes arising from the MBA experience.

You'll explore the trends and future directions of strategic leadership in organisations through expert speakers, cases, careers and development initiatives, industrial visits and engagement activities.

Learning objectives

• understand multiple perspectives of what constitutes effective strategic leadership from practitioners across organisational type, history and international location
• explore and become conversant in methods, thinking and changes in cutting edge strategic leadership
  practice
• enhance your professional development network and practice engaging with a broad range of stakeholders interested in strategic leadership theory and practice
• identify effective strategic leadership practices for addressing organisational change risk
  management and sustainable performance outcomes in modern organisational contexts
• critique your strategic leadership identity based on self-reflection and observations gained from the MBA
  experiences and the views of those around you

This module will explore the nature of organisations from multiple perspectives and how to nurture a high-performance organisation by addressing:

• structure and design
• culture
• politics and processes
• organisational behaviour
• the role of the workforce

Organisational studies, organisational behaviour and human resource management will be examined through the perspective of sustainability.

You'll consider the role of the leader in setting the vision, shaping the environment and supporting change. You'll also explore how to create sustainable workplaces that attract and retain talent and ensure the health and wellbeing of employees.

Learning objectives

• discuss the challenges in leading organisations that nurture employee health, wellbeing, commitment and high performance
• demonstrate awareness of key concepts, considerations and methods of managing organisations through understanding and application of theory in organisational studies, organisational behaviour and human resource
• critique contemporary perspectives on organisational design, culture, politics and processes, and the workforce
• examine theories and practical considerations relating to planned organisational change and what these mean across the four perspectives of organisational design, culture, politics and processes and the workforce
• understand where sustainable practice sits in relation to organisational design, culture, politics and

This module takes a systems approach to corporate governance. It examines at an institutional level the culture, context and compliance to global and regional governance best practice and the benefits thereof.

The module examines the key contemporary factors that are challenging boards of directors and the options for dealing with them to help create sustainable organisations that have a positive impact on shareholder and wider stakeholder groups.

You'll be asked to critically analyse the implications for organisations of governance ‘grand challenges’ – specifically related to:

• risk
• ethics
• social and environmental impact
• options for quantifying impact, sustainability, and globalisation

Learning objectives

• develop an understanding of the issues that organisations face when designing a corporate governance system
• critique the tools, principles and practices used to measure adherence to governance standards both externally mandated and internally agreed
• discuss the characteristics and role of governance in the life of an organisation, and the impact of governance philosophy/ approach on organisational culture, performance, ethics & sustainability
• critique an organisation’s governance approach relative to expectations and measures particularly related to environmental and social impact
• critically analyse the standards, codes and measures that ensure boards and senior leaders are performing effectively

Most strategic decisions are made in the face of uncertainty about the future. The module introduces ways of making decisions under uncertainty about the future business environment and evaluates and provides practical experience in scenario thinking as a team-based method.

The module presents the Intuitive Logics scenario method and gives students practical experience. Developing the skills of scenario thinking is a strong underpinning practical part of the class.

Learning Objectives

• identify the key principles of scenario methods, specifically the Intuitive Logics method
• develop practical skills in the application of the Intuitive Logics scenario method
• appraise the domain of application of scenario methods
• develop a critical understanding of scenario methods
• review the process of anticipating the future in organisations

In this module, you'll examine the role of digital disruption, digital maturity, and digital initiatives in shaping organisational outcomes. You'll also learn how technological innovation can create value through digital transformation.

Learning objectives

• develop an understanding of the organisational and institutional implications of digital disruption and digital technological innovation trends
• analyse an organisation’s digital maturity and organisational readiness to engage in digital transformation and technological innovation
• demonstrate a capacity to innovate business processes, business models and operational approaches through the application of digital technologies and organisational change methods > Build a personal capacity in communicating with, and educating others, about digital transformation at strategic and operational levels, and with a variety of stakeholder groups
• demonstrate strategic decisionmaking, business planning and influencing skills in relation to identifying, appraising and recommending digital transformation and technological options

Markets can often be highly complex and judgement can be clouded by this complexity. By taking an approach based on microeconomic analysis, you'll learn to undertake a rigorous and “emotionless” approach to analysing opportunities in existing and new markets, and the potential these hold.

This provides an alternative but complementary perspective on the assessment of business activity, looking externally, rather than internally, at the consequences which are influenced by the nature of demand and the behaviour of competitors.

Learning objectives

• understand the key influences of profit in a business: production conditions on the supply side; and the nature of demand
• learn about a range of decisions businesses face in a market environment
• understand the impact of market structure and competition on profitability
• gain command of the issues associated with entering foreign markets
• appreciate the impact of competition policy on business activity
• develop an ability to apply this thinking to contemporary business issues

This module will examine the entrepreneurial mindset and ways to bring creativity to bear in pursuit of new sources of value creation.

You'll compare attitudes and practices across national and organisational cultures. Entrepreneurial Thinking and Practice may be delivered online or in-person depending on programme variant.

Learning objectives

• differentiate between traits and mindsets and recognise the role of growth mindsets in entrepreneurial thinking and action
• consider ambiguity and uncertainty in the entrepreneurial journey and examine your personal responses to these conditions
• identify your personal frames of reference and appraise the impact of these on your creative thinking and action
• assess your ability to communicate with empathy and consider how to foster trust and psychological safety to support entrepreneurial thinking and practice for yourself and those around you
• reflect on your entrepreneurial skills, competencies and linked behaviours and how these have developed over the course of the class

This module will teach methods for collecting data, how to conduct quantitative analysis and translate the outcomes into actionable insights that might inform business decision making, resource allocation and investment choices.

You'll consider a range of data from market, financial and customer analysis to operational performance factors, and learn how to present information in accessible formats for different audiences.

In this module you'ill examine the concept of marketing and how it operates within consumer, business-to-business, service and public organisations. You'll examine the underlying concepts and frameworks that help organisations to design appropriate strategies.

Learning objectives

• understand the principles and practice of marketing in different business sectors: consumer, business-to-business and services
• evaluate theories of buyer behaviour and assess their relevance in different contexts: consumer, business-to-business, services, public and private sector
• discuss the central concepts, issues, and strategic value of branding across organisational settings, markets and territories
• examine the value-creating potential in areas such as product development, omnichannel management, communications and pricing strategy in an environment which recognises changes in technology, social media and a focus on long-term sustainability
• assess the challenges of managing the customer journey in the digital environment
• appraise the marketing and brand management approach of an organisation, and identify strategic marketing and branding initiatives to improve performance
• understand the relevant responses from marketing to the issues of corporate social responsibility and sustainability

You'll explore the principles of contemporary operations and project management in this module. In doing so, you'll evaluate the inherent tension between managing ‘business as usual’ and change. You'll also examine how these systems of management can contribute to the strategic success of their organisation.

Learning objectives

• deploy operations management principles and techniques to support the strategy of the organisation
• use project management principles and techniques to support the strategy of the organisation
• explain how project management and operations management can be effectively integrated within organisations
• evaluate how the implementation of these systems of management might vary between new value creation and support of ongoing operational activity
• generate strategy from both operational and project perspectives

This module will teach you the language and methods of managerial and financial accounting. You'll learn about the key processes and criteria of financial decision-making.

Learning objectives

• demonstrate an ability to discuss, interpret and react to information in financial statements and reports
• explain key accounting and financial management concepts and how they can be applied in the evaluation of organisational financial performance
• appraise the strategic and operational value of accounting and finance functions to organisational leadership teams and performance
• critique the challenges of matching actual practice to ideal standards of ethics, audit activity, regulation and compliance in organisational governance, managerial behaviours and decision-making
• apply accounting and financial management, principles, concepts and methods in conducting a review of financial strategy, performance and governance for an organisation