StudyQA — Master: Business Management (September entry)

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This MSc Business Management course is focused on your career. With this master's degree accredited by the Association of MBAs (AMBA) and the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) you will be ready for a successful international career with a commercial or not-for-profit organisation.

On this MSc Business Management course you will learn to identify, analyse and evaluate a range of business related issues. You will develop suitable responses to these problems and be able to select the most appropriate course of action. You can focus your studies on one of four areas: Entrepreneurship, Marketing, Human Resource Management or Economics.

Why choose this course?

Employability: You will develop the skills, knowledge and ability to work in a multicultural environment. Our graduates go on to successful international careers with a range of commercial and not-for-profit organisations. Upon graduating you will be eligible for Chartered Management status from the Chartered Management Institute (CMI), the hallmark of any professional manager. We emphasise developing your CV and interview skills through the support of our Careers Centre.

Teaching and Learning: Oxford Brookes University Business School offers a great environment for studying Business Management. We have a track record of excellence in teaching, learning and research and you will be supported in your studies and beyond. Oxford Brookes University Business School received the top award from the Higher Education Funding council for England to become a Centre of Excellence in Teaching and Learning.

Oxford Location: Oxford offers everything you could want as a student and more. As one of the world's great centres of learning, it is a bustling and stunning cosmopolitan city full of history and beautiful buildings. Located just over an hour from the hub of business life in London with easy access to international airports, you'll be at the heart of the UK's most successful economic region. Oxford will provide you with a host of learning and employment opportunities with a range of internships and graduate jobs available.

Student support: As a student you will be assigned to an Academic Adviser who will provide both academic and personal support. Student Support Co-ordinators provide guidance for your course and university-wide administrative issues. They organise a range of events to help you adjust to postgraduate study and are able to help you get advice about any issues you may have during your studies.

On the MSc Business Management course you will study the compulsory modules listed below, and then choose between completing a dissertation or synoptic research project. You can view the course structure in the Downloads section on the right.

Research Methods: This module will prepare you to undertake effective research drawing upon a range of secondary and primary data sources in preparation for your coursework. You will be introduced to a range of tools required for research including methodological issues, data collection techniques and study skills. This module prepares you for completing high quality, systematic business and management research.

Operations and Process Management: In this module you will develop your understanding of an organisations ability to deliver goods and services of the quality, quantity and cost that will satisfy customers needs, whilst making efficient use of resources. The key principles introduced in this module can be applied to any business sector and function. You will explore the complex relationships between functional areas and the real world of business. Your studies will develop your understanding about how business operations can be most effectively managed. This includes issues of ethics, environmental sustainability, global business, complexity and uncertainty, and continuing professional development.

Introduction to the Principles of Marketing: In this module you will be introduced to the key principles of Marketing. You will explore the roles of buyers, the marketing environment, and the ways marketers plan, manage, and monitor marketing programmes in an international environment.

Finance and Accounting for Business: In this module you will develop your critical assessment of corporate financial information from the users' perspective. You will study both financial and management accounting covering three areas: Basics - Terminology, purposes, users, rules and regulations and business entities.

Financial accounting - key financial statements, published accounts and analysis and interpretation through ratios.

Management accounting - costing, budgeting & forecasting, budget management and pricing.

Global Strategic Management: Strategic management is the process by which managers formulate and implement strategies to generate high performance. In this module you will develop your understanding of the managerial strategic challenge; how to deliver sustainable competitive advantage. You will engage in critical evaluation of the key strategic issues. You will consider the wider economic environment and explore why strategy is important, how organisations make strategic decisions through the processes of analysis, choice and responsible and ethical management and leadership.

Developing Skills for Business Leadership: Successful leaders have different approaches to their work, sharing a range of diverse personality traits. They are central to a manager's effectiveness and are developed over time and with an awareness of the differing cultural contexts. A key purpose of this module is to encourage you to develop a strong sense of self-awareness of your own strengths and weaknesses as a manager and colleague. In addition, you will develop a range of definable skills which are pivotal to successful management practice. These include decision-making skills, team-working and interpersonal skills and others associated with developing personal effectiveness. You will develop your skills of reflexivity to explore the implications for professional practice. This module helps you develop the confidence to articulate your skills necessary for career development.

Managing the Contemporary Organisation: This module aims to develop your understanding of the principles of leading and managing international contemporary organisations. Although the focus is on contemporary organisations, a historical perspective is a thread that runs through the module to provide a context for current issues and practices in leading and managing organisations. You will explore long term patterns and the extent to which the past can shape the present.

Synoptic Research Project: You will integrate, apply and extend your knowledge and skills gained within the core modules. You will learn more about the complexity of the Business and Management by emphasising synthesising, and applying the learning gained in other modules.

Dissertation: The dissertation is an opportunity for you to carry out an in depth investigation into a topic of Business Management which is of particular interest to you. It should have an appropriately clear focus and be an investigation based on primary and/or secondary data, justified and supported by detailed reference to relevant theories and concepts from literature.

Pathway Choices

You can choose between four specialist areas of Business Management. We call them pathways. Your choice will be made in consultation with your programme lead. The pathway choices give you the opportunity to personalise your studies and engage more deeply with a specific subject area, whilst retaining a robust general business and management education.

Please note that while you can choose your pathway in order to personalise your programme, you will be enrolled in MSc Business Management and the focus of your studies will be business management in general. Your final degree will be MSc Business Management.

Advertised pathways are dependent on student numbers.

Marketing pathway

Focusing on the marketing discipline will prepare you for a range of careers. These include product and brand management, market analysis and research, customer relationship and services management, direct marketing, internet marketing, public relations, media and advertising. You should consider this pathway if you want a career in marketing.

You can earn professional exemption towards the Introductory Certificate in Marketing granted by the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM).

Understanding Consumers and Markets: You will explore the fundamentals for understanding markets including financial performance analysis, external market trends and the forces of the marketing environment, the competitive arena, business capabilities, consumers' or business customers' behaviours, the nature of market segments, channels and supply chains, the standing of brands and target market perceptions of their positioning. The implications for addressing markets which are global and cross-cultural are also explored.

Global Marketing Strategy: In this module you will apply concepts you studied earlier with an emphasis on the global environment of marketing. You will develop your understanding of creating sustainable competitive advantage in a global context, implementing strategies to take into account both the convergence and divergence of consumer preferences, creating global products and brands that have near-universal application and appeal, and the importance of ethical and social issues in the global marketplace.

Human Resource Management pathway

You should consider this pathway if you are interested in pursuing a career in human resource management. You will gain an understanding of the contemporary human resource management issues within an organisation. Employers look for graduates who have the ability to manage people. They know that with the rise of competition within the global workplace the decisions managers have to make about employees have significant impact on the organisations performance.

Resourcing, Talent and Performance Management: A major objective of the human resources (HR) function is the mobilisation of a workforce. Organisations can only function if they are able to assemble teams of people with the necessary skills to meet their goals and retain effective performers. In this module you will focus on the practical aspects of recruitment, selection, employee retention and exiting. You develop the knowledge and skills required for resourcing and talent management within a global context. You will gain an understanding of how performance management can support the strategic objectives of an organisation, how the performance of people can be enhanced and inspired by leadership, and how it contributes to high-performance work organisations.

International Human Resource Management (IHRM):This module develops your understanding of the theoretical origins of HRM. You will explore the links between business strategy and international HRM, and study the relationship between achieving strategic objectives and the implementation of appropriate and coherent HR strategies. As the pace of globalisation has gathered momentum, IHRM is now a discipline in its own right, attracting attention from researchers and practitioners.

Economics pathway

This Economics pathway will give you an understanding of the core theoretical principles of economics. You be able to apply this knowledge to practical problems confronting international institutions, national governments and businesses. You will benefit from being economically literate and having an understanding of the key economic forces and constraints that confront all businesses.

International Trade and Globalisation: Increasingly, businesses have to operate in an environment where commodity and capital markets are highly integrated. Awareness of the issues surrounding globalisation allows you to make informed decisions in a business context. You will explore the theoretical and empirical framework, which will enhance your awareness of the issues of globalisation. You will study international trade theory and recent patterns in international trade.

Principles of International Business Economics: This module introduces you to the key concepts of Economics. Subsequently you will focus on the topics of Economics that are essential in understanding how businesses function internationally and how they interact with the external environment. You will examine the strategic pricing-output decisions of a firm in different market structures as well as the characteristics and the institutions of international markets.

Entrepreneurship pathway

Enterprise and entrepreneurship are recognised as being vital to the development of the modern economy - both in terms of new business start-ups and as part of managing and growing existing organisations. Enterprise and entrepreneurship are as important for large organisations as they are for smaller ones. This pathway gives you the opportunity to learn more about these current topics, which are applicable to a wide range of careers.

Entrepreneurship: This module enhances your understanding of enterprise and entrepreneurship, and helps you develop vital entrepreneurial skills. These skills include idea generation and evaluation, communication, networking and the evaluation of risk. In addition, you will develop an understanding of the social and economic impact of entrepreneurialism. The module focuses on developing an understanding of factors relating to the development of the entrepreneur, the entrepreneurial idea and the entrepreneurial organisation. By studying these topics the module is bridges the gap between theory and practice.

Planning for New Business Ventures: This module develops your business planning skills and is essential for those students who intend to start and run their own businesses. At the heart of the module is an evaluation of a firm's business model. You will prepare a business plan in groups for a new or existing venture, which will be assessed by a panel. You will be evaluated on its economic logic, value to customer and return on investment for its owners.

This course attracts students from a wide range of backgrounds and nationalities. Applicants are welcome from any academic discipline, as well as those in work and seeking continuing professional development. Admission is normally open to those with a minimum of a good second class honours degree (or equivalent overseas degree from a recognised institution) or equivalent professional or other qualification. Applicants who possess a diploma rather than a good degree may be eligible for entry provided they have compensatory work experience and can demonstrate career development.English language requirementsIf English is not your first language you will need to satisfy the university's English language requirements:IELTS minimum level 6.5 overall with at least 6.0 in the reading and writing components English Language Requirements IELTS band: 6.5 IMPORTANT NOTE: Since April 2014 the ETS tests (including TOEFL and TOEIC) are no longer accepted for Tier 4 visa applications to the United Kingdom. The university might still accept these tests to admit you to the university, but if you require a Tier 4 visa to enter the UK and begin your degree programme, these tests will not be sufficient to obtain your Visa. The IELTS test is most widely accepted by universities and is also accepted for Tier 4 visas to the UK- learn more.