International Business

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This programme provides students with an opportunity to appreciate business set in an international and global context. Applies the ideas of responsible futures and sustainability to business operations. It is possible to complete the accelerated programme in one year.

Introduction
The MSc International Business is designed to develop academic knowledge and practical skills in the area of International Business, helping you to achieve excellence in both academia and industry.

You will gain a firm grounding in the theories and practice of international business, equipping you to make a major contribution to the performance of organisations in global environments.

Career and Personal Development
There are global career opportunities for graduates with postgraduate qualifications in International Business in a variety of industry sectors. Some students go on to careers in research or academia.

Masters Level
Consumer Behaviour and Retail Marketing Strategy (Option)
The module aims at providing students with a critical understanding of consumer behaviour in the retail context. Therefore, the module will focus on various aspects of consumer behaviour and retailing, such as the processing of information by consumers, the main influences of consumers' buying behaviour, the retail environment, the main retail theories, the retail image, customer loyalty as well as the retail marketing mix.

Corporate Finance (Option)
Corporate Finance introduces the constructs of financial management decision making in modern firms and focuses on investment appraisal and the financing of the firm, dividend policy, capital structure and risk. This module is designed to familiarise students with the major theoretical developments and practices in the areas of corporate finance. It aims to encourage students to develop critical thinking about the advantages and disadvantages of diverse practices in areas of capital budgeting, dividend policy, capital structure and risk analysis. Throughout the module students will be expected to draw upon their own experiences and relate these to the theories, concepts and methods being presented.

This module will lay the foundations of corporate finance which are essential to the understanding of finance.

Entrepreneurship (Masters Business) (Option)
This module is designed to offer students the opportunity to explore the theoretical and practical issues associated with the creation and development of a new business venture. Throughout the module, students are invited to engage with, and discuss existing entrepreneurship literature as a means by which to develop their own rich and in-depth appreciation of the complexities and challenges associated with extant theory. The course is designed to provide a balanced and thought-provoking overview of the writings of the major contributors to the discipline as well as offering a detailed and thorough introduction to contemporary literature. Students will be expected to read widely on the subject and to be able to draw on the wealth of sources made available throughout the duration of the module.

International Finance (Option)
International Finance develops the constructs of financial management decision making within the context of multicurrency and multi jurisdictions. It focuses on the strategies and tactics adopted by MNEs to analyse and reduce their risks in multicurrency operations. It aims to encourage students to develop critical thinking about such practises. Throughout the module students will be expected to draw upon their own experiences and relate these to the theories, concepts and methods being presented.

This module builds upon the foundations set out in the Certificate stage, and provides a financial background for other modules at the Diploma stage.

International Marketing Planning
A clear and detailed understanding of International Marketing Planning underpins the whole process of marketing analysis, implementation and control. International Marketing Planning is therefore one of the fundamental and most important management functions and philosophies. The module reflects this and has been designed to provide students with a clear understanding of the strategic International Marketing Planning process, and of the ways in which marketing is capable of contributing to increase the effective performance of an organisation. In doing this, we focus upon the strategic and tactical management of the marketing function, with a particular emphasis being placed upon issues of marketing excellence, learning from best practice, and market-led strategic change.

Logistics and Operations Management (Option)
This module aims to introduce you to the concepts of Logistics and Operations Management and build a framework for this important function within the supply chain. As the competitive environment becomes more volatile and less predictable Logistics and Operations issues can offer the company more opportunities to differentiate itself from the competition.

Managerial Finance
Managerial Finance

Students are introduced to the role of finance and accountancy in profit seeking firms. Key aspects of this module include the study of:

* Marginal costing
* Pricing
* Investment appraisal
* Cash planning
* Financial analysis
* Planning, budgeting and standard costing
* Multi-currency finance for importers and exporters.

On successful completion of the module, students will be able to:

* Evaluate the role of finance and accountancy in profit seeking firms
* Calculate and use simple costing and pricing models
* Evaluate and use investment appraisal methods
* Carry out simple financial analysis
* Evaluate the importance of financial plans
* Evaluate the techniques which importers and exporters may use to avoid or reduce exchange rate risk.

Organisational Analysis
This Module will provide a comprehensive introduction to the theory of organisations and associated human behaviour and managerial practices. Understanding of the ways in which organisations have developed during the twentieth century has been the subject of considerable and often conflicting debate. This Module will critically examine the traditional approaches of organisational theory and further consideration will be given to the structure and dynamics of organisations in order to address the problems associated with transfer of managerial practices. Ideologies of the worker and management will also be explored.

Research Design and Dissertation
Level 3 (Masters) 60 credit points.

The module provides students with the opportunity to reflect critically on their studies. The vehicle is the researching and writing of a dissertation, based on a research proposal formulated during the pre-requisite module. The dissertation is the capstone of the Masters learning process, and allows the student to demonstrate mastery in scholarship of a programme related topic that they have selected in consultation with tutors. The stage comprises two integrated elements: the dissertation, preceded by classes in research design. Each student is assigned a personal tutor.

Strategies for Responsible Business
The purpose of this module is to reflect and support the changing agenda for senior managers in organisations. Increasingly managers have become over-focused on the problem of combining profitability, efficiency and sustainability; at worst this has directly led, and at best has at least contributed, to the current dire economic situation.

It is evident that to be successful in the future businesses will need to be both viable in a commercial sense and at the same time either demonstrate a responsible attitude towards corporate governance that encompasses a wider community of stakeholders, or be subject to ever more restrictive regulation. Accordingly, to meet this requirement while avoiding strict regulation, there is a need for senior managers and those who aspire to that status to have a longer term and more responsible view of the business enterprise rather than simply aiming for short-term profit maximisation.

This module is therefore designed to augment and to support these objectives by encouraging and enabling students to develop the intellectual and professional acumen needed for the conception and analysis of responsible business strategies; to make appropriate choices between strategic options, and then to follow a strategic trajectory that will deliver results that are commercially robust, ethically sound and socially responsible. Throughout the emphasis will be on the need for strong and sustainable corporate governance concepts to be adduced, espoused and enacted.

Transnational Corporations and Emerging Markets
The purpose of this module is to critically appraise and analyse the major changes within Emerging Markets. These markets offer huge opportunities for growth in the shifting power of the World Economy. The module will then go on to critically evaluate the various emerging markets and their models of development including China, India, BRIC Countries, Africa, South East Asian countries and the markets of Eastern Europe for investment opportunities.. The module will then consider entry strategies for these markets drawing on case country and company evidence. Investment performance of firms will also be considered .Focus will be made on strategies of transnational corporations.