Management – (M.Sc.)

Contents

The 12 month study programme consists of:

• An Induction module
• The central module of the programme, The Foundations of Performance Corporate
• Eight elective modules
• Personal and Career Development work
• Your dissertation.

THE FOUNDATIONS OF CORPORATE PERFORMANCE

An integrative module runs throughout our course called The Foundations of Corporate Performance. While the elective modules allow you to explore the leading critical works in that subject, their historical development, and their inter-relations, this core module looks directly at how fundamental ideas from these subject areas contribute to organisational performance.

You will focus on the practical tools and techniques of corporate performance enhancement; looking at the way in which real managers and other stakeholders interact in extremely dynamic environments. During the module, delivered through a mix of lectures, seminars, and group work, you will enhance your understanding of the dynamics of corporate performance including the interaction of internal actions, factors, and policies against a background of environmental change.

You will also improve your understanding of, and skills in using, the techniques for assessing and understanding corporate performance including the sources, validity, and usefulness of data on corporate performance.

Topics covered might include:

• The challenge of authentic diagnosis of corporate performance
• How consultants assess Corporate Performance
• Data origins, analysis and interpretation
• Probability
• Sampling methods
• Survey design and analysis
• Regression analysis
• Hypothesis testing, chi-squared test
• Financial performance analysis
• The investor analysis view
• Human resource practice and organisational performance
• Performance measurement
• Market solutions to corporate performance management
• Presentation and influencing skills
• Process implementation and performance
• Sustainable competitiveness through innovative processes
• Organisational change.

By the end of the module, you will understand how best to manage and compare corporate performance and the limitations and problems associated with performance measurement and management.

The module is assessed in two parts. You will participate in a group dissertation, based on the organisations analysed and reviewed during the module. You will also compete a 7,500 word individual dissertation.

ELECTIVE MODULES:

There are choices available to you for the remaining modules of the course. This allows you to investigate areas of particular interest to you.

In Term one, choose three from:

1. Economics for Management & Business

This module helps you explore how organisations exist within macroeconomic and market contexts that significantly impact upon their behaviour and performance. It is taught as two interrelated parts; the first dealing largely with the macro economy and the general business environment, the second deals more directly with firm level decision making within the macroeconomic and market context.

You will gain an understanding of how macroeconomic and market contexts themselves are determined and change over time and how the context impacts upon organisational decision making. We take an economics based approach and will introduce you to a number of basic concepts used by economists, illustrate the use of these concepts in business, and illustrate how economics as a discipline can be used to approach business related questions.

During the module, you will become familiar with major recent national and international economic and business trends. The tools of economic analysis you will study will illuminate a variety of management and business issues as well as give some understanding of a variety of national and international policies that are a further aspect of the environments within which organisations operate.

Topics covered might include:

• Business, strategy, & the macroeconomy
• Levels of economic activity
• Price levels & unemployment
• Overseas trade
• The long view
• Macroeconomic policy
• Current macroeconomic issues
• Coping with the macro context
• Industries and markets
• Supply & demand curves
• Producer behaviour
• Output & price determination
• Market clearing & price determination
• How well do markets work?
• Anti trust policy
• Dynamic decisions
• Current microeconomic issues.

By the end of the module you will:

• Show increased knowledge of the global economy and of key current events
• Understand some core elements of economic analysis and be able to use them
• Appreciate the contextual constraints on business decisions and be aware of what business cannot do or control in its decision making
• Possess an increased awareness of the effects on business of public policy
• Understand why business must cope with uncertainty and risk.

The module is assessed by an individual written assignment.

2. Marketing:

This module will help you identify and evaluate a selection of the major contemporary challenges facing organisations in designing and refining the route to market in changing market conditions.

You will take a process perspective on marketing. The module will provide you with a basis for challenging conventional marketing frameworks and techniques. It will also help you explore the value of traditional marketing practices. The module gives you, as a general manager, a conceptual framework to ask relevant and searching questions of marketing.

You will review institutional, functional, and managerial perspectives on marketing during the module. You will also examine the content of marketing programmes and the relationship between programmes and market strategy.

Topics covered might include:

• Value-based strategy
• Customer focus & market sensing
• Key market choices
• Market segmentation & competitive positioning
• Value propositions & key relationships
• Strategic customer relations
• Marketing planning & control
• Implementation & internal marketing.

By the end of the module you will be able to:

• Demonstrate knowledge of several of the most important contemporary and controversial issues in the theories of marketing
• Take an informed and critical intellectual stance regarding the standing of prescriptive and descriptive theories in marketing
• Identify the relationship between theory and practice in the areas of marketing and strategy to other business areas.

This module is assessed by examination.

3. People & Organisations:

This module will introduce you to the principles, theories, and research underlying behaviour and management of people and organisations. You will examine four levels of analysis: individual, group, organisational, and societal. Everything you learn about organisational behaviour (OB) and Human Resource Management (HRM) will be applied to the analysis of real-life situations.

You will consider enduring challenges of management and organisations from the perspectives of managers and people in organisations. You will apply methodologies and theories from the social sciences to better understand organisational dynamics, problems, and practices.

Topics covered might include:

• Perspectives on understanding people, organisations, and management
• Individual & group processes and dynamics
• Power & conflict
• Organisational structures, cultures, and design
• Understanding the organisational environment
• Understanding management practice
• Strategic practice & policy in managing people.

By the end of the module you will have:

• A broad understanding of organisational behaviour and HRM
• Developed your skills in critical thinking and analysis, problem-solving and case-analysis
• Understood and solved practical problems in organisations
• Improved your interpersonal and professional.

The module is assessed by a mixture of examination and groupwork.

4. Operations Management:

This module addresses the decisions you as a manager need to make about operations design and management. The core activity of any organisation is its operations, and the performance of the organisation is determined by how well these operations are managed.

You will explore the strategic power of operations and the opportunities for creating sustainable competitive advantage through effective operations. The module provides you with conceptual, analytical, and practical insights into the management of service and manufacturing operations, in both the private and public sectors.

Topics covered might include:

• Role & strategic objectives of operations
• Design of services & products
• Process design, layout, & flow
• Technology & work organisations
• Matching supply & demand
• Quality planning & control
• Just-in-Time / Lean operations
• Supply chain management & networks
• Process improvement.

By the end of the module you will be able to demonstrate a basic knowledge and understanding of:

• The organisational and strategic context within which operations managers function
• Processes, their design and management
• Product & service design
• Concepts relating to the management of supply & demand in operations networks
• Principles and methods used in the improvement of product & service operations
• Practical managerial issues in operations management, and some generic solutions
• Concepts and techniques in a variety of settings and for a range of products and services.

This module is assessed by a mix of individual written assignment, and a group presentation and discussion of key papers. Both assessments explore your ability to challenge concepts, and understand key operations management techniques and their implementation.

In Term two, choose three from:

1. Management Information Systems:

This module explores the role of management information systems (MIS) and technology in different organisational environments. You will be taught the principles of strategic Information Systems (IS) planning for a competitive global market, to recognise the potential opportunities for transformation through IS, Information Technology (IT), and e-business.

Topics covered might include:

• Technologies for business
• IS strategy & competitive advantage from IS
• Sourcing IS
• Benefits and risk management
• Managing IS in the organisation
• Transforming the business through IS
• Issues in developing information systems
• Creating value from e-business
• Managing IS in SMEs
• IS futures and innovation.

By the end of the module you will:

• Understand the main theories of MIS
• Recognise the strengths and limitations of current MIS theory.

This module is assessed by a mix of individual assessment and group.

2. Financial Analysis for Management :

This module will provide you with a broad understanding of the basic concepts in accounting and financial management with an emphasis on financial corporate performance measurement.

Topics covered might include:

• Key financial statements
• Accounting manipulation
• Financial performance measurement
• Reporting to the wider community
• Accounting information for management decisions
• Capital budgeting
• Using budgets to measure managerial performance
• Strategic management accounting.

By the end of the module you will be able to:

• Describe the role of accounting in providing financial information to users
• Identify, analyse, interpret, and present relevant information to facilitate decision making
• Apply accounting and financial concepts and practices to analyse business problems and recommend courses of action
• Assess the nature of accounting information and describe the relationships between different types of financial statements and behavioural consequences of accounting decisions
• Understand the use of accounting information in the context of management decision making and for the purpose of external publication.

The module is assessed by an individual written assignment.

3. Strategy, Analysis & Practice:

This module will help you will explore the links between strategy and performance. It will also contextualise strategy in its historical and academic roots of the Social Sciences.

It will provide you with a foundation for, and a critical assessment of, theoretical and empirical approaches to strategy. You will explore the frameworks and models for the interrogation and development of strategy in a variety of industries.

Topics covered might include:

• Introduction to strategy
• Analysis for strategic decision
• Strategy analysis
• Strategy & organisation.

By the end of the module you will:

• Have a thorough knowledge of mainstream theories, models, and concepts related to strategy
• Be able to perform in-depth analysis of case studies and academic literature
• Be able to connect theoretical work with application to business problems and links to corporate performance.

This module is assessed by a mix of examination and the preparation and presentation of group based case study relating to strategy and / or corporate performance.

4. Corporate Finance:

This module will demonstrate how the tools of modern finance theory can be applied to analysing and improving the investment and financing decisions of firms.

Topics covered might include:

• Investment decisions
• Financial markets
• How to take account of risk: Modern Portfolio Theory
• Financing decisions and governance.

By the end of the module you will:

• Have a thorough knowledge of mainstream theories, models, and concepts related to corporate finance
• Have critical analytical skills through performing in-depth analysis of case studies and academic literature
• Be able to connect theoretical work with application to business problems and links to corporate performance
• Be able to present ideas and support them using empirical and / or theoretical work
• Have used Excel to solve financial problems.

This module is assessed by a mix of examination and assessed coursework.

In Term three, choose two from:

1. The Political & Social Context of Business :

This module will enable you to understand the wider institutional location of business activity within society. Firms will be seen as both 'takers' and 'givers' of governance and regulation in a variety of formal and informal ways.

Topics covered might include:

• An introduction to economic governance
• The diversity of legal frameworks: Law & politics
• The informal economy
• Networks: Informal local governance
• Representing business interests: Associational governance
• The corporate hierarchy & the theory of the firm
• The impact of the firm
• The multi-national in the global economy
• Global economic governance: An emerging regime?

Seminar discussions might cover:

• Economic governance: Television film-making in Cologne and London
• The diversity of legal frameworks: The problem of intellectual property rights
• The informal economy: The economic role of mafia
• Networks: Why is Silicon Valley special?
• Representing business interests: From associations to lobbies?
• Stakeholding: the supply chain
• The firm in its environment
• The multi-national in the global economy
• Global economic governance: the World Bank.

By the end of the module you will be able to:

• Locate business activity within its social and political contexts, from local to global
• Understand the firm as both dependent on and participating in the creation of those contexts.

This module is assessed by a mix of individual and group coursework.

2. Operations Research:

During this module, you will further explore data analysis and elementary statistics. You will gain an awareness of the contribution that modelling and analysis can make to the solution of business and public sector problems.

You will also develop some fundamental modelling and analysis skills and become a `critical consumer' of more complex modelling and analysis studies. You will explore a variety of problems from tactical to strategic and discuss possible solutions considering different OR techniques and applying them

Topics covered might include:

• Why and how to use OR to solve business problems
• Simulation of queues and waiting times
• Optimisation: maximising profit v minimising cost
• Inventory Control - Just in time v plenty of stores in plenty of time?
• Monte-Carlo Methods- Risk management
• Problem Structuring Methods.

By the end of the module you will be able to:

• Learned and practiced some basic OR approaches and related techniques
• Applied OR techniques to business and public sector problems
• Understood how to structure problems and create solutions.

This module is assessed by a mix of individual and group coursework.

3. Entrepreneurship & Business Venturing:

This module will teach you about the entrepreneurial process, and how it can be applied in different contexts. You will also integrate insights and material covered on other modules and consider them in the context of different types of organisation, and in particular Small & Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs).

Topics covered might include:

• The entrepreneurial context
• Entrepreneurship process & practice
• Business planning & resource acquisition
• Understanding & managing growth
• Supporting enterprise: The role of government policy
• Social enterprise
• Family business.

By the end of the module you will be able to:

• Understand the different contexts in which entrepreneurial behaviour takes place
• Understand the key components of entrepreneurship, and the entrepreneurial process
• Understand how the entrepreneurial process can be applied to different types of organisation.

This module is assessed by a mix of individual and group coursework.

4. International Business:

This module will help you develop a critical awareness of major issues and problems associated with the development of international business strategy. It will enable you to understand and apply concepts and skills relevant to the problems of managing overseas operations.

Through the module, you will gain an understanding of major trends in globalisation and the factors influencing international investment. You will also develop your capacity to critically evaluate ideas about the internationalisation process as well as raise your awareness of the problems of formulating and implementing successful international business strategies.

Topics covered might include:

• Globalisation
• Foreign Direct Investment
• International Competitive Advantage: Nations and Firms
• The Role of Culture in International Business Strategy
• Emerging Market Economies: Risks and Strategies
• Multinational Enterprises Strategies and Structure
• International Joint Ventures.

By the end of the module you will be able to:

• Understand and apply concepts and skills relevant to the problems of managing and understanding overseas operations
• Relate different theories and identify their main contributions and weaknesses
• View business problems from the perspective of the parent and host management of a multinational company.

This module is assessed by a mix of individual and group coursework.

PERSONAL AND CAREER DEVELOPMENT

We believe that the best managers are engaged in a process of continual improvement, both professionally and personally. This stream of the course will help you identify your own strengths and weaknesses, and work on developing your skills.

Through seminars, group and individual work, you will explore your capabilities and those required for excellence in management. This means that when you come to apply for jobs, you will be well placed to present yourself to employers honestly and to your best advantage.

This self-awareness, coupled with the business knowledge you will accumulate, will give you a real boost in the competitive job market

DISSERTATION

The MSc in Management course culminates in you researching and writing a 7,500 word individual dissertation. This gives you the opportunity to demonstrate the skills and knowledge you have accumulated over the teaching.

The sort of question you might answer might be as follows:

For an organisation of your choice, report upon its past and current performance and the main factors generating that performance. Taking account of the various exogenous and endogenous forces at work, make recommendations as to actions that might be most favourable to future performance of the organisation.

Accreditation

Our course was one of the first to be accredited by AMBA. Its MBM award means you can be sure we offer an 'integrated perspective of the disciplines of business and management'.

Funding details

We strongly advise you to arrange funding for your time at WBS as early as possible.

Scholarships

In 2011-2012, we are offering more than 80 WBS scholarships for UK/EU students,
worth over £400,000. We automatically consider all eligible applicants to WBS courses, while funds are available.

We strongly recommend that you apply for a place on your chosen course as early as possible if you'd like to be considered.

WBS Scholarships

WBS Scholarships are intended for participants who are likely to be in the top 20 percent of their class. You must bring both outstanding experience and diversity of background to the class, and be a successful ambassador for WBS following graduation.

Warwick Scholarships

The University of Warwick Graduate School also offers some scholarships which may be available to applicants. You will generally need to apply for these separately.
Scholarships are usually awarded towards payment of your academic fee. Some funding sources have deadlines, some closing as early as February in the year of entry.

Banks & loans

Your bank might be able to offer you preferential borrowing rates on a loan, or an interest-free overdraft. You might want to make an early appointment with a bank representative to discuss your requirements.

Some United Kingdom banks may offer you a Career Development Loans (CDL), backed by the Government. The scheme is available to those intending to work in the United Kingdom or European Union countries. It can help fund up to two years of study.

Overseas students

There is some funding available for overseas students who are studying in the UK. However, available funding is usually awarded on a competitive basis and there are often many applicants for few awards.

The University of Warwick International Office's web site holds lots of information on funding for overseas students.

It may be possible to apply in your own country for British government awards. Talk to your local British Council office. In particular, overseas students are able to apply for a British Chevening Scholarship.

Check the conditions of eligibility in the booklets produced by the different grant-awarding bodies to see if you are eligible. Sometimes you may be able to put together small grants from different agencies, one paying fees alone while another contributes to your living expenses or travel.