This module is aimed at students who have little or no prior business and management subject experience. The aim of the module is to introduce you to the main business functions – Finance, Marketing, HRM, Operations – and show how each can contribute to the competitive advantage of a firm and hence enable the firm to achieve its strategic objectives.

You will undertake lectures and seminars in the four key business functions – Finance, Marketing, HRM, Operations throughout the course of the module, alongside the development of an understanding of the overarching principles of setting and executing an organisational strategy. The latter will consist of developing a business plan, assessing the business and competitive environment, defining and evaluating competitive strategy.

If you have prior working experience in one or more of these functional areas, the module aims to both broaden and deepen your understanding and encourage you to take a wider view of the different parts of the firm.

This module engages you in personal and professional development in order that you develop and hone your team working, management and leadership skills, capabilities and attributes, and in so doing, enhance your employability. On this module, you will not only prepare for your first job after you graduate but also kick-start your commitment to life-long personal and professional learning.

In the first part of the module you will be supported in a self-analysis by a range of activities, including the completion of self-administered tool-kits to demonstrate an increased self-awareness and self-understanding. A key outcome of this process is how you will be able to exploit this development in order to lead, and manage, more effectively in your future careers.

The second part of the module contains activities which enable you to build on your self-analysis and explore further your strengths, weaknesses and areas for development in the context of your career development plans. This will also include the development of knowledge into the global graduate market, (including routes such as self-employment and developing your career with an existing employer) drawing upon local, national and international examples.

This module will provide you with essential knowledge and analytics skills needed for you to complete a high-quality Masters’ Dissertation or Consultancy Project. By undertaking and reflecting on practical research-based activities you will understand the process of designing and carrying out a research study, also you will engage in activities that involve understanding of data and analysis of data. This will place you in a strong position to undertake your own Masters’ level research or Consultancy Project. At the end of the module you will write a research proposal, this will be assessed and will contribute to your final mark. In the dissertation you will work under the supervision of a member of academic staff and your proposal will also help to ensure you get the most from this relationship.

As the economic and competitive environments change, the study of International Financial Markets and Institutions is inevitable at postgraduate finance education.

This module will provide a comprehensive understanding of the theories and concepts operating within the international financial markets and institutions. Furthermore, the recent trends within the financial markets, the financial crisis and the regulatory responses will be covered.

You will learn about different types of financial institutions, instruments (equities and bonds), regulations and policy approaches. The module aims to develop and enhance students’ knowledge and skills in the area of financial management in a changing and challenging corporate environment.

The study of Corporate Financial Management, which addresses the core concepts, questions and decisions which sit behind the creation of corporate value (Investment Decisions, Financing Decisions, Dividend Decisions) are a key part of any student’s engagement with the discipline of financial management. The module introduces you to core concepts regarding the objective of finance, how capital is first raised and then deployed into wealth creating operations and then how wealth is then returned to the providers of capital in an optimal way.

The aim of this module is to support your study, language and communication skills for academic purposes in the study in your chosen discipline at postgraduate level.   The module is designed to enable you to become an advanced independent learner. The module is supported by a teaching and learning plan which outlines the formal sessions. Interactive workshops will be tailored to address some of the specific issues that you meet within your discipline.  You may also be asked to complete some preparation tasks for some seminars but these will be kept to minimum.  You will be expected to identify those skills which you need within your postgraduate programme, and to develop these independently through a range of learning activities that might include extended reading, and reflection.

Students completing the Advanced Practice Masters programme can choose to complete a 12-15 week internship, worth 60 credits. This internship can be sourced by the student or by the university. It may be paid or unpaid. Most internships are unpaid. Students will be supported in the process of applying for an internship during their first year of study and equipped with the necessary internship application and selection skills, e.g. CV writing, interview technique. All internships will be approved by the university to ensure they are providing an appropriate learning experience and working environment. Students will be allocated an internship tutor who will work with them throughout the internship period. This will include visits and support in completing the internship assessment.

The module is assessed by a 4,000-word reflective portfolio which is focussed on your development from the perspective of gaining particular skills relating to employability and being employment prepared, engagement in further self-development from the perspective of employment potential in a new or international context and further demonstration of cultural and ethical awareness through the broader experience of working in culturally diverse groups and teams via this employment opportunity.

You will design a research project of 15000 words while working under the supervision of a member of academic staff who will give you appropriate guidance and support throughout the dissertation process whilst encouraging learner autonomy: this is your dissertation and you will have responsibility for decision making as the dissertation proceeds. You will use appropriate research methodologies and data collection methods to critically synthesise a body of knowledge relevant to the taught programme.

For successful completion of this module, you will conduct research and organise the findings into a comprehensive and explicit structure that is critically assessed and is linked to the conclusions drawn.  You will demonstrate this by identifying a topic, critically selecting and applying an appropriate research methodology and data collection method(s) to your chosen research topic, demonstrating a rigorous understanding of the relevant theory and literature and showing how these link to the research method(s).  You will also critically reflect on how your research contributes to the understanding of the topic area.

The module aims to provide you as a postgraduate student with experiential learning activities in a work-based context that utilises skills and knowledge acquired during the taught part of your study programme, i.e. in year one of the two-year Advanced Practice programme suite. The module recognises that you may have limited prior experience of real world management investigations.

Through your work-based experience, you will develop abilities as a problem solver with valued investigative, theoretical and practical business skills. This work-based experience will last the length of the semester and involve the examination of a complex organisational problem or commercial opportunity. By undertaking this module, you will have enhanced your individual skills, knowledge, effectiveness and employability by locating learning and development within a work-based context and will have critically reflected and evaluated upon organisational practices and the relation with academic theory.

Assessment will be both formative and summative and incorporate self, peer, and tutor evaluation. You will present your work-based findings to the host organisation (oral presentation) and an interim report written on behalf of the host organisation or sponsoring project client. In the follow-up module (LD0470), you will provide a substantial management investigation report on the business related issue emerging from this placement or consultancy, alongside a personal reflective statement.

This follows your group consultancy project during the first semester of your second year of Masters’ study.

In this module you will take the skills you developed as a problem solver of a work based project and develop a client focused management report and presentation alongside an individual literature review and personal reflection.

The content of the management report will be unique. The nature and scope of the area of your investigation will be defined and agreed in collaboration with the organisation you worked with on the group consultancy project and your University supervisor. The syllabus will include:

• Conducting research in organisations
• Identifying researchable questions
• Consultancy and project management skills
• Research methods and doing a literature review
• Presentation, communication and report writing skills
• Analysing findings
• Writing recommendations and action plans
• Reflecting on work based experiential learning.

In undertaking this project based module, you will critically reflect and evaluate upon organisational practices and their relation with academic theory, and in doing so, provide practical and actionable recommendations through an investigative management report.

The assessment for your module consists of a Group Consultancy Report (7,000 words) and Final Client Presentation, weighted at 60%, alongside an Individual Assignment comprising a Literature Review (4,000 words) and a Reflective Learning Statement (2,000 words), weighted at 40%.

You will design a research project, assessed through a proposal and will then work under supervision of a member of academic staff to use and extend the knowledge and skills that you have acquired during your programme of study to complete a dissertation. You will use appropriate research methodologies and data collection methods to critically synthesise a body of knowledge relevant to the taught programme.

On successful completion of this module, you will be able to conduct research and organise the findings into a comprehensive and explicit structure that is critically assessed and is linked to the conclusions drawn. You will demonstrate this ability by identifying an appropriate research topic, critically selecting and applying an appropriate research methodology and data collection method(s) to your chosen research topic, demonstrating a rigorous understanding of the theory and literature relevant to the issues under investigation, and showing how these link to the research method(s). You will also critically reflect on how their research contributes to the understanding of the topic area.

Some students may choose to base their topic on their internship.