Introductory description

The overall objective of the module is to support students’ transition into graduates with the ability to bring together the different skills and knowledge that are needed to understand and manage organisations as a whole.

Module web page

Module aims

Outline syllabus

This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.

The Lecture Programme syllabus relates to the skills and knowledge students need to accelerate understanding of what it takes to manage a company or organisation and to appreciate the economic context that companies operate within. This includes building what are traditionally called “general management” skills; how managers view a firm overall and their responsibilities to making difficult corporate choices when faced with complex problems. This starts with asking why firms exist, their purpose and how they perform. It then proceeds to discuss actions and choices that managers face which often sit between discipline-focused approaches to management education but reflect the skillset a manager needs to help interdisciplinary groups, organisations and companies perform and succeed.
The module will also introduce a perspective on how an understanding of economics can aid managers in their understanding of how a firm needs to operate and the opportunities and challenges inherent in competing within markets. In traditional terms, this takes microeconomic then macroeconomic perspectives but the aim is to view this from the perspective of a manager in a business and what she/he needs to know that will aid successful business performance. At this stage in their career, students are familiar with retail and the consumer-facing parts of businesses but have less experience of what lies behind the parts of businesses that consumers see (e.g. supply chains, innovation, financing, etc.). They are often less aware of the companies and sectors that lie beyond retail but form essential parts of the economy (e.g. finance, energy, insurance, pharmaceuticals, industrial equipment, logistics, etc.). While some are part of family businesses, many associate business with big companies and are less aware (but curious) of entrepreneurs and SMEs. For these reasons, a third perspective is added to the lecture programme: a series of Business Immersion lectures where such parts of the business world are examined in detail and through examples so that students gain a comprehensive view of the world of business.
Suggested topics include:
How do you assess company performance?
Assessing markets and competition (PEST, Porter’s Five Forces, etc.).
How structure can influence performance.
Microeconomic and macroeconomic theories.
Innovation and entrepreneurs.
Leadership in dynamic markets.
Culture & International Business.
Sustainability.
As part of their group assignment, students study a sector of their choice and this is supported through a series of PhD/PDRA led seminars. These seminars are sequenced to lead students through developing an increasingly comprehensive understanding of business and the decisions management need to make, and will include performance, strategy, competition and future.

Learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students should be able to:

• Demonstrate an understanding of: The purpose of businesses; how they are managed and how they perform.
• Demonstrate an understanding of: How businesses compete within markets.
• Demonstrate an understanding of: The decisions managers need to take in leading companies.
• Develop strategic thinking capabilities.
• Appreciate the economic context within which companies operate.
• Engage with the social and political context within which companies operate.
• Be able to construct a critical argument.

Indicative reading list

The module uses two textbooks to provide the academic background for the themes covered:
Strategic management: competitiveness & globalization, Concepts & cases (2017) Michael A. Hitt; R. Duane Ireland; Robert E. Hoskisson.
Economics (2017) N. Gregory Mankiw; Mark P. Taylor.
Students are advised to prepare for lectures by reading sections so that the basic concepts can them be summarised at the start before offering a more contemporary perspective illustrated through company examples. This also allows students with varied backgrounds and language skills to be prepared to a similar level for the lecture.
Each lesson is supported by case studies, articles and reports to provide a practice perspective. These can be expected to change regularly but examples include:
Automation: "A Strategist's Guide to Industry 4.0" (2016) Geissbauer, R; Vedsø, J and Schrauf, S (2016) Strategy+Business, Issue 83, Summer 2016 https://www.strategy-business.com/article/A-Strategists-Guide-to-Industry-4.0.
Business models & network effects: “Uber's other problem” (2017) FT https://youtu.be/h91NUNAVU30
Competition: “The five forces that shape strategy” (2008) Porter, M Harvard Business Review. Jan2008, Vol. 86 Issue 1, p78-9.
Competition in Mobile Telecoms: “UK telecoms sector regroups after blocked Three-O2 deal” 2016 FT, https://www.ft.com/content/ff300174-257f-11e6-8ba3-cdd781d02d89
Competition law: “Competing fairly in business: at-a-glance guide to competition law” 2015 CMA https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/competing-fairly-in-business-at-a-glance-guide-to-competition-law or https://youtu.be/jN-8Gag7vBQ
Corporate Reputation: “Volkswagen: Diesel Emissions. A Whiff of Scandal” (2017) Jarish, D. Case Study. Insead.
Digital: “Digital China: Powering the economy to global competitiveness” (2017) McKinsey https://www.mckinsey.com/global-themes/china/digital-china-powering-the-economy-to-global-competitiveness
Disruptive Innovation: “What Is Disruptive Innovation?” (2015) Christensen, C. M., Raynor, M. E., McDonald R. Harvard Business Review https://hbr.org/2015/12/what-is-disruptive-innovation
Exchange Rates: “The Big Mac Index” 2018 The Economist https://www.economist.com/content/big-mac-index
Foreign Direct Investment: “World Investment Report 2017” (2018) UNCTAD http://unctad.org/en/pages/PublicationWebflyer.aspx?publicationid=1782
Future Trends: “The four forces breaking all the trends” (2015) McKinsey http://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/strategy-and-corporate-finance/our-insights/the-four-global-forces-breaking-all-thetrends
Inflation vs employment: “The Phillips Machine” McRobie, A 2010 https://www.sms.cam.ac.uk/media/1094078
Organisational design: "Boosting Performance Through Organization Design" (2017) Fabrice Roghé, F; Toma, A; Scholz, S; Schudey, A and Koike, J. Boston Consulting Group https://www.bcg.com/publications/2017/people-boosting-performance-through-organization-design.aspx

Subject specific skills

Demonstrate:
Critical thinking.
Systems thinking to solve complex problems.
Diagnostic use of concepts.
Concern with impact.

Transferable skills

Oral communication.
Written communication.
Problem solving.