Studying our Sport Leadership & Management MBA course will equip you with the knowledge and skills in the combined areas of strategic leadership, sports and physical activity. Building on the foundations of your study, you will discover how sport is developed and delivered across the globe in our Sport in The Global Context unit. Through analysing the political, social and economic factors that impact this sector, you will understand how sport can be used as a tool for social good and global development.

You will then explore the role of strategic leadership and management in sport in our Strategy Analysis in The Global Environment. Here, you will unpack strategic management principles by critically analysing data sources and industry information to create and implement effective strategies to address challenges within sports leadership and management. To add to this, you will explore research and practice around leadership and management in the context of sport in our Leading and Managing Sustainable Organisations unit. Furthermore, you will consider the principles of responsible leadership, ethical decision making, and effective stakeholder engagement while also analysing management processes in other fields of work such as human resources and finance.

In practical areas of work, you will have the opportunity to work with a sports organisation in our Applied Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Sport unit. With a critical approach, you will identify an area of the business where you could implement change or innovation and subsequently produce a research proposal with suggestions for development. To support you with this, this unit will allow you to explore how to promote innovation and entrepreneurship across various organisations in the sporting sector.

Finally, you will complete an MBA Applied Project where you will be able to apply your leadership and management knowledge to a sporting management environment. Here, you will work with a sporting organisation to solve complex problems while taking into consideration organisational values and stakeholder concerns.

Sport In The Global Context

This unit provides the contextual knowledge of the sports sector globally. As an international industry, the unit will explore and analyse how sport is developed and delivered across the globe. Sport organisations operate nationally and internationally, whilst sports programmes are often designed for export to developing countries. Likewise, international events are often used as a tool for development. The unit will explore the competing demands on sport in terms of it being both a commodified entity and an activity that is seen as relevant in providing wider social good.  

In undertaking this analysis, the unit will reflect on the broader political, social and economic factors that impact on the sector, exploring theoretical perspectives on sport as a global business, sport as political tool and sport for development. 

Leading And Managing Sustainable Organisations

This unit will provide you the opportunity to explore current research and practice around the leadership and management in the context of sport. Using current project and programmes as a basis for learning, the unit will focus on the leadership and management of organisations. In doing so, it will explore the principles of responsible leadership, focusing on ethical decision-making and effective stakeholder engagement.

Additionally, the unit will analyse various management processes employed in HR, financial, EDI, and other workplace scenarios. In delivery, the unit will utilise a blend of theoretical frameworks, case studies, and real-world applications to develop practical skills for navigating the 21st-century challenges facing organisations in sport. 

Applied Innovation And Entrepreneurship In Sport

In a fast-moving innovative sporting environment, leading creativity, entrepreneurship and change are essential to successful organisational performance. This unit provides an opportunity for you to explore how these processes might be effectively promoted across organisations of all sizes in the sporting sector and supports your critical appreciation of the need for continuous innovation and entrepreneurship in the dynamic sporting context. The unit adopts a critical approach, encouraging consideration of alternative perspectives evidenced by influential academic and practitioner contributors.

To apply your knowledge, the opportunity will be provided for you to engage with a sector-based organisation. Taking an evidence-based management (EBMgt) approach, you will work with the organisation to identify an area of business that they are looking to develop, change or innovate and produce an applied based research proposal that supports this development. The work and proposal that you undertake in this unit will provide the foundation, preparation and building blocks for your MBA Applied Project.

Strategy Analysis In The Global Environment

This unit explores strategy, its development and its application  to organisations in sport. In particular, it aims to enable you to develop a comprehensive understanding of strategic leadership and management in the context of sport.

By exploring theories, concepts, and frameworks, the unit aims to support you to build a practical comprehension of strategic management principles as applied to the field of sport. You will develop the ability to critically analyse data sources and industry information, formulate, and execute effective strategies to address challenges specific to sports leadership and management. This will allow you to make informed strategic decisions by linking the evaluation of information to the selection and application of appropriate tools within the sports context. In doing this, you will develop essential skills highly valued by modern organizations operating in the sport sector.

Mba Applied Project

The MBA Applied Project is the culmination of your MBA programme. It is designed to give you the opportunity to demonstrate your ability to think through the implications of applying the knowledge and skills acquired through the taught elements of the course. Its purpose is to bring together all the taught elements of the programme to reinforce their interrelationship and to enable you to move forward from the understanding of a discrete knowledge base to combine knowledge in different ways and increase your understanding through synthesis and exploration.

The unit aims to enable you to independently apply your leadership and management knowledge to a sporting management environment. This unit is specifically designed to support your employability through transition into the professional work environment. Working with a sporting organisation you will solve a preidentified complex problem. In doing so, you will demonstrate your ability to gather data and evidence, analyse research informed evidence and make effective decisions and recommendations.

The units builds on the experience that you gained within the unit Applied Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Sport. The time you spent with employers within the Innovation unit aims to act as key preparation for the activities required in this unit. 

This unit supports you in developing a practical understanding of the consultancy research process and will allow you to gain a critical appreciation of complexity of organisational problems and opportunities informed by scientific, organisational and experiential evidence and in consideration of organisational values and stakeholders' concerns. Ultimately, this unit draws together the knowledge gained across the course and provides you with a critical appreciation of the interdependence of management and leadership education and practice in transforming organisations.