Applied Numeracy For Business

This unit is part of a core spine of units that all Business students will encounter as part of their learning journey. This journey takes you through the begin stage at Level 4, to the thrive stage at level 5, to succeed stage at level 6.  
This unit is designed to support your Begin stage at level 4, it develops the numeracy skills and abilities you need to succeed in your studies and in the business world. The unit is designed to support you and develop your confidence in essential mathematics and statistics techniques, it applies these techniques in business context to give you an understanding of how they are used to solve problems and make decision in business organisations.

The connected core spine of units also enables you to network with peers from across the faculty just as you will be expected to work with colleagues throughout the organisation in the world of business.¿¿¿ 

The unit aims to achieve 

• provide students with the fundamental knowledge and understanding of numeracy in business.   
• develop student confidence in a range of numerical and statistical techniques.
• enable students apply a range of numerical and statistical techniques to practical business problems.   

Evolution And Revolution Of Business

The unit is designed to provide an introduction to business and the context in which businesses operate. It explores business advances allowing students to acquire an understanding of how businesses have developed, their impact on society, and how business may progress in the future. The unit aims to achieve:

1.       The identification and examination of key developments within business and management practices and their impact on trade and commerce.

2.       Awareness of management models and approaches and their context.

3.       Identify the progress and breakthroughs achieved in various business sectors and management practices. 

4.       Awareness of revolutionary developments in business and its future potential direction.

5.       Explore new opportunities and risks that exist for business. 

Relevance: The unit explores past and future developments in business and will allow students to apply context and develop a basic level of business acumen.

Contract Law

We enter into agreements with other parties - individuals, businesses and other organisations - on a daily basis. Contract law is the basis of many other legal subjects and, although those subjects have developed specific rules, the law of contract nevertheless provides a background for them. It is therefore imperative for any Law student to understand not only how contracts are formed and regulated, but also the legal issues that may arise when contractual relationships break down and the remedies available to a claimant for breach of contract.

Through this unit, you will explore the underlying principles of contract law and the manner in which those principles operate to protect both businesses and consumers. You will learn how to apply abstract legal concepts to practical situations and how to research and analyse primary legal sources, case law and academic writing.

Contract law is a core subject required for the Qualifying Law Degree. 

Beginning Your Professional Business Journey

This unit is part of a core spine of units that all Business students will encounter as part of their learning journey. This journey takes you from the Begin stage at Level 4, to the Thrive stage at Level 5 through to the Succeed stage at Level 6. This unit is designed to support the Begin/Thrive/Succeed stage by introducing you to the skills that you will require in order to develop your professional practice.

The connected core spine of units also enables you to network with peers from across the faculty just as you will be expected to work with colleagues throughout the organisation in the world of business.  

This unit will help you to begin your journey in Business and provide you with the support you will need to develop your professional practice.

In this unit you will be presented with Business challenges which will allow you to collaborate with peers, and provide an insight in to a professional Business environment. 

Economics For Business

This unit aims to provide you the essential understanding of concepts in microeconomics and macroeconomics, as relevant for the study of business; to develop a sound understanding of the resource allocation issues facing the business corporation and the global environment in which firms operate. It examines the main concepts of economic theory and explores the importance of these within a business context, with emphasis on developing students the capacity to apply analytical techniques to real-world problems, especially in the business context

It answers the following question:

How firms, consumers and government interact in markets and how business decision-making is shaped by internal factors such as costs and by external market conditions. How are models of markets developed and used by economists to explain the pricing of goods and services. What are the impacts of macroeconomic policies on business decision-making?

Sustainable Business Management

The central question underlying this unit asks students to analyse how business can be more sustainably manage its inter-relationship with the natural environment. The syllabus draws from the new Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA) diploma in Sustainable Business Practice. This emphasise the recognised need within business to develop the skills of managers to address the issues that this unit will cover.

The overall objectives will be two-fold:

Firstly to enable students to appreciate the dependency of business on natural resources and to recognise how aspects of business operations impact on the environment and how these can be better managed. This will help students to (i) understand how the business relationship with the environment needs to become more sustainable in order for business to survive; (ii) help students to engage with resource efficiency and environmental management practices at work and (iii) to think creatively about eco-efficient product design and innovation as young entrepreneurs. Links with the University’s Green Hub Fund, or similar, will be made as long as such funds continue, with local projects developed as part of the syllabus.

The second objective of this unit is to facilitate students’ ability to see the ‘big picture’ and the growing importance of sustainability at a strategic level. This will help students to analyse their own decision making and the complexity of sustainable business management (including ethical) decision making in theory and practice. Students will apply strategic thinking skills to analyse the inter-connectivity of ideas within the unit and to reflect on connections (competing and complimentary) with management theory and practice elsewhere in their course.

Business Research Methods

This unit enables you to understand the way you can construct meaningful data in a professional context and enhances your ability to do research that is relevant, reliable and valid.

It enables the application of appropriate research techniques and skills within a range of business and management contexts and provides the opportunity to advance your skills in generating ideas and developing critical insights into primary and secondary sources of information.

To select and use appropriate means of presenting findings, data and conclusions within a variety of visual and textual formats.

Law Of Tort

This unit is a core unit essential for a Qualifying Law Degree and aims to acquaint you with a broad critical knowledge of the nature and role of the Law of Tort and a consideration of those rights that Tort protects.

The Law of Tort is highly relevant to you, whether simply as a member of society (understanding your civil rights and liabilities) or as a solicitor or barrister specialising in personal injury and/or other civil law matters. The Law of Tort provides a remedy for social wrongs setting minimum standards of social conduct and protects your personal security, physical health, finances, reputation, land and property from unjust injury or interference by others.

Tort is a word derived from the Latin word “Tortus” which literally means twisted but came to refer to civil wrongs, as distinct from criminal wrongs. Hence, Tort includes claims arising in Negligence, Nuisance, Trespass, and Defamation to name a few. Winfield and Jolowicz on Tort state that “Tortious liability arises from a breach of a duty primarily fixed by law; this duty is towards persons generally and its breach is redressible by an action for unliquidated damages”. 

You will be engaged with common law principles and will develop skills in critically analysing and evaluating case law and some statutes e.g. the Occupier’s Liability Acts 1957 and 1984.  You will also explore your understanding of the role of Tort in its societal context in shifting the burden of losses from the victim to the tortfeasor or through insurance to the wider society and through a consideration of the public policy issues underpinning case law.  The impact of the Human Rights Act 1998 in freeing the courts from the historical common law restrictions on developing the protection of interests will be integral to this study.

Marketing Planning

Understanding how to create a marketing plan is essential to any business and will help you to establish your employability. Building on the first year Principles of Marketing unit, Marketing Planning enables you to plan for defined operational marketing activities through the development of a competent and sensible marketing plan.
The unit will explore competitive analysis and gap identification, how current issues give rise to marketing problems, market opportunities and new approaches for achieving marketing objectives to help you to:

• Achieve an understanding of decisions facing marketers and the complex and dynamic environment in which these decisions need to be made
• Develop critical insight into current techniques and practices in a variety of marketing environments including both corporate and entrepreneurial
• Build your “tool box” and use your critical evaluation skills to select as situation- appropriate
• Establish realistic marketing objectives
• Explore how marketing plans are created
• Match plans to corporate objectives and strategies.

Human Resource Management

This unit introduces you to the role and purpose of Human Resource Management in a contemporary context. People are often the most expensive and valuable resource a business can draw upon, yet individuals are diverse and complex and maximising this resource can be challenging to HR and managers. The unit provides you with a framework to explore and understand people management and development to ensure high levels of employee performance, as you develop your graduate career. The unit will be significantly underpinned by a range of research from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.  

The unit aims to make the business case for the effective, efficient, ethical and professional management of human resources as real sources of competitive advantage in organisations, by situating its activities in the context of topical and relevant debates and controversies.   

 The question key to this unit is: what are the people strategies that organisations must deploy in order to maximise and sustain employee organisational performance whilst simultaneously promoting healthy and productive relationships between individuals and organisations at all levels in different types of contemporary organisations?

Strategy And Change Management

To develop independent strategic assessment skills using appropriate techniques and resources and demonstrate an understanding of and an ability to appraise strategy.

To be able to prepare a well thought out plan for change based upon analysis and to formulate, justify and evaluate a range of actions for promoting an effective and strategic approach to change.

This unit should enable you to understand the broader context of the business environment and the underlying drivers of change. That should enable you to make informed decisions once you enter the professional environment. 

Furthermore it will consider how concepts of strategy and change management overlap, and the importance of these processes to a contemporary business manager working anywhere in the world.

Digital Business Management

The majority of businesses now use information and communication technology (ICT) as part of their business model. Digital information systems increasingly impact on all aspects of the commercial and personal space. In this rapidly changing and evolving environment of digital information systems, it is vital that future managers are equipped with the necessary knowledge and skills to exploit and manage digital business opportunities and initiatives.

This unit examines the main strands of digital business management. It will focus on the applications of technology, exploring issues such as the integration of the business environment, business models, Internet marketing and electronic customer relationship management, the use of web analytics, cultural aspects, etc.

This unit aims to help you develop a holistic view of digital business. You will consider theoretical and practical applications of e-business and have to justify the use of e-business approaches.

More specifically, the unit aims to enable you to:

·        Develop your in-depth understanding of digital business. You will consider and evaluate a variety of information systems and ICT in a variety of environments and analyse the impact of these on conducting business

·        Acquaint you with issues relevant to marketing and customer relationship management in digital business

·        Understand the foundations of web analytics and use the results to modify an e-commerce website

Research and critically evaluate relevant literature in academic journals, textbooks and on appropriate websites in order to apprise and report on the societal, business and managerial impacts of 

applying digital information systems and ICT, also reflecting on ethical, legal and social aspects of digital business.

In terms of increasing your employability, the insights acquired in this unit will help you to apply information systems and e-business concepts to support you in your day-to-day work.

Management And Administration Of Operations

This unit develops your knowledge and understanding of the use of operations management in strategic and functional roles.
 
You will learn about and appraise the importance of the management of operations and processes in business and apply core concepts of operations management. You will learn how operations management concepts and approaches influence the planning of operations, product and process design, control of enterprise systems, logistics and supply chain management.
 
Using a mixture of lectures, seminar activities, case studies and independent reading, the unit will  develop an appreciation of the importance and broad reach of  operations management in all aspects of a company’s activities

Specialist Project (Business Management)

You will be able to apply the research process and data construction in the business environment and construct your own knowledge during problem-solving activities at workplace. 

The unit will provide structure, support and assistance centred around the supervisor/supervisee model where the supervisor will assist you in critically evaluating and utilizing a range of appropriate literature sources, methods and techniques in order to complete the investigation.

Eventually the unit aims to encourage a critical, inquiring and rigorous mind-frame when approaching knowledge construction and understanding in your chosen field of study.

Company Law

Company Law is relevant to you as future legal practitioner specialising in commercial and business matters, or simply if you have an interest in general business matters.

The unit aims to provide you with an understanding of the nature and functions of a company in running a business, and of the legal framework which regulates companies. The need to inform those who run a business is seen as essential. In particular, corporate personality and liability will be emphasised. The liability of those who promote the creation of the company will be examined in order to appreciate the true significance of the company as a legal entity.  The steps involved in its creation will be examined in some depth.  The growth of civil and criminal liability imposed upon its directors will be examined and the rationale for liability analysed.  The role of the Criminal Justice Act 1993 and its attempt to consider insider dealing will be assessed. The impact of the Companies Act 2006 will also play an important role in this unit along with the Enterprise Act 2002.

The director’s managerial role will be examined along with the concept of ‘thinking small’ and stakeholder relations in society.  Along with the need for companies to grow, this is crucial to understanding the modern company format and its role as a part of society. Should its business fail the impact of compulsory and voluntary liquidation will be examined including the role of the insolvency practitioner.

Intellectual Property Law

Information is an increasingly important source of commercial value within the modern economy, particularly for the entertainment and media sectors and science-based industries. Intellectual Property Law (IP Law) is concerned with the rules which determine when and how information produced either by an individual or a corporation can be protected against infringement by others who may wish to make use of this information and ideas for their own purposes.

This unit provides students with an overview of the intellectual property law of England and Wales but will also include comparative study of IP law in other jurisdictions. Students will be introduced to the concept of intangible property and the nature of intellectual property rights and obligations before considering issues surrounding the exploitation of intellectual property and the availability of remedies for the infringement of intellectual properties.

The unit will introduce the social, political and most importantly the economic dimensions and their influence on the development of IP rights. In this respect, there is the international dimension of the internet and its impact on protection of rights. The fast-changing nature of the topic will introduce students to contemporary legal issues and academic debates concerning the direction of IP rights and whether the current protections can be described as ‘fit for purpose’, i.e. internet and multimedia infringement of existing copyright law.

Professional Practice Year (Business)

The aim of this unit is to provide the opportunity to undertake career-related experience which will allow you to understand and undertake responsibilities in the work place at an appropriate level and use the opportunity to assess your readiness to undertake a career in your chosen field.

Employability And The Future Workplace

This unit aims to :

1.       Prepare the student for the future work environment after they graduate

2.       Develop awareness of their skills and attributes in preparation for interviews, psychometric tests and assessment centres

3.       Provide opportunities for students to carry out self-analysis, and link these to a career focus 

4.       Enable students to evaluate their ability to use all aspects of social media and virtual recruitment

5.      Showcase student readiness and employability to interested stakeholders.

English Language Foundation

This unit focuses on your ability to understand and use the English language accurately when you read, speak, listen and write. We will concentrate on the English you need for undergraduate level study in your chosen subject area, covering grammar, subject area vocabulary and the four language skills of reading, writing, listening and speaking.

A key element of the unit is the grammar of the language, and particularly the verb tense system in English, because your ability to use the verb tense system accurately will be extremely important when you come to write essays and reports. This unit will focus in particular on the grammar of the language.

We will also focus on reading, listening and speaking skills in the context of your chosen subject area. Beginning with short texts, we will practise each skill and practise it again, so that gradually you will see, hear and feel that your command of the language is improving. 

A recurring focus of the unit will be your acquisition of 'learner autonomy'. This means your ability to acquire the language yourself, without needing a teacher's help. This is important because from next year you will not have an English teacher to help you. So we will consider and practise strategies to help you gain confidence in your own ability to increase your knowledge of and ability to use the language, including for instance guessing meaning of difficult words, deciding which words are important in a text, recognising differences between formal and informal language, and other strategies, so that as the first semester continues, you begin to feel more confident in your use and experience with the English Language.

Academic Skills Foundation

When you begin your undergraduate level studies, you will be expected to have knowledge of and ability to use a large range of 'study skills'. You will also be expected to have some knowledge of the subject area you will  be studying. This unit deals with both of these aspects of your preparation for undergraduate level study. 

All of the academic skills are practised in English, so you will use your developing acquisition of the language from the partner unit 'English Language Foundation' to practise and gain mastery of these skills. You will also use your language and study skills as you learn the foundation of your subject area, putting the skills into practice as you learn.

Developing English Language Skills

This unit builds on the progress you made during its partner semester 1 unit 'English Language Foundation' and increasing your level from that which you had achieved by the end of semester 1. 

We will recycle the tense system in English and other elements of the grammar system, but you will  now learn how to use other aspects of the grammar, including the passive voice, as well as linking words and phrases and devices which enable you to write longer sentences but retain grammatical accuracy. 

You will notice that we gradually introduce more specialist language that you need in preparation for your degree and we will expect you to use and develop the skills that you gained in the previous units so that you are able to work more independently.

Academic Skills Development

This unit builds on the skills learnt and practised in its partner semester 1 unit 'Foundation Academic Skills'. We will add more skills to the list, including summarizing and synthesising, argumentation, critical thinking and referencing and citation skills, as well as several others and practise and test them in the same way as with the semester 1 unit.

We will also investigate the research skill and you will learn how to prepare a research proposal and conduct a literature review, and how to plan a research project, learning about the research tools available and how they can be used to conduct research in your chosen field. 

You will continue to broaden your knowledge of key current issues and theory in your chosen subject area, and apply the critical thinking and argumentation skills you acquire in this unit to argue for and against propositions you have studied in the form of in both essays and presentations and in seminar situations, ensuring that you are ready to step up to your chosen undergraduate course with a base level of subject area knowledge from which to continue your academic development as you progress to level 4 study.

Risk And Responsibility

The unit is designed to develop a holistic understanding of the challenges facing a business and the principles of responsible management from the perspectives of various business functions. The aim of the unit is to enable you to demonstrate the following: 

·       Knowledge and critical understanding of enterprise risk and management exploring systemic, financial, operational and strategic risk

·       An understanding of holistic approach to risk management exploring business ethics and responsible management in global context.

·       The ability to apply risk management frameworks in investigating risk and implementing risk mitigation strategies.  

·       The ability to risk assess investment, operational failure and operating in international markets 

·       Confidence in engaging with quality and compliance needs of a business

Managing Business Complexity

This unit aims to achieve:

·      Knowledge and understanding of various types of business complexity arising from structural, process, and environmental factors

·      Apply the knowledge and skills gained during previous units to a real-life, complex business issue to create a realistic and viable solution for a client

·      Develop project management skills through working on a contemporary business problem 

·      Develop skills in planning, undertaking and reporting upon primary and secondary research

·      Enable you to develop critical employability skills around team working, time management, presentation and communication 

Develop your critical awareness of contemporary business issues and enable you to apply theoretical concepts to real-world situations

Business Project

This unit is part of a core spine of units that all Business students will encounter as part of their learning journey. This journey takes you from the Thrive stage at Level 5 through to the Succeed stage at Level 6. This unit is designed to support the Succeed stage by enabling you to network with peers from across the faculty just as you will be expected to work with colleagues throughout the organisation in the world of business.   
 
This unit will help you consolidate your research journey with the aim of helping you thrive. It aims to bring research to life by addressing it from an application point of view.  
 
It aims to help you develop and deploy relevant research skills while engaging you in the process of making decisions based on quality research. Effective business decision and problem-solving involve many complex processes which depend not only on accessing high quality data but also processing, analyzing, deconstructing and extracting meaning from it.  
 
Hence, this unit aims to take students through these practical processes in order to develop cutting edge problem solving skills required in a fast business terrain. 
 
This unit aims to achieve: 

1) This unit will help students achieve a broader and deeper understanding and learning of the practical use of data in business and how this shapes critical business decisions. 
 
2) This unit will help students achieve the ability to critically evaluate the core knowledge at the forefront of their fields of study in informing their investigation, demonstrating an awareness of the provisional and evolving nature of knowledge. 
 
3) This unit will help students achieve the ability to take ownership of their own research journeys by independently selecting, planning, managing and executing an in-depth research investigation of a business problem with the aim of producing a research with potential for useful or unique outcomes. 
 
4) This unit will enable students achieve the ability to critically review evidence, including reliability, validity and significance, and interpret with reference to the core knowledge in the area, identifying contradictions and inconsistencies and exploring possible reasons, leading to reasoned conclusions and recommendations. 
 
5) This unit will enable students achieve an awareness of their personal responsibility and professional ethical codes of conduct, particularly in relation to confidentiality and informed consent. 

Data And Research Methods For Business

This unit is part of a core spine of units that all Business students will encounter as part of their learning journey. This journey takes you to the Thrive stage at Level 5 and the unit is designed to support the Begin/Thrive/Succeed stage by building on the academic study skills and numeracy skills acquired during your first year and introduces you to both theory and practice of research and prepares you for the final year Research Project. 
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The connected core spine of units also enables you to network with peers from across the faculty just as you will be expected to work with colleagues throughout the organisation in the world of business.¿¿ 
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The ability to conduct research and to interpret information is a key skill in both the academic and commercial worlds. Effective managerial decision-making is heavily dependent on high-quality data and information in a variety of forms and from a variety of sources.  Gaining an understanding of research and of the research process, and experiencing it as part of a research community will provide valuable transferrable skills for a career in business or further study.  
 
This unit aims to achieve: 
an understanding and appreciation of the central role of data in business. 
an ability to evaluate information sources appropriately to support arguments and to inform decision-making at all levels. 
an appreciation of the benefits and limitations of common research approaches and quantitative and qualitative research methods. 
an understanding of common qualitative and quantitative research techniques including sampling and data collection approaches as well as data analysis.