Understanding Our World
| Module title | Understanding Our World |
|---|---|
| Module code | MBAM964 |
| Academic year | 2025/6 |
| Credits | 30 |
| Module staff | Morgan Witzel (Lecturer) Ms Joanne Abraham (Lecturer) Professor Oliver Hauser (Convenor) |
| Duration: Term | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duration: Weeks | 14 days | 10 days |
| Number students taking module (anticipated) | 30 |
|---|
Module description
This module will cover 3 core topics: Decisional Accounting; Economics for a Sustainable World, and Data and Analytics and will introduce theories and concepts that underpin the world of modern business. MBA graduates need knowledge of these theories and to be effective in understanding the situation in which they work. In these 3 topics you will study the basics of data analysis, accounting, finance and economics, all fields that we believe are fundamental to MBA education. Competence here allows you to interact effectively with more specialist professionals in these fields, an ability that is fundamental to sound decision making skills and to support your progression to senior leadership roles.
Module aims - intentions of the module
Decisional Accounting
The aim is to enable participants to gain confidence and credibility in incorporating core accounting knowledge, practices, and tools into their decision-making contexts. Guided case-study organisations introduce and explore these. Formative and summative assessments further embed their universal application and usefulness in different organisations. Skills in contextual research (academic and real-world), accounting analysis, and critical evaluation of outcomes with professional scepticism are developed. Effective client-based communications are practiced.
Economics for a Sustainable World
The aims of this module are to allow you to develop an understanding of the relevance of economics to managers in business, and to introduce key issues in the economics of a sustainable world: for example, the economics of climate change, national and social development, and inequality at the workplace and in society. The module will interweave microeconomics and macroeconomic contents throughout, drawing on both perspectives to help us understand people and markets: the way that they work, and the ways in which they fail. The module will cover fundamental concepts (such as supply and demand) and historical developments to show how they influence—even today—how much of the world operates. This module will challenge your conventional thinking by introducing you to strategic and economic toolkits of decision-making, grounded in recent research in behavioural economics and psychology. Finally, this module will bring in contemporary economic and political issues to inform class discussion.
Data and Analytics
Information is the lifeblood of business. Companies that manage information effectively can improve efficiency, be more responsive to market opportunities, achieve competitive advantage and operate more sustainably. As businesses drive towards sustainable strategies, they are looking for better information to guide decisions. Many companies are already gathering data but a critical next step is to build information systems and data analytics capabilities that will turn this raw data into actionable insights. This will enable companies to more effectively identify which actions are achieving their goals, detect risk or opportunity early, evaluate possible outcomes, allocate resources to achieve greatest returns; and measure the true impact of products. AI is playing an ever more important role. This module will explore the role of information and analytics (including AI) in supporting the development of more sustainable strategies and the practical techniques managers can use to design effective information flows.
Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
ILO: Module-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 1. explain the role of economics in managerial decision-making and evaluate how markets work and evaluate emerging economic themes that are having an impact on companies;
- 2. critically evaluate current approaches used for collection, management, communication and analysis of commercial, operational and system data, and how this data is used to support ethical decision-making;
- 3. apply a range of accounting analysis tools common to short-term and long-term decision scenarios. Interpret and evaluate analysis outcomes within complex client-specific contexts.
- 4. develop a critical assessment of any given situation by rigorously analysing problems in accounting, finance and economics.
ILO: Discipline-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 5. understand how an organisations internal and externally available financial information represents its activities, summarises its story, and indicates future success.
- 6. combine accounting acumen with a range of knowledge and experience from other finance, strategic, and operational contexts to evaluate and advise to optimise performance.
- 7. demonstrate familiarity with analytical tools available for the collection, analysis and visualisation of numerical and textual data and use these to find, derive, evaluate and report information;
- 8. apply theoretical arguments, frameworks and concepts to the analysis of business and management scenarios. Link theoretical constructs and organisational practices;
- 9. illustrate the nature of market failure and the implications for business and government. Explain the value of using economics in assessing the external environment for business decision-making.
ILO: Personal and key skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 10. take a global outlook: apply creative intelligence and ethical imagination to complex problems to ensure that environmental and social governance is taken into account;
- 11. apply critical thinking: present and defend strategic analyses in multiple forms (written, verbal, digital) based on case material, desk based and empirical research;
- 12. work with a collaborative mind-set: give and receive feedback at all levels in a confident and respectful manner. Work inclusively across multi-cultural groups to research, explore and prepare a persuasive argument against an assignment or client brief;
- 13. develop an ethical perspective: improve personal effectiveness through consciously and diligently making decisions on behalf of all stakeholders, environmental, social and financial;
- 14. demonstrate technological and digital literacy: identify and apply relevant technologies to source, process and communicate accurate information.
Syllabus plan
Decisional Accounting
Understanding reported financial information:
• Purpose, context, and presentation of financial accounting information
• Understanding financial statements in representing business performance, position, and health
• Analysis and interpretation of financial statements for stakeholder decision-making
Accounting for Management Decision-Making:
• Pricing decisions from a costing perspective
• Accounting tools for short- and long-term decision making
• Planning and evaluating internal performance
• Cash management
Developments in sustainability within annual reporting and the practice of management accounting are being monitored and integrated into the module content as they are recognised by regulation and/or best practices by professional, statutory, and regulatory bodies. Furthermore, study and assessment will be mapped to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs) to reflect financial and management accounting practices with broader sustainability objectives.
Economics for a Sustainable World
- Competitive markets and industries, GDP
- Inequality, work performance, public goods
- Decision-making and choice architecture
- Marketing, automation, and final presentations
Data and Analytics
- Introduction to key concepts in data and analytics and their application to sustainable business.
- Using Design Thinking techniques to understand business problems
- Telling the story with data - Infographics and Visualisation
- Ethics and governance for using data and analytics in business
Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 91 | 209 | 0 |
Details of learning activities and teaching methods
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning & Teaching activities | 91 | Lectures, workshops, and facilitated group discussions |
| Guided independent study | 209 | Reading, research, writing |
Formative assessment
| Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Decisional Accounting | Case-study workshops | 3-6, 12-14 | In-class peer and tutor oral feedback; post-workshop written feedback |
| Economics group presentation | 4 minutes (5 slides) | 10, 11 | Oral |
| Data & Analytics - group exercises | 1 hour | 1, 2, 10-14 | Oral |
Summative assessment (% of credit)
| Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | 0 | 0 |
Details of summative assessment
| Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Decisional Accounting - Organisation Evaluation Report | 14 | 1,200 words | 3-8, 10-14 | Written: Rubric; Feedback; Feed-Forward |
| Decisional Accounting Client Decision report | 21 | 1,800 words | 3-8, 10-14 | Written |
| Economics Individual assignment | 30 | 3,000 words | 1, 8, 9, 12-14 | Written |
| Data & Analytics Individual assignment | 35 | 3,000 words | 2, 7, 10-14 | Written |
Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)
| Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Decisional Accounting Organisation Evaluation Report | Organisation Evaluation Report | 3-8, 10-14 | 6 weeks from briefing |
| Decisional Accounting Client Decision Report | Client Decision Report | 3-8, 10-14 | 6 weeks from briefing |
| Economics - Individual assignment | Individual assignment (3,000 words, 30%) | 1, 8-9, 12-14 | 6 weeks from briefing |
| Data & Analytics Individual assignment | Individual assignment (3,000 words, 30%) | 2, 7, 10-14 | 6 weeks from briefing |
Re-assessment notes
An overall module mark of 50% is required from across all three components.
Indicative learning resources - Basic reading
Decisional Accounting
There is no textbook directly used as part of teaching and study as all materials are written specifically for this module. Guidance for independent study is given for the following University of Exeter library e-books:
• Dyson, J. R., & Franklin, E. (2020). Accounting for Non-Accounting Students 10th Edition Pearson Education Limited, Harlow
• Warner, S., & Hussain, S. (2017). The Finance Book. Pearson Education Limited, Harlow
• Hulme, S., Drew, C., & Lucio, M. P. (2024). Entrepreneurial Finance. (Second edition), Bloomsbury Academic.
All topic elements, concepts and tools studied are globally practiced. Therefore, further knowledge and understanding can be developed from a wide range of literature, accounting texts, practitioner and management articles, and real-world/real-time online resources.
Economics for a Sustainable World
There is no required textbook that covers all the material in the module. Two excellent sources for how economics applies in the real world, from business to public policy, are (the first one is available for free online):
• The CORE Team (2018). Core econ: Economy, society, and public policy. Online Edition: https://www.coreecon.org/espp/
• Froeb, L.M., McCann, B.T., Shor, M., & Ward, M.R. (2016). Managerial economics: A problem-solving approach (4th ed.). Australia: Cengage Learning.
Data and Analytics
• Provost, F., & Fawcett, T. (2013). Data science for business. Sebastopol, CA: O’Reilly.
(The book is available on-line through the Exeter University Library.)
Analytics tools
A level of familiarity with Microsoft Excel is expected. The student must have personal access to MS Office 2013 or higher (PC or MAC), this is available to all Exeter students free of charge during their time at the university.
Access and training for the other software tools used in the module will be provided.
| Credit value | 30 |
|---|---|
| Module ECTS | 15 |
| Module pre-requisites | None |
| Module co-requisites | None |
| NQF level (module) | 7 |
| Available as distance learning? | No |
| Origin date | 31/01/2020 |
| Last revision date | 27/08/2025 |
