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Fundamentals of Management

Module description

Management as a practice is diverse and complicated, in any business context you need to be able to understand how the disciplines of human resource management, strategy, operational logistics, marketing and basic accounting principles come together on a daily basis to help you do your job. This module will give you a brief introduction to all these topics. They are often regarded as being distinct subjects in an academic context, but in practice they are all interconnected, which is why this module is vital to help you see where the connections are made. For those of you who have not studied business and management before, this module will provide a basic understanding of the interdisciplinary nature of management in practice. For those of you who have studied some management and business theory in the past, this module will help you think a little more critically about how the various sub-disciplines of management work collaboratively in real life practice.

Module aims - intentions of the module

The aims of the module are to enable students to see how interconnected the role of management is on a daily working basis. While we study aspects of management separately in academic contexts the operational setting sees managers drawing on skills, theory and practice from all management disciplines in any one working day. This module will help you develop your thinking and skills to be able to put into practice in a holistic way the learning you will gain from studying on a Management MSc. We will work through theory and case studies of organisations drawn from around the world to enable you to develop your strategic management thinking and skills. This module will enable you to apply for roles in private sector, not for profit and third sector organisations secure in the knowledge that you have the skills to see the bigger picture and the expertise to draw on that knowledge to maximise your management effectiveness and that of your colleagues.

We will look at the following topics:

• Management as a concept and how it has developed over time
• The processes that make up a holistic management approach
• The management functions which use management theory
• Latest trends in management approaches and thinking
• How approaches to management might differ around the world

This module will also draw on the latest research being undertaken by staff within the Business School and use case study examples of good practice in the field.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. evaluate developments in contemporary business and management thinking from an historical and global perspective;
• 2. analyse the role of the manager and how they use management theory and processes in different organisational settings around the world;
• 3. develop an understanding of the interconnectedness of management processes and functions.

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 4. investigate, critique and present current contemporary debates and approaches to management theory and practice at play in different parts of the world;
• 5. explore and research emerging innovations in management approaches associated with ethics, sustainability, values and purpose from around the world.

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 6. work collaboratively on group work activities, demonstrating team working skills and respecting differing global perspectives;
• 7. assess your own approach to team work and how best to manage yourself in terms of personal contribution to collective efforts;
• 8. learn how to manage your own skills and time and that of your colleagues to achieve the best possible outputs;
• 9. learn how to research, design and present a professional business style presentation.

Syllabus plan

Lecture number: Topics covered (taken from Robbins S P, De Cenzo D A and Coulter M ( 2016) Fundamentals of Management – Management Myths Debunked, 10th Edition, Pearson, London)

1. Introduction to Management as a concept, discipline and it’s historical perspective, the different approaches to management around the world, plus the purpose of Business.
2. The interconnected nature of management processes and functions (see Smith M (2011) second edition, Fundamentals of Management, Mc Graw-Hill, Higher Education, London)
3. Planning – Management Decision Making, Strategy and Marketing
4. Intelligence and data management – Business Analytics and how they drive decision making
5. Organising – Organisational design, structures, processes and systems
6. Leading  - Human Resource Management and the role of the Manager
7. Operations – how to get things from A to B and delivered on time and to budget
8. Controlling – How to monitor effectiveness, strategy and delivery to targets
9. Contemporary approaches to management – latest perspectives such as ‘purpose’, ‘values’, ethics and sustainability and how these might differ around the world.
10. Group presentations by students on Management ‘Hot Topics’
11. Group presentations by students on Management ‘Hot Topics’

Seminar sessions will cover:

1. How to research and write a masters level critical thinking based academic essay
2. How to work as part of a group/team on the presentation task – keeping a learning log
3. How to present a professional looking business ready power point presentation
4. How to present verbally and physically to get your point across to others in Business Presentations
5. How to reflect and learn from the experiences on this module

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Re-assessment notes

A student will be re-assessed in the form of assessment which they failed only.

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

• Smith M (2011) second edition, Fundamentals of Management, Mc Graw Hill, UK Higher Education Business Management
• Robbins S P, De Cenzo D A and Coulter M ( 2016) Fundamentals of Management – Management Myths Debunked, 10th Edition, Pearson, London

Key words search

Fundamentals of Management, Management theory and practice