BA Hons Business Management and Entrepreneurship

What you’ll study

Year One

Accounting and Finance for Managers
 

• Through this module you will develop the skills and competencies needed to make effective use of accounting information, especially for control and decision making purposes. You will explore how business organisations are financed and the constraints and limitations that financing imposes on them. You will also learn about the calculation of accounting profit and its importance to an organisation. You will develop skills that will allow you to identify relevant cash inflows and outflows of a proposed business project, and learn about utilising the techniques of break-even analysis in project decision making.
• The importance and use of budgeting for forward planning, communication, coordination and control within an organisation will be covered, as well as the importance of cash and liquidity within an organisation and the construction of cash and working capital budgets. You will learn how to use cash and working capital management models and techniques and how to construct financial statements.
• Other areas covered in this vast module include financial appraisal of long term capital investment proposals and valuation of company shares.

Economics and Data Analysis for Managers
This module will introduce you to a range of skills, methods and knowledge that are applied by professional economists. It will enable you to offer a distinctive contribution to business and management decisions involving the deployment of globally scarce resources. The module will enable you to demonstrate a range of applications of economic ideas, principles and techniques, and to identify resource consequences of business and managerial decisions in a national and international context.

Foundations of Managing and Organising
The focus of this module is on the management of work in organisations. Both work and management are carried out by people, the human resources of the organisation. During the module you will examine some of the key applications, policies and practices involved in the management of human resources. You will analyse their underlying theoretical basis and the effects on the organisation and society in general. You will also develop a holistic understanding from the viewpoint of both workers and management.

Principles of Marketing
This module aims to provide students with a fundamental understanding of the basic tools and concepts of marketing. More specifically, you will be introduced to the core marketing functions and develop an understanding of the key concepts, frameworks and models encountered in marketing. You will also gain the knowledge and skills required to identify differing marketing orientations, in particular how organisations identify, understand and satisfy customers and develop the skills required to produce a blended marketing mix that will satisfy the needs of the target customer.

Essentials of Business Development
This module combines business, enterprise with operations management theory in the context of organisations developing. Consideration is given to the ways in which enterprise skills are used to design, deliver and improve the services and products during business growth. The module is at the centre of many changes taking place in the business world today, these include changes in the preferences of customers for customised product, changes in global supply chains, use of internet based technologies and challenges of sustainability.

Personal and Academic Development
Helps you recognise the personal skills, behaviours and attributes you currently have, and supports you in formulating a continuous personal and professional development plan to develop the skills and knowledge you need to achieve your future ambitions and realise your full potential.

Year Two

First half of Year Two – Core modules

Competitive Strategy and Innovation
 

• This module provides an understanding of business development and strategy with particular reference to processes of strategic management, innovation and business development in the global context.
• It will develop your understanding of competitive advantage and introduce you to key concepts in strategy, organisational change and development, all drawn from different cultural contexts. You will examine the nature of innovation, and the process involved in bringing it about. This module also seeks to demonstrate how innovation can provide competitive advantage for business firms operating in local, national and international environments.

Over the course of the module you will: ·
 

• study profitability and the nature and purpose of corporate and competitive strategy in a global context
• explore corporate direction, goals, mission and vision.
• analyse the business environment, methods and techniques of analysis and its relevance to competitor and customer development
• explore the nature of technological change and its links to innovation
• classify innovation and innovative activity
• analyse the process of innovation and different perspectives on the process.

Enterprise in Practice
This module develops an understanding of the nature, operations and business environment of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). In parallel it promotes the role of entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial activity in the economic context. Students will appreciate and understand the challenges SMEs face and evaluate the importance of entrepreneurship in SMEs. Support infrastructures and policies are presented to help contextualise issues for SMEs. The module develops and underpins strategic thinking and an analysis of business operations, business growth options and business environment.

Dynamic Entrepreneurship
The Dynamic Entrepreneurship module presents you with a tool kit that can unlock creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship in many institutions. The module is designed to widen your understanding of the changing world of business management and the need for constantly renewing existing business processes in line with unexpected changes in the market. Specifically, the module is intended to stimulate debate about the essence of entrepreneurship in both private and public institutions. It provides you with essential tools that are necessary towards understanding and creating enterprising institution(s).

Second half of Year Two

You can either select one of our unique opportunities initiatives below or continue with your taught modules.

Option 1 – Study Abroad
Experience life in another country by studying at one of our partner universities. Choose from a host of countries in Europe or go further afield and study in the USA, South America, Australasia and South East Asia. This is a great opportunity to develop your independence and explore another culture.

Option 2 – Enterprise Project
Explore your entrepreneurial side and start to develop the meaningful and practical skills needed to run your own business. Supported by NTU Enterprise, NTU's centre for Entrepreneurship and Enterprise, during this opportunity you'll work alongside other young entrepreneurs and a dynamic network of mentors and advisors, to develop your own ideas into a live enterprise project.

Option 3 – Internship
Get a taste of the working world and gain some essential industry insight with a 16-18 week work placement. The experience will allow you to put your learning in to practice, with the experience gained improving your future career prospects, and sharpening your interpersonal and professional skills.

Option 4 – Continue with taught modules
 

• If you didn't fancy doing any of the above options then you can continue your studies at university. With a mixture of both compulsory and optional modules, the first will enhance your knowledge and skills set in your area of study, with the latter allowing you to tailor your learning experience.
• Students on Sandwich courses are eligible to choose the Enterprise project or continue with taught modules in the second half of their second year. They are not eligible for options 1 and 3. However, they are able to use their sandwich year to study or work abroad.

Core modules:

Employment and Enterprise
Following on from the Personal Development module in Year One, you will build and further reflect on your personal and professional skills, attributes and behaviours. You will have the opportunity to participate in part-time work, volunteering, consultancy work, business competitions and challenges, and develop a range of skills to enhance your employability.

Managing and Organising
‘Managing and Organising’ aims to develop an understanding of the human aspects of managing and organising work. It draws upon ideas from disciplines such as work psychology, organisational sociology and human resource management to provide insights into possibilities for managing and organising work. The module considers the nature of the changing context of managing and organising and examines the central issues and contemporary concerns that this presents for HR. Throughout the module you will be encouraged to develop a critical perspective which encompasses views from both those managing and those managed, as well as a consideration of the wider impact of choices taken in regards to managing and organising work activities. Whilst exploring classic studies in managing and organising, these ideas will also be examined in the context of the contemporary changing international workplace. The module is relevant to a broad range of careers given that HR issues are a concern for all.

Plus one optional module from:

Managing the Global Supply Chain
This module focuses on operations and marketing, and will develop your practical understanding of the structure and organisation of supply chains. You will cover aspects of operations, logistics, procurement, sustainability and ethical issues, in order to understand the importance of the flow of goods and information in providing value through global delivery systems.

International Business and Communication
This module gives an overview of how international business is conducted, focusing on what makes international business different from domestic business. You will study the major theories explaining international business transactions, the financial exchange systems and institutions that measure and facilitate international transactions, and the dynamic interface between countries and companies attempting to conduct foreign business activities. You will explore strategy, behaviour and the management of multinational corporations and the actions and policies of international regulatory bodies and agencies.

Management Accounting for Decision Making
 

• The manager and entrepreneur of the future must have sound financial skills to enable them to take advantage of their environment. Critical to this process is understanding the environment in which you operate and the financial structure of your organisation. You need to understand the information that is required to successfully manage your organisation and how to interpret it. During this module you will examine a range of management accounting techniques that are used in business decision making, and explore how accounting and finance information could evolve to meet the needs of organisations operating in competitive markets.
• You will study the value and limitations of accounting information for managerial decision making, planning and control purposes within organisations, and develop your understanding of problem solving techniques that are frequently used by teams operating in an organisational context, and how these techniques could be used within the accounting and finance framework.

Year Three

Placement Year
A vital component of our degree courses is the placement year. This time spent working in business provides our students with crucial work experience, which is highly prized and much sought after by employers upon graduation. We have links with a wide range of sectors, firms and organisations that offer student placements. If you have decided to undertake a placement year then this will last for a minimum of 48 weeks during your third year.

Services they provide include:
 

• finding placements, internships and part-time work
• pursuing self-employment
• taking gap years and time out
• getting into volunteering
• providing advice on further study.
  
  Or
   
• Taught modules

If you have decided to continue with your studies please view the 'final year' part for your list of modules.

Final year

Developing Professional Impact
This module is designed to expand your horizons and challenge your attitudes and behaviours both in relation to subject specific issues and wider business concerns such as global citizenship and sustainable business practices. It will encourage you to build on your strengths and explore a range of possibilities as you embark on your next steps.

Contemporary Issues in Strategy and Entrepreneurship
 

• This module will provide you with a global understanding of two key themes – strategic management and entrepreneurship. Integrating these two concepts represents the latest critical thinking in the field of strategic management, meaning this module will develop your awareness and practice of strategy-making and entrepreneurial behaviour in different markets and cultures.
• Whether you are interested in starting your own business, or in creating new and distinctive ways of working with customers and stakeholders in large organisations as well as in small to medium sized firms, the content of this module will be critical to your knowledge set.
• During the module you will research and identify entrepreneurial opportunities, and identify features, determinants and characteristics of the entrepreneurial process, and the integration of such processes with strategy-making in organisations. You will also explore theories and concepts that explain the differences between emergent, growing and mature businesses, and develop an awareness of entrepreneurial practices and key concepts such as innovation,
  networking and entrepreneurial leadership.

International Marketing and Communications
 

• This module explores activity and developments from across the area of international and global marketing, including developments in world trade; ethical, environmental and sustainability issues; buyer behaviour and segmentation; developing an international strategy; and issues surrounding international marketing communications.
• The module will also provide you with an advanced level of knowledge on the concepts of marketing at the various levels of export, international and global marketing; and a detailed understanding of the sources of international marketing information and the factors governing marketing research decisions at an international level. You will focus on how international marketing communication strategies are developed across a wide range of industries, sectors and organisations, whilst improving your research, analytical, communication, time management and team working skills.

Managing Creativity, Design and Innovation
 

• The development of successful products and services involves complex processes and is dependent on how well the research, design and innovation activities are integrated with other functions in the organisation. This module will develop your understanding of the relationships between creativity, design and innovation, and explore and debate a range of perspectives concerning their nature. You will contemplate some of the issues facing organisations trying to harness the potential from their creative resources, and be encouraged to develop your own creative skills.
• Over the course of the module, you will study a range of topics including perspectives on creativity, design and innovation, the nature and scope of innovation; origins of creativity; approaches to creativity theory; creativity and innovation as complex processes; innovation process models; design and development in a product and service context, and building and sustaining a culture focused on creativity and innovation.

Plus one optional module from:

Research Project
 

• For this module you will undertake a purposeful, individual, in depth study of a relevant topic, developing your independent learning, critical thinking and knowledge of research techniques relevant to your subject area.
• The project will develop your ability to manage a major piece of work, for which you will be completely responsible, and will be completed over a period of several months. You will learn to utilise and improve your time management and communication skills, as well as test your initiative and resourcefulness.
• To support your development during this module you will study essential skills such as critical thinking, conducting a literature review, understanding the appropriate research framework, practical research methods and skills, report and academic writing skills.

Sustainability in Enterprise Project
This module is designed to give you a deeper understanding of sustainability issues affecting firms. It incorporates a live consultancy experience, where you are required to apply your knowledge to critically review aspects of enterprise practice and infrastructure and recommend ways to reduce carbon emissions. You will learn how to critically review sustainability issues presented by an enterprise and analyse evidence, arguments, concepts and data to formulate sustainability and carbon management recommendations for an enterprise.

Plus one optional module from:

Global Supply Chain Strategy
Working at a strategic level, this module will clarify how marketing, design, distribution, logistics and project management may be integrated, and help you to develop a broader and deeper understanding of how supply chain performance can be strategically improved.

You will cover a number of areas during the module including; ·
 

• looking at supply chains from a strategic and global perspective
• key concepts in supply chain improvement
• interpreting lean and agile supply
• supply chain dynamics – forecasting, information flow and bullwhip
• design for the supply chain – postponement, mass customisation, product life cycle, sustainability
• managing CSR in the supply chain: sustainability, environment and transport
• managing risk in a supply chain.

Managing Information and Knowledge Strategically
This module aims to explore the changing impact of information on the management and strategic direction of organisations and distinguish between the different nature and impact of data, information and knowledge.

Comparative and International Management
​​​​​​​

• Influences of culture on management, and managing within and across diverse cultures, have become increasingly relevant in today’s business world. This module aims to address the issues of cultural differences, and practical implications of the internationalisation of management, the organisation and its people.
• Personal experiences of national and organisational cultures – either through work in multinational corporations or travel far and wide – provide a rich pool of experiences, stories and ordeals that can serve as important inputs into discussions and debates about management, organisations, people and cultural diversity. This module adds to this experience through theoretical and conceptual knowledge and frameworks concerning different management styles and philosophies from an International Human Resource Management perspective. It uses practical experience and current topical research and case studies to explore key debates and issues central to the international organisations. During this module you will examine and explore problems that arise from these matters and the solutions that are needed.

For this course, you will need one of the following:
 

• A-levels – BBB, excluding General Studies; or
• BTEC Extended Diploma – DDM; or
• 120 UCAS Tariff points from three A-levels or equivalent qualifications, excluding General Studies;
  
  and
   
• GCSEs – English and Maths grade C / 4.

Tuition fees are payable for each year that you are at the University. The level of tuition fees for the second and subsequent years of your undergraduate course may increase in line with inflation and as specified by the UK government.

Careers and employability

Graduates from this course have gone onto working in both public and private sector, undertaking positions such as:
 

• Managing Director
• Vice President of Services
• Project Manager
• Business Development Executive
• Associate Consultant

In the last few years, graduates from this course have gone onto securing roles with well know employers such as:
 

• Prisma
• NEC (UK) Ltd
• House of Fraser
• Vodafone
• Transport for London