Top reasons to choose this course
- The University of 91快活林 is accredited by the – an accreditation achieved by fewer than 6% of business schools globally.
- Upgrade your foundation degree or HND to a degree in just nine months.
- Wide range of option modules so you can tailor your degree to your interests.
- Close links with leading employers and industry specialists through guest lectures, placement opportunities and live project briefs.
- Gain industry insight via experienced academics and industry lectures.
- A practical course that prepares you to identify your career path and be your own boss.
Course structure
Our Business Management BSc(Hons) will enable you to develop an understanding of the diverse areas of modern business management. It will help you to decide which area of business you would like to specialise in, while also preparing you to be your own boss.
Core subjects include marketing, finance, management, strategy and business operations. Learning is delivered through a stimulating mix of seminars, academic and industry lectures, group projects and workshops.
You will develop confidence and expertise in analysis, business communication, teamwork and transferable skills in preparing briefs, plans and reports, presenting, budgeting and evaluation.
Unlike other top-up courses, this is a nine-month course that runs from September to May.
Syllabus
This course has three compulsory modules and two or three options which give you the scope to tailor the course to your interests and career aspirations. Possible themes include finance and international trade; economics, marketing and events; organisational behaviour; retail management; entrepreneurship; and social marketing.
Modules
Core modules
- Managing, Teams and Developing People
Using a hands-on approach, you’ll reinforce and build upon your understanding of theories and models, and apply these concepts by working in team activities involving management of yourself and others. You’ll explore common issues that are faced when working in groups and teams, equipping you with the skills to become an effective team worker and leader.
- Sustainable Supply Chain Management (SSCM)
Supply chain management (SCM) is the handling of the entire production flow of goods or services – from raw materials to delivering the final product to the consumer. On this module you will develop a strategic understanding of SCM in a wider business context and explore how SCM objectives have expanded to include societal and environmental implications because of, for example, depleted natural resources. You’ll learn how sustainability can be a competitive advantage and explore the role of supply chains in a circular economy.
- Strategy
On this module you’ll focus on the strategic business management of organisations in industry. You will explore and apply techniques for the analysis, development and implementation of strategies in order to achieve business goals, spanning domestic, international, global levels and in the context of the UN’s sustainable development goals.
Options*
- Small Business and Entrepreneurship
You will develop a business idea and plan using knowledge and skills developed throughout your course during this module. Students from a range of subjects take this module, creating a multidisciplinary approach to identifying and researching a business idea and developing a realistic business plan. Part of the assessment is a Dragons’ Den style presentation of your idea to a panel of local business people.
- Environmental Economics
Issues surrounding the environment and natural resources are becoming increasingly mainstream in economics. This module follows the year 2 module of the same name and further explores how economic concepts, tools and policy instruments are relevant and are used to understand and manage environmental issues at business and government level.
- Financial and Capital Markets
This module will develop your understanding of the financial system and enable you to get some experience of financial markets. You’ll have an opportunity to manage a portfolio of assets and analyse the performance of that portfolio as well as explore the investment environment.
- Corporate Financial Management
This module is a specialised finance option for final year students. It has two parts: the first builds upon applied topics in corporate finance and the second explores treasury and risk management tools and techniques. You will focus on financial management mainly in terms of issues affecting corporate financial managers.
- Understanding Employee Relations
This module provides you with a general introduction to employee relations in the UK and compares these with examples from other countries. You will develop knowledge and understanding of the practical and procedural aspects of employee relations, including union recognition, grievance and discipline, employment tribunals, collective bargaining, conflict resolution and consultation.
- Organisational Change
In this module you will develop a critical understanding of approaches that maximise the outcomes of organisational change for individuals and organisations and gain insight into change management. You’ll also look at the importance of the roles and skills in the change process for individuals, human resource management, senior and line management and leadership.
- Theorising the International Events Industry
On this module you’ll take a social-scientific approach to examining international events, festivals and spectacles, focusing on recent developments and socio-economic, cultural and political factors that have caused far-reaching changes. You will explore how international events are a resource in maintaining social relations against the context of changing socio-economic environments, and how hosting events, for example global sport events, can be used by nations to position themselves within global society.
- Ecommerce and Online Behaviour
Many business disciplines need to design strategies that take into account online behaviour. In this module you’ll analyse and evaluate ecommerce systems and explore the role and impact of ecommerce technologies. You will look at some of the concepts used to understand online behaviour in the marketplace and examine how people behave as consumers in online settings.
- Intellectual Property Law
This module introduces you to intellectual property. You’ll develop an understanding of the nature of property and ownership and the law related to patents, design rights, trade marks, copyright and other forms of intellectual property, as well as gaining a practical understanding of how intellectual property relates to objects. You will also talk with non-law students whose studies need them to be aware of their intellectual property rights.
- Marketing Planning and Strategy
In this module you will use your knowledge of marketing principles to develop a strategic marketing plan. You’ll examine the stages of developing a strategic marketing plan and consider a range of operational, tactical and strategic approaches to marketing. The module follows a similar approach to that taught by the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) and should be taken by any student wishing to gain CIM exemptions after graduating.
- Customer Relationship Management and Services Marketing
This module enables you to acquire a detailed understanding of approaches to services marketing including the integration of customer relationship management (CRM). You will examine how the core principles of marketing are configured in a services context and how developing CRM as a core strategy enables organisations to focus on long-term customer relationships and loyalty.
- Consumer Psychology
You will focus on the main concepts used in understanding consumer psychology and consumer behaviour in the marketplace during this module. You’ll look at how these are used in marketing to both understand consumers and create strategies to ethically influence their behaviour.
- Marketing Across Cultures
This module examines two key challenges facing businesses today: how to identify and develop international marketing and business opportunities; and understanding the importance of cultural differences across the globe to adapt marketing strategies and tactics for business success. You will learn about new cultures in the developed and emerging world and how to develop an international marketing plan, putting your entrepreneurial, research, creative and report-writing skills in to practice.
- Responsible Enterprise
This module sees students from subjects across the university have the opportunity to work together on responsible enterprise solutions to live client challenges. Practical projects mean that you will learn from other students and disciplines as you share problem-solving approaches, knowledge and experience.
- Global Issues in Travel and Tourism
On this module you’ll explore contemporary global issues and their relationship with travel and tourism, examining the policies, actions and solutions that have been generated to deal with these issues. Areas covered include inequality and diversity; health, safety and security; climate change mitigation and adaptation including risk and disaster management; sustainability; and political and social instability.
- International Law and Socio-economic Development
In this module you will look at the relationship between international law and development. You will get an insight into the relevant legal and socio-economic issues arising from debates on international law and development and an understanding of the role that theory, policy and practice have in international law and socio-economic development.
- Developing Professional Practice in Business
For students who aren’t undertaking a work placement year, this module is an opportunity to complete a 30-hour business or consultancy project to develop skills in problem-solving, creative thinking, analysis and project management. The project can be based in a range of settings including those offered by the School, Active Student (volunteering), part-time employment or by agreement with the module tutors.
- Game Theory in Economics, Finance and Business
Game theory is one of the most exciting, stimulating and promising subjects in modern microeconomics and is now also broadly applied in philosophy, sociology and political science among other fields. The module gives you the chance to apply game theory to financial and business analysis topics to deepen and widen your knowledge of economics, finance and business as an ongoing strategic game.
- International Finance
International Finance takes the areas of finance and financial management you’ve studied in a domestic setting and explores how the domestic theory alters in an international setting due to factors such as exchange rates and country risk. You will also be introduced to the international financial management complexities associated with the foreign direct investment decisions of multinational companies.
- Employee Selection and Development
You will explore and consider how recruitment, selection, training and development contribute to the function and performance of an organisation during this module, giving specific focus to contemporary labour market issues. You will also look at the theoretical perspectives that have shaped discussion around these topics and use case studies to see how these ideas work in practice.
- Happiness: Work and Society
During this module you will analyse the concept of happiness in work and society. You’ll consider happiness at an individual, organisational and socio-economic level, exploring topics such as positive psychology, happiness and wellbeing, nurturing happiness in the organisation, the issues and challenges of measuring happiness and wellbeing, and what makes a nation happy.
- Commercial Law
You will look at domestic commercial law and key aspects of commercial law as it operates internationally during this module. You’ll explore issues including the rights and duties that arise from the supply of goods in the UK and the legal problems that can occur in an international contract for the sale of goods.
- Employment Law
During this module you will examine areas of employment legislation and the employment law system to understand and evaluate the employment relationship. You’ll gain an overview of the influence of EU law as well as the nature of English contracts and become familiar with the major sources of employment law.
- Retail Marketing and Distribution
In this module you will learn about retail marketing and distribution through practical workshops with emphasis on real-life retail situations. You’ll study topics from historical development, current industry structure, trends and projected developments. You will combine theory and practice to produce a viable strategic report about the marketplace.
- Marketing Communications
The module is an overview of key marketing communications tools, including branding, advertising, sales promotion and public relations. You will consider the main theories of marketing communications, exploring how advertising has its effect on consumers. You’ll also look at models of consumer psychology and behaviour to further understand the role of marketing communications in society.
- Public Relations: Principles and Practice
You will get the opportunity to work as a team on a public relations (PR) project during this module. You’ll develop account management and PR skills, focusing on the function of PR and its role in marketing and corporate communications. You’ll analyse and evaluate specialist PR functions and examine how a well-integrated PR strategy ensures that organisations can develop and maintain relationships with their stakeholders and audiences.
- Big Data and Business Intelligence
Big data refers to data sets so complex they are difficult to process using conventional databases. They result from the increasing use of real-time computing in process and organisations such as web analytics, government, social media, security and healthcare. In this module you will explore how the growth of big data impacts on business opportunities and risks, and how business intelligence contributes to improved performance and forecasting
- Researching Contemporary Issues in Economics
In this module you will apply economic principles and methods to a contemporary issue that has implications for countries, businesses or individuals now and in the future. You’ll identify a specific topic to research and, using the principles and methods you’ve learned on your course, formulate research questions and hypotheses, devise a methodology and identify relevant data sources.
- Researching Contemporary Issues in Finance
You will select a specific current issue in finance to study in depth during this module. You’ll review and analyse a wide range of published data with the aim of summarising good practice and recommending a possible solution to the problem in your final report. Issues might include finance for SMEs, bank lending, working capital management, financial risk management techniques, dividend policy and effect on the value of a company and bond markets and instruments.
- Researching Contemporary Issues in Human Resource Management and Organisational Behaviour
This module is an opportunity to research a contemporary human resource management or organisation behaviour issue of your choice. Through your research, you will develop and deepen your knowledge and understanding of these topics and present your findings in a final report.
- Researching Artificial Intelligence in Business and Management
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming the way businesses operate, innovate and compete in global markets. As a strategic driver of organisational change, AI enables new approaches to value creation, decision-making and customer engagement. This module provides you with the opportunity to research and critically evaluate the role of AI in contemporary business and management, focusing on its applications, implications and future potential.
- Researching Contemporary Issues in Marketing
Choosing a contemporary marketing issue of interest – for example strategic marketing theory, marketing communications, cross-cultural marketing, social media marketing or consumer behaviour – you will undertake a piece of in-depth research. This will develop your analytical and critical skills and you will use the expertise and knowledge gained during your degree to produce a report. The module is based on independent study supported by a tutor.
- Researching Contemporary Issues in Supply Chain Management
This module is an opportunity to choose and research a contemporary supply chain, supply chain management or inventory management topic that really interests you. Current trends and issues include outsourcing, use of technologies (data analysis, IoT, cloud computing), supply chain visibility among organisations and sustainable supply chains. In producing your report, you will further develop your analysis and evaluation skills and make recommendations for improvements in business decision-making.
- Researching Contemporary Issues in Strategic Management
In this module, you will choose a strategic management issue to study in-depth. You’ll review published data and present your research as a clear and concise report summarising good practice and making recommendations of a possible solution to the issue. Topics you can choose are wide-ranging, and could include the mitigation and/or adaptation of businesses or public institutions to climate change; UN sustainable development goals in businesses and public institutions; strategic management in the responsible enterprise; and strategic management and technology in a specified industry (eg, pharmaceutical, road transport, film).
*Option modules are indicative and may change, depending on timetabling and staff availability.
Course leader
Dr Hasan Gilani, course leader
Dr Gilani has been working in academia for more than 24 years, most of which has been in the UK higher education sector. Currently a principal lecturer at the University of 91快活林’s School of Business and Law, he previously held the role of inclusive practice lead, where he led a project on decolonising the curriculum – work that directly led to the publication of his recent book, Decolonising the Marketing Theory. Through this project, his team focused on making courses diverse and inclusive, dismantling colonised teaching practices, and integrating knowledge systems from all parts of the world.
Holding a PhD in Brand Management, his research continues to make significant contributions across areas, including brand management, circular economy, retail marketing, Shariah finance and digital marketing. His broader body of work also covers retail corporate branding, knowledge management, corporate identity, Six Sigma and post-COVID employee brand behaviour. Alongside his academic role, Dr Gilani serves as a consultant and trainer to international organisations across the world. His consultancy spans brand management, CRM, academic quality, course validation, and learning and teaching experiences.
Dr Gilani has extensive corporate managerial experience with FMCG and retail organisations. He has previously worked with international brands including Motorola, Pepsi Cola, Marks and Spencer, National Grid, OCR and Debenhams in the areas of corporate marketing, customer services, event sponsorships and consumer retail. He has also worked as a consultant in the international development and NGO sector, working jointly with German, Dutch and British organisations, as well as conducting academic research with retail giants such as Sainsbury’s, Marks and Spencer, Aldi and John Lewis.
