MBA Master of Business Administration

MBA Master of Business Administration

COURSE INFORMATION

Course Duration: 18 months, equal to 3 academic terms.

Curriculum

Core Modules: Term 1

• Organisational Behaviour
  

  This module provides a number of conceptual frameworks to help you make sense of your professional practice and context. The focus of the module is to seek insights into behaviour in organisations from a behavioural science perspective.

• Financial Statement Analysis
  

  In this module students face four tasks all being developed at the same time. First they will learn new vocabulary (they will become aware that ordinary words often have a specific and separate meaning in accounting and finance). Second, they will need to understand the building blocks of accounting, how financial statements fit together and their linkages to other statements. Thirdly, they will have to be aware of the meanings within numbers. And fourthly, they will need to interpret those statements and derive additional meaning from them.

• Marketing Management
  

  This module examines marketing issues using a series of case studies from a range of industries. One of the main focuses for the design of this module has been the further development of relevant employability and professional skills.

• Human Resources Management Practice
  

  This module examines critically the functional approaches to and HRM activities and seeks to develop models which are applicable in the organisational context of rapid change in a competitive environment. The structure of this module will encourage debate not only into the elements of HRM functions and practice but will enable students as a learning community to examine the future role of HRM.

Core Modules: Term 2

• Research Methods for Managers
  

  You will develop the knowledge, skills and abilities needed to effectively carry out a piece of small-scale business or management research. A particular emphasis will be placed upon developing your skills towards your workplace-based Masters Dissertation or project.

• Business Analysis Project
  

  The module is integrative in nature and provides practically relevant ideas and frameworks that facilitate strategy design and implementation with a focus on their financial implications.

• Strategic Management
  

  This module explores the rich field of strategic management and how strategic analysis and formulation contribute to an organisation's performance.

• International Business Management
  

  The module describes the driving forces in international business and their impact on organisations, managers and individuals. It explores possible corporate strategic responses to international business conditions and exposes managers to issues and tensions in business operations and relationships across national cultures.

Core Modules: Term 3

• Major Project
  

  This module will support you in the preparation and submission of a Masters-stage project or Dissertation.

Entry Requirements

Degree: Second class honours degree

References: 1 academic & 1 employer reference

English as a Foreign Language: IELTS 6.5 with at least 6.0 in each unit.

Additional Information: Applicants require a minimum of 2 years post-graduation work experience in a managerial or professional role.

Mature students are welcomed and considered individually.

Description

Our MBA has been developed to meet the needs of middle/senior managers in the running of their businesses, and to facilitate their progression to higher-level roles within their organisation.  Managers need to be aware of issues, able to analyse their potential outcomes and consequences and decide how to react.  They do not have to be an expert in all areas of business, but they need a general awareness of which specialist facilities and services exist and how they can assist in carrying out their role.  Thus, MBA course have a far more generalist and strategic approach than those Masters courses focused on specific subject areas. 

This philosophy is followed by the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) in their Subject Benchmark Statements.  Our course follows their recommendations in its focus on the advanced study of organisations and the dynamic, global context in which they operate. 

Unique to our MBA is the depth of emphasis on a strong practical and professional orientation to the curriculum and learning styles, which has led to a strong reputation for providing managers with the foundation necessary for handling complex issues in a turbulent business environment.  Leaders need to be challenging and thoughtful, analytical and innovative, and these are important elements of our course.

Assessment 

Each credit-rated module is assessed by an assignment, often work or case-based.  There are no formal examinations.  This ensures that learning is context-specific and transferred to the organisation.  Our MBA is designed for students who have gained a considerable degree of subject knowledge and proficiency from their undergraduate studies, experience of the workplace or both.  Our approach to study is essentially one of critique and evaluation, using the results of current and recent research and case studies to analyse, evaluate and appraise established methods, practices or techniques.

Teaching input is provided via a wide range of approaches, including lectures, seminars, video and case studies.  Particular emphasis is placed on team teaching and the setting of work-based tasks at strategic level.

Learning strategies include syndicate work, group presentations, working with local business organisations and self-managed learning.

Assessments have a strong practical and professional orientation, enabling you to develop a range of practical management skills relevant to senior roles in their organisation.  Work-based assignments are used where relevant and practical, to help you relate your learning to their work environment, increase your knowledge of that environment, help raise your profile and ensure your sponsor gains immediate, practical benefit. 

An important component of our course is the Postgraduate Major Project, supported by our Research Methods for Managers module, and often related to studies in one or more other modules.  You are expected to display a considerable degree of proficiency in research methods, and be able to apply such methods to a real-world problem in a practical and business-like manner.  You are required to demonstrate knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of your chosen methods, and discuss how you worked within, or overcame such weaknesses.  Additionally, they are expected to criticise their own work, both from a methodological and practical standpoint.

Links with Industry and Professional Recognition  

Our MBA is accredited by the Association of Business Schools.  Links between our MBA and international partner institutions are fostered through international websites, residentials and conferences.

Progression/Degree Classification

Please refer to the Anglia Ruskin Academic Regulations at: http://web.anglia.ac.uk/anet/academic/academic_regulations.phtml

For information about the course on Anglia Ruskin's website please see: http://www.anglia.ac.uk/ruskin/en/home/prospectus/pg/master_of_business_administration_mba.html