Master of Business Administration (Top-Up)

• Students will be introduced to the fundamental skills of reflective practice and its relation to effective and strategic leadership development. This will include working with local and national business leaders to identify the key leadership attributes that are most highly sought after by todays’ employers.
• Students will explore the various theoretical approaches to leadership and will be encouraged to take a critical approach to considering their applicability to the future world of work
• Students will explore the UN Sustainability Goals and analyse them in relation to specific case study organisations at a local, national and international level. Students will be encouraged to consider the implications of the UN Sustainability Goals in relation to their own leadership practice and future leadership development.

Learning Outcomes – Skills:

• Critically evaluate mainstream approaches to leadership and management in relation to current and future business needs.
• Identify the core leadership skills sought after by employers and appraise their own leadership practice in relation to these.
• Engage in reflective leadership practice to understand their strengths and areas for development in relation to sustainable and digital leadership.

• Developing, Leading and Management Competence: This will be achieved by the delivery and consideration of practice-based seminars covering critical skills, research practice skills and employability. This will support the self-reflection element of the assessment to enable the student to demonstrate personal development and mastery of relevant postgraduate skills.
• Mindsets in a global business environment: Using research-informed literature and mini-presentations from business leaders to consider mindsets which are beneficial to a contemporary business environment.
• Professional identity and presenting ourselves professionally: Drawing on relevant academic and practitioner perspectives to consider the concept of identity. Activities are designed to facilitate reflection on professional identity to-date, as well as reflecting forward on areas for development in line with future goals. There are also opportunities to share and present reflections with peers and professional stakeholders.
• Preparing for applied research projects: A critical evaluation of the concept of applied research projects, drawing on examples of contemporary research into business issues, questions and/or debates. This will enable the student to consider the strategic context in which the project will be set as well as determining the scope of the project.
• Searching for and analysing secondary sources: Guided instruction of accessing and using library resources to search databases and company reports to access a range of contemporary data to contextualise research environments. Critical evaluation of the use of sources and their application to organisation/environment-based research.
• Research philosophies, design, methods, and analysis: Critical discussion of texts concerning the different layers of undertaking primary research. Theoretical texts and empirical journal articles will be used to facilitate discussions about philosophical and practical decisions concerning the suitability of dimensions, approaches, and research methods. This will support the student in clarifying their thinking of the variety of research methodologies available.
• Research ethics: Critical debate about research ethics and the importance of undertaking ethical practice when conducting research. Guided instruction about the University’s research ethics process.
• Structuring and writing research projects: Critical discussion about the research journey from planning and proposal to final research project, including features of academic writing.
• Researching professional practice: Critical evaluation of journal articles and practices which focus on researching and reflecting on professional practice within a business environment. Discussions will facilitate the development of practices which will inform the writing of the reflective commentary (one section of the research report).

Learning Outcomes – Skills:

• Critically evaluate a substantive authentic business issue within an organisation or business sector.
• Conduct a relevant research investigation into an authentic business issue adhering to ethical guidelines.
• Produce sustainable recommendations for strategic change in the organisation/sector investigated.
• Critically reflect on their professional identity and personal learning which has taken place to inform future career development.