Studying our Master of Business Administration (MBA) course will equip you with the theoretical and practical understanding of contemporary business alongside the skills for leadership and strategic management to address complex challenges confidently in a highly competitive global arena. As a key part of your practice, you will develop the skills for data-driven decision making through working with a diverse range of data sources to inform well-balanced management decisions in our Management Decision Making unit. You will gain the skills to collect, analyse and comprehend organisational, quantitative and qualitative data for the decision-making process. Furthermore, you will learn to understand decision processes used in human resources, financial and sustainable workplace environments to name a few.

To carry with you throughout your practice, our unit in Innovation and Entrepreneurship will allow you to develop the creative thinking skills to perform as a creative leader. You will incorporate elements of change, innovation and entrepreneurship into your performance while considering how this can also be promoted across organisations to build a supportive culture. At the same time, you will examine the organisational barriers to innovation and entrepreneurship informed by participative approaches you can use to facilitate change and therefore continuous innovation as a key to organisational success.

Through incorporating insights from business ethics, sustainability studies and organisational behaviour, you will develop a holistic view of Responsible Leadership and Sustainable Management. In this unit, you will explore contemporary global leadership challenges based on real-world case studies while applying the principles of ethical decision-making and effective stakeholder engagement. This relates to our unit in Strategy: Analysis and Practice where you will be equipped with the practical knowledge of strategic management which you can use to execute effective strategies against business challenges. Working with real-world scenarios created using strategic simulations, you will learn to critically evaluate data sources and industry information to practice making informed strategic decisions in a controlled environment.

Finally, you will complete an MBA Applied Project that will allow you to integrate your knowledge and understanding of business and management with an opportunity to work on a live consultancy project. You will work with an academic lead to apply your research and enhance management and business practice through independent, work-based consultancy. Throughout the course, you will also have the opportunity to work on business, project and consultancy reports to demonstrate your critical thinking abilities, as well as an e-portfolio where you can showcase your progress and skills such as through business simulations. In addition, you will be able to combine your learning with our diverse extra-curricular activities from guest speaker sessions, exhibition visits and entrepreneurship events.

Strategy And The Global Competitive Environment

This unit explores strategy and the implications for marketing. You will consider the broad external environment, current issues and challenges facing directors, senior managers and entrepreneurs in guiding the long-term development of organisations. The objectives of organisations and the means of achieving these objectives through the mobilisation and deployment of assets and resources and the integration of the various functions of the organisation will be the focus of the unit. You will most specifically:

• Understand and develop strategy; think strategically;  
• Research, develop and demonstrate expertise in understanding the global business environment in which the modern organisation operates gaining confidence in handling current affairs and relating these to organisations’ strategies;
• Identify and evaluate political, economic, social and technological developments relevant to organisational strategies;
• Apply a range of skills in developing business and marketing strategies for different environments and opportunities that can harmonise the organisations’ objectives, capabilities and resources    

Leading And Managing Organisational Resources

The unit takes an integrated approach to critically assess the relationship between leadership, operations management, finance and information systems which is essential for adding value and achieving competitive advantage in contemporary organisations. The theme is ‘leadership’ with an emphasis on high performance work systems and the international management of innovation and change. Successful completion of the unit will give you a comprehensive and detailed overview of contemporary practice informed by quality scientific research evidence. You will acquire a ‘toolkit’ that provides the potential for inspirational leadership and the effective management of organisational resources.
Operations Management addresses issues such as quality, location process layout, capacity management, and scheduling and inventory management. Global sourcing and relocation are now commonplace, and the competitive environment demands new ways of thinking about how to manage operations in a global context. Business and information systems facilitate decision-making and effective management across all functions. You will develop an understanding of how changes in the business strategy, the business operations and the funding of these operations can impact on the reported financial statements, their cash flows and thus impact on both share price and the reported results of a company.

Advancing Professional Practice

This is a short professional and academic development course that is designed to support all MBA students in the University of Bedfordshire Business School to develop a professional profile through their journey in the Masters. The specific aims are to:

• Enhance students’ professional, personal development and communication skills. 
• To support students to evidence how their experience at masters level has contributed to the development of their professional profile as required after graduation.
• To support students to develop the necessary academic skill required for successful completion of postgraduate research.

Theory Into Practice Project

The unit aims to enable you to demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of management and business as well as the skills essential to effective operation in a corporate, business, public sector or not for profit environment. It is a unit specifically designed to help your transition into the professional work environment through the integration of theory and practice supported by contemporary research evidence.

Management Practice

Practice events are integral to the University of Bedfordshire Business School’s vision to take business education, research and practice in exciting new directions. Central to this vision is the aspiration to give you the skills and knowledge to find the career and future success you want. We aim to develop intelligent practitioners who imaginatively integrate theory and practice, supported by contemporary research evidence. You will need to select and apply knowledge and principles you have learnt through the taught MBA units, experiential learning activities and challenges to develop an understanding of current realities in work organisations and be better placed as a future manager.
This unit is specifically designed to help your transition into the professional work environment through combining academic rigour with practice skills: the behaviours, attributes and intent which give you immediate impact in the organisations you join. This produces individuals with the confidence and know-how to fit in and be effective from day one: managers who understand business context, and have the creativity, drive and focus to bring about change. The aim of this unit is to:

• Enhance your transition to the workplace through experiential learning
• Improve your personal, interpersonal and business skills
• Develop your awareness of professional working practice and increase your employability
• Relate the theories learnt in the earlier stages of the MBA to real-word business practice issues