Full-time MSc in Retail Management Course structure and content Course modules Term 1 Managing Brands and Consumer Equity Understanding and Managing People and Organisations Integrated Marketing Communications and Digital Media Marketing Strategy and Planning Retail and Multi-channel Management International Retailing Term 2 Digital Marketing and Retail Management Consulting Managing Profitability, Liquidity and Asset Utilisation Strategic Management Supply Chain Management Buying, Procurement and Merchandising Management Research Methods and Statistics Terms 3 and 4 Thesis 1
Module descriptions Managing Brands and Consumer Equity During this module you will explore best practice at a product and corporate level and become familiar with all the tools of successful brand management, enabling you to evaluate the impact and importance of brandbased assets in the marketplace. Understanding and Managing People and Organisations This module combines key ideas from organisational behaviour, psychology, sociology, and human resource management in order to provide you with a basic understanding and fluency in recognising, understanding and utilising what has been termed the "human factor" in organisations; including ways of conceptualising organisations and how people behave within them. You shall further consider the impact of the external environment on organisations, and finally address notions of organisational change. Integrated Marketing Communications and Digital Media The module will enable you to understand and apply the various aspects of marketing communications from initial analysis of the market through to the development of strategies incorporating an expanding range of communication techniques. You will plan an integrated marketing communications campaign making appropriate use of the full media mix, and learn about the application of each area in practice. With specialist input from expert guest speakers from industry, you will learn practical tools for developing and refining an e- commerce strategy, align it with corporate marketing objectives, and prioritise competing opportunities. Marketing Strategy and Planning The module will give you the means to prepare and structure a comprehensive marketing plan, evaluate plans prepared by others and recognise and overcome the barriers to successful marketing planning. This is a very practical module leading to the development of a strategic marketing plan, and you will be required to research information and complete application exercises during and between classes. Retailing and Multi-channel Management The module deals with one of the four original 'P's of the marketing mix: Place. You will learn how to manage retailing from both the retailer's perspective and the goods and service manufacturer's. The module will also cover how to develop a multichannel strategy in both business-to-consumer and business-to-business contexts and will enable you to gain an understanding of how retailing is managed and strategically explores how retailers obtain competitive advantage. 2
International Retailing This module addresses the growing interest among retailers to expand internationally, the flow of retailing concepts and techniques across countries and the economic rationale of international involvement, strategies and operations. As part of this module you will have the opportunity take part in a study trip to Paris. You will tour the Parisian retail environment, take part in company visits and talks by a number of retailers, and receive a lecture on the international and French retail scene by a leading Professor in Paris. Digital Marketing and Retail This module will give you a thorough understanding of digital retail commerce and the building blocks that build effective online retail propositions. You will explore best practice in the key technologies and channels that make up digital retail commerce, develop your knowledge of effective strategy and planning factors for digital retail commerce, and understand the importance and practicalities of putting measurement and analytics at the heart of digital retail commerce. Management Consulting The module brings together what you have learnt on the programme so far and helps you to apply it in practice. You will work in teams, playing the role of a management consulting team, in competition with the other learning teams. You will be presented with a real-life business problem from a case company and will have one week to understand the problem, gather relevant data, use appropriate tools/frameworks to analyse the data, and propose innovative, pragmatic and achievable recommendations. A panel of experts, including practitioners and academics, will assess your proposed solutions and give you feedback. Managing Profitability, Liquidity and Asset Utilisation The module introduces you to the role of finance within an organisation and focuses on a number of traditional and contemporary costing approaches that will increase the visibility of cost and aid your management decision-making. The module begins with a session which explores the role of accounting and finance within an organisation. You are then introduced to the key financial statements contained in the reports and accounts of a business, highlighting the role of management accounting and needs of users of financial information. 3
Strategic Management This module is concerned with the direction and scope of the organisation. You will determine the purpose of the organisation, establish its objectives and formulate strategies in order to achieve these objectives. Predominantly you will explore how an organisation positions itself with regard to its changing environment, and in particular its competitors, in order to gain and sustain competitive advantage. This means that strategic management considers how an organisation s internal resources and capabilities can be developed to meet the changing demands of customers, in such a way as to achieve the expectations and objectives of its stakeholders. Supply Chain Management The module will provide you with an understanding of supply chain management concepts and principles and illustrate how they can contribute to achieving sustainable competitive advantage. You will learn to apply different supply chain and product design strategies and formulate ways to improve supply chain integration to reduce loss in value in terms of time, cost and quality. As part of the module, you will participate in an interactive and competitive business game, which will help you to apply what you have learnt. You will work in groups to build an efficient global sourcing and supply chain under conditions of uncertainty with the objective of sustaining high levels of product availability at low cost, in order to maximise profitability. Buying, Procurement and Merchandising Management This module will give you a critical understanding of the principles, problems and procedures associated with the management of the buying and merchandising functions of retail organisations at strategic and operational levels. You will develop your knowledge of the skills and capabilities needed by procurement and merchandising professionals and the use of specific techniques employed in managing the buying and merchandising functions (including advanced technologies such as e-procurement). You will also critically evaluate the contribution of buying and merchandising to the achievement of financial, quality and customer service performance targets. Research Methods and Statistics The module will equip you to design, conduct and report on the research project in the final part of the programme, as well as preparing you to carry out or commission management research in your professional life. You will learn to articulate and define management problems, design research that will help you to make informed management decisions, choose and apply appropriate qualitative or quantitative data collection and analysis methods, translate data into information to form evidence for management decision-making, and to use widely-used quantitative and qualitative analysis software. 4
Thesis The thesis module will prepare you to undertake a major research project and to provide hands-on experience of a management issue or situation through researching, reporting and presenting on a project of your own choice. 5