MSc in Management Course structure and content 2016-2017 The Cranfield MSc in Management is a 13 month programme starting in September each year. Term 1: 26 September 2016 to 16 December 2016 Term 2: 9 January 2017 to 24 March 2017 Term 3: 10 April 2017 to 23 June 2017 Term 4: 26 June 2017 to 8 September 2017 Term 1 Marketing Strategy and Planning The module will familiarise you with the principles of strategic marketing and apply those principles to the marketing planning process. This process is cross-functional, and plans for the organisation s revenue generation. Each session introduces you to important aspects of marketing strategy and then applies these theoretical elements in practice through the development of marketing plans based on a current case study. 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. 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. 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. 1 P a g e
Improving Decision Quality with Management Science The course will describe, demonstrate and critique the application of a range of management science techniques to support management decisions. Techniques that will be covered range from simple graphs to deterministic and stochastic modelling, including statistical analysis and forecasting methods. Economics for Managers The module will introduce you to the concepts and techniques associated with managerial economics. You will learn to employ economic reasoning when making choices about the use of resources, recognise the importance of marginal analysis and diminishing returns in the context of business and consumer decisions, and analyse the external environment and understand the forces shaping the firm's competitive environment. On completion of the module, you will understand how to apply economic theory to real world problems. Managing Operations The module will teach you about the strategic role of operations, about designing and managing the operations process, about the tools and techniques of process improvement, and about capacity and inventory management, quality management, and performance management. You will learn to evaluate the contribution of operations to the development and implementation of successful business strategy, to appraise the critical issues faced by different operations, to select priorities for operational performance improvement, and plan the means to bring about that improvement. By the end of the module, you should be able to design and implement an operations strategy for any organisation. Term 2: Core Modules 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. 2 P a g e
Managing Corporate Sustainability The module outlines the major sustainability challenges and explores how progressive organisations are responding to them in-terms of organisational mind-set, leadership, value-chain, collaboration and change management. It will give you a better understanding of how corporate action can be best configured to promote responsible and sustainable business strategies, and invite you to think about the purpose of business. Term 2: Elective Modules (select 3) Managing Business Technology Investments The module is concerned with how technology enables improvements in business performance. It teaches you how to manage technology in order to deliver real business benefits, and how to manage the business changes associated with the implementation of large technology investments. You will learn to assess where business technology can add value to an organisation's performance, to identify the benefits of a business technology initiative, to develop a business change implementation plan, and to identify risks associated with technologyenabled business change. Organisational Performance: Direction, Control and Measurement This module will give you a thorough understanding of what is meant by organisational performance and introduce you to the area of control, performance measurement and performance management. It will encourage you to consider why organisations measure performance and how performance is delivered and measured. You will consider how different functions with the organisation, such as HR, finance and marketing, view organisational performance and review the effects that control systems can have on an organisation. By the end of the module, you will be able to apply the key principles of managing organisational performance to goal setting, control systems, and measurement systems. 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. 3 P a g e
Disruptive Innovation The module presents disruptive innovation as a key strategic competence. You will gain practical experience of developing a disruptive innovation through a group design exercise which will be presented to practitioners. You will learn to identify and apply recent, relevant theory to the study of disruptive innovation, to understand the core theoretical aspects of disruptive innovation in technologies, services and business models, to identify a target for disruptive innovation, and to understand the importance of a coherent value proposition. Entrepreneurship Through the Entrepreneurship course you will acquire the knowledge and skills relevant for the management of new ventures across the entrepreneurial life cycle. The course will also act as a pre-requisite if you wish to take the option to undertake a new venture internship in the final part of the programme. Mastering Project Management The module introduces you to the fundamentals of project management. You will learn about the lifecycle approach to project management, its applications and benefits, and learn to understand the relationship between business strategies, portfolios, programmes and projects. The module covers the key theories, principles, processes, tools and techniques underpinning project management, and gives you the opportunity to demonstrate your learning by creating a plan for implementing a specific business change or an entrepreneurial initiative. Term 3 and 4: 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. 4 P a g e
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. Thesis and Internship Project The final thesis element of the programme requires you to undertake a major research project in association with a three month internship project. You will be required to apply the management knowledge, skills, and analytical abilities you have acquired during the programme to real-life situations. You will have to demonstrate your ability to research issues, critically evaluate data and information, skilfully apply tools and techniques to solve management problems, and write a report concisely, informatively and persuasively. You will also be expected to write an individual reflective review of your own personal development over the course of the programme. 5 P a g e