Launch your career in the world of business with a qualification and course that is ideal for providing management education and laying the foundations for a career in senior positions. These degree courses have innovative teaching and learning approaches which are designed in a way to ensure student employability is high on the agenda.

Many are also flexible enough to allow modules to be put together that are targeted at a individuals specific career objectives.

Courses will explain and introduce to students the workings of commerce and the business world as well as giving them a awareness of their chosen areas. Undergraduates will be taught those effective management techniques that will have a positive impact on and improve the performance of any future business employer. They will explore the key themes and future challenges that face the business world. All of this learning is aimed at producing world class graduates who will meet the needs and demands of contemporary employers and the commercial world.

Business management degree overview

Modern courses are designed for undergraduates both with or without any previous experience of their chosen subjects.
They combine a broad based study of business techniques along with a years work placement before graduation. This can be done because many universities have good relationships and strong links with major employers and blue chip companies where students can go for their industrial training. This practical experience will give students access to valuable real world experience that is essential for working in the public or private sector.

Apart from improving your employment prospects and knowledge of business issues, the course will also give you a recognised formal qualification in management and help you to develop the required skills and accreditation for studying at more advanced university levels.

Universities that provide these programmes are dynamic learning environments that provide cutting edge facilities and dedicated ongoing support to their students.

Business management degree assessment
This is typically done through a combination of work based projects and assignments such as case studies, group presentations, examinations and reports. Assessment across courses may vary across courses depending on the modules.

 

  • Attending lectures and taking notes.
  • Participating in seminars.
  • Writing essays and reports.
  • Project work
  • essays
  • case studies
  • presentations

A typical business management degree structure and course content
In the early stages of your programme you will cover a range of subjects which are at the heart of good business practice. All Business Management degree courses have a core of business-related units plus other specialist units. They have Step-by-step modules to guide your learning and are taught in a way that links in a practical way the theory and skills that you learn to the business world by using relevant case studies. Universities typically encourage and support students to take some responsibility for their own learning and progress.

Whatever you learn you will be monitored on how you apply it to various business simulations and case studies.

Some degree courses allow students to undertake a one year paid business placement, (this can however extend the length of the course by one year).

Most modules include elements of problem solving and group working where you will be involved in simulated scenarios that you are likely to encounter in real life.

Year 1 modules

Leadership and management
This module will show you how to be a leader with authority and get involved in setting the direction and vision for a company and its employees to follow. Good leadership skills are just one of the assets that a successful business manager must posses. Another one if to increase the output and efficiency of a organisation through the planning, organising and directing of its resources. It can be said that leaders set the policy of a company whilst managers implement that policy. Leaders must be:

  • Role models.
  • Effective communicators.
  • Able to make decisions based on facts.
  • Innovative in their approach to problems.
  • Give credit to staff where it is due.
  • Observant of what is going on around them.
  • Able to develop mutual confidence within a team.

Introduction to human resource management in business
Students will study the intricate workings of a HR department, including payroll, health and safety policy making, staff development, staff promotions and performance management.

For a business to be successful it is vital that it maximises the capabilities and performance of its staff. One way to do this is to manage and organise a companies recruitment and training more effectively. Doing this properly can help to attract, develop and retain talented employees who can help the company achieve its goals. It will also lead to less absenteeism, more employee commitment and higher productivity. Other areas of this module will include:

  • Personnel administration
  • Attracting the best employees
  • Salaries and wages
  • Labour relations
  • Induction training
  • Equal opportunities
  • Ensuring staff compliance to company regulations
  • Providing safe working environments
  • Disciplinary measures
  • Employee benefits
  • Performance appraisal

Obtaining a general understanding of business organisations and their structures.
Every business no matter how big or small needs an organisational structure to help it retain central control of all its activities and to help it to run to maximum efficiency. Structures should be designed according to a companies objectives and culture. They are necessary to organise and coordinate tasks within a organisation, helping to ensure every department is pulling in the right direction and working as effectively as possible. They can also ensure clearly defined roles and responsibilities for both departments and individuals and a official hierarchical structure.

Each part of the business should have its own manager and operating systems to ensure it can run independently and does not have to rely on one individual. From the shareholders and managing director right through to the workers of the shop floor, everyone has a role to play.

  • A good organisational structure will develop a organisation, but a bad business structure can greatly hinder its progress.
  • Effective organisational structures will facilitate the working relationships between various sections of a organisation.
  • It can help to maintain order and ensure that all the company departments are pulling in the same direction.
  • As a business grows and expands, so will its structure.

Organisations can be structured by their:

  • Functions
  • Branch
  • Geographical region
  • Products or services
  • Workgroups
  • Departments
  • Administrative responsibilities.

Basic accounting and economics
Gain an introduction to the basic principles of economics and accounting. Learn about how businesses manage scare resources and why consumers make specific buying decisions (also known as microeconomics).
Other areas of study will include:

  • Macroeconomics, including the study of inflation and unemployment.
  • Basics of economic growth.
  • Income and wealth.
  • How people compare costs and respond to incentives or changes in prices.
  • Property rights.

The subject matter will include studying basic accounting concepts, understanding accounting terminology and becoming skilled at managing and analysing business financial records. Also discover the importance of tracking and evaluating your revenue versus your expenses. Other areas looked at will include:

  • Accounting systems
  • Financial transactions
  • The origins of debits and credits.
  • The banking system
  • Bookkeeping
  • The use of journals and ledgers.
  • Petty cash accounting procedures.
  • Break even analysis
  • Accruals
  • Balance sheets
  • Cash flow
  • Financial statements

Analysis and presentation
Learn how to analyse data accurately and then present your findings to your target audience in a effective way that gets your message across to them. On this module you will be shown analysis techniques that will help you look at complex accounts or financial information and then break it down into smaller parts so you can have a better understanding of them. Areas of study will include:

  • Price analysis
  • Technical analysis
  • Business analysis
  • Market analysis

On the presentation side of things you should remember that first impressions are important. You will learn how to inform your audience effectively of your findings and research by written reports as well as oral presentations.

  • Deciding on the content of your presentation.
  • Using diagrams, clipart and drawings.
  • How to maintain a consistent style throughout your writing or presentation.
  • Understanding the make up of your audience.
  • How to produce material and essays that are easy to read, neat and error free.
  • How to use visuals in any presentation, also known as Knowledge Visualisation.
  • The importance of knowing about your subject matter.

Economics of management
Obtain a understanding of the theory and practise of management strategies and how economic considerations should always be considered before any key decisions are made.

Business accounting
Careful control of a companies cash flow through professional accounting procedures can help a business prosper, increase revenues and become more tax efficient. It is a vital part of any business management procedure that managers are able to accurately track income and expenses and to be able to quickly analyse these figures. These processes can be used to asses a companies financial performance and interpret financial information.

  • Applied Accounting Software
  • Projections
  • Profit and loss forecasts
  • Cash flow management
  • Depreciation
  • Business mathematics
  • Risk Management
  • Accounting Theory & Practice
  • Data Analysis

More about marketing planning

Year 2 modules

Managing people
In any organisation it is important that all the staff work co-operatively, quickly and towards a common goal. Company goals are achieved mostly through the skills of their staff, it’s therefore vital that managers focus on creating and sustaining high performance teams. It is the responsibility of managers to be able to control, develop and build teams through building positive professional relationships with them. It is often said that the best managers are the ones who delegate widely and focus on building teams.

  • Take control of factors that affect the behaviour of company staff.
  • Set high standards.
  • Make suggestions to staff on how to improve their performance.
  • Be diplomatic in all communications.
  • Be positive at all times.
  • Learning how to delegate as much as possible and to then monitor performance.
  • Praise achievements and hard work.
  • Recognise hard work from employees.
  • Take disciplinary action when required.
  • Listening to the views of employees.
  • Focus on delivery.
  • Techniques on how to build relationships quickly.
  • Coach and support staff through training programmes.
  • Keep staff highly motivated.

Critical thinking for management
In this module learn to ‘think about thinking’ as well as techniques showing you how to observe, interpret and evaluate evidence and information. These methods are aimed at helping managers to make the right decisions in periods of time pressure, uncertainty, and conflicting expert opinions.

  • Identifying assumptions, influences, and biases that can affect your decision.
  • Gain evidence through observation.
  • Recognise and identify problems.
  • Interpreting data.
  • Have a open mind towards problems.
  • Identifying acceptable risks in decision making.
  • Taking into account the impact of your actions or decisions on your company.
  • Intelligence and information gathering.
  • Taking into account ethical considerations.
  • Decision framing.
  • Scenario planning

Business administration
Marketing
Business information
Financial performance analysis
Organisational behaviour
Statistical and Quantitative Methods

Year 3 modules

  • Work placements.
  • Finance
  • Supply chain management
  • Modelling for business decisions
  • Strategic management
  • Personal Managerial Effectiveness
  • Logistics
  • Dissertation

Other areas of study

  • The changing face of management
  • Business law and ethics
  • International business
  • Research methodology
  • International business strategy
  • Internet business and e-commerce
  • Operations and Logistics Management
  • Organisational behaviour
  • Human resource management
  • Purchasing and supply chain management
  • Organisational behaviour
  • Business methods
  • Business economics
  • Finance for business
  • Business research and modeling
  • Strategic management
  • Contemporary business issues
  • Managing performance
  • Operating ethically
  • Making management decisions
  • Entrepreneurship – click here to learn more about entrepreneurial modules.
  • Professional competencies
  • Business research

Business management degree entry requirements
Applicants are normally considered on an individual basis in order to determine whether the course would be suitable for them. Prospective students will be judged on their previous qualifications and their level of business and management experience.

Apart from this most universities also insist on having a minimum of 260 tariff points and at least 5 GCSEs with grades between A-C.

A business management degree will teach students about:

  • How to develop business strategies.
  • An analytical approach to business management.
  • How to increase competitiveness by employing information technology in a cost effective manner.
  • Quantitative research.
  • Information searching
  • Leadership and team building skills
  • Problem solving
  • Decision making
  • Enterprise opportunities
  • Strategic Brand Management
  • The external and internal factors that drive strategic decision making in any organisation.
  • How to communicate a companies goals to its employees so that they fully understand them.
  • How to spot opportunities and exploit them.
  • Identifying target markets.
  • Setting up a business.
  • Understand the roles of business support functions.
  • Ways to source appropriate reference material.
  • Preparing business plans.
  • Hot to use technology to increase business efficiency.
  • Running advertising campaigns.
  • Best practices.
  • Preparing cash flow and profit and loss plans.
  • Conducting feasibility studies?
  • Interpret and evaluate published data.
  • Help organisations respond to change.
  • Improve and develop their leadership, team building and influencing skills.
  • Knowledge and understanding of business disciplines.
  • How to carry out critical investigations of business related topics.
  • Become familiar with relevant IT systems.
  • How to work effectively as part of a larger group.
  • About the rapidly changing world of national and global business.

Career prospects and degree relevancy
Graduation will open up a world of rewarding positions and opportunities in numerous industries all over the world. Due to the nature of work career tend to command good salaries. These degrees aim to prepare you for a career in any business area and to put you in a strong position in terms of your future career. There’s strong demand for Business management graduates from both the public and private sector, with larger companies offering more structured training, experience and promotional opportunities.

  • Due to the nature and structure of these courses they offer great networking opportunities for students to meet like-minded individuals across a number of industries and to make contacts that are beneficial to their careers.
  • Courses tend to study broad based subjects that are vocationally relevant and will leave you well placed to apply for any suitable vacancies that arise.
  • This qualification will help your CV to stand out when you’re ready to look for your first graduate job.
  • Business management degrees can provide a route into senior positions in many areas like; general management, accounting, consultancy, IT, finance, human resources and marketing.

Career options

  • A degree in business management is useful in getting any of the following jobs:
  • Business consultant
  • Business analyst
  • Operations manager

Fields of work

  • Accountancy and finance
  • Banking and finance
  • Business management
  • Logistics
  • Public sector management
  • Retail

Questions to ask of the university

  • How supportive and accessible are the course staff?
  • Can course material be accessed be accessed online? ? (this is useful if you want to occasionally study and research from home)
  • Do we have opportunities to apply what we have learnt in business situations?

 

More related degree links
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MBA degree
Part time MBA London
Short management courses London
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Online degrees
Online business management degree
Online degree courses
Online management degree courses

Relevant CV and career links
Business consultant CV template
Business development manager CV template
Business manager CV sample
Business manager cover letter example
Graduate management consultant CV sample
Management CV template
Management accountant CV template

Personal statements
Business management personal statement
Business studies personal statement

Student resources
Essay writing
Graduate internships
Introduction to graduate fasttrack schemes
Revision timetable
Revision tips
Student accommodation
Student loan company
Study skills
UCAS personal statement
University interview questions
University courses

University resources
Degree abbreviations
Degree classification 
University entry requirements