Master of Business Administration

Rationale and Philosophy

The MBA has been shaped to form what the programme team believes to be a unique curriculum. It allows students to:

• Gain a UK Higher Education Institution accredited MBA.
• Study in their own time (in whatever time-zone in which they live).
• Study at their own pace (within the current period of University of Cumbria regulations for part-time study).
• Attend a residential event in the heart of the English Lake District, with opportunities for further travel in the UK if desired.
• Continue to live in their own country/location without disrupting family life.
• Continue to pursue their existing career without a break.

The Master of Business Administration programme aims to develop an understanding and critical appreciation of the theories, tools and techniques of leadership and management that will enable graduates to more effectively participate in leading organisational change. In doing so, the programme seeks to improve the quality of management as a profession. In particular, the overarching purpose is, in the context of the specific award, to provide students with:

• An advanced understanding of the management of organisations and the changing external context in which they operate;
• Opportunities for the systematic development of the skills of objective analysis, evaluation, and presentation to enable students to develop confidence in effectively appraising and implementing management strategies;
• An ability to apply knowledge and understanding of business and management to complex issues, both systematically and creatively, and to have a critical understanding of how business and management practice may be improved;
• A stimulating academic environment which is based upon the values of academic openness and critical appraisal.

The programme consists of the standard 180 Level-7 credits that constitute an NQF (UK National Qualifications Framework) Masters award, the content being informed by QAA (UK Quality Assurance Agency) benchmark statements for Business and Management programmes. 60 credits of the programme are provided by a dissertation.

Programme Outline

The scheme has been designed to meet the aims of the online MBA in a flexible manner and can be tailored to the individual preferences of each student. The MBA requires you to complete six courses plus a final dissertation. The programme consists of the following modules:

Introductory

Not-for-credit

Induction

This is the first module of the programme which gives an orientation to the course and the online learning style. It does not carry credits and students are encouraged to go through the material in this module at their own pace and get accustomed to the online medium.

Stage 1

120 credits, Six taught modules

Core

• Organisational Behaviour
• Marketing Management
• Financial Management
• Enterprise Ethics and Sustainability

Elective

Choose one of the following modules:

• Information Management
• Corporate Strategy and Competitiveness (based on material developed by the Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness at Harvard Business School, including a residency in Zürich, Switzerland)

Final Capstone

Strategic Management

Stage 2

60 credits, Individual dissertation

Dissertation Work

As an exit qualification, the Post-Graduate Certificate in Management Studies is awarded to candidates who have completed 60 credits (three modules), while the Diploma in Management Studies is awarded to candidates who have completed 120 credits (all six modules, including the residency) but have been unable to complete the dissertation. Students who achieve the full 180 credits, and have successfully completed the dissertation, exit with the award of Master of Business Administration (MBA).

Module Descriptions

There are no average courses within our MBA programme. We are committed to providing an exceptional learning experience, and there is no better way to achieve this aim than with outstanding courses. They have been carefully crafted by experienced professors and are all intended to make you a more successful and efficient manager.

There are no old-fashioned exams. Instead, you are given real-life case studies to work on and essays to write, which allow you to think critically about your company and your own career. All this might seem glossy but there is one catch: we do not accept average candidates. Only individuals as outstanding as our values are accepted for admission to Robert Kennedy College.

Induction

Not-for-credit module

A not-for-credit induction module will be the starting point of the programme. The induction process is designed to familiarise you with the programme design, requirements and resources, as well as with the way online interaction, learning, and grading will take place. After the induction you should be familiar with academic life, including academic writing, library services and library access, OnlineCampus access, and academic support services.

Organisational Behaviour

The way people are managed within organisations plays a paramount role in corporate success. In a fast changing organisational landscape, we take into account impacting factors like social, technological, economic, environmental, political, and legal considerations.

With a variety of real-life case studies, you will be asked to make decisions, which will inevitably influence the (work) life of your employees. These are, of course, backed by the core taught concepts, which feature group dynamics, motivation and leadership, group behaviour, communication, power, conflict and prejudice in the workspace, organisational culture, and how to manage and understand change within an organisation.

Marketing Management

You will reinvent the airline business, redefine the boundaries of retailing, manage the sales of an online computer mega-store, and learn how to focus on your customer. Seems like a bold prediction but it is just the content of Marketing Management directed by a marketing specialist.

The teaching of market segmentation, environment, research, innovative sales systems, international marketing, and policy planning and implementation will make sure that your view of marketing will never be the same. A concrete marketing plan for your company or your own business will be your final assessment, providing you with flexibility and effective learning results, which you can assess and apply in no time.

Financial Management

Business is about profit, and there can only be sustainability with a proper knowledge of effective financial management. Oxford and Harvard Business School graduate Professor David Duffill will expand and reinforce your knowledge of financial accounting, management accounts, budgeting and financing.

Enterprise Ethics and Sustainability

This module provides learners with the opportunity to conceptualize ethics, responsibility, and sustainability in diverse global and local settings. It allows students to develop an insight into the sustainable development from economic, social, and environmental dimensions of enterprise practices as outcomes of implementing United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Information Management

Elective module

Cloud Computing, Linux and Open Source Software, Social Media. These are only few of the new technological innovations and, at the same time, challenges presented to the managers of tomorrow.

This module aims to enable you to develop a conceptual and comprehensive understanding of the manager’s role in relation to the leading of the effective management and use of information, information technology, and information systems and to apply these within an organisational/strategic context.

Corporate Strategy and Competitiveness

Elective module including a one-week residency in Zürich, Switzerland

This course is based on materials developed by the Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness at Harvard Business School. The Institute was founded by Professor Michael Porter, the Bishop William Lawrence University Professor at Harvard Business School and the leading authority on corporate strategy and competitiveness. At Robert Kennedy College this outstanding course is taught by Robert Kennedy College Deputy Dean and Harvard Business School MBA graduate Professor David Duffill.

The course explores tools developed by Professor Michael Porter, such as the Value Chain and Five Forces, and explores the determinants of national and regional competitiveness building from the perspective of firms, clusters, sub-national units, nations, and groups of neighbouring countries.

The course is concerned not only with government policy, but with the roles that firms, industry associations, universities, and other institutions play in competitiveness. It takes examples from both advanced and developing economies, and addresses competitiveness at multiple levels. Students who take this elective have access to the exclusive video lectures of Professor Porter and are required to attend the residential session in Zürich, Switzerland.

Strategic Management

Do you really think strategically? Is your strategy sustainable and well formulated? How would you implement your newly formulated strategy?

As you start on this course, you might just discover that you didn’t really know the answers to these questions. Not only will you learn about strategy formulation context, content, and its effective implementation, you will also be studying the latest business strategies from Harvard Business School case studies like those of Facebook, Kellogg, and Google, as well as traditional analytical tools like Porter’s Five Forces model, which will serve as a platform for your endeavours at innovative thinking.

Aims and Outcomes

Programme Aims

The programme aims to develop managers’ understanding and critical appreciation of the theories, tools, and techniques of management to enable them to more effectively lead and manage change in organisations and make effective use of resources in the strategic decision-making process. In so doing, it seeks to improve the quality of management as a profession. In particular, the purpose of the programme is to provide students with:

• An advanced understanding of the management of organisations and the changing external context in which they operate.
• Opportunities for the systematic development of the skills of objective analysis, evaluation, and presentation to enable them to further develop confidence in effectively appraising and implementing management strategies.
• An ability to apply knowledge and understanding of business and management to complex issues, both systematically and creatively, and to improve business and management practice.

Learning Outcomes

This programme provides opportunities for students to develop and demonstrate an understanding of:

• The role and function of organisations and the context in which they operate, including the key drivers of change.
• The core disciplines of business and management including finance, human resource management, marketing, and strategic planning at middle/senior management level.
• The range of research methods that can be applied to the study of business management and leadership.
• The application of strategic thinking to the successful management of organisations including a critical understanding of the processes of strategic problem solving and decision making.

All in a stimulating academic environment, rooted in the experiences of the student, but firmly based on the values of academic openness and critical appraisal.