MSc Strategic Management

Course details

Steering organisations to success in the current economic climate is no mean feat, and requires a person that can ensure a company continues to adapt and thrive as the environment changes. This MSc Strategic Management online degree aims to make you that person.

You may be a busy senior executive or middle manager in the UK or overseas, looking for a qualification that can be completed in your spare time and that doesn’t restrict your life. And that’s exactly why this online Masters is ideal for you.

Entry Requirements

You should normally have the following:

• UK undergraduate degree (at least a 2:2) with Honours in any discipline or equivalent
  • Where candidates have a Business related degree with a lower classification we would consider entry with an additional 1-2 year’s work experience at a relevant supervisory or managerial level
• we would also consider
  • professional qualifications
  • relevant work experience equivalent to an undergraduate degree

English Language Requirements

If English is not your first language you will need an English language qualification. For this course you will need at least one of the following:

• IELTS 6.5
• TOEFL 550 (paper based) 213 (computer based) or 80 (internet based)
• Pearson Test of Academic English: 51
• Cambridge Advanced Certificate: Pass
• London Tests of English: we accept level 5 for postgraduate courses
• International GCE O Level English Language: Grade C
• International GCSE English/English as a Second Language: Grade C.

Modules

To complete the Masters, you will need to complete a total of 180 credits. This must include:

• Independent Study (60 credit)
• International Business Strategies (20 credit)
• Strategic Management (20 credit)

Diploma

Strategic Management: This module aims to provide you with an holistic view and understanding of how different types of organisations manage the dynamics of strategy and policy formulation, implementation, and evaluation in order to respond to changes in both internal and external environmental dynamics and develop sustainable competitive advantage.

Topics Covered Include:

• Strategic Management in a Changing Environment
• Corporate Governance Social Responsibility and Ethical issues
• Creating Competitive Advantage through Innovation

Masters: This is a major piece of independently researched work, providing an opportunity to carry out an in-depth investigation of a management problem or issue that normally has a strategic dimension which addresses organisational issues and provides a process for solving management problems. Independent study will provide you with the opportunity to use and enhance the knowledge and intellectual skills gained during the course, by means of an extensive investigation of a significant management area.

Core

International Business Strategies: This module has been designed to build on, and complement, the Strategic Management module and has been structured specifically to explore the global changes that are impacting on multi-national and international organisations/corporations and their industries. You will develop a wider global/international perspective; increase awareness of organisational, industry and cultural diversity and develop critical/analytical, problem-solving and strategic decision-making skills. Additionally, it examines how these changes, opportunities and threats which they create, lure domestic enterprises into the international business arena.

Topics Covered Include:

• The International Management Process and the Global Environment
• Globalisation and Strategy
• Competitive Analysis – A Global Perspective
• The Global Firm and Corporate Governance, Social Responsibility and Ethics.
• The Impact of Foreign Direct Investment on Economies, Industries and Organisations
• The International Planning Process and Types of International Strategy
• International HRM, Marketing and Operations Management – Cultural Divergence or Convergence?
• The Impact of Country Cultures on International Development
• Financial Considerations in the Global Marketplace
• New Economy Imperatives – The Role of Technology in International Business
• International Management: A Future Perspective.

Optional

You can then choose four of the optional 20 credit modules below.

• Entrepreneurial Management: This module takes a holistic and integrative stance towards entrepreneurship, intrepreneurship, and innovation as an approach centred on the personal development of entrepreneurial and innovation skills, whilst drawing on management skills from a range of functional disciplines.
  • Topics Covered Include:
    • Entrepreneurial Strategy
    • Entrepreneurial learning for managers and organisations
    • Managing innovation
• Strategic Finance for Managers: This module provides an introduction to understanding and interpreting the main financial statements for a business, the Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Cash Flow, and addresses current international financial reporting issues including earnings management. This module emphasises the interpretation of financial information, and introduces a variety of theoretical concepts, such as:
  • Understanding the broader national and international financial context in which businesses operate
  • Communicating more effectively in business situations with stakeholders and managers
  • Performing the necessary calculations to solve the problem
  • Interpreting and explaining the results of financial calculations
  • Recognising the limitations of accounting and how financial techniques may need to be supplemented with other approaches
  • Appreciating the theoretical assumptions behind various accounting techniques and the application of those techniques.
• Strategic Knowledge and Information Management: This module provides you with the opportunity to explore information systems and evaluate how they can be acquired, implemented and managed in order to maximise organisational benefits. The module aims to assist you in becoming a more effective manager of organisations information and knowledge assets. Frameworks will be used to assist in the recognition, identification and evaluation of the key strategic people related issues with a view to improving organisational performance.
  • Topics Covered Include:
    • Data / Information
    • IS / IT Strategy Alignment
    • Decision Support
    • Knowledge Management
• Strategic Leadership and People Management: This module seeks to explore the subject of organisational theory by addressing organisation behaviour on an: individual, intra-personal, interpersonal and organisational level, as well as in relation to the external environment. It is designed to assist you in becoming a more effective manager.
  • Topics Covered Include:
    • Organisational behaviour
    • Strategic Leadership and CultureHRM Strategy People management and strategic leadership practices
    • Theory and practice in the specific fields of strategic leadership, flexibility and change management
    • Strategic deployment of human capital in organisations and the relevant factors and skills
• Strategic Marketing and Competetive Intelligence: This module explores the critical role of strategic marketing and competitive intelligence for organisations operating in both domestic and international markets. It explores how market and customer analysis, environmental analysis and competitive intelligence provide the foundation upon which marketing objectives and strategies are developed.
  • Topics Covered Include:
    • Creating, implementation and control of a strategic marketing plan
    • Growing internationalisation of markets and the increasing need for networks, partnerships and strategic alliances
    • Commoditization and delivering value to intermediaries and end customers
    • Developed and developing country issuesOrganisations operating in an increasingly volatile and competitive global environment
• Strategic Quality and Project Management: This module will examine the core principles on which quality is founded and critically evaluate current trends in business improvement. It will seek to critically assess and challenge the relevance of these principles for an organisation, both today and in the future. This module will also provide an in depth analysis of the best practice in Project Management and Control, as a way of successfully delivering new value to an organisation. It will seek to find evidence of best practices in areas of strategy, leadership and people management, process management, resource management, and in the measurement of performance.
  • Topics Covered Include:
    • Strategic Quality Management
    • Implementing Quality Systems
    • Project Management and Control