Stage One
The first stage of the MSc programme is divided into two semesters and each semester is devoted to the study of three key business and management subjects:
Semester One
Economics
This course focuses on the economic principles especially applicable to business strategies and objectives. It addresses such topics as pricing, taxation, growth, regulation, and managing in competitive markets.
Human Resource Management
Among the topics addressed on this course are motivation theory, group dynamics, politics and conflict in organisations, human resource planning, performance appraisal, training and development, corporate culture, and organisational change.
Finance
This course covers, among other topics, annual financial statements, investment appraisal, cost and management accounting, standard costing, ratio analysis, the management of cash, stocks and debtors, business planning and budgeting, and company valuations.
Semester Two
Organisation and Strategy
This course addresses several key issues in the literature on organisation and strategy, including decision-making in organisations, contingency theory, the nature of bureaucracy, markets, strategic management, and networks.
Leadership and Strategy Implementation
The topics addressed in this course include leadership theories, the differences between private- and public-sector leadership, leadership and vision creation, leadership and strategy formulation, policy formulation and implementation, the management of change, and ethics and social responsibility.
Research Methods
This course provides a comprehensive explication and analysis of sophisticated quantitative and qualitative research. It considers, among other things, research strategy and design, sampling, depth interviews, random variables, hypothesis testing, and appropriate mathematical techniques.
Stage Two
The second stage of the course is also divided into two semesters. Students choose to follow the HRM stream or the Financial Management stream.
HRM Stream
Semester One
Human Resource Strategy
This course explores the theory and practice of human resource management from a strategic perspective. Among the topics addressed are frameworks for strategic HR, management development, employee relations, and reward management.
Managing People
This course addresses the organisational and psychological components of managing people. It attends to, among other topics, attitudes and behaviour in work, motivate employee motivation, the management of conflict, and theories of leadership.
Employment Law
A very significant body of law determines contemporary employment. Among the topics that students will examine on this course are the contract of employment, the duties that an employer has to an employee, how an employment contract can be ended, and the laws governing harassment in the workplace.
Semester Two:
Students write a minor dissertation on an agreed topic in HRM. Students must successfully complete the taught modules before moving to the dissertation phase.
Financial Management Stream
Semester One
Corporate Finance
This course exposes to students to the key principles, practices and tools in corporate finance. It covers a range of topics, including short- and long-term financing, capital budgeting, company valuation, and the risks that arise from interest and exchange rates.
Governance and Auditing
This course examines governance and audit and the related issue of risk management. It does so in the context of the significant developments that have taken place in corporate accountability and governance over recent decades.
Financial Reporting and Decision-Making
This course will teach students how to prepare reports that disclose an organisation’s financial status. It will also address issues in management accounting and financial decision making.
Semester Two:
In the second semester, students write a dissertation on an agreed topic in financial management.