module specification

The focus of this module is to equip students to understand organisations in contexts past, present and future, and enable them to analyse the macro, micro, internal and external business and economic environments in which they operate. An understanding of the environments will facilitate the interpretation of situations and enable decisions that add value for businesses. The focus of the module is on the external and internal influences on organizations and the effect these have on business practices.

The module is designed to be used by Level 4 undergraduate students on a range of programmes. Examples, illustrations and case studies will be drawn from chosen industry sectors such as aviation, finance, transport, tourism, and applied to reinforce basic concepts. This will enhance the ability of students to understand particular business problems and aspects of the business and economic environment. Topics and case studies will cover business issues that are contemporary and relevant to the real world.

N/A

Generic Lecture Syllabus
(followed underneath by indicative seminar syllabus)

Understanding the Business Environment

• The business organisation, its stakeholders and the micro, macro, internal and external environment; the purpose and types of business organisation; stakeholders in business organisations

• The PESTLE framework including political and legal factors; social and demographic factors; technological factors; environmental factors

• Researching mainstream well-known business organisations and the business environment in which they operate

LO1,LO2

Understanding the Economic Environment

• Microeconomic factors that affect the business environment: Demand and supply analysis, markets and concepts of elasticity; Production and costs; Revenues and profitability; Competitive environment and market structures

• Macroeconomic factors that affect the business environment: Aggregate demand and aggregate supply; Economic growth and business cycles, inflation, exchange rates, international trade

• Researching mainstream well-known business organisations and the economic environment in which they operate

LO3,LO4

Indicative Seminar Syllabus

• Size of the industry, main players and the state of the industry (challenges and opportunities) LO1, LO2 

• Airline business models (legacy, Low cost and hybrid models together with airline employment, outsourcing and contracts)  LO1, LO2

• Competition in the aviation industry – case studies of Duopolies (airbus and Boeing), cartels and price fixing LO1, LO2

• The structure of airline costs / airline and airport suppliers (case study) LO3, LO4

• Airline pricing, revenue and yield management incl the effect of demand and supply on aviation (+ case study Slot allocation) LO3, LO4

• Why Companies fail in aviation (Case studies in Monarch, Flybe and Thomas Cook) x 2 sessions LO1, LO2

• New Route evaluation and Economic PESTLE analysis LO1, LO2

• How Governments impact upon the Aviation Industry (economic effect of environmental, employment, regulatory policies) LO3, LO4

• The economic and social impact of aviation LO3, LO4

Weeks 13 and 14 will be assignment overview with week 15 being the actual due date of the assignment.

The week 15 assignment will be a presentation in pairs upon a region of their choice depicting the structure of the aviation industry and the challenges and opportunities that exist.

Delivery of the module will consist of 2-hour lectures and 1-hour seminars. The module will be student centred. Students will be encouraged to research economic issues from a variety of sources in addition to module materials including newspapers, textbooks and on-line sources to identify aspects relevant to their areas of study.

Lectures will provide the opportunity for the whole class to come together and to interact with the lecturer who will provide the basic business and economics-related theoretical frameworks and present a set of examples and real-world cases. These should help students understand the key concepts and ideas used for business and economic analysis. Lecture notes and other resources will be made available to students on the virtual learning platform. The teaching and learning activities in the seminar session will be structured along the principles of problem-based learning. The sessions will have a student-centred focus with the students asked to drive their own learning with the support, assistance and encouragement of the teaching team.

The module's teaching, learning and assessment activities have been designed with the aim of developing the following set of skills: academic reading (textbooks, newspapers, websites, economic/business reports), researching (identifying relevant material, evaluating sources, awareness of appropriate methodologies), analysing and interpreting data, presenting data, academic writing (report, short tasks, referencing), note-making, communicating/presenting, critical thinking, problem solving, self-assessment and reflection, interpersonal (working with others), IT skills development, and creativity.

This module is designed to have distinct industry-specific seminars.  The applied approach into the Business and Economic Environment includes topical case studies, examples from industry etc. which are designed to inspire through practice.  Seminars will be run along contextualised lines, e.g., advertising, aviation, events, finance, marketing, music, transport, tourism and other businesses.

On successful completion of the module, students will be able to:

1. Apply the business context of firms, research well-known organisations and the business environment in which they operate,
2. Apply business principles and analysis within the aviation industry

3. Evaluate the economic context of firms, research well-known organisations and the economic environment in which they operate,

4. Apply economic principles and analysis within the aviation industry

Students will be assessed by means of formative and summative assessments.

Formative assessment will take place in seminars through learning activities. Students are required to discuss case studies and examples from industry, and formative feedback will be provided to students on an ongoing basis.

Summative assessment will take the form of a 20 minutes presentation on a region of the world of their choice. The students should depict the structure and size of the aviation industry in that region together with emergent trends within it. This should include the challenges and opportunities that exist and the micro and macro-economic impact that this will have (100% weighting).

Books

Core Texts:
Sloman, J., Garratt, D., Guest, J., & Jones, E. (2019) Economics for Business. 8th edition. Harlow, United Kingdom: Pearson Education Limited.
Worthington, I. and Briton, C. (2018) The Business Environment: A Global Perspective 8th edn, London: FT/Prentice Hall.
Vasigh, B. (2018) Introduction to Transport Economics. 3rd edition. Oxon, United Kingdom. Routledge.

Other Texts:
Sloman, J., Guest, J. and Garratt, D. (2018) Economics. 10th edition, Pearson Education Limited.
Wetherly, P. and Otter, D. (2018) The Business Environment: Themes and Issues in a Globalizing World, 7th edn, UK: Oxford.

Budd L. and Ison, S. (2016). Air Transport Management: An international perspective. Routledge.

Doganis, R. (2005) The Airline Business, London and New York: Routledge

Online Sources (for aviation context)
IATA (International Air Transport Association): https://www.iata.org/
ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organistaion): https://en-gb.facebook.com/InternationalCivilAviationOrganization/
UNWTO (United Nation World Tourism Organisation): https://www.unwto.org/

Journals
European Research on Management and Business Economics.
Harvard Business Review.
International Journal of Management and Economics. 

Websites
www.bankofengland.co.uk
www.bbc.co.uk
www.ft.com
www.theguardian.com/uk/business
www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news
www.stats.gov.uk
www.studyingeconomics.ac.uk
www.uk.reuters.com/business

Electronic Databases:
Academic Search Complete
Business Source Ultimate
FAME (UK Companies)
Mintel