UDBMMKFY - BA (Hons) Business Management and Marketing (including foundation year)

This degree course combines the cornerstones of modern business management with up-to-date marketing techniques. It encompasses the QAA Subject Benchmark statement for Business and Management 2019 which states that the purpose of business and management programmes is to:

• increase understanding of organisations, their management, the economy and the business environment, in preparation for, and development of, a career in business and management;
• enhance a wide range of skills and attributes which equip graduates to become effective global citizens.

Combining business management with marketing will intellectually challenge students and stimulate their interest in both subjects. The interconnecting subjects are taught through a mixture of interactive lectures and seminars and group work. The course provides the underpinning theoretical foundations in the subject areas of Business Management and Marketing, including organisations and the business environment. Students will develop their understanding of management and marketing theories, models, frameworks, tasks and roles, including the management of people and corporate social responsibility. Students develop their understanding of the purposes, structures, size, scale, governance, operations and management of the functions and processes of business organisations, as well as the corporate behaviours and cultures that exist within and between different organisations.

Teaching and learning are built around students’ activities in response to prepared tasks and students are required to apply knowledge, to discuss and to analyse business and marketing problems. Core skills and capabilities are developed through these complementary activities. Seminars will use a problem based learning (PBL) approach designed to foster student centred learning and engagement. This student-centred approach enables students to research, synthesise, analyse and to discuss core principles. It also provides the opportunity to obtain formative feedback. Students can develop their practical skills and decision-making through participation in on-line business simulations, which are embedded in the course. In addition to enhancing their theoretical understanding, managing a ‘virtual’ company is a powerful mechanism of feedback to students on their performance as well as enhancing their confidence as young managers.

The degree has a central all encapsulating theme of employability with the aim of providing students with the confidence and the transferable knowledge and skills required for their chosen careers. Students are offered the opportunity to acquire business experience in their second and final year through Work-Related modules. These modules are designed flexibly to allow students to acquire a diverse range of business experience and give them crucial skills relevant for their future careers. This aspect of the course underpins the importance of the employability agenda and demonstrates a deep commitment to the professional development of students.

Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) accreditation for L6 Diploma will be sought for this course.

The main aim of the Business Management and Marketing course is to provide a contemporary and dynamic programme of study which gives students knowledge and understanding of the fundamental subjects and prepares them for a wide range of careers in business management and marketing. The course aims to provide an integrated and broadly based business management and marketing curriculum. This will enable students to explore and examine key concepts and principles and link the multi-disciplinary subjects of business management with an emphasis on the marketing function. Students will have to opportunity to engage with leading edge themes of business management and marketing including sustainability, leadership, globalisation, entrepreneurship, innovation and corporate social responsibility. Optional modules at L5 & L6 will allow students to focus more directly on subject areas of particular interest to them.

Specifically the course takes a progressive and critical approach in the context of the contemporary real business world and to the techniques used in business and marketing management. The aim is to provide a sound academic and professional practitioner base in the understanding of business management and marketing techniques, concepts and principles which go to making businesses successful and efficient. There will be an emphasis the development of commercial awareness, team and inter-cultural communication, critical thinking, problem solving, decision-making and self-refection skills. The curriculum aims to develop students’ intellectual and practical skills.

The degree is organised into four levels with specific aims, as follows:

Level 3 aims to orientate students to study at university level in preparation for further study, introduce them to business contexts and concepts and help them to develop both academic and professional skills. .

Level 4 aims to provide a firm foundation to support the more advanced studies of business management and marketing. This first level offers an introduction to knowledge of business management approaches and marketing principles, and these topics are positioned within the general business environment. Students are also introduced to key relevant quantitative approaches. It introduces students to critical analyses and self- reflection.

Level 5 aims to deepen the student’s specialist knowledge in business management and marketing with a focus on the more specialist nature of the subject matter. Students will learn about the decision making process of business organisations and the social, cultural and ethical environment in which they operate. They will also examine customer behaviour / motivation and understand the role of operations in supporting the effective delivery of customer satisfaction.

The aim is to develop students’ intellectual skills, understanding, problem- solving capabilities and to promote the students ability to analyse, synthesise and evaluate business management and marketing principles from a wide context.

Level 6 aims to challenge students intellectually and promote independent learning through an individual research project culminating in a dissertation. Students will be given an opportunity to explore wider and more advanced and specialist subjects in marketing and business management such as services marketing, global regulation, managing corporate reputation and small business survival. The aim is to enable the students to have a broader coverage of both disciplines of marketing and business management. Central to this focus is to allow students to develop a wider perspective of the interrelated subjects and to enhance the student’s ability to view the wider employability prospects and opportunities of the degree.

In addition Business Management and Marketing students are offered the opportunity to undertake a work placement year prior to completing their final year of study.

The learning outcomes are based on the integration of the QAA Benchmark statement for Business and Management (2019) the Chartered Management Institute’s (CMI) requirements for the Level 6 Diploma in Management and Leadership.

On successful completion of this course students will be able to: demonstrate confidence, resilience, ambition and creativity and will act as inclusive, collaborative and socially responsible professionals in their discipline .(ULO)

Thus, upon graduating with an honour’s degree in Business Management and Marketing, students will typically:

1. Have the confidence needed to take leadership decisions in challenging situations (LO1).
2. Possess the necessary communication skills that will help them adopt a global and multicultural perspective in their professional context (LO2).
3. Be cognisant of the effects of the social and environmental of their decisions and will remain active citizens of the places they live and work (LO3).
4. Demonstrate application of creative thinking skills to practical problems, and possess the analytical and organisational skills to translate creative ideas to operational business, management and marketing solutions (LO4)
5. Have a wide knowledge and understanding of the broad range of areas of business and management and the detailed relationships between these and their application in practice (LO5).
6. Consistently demonstrate a command of subject-specific skills as well as proficiency in generic skills and attributes (LO6).
7. Have a view of business, management and marketing influenced by a wide range of learning sources, based on a proactive and independent approach to learning (LO7).
8. Be distinguished from the basic standard (threshold) of achievement by their enhanced capacity to develop and apply their own perspectives to their studies, to deal with uncertainty and complexity, to explore alternative solutions, to demonstrate critical evaluation and to integrate theory and practice in a wide range of situations (LO8)

These undergraduate attributes will be delivered primarily through 15 credit core modules, supported by a choice of elective modules, and independent learning.

The QAA Benchmark statement for Business and Management has been adopted

Both formative and summative assessment take a variety of formats including, coursework, portfolios, blogs, essays, exams, group presentations, business reports, problem-based activities, practice-based projects, group research projects, videos, computer-based tests, business simulations and a final dissertation. Feedback is provided on both formative and summative in keeping with the university guidelines.

In addition to a mandatory core employability module at Level 5 the course offers an optional 12 month professional work placement at Level 5. In addition, it provides opportunities for a wide variety of work experience at Levels 5 and 6 in the Work-Related modules. These modules are designed to enable students to gain business experience in the widest possible sense. They are flexible in delivery and will enable students to capture and build on their existing work and other experience. Students will be able to develop their action learning ability and reflect on their current and future course of action in setting goals for improved performance.

There are no specified part-time structures for this course. Students on a part-time mode of study are required to take between 30 and 90 credits per academic year to complete the degree programme within the maximum time length allowed (6 years for a three-year course).
Programme planning is therefore agreed between the student and course team, in accordance with regulations on progression and completion.

As part of our Undergraduate Student Promise, every student will benefit from accredited work-related learning (in either the form of a work placement or ‘live’ project with a partner organisation or practical small business planning) as a core, compulsory element within the study programme.

Standard University Regulations apply.

PDP and Reflective learning are embedded throughout the curriculum commencing at Level 4. Reflective learning and personal development planning are central to the students’ academic and career development – it is linked to assessment throughout the curriculum and forms an element of formative feedback in several modules for the development of this key skill. Students’ experiential learning is encouraged throughout, and action learning sets are a feature at levels five and six, which promote reflective learning.

All have formative and summative assessment requiring varying degrees of critical self- evaluation and reflection in the context of business management professional practice.

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The course includes a number of business management related activities during the academic year as well as number of career oriented workshops which help students to identify and develop key employability skills. Presentations by industry experts will be included and students will be able to participate in workshops designed around identified self-development issues.

At all levels students can present their ideas to a variety of business people including those from London Metropolitan’s business incubator, the Accelerator. These initiatives are linked to improving the students’ employability prospects and their transferable skills.

This course is accredited by the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM), which is the largest professional marketing body in the world. It also provides exemption from two CIM units, so you’ll only need to complete one additional unit to receive the Certificate in Professional Marketing.

In addition to your degree, you’ll also gain the highly sought-after and widely recognised CMI Level 6 Diploma in Management and Leadership.

On successful completion of this course, you’ll be prepared for a range of business-related careers in both the commercial and public sector. You could go on to work as a business development manager, marketing executive, recruitment consultant, sales manager, human resources manager or communications executive.

The course is also a great platform for entrepreneurs wishing to build on their business expertise, as well as being great preparation for a graduate scheme or junior position in business or marketing.

Alternatively, you could continue your studies in a range of business-related postgraduate degrees such as:

• Marketing MA
• Master of Business Administration (MBA)
• International Business Management MSc
• International Business Management with Project Management MSc

In addition to the University's standard entry requirements, you should have:

• at least one A level (or a minimum of 32 UCAS points from an equivalent Level 3 qualification, eg BTEC Subsidiary/National/BTEC Extended Diploma)
• English Language GCSE at grade C/4 or above (or equivalent)

To study a degree at London Met, you must be able to demonstrate proficiency in the English language. If you require a Tier 4 student visa you may need to provide the results of a Secure English Language Test (SELT) such as Academic IELTS. For more information about English qualifications please see our English language requirements.

If you need (or wish) to improve your English before starting your degree, the University offers a Pre-sessional Academic English course to help you build your confidence and reach the level of English you require.