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Why choose the School of Leadership and Management
We are 1st in the UK for successful graduate social-enterprise start-ups still trading after three years; 3rd in the UK for all business start-ups still trading after three years (HESA, 2023)
100% of our graduates in Economics are in highly skilled employment or graduate study, 15 months after graduating (HESA Graduate Outcomes, 2023)
Over 95% of our business and management graduates are in employment or involved in further study, 15 months after graduating (HESA Graduate Outcomes, 2023)
About the course
This one-year course is for those who already have qualifications (Level 4 and 5 or 240 credits) or experience in this field and wish to gain a degree in Business Administration with a specific focus. It opens the door to a range of rewarding careers in human resources and people management in the UK and abroad.
Bringing together academic theory and real-world business projects this degree gives you the knowledge and experience to hit the ground running in an HR or more general people-management role across a variety of organisational settings.
You gain an understanding of the key aspects of current practice in human resource management alongside existing and emerging developments in related fields. You learn about staff planning employee relationships and development and training and are able to apply your knowledge and skills in national and international contexts.
With this degree you should have already studied business administration or human resource management at an appropriate level or have substantial relevant work experience in the field. You will be ready to extend your existing knowledge skills and capabilities to respond proactively and creatively to contemporary issues in HR.
Why choose this course?
- Benefit from research-informed teaching delivered by an international faculty recognised for their top-level research in business and entrepreneurship
- Study at a Business School with partners across the world giving you to the cross-cultural perspectives you need to work in the global markete
- Extend your understanding of current trends and build your practical business skills though seminars masterclasses and events by researchers experts and business leaders from our network of external partners
- Gain transferable skills in communications analysis and IT
- As a graduate you can pursue a career in commerce industry and financial services including accountancy. You can also study at postgraduate and professional level opening up a career path to senior financial positions in a variety of settings
- As a graduate you can pursue a career as a human resource professional working at management level; you also have the skills to go into more general people-management roles. Alternatively you can continue your studies at Master’s level by progressing to the MSc Human Resource Management or another business-related postgraduate degree.
with Professional Practice Year
This course has the option to be taken over four years which includes a year placement in industry. Undertaking a year in industry has many benefits. You gain practical experience and build your CV, as well as being a great opportunity to sample a profession and network with potential future employers.
There is no tuition fee for the placement year enabling you to gain an extra year of experience for free.
*Only available to UK/EU students.
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with Foundation Year
A Degree with a Foundation Year gives you guaranteed entry to an Undergraduate course.
Whether you’re returning to learning and require additional help and support to up-skill, or if you didn’t quite meet the grades to pursue an Undergraduate course, our Degrees with Foundation Year provide a fantastic entry route for you to work towards a degree level qualification.
With our guidance and support you’ll get up to speed within one year, and will be ready to seamlessly progress on to undergraduate study at Bedfordshire.
The Foundation Year provides an opportunity to build up your academic writing skills and numeracy, and will also cover a range of subject specific content to fully prepare you for entry to an Undergraduate degree.
This is an integrated four-year degree, with the foundation year as a key part of the course. You will need to successfully complete the Foundation Year to progress on to the first year of your bachelor’s degree.
Why study a degree with a Foundation Year?
- Broad-based yet enough depth to give you credible vocational skills
- Coverage of a variety of areas typically delivered by an expert in this area
- Gain an understanding of a subject before choosing which route you wish to specialise in
- Great introduction to further study, and guaranteed progression on to one of our Undergraduate degrees
The degrees offering a Foundation Year provide excellent preparation for your future studies.
During your Foundation Year you will get the opportunity to talk to tutors about your degree study and future career aspirations, and receive guidance on the most appropriate Undergraduate course to help you achieve this; providing you meet the entry requirements and pass the Foundation Year.
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What will you study?
New Advancements In Business
This unit combines a study of research skills with the development and support required for you to produce an excellent dissertation. The focus of the course is on business research with an emphasis on appreciating the application, strengths and weaknesses of commonly used research techniques. You will develop a deep academic understanding of the concepts underpinning your chosen topic and will be able to use this critically to structure an analytic framework, apply this to real world information and create appropriate conclusions and recommendations. You are expected to make use of secondary research only in order to complete your dissertation. You will be guided on how to retrieve, use and correctly reference academic material; a critical skill required in your dissertation and other final year units.
Additionally, the unit will support students to evidence how their experience at undergraduate level has contributed to the development of their professional profile as required after graduation
Global Marketing Strategy
The majority of organisations today recognise that business is global in nature. More than ever it is necessary for marketing and business students to have an understanding of the contemporary issues in global marketing. Trans-national organisations understand the requirement to service customers locally with global standard solutions or products, and localise that product as required to maintain an optimal balance of cost, efficiency, customisation and localisation in a control-customization continuum; to best meet local, national and global requirements.
This unit provides you with an understanding of the importance of marketing from a global/international perspective, recognizing the impact of globalisation and worldwide cultural changes that influence business and marketing decisions. You will learn about how businesses enter various markets, price their products appropriately worldwide, nationally and locally, and communicate with its customers in the most cost-effective way. The unit will help you understand the importance of informed marketing decisions by asking you to conduct market research and analysis and apply the theory to develop loyalty for international brands and global brand equity for the long term.
The main aims of this unit are:
- To introduce you to a range of global/cross-cultural marketing theories and frameworks (e.g. Internationalisation theories and Cultural Models).
- To understand the importance of market research for global brands.
- To develop the ability to apply these theories and models to a variety of organisations and situations in a global context
- To give you a comprehensive understanding of the global marketing planning process and its importance to the organisation.
- To introduce you to a systematic way of thinking about developing global marketing strategies and using marketing information/intelligence in marketing decision making in a global context.
Developing Professional Human Resource Management Practice
The purpose of this unit is to prepare you for an organisational role within the HR profession. It is designed to help you gain a better understanding of the role of the HR professional and what skills are required to work within the sector; learn about conflict resolution and how to create your own personal development plan.
The unit has three areas of emphasis: personal and professional development; understanding the practicalities of the HR profession; and personal and professional effectiveness. The unit will enable you to plan, and reflect on, your own personal and professional development as you enter the final year of the course and take the first steps towards becoming an HR professional. You will develop a sound understanding of the knowledge, skills and behaviours required by HR professionals (as described in the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development HR Profession Map) as you also put them into practice in this and other units. You will develop your knowledge and understanding of the role and management of the HR function with particular emphasis on the practical side of contributing to sustained organisational performance through effective change management as well as by ensuring an ethical and professional approach to HRM and HRD. Finally, you will gain and develop practical skills which will enhance your personal and professional effectiveness and ready you for a career in the HR profession.
Strategic Management For Business
The aims of the unit are to promote understanding of the importance of the role of strategy in organisational success. It aims to develop your understanding of the importance of choice in the design of effective strategy through which it is possible to create a unique value proposition and to enable firms to avoid direct win-lose competition.
To achieve this, you will be enabled to develop your ability to work through complex issues to identify both current and future trends and to assess their potential impacts on both the industry and the business. You will also be enabled to make a careful selection of the appropriate tools, frameworks, and concepts of strategy to assess the appropriateness of strategies and by doing so develop a range of realistic and practical strategies for businesses.
In addition to the technical skills, the unit also looks to develop student’s personal and employability skills to better prepare them for transition to the workplace by providing the transferable and fundamental job relevant competencies necessary for success.
The unit focuses primarily on competitive strategy and therefore you will concentrate on these key themes:
- Strategy as choice
- Identifying trends and their potential impact on the business
- Understanding the importance of resources and capabilities in the implementation of strategy
- Strategy design
- Evaluating strategy
How will you be assessed?
The underpinning philosophy of all assessments is to develop both your knowledge and skills to enter employment as a confidently with a strong base from which to meet your own aspirations. The aim is for you to become an independent and selfdirected lifelong learner. Apart from the formal assessments there will be an emphasis on self peer and group assessment. Tutors will provide feedback on formative assessments to support your development of good academic practice. All assessments are rooted in authentic and practical scenarios are designed to ensure that no credit can be awarded for work that cannot be confirmed to be that of the student submitting. To facilitate learning for all students a range of assessment methods are used throughout the course including: - Business Reports to demonstrate contextual insight and professional practice;
- Individual written reports based on gathering and analysing information using a subject specific methodology are used to assess case studies or group work. Formative group/individual presentation At level 6 you are treated as an independent learner and both the dissertation unit (New Advances in Business) and the Strategic Management unit provide opportunities for you to draw together your business knowledge in an individual and more independent manner. In all units you will find assessment support in terms of careful briefing and the completion of formative stages with detailed feedback designed not only to benchmark your performance but also to give you insights into how you can improve your work.
Careers
You will focus on employability throughout your studies starting with working on real life case studies in your first few weeks. The practice-based part of the curriculum continues throughout your studies with guest lecturers optional weekly discussion groups and case studies in seminars to help you develop your knowledge and understanding of a wide range of industry sectors.
The approach adopted in this course helps you to develop and enhance your transferable skills as well as interpersonal skills and in turn enhance your employability. This means that whilst you are gaining academic knowledge in addition you are also developing practise expertise.
Entry Requirements
Entry Requirements
Entry Requirements
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