Intro to Management Studies

Overview of Management Studies

• Introduction to Module Leaders
• Important Information
• Module Themes
• Module Structure includes weekly structure and assessments.
• Expectations
• Questions

Module Leader

• Mariyam Leeza is the Quality Assurance Coodinator, Lecturer, and key module contact.
• Contact information:
  • Phone: 9722467
  • Email: [email protected].
• Mariyam will deliver lectures, moderate assessments, and coordinate workshop content.

Key Information Sources

• Blackboard and email are important resources.
• Use Moodle for:
  • Teaching and support material
  • Weekly teaching materials
  • Reading lists
  • Module handbooks and overviews
  • Assessments briefs, support information and marking criteria.
  • To upload assessments.

Studying Business

• Work is a defining human characteristic, reflecting how we create and sustain growth.
• Work organization varies historically, typically defined by hierarchies where elites extract surplus.
• Business is key to how work is organized today.
• Business rose with capitalism around 1500s-1800s, linked to private ownership, formally free workers, and ownership of both failure and success.
• Capitalism's effect on growth strongly emphasizes competition and innovation.
• Current capitalism era is linked to significant complexity, specialization, and change management.

Studying Management

• Management's role is to coordinate work.
• This coordination varies due to business size and complexity.
• Management Focus Depends On:
  • Coordination through team leadership or strategic organisation.
  • The organization area such as Production, Management, Procurement, Research, Sales, Marketing, Strategy, Finance, or Human Resources.
  • Context includes market competition, industry, role within the industry, company strategy, location and company size.
• These factors affect the skills needed by managers.

Why Study Management

• Poor managers greatly affect workers and society.
• The UK is known for bad managers.
• Bad managers characteristics:
  • Unskilled in technology implementation
  • Paternalistic style and inappropriate recruitment
  • Lack of professionalism or accountability
  • Bias against education
• Poor management causes poor growth in the UK economy, affecting individual careers.
• Poor managers waste skills, lower morale, and can be discriminatory and complicate careers

Academic Analysis and Management

• Study Management includes academic analysis and reflection for a broader perspective.
• Business degrees offer a chance to develop analysis skills.
• Learning to critique existing approaches, understanding current firms, and defining one's own development is important.
• Understand the context of management rather than simply training as a manager to match skills to goals.

Weekly structure of the module

• The module uses a very transparent teaching approach.
• There are reading lists and questions provided.
• There are three hours per week to understand the material.
• Lectures occur once per week.
• Workshops happen for two hours and aim to extend knowledge through independent research and discussion.
• Bring questions to class.

Expectations for Success

• Read all material
• Studying involves approx 6-8 hours of study a week at home
• Plan for time do assignments well or do a little bit each week to engage with staff support
• Attend all classes
• Prepare for essays in advance.
• Self-management skills are important for social life and other aspects of life.

Asking Questions

• Questions are welcome.
• Support staff are not teachers
• Staff do not read whole drafts of assignments.
• Provide the following identifying information:
  • Who you are
  • Student number for admin issues
  • Allow days for a response.
  • Ensure that your question is clear.