MODULE SPECIFICATION

KEY FACTS

Module name Advanced Management Practice

Module code BM3200
School Cass Business School
Department or equivalent Undergraduate Programme
UK credits 15
ECTS 7.5
Level 6

MODULE SUMMARY

Module outline and aims

The aim of this module is to provide a way for you to apply the management concepts
that you have learned in the earlier stages of your degree. It is a capstone module
building on concepts from other modules and you will be expected to synthesise these
and explore their relevance to real organisational issues. If you intend to pursue a
career in management consultancy or as a troubleshooter within a major organisation,
this module will develop the skills that you can expect to use in these roles. Within the
module you will be expected to work professionally while at the same time drawing on
academic concepts.

To prepare you for the challenges that you can expect to encounter in your career,
you will work on a practical and current organisational project, which could be in
conjunction with a partner outside the university. You will be expected to apply your
knowledge of management systematically, to argue your case for how to address the
project, and to summarise your thinking clearly and coherently. At the same time you
will be expected to manage the risk and uncertainty associated with the authentic
environment with which you will be dealing.

Content outline

• Review of key management concepts

• Introduction to management consultancy principles and techniques
• Approaches to framing a management problem
• Understanding an organisation in depth
• How to plan a consultancy project
• Running client meetings and presentations
• Dealing with uncertainty within an organisation
• Summarising your findings and report writing

To enhance your learning experience modules are designed to reflect contemporary

issues in the business and financial world. As such, a degree of flexibility is expected
in the exact content in terms of scope and coverage to ensure relevance to current
circumstances.
Pre-requisites

You should be familiar with the material covered in Management Lab and Business
Skills at programme stage 1.

WHAT WILL I BE EXPECTED TO ACHIEVE?

On successful completion of this module, you will be expected to be able to:

Knowledge and understanding:

• Appraise a range of management concepts and their suitability to be applied to a
real organisational problem
• Choose from a number of different approaches which is likely to yield best results
in a particular context
• Understand the role of the management consultant and the purpose of the
consultancy tools that are available

Skills:
• Present your intended approach professionally, both in writing and orally
• Analyse the key factors influencing an organisation
• Evaluate the issues facing an organisation as a whole and the interaction between
its various parts

Values and attitudes:

• Understand the ethical dilemmas associated with working as outsiders to an
organisation
• Recognise the need for an organisation to operate effectively and ethically within
the broader business, economic, and social environment
• Deal responsibly with complex ethical issues that might be encountered during a
consultancy or problem-solving project
• Understand the uncertainties inherent in working with complex organisations and
in an unpredictable business environment
• Demonstrate an appreciation of ethical issues as they relate to both the subject
matter and the wider business world.

HOW WILL I LEARN?

A variety of learning and teaching methods will be used in this course.

Lectures are used to introduce context, concepts and techniques illustrated with
practical and current examples. You will also have the opportunity to participate in
class discussions and work through examples and exercises with the support of the
lecturer. It is strongly recommended that you attend ALL lectures.
Tutorials are used to explore the concepts and practices covered in the lectures in
more detail. Specifically, they are used primarily to demonstrate technical material,
although some discussion and analysis will accompany the practical techniques.
Tutorials take place in smaller groups and you are expected to interact with the tutor
and other students.

Key learning and teaching resources will be put on the module website on Moodle.

Self-directed learning hours are for independent study and account for the minimum
amount of time you should spend studying independently. For example, carrying out
subject research, practicing and reflecting on techniques learned in class, reading
widely around the subject to develop a deeper understanding, carrying out activities
using the VLE, attending induction and career development workshops, working in
groups to complete assignments and presentations, and completing individual
assignments and other homework.

Teaching pattern:

Teaching Teaching Contact Self-directed Placement Total

component type hours study hours hours student
(scheduled) (independent) learning
hours
Lecture Lecture 12 64 76
Tutorial Tutorial 10 64 74

Totals 22 128 150

WHAT TYPES OF ASSESSMENT AND FEEDBACK CAN I EXPECT?

Assessments

This module is assessed by Coursework only.

The first component of the coursework will be in the form of a written assignment
based around a practical consultancy or problem-solving project. Within this
assignment you will be working within a team. You will be expected to work on this
project throughout the time that you are studying for the module and as part of the
coursework assessment demonstrate that you have applied sound project
management principles, and communicated effectively with internal and any external
partners.

The second component of the coursework will be an individual written assignment in

which you will apply the consultancy or problem-solving techniques from the module to
a case study. You will be given a limited amount of time to complete the assignment
once the case study is released to you

Assessment pattern:
 Assessment Assessment Weighting Minimum Pass/Fail?
component type qualifying
mark
Coursework – Written 50% 0 N/A
practical assignment,
consultancy including
assignment essay
Coursework – Written 50% 0 N/A
individual case assignment,
study analysis including
with limited essay
time available

Assessment criteria

Assessment criteria are descriptions of the skills, knowledge or attributes you need to
demonstrate in order to complete an assessment successfully and Grade-Related
Criteria are descriptions of the skills, knowledge or attributes you need to demonstrate
to achieve a certain grade or mark in an assessment. Assessment Criteria and
Grade-Related Criteria for module assessments will be made available to you prior to
an assessment taking place. More information will be available in the UG Assessment
Handbook and from the module leader.

Feedback on assessment

Following an assessment, you will be given your marks and feedback in line with the
University’s Assessment Regulations and Policy. More information on the timing and
type of feedback that will be provided for each assessment will be available from the
module leader.

Assessment Regulations

The Pass mark for the module is 40%. Any minimum qualifying marks for specific
assessments are listed in the table above. The weighting of the different components
can also be found above. The Programme Specification contains information on what
happens if you fail an assessment component or the module.

INDICATIVE READING LIST

Biggs D (2010): Management consulting: a guide for students. Andover, Cengage

learning.

Czerniawska F and May P (2004): Management consultancy in practice: case studies

in international best practice. London, Kogan Page
 Hoverstadt P (2008): The fractal organisation: creating sustainable organisations with
the viable systems model. Chichester, Wiley

O’Mahoney J and Markham C (2013): Management consultancy. Oxford, Oxford

University Press.

Version: 2.0
Version date: February 2020
For use from: 2020-21

Appendix: see
http://www.hesa.ac.uk/component/option,com_studrec/task,show_file/Itemid,233/mnl,12
051/href,JACS3.html/ for the full list of JACS codes and descriptions

CODES
HESA Codes Description Price Group
133 Business and management D
studies
JACS Codes Description Percentage (%)
N200 The study of managing 100
organisations.
HECOS Codes Description Percentage (%)
100089 The study of managing 100
organisations.