MSc in Business and Management (MBM)

What you’ll study

The curriculum builds your understanding of organisations and the context in which they operate, and helps you explore where you might fit within them. Classes fall within four focal areas:

• Understanding the business – through a sequence of classes, you'll gain a managerial overview of the major functional areas of most organisations. You'll explore what they do and learn the language and techniques they employ.
• Developing the business – building on your growing understanding of organisations, this group of classes explores how businesses are responding to their contexts and analyse how they might evolve in the future.
• Professional development – in this area you will identify and develop a plan to enhance the key strengths and skills that will mark you out in your management career.
• Building a career's focus – as you move towards the next stage of your career, the elective classes and the final project/dissertation provide a wide range of options that allow you to customise your learning towards your career direction or development needs.

A programme focused on practice

The MBM provides a developmental process that builds your knowledge and confidence in understanding and undertaking hands-on analysis of management issues. Throughout the year you'll engage in:

• learning about practice – from the outset, the course focuses on the application of knowledge through case studies, group-based analysis, and guest speakers
• learning through practice – through working with real-life businesses you'll gain hands-on experience of the complexities involved in managing organisations
• practice as learning – by examining how you get things done in practice, you'll build confidence in identifying what you need to do to take your skills to the next level

A programme focused on careers

The MBM’s commitment to helping you identify and enhance the knowledge and skills needed to succeed in your career begins on day one and extends beyond the end of the course. As a cohort member you'll:

• develop a personalised plan for learning and development, that identifies your strengths and the activities that will enhance your career prospects
• engage with resources that provide support and advice on career choices, and how best to exploit opportunities as you progress in your career
• join our active alumni group that complements the extensive Faculty and University alumni programme
• have the opportunity to convert your MBM qualification to the prestigious Strathclyde MBA (Master of Business Administration) degree once you've acquired sufficient work experience. To take advantage of this opportunity you must apply within five years of graduating.

A programme focused on the international

The MBM will underpin your ability to operate in organisational contexts across the globe. Both within, and outside the classroom, the programme’s international focus enriches the ability to understand and respond to local customs and business practices. Specifically, the international features as an:

• embedded part of the class experience were examples, case studies, and guest speakers explore how companies operate in different cultures across geographical regions
• explicit focus of the techniques and models you'll be exposed to in our classes on management practice, and the elective class on International Trade
• lived-experience if you choose to take up the opportunity to study the ‘Managing in Europe’ elective in Toulouse
• implicit part of working the wide range of nationalities, religious, and cultural backgrounds found in each cohort. Learning from each other is the very essence of the course, forming friendships that endure for years.

A programme focused on personal attainment

The MBM is a degree focused on helping you translate your unique talents into the strengths that will help you realise your potential. Working with us you'll identify bespoke development activities that might draw from:

• the comprehensive programme of learning and skills enhancement activities to available through the syllabus and across the University
• the lively programme of events offered by the career service, the business faculty and the wider University
• a spectrum of extracurricular activities and associations course members participate in, including; international assemblies, competitions, Strathclyde Business Network and clubs and societies (students’ union)
• the opportunities for industrial engagement, volunteering and adventure that come from being in the industrial capital of Scotland

Course content

The MBM’s curriculum is continuously reviewed in order to keep pace with the rapidly evolving business landscape. You may find there are changes from the current list of classes.

Core classes

Understanding the business

• Analytical Support for Decision-Making
• Managerial Accounting
• Managing People in Organisations
• Business Operations
• Finance & Financial Management
• Marketing Management

Developing the business

• Leadership for Change & Innovation
• Business Strategy
• Consultancy in Practice
• Managing Innovation

Professional development

Professional Management Practice

Building a career focus

• Project

Elective classes

Choose two:

• New Venture Creation
• International Trade Theory & Policy
• Project Management
• Brand Management & Strategy
• Strategic Financial Management
• Service Operations Simulation
• Family Enterprise
• Managing in Europe (Toulouse)
• Games of Strategy
• Commercial Management in Projects
• Digital Transformation
• Strategic Thinking for Global Challenges & Opportunities
• The Game Changer

Learning & teaching

Classes on the course differ significantly from traditional formal lectures. Academic staff maximise opportunities for class discussion and debate about how organisations are tackling real-life business issues and whether their approaches are appropriate in other contexts. You'll often be given individual or group-based research tasks to be fed back in class. This emphasis on practical skills gives you a greater understanding of what is happening in a wide range of organisational contexts. It also helps you to be able to formulate relevant, practical, responses to complex issues.

Our teaching helps you develop the high level of personal and interpersonal skills that employers are looking for. You'll find that, from your very first day, we'll be there helping you to find effective ways to manage yourself while getting the best from those you're working with.

Assessment

The course is assessed through written assignments, group and individual projects, exams and presentations. Exams will take place at the end of each semester in December and March.

The degree opens up a range of exciting career possibilities. For many of our graduates, it's the combination of their first degree, or work experience, and the MBM that distinguishes them from the competition. Many have taken up an opportunity within their family’s business, developing the business to take advantage of the opportunities presented by today’s environment. Others are pursuing their dream of becoming an entrepreneur and building their own successful business.

Where are they now?

Typical alumni job titles include:

• Founder/Owner
• Vice President/Director
• Consultant
• Business Analyst/Advisor
• Manager – Project/Risk/Finance/BI/Operations

Recent graduates have found employment within national and multi-national organisations including roles in the following sectors:

• Finance – Barclays Bank, Cathay United Bank, Lloyds Banking Group, Clydesdale & Yorkshire Bank, Consulting - Ernst & Young, PwC, KPMG
• Manufacturing – Pine Chemical Group, Rajeev Metal Industries
• Business support – Transport for London, GSK, Zapplon
• IT services – IBM, Italy-China E-commerce Sales Center, Toyota Tsusho Network Integration
• Start-ups – Scorace, Nuvven, To Be Healthy Foods

5th in the UK for Business & Management Studies