BA(Hons) Business Management and Economics (with Foundation Year)

Through thematic projects, this module will help you develop the academic, practical and professional foundations needed for undergraduate study in business and law. You'll work collaboratively and independently, using academic theory and professional practice to address relevant problems and societal issues. Indicative themes include a business simulation focused on organisational processes and teamwork, and a societal issue explored through values, research, debate and persuasive writing. Along the way, you'll strengthen your project management, digital, decision-making, presentation, feedback and self-management skills while exploring areas connected with your interests.

This module will support your professional and personal development by helping you evaluate your skills, set meaningful goals and monitor your progress. You'll explore self-management, reflective thinking and writing, wellbeing, resilience, social development and networking. Indicative themes include understanding yourself through skills audits, mindset and goal setting; working in teams through group roles, dynamics, motivation and feedback; and considering your wider context through personal mission, vision, values and future plans. Reflective practice will help you learn from experience, take responsibility for your development and prepare for collaborative project work.

This module will build your professional knowledge across marketing and finance, helping you understand how these functions contribute to organisational decision-making. You'll explore fundamental concepts and terminology, examine how financial information supports business choices and consider how marketing helps organisations understand markets and customers. By connecting the two subject areas, you'll develop a broader appreciation of how organisations plan, allocate resources and communicate value. Practical activities will strengthen your ability to interpret information, apply relevant frameworks and present reasoned business recommendations.

This module will develop the reasoning and statistical skills needed to support management decisions. You'll learn how to frame business problems, evaluate evidence and communicate conclusions clearly. Using quantitative information, you'll explore techniques for summarising, presenting and interpreting data, while considering how uncertainty can influence managerial judgement. The module will help you apply statistical ideas to practical business situations, select appropriate approaches and explain what results mean for an organisation. Along the way, you'll strengthen your analytical thinking, problem-solving, numerical confidence and professional communication skills.

This module will introduce you to economic reasoning for business decisions. You'll examine how supply and demand, consumer and producer behaviour and different market structures influence organisations. Macroeconomic concepts will include the monetary system, aggregate demand and supply, monetary and fiscal policy, and the open economy and exchange rates. By applying these ideas to the business environment, you'll learn to assess how markets, policy and wider economic conditions shape strategy and performance. The module will strengthen your analytical skills and ability to interpret contemporary economic developments.

This module will explore how work and management are shaped by firms' functions and their wider socio-economic environment. You'll examine theories such as Taylorism and human resource management, considering how market and social contexts influence their effectiveness. The syllabus will include, but not be limited to, different types of work, inequality relating to gender, race and class, globalisation and technological change. You'll also consider how external events such as Brexit or Covid can reshape markets, competitive environments, firms' strategies and management practices.

In this module, you'll apply economic reasoning to management decisions while developing professional practice. You'll examine how organisations use economic concepts and evidence to understand demand, costs, pricing, competition and strategic choices. The module will help you analyse realistic business problems, evaluate options and communicate recommendations to different audiences. Alongside economic analysis, you'll strengthen professional capabilities through reflection, collaboration and practical activity. By connecting managerial economics with workplace expectations, you'll build confidence in using structured evidence to support effective organisational decision-making.

This module will develop the evidence-gathering and analytical techniques used in business consultancy. You'll learn how to define organisational problems, identify stakeholder needs and select appropriate sources of information. Research, data analysis and structured problem-solving will help you assess evidence, compare options and develop practical recommendations. You'll also consider how findings should be communicated for different business audiences. Through consultancy-style activity, you'll strengthen your ability to manage an enquiry, work collaboratively, exercise professional judgement and present a clear, evidence-based response to a client or organisational challenge.

In this module, you'll explore the key concepts, theories and models that underpin human resource management and organisational behaviour. Using organisational cases, you'll examine how people behave at individual, group and organisational levels and how management practices influence working life. Topics may include motivation, leadership, teams, culture, structure, diversity, employee relations and organisational change. You'll learn to apply theory to workplace situations, evaluate alternative perspectives and develop reasoned recommendations for managing people and organisational challenges in contemporary business settings.

The Business Management and Economics Project will enable you to undertake a substantial independent investigation into a relevant topic. You'll identify and refine a research question, review academic and professional evidence, and select appropriate methods for analysing the issue. The project will help you integrate business and economic perspectives, interpret findings and develop justified conclusions or recommendations. Throughout the process, you'll strengthen your research planning, critical thinking, problem-solving and communication skills while managing an extended piece of work with appropriate attention to ethics.

This module will explore how business strategy, operations and innovation can contribute to sustainability. You'll examine how organisations respond to environmental, social and economic challenges through strategic choices, operating models, products, services and processes. Topics may include sustainable business models, resource efficiency, circular approaches and innovation for responsible value creation. By applying theory to organisational contexts, you'll learn how to evaluate trade-offs, identify opportunities and develop evidence-based recommendations that align operational performance and competitive priorities with longer-term sustainability goals.

This module will help you apply economic analysis in professional contexts. You'll use theory and evidence to investigate real-world issues, frame problems, interpret data and develop practical conclusions. Alongside strengthening analytical and problem-solving skills, you'll consider how economic reasoning is communicated to different audiences and used within organisations or policy settings. Through reflection on professional expectations and your own development, you'll build confidence in connecting academic economics with practice, presenting evidence clearly and contributing informed perspectives to workplace discussions and decisions.