• Offered for Year: 2024/25

• Module Leader(s): Dr Peter Edward
• Lecturer: Dr Dean Pierides

• Owning School: Newcastle University Business School
• Teaching Location: Newcastle City Campus

Semesters

Your programme is made up of credits, the total differs on programme to programme.

Aims

Every good manager needs to be able to identify key business problems, investigate potential solutions and then make and present recommendations that can lead to effective business decisions. To do this, managers need to understand how to be self-directed learners able to identify root causes to business problems, lead and work in teams researching and analysing those problems, and then identify, evaluate and recommend potential solutions. These are key business skills that will be developed in this module.
However, while these skills are very necessary, they are not sufficient for an effective manager. Managers also need to be able to present and advocate for their recommendations in ways that are compelling and can generate strong Executive support. In other words, leaders need also to be able to convince other executives that their recommendations should become implemented as business decisions.
This module therefore develops the skills and approaches needed to research, analyse and present a compelling business case in support of Boardroom decision making.
The module starts by understanding the business research and decision-making process. Students, working collaboratively, then draw on both their learning across the MBA and on their own prior experience to research a business issue and develop and evaluate solutions. In addition to integrating technical and managerial learning across the MBA, the module also builds on the consulting and inter-personal skills developed earlier in the MBA while moving the emphasis even more onto understanding how to work in and motivate self-directed teams through the problem-research-evaluation-recommendation process.
But recommendations are not decisions. To move from recommendation to decision, students present their recommendations in a format and to a standard appropriate to a decision-making Board.
Will your business case be robust enough, clear enough and compelling enough for a Board to adopt it?
This module is the first of three modules that develop and assess students’ skills in applying theory into practice. Skills learned in this module are therefore central also to both the team Management Consultancy module and the Individual Project module that follow on from this module.

Outline Of Syllabus

The module incorporates a series of classes covering
•       From Business Analysis to Management Consultancy and your Individual Project
•       Understanding the Individual Project routes
•       The role of the Board
•       What is Business Analysis?
•       The research and analysis process: getting from problem situations to solution recommendations
•       Methods of investigation and analysis: qualitative and quantitative tools and techniques
•       Ethics in the research and analysis process
•       The Business Case: purpose, structure and content
•       Making and presenting a compelling business case
•       Applying these Research and Analysis skills in the Individual Project.

These classes form the basis for students to then work in groups to research a business challenge problem and develop recommendations and a business case, presenting their recommendations in a format and to a standard appropriate to a decision-making Board. Feedback then better equips students for the subsequent Management Consultancy and Individual Project modules.

Teaching Methods

Teaching Activities

Teaching Rationale And Relationship

Lectures establish the context of the module and provide training on relevant theory and research practice. Student-led group work and assessment preparation then move the students to become more self-directed learners, with progress review sessions with the teaching team for support. The Board-level report and presentation then form the final summative assessment, with feedback that is formative for later modules on Management Consultancy and Individual Project.

Assessment Methods

The format of resits will be determined by the Board of Examiners

Other Assessment

Formative Assessments

Formative Assessment is an assessment which develops your skills in being assessed, allows for you to receive feedback, and prepares you for being assessed. However, it does not count to your final mark.

Assessment Rationale And Relationship

The Business Case demonstrates the robustness of the group’s analysis and recommendations. The Executive Summary tests their ability to communicate their case concisely and clearly in writing. The Presentation to Boardroom standard tests their ability to present and justify their case in a convincing and compelling manner.

Online assessment (if needed): If practicable the format of the groupwork presentation will be changed to another format deliverable remotely and asynchronously (e.g. poster, voiced-over powerpoint). If that is not practicable then assessment will be 100% essay.

Reading Lists

• NBS8489's Reading List

Timetable

• Timetable Website: www.ncl.ac.uk/timetable/
• NBS8489's Timetable