Module Descriptors – Business Management

Year 1

English learning and communication skills

The purpose of this module is prepare students for university studies in which English is the language of instruction. Students will gain solid knowledge and understanding on how to communicate, build and share knowledge in academic contexts through reading, writing, speaking and listening. The emphasis is also on improving confidence and technical competence in using English in these context. In doing so, the intended outcome is to help advance the ability to perform in all four skills related to students’ own degree programme.

Introduction to Computers

The aim of this module is to examine computer systems and learn how they can enhance personal productivity. The module will focus on essential computer skills in today’s world, including computer hardware, important software applications, such as, word processing, worksheets, database, and presentation graphics. Emphasis will be placed on data analytics and AI

Business Skills

This module is designed to equip students with key business skills purposefully designed to meet the complex learning and professional needs of undergraduate students during their studies and subsequent employability. The module is composed of three interlinked yet distinctive learning strands, namely: academic skills, professional skills, and personal and communication skills.

Principles of Management

This module introduces the structure of business firms and the principles of organisation. The course defines, explains and discusses management functions; namely, planning, organising, leading and controlling. Leadership, ethics, motivation, culture and organisation structure will also be covered.

Mathematics for Business

The model introduces students to basic mathematics needed for business studies. The module covers topics such as Straight lines and Functions, Simultaneous Equations, Quadratic Equations, Non-linear Functions, and Financial Mathematics. Moreover, for each topic student will have an extensive use of applications using excel. Upon completion, students will be equipped with all necessary mathematical concepts and tools to continue their studies in management, marketing, finance or economics.

Critical thinking and academic writing

This course is designed to help learners continue to hone their writing, research and critical thinking skills. It introduces key skills in critical thinking frameworks which continues to prepare students for academic life. This course also focuses on how to integrate logical constructs into one’s writing clearly, concisely and academically

Principles of Marketing

This module aims to introduce the main marketing principles, theory and practice as they apply in consumer, industrial and service organisations.  The module’s purpose is to explore the manner in which firms can gain competitive advantage by adopting a consumer orientation.

Arabic for non-native speakers

This module is intended for beginners with no prior knowledge of Arabic.  It introduces students to basic vocabulary, grammatical structures, and useful phrases and sentences for everyday use. Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills are developed for communicative purposes.  

Financial Accounting

This module introduces students to the basic knowledge of the principles and practices of accounting. It covers the functions of financial accounting, describe the regulatory framework governing financial accounting, principles of double entry bookkeeping, assess the nature of internal control in accounting, control accounts and the entries for the correction of errors, prepare basic financial statements of sole traders and limited companies and illustrate accounting adjustments.

Introduction to Innovation and Entrepreneurship

This module introduces students to the concept of innovation and Entrepreneurship. The module provides students with basic knowledge and understanding of the role of innovation in value creation. The module will introduce students to the core concepts of entrepreneurship.

Students will develop an understanding of the nature of entrepreneurship and its connection to the culture and economy of the UAE and how innovation drives entrepreneurship.

Principles of Microeconomics

This module aims to develop the student’s knowledge and understanding of the concepts of microeconomics and to apply principles and models to real world cases and situations. By the end of the module students will have an appreciation of the relevance of economics for business. The module facilitates the application of basic economic concepts, principles and models to understand and analyse the business and economic environment in which we live and work, and to appreciate the impacts of economic decisions and events.

 

Year 2

Principles of Macroeconomics

The aim of this module is to develop the student’s ability to analyse and explain the functioning of an economy at the macro level. The module focuses on examination of the theories of exchange rate determination and the impact of monetary policy on exchange rates. It encourages students to discuss and explain the importance of interest rate parity theorems and the role of macroeconomic parameters in the functioning of international capital flow. It also addresses the mechanism of the determination of aggregate output and employment, interest rates and monetary transmission.

Introduction to Finance

The aim of this module is to develop the student’s abilities to analyse and explain the fundamental financial theories and goals of financial management; identify the agency problem and ways to resolve it; explain the functions of financial markets and the modern financial instruments in use; evaluate investment decisions using discounted cash flow methods under the assumptions of certainty and to examine the role of risk and uncertainty in capital budgeting. 

Business Statistics

Statistics is the science of reasoning from data. Data and statistical thinking abound in everyday life and in almost all academic fields. This module will provide understanding of basic statistical concepts of inferential statistics. Students, in this module, will gain knowledge and skills of some important tools of statistical analysis.

Islamic Fundamentals and Values

The purpose of this module is to provide students with knowledge and discourse on fundamental Islamic values. Student will gain solid knowledge and understanding of the basic fundamentals of Islam, its values, and how values are connected to human development. The module also allows students to discuss research and report findings on issues related to Islamic societies as they highlight some of the practices of Islamic values shared by individuals and in a special connection to the UAE context.

Introduction to Management Information System

This module aims to introduce students to the diversity and use of management information systems in the context of the broader business environment.

Organisational Behaviour                                                            

The module considers how people behave in work organisations, how managers seek to shape human behaviour in the workplace and issues arising.  This module links with important themes explored in the Principles of Management and Understanding Organisations modules, and develops further on the study of behaviour in organisations. It places principal emphasis on the individual and group aspects of organisational behaviour.

Analytical Techniques for Business

Students, in this module, will gain knowledge and skills of operations research based applied mathematical tools. This course will focus on developing the understanding of mathematical translation and solution of business problems using linear programming models.

UAE Society 

The purpose of this module is to provide students with knowledge and discourse on fundamental of UAE Society. Student will gain solid knowledge and understanding of the basic components of The UAE including history, government and constitution, geography, Agriculture, vegetation and flora, Oil, fishing, Civil society Education and culture, health, tradition and demography. The global status, role and impact of the UAE will also be dealt in various elements of the module.

Managerial Accounting

This module aims to introduce students to fundamental concepts and practices of management accounting. The module examines basic management and cost accounting concepts and explores their uses in the development of costing systems and decision making in the context of planning and controlling business enterprises.

Human Resource Management

This module covers the fundamental functions of Human Resource Management (HRM). It introduces students to the nature of HRM exploring a range of frameworks and debates. Students are expected to learn about the Strategic approach to HRM‒understanding how it aligns with the business environment. They will become more knowledgeable and skilled in designing HRM approaches. This is achieved through lectures, discussions and group work on the HR policies and practices in key areas such as Planning, Resourcing, Performance Management, Rewards, Training and Development, Employee Relations. The module informs students on the skills required for using Human Resource Information Systems both as an employee and an HR officer.

Environment Sciences and Sustainability

The module introduces the fundamental principles of sustainability including avoidance or minimization of negative impacts on the environment; Conservation and efficient use of natural resources; preservation of cultural patterns; and Ecological harmony and respect for biodiversity.  It emphasises the importance of creating a liveable environment and the practical goal that our interaction with the natural world should be working towards.

 

Year 3

Business Excellence

Excellence in a business context is a combination of internal excellence in how things are done (enablers) leading to outstanding business performance (results). Excellence is recognised worldwide through awards such as the European Quality Award, the Baldrige Award and the Deming Award as well as national awards that are based on these. This module introduces the fundamental concepts that underpin non-prescriptive approaches to creating sustainable excellence in an engineering business

E-Business

This course provides an overview of the principles and practices of conducting business online. Students will have a good working knowledge of e-business concepts, applications and technologies (e.g. e-business infrastructure, technology required for e-business, e-business marketplace, e-Commerce, B2B e-business, ebusiness strategy, e-procurement and supply chain, customer relationship management and service implementation and optimization).

Financial Markets and Institutions

This module is designed to enable students to gain an understanding of financial markets, which include financial institutions, instruments and services. An understanding of the structure, dimensions and the operating mechanisms of financial markets is important as it has wider usage in banking, insurance, forex, and also in capital and money markets. The module enables students to analyse emerging trends in financial disintermediation and financial instruments. It helps students to be aware of the regulatory framework and its role in ensuring the smooth functioning of financial markets.

Business Ethics and Social Responsibility

This module explores the ethical challenges facing business today, and how individuals and firms can address those challenges. The main aim of this module is to enable students to acquire a critical understanding of the foundations of business ethics and to develop a sound understanding of both individual and social aspects of business ethics including the role of Islamic values.

Principles of Commercial Law

This module aims to introduce students to principles of commercial law and familiarize them with the framework and mechanisms of commercial law and provide them with knowledge of the main principles of commercial law.  The module covers the legal framework of commercial law and the application of fundamental principles to  business transactions in the domestic and international sphere, including the nature of commercial law; traders and commercial activities; business entities; commercial papers; law of agency (authority of an agent, duties of an agent etc); UAE Commercial Agencies Law; the UAE Civil Transactions Code and Commercial Transactions Law

Operations Management

This module aims to provide management and analytical concepts and tools for managing operations and supply chain management. Decision-making regarding operational issues is one of the most common tasks within organisations.  This module will enhance students’ ability to perform the necessary analyses to understand the management issues and make good operational and supply chain management decisions.  Coverage will include efficient production planning, process analysis, production planning and line balancing and sequencing, inventory management, supply chain management, quality control and assurance, forecasting and maintenance management. The introduction of concepts via cases will be used whenever appropriate.

Corporate Financial Management

The aim of the module is to enable the students to demonstrate a thorough understanding of the investment appraisal techniques within the framework of overall capital budgeting. By the end of the module, students will be able to explain the advantages and disadvantages of the discounted cash flow techniques; describe the relationship between portfolio theory and efficient markets, and the capital-asset pricing model (CAPM); estimate the cost of equity, cost of debt and overall weighted average cost of capital for companies and critically appraise the important models proposed to explain corporate capital structure and dividend policies and practices

Consumer Behaviour

This module aims to develop students’ understanding of consumer research and its usefulness for marketing management in its application to how consumers behave.  Conclusions from consumer research are not always directly accessible and are often also ambiguous in their messages; as such the module aims to reflect our current understanding of consumer behaviour drawing on disciplines such as sociology, psychology and consumer culture studies.

Developing Leadership Practice  

This module introduces the students to the notion of leadership practice and the context of its enactment. The aim of the module is to provide an insight of the theoretical and practical approaches to leadership and followership. Students will develop the essential knowledge and skills as well as the confidence to take the next steps as a future leader.

Logistics and Supply Chain Management

This module introduces the key concepts of supply chain management and logistics design. Supply chain management deals with the management of materials, information and financial flows in a network consisting of suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, and customers. The coordination and integration of these flows within and across companies are critical in effective supply chain management. The module addresses questions about the logistics design in supply chain; the sourcing of materials; the relationships with suppliers and customers; the use of information from end consumers; the coordination of information flows and the ways in which incentive systems can be arranged so that the sustainability and overall performance of the chain is improved.

Project Management

Project management is an interdisciplinary subject area with wide industrial and commercial application. The skills to manage projects successfully are required by more and more employers. This module develops a practical understanding of projects and develops the ability to plan and manage a small to medium-sized project to its successful conclusion.

 

Year 4

Market Research

An internship work experience is intended to help the students to apply their formal classroom education to “real world” work situations in a related field of work. The aim is to provide an opportunity for the attainment and demonstration of requisite competencies that broadly prepare graduates for a successful transition into the workplace.

The work assignment must be related to student’s area of interest and may be conducted within business or industry, the public or private sector, state, federal or local government, or social service agencies.

Business Capstone Project

The aim of this module is to enable students to integrate knowledge and skills to develop a specialist area of knowledge and undertake research on a business and management topic of their choice. The module delivery will not include lectures. Instead, it involves a mixture of surgeries and writing workshops. The needed content is covered in the Business Research Methods.  

Business Research

The aim of this module is to prepare students for their Business Research Project module. This will be achieved by developing a research proposal relevant to the topic of their project. The module will involve a set of lectures covering the key steps of the research process. There will also be computer labs to support students in areas such as quantitative and qualitative analysis techniques.

International Business Management

The module aims to provide students with an in-depth understanding of some of the main forces that are shaping international business. These include: the increasing rganization of business activity (understood as the increasing integration of business activity at the level of both firm and nation  state); the new forms of business rganization that multinationals (MNEs) use to capture business opportunities; and the rise of MNEs in emerging economies such as countries in the Middle East, as well as China and India.

Strategic Management

The aim of this module is to examine the various components of strategy formulation, implementation and evaluation. Formulation components include conducting an external and internal analysis, applying strategic tools and differentiating among the three levels of strategy (operational, business, corporate). Implementation components include governance, ethics, organisational structure, control systems and culture. Evaluation involves monitoring the execution of strategy to determine the extent strategic goals are being achieved and the degree to which competitive advantage is being created and sustained.

 

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