BE401-4-AU-CO:
Introduction to Management

The details
2024/25
Essex Business School
Colchester Campus
Autumn
Undergraduate: Level 4
Current
Thursday 03 October 2024
Friday 13 December 2024
15
02 September 2024

 

Requisites for this module
(none)
(none)
(none)
(none)

 

BE410, BE411, BE413, BE418, BE420, BE422, BE425, BE431, BE448

Key module for

BSC N400 Accounting,
BSC N401 Accounting (Including Foundation Year),
BSC N402 Accounting (Including Year Abroad),
BSC N404 Accounting (Including Placement Year),
BSC N420 Accounting and Finance,
BSC N422 Accounting and Finance (Including Placement Year),
BSC NN43 Accounting and Finance (Including Foundation Year),
BSC NNK3 Accounting and Finance (Including Year Abroad),
MACCN440 Accounting and Finance,
MACCN441 Accounting and Finance (Including Placement Year),
MACCN442 Accounting and Finance (Including Year Abroad),
BSC NN24 Accounting and Management,
BSC NN27 Accounting and Management (Including Placement Year),
BSC NNK2 Accounting and Management (Including Year Abroad),
BSC N4L1 Accounting with Economics (Including Foundation Year),
BSC NKL1 Accounting with Economics (Including Year Abroad),
BSC NL41 Accounting with Economics,
BSC NL44 Accounting with Economics (Including Placement Year),
BSC N390 Banking and Finance,
BSC N391 Banking and Finance (Including Foundation Year),
BSC N392 Banking and Finance (Including Placement Year),
BSC NH90 Banking and Finance (Including Year Abroad),
BSC N200 Business Management,
BSC N201 Business Management (Including Foundation Year),
BSC N202 Business Management (Including Year Abroad),
BSC N204 Business Management (Including Placement Year),
BA NR19 Business Management and Modern Languages,
BA N1R9 Business Management with a Modern Language,
BSC N300 Finance,
BSC N301 Finance (Including Foundation Year),
BSC N302 Finance (Including Year Abroad),
BSC N304 Finance (Including Placement Year),
BA T7N2 Latin American Studies with Business Management,
BA T7N4 Latin American studies with Business Management (Including Foundation Year),
BSC N2N5 Marketing Management (Including Foundation Year),
BSC NN25 Marketing Management,
BSC NN2M Marketing Management (Including Placement Year),
BSC NNF5 Marketing Management (Including Year Abroad),
LLB MN00 Law with Business,
LLB MN01 Law with Business (Including Year Abroad),
LLB MN02 Law with Business (Including Placement Year),
LLB MN03 Law with Business (Including Foundation Year),
BA N19R Business Management and Language Studies,
BSC N344 Finance and Management,
BSC N345 Finance and Management (Including Year Abroad),
BSC N346 Finance and Management (Including Placement Year),
BSC N347 Finance and Management (Including Foundation Year),
BA LN10 Business Economics,
BA LN11 Business Economics (Including Year Abroad),
BA LN12 Business Economics (Including Placement Year),
BA LX10 Business Economics (Including Foundation Year),
BA VV20 Philosophy with Business Management,
BA VV21 Philosophy with Business Management (Including Foundation Year),
BA VV22 Philosophy with Business Management (Including Placement Year),
BA VV23 Philosophy with Business Management (Including Year Abroad),
BA L933 Global Studies with Business Management,
BA L934 Global Studies with Business Management (Including Foundation Year),
BA L935 Global Studies with Business Management (Including Placement Year),
BA L936 Global Studies with Business Management (Including Year Abroad),
MMANNN35 Marketing Management,
MMANNN36 Marketing Management (Including Placement Year),
MMANNN37 Marketing Management (Including Year Abroad),
BA L215 Politics with Business,
BA L216 Politics with Business (Including Placement Year),
BA L217 Politics with Business (including Year Abroad),
BSC LL25 Politics with Business,
BSC LL26 Politics with Business (Including Placement Year),
BSC LL27 Politics with Business (including Year Abroad),
BSC N260 Business and Human Resource Management,
BSC N261 Business and Human Resource Management (including Placement Year),
BSC N262 Business and Human Resource Management (including Year Abroad),
BSC N263 Business and Human Resource Management (Including Foundation Year),
BA N29RCO Business Management with Language Studies

Module description

Introduction to Management is a broad-ranging module which is intended to provide a foundation in the most significant issues in management theory and practice, as well as to prepare you for related modules in subsequent years of your degree course.


Because theoretical explanations – i.e., academic interpretations of what managers do and even of what they say they do – and what managers actually do in real organisations on a day-to-day basis may differ, we will also draw out some of the connections and dis-junctures between management theory and management practice. Our teaching also emphasises the ethics of managing, how to balance the bottom line of the business with the organisation's wider responsibilities to society and other stakeholders.

Module aims

The aims of this module are:



  • To provide a grounding in a wide range of management theories;

  • To introduce both the history and the contemporary context of management in practice;

  • To emphasise that management is a multi-faceted and complex activity;

  • To prepare students for future study on management modules.

Module learning outcomes

By the end of this module, students will be expected to be able to:



  1. Be able to identify and explain key management concepts and theories;

  2. Be equipped to interrogate and discuss a range of management activities;

  3. See management activities as both varied and complicated and have the ability to challenge received wisdom about management theory and practice;

  4. Have acquired the knowledge and intellectual skills necessary for future study on modules in management studie


Transferable Skills - reflecting the skills mapping recently undertaken in EBS:


Analytical and Cognitive Skills:



  1. A1 Synthesis and bringing together concepts and ideas

  2. A2 Critical thinking

  3. A3 Evaluation of evidence

  4. A5 Recognise rival conceptual ideas

  5. C5 Argumentation/Essay writing skills


Data Analysis Skills:



  1. D2 Analysing qualitative data

  2. D4 Analysing academic literature

  3. D6 Desk research/netnographic skills


Social Skills:



  1. S4 Showing own initiative

  2. S5 Demonstrating motivation to succeed


Technical Skills:



  1. T1 Core IT skills (word, excel, Powerpoint, outlook)


Research Skills:



  1. R6 Understanding plagiarism and referencing


Business Management Skills:



  1. BM1 Ability to adapt different leadership practices and identify leadership opportunities and challenges in organisations

  2. BM2 Ability to identify significance and effects of HRM practices

  3. BM3 Ability to develop greater sensitivity and awareness around implied and explicit ethical assumptions and beliefs


Module information

The module is contains three elements:



  1. Managing People in Organisations: We will explore aspects of the individual and organisations. We take a close-up focus on individuals and the management of individuals engaging with issues such as teams, groups, leading, coaching, mentoring and cultures at work.

  2. Managing Organisational Practices: We develop our perspective to consider the context in which individuals work. As such this part of the module will look at the practices involved in organising work, exploring broader themes including power and politics, knowledge and learning, corporate social responsibility and ethics.

  3. Managing Organisational Structures and Processes: Some lectures will provide an historical understanding of the development of management processes. It will tackle concepts such as the 'one best way to manage', some persistent and often problematic features of our organisations and introducing contemporary issues such as including globalisation and new organisational forms.



Learning and teaching methods

This moduie will be delivered via:

  • Lectures, classes, guided reading and personal study.
  • 'Dual Delivery' - combining of traditional methods and online learning platforms.

Lectures


Introduction to Management will be taught over the Autumn term through weekly lecture sessions (weeks 2-11). The lecture sessions will combine - traditional lectures - which provide basic coverage of the relevant ideas, theories and concepts - and activities - which may involve the individual completion of exercises, watching audio-visual material and engaging with MOODLE and the MyManagementLab online learning platform where appropriate. These activities are intended to illuminate understanding of the issues covered in the lecture.

Guided reading


Lecturers will provide readings from the management literature which discuss concepts and theories in greater depth and apply these to business contexts. The lecturers will also provide questions to help you approach these materials. The concepts and theories which are introduced in lectures and discussed in the guided reading will be examined in the Summer term examination.

MOODLE and MyManagementLab


MOODLE is the Universities online learning platform for all modules at the Business School. Lectures, notices, links to wider support and supplementary reading can be found there. Additionally, BE401 uses the MyManagementLab platform which sits within MOODLE to offer remote access to the core textbook and enhanced online interactivity via custom built exercises, tasks and assessments.

Bibliography

This module does not appear to have any essential texts. To see non - essential items, please refer to the module's reading list.

Assessment items, weightings and deadlines

Coursework / exam Description Deadline Coursework weighting
Coursework   Online MCQ Test    30% 
Coursework   Essay  16/01/2025  70% 

Exam format definitions

  • Remote, open book: Your exam will take place remotely via an online learning platform. You may refer to any physical or electronic materials during the exam.
  • In-person, open book: Your exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer to any physical materials such as paper study notes or a textbook during the exam. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
  • In-person, open book (restricted): The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer only to specific physical materials such as a named textbook during the exam. Permitted materials will be specified by your department. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
  • In-person, closed book: The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may not refer to any physical materials or electronic devices during the exam. There may be times when a paper dictionary, for example, may be permitted in an otherwise closed book exam. Any exceptions will be specified by your department.

Your department will provide further guidance before your exams.

Overall assessment

Coursework Exam
100% 0%

Reassessment

Coursework Exam
100% 0%
Module supervisor and teaching staff
Dr Jordon Lazell, email: jordon.lazell@essex.ac.uk.
Dr Jordon Lazell
jordon.lazell@essex.ac.uk

 

Availability
No
Yes
No

External examiner

No external examiner information available for this module.
Resources
Available via Moodle
Of 16 hours, 16 (100%) hours available to students:
0 hours not recorded due to service coverage or fault;
0 hours not recorded due to opt-out by lecturer(s), module, or event type.

 

Further information
Essex Business School

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