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This module is designed to underpin the modules Global Business Strategy and Organisational Innovation and Change.

Students entering MBA programmes typically have a wide variety of backgrounds and work experience from many different business sectors. They therefore need to acquire a broad understanding of the process of management, the needs and contexts of organisations, and the contribution of the main business functions to the achievement of an organisation’s objectives.

The purpose of the Foundations of Management module is to begin the development in individuals of an integrated and critically aware understanding of management and organisations in general, and of the functional specialist areas of marketing, operations management and information management in particular. The fourth component of this module, organisational analysis, provides a framework for the analysis of organisations and the integration and application of learning from other parts of the module. The knowledge content of the Foundation module has both an operational and a strategic orientation in order to provide a platform for the study of strategic management later in the course:

• Foundations of Management A: Marketing and Operations and Process Management
• Foundations of Management B: Strategic Information Management and Organisational Analysis

Foundations of Management Part A - Marketing and Operations and Process Management

The marketing component is designed to introduce students to the fundamental principles and concepts of marketing and to help them develop the ability to add value to the organisation by applying marketing principles in a variety of organisational and business environmental settings.

Operations Management is about managing the processes of an enterprise to deliver services, or produce goods, to satisfy customer needs. But managers in other functions, such as sales or finance, also manage processes. In fact, organisations are built round processes that supply internal and external customers. This is why all managers should be familiar with the principles of effective operations and process management.

The purpose of the Operations component is to develop an understanding of the issues and themes which are appropriate to middle and senior managers, so that they can understand the principles and techniques which are the foundation of successfully managing operations. The principles and concepts studied in this module are applicable equally to product and service based operations, to the private, public and not-for-profit sectors.

The component develops a strategic perspective of operations management’s contribution to the organisation's long-term success. It is unambiguous in treating the operations function as being central to competitiveness.

 Foundations of Management Part B - Strategic Information Management and Organisational Analysis

The use of Information Systems and Information Technology (IS/IT) is now pervasive throughout all but the smallest of modern organisations. IS/IT is used not only to increase efficiency and effectiveness but can in some cases transform organisations and indeed industries. IS/IT is increasingly a major component of strategy implementation and is enabling strategic options that were previously not possible.

Historically, management of IS/IT has proved problematic. Many of the difficulties experienced have been shown to be a consequence of communication difficulties between managers and technologists.

It is therefore imperative that organisational managers, whether from a technological or business background, have a solid grounding in Information Systems and Technology, and can understand, analyse and build on its application and management in different organisational contexts.

This component is to enable students to make sense of Information Systems and Information Technology (IS/IT) in real world organisational contexts, by describing, analysing and evaluating the relationships of IS/IT with organisational objectives, business processes and their management, through the application of underpinning theories, concepts and associated tools. It will enable students to bring knowledge and understanding of IS/IT to bear in undertaking meaningful dialogues between managers and technologists.

The Organisational Analysis component seeks to provide a framework for the analysis of organisations with particular reference to organisational design, communication and learning. The organisation will be viewed from a variety of different perspectives, each of which will shed light on varied aspects of Organisational Analysis and the management process.

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