Full-time MBA Block 4: Knowledge and Policy

Corporate Social Responsibility

This module will enable you to achieve knowledge of corporate social responsibility and its practical relevance to organisations. This component addresses the nature and application of corporate social responsibility in modern organisations. As well as the role and function of boards of directors, the course also includes the work of external and internal auditors, audit committees and stakeholder theory.

Learning outcomes:

• An understanding of the range of Corporate Social Responsibility theories and practices
• A full understanding of the current issues in Corporate Social Responsibility
• An understanding of the role of Non-Executive Directors (NEDs) in the governance of organisations
• Overview of the current debate on corporate social responsibility
• Pronouncements on Corporate Social Responsibility in the UK, USA, Canada, France etc.
• The role of shareholders
• The role of the Board of Directors;  internal and external auditors and management
• Audit committees
• Risk management
• New issues: Corporate Social Responsibility, sustainability, international corporate social responsibility standards
• IT governance

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Corporate Finance

In this module you will examine the long-term financial decisions taken by companies. The component starts by defining the various financial instruments which firms use in their long-term financing and then addresses questions such as: How to compute the cost of capital, how debt and equity are issued; how much debt should a company use; does dividend policy matter; and why mergers and acquisitions occur. The component is also concerned with corporate control as operations of financial institutions in monitoring and controlling corporations are considered to be as important as their function in funding.

Learning outcomes:

• Corporate financial decisions, the role of financial manager and the value of the firm
• The classical objective function.
• Sources of long-term financing
• Debt financing.
• How companies raise equity.
• The cost of capital
• General models of risk and return.
• Capital structure

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Digital Technologies and Business Innovation

The Digital Technologies and Business Innovation component of this module explores the impact of new powerful digital technologies on the way businesses are organized and compete.

Learning outcomes:

• How developments in digital technologies are altering organizational processes and the business model across several industries
• Rapidly evolving opportunities and challenges, including the ethical issues that organizations and managers face when confronted with these developments
• Managerial knowledge and skills necessary to deal effectively with these opportunities and challenges in the evolving digital landscape
• Integrating business and technology
• Digital technologies and business processes
• Digital technologies and knowledge processes
• Digital business models
• Big data and analytics
• Frontiers of sourcing

The module relies on a combination of lectures, case discussions and Special Interest Groups in which participants research emerging topics and demonstrate how they will impact industries and the organizations operating in them in the near future.