Course information 2018–19

MN2177 Core management concepts

The course covers the main areas of general management and the intellectual
foundations of management concepts. It is the basis upon which more specialised
functional management courses can be taken.

Prerequisite Learning outcomes

If taken as part of a BSc degree, one of the At the end of the course and having completed
following courses must be passed before this the essential reading and activities students
course may be attempted: should be able to:

MN1178 Business and management in a  Demonstrate understanding of core

global context or management concepts
MN1107 Introduction to Business and
Management  Apply these concepts to specific business
situations
 Analyse and evaluate managerial tools
such as balance sheets and marketing
Aims and objectives plans
The aims of this course are:
1. To give students a thorough grounding in  Explain the relevance of social science to
business practice
the key management sub-disciplines
2. To provide an overview of the
development of these disciplines
3. To illustrate the disciplinary anchors of
these disciplines in sociology, psychology
and economics

Essential reading For full details of other essential readings,

please refer to the reading list.
The core textbook is:
Willman, P. Understanding management:
social science foundations. (Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 2014) [ISBN
9780198716921].

You will also need to obtain access to: Assessment

Kaplan, R. and A. Atkinson. Advanced This course is assessed by a three-hour unseen
management accounting. (Harlow: Pearson written examination.
Education, 1998) third edition [ISBN
9780130802200]

Students should consult the appropriate EMFSS Programme Regulations, which are reviewed on an annual basis. The Regulations
provide information on the availability of a course, where it can be placed on your programme’s structure, and details of co-requisites
and prerequisites.

MN2177 Core management concepts Page 1 of 3

 Syllabus
This is a description of the material to be examined. On registration, students will receive
access to the online course, which provides a framework for covering the topics in the syllabus
and directions to the essential reading.

Introduction: This chapter introduces the course and its the chapter will also consider whether accounting
approach. It discusses the pre-industrial roots of numbers are reliable, paying particular regard to the
thinking about management and leadership, and shows faith that organisations place, or often misplace, in
the longevity of certain management practices. The numbers.
industrial revolution prompted major developments in
The Rise of Human Resources Management: This
social theory and political economy—in particular in
chapter looks at the origin and evolution of the field of
Europe and USA—which in turn have influenced the
human resources management (HRM) and introduces
analysis of management in business. The chapter traces
key theories and analytical concepts of HRM. The
the roots of modern management technique in the
chapter will evaluate whether, and if so, how HRM can
developing disciplines of the social sciences and offers a
contribute to firm performance. The chapter also
framework for a critical understanding of the corpus of
introduces two key areas of research and practice in the
business knowledge.
field of HRM: leadership theories and the psychological
Management and the Firm: This chapter looks at the contract.
growth of large firms in historical context and examines
Origins of Management Science: This chapter will look
the major explanations for the growth of firms,
at the development, post-Taylorism, of the contribution
specifically technological indivisibility and market
of Management Science and its quantitative modelling
failure. It specifically examines the work of Chandler. It
approaches to managerial decision making. It will
describes the separation of ownership and control and
explain the basic concepts of inventory control and
introduces the problem of agency. It introduces the
queueing models, bringing the discussions up to date
‘varieties of capitalism’ debate and covers the varieties
with contemporary applications of such approaches. In
of institutional arrangements for firm governance that
particular, the chapter will discuss some of the
have emerged in advanced economies. The relationship
challenges facing managers who need to evaluate such
between the factory system and the creation of an
models and data.
industrial workforce is discussed.
Management Accounting: Costing: This chapter will
Taylorism, Motivation, and Performance: This chapter
introduce management accounting as a set of practices
looks at the emergence of two important schools in the
relating to the internal control of the corporation and
history of management science that attempt to
their evolving role in facilitating decision making by
systematically analyse human behaviour at work: 1.
managers. Then focus will be placed on costing. We will
Taylorism and scientific management; and 2. the
distinguish between direct and indirect costs, and
development in psychology and the human relations
between standard costing methods and Activity Based
movement. If offers an overview of the background,
Costing.
principles, as well as limitations and problems of the
two schools. Performance appraisal systems and Management accounting: Decentralization and
reward systems in organisations are examined as well. performance measurement: This chapter will introduce
themes in management accounting relating to the
The Rise and Decline of Labour: This chapter looks at
collecting, processing and analysis of information
the historical root of industrial and labour relations and
regarding the internal performance of the firm. We will
explores the linkage between workplace control and the
investigate the relationship between performance
broader economic and political context of work
measurement and decentralized forms of organization,
organisations. The evolution of internal labour markets,
with a particular focus on the Balanced Scorecard.
the logic of collective action, and wage determination
and rent-sharing in collective bargaining are examined. Financial accounting: This chapter will introduce the
The chapter also introduces the markets for trade three elements of the financial report, namely, the
unionism and the mechanisms that unions grow. It balance sheet, the income statement and the cash flow
overviews the rise and fall of trade unions with statement. We will discuss the purpose of classifying
reference to historical and contemporary influences. assets, liabilities and shareholder funds with a focus on
Alternative voices schemes are explored at the end. their relevance for managers. The chapter will also
consider how different approaches to cash flow can
Functions of Management: The chapter will explore key
have a range of impacts on the organisation.
functions of management, looking at competing
theories to explore what it is that a manager does. It will Investment Management: This chapter will first
focus in particular on the issue of control and whether introduce the financial framework relating to risk and
managers can be relied upon to act in the owners’ best reward and place this in the context of the
interests, using theories on the relationship between characteristics of different asset classes. It will describe
the principal and the agent to explore this. Financial the process of constructing a balanced portfolio. The
control will be considered as a possible mechanism chapter will also explore the market efficiency
through which principals can monitor their agents and hypotheses, looking at their impact on investment
the agents can monitor their responsibilities. However, decisions.

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Financial Performance Analysis and Valuation: This provide a representative picture of the concerns,
chapter will explore key methods of analysing the methods, findings, and debates of the RBV (and
financial performance of a company, with a particular associated) theoretical perspectives. The chapter will
focus on performance ratios. It will provide a meaningful conclude with a discussion of cutting edge trends in
summary of the ways in which ratios can be used to strategic management theory and practice, such as
achieve business insight. It will explore how investor strategy-as-practice approaches.
confidence can be measured, and the significance of this
Strategy and Decision Making: This chapter will trace
for organisations and their managers.
the evolution of behavioural decision theories from
The Origins of Modern Strategy: This chapter will focus their origins in the 1950s to the present day.
on the origins of the strategic management discipline. Behavioural theories are normally based on (i) a concept
The chapter will emphasise what differentiates the of a “good” or “rational” approach to decision making;
discipline of strategic management from its sibling and (ii) empirical evidence which shows that people do not
parent disciplines. Particular attention will be paid here follow such an approach; (iii) a theoretic account of why
to understanding its level and units of analysis, principal such departures from rationality occur, and, sometimes
questions, primary assumptions, typical research (iv) some suggestions as to how to help people make
methods and key debates. The early ‘pre-theoretic’ more rational decisions. In this chapter we centre
schools that characterised the youthful strategic mostly on the celebrated “heuristics and biases”
management discipline in the 1960s and 1970s will be tradition of Kahnemann and Tversky, showing how the
surveyed. In addition, the influential ‘positioning school’ theory which these authors developed can shed light on
work of Michael Porter from the 1980s with its focus on both economic behaviour and managerial decision
industry analysis will be introduced. making. We also discuss some of the controversies
surrounding this theory and some alternative views.
Structural Forms: This chapter examines a range of
organisational forms, evaluating their appropriateness The Origins of Marketing: The Development of the
and relevance for a range of situations. Making use of Theory: This chapter considers marketing’s origins in the
Mintzberg’s (1983) Structure in Fives, the chapter fields of economics, psychology and management. It
explores the link between firm characteristics and considers the types of problems contemporary
structural options, considering how one might affect the marketing departments contend with, before
other and ultimately have an impact on organisational considering briefly the emergence of the ‘marketing
practice and performance. framework’, which has come to dominate the way in
which certain markets and industries operate.
Structural and Organisational Change: This chapter
looks in more detail at the range of design choices Elements of Marketing 1: Product, Price and Place: This
organisations might be required to make, evaluating the chapter outlines the key marketing decisions that
suitability of particular design decisions in key managers need to make with regard to deciding which
organisational contexts. Issues such as where to draw a products to develop and sell. It explains some of the
firm’s boundaries, how much bureaucracy a firm choices that managers have to make with regard to
requires, and how to leverage organisational knowledge setting the price of their product, as well as how it might
will be considered. It looks at these options as a be distributed into the market.
strategic organisational choice, recognising the link
Elements of Marketing 2: Brands and Advertising: This
between structure and strategy.
chapter will examine the nature and role of branding in
Contemporary Strategic Management: This chapter will the sales and development of products and services, as
examine the most prominent theoretical perspective to well as outlining the key advertising decisions that a
emerge in the strategic management discipline in recent manager is likely to have to make. Having now covered
decades: the Resource-Based View (RBV) of the firm. the main elements of the marketing plan in this and
The emergence of this re-focus on the ‘internal’ previous chapters, the chapter will provide a guided
elements of company strategy will be placed in look at how a marketing plan might be prepared, with a
disciplinary context. Major works will be reviewed to focus on its key sections.

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