Mass Communication and Business BA (Hons)

This module uses the guiding framework of the UN’s sustainable development goals (SDGs) to examine the contemporary challenges that face managers in their efforts to foster sustainable futures. Using advanced management theory, Critical Management Theory, also academics’ contemporary research you will examine and challenge the debates between contrasting arguments/perspectives across a range of present-day societal and organisational concerns that risk sustainable future lives. These concerns will include sustainability, gender, uses and misuses of power and control, the future of work, culture.

Upon completion of the module, you will have developed an in-depth understanding of:
• The contemporary challenges facing managers in their efforts to foster sustainable futures
• ‘Critical’ organisation theory and management practices and why these matter for you in your graduate career
• The recent trends in organising practices
• Theory and practices involved in working in multi-cultural organisations with an awareness of ethical considerations
• How to form your own construction of knowledge on organisations, managing people and their behaviour

This module brings together two important and closely related areas of study for marketing and business students, namely understanding how buyers behave and make decisions, and how to use this knowledge to effectively communicate with selected target markets.
The study of theoretical frameworks underpins the module, which is then applied to a variety of buyer and business contexts. Lectures are used to impart the theory and the seminars are a mix of practical and case study applications and academic material designed to encourage application of theory and critical thinking. The assessment provides you with the opportunity to utilise the theoretical frameworks in a hypothetical business scenario of your choice.

The module aims to:

• Introduce you to the related concepts of buyer behaviour and marketing communications. The structure of the module will first allow you to appreciate the value of analysing consumer behaviour and then use this information to develop appropriate and informed marketing communications campaigns.

• The teaching, learning and assessment strategies employed (largely focusing on a case study approach) encourage you to think critically and apply the knowledge gained into practical business scenarios.

This module will provide a space to familiarize yourself with the case study as a tool for the investigation of social, economic, cultural and technological phenomena connected with the field of mass communication studies. Whether your interests lie in how people from ethnic minorities or standards of beauty are represented in the media, success stories in the market of mobile apps, use of social media for marketing purposes or how Twitter is used in discussion of popular television, this module will offer you a mix of knowledge, materials of reference and guidance to engage in choosing, planning, conducting and writing a case study for your assessment. A key component of the module will involve the study of iconic case studies such as Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, Google, Netflix and the BBC, through which you'll be able to identify the characteristics of well-designed study cases. The module will be a valuable experience to learn aspects of the research process you could apply for writing essays, under- and postgraduate dissertations, whilst providing you with skills you could apply in a variety of professions such as journalism, marketing, public relations, and policy-making. Part of the core knowledge and skills that you will be expected to develop for this module will involve you in familiarising yourself with the extensive array of Northumbria University’s digital resources. You will then be expected to use electronic repositories of data, reference, archive and multimedia materials, such as LexisNexis, WaybackMachine, Box of Broadcasts, and EBSCO, among others, to research the original content required to develop your own case study.

Drawing on the skills and knowledge you have developed at Levels 4 and 5, Advertising: Theories and Contexts will develop your understanding of advertising theory. The module is workshop based. In the workshops, the tutor will present a set of theoretical concerns based on a specific approach to advertising – such as branding, for example – explaining theoretical ideas, illustrating how they apply to specific examples of contemporary advertising, and drawing your attention to pertinent implications. You will then use the workshop space to find relevant examples of advertising that support or challenge the theoretical ideas, working with your peers and the tutor to reflect on contemporary advertising practice (what we learn about advertising practice from engaging with theory, the potential disjuncture between scholarly theory and practice, and so forth). The module is assessed by a 3000-word essay in which you will apply theoretical approach(es) covered in the module to a number of examples of contemporary advertising.

This module is designed to give you a critical understanding of current debates over the development of new media and their relationship with society. You will be introduced to the key theories, issues and debates about the use, production, and distribution of digital media. You will become familiar with key issues and ideas in new media theory and in the interrelationships between digital media, technologies and societies. You will develop critical skills in analysing digital media and understanding their roles in the information society. The module will look at how these developments are related to social inequalities by asking crucial questions about the rise and persistence of the digital divide, raising the issues of inequalities in accessing, using and getting advantages from new media. The module will also analyse how social media are changing and reshaping our social world. Finally, the module will look at recent case studies and examples to understand how new media are permeating our society and everyday life, transforming the way in which we think and act in a digital society, affecting our perception of crucial social issues such as surveillance/privacy, online identities and activism.

1. How strategic recommendations are likely to be evaluated by various stakeholder groups that place a different interpretation on the measurement of business success.
2. Understanding the concepts and frameworks of Endogenous Strategy that apply to a company’s Capabilities, Competences and Resources.
3. How to synthesise key concepts in the Resource-based View of Strategy (RBV) and apply them to companies in competitive markets.
4. How Sustained Competitive Advantage (SCA) can be achieved and maintained in an era of finite resources and increasing demand for sustainability.
5. How Innovation can be managed and applied to Products, Processes, Business Models and Sustainability.
6. How Sustainability can be incorporated into successful Strategy Formulation, Strategic Implementation, and Business Model Innovation.
7. How Leadership impacts upon strategic decision making.
8. Understanding how the concepts of Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility can be applied to meet the challenges of Ethical Business Management in the future.
9. How to successfully write compelling and influential strategic briefing documents based around the structure adopted by this module.

Academic skills when studying away from your home country can differ due to cultural and language differences in teaching and assessment practices. This module is designed to support your transition in the use and practice of technical language and subject specific skills around assessments and teaching provision in your chosen subject. The overall aim of this module is to develop your abilities to read and study effectively for academic purposes; to develop your skills in analysing and using source material in seminars and academic writing and to develop your use and application of language and communications skills to a higher level.

The topics you will cover on the module include:

• Understanding assignment briefs and exam questions.
• Developing academic writing skills, including citation, paraphrasing, and summarising.
• Practising ‘critical reading’ and ‘critical writing’
• Planning and structuring academic assignments (e.g. essays, reports and presentations).
• Avoiding academic misconduct and gaining credit by using academic sources and referencing effectively.
• Listening skills for lectures.
• Speaking in seminar presentations.
• Presenting your ideas
• Giving discipline-related academic presentations, experiencing peer observation, and receiving formative feedback.
• Speed reading techniques.
• Developing self-reflection skills.