At Newcastle Business School, we’re passionate about creating leaders who have the high levels of cultural and societal awareness, expertise and emotional intelligence to transform their organisations, and the world, for the better.
Our Business and Management Masters has been designed to help you become a responsible business leader who has the confidence, leadership skills and commercial knowledge needed to pioneer answers to the business challenges of tomorrow.
Every module* on the course has been selected to ensure you develop the key skills you’ll need to reach your goals. Join us as we take a closer look at four of them and explore how they will empower you to reach your leadership potential.
1) Globalisation, Innovation and Sustainability
Some of the biggest business success stories of the past decade have been fuelled by a focus on sustainable innovation; from Tesla’s decision to place the green agenda at the heart of their global strategy, to Dutch energy company Orsted’s commitment to reinvent their business model to focus entirely on renewable energy.
One thing is clear: the quest for sustainability is transforming the competitive landscape. Great business leaders aren’t simply viewing sustainability as an element of their corporate social responsibility policy anymore. Instead, they’re changing the way they think about their products, technologies and business models, and constantly innovating to make sure they maintain their competitive advantage.
Our Globalisation, Innovation and Sustainability module will teach you how to evaluate and implement strategies in your business that will support disruptive, innovative and sustainable organisational development. You’ll study how the global economic and business environment impacts sustainability decisions, honing your strategic decision-making skills.
By the end of this module, you’ll have a thorough understanding of how the business decisions you make impact wider society and the environment, helping you to map the road ahead and firmly place innovation and sustainability at the heart of your business agenda.
2) Leadership for Responsible Change
Philosopher Heraclitus once said that the only constant is change, yet in a Strategy&/Katzebach Centre survey of global senior executives, the success rate of major change initiatives is only 54 percent. Successful organisational change depends on leaders who acknowledge that their leadership is crucial to success and are committed to playing their part.
In our Leadership for Responsible Change module, you’ll explore how to lead positive and responsible change within your organisation. With a focus on how to lead structured change, you’ll also hone your knowledge of emergent change – an approach that views change as fluid and continuous. You'll learn how you could manage change as part of the natural flow of your organisation, delving deep into a range of key concepts, models and theoretical frameworks.
Above all, you’ll discover how to include and engage key stakeholders on your change journey and consider its impact on your employees, ensuring their buy-in every step of the way. Afterall, the costs are high when change efforts go wrong ‒ not only financially, but in resilience levels and diminished morale too.
3) Strategic Marketing For Sustainable Competitive Advantage
A decade ago, most CEOs of the top Fortune 100 companies had immediate past experience in either finance or operations. However, a recent study from Heidrick & Struggles has shown there’s been a seismic shift — now almost one in five CEOs are former marketers.
Perhaps this is no surprise — as companies are increasingly shifting their focus to digital transformation or increasing customer centricity, a marketing skill set is needed at the top.
Whatever your background or overarching goal – whether you want to kickstart your business career, take the leap into senior management or become a CEO of your own business – it’s more vital than ever that you have a deep knowledge of strategic marketing.
In the first part of our dedicated Strategic Marketing for Sustainable Competitive Advantage module, you’ll take a closer look at how marketing decisions are made in the context of other business functions through an engaging Business Simulation game.
You’ll then use this knowledge to undertake a strategic analysis of the market your business operates in and develop your own competitive and sustainable marketing strategy. You’ll explore brand, sales and retail management, internet marketing and pricing strategies and learn how to measure your success.
By the end of this module, you’ll have knowledge of internal, international, digital and responsible marketing techniques and tactics too – emerging areas in contemporary marketing strategy that are key to helping you reach your potential.
4) Analysing Self for Strategic Career Development
“Nobody is flawless” is a universal truth. However, a key character trait that can separate average leaders from great ones is an ability to recognise this, see their weaknesses as fundamental aspects of their character and work to mitigate their effects. Our Analysing Self for Strategic Career Development module will support you to hone these valuable self-awareness and critical evaluation skills to build your leadership capabilities.
In the first half of the module, you’ll develop a toolkit to help you analyse your own strengths and weaknesses in relation to leadership, teamwork and communication. Next, you’ll learn how to apply this knowledge effectively in order to achieve your career goals and help drive success.
You’ll also study the international labour market, increase your awareness of the leadership opportunities open to you and receive expert careers guidance. You’ll learn how to craft a stand out CV and LinkedIn page too, which could boost your profile – whether you’re looking to build your own business, secure another role or take the step up to senior leadership in your current organisation.
Lead On: Join Our Business and Management Masters
Learn more about our Business and Management MSc and its modules here, and discover how we will help you to reach your leadership potential.
*Please note the modules listed in this blog will be running in the academic year 2021/22. Modules are reviewed annually and may be subject to change in future academic years.
