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Please note, we are showing standard entry requirements on this page. Clearing entry requirements are subject to change. The points will only be confirmed once you call the Clearing Hotline.

This course is eligible for a scholarship. Find out more.

With BA (Hons) Business and Human Resource Management, learn to develop a company's most important asset: people.

BA (Hons) Business and Human Resource Management is designed to develop your capabilities to work at a strategic level around attracting, developing and engaging the right people. With most contemporary organisations recognising that people are their most important asset, a career in Human Resources enables you to play a key role in organisational success. 

Why choose Northumbria to study Business and Human Resource Management?

  • Business Studies at Northumbria is ranked 6th in the UK (Daily Mail University Guide, 2025).

  • Business and Management is ranked 9th in the UK for research power (REF, 2021). This is a rise of 51 places, the largest rise in the sector.

  • The course is covered by the prestigious Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) accreditation for Newcastle Business School. 

    According to AACSB, “Approximately 6% of the world's schools offering business degree education have achieved AACSB accreditation, demonstrating a commitment to high-quality, rigorous standards, innovation, and continuous process improvement”. Read more about our 'double' AACSB Accreditation.

Northumbria's Business Learning Experience

Northumbria University's Business and Human Resource Management course develops the key skills you need to understand and apply management research evidence and theory. Its key focus is on leading and managing organisations’ human resources ethically, responsibly and sustainably. You’ll study key concepts such as strategic resourcing, human resource development, employee relations, performance and reward, and employment law. At the same time, you’ll develop broader knowledge and understanding of the wider business context. Our Business and Human Resource Management course prioritises building professional practice capabilities through problem-based and experiential learning. This approach will equip you with the skills and qualities sought by employers across the private, public and not-for-profit (NFP) sectors that underpin successful enterprise. Between Years 2 and 3 we offer you the chance to undertake a work placement in the UK or overseas, or to study outside the UK with one of our long-standing partner institutions. It means you’ll gain crucial real-world experience, preparing you for professional employment or other enterprise-related activity. You will also have the chance to obtain membership of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), denoting that you have the knowledge and competencies set out by an internationally recognised professional body.

 

 

 See other similar courses you may be interested in: Business Management BA (Hons)

Course Information

UCAS Code
N110

Level of Study
Undergraduate

Mode of Study
3 years Full Time or 4 years with a placement (sandwich)/study abroad

Department
Newcastle Business School

Location
City Campus, Northumbria University

City
Newcastle

Start
September 2025

Fees
Fee Information

Modules
Module Information

Department / Newcastle Business School

Newcastle Business School has a global reputation for delivering some of the best business management education in the UK.

If you want to become a future leader or manager in a corporate environment, then you’ll be interested to find out more about Newcastle Business School.

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Visit an Open Day to get an insight into what it's like to study Business and Human Resource Management. Speak to staff and students from the course and get a tour of the facilities.

Entry Requirements 2025/26

Standard Entry

112 UCAS Tariff points

From a combination of acceptable Level 3 qualifications which may include: A-level, T Level, BTEC Diplomas/Extended Diplomas, Scottish and Irish Highers, Access to HE Diplomas, or the International Baccalaureate.

Find out how many points your qualifications are worth by using the UCAS Tariff calculator: www.ucas.com/ucas/tariff-calculator

Northumbria University is committed to supporting all individuals to achieve their ambitions. We have a range of schemes and alternative offers to make sure as many individuals as possible are given an opportunity to study at our University regardless of personal circumstances or background. To find out more, review our Northumbria Entry Requirement Essential Information page for further details www.northumbria.ac.uk/entryrequirementsinfo

Subject Requirements:

There are no specific subject requirements for this course.

GCSE Requirements:

Applicants will need Maths and English Language at minimum grade 4/C, or equivalents.

Additional Requirements:

There are no additional requirements for this course.

International Qualifications:

We welcome applicants with a range of qualifications which may not match those shown above.

If you have qualifications from outside the UK, find out what you need by visiting www.northumbria.ac.uk/yourcountry

English Language Requirements:

International applicants should have a minimum overall IELTS (Academic) score of 6.0 with 5.5 in each component (or an approved equivalent*).

*The university accepts a large number of UK and International Qualifications in place of IELTS. You can find details of acceptable tests and the required grades in our English Language section: www.northumbria.ac.uk/englishqualifications

Fees and Funding 2025/26 Entry

UK Fee in Year 1: £9,535

* The maximum tuition fee that we are permitted to charge for UK students is set by government. Tuition fees may increase in each subsequent academic year of your course, these are subject to government regulations and in line with inflation.


International Fee in Year 1: £20,950


Please see the main Funding Pages for 25/26 scholarship information.

 


ADDITIONAL COSTS

Mandatory Professional Fee: In order to obtain the professional accreditation of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), you will be required to join as a Student Member from your first year of study. There is a one-off joining fee of approximately £40, plus an annual membership fee of approximately £109.

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Modules

Module information is indicative and is reviewed annually therefore may be subject to change. Applicants will be informed if there are any changes.

AF4038 -

Financial Decision Making (Core,20 Credits)

You will learn how financial information can be used to assist managers and external user groups in their decision-making processes. You will initially look at the informational needs of outside user groups, the nature of the information they are provided with, and how this information can be analysed and interpreted in order to enhance the effectiveness of their decision making.

Topic areas will include:

• The reporting frameworks and ethical principles that underpin financial reporting
• The nature of international financial reporting standards
• Format and content of the statement of profit or loss and statement of financial position
• The statement of cash flows
• Analysis and interpretation of financial statements using ratio analysis

You will then examine how financial information can facilitate managers in making operational decisions in relation to planning and control.

Topic areas will include:

• Costing (full and variable costing)
• Cost, volume, profit analysis
• Relevant costs for decision making
• Budgeting and variance analysis
• Balance scorecards
• Working capital management

Finally, you will explore the motivations for entrepreneurial activity and techniques that can be used to appraise investment decisions.

Topic areas will include:

• Investment appraisal techniques (payback, accounting rate of return, net present value and internal rate of return)
• Practical aspects of investment appraisal (inflation and capital rationing)
• Risk and uncertainty

More information

BM9403 -

Business Analysis for Decision Making (20 Credits)

In this module, you will develop the knowledge and skills in applying a variety of quantitative data analysis techniques to support business decision making. You will be introduced to business modelling using appropriate analytical tools, and your learning will cover a range of techniques to help business forecasting and data presentation.
In this module you will be exposed to a range of data analysis tools and skills, including:

• Business Analysis and Modelling: management of complex and varied data sets; building spreadsheet models.
• Data Trends and Associations e.g. identifying relationships between business variables.
• Business Forecasting and Predictive Modelling – analysing factors and trends for business planning.
• Business and Dashboard reporting – consolidation, interpretation and presentation of data for professional output.
• Data distribution, data presentation and using summary statistics – handling a range of data for statistical analysis.
• Gaining an understanding of the overlap between business and research data and the selection of appropriate tools for management of both types of data.

Working with these analysis tools, you will learn to develop confidence in dealing with a wide range of data sets. You will become familiar with the role of modelling as an aid to problem solving and will build skills which enable you to interpret data and present your findings to a range of audiences. Very importantly, you will gain a good understanding of the crucial role that analysis of data and interpretation of results plays in the decision-making arena.

More information

GA4001 -

Academic Language Skills for Newcastle Business School (Core – for International and EU students only,0 Credits)

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.

More information

HR9409 -

Preparing for Professional Practice (20 Credits)

Your programme aims to ensure that you are learners for business, not just of business, upon graduation. This module starts you on this journey by supporting your professional development. It aims to increase your awareness of and sensitivity to personal and employability/entrepreneurship/enterprise skills. It does this by focusing on programme-specific graduate career opportunities that require you to work on projects similar to those that graduates within your field will undertake once in employment. You are taking an experiential, team-focussed, project/problem-based approach. The module will support you in identifying and developing the essential skills, behaviours, and understanding required to sustainably and responsibly manage organisations and their people. These might include generic areas such as leadership, project management, management, resilience, empathy and professional judgment, and discipline-specific capabilities.
You will use this understanding to evaluate, practise, develop and re-evaluate your capabilities in these skills, behaviours and acumen areas, enabling you to build your own graduate identity. This approach underpins your successful future employability, entrepreneurship or enterprise activity. In addition, the activities provide you with authentic insights into the importance and challenges of team-working within organisations as you work to address real organisations’ issues.
Learner/team-led, tutor-guided sessions aim to support you in enhancing your employability and upon building your graduate identity. During the practical development of the key attributes and behaviours central to your future success within your chosen profession within a project-based environment, you will receive support from the programme team. In addition, by documenting and reflecting upon your progress towards achieving your own team defined KPIs, you will enhance your skills, behaviours, capabilities, and understanding.
In short, at the end of this module, you will:
• Have an understanding and increased awareness of, and sensitivity to, those personal skills and attributes which are central to your future employability in your chosen profession or future entrepreneurial or enterprise activity
• Be better prepared to understand the skills and qualities required by graduates in your field to secure future employment or engage in enterprise activity
Have practical experience of working on a real-life business project appropriate to your programme area, improving your project management, research, employability and collaboration skills

More information

HR9412 -

Business, Economy and Society (20 Credits)

Governments and society are increasingly expecting business organisations to step up and assist in building cohesive societies through the application of more sustainable forms of capitalism. This module introduces you to the global economic, societal, technological and environmental challenges of the 21st century, and identifies how, through greater alignment of business interest with that of society and the economy, business can be a “force for good” as well as best prepared to ‘Take on Tomorrow’. You will focus on how contemporary businesses, broadly defined to include public, voluntary, not-for-profit and social enterprise, interact the economy and society though examination of topical news stories and events. In doing so, you will develop a deep understanding of the relationships between business, the economy and society and the global challenges we all face. You will explore a range of cultural, governmental and ethical issues that arise from current and developing global and national contexts through the lens of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Key issues include business ethics, the role of business in society, green issues, stakeholder theory, capitalist variants, the nature of globalisation at firm, economic and societal level and the interrelationship between business and government. By the end of the module you will be able to evidence critical thinking and analysis skills while bringing your own experiences as a citizen into your discussion and inquiry.

More information

HR9413 -

People, Management and Organisations (20 Credits)

This module examines the foundations of organisations, their management and their people through which you will develop understanding of how people and work are organised; principles that underpin all business programmes. Organisational behaviours are interdependent, and this requires us to look at ongoing relationships – of both co-operation and conflict – between organisational functions, whether finance, marketing, HR, as well as the broader context and external environment.

Employers seek out graduates that have the knowledge and skills to transform organisation in the face of continuous, rapid economic, environmental and social change. Therefore, this module will develop your understanding of how organisational sustainability and team performance might be enhanced through your heightened awareness of people’s workplace behaviour, actions and attitudes.

We will examine aspects at the organisation and work level (macro-level) such as:
• Changing nature of work, of employment and of organisations
• Ethics, power and control
And at the team and individual level (micro-level), such as:
• Leading effective teams
• Difference and diversity
• Motivation, commitment and engagement

As we examine these aspects you will be introduced to a range of concepts, theories, models and subject knowledge and will apply these through a problem-solving approach, in a practical discipline-specific context using case studies, reflection upon personal understanding and experience and real organisation examples.

Throughout, you will be encouraged to adopt a critical perspective – to analyse and challenge what you read and hear. You will consider whose interests are served by conventional ways of understanding organisations, to become more aware of your own bias – perhaps causing you to re-think or your preconceived assumptions and beliefs.

More information

MK9414 -

Introduction to Marketing (Core,20 Credits)

This module will introduce you to the business philosophy and practice of marketing. It will examine how organisations can analyse and segment markets to improve performance and profitability by building long-term relationships with their customers. A wide range of marketing decisions is studied together with the influence of the changing marketing environment on these decisions.

Main lectures will introduce the basic theories of marketing:
• The Marketing Environment
• Consumer & Organisational Behaviour
• Target Marketing & Segmentation.
• Marketing Information Systems & Research.
• Dimensions of a Product, Branding and Product Life Cycle.
• Pricing Theory; strategies and tactics.
• The Promotional Mix: Advertising, PR, Direct & e-Marketing.
• Marketing channels

Whilst seminars and topical lectures will apply marketing theory to different case scenarios:
• Service Marketing
• Not for profit Marketing
• Food marketing
• Digital Marketing
• Environmental Marketing
• Sustainable Marketing

More information

HR9514 -

Progressing Professional Practice (Core,20 Credits)

Your learning journey in this module will consist of a combination of tutor-led and learner-led session activities.
Tutor-led research-informed seminar sessions will facilitate learner-led activities to extend your knowledge of the graduate labour market. Topic areas will include an evaluation of graduate labour market statistics, challenges and opportunities for Business and HRM graduates, theoretical perspectives and models of employability.
Learner-led activities will further develop your awareness of your own personal skills and attributes and identification of areas for further development with the context of your individual career plan for your graduate employment, enterprise or entrepreneurial activity, with an emphasis on positioning your graduate identity.

More information

HR9534 -

Resourcing and Development for Diversity (20 Credits)

‘Resourcing and Development for Diversity’ considers how HR practices can be utilised to ensure a diverse and inclusive workforce. This goes beyond the ‘business case’ approach to recognise other perspectives, that increasing workforce diversity does not only ensures equitable access to services and employment but also enables profitability through access to diverse markets. You will examine this premise within the wider context of social, economic and demographic changes, alongside local, national and global concerns. Your learning will focus upon resourcing and development activities, specifically, how organisations can promote diversity through recruitment and retention, ensure inclusion in organisational life and provide accessible career paths with the aim of increasing representation at senior levels. The effectiveness of practices to support this endeavour, such as monitoring workforce demographics, mentoring, network and support groups and zero tolerance of discrimination and harassment, will be examined. You will explore the role of development for ensuring that organisational commitments to diversity and inclusion are reflected in practice. In doing so, you will analyse specific organisational cases, focusing on those characteristics protected by law, as well as developing an understanding of other visible and non-visible differences, such as background, culture and accent. Your understanding will be underpinned by a consideration of the historic development of particular norms and stereotypes, how these impact on practices and how they can be challenged. You will also reflect on the ethical framework required to support diversity and inclusion, including values of openness, listening to diverse perspectives and inclusive participation in decision-making. This learning will be invaluable to your future employment, enterprise/entrepreneurial activity.

More information

HR9535 -

HR Analytics and the Labour Market (20 Credits)

HR Analytics and the Labour Market will introduce you to key theories in labour market analysis by understanding how equilibrium is achieved between the supply of and demand for labour through the dynamic interplay of wage structures and levels, employment levels and workforce utilisation. You will develop your knowledge of both macro and micro economic theory including the role of governments in labour market regulation, the comparative influence of trade unions, comparative analyses of the distribution of income and wealth and of global workforce mobility.

Within this context, you will develop your skills of critical and analytical thinking which are central to all graduate employability, enterprise and entrepreneurial activity and with specific relevance to HR and people management. Your learning will be research-informed, focusing on understanding the gathering, organisation, analysis and modelling of macro labour market data and firm level HR data such as attendance, turnover, salaries, productivity, and performance, to examine the contribution such analyses and models can make to the strategic management of organisations. You will also become familiar with Workforce Planning and other Management Information used inside organisations alongside labour market data from government and other sources.

This module therefore builds upon analysis undertaken at level 4. You will develop graduate skills in interpreting trends and potential causation in order to demonstrate impact, support evidence-based decision-making and inform strategy. The module therefore represents a shift from the ‘what’ of HR and people management, to the ‘how’ it can be done. You will also learn how to communicate data in meaningful and accessible ways in order to gain trust and management buy-in to HR proposals.

More information

HR9536 -

Reward and Performance (20 Credits)

Employee reward systems are of fundamental importance to the employment relationship; providing an important source of influence over employee behaviour and, so, over organisational performance. Reward systems are also the principal cause of conflict between employers and employees, and by far the most expensive part of people management. As such, their management principally entails the management of risk.
You will build a reward system from scratch. By utilising the full range of contextual analysis and organisational mechanisms you will enable the system to properly balance the inherent risks over conflict and resources, with the intention of optimising the potential for employee performance. This will entail the development of strategic reward objectives and their implementation through the design of: job and pay structures; pay policies; and pay for performance approaches.
This research-rich learning will draw upon existing knowledge of motivation, whilst developing knowledge of the application and effectiveness of reward and performance management. Much of this knowledge will be technical and skill-based, though you will also develop an understanding of important tensions and contradictions implicit in this area of management. The management of reward concerns the allocation of valuable organisational resources, this inevitably requires the recognition and resolution of conflicts of interest. The management of performance is also riven with controversy, which you will learn to navigate effectively.
The centrality of reward and performance management highlights the value of this module for your future career.

More information

HR9537 -

Management Research and Analysis (20 Credits)

In this research-based module you will experience a comprehensive coverage of research methods and analysis that will prepare you both for work placement or study abroad opportunities alongside preparation for your final-year “capstone” research module of either Dissertation, Management Enquiry or Consultancy Project and for your future employment, enterprise or entrepreneurial activity.

You will learn how to develop a research question, and linked to this, be able to choose an appropriate method of research, dovetailing both learning experiences to the development of a critical assessment of the academic literature. You will gain a basic understanding of research philosophy, whilst the coverage and importance given to research ethics will play an important part of your learning within the module and you will appreciate as part of your learning how this underpins research of quality and integrity. The role of Ethics in research will cover study design, participant selection, data collection, data handling and storage and presentation of research findings.

You will learn how to apply quantitative and qualitative methods. In the quantitative applications, you will learn about questionnaire design, sampling, presenting and summarising data, statistical inference and hypothesis testing. You will have the opportunity to use a range of appropriate software tools, including Excel and SPSS. In the qualitative part of the module, techniques covered will include interviewing and focus groups to collect data, supported by analysis methods including content analysis and thematic analysis. You will learn how to execute a critical and effective analysis of your research data for both approaches, as well as appreciating the importance of piloting.

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HR9539 -

Employment Law (20 Credits)

The relationship between an employer and its employees is regulated by employment law, thereby providing a framework for HR Professionals and other managers making key people decisions. Both large and small-scale decisions made by employers such as recruitment, development, and changing, or implementing, policies, procedures and terms and conditions, all require a knowledge of employment law implications.
Through this module you will develop your introductory understanding of key areas of, and differing perspectives on, UK employment law with the aim of providing advice and protecting employers from discriminatory and unlawful practices. This practical knowledge is underpinned with an initial consideration of how employment law is created and how to source reliable information on employment law. You will focus upon how to apply employment law in practical and realistic employment scenarios. These case studies are drawn from ongoing issues for HR professionals including recruitment, pay, discipline, grievance, capability, as well as common areas of case law, such as discrimination. You will practically examine how organisational policies, procedures and employment practices can be adapted to take account of current and future developments in employment law. You will also develop understanding of the UK Employment Tribunal process and appeals against its judgments.
Upon completion of this module you will be equipped to demonstrate your knowledge, understanding and application of employment law which will be invaluable for you in your graduate human resources and/or management role.

More information

NX9527 -

Newcastle Business School Study Abroad Semester (Optional,60 Credits)

The Study Abroad Semester module is a semester long 60 credit module which is available on degree courses which include the option to study abroad in Semester 2 of Year 2. You will undertake a semester abroad at a partner university equivalent to 60 UK credits.

The study abroad placement is an important element of your course structure and gives you access to modules from your discipline taught in a different learning culture and so broadens your overall experience of learning.

When taken and passed the study abroad semester will be recognised in your transcript as a 60 credit Study Abroad Module. The learning and teaching on your study abroad placement will be dependent on the partner and will be recorded in the learning agreement signed by you, the host University, and the University.

More information

NX9525 -

Newcastle Business School Work Placement Year (Optional,120 Credits)

The Work Placement Year module is a full year 120 credit module available on degree courses which include a work placement year which is taken as an additional year of study between levels 5 and 6. The placement consists of 48 weeks of full time work experience in a host organisation which is relevant to your studies.

The placement is an important element of your course structure and it will provide you with the opportunity to:

• Experience the environment of a real workplace which will help you decide the type of career you would like to follow after graduation
• Develop your organisational and interpersonal skills required to enable you to work efficiently as a member of a team
• Acquire and develop relevant technical skills associated with the nature of your work
• Identify, analyse and discuss with experienced practitioners how theoretical concepts are adapted and applied to suit practical requirements
• Apply knowledge that will help you to plan and evaluate future study and career development.


This is a Pass/Fail module and so does not contribute to your degree classification. When taken and passed, however, the Placement Year is recognised in your transcript as a 120 credit Work Placement Module and on your degree certificate in the format “Degree title (with Work Placement Year)”. The learning and teaching on your placement will be recorded in the training agreement signed by you, the placement provider, and the University.

More information

NX9526 -

Newcastle Business School Study Abroad Year (Optional,120 Credits)

The Study Abroad Year module is a full year 120 credit module which is available on degree courses which include a study abroad year which is taken as an additional year of study between levels 5 and 6. You will undertake a year abroad at a partner university equivalent to 120 UK credits.

The study abroad placement is an important element of your course structure and gives you access to modules from your discipline taught in a different learning culture and so broadens your overall experience of learning. At the end of the module you will have adapted to and appreciated a different cultural and learning environment and developed ability. You will have developed your interpersonal and intercultural communication skills as a result of your learning in an international environment.

This is a Pass/Fail module and so does not contribute to your degree classification. When taken and passed, however, the Study Abroad Year is recognised in your transcript as a 120 credit Study Abroad Module and on your degree certificate in the format “Degree title (with Study Abroad Year)”. The learning and teaching on your study abroad placement will be dependent on the partner and will be recorded in the learning agreement signed by you, the host University, and the University.

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NX9528 -

Newcastle Business School Blended Placement Year: Work Placement Semester (Optional,60 Credits)

The Work Placement Semester module is a semester long 60 credit module which is available on degree courses which include the option to take a blended placement year of Work and Study Abroad which is taken as an additional year of study between levels 5 and 6.

On this module you will undertake a semester long work placement. The placement consists of a period of full time work experience in a host organisation equivalent to a full semester of study which is relevant to your studies.

The placement is an important element of your course structure and it will provide you with the opportunity to:

• Experience the environment of a real workplace which will help you decide the type of career you would like to follow after graduation
• Develop your organisational and interpersonal skills required to enable you to work efficiently as a member of a team
• Acquire and develop relevant technical skills associated with the nature of your work
• Identify, analyse and discuss with experienced practitioners how theoretical concepts are adapted and applied to suit practical requirements
• Apply knowledge that will help you to plan and evaluate future study and career development.


This is a Pass/Fail module and so does not contribute to your degree classification. When taken and passed, however, the Placement Year is recognised in your transcript as a 60 credit Work Placement Module. The learning and teaching on your placement will be recorded in the training agreement signed by you, the placement provider, and the University. Combining this with the study abroad semester as part of the third year out of the University, this will be recognised on your degree certificate in the format “Degree title (with Study Abroad and Work Placement Year)”.

More information

NX9529 -

Newcastle Business School Blended Placement Year: Study Abroad Semester (Optional,60 Credits)

The Study Abroad Semester module is a semester long 60 credit module which is available on degree courses which include the option to take a blended placement year of Work and Study Abroad which is taken as an additional year of study between levels 5 and 6.

You will undertake a semester abroad at a partner university equivalent to 60 UK credits.

The study abroad placement is an important element of your course structure and gives you access to modules from your discipline taught in a different learning culture and so broadens your overall experience of learning. When taken and passed the study abroad semester will be recognised in your transcript as a 60 credit Study Abroad Module. The learning and teaching on your study abroad placement will be dependent on the partner and will be recorded in the learning agreement signed by you, the host University, and the University. Combining this with the work placement semester as part of the third year out of the University, this will be recognised on your degree certificate in the format “Degree title (with Study Abroad and Work Placement Year)”.

More information

HR9636 -

Strategic Leadership for Responsible Organisational Change (20 Credits)

Change is a constant factor in today’s globalised business world. All organisations, whether private, public NFP or social enterprises need to adapt to a rapidly changing external environment and world developments in technology and economics, the call for more social responsibility, wicked problems such as climate change, increased international competition and global pandemics. In order to address these issues, organisations need to create strategy that can respond as required in an agile manner and develop leaders who can get the best out of their teams in times of uncertainty and change.

Strategic Leadership and Organisational Change will equip you with the key graduate tools necessary for you to critically engage with the nature of strategy and change. It will critically examine the processes involved in setting an organisation's direction, objectives and priorities in changing landscapes, in focusing internal energy and resources to achieve the objectives and in aligning internal and external stakeholders. The module deals with analysis, decision making and planning alongside the implementation of strategic plans and organisational change programmes to meet key internal and external objectives. The module will introduce you to effective strategic leadership and tools and instruments that can help you in developing and implementing effective strategies which are central to your future employability, enterprise or entrepreneurial activity. You will learn how critically engage with change models, to questioning their relevance in an unstable world and recognise the value of unpredictable crisis driven change. You will examine the inequalities and unintended consequences borne out though change programmes and critically appraise the nature of leadership by engaging with leadership theorising.

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HR9637 -

Transforming Self and Organisations (Core,20 Credits)

Successive global and national crises and organisational failures have demonstrated that conventional approaches to understanding and managing organisations and their people are less than effective.
Transforming Self and Organisations will support you in developing alternative approaches to analysing organisations, people and work practices. Building upon the multiple perspectives that you have been introduced to in the second year of your programme and upon your understanding from the module “People, Management and Organisations”, a research-rich curriculum will enable you to develop your appreciation and application of Critical Management tools and perspectives which challenge conventional approaches to understanding organisations. Drawing upon tools from, for example, identity, aesthetics, power and culture, you will develop your capabilities for questioning the neoliberal status-quo and the politics of managerialist and performance-driven agendas. You will examine the practices of large corporates through to SMEs, NFPs and social enterprises, interrogating, challenging, questioning what is typically taken-for-granted, seen as usual and appropriate, to recognise the inherent power and control that exists, to propose far-reaching change within organisations and society that prioritises fairness, justice, equality, diversity and sustainability. Your learning will place you in good stead to bring about future transformation within organisations. In adopting these alternative Critical perspectives on organisations so this may also challenge your own assumptions, values and beliefs transforming yourself. This learning will be invaluable to your future employment, enterprise/entrepreneurial activity.

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HR9638 -

Employment Relations (Optional,20 Credits)

- Critical and practical approaches and perspectives towards the employment relationship and how they impact organisations within the UK and internationally
- The connection of the employment relationship to wider trends in the economy, society, politics and technology
- Employment relations processes including different forms of employee voice and participation and how these can contribute to a meaningful voice at work and influence workplace culture
- The role and influence of different actors in the employment relationship including employees, managers, the state and trade unions
- Conflict, mobilisation, negotiation, mediation and resolution at work
- Skills in negotiation, including strategic power and constructive compromise, through a simulation of collective bargaining

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HR9640 -

Contemporary issues in Business and Management (Optional,20 Credits)

This module brings together the latest research in contemporary issues in business and management, building upon the foundation developed in earlier modules to critical understand current issues and analysing how they affect strategy development and management. The module builds critical analysis and encourages a close look at diverse viewpoints on ongoing debates on contemporary business and management research at macro-meso-micro levels. You will consider various contemporary business and management challenges, critically examining how organisations plan to respond to strategic challenges, use technology, innovate, create, operate virtually, collaborate, engage employees, manage knowledge, and learn collectively.

The module aims to assist students in comprehending, analysing, and evaluating various contemporary issues in business and management. By the end of the module, you will have acquired the skills to critically assess current business and management issues, evaluating social, organizational, leadership and individual responses to these challenges. This involves establishing meaningful connections between theories and contemporary issues in business and management. The activities and assessments are designed to help you understand the implications of these contemporary issues in organizational settings and to develop effective managerial responses. This academic journey will support you in cultivating the confidence and insight necessary to navigate the intricacies of contemporary management. It provides opportunities for critical analysis, debate, critique, and reflection on personal career goals.

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HR9692 -

Futures of Work (Optional,20 Credits)

This module will provide students with a broad, interdisciplinary understanding of contemporary organisational practice and emergent forms of work. Drawing from organisational psychology and sociology, the module will explore changes through a macro and micro perspective, allowing for appreciation of responses to societal change at the individual and collective level. Building upon core levels 4 People, Management and Organisations and Business, Economy and Society, the relevancy of the module lies in its future-orientated focus. ‘Futures of Work’ will provide an overview of key changes to the labour market and organisational practices, such as those connected to the rise of the gig economy and automation, and examine how managers and organisations are responding to these changes.. The module will encourage students to critically assess issues connected to the future of work through longstanding concepts such as agency, time, dignity and power.
The module has broad relevancy to business and management students as it offers insights that will assist in understanding a complex and dynamic labour market. By focusing on emergent trends and alternative ways of working, students will be able to identify how organisations change, adapt and ‘future-proof’ themselves in response to external environmental and societal changes. The module will prepare students to enter a dynamic workplace by equipping them with the theoretical framework to understand emerging trends and the conceptual lens through which to recognise how individuals and organisations as a collective are affected.

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HR9693 -

Fiction and Organisation (Optional,20 Credits)

Through this module you will develop your understanding of academic critique and gain confidence in your ability to construct academic arguments by critically reflecting upon a range of fictions. You will encounter theories and perspectives that will support your understanding of a range of contemporary organisational issues and improve your ability to separate rhetoric from reality. Key theories will include gender, identity, performativity, power and the nature of being, such as embodiment. You will learn the benefit of reading widely and how to see real life scenarios as human stories and shared narratives. This will support you to empathise and see people, and yourself, from different perspectives. Learning from a variety of quality fictions related to the world of work will help you in developing critical thinking skills and how to apply the persuasive narrative style of fiction to evoke affective responses from colleagues and audiences in business contexts. These skills are essential to performing well in academic work as well as operating at a strategic level in organisations, particularly when managing projects which necessitate challenging existing ways of doing things, from eliminating discriminatory practices to implementing large-scale change. The assessment on this module will support you in reflecting on the implications of what you have learned for your future professional career as well as wider business and social change. You will also consider your future career as a professional and your potential social impact in a way that goes beyond standard preconceptions of how business professionals think and what they do.
You will develop these skills by engaging with fictional narratives (i.e. reading, listening and watching). Fictions are typically more accessible to wider audiences compared to management texts as sources of information about management and organisational practice. While fiction is often defined as something which is imaginary or invented, it is often inspired by real life; it feels real because it draws us closer to different experiences and allows us to glimpse alternative possibilities. Therefore, through fiction, you will consider aspects of organisational life and management that are not typically covered in traditional business and management textbooks, such as emotions, prejudice, sexuality, and humour, and thus develop a more holistic picture of management practice.

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HR9694 -

Ethics in Business (Optional,20 Credits)

After undertaking this module, you will be able to identify the normative presuppositions involved in ethical dialogue and use this in your analysis of ethical issues. This will enable you to better understand conflicts over such issues as executive pay, prompt payment, workplace rights, privacy, positive discrimination and many others. When developing organisation policy, representing the organisation in the media, negotiating agreements and otherwise undertaking work with an ethical dimension, this will enable you to anticipate and plan for objections, to identify weaknesses and contradictions in your interlocutors’ arguments and your own and thereby enable you to better manage ethical conflict at work. Through this process you will also improve your internal ethical dialogue. Clarifying your own normative presuppositions, values and virtues and better understanding their implications and exclusions will enable you to reflect upon the coherence of your own moral agency.

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NX9624 -

Management Enquiry (Optional,40 Credits)

The Management Enquiry module is a student-led individual project that enables you to undertake a significant piece of assessed work commensurate with a capstone module. The module aims to provide you with an opportunity to demonstrate an authentic engagement with managers and/or professionals in your discipline, and to integrate the knowledge you have developed during your programme to explore the theory in practice. The learning on this module is experiential and problem based, where the focus is upon you discovering, probing and questioning key practice-based issues. Through the module you will be offered the opportunity to develop and enhance key transferable employability skills including; time management, project management, communication (written, aural and verbal), negotiation, persuasion and influence, discovery, initiative, problem-solving and analysis.

The module has five thematic areas; explore, review, engage, reflect and connect. These form the key elements of the assessed submission.

Part A (35%, 3,500 Words)
• Explore: Interviewing a manager and/or professional in your discipline. In this interview you will either explore a key issue which you feel the discipline is facing or, alternatively, explore with the manager or professional the key issues that they feel they are facing in practice. It is expected that you will apply appropriate interview methods and provide evidence of the interview within the submitted enquiry report (e.g. within the appendices).
• Review: Critically examining the appropriate literature to support the exploration, displaying an ability to critically assess and appraise the knowledge of your discipline related to a specific key issue arising from your exploration.

Part B (65%, 6,500 Words)
• Engage: Displaying an authentic engagement with the discipline problem/issue identified in Part A, by collecting/generating and analysing further live data (beyond the initial interview) regarding the discipline problem/issue. This live data may be primary data (e.g. further interviews with, or questionnaire to, managers and/or professionals in practice) or secondary data (e.g. industry data). Application of appropriate, ethically-considered, research methods and appropriate qualitative or quantitative data analysis.
• Reflect and Connect: Demonstrating an ability to critically evaluate and reflect on the issues arising from the Management Enquiry. Demonstrating how you have connected and fed-back to the participants of the Enquiry (usually the manager and/or participants) your key findings to provide clear prioritised, well-justified, practical and actionable recommendations for change/enhancement/improvement to existing practice to show how the recommendations would potentially affect workplace professional decision making.

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NX9625 -

Dissertation (Optional,40 Credits)

The dissertation module aims to equip you with the necessary intellectual and practical skills for undertaking an individual student-led, ethical investigation into an applied business (or the named degree) problem or issue. In addition, the dissertation aims to equip you with key transferable, employability skills, including: time management, project management, communication (written and verbal), negotiation, persuasion and influence, discovery, initiative, creativity and innovation in problem-solving, analysis.

The module is student-led but you are supported by, initially, weekly lectures and seminar-workshops which provide an introduction to undertaking Business-Management research followed by one-to-one or small-group supervision meetings.
The lectures and seminar-workshops will cover the following topics:
1. Developing a research aim/question (focusing and scoping the research)
2. Developing a literature review
3. Writing a research proposal
4. Researching ethically
5. Quantitative research techniques
6. Qualitative research techniques
7. Quantitative analysis techniques
8. Qualitative analysis techniques

Upon completion of the module you will be able to:
1. Conduct independent and ethical academic research involving the application and critical evaluation of appropriate theories and models,
2. Engage critically with relevant literature to establish a framework in which to analyse and synthesise the results of your primary or secondary research
3. Generate / collect relevant primary or secondary data using an appropriate and justified method
4. Analyse your data using an appropriate and justified method of analysis
5. Recognise the ethical implications of your work
6. Critically evaluate the source of your data and the method you adopted

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NX9626 -

Undergraduate Consultancy Project (Optional,40 Credits)

The module aims to provide you with an opportunity to integrate the knowledge acquired during the programme and apply this to a consultancy project for a real organisation. This consultancy project provides a vehicle for participants to develop and demonstrate key employability skills, to relate theory to practice, and to undertake a significant piece of assessed work commensurate with a capstone module.

You will work on behalf of an external organisation, which has identified a business problem or question, requiring a solution, working in small group of typically 4 individuals (you will select their own team members), participating in group and individual activities. The host organisation will provide a project briefing, and review; students will be supported by appropriate academic input and guidance from Newcastle Business School in the form of a mentor and via the Business Clinic.

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Modules

Module information is indicative and is reviewed annually therefore may be subject to change. Applicants will be informed if there are any changes.

AF4038 -

Financial Decision Making (Core,20 Credits)

You will learn how financial information can be used to assist managers and external user groups in their decision-making processes. You will initially look at the informational needs of outside user groups, the nature of the information they are provided with, and how this information can be analysed and interpreted in order to enhance the effectiveness of their decision making.

Topic areas will include:

• The reporting frameworks and ethical principles that underpin financial reporting
• The nature of international financial reporting standards
• Format and content of the statement of profit or loss and statement of financial position
• The statement of cash flows
• Analysis and interpretation of financial statements using ratio analysis

You will then examine how financial information can facilitate managers in making operational decisions in relation to planning and control.

Topic areas will include:

• Costing (full and variable costing)
• Cost, volume, profit analysis
• Relevant costs for decision making
• Budgeting and variance analysis
• Balance scorecards
• Working capital management

Finally, you will explore the motivations for entrepreneurial activity and techniques that can be used to appraise investment decisions.

Topic areas will include:

• Investment appraisal techniques (payback, accounting rate of return, net present value and internal rate of return)
• Practical aspects of investment appraisal (inflation and capital rationing)
• Risk and uncertainty

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BM9403 -

Business Analysis for Decision Making (20 Credits)

In this module, you will develop the knowledge and skills in applying a variety of quantitative data analysis techniques to support business decision making. You will be introduced to business modelling using appropriate analytical tools, and your learning will cover a range of techniques to help business forecasting and data presentation.
In this module you will be exposed to a range of data analysis tools and skills, including:

• Business Analysis and Modelling: management of complex and varied data sets; building spreadsheet models.
• Data Trends and Associations e.g. identifying relationships between business variables.
• Business Forecasting and Predictive Modelling – analysing factors and trends for business planning.
• Business and Dashboard reporting – consolidation, interpretation and presentation of data for professional output.
• Data distribution, data presentation and using summary statistics – handling a range of data for statistical analysis.
• Gaining an understanding of the overlap between business and research data and the selection of appropriate tools for management of both types of data.

Working with these analysis tools, you will learn to develop confidence in dealing with a wide range of data sets. You will become familiar with the role of modelling as an aid to problem solving and will build skills which enable you to interpret data and present your findings to a range of audiences. Very importantly, you will gain a good understanding of the crucial role that analysis of data and interpretation of results plays in the decision-making arena.

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GA4001 -

Academic Language Skills for Newcastle Business School (Core – for International and EU students only,0 Credits)

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.

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HR9409 -

Preparing for Professional Practice (20 Credits)

Your programme aims to ensure that you are learners for business, not just of business, upon graduation. This module starts you on this journey by supporting your professional development. It aims to increase your awareness of and sensitivity to personal and employability/entrepreneurship/enterprise skills. It does this by focusing on programme-specific graduate career opportunities that require you to work on projects similar to those that graduates within your field will undertake once in employment. You are taking an experiential, team-focussed, project/problem-based approach. The module will support you in identifying and developing the essential skills, behaviours, and understanding required to sustainably and responsibly manage organisations and their people. These might include generic areas such as leadership, project management, management, resilience, empathy and professional judgment, and discipline-specific capabilities.
You will use this understanding to evaluate, practise, develop and re-evaluate your capabilities in these skills, behaviours and acumen areas, enabling you to build your own graduate identity. This approach underpins your successful future employability, entrepreneurship or enterprise activity. In addition, the activities provide you with authentic insights into the importance and challenges of team-working within organisations as you work to address real organisations’ issues.
Learner/team-led, tutor-guided sessions aim to support you in enhancing your employability and upon building your graduate identity. During the practical development of the key attributes and behaviours central to your future success within your chosen profession within a project-based environment, you will receive support from the programme team. In addition, by documenting and reflecting upon your progress towards achieving your own team defined KPIs, you will enhance your skills, behaviours, capabilities, and understanding.
In short, at the end of this module, you will:
• Have an understanding and increased awareness of, and sensitivity to, those personal skills and attributes which are central to your future employability in your chosen profession or future entrepreneurial or enterprise activity
• Be better prepared to understand the skills and qualities required by graduates in your field to secure future employment or engage in enterprise activity
Have practical experience of working on a real-life business project appropriate to your programme area, improving your project management, research, employability and collaboration skills

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HR9412 -

Business, Economy and Society (20 Credits)

Governments and society are increasingly expecting business organisations to step up and assist in building cohesive societies through the application of more sustainable forms of capitalism. This module introduces you to the global economic, societal, technological and environmental challenges of the 21st century, and identifies how, through greater alignment of business interest with that of society and the economy, business can be a “force for good” as well as best prepared to ‘Take on Tomorrow’. You will focus on how contemporary businesses, broadly defined to include public, voluntary, not-for-profit and social enterprise, interact the economy and society though examination of topical news stories and events. In doing so, you will develop a deep understanding of the relationships between business, the economy and society and the global challenges we all face. You will explore a range of cultural, governmental and ethical issues that arise from current and developing global and national contexts through the lens of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Key issues include business ethics, the role of business in society, green issues, stakeholder theory, capitalist variants, the nature of globalisation at firm, economic and societal level and the interrelationship between business and government. By the end of the module you will be able to evidence critical thinking and analysis skills while bringing your own experiences as a citizen into your discussion and inquiry.

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HR9413 -

People, Management and Organisations (20 Credits)

This module examines the foundations of organisations, their management and their people through which you will develop understanding of how people and work are organised; principles that underpin all business programmes. Organisational behaviours are interdependent, and this requires us to look at ongoing relationships – of both co-operation and conflict – between organisational functions, whether finance, marketing, HR, as well as the broader context and external environment.

Employers seek out graduates that have the knowledge and skills to transform organisation in the face of continuous, rapid economic, environmental and social change. Therefore, this module will develop your understanding of how organisational sustainability and team performance might be enhanced through your heightened awareness of people’s workplace behaviour, actions and attitudes.

We will examine aspects at the organisation and work level (macro-level) such as:
• Changing nature of work, of employment and of organisations
• Ethics, power and control
And at the team and individual level (micro-level), such as:
• Leading effective teams
• Difference and diversity
• Motivation, commitment and engagement

As we examine these aspects you will be introduced to a range of concepts, theories, models and subject knowledge and will apply these through a problem-solving approach, in a practical discipline-specific context using case studies, reflection upon personal understanding and experience and real organisation examples.

Throughout, you will be encouraged to adopt a critical perspective – to analyse and challenge what you read and hear. You will consider whose interests are served by conventional ways of understanding organisations, to become more aware of your own bias – perhaps causing you to re-think or your preconceived assumptions and beliefs.

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MK9414 -

Introduction to Marketing (Core,20 Credits)

This module will introduce you to the business philosophy and practice of marketing. It will examine how organisations can analyse and segment markets to improve performance and profitability by building long-term relationships with their customers. A wide range of marketing decisions is studied together with the influence of the changing marketing environment on these decisions.

Main lectures will introduce the basic theories of marketing:
• The Marketing Environment
• Consumer & Organisational Behaviour
• Target Marketing & Segmentation.
• Marketing Information Systems & Research.
• Dimensions of a Product, Branding and Product Life Cycle.
• Pricing Theory; strategies and tactics.
• The Promotional Mix: Advertising, PR, Direct & e-Marketing.
• Marketing channels

Whilst seminars and topical lectures will apply marketing theory to different case scenarios:
• Service Marketing
• Not for profit Marketing
• Food marketing
• Digital Marketing
• Environmental Marketing
• Sustainable Marketing

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HR9514 -

Progressing Professional Practice (Core,20 Credits)

Your learning journey in this module will consist of a combination of tutor-led and learner-led session activities.
Tutor-led research-informed seminar sessions will facilitate learner-led activities to extend your knowledge of the graduate labour market. Topic areas will include an evaluation of graduate labour market statistics, challenges and opportunities for Business and HRM graduates, theoretical perspectives and models of employability.
Learner-led activities will further develop your awareness of your own personal skills and attributes and identification of areas for further development with the context of your individual career plan for your graduate employment, enterprise or entrepreneurial activity, with an emphasis on positioning your graduate identity.

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HR9534 -

Resourcing and Development for Diversity (20 Credits)

‘Resourcing and Development for Diversity’ considers how HR practices can be utilised to ensure a diverse and inclusive workforce. This goes beyond the ‘business case’ approach to recognise other perspectives, that increasing workforce diversity does not only ensures equitable access to services and employment but also enables profitability through access to diverse markets. You will examine this premise within the wider context of social, economic and demographic changes, alongside local, national and global concerns. Your learning will focus upon resourcing and development activities, specifically, how organisations can promote diversity through recruitment and retention, ensure inclusion in organisational life and provide accessible career paths with the aim of increasing representation at senior levels. The effectiveness of practices to support this endeavour, such as monitoring workforce demographics, mentoring, network and support groups and zero tolerance of discrimination and harassment, will be examined. You will explore the role of development for ensuring that organisational commitments to diversity and inclusion are reflected in practice. In doing so, you will analyse specific organisational cases, focusing on those characteristics protected by law, as well as developing an understanding of other visible and non-visible differences, such as background, culture and accent. Your understanding will be underpinned by a consideration of the historic development of particular norms and stereotypes, how these impact on practices and how they can be challenged. You will also reflect on the ethical framework required to support diversity and inclusion, including values of openness, listening to diverse perspectives and inclusive participation in decision-making. This learning will be invaluable to your future employment, enterprise/entrepreneurial activity.

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HR9535 -

HR Analytics and the Labour Market (20 Credits)

HR Analytics and the Labour Market will introduce you to key theories in labour market analysis by understanding how equilibrium is achieved between the supply of and demand for labour through the dynamic interplay of wage structures and levels, employment levels and workforce utilisation. You will develop your knowledge of both macro and micro economic theory including the role of governments in labour market regulation, the comparative influence of trade unions, comparative analyses of the distribution of income and wealth and of global workforce mobility.

Within this context, you will develop your skills of critical and analytical thinking which are central to all graduate employability, enterprise and entrepreneurial activity and with specific relevance to HR and people management. Your learning will be research-informed, focusing on understanding the gathering, organisation, analysis and modelling of macro labour market data and firm level HR data such as attendance, turnover, salaries, productivity, and performance, to examine the contribution such analyses and models can make to the strategic management of organisations. You will also become familiar with Workforce Planning and other Management Information used inside organisations alongside labour market data from government and other sources.

This module therefore builds upon analysis undertaken at level 4. You will develop graduate skills in interpreting trends and potential causation in order to demonstrate impact, support evidence-based decision-making and inform strategy. The module therefore represents a shift from the ‘what’ of HR and people management, to the ‘how’ it can be done. You will also learn how to communicate data in meaningful and accessible ways in order to gain trust and management buy-in to HR proposals.

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HR9536 -

Reward and Performance (20 Credits)

Employee reward systems are of fundamental importance to the employment relationship; providing an important source of influence over employee behaviour and, so, over organisational performance. Reward systems are also the principal cause of conflict between employers and employees, and by far the most expensive part of people management. As such, their management principally entails the management of risk.
You will build a reward system from scratch. By utilising the full range of contextual analysis and organisational mechanisms you will enable the system to properly balance the inherent risks over conflict and resources, with the intention of optimising the potential for employee performance. This will entail the development of strategic reward objectives and their implementation through the design of: job and pay structures; pay policies; and pay for performance approaches.
This research-rich learning will draw upon existing knowledge of motivation, whilst developing knowledge of the application and effectiveness of reward and performance management. Much of this knowledge will be technical and skill-based, though you will also develop an understanding of important tensions and contradictions implicit in this area of management. The management of reward concerns the allocation of valuable organisational resources, this inevitably requires the recognition and resolution of conflicts of interest. The management of performance is also riven with controversy, which you will learn to navigate effectively.
The centrality of reward and performance management highlights the value of this module for your future career.

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HR9537 -

Management Research and Analysis (20 Credits)

In this research-based module you will experience a comprehensive coverage of research methods and analysis that will prepare you both for work placement or study abroad opportunities alongside preparation for your final-year “capstone” research module of either Dissertation, Management Enquiry or Consultancy Project and for your future employment, enterprise or entrepreneurial activity.

You will learn how to develop a research question, and linked to this, be able to choose an appropriate method of research, dovetailing both learning experiences to the development of a critical assessment of the academic literature. You will gain a basic understanding of research philosophy, whilst the coverage and importance given to research ethics will play an important part of your learning within the module and you will appreciate as part of your learning how this underpins research of quality and integrity. The role of Ethics in research will cover study design, participant selection, data collection, data handling and storage and presentation of research findings.

You will learn how to apply quantitative and qualitative methods. In the quantitative applications, you will learn about questionnaire design, sampling, presenting and summarising data, statistical inference and hypothesis testing. You will have the opportunity to use a range of appropriate software tools, including Excel and SPSS. In the qualitative part of the module, techniques covered will include interviewing and focus groups to collect data, supported by analysis methods including content analysis and thematic analysis. You will learn how to execute a critical and effective analysis of your research data for both approaches, as well as appreciating the importance of piloting.

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HR9539 -

Employment Law (20 Credits)

The relationship between an employer and its employees is regulated by employment law, thereby providing a framework for HR Professionals and other managers making key people decisions. Both large and small-scale decisions made by employers such as recruitment, development, and changing, or implementing, policies, procedures and terms and conditions, all require a knowledge of employment law implications.
Through this module you will develop your introductory understanding of key areas of, and differing perspectives on, UK employment law with the aim of providing advice and protecting employers from discriminatory and unlawful practices. This practical knowledge is underpinned with an initial consideration of how employment law is created and how to source reliable information on employment law. You will focus upon how to apply employment law in practical and realistic employment scenarios. These case studies are drawn from ongoing issues for HR professionals including recruitment, pay, discipline, grievance, capability, as well as common areas of case law, such as discrimination. You will practically examine how organisational policies, procedures and employment practices can be adapted to take account of current and future developments in employment law. You will also develop understanding of the UK Employment Tribunal process and appeals against its judgments.
Upon completion of this module you will be equipped to demonstrate your knowledge, understanding and application of employment law which will be invaluable for you in your graduate human resources and/or management role.

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NX9527 -

Newcastle Business School Study Abroad Semester (Optional,60 Credits)

The Study Abroad Semester module is a semester long 60 credit module which is available on degree courses which include the option to study abroad in Semester 2 of Year 2. You will undertake a semester abroad at a partner university equivalent to 60 UK credits.

The study abroad placement is an important element of your course structure and gives you access to modules from your discipline taught in a different learning culture and so broadens your overall experience of learning.

When taken and passed the study abroad semester will be recognised in your transcript as a 60 credit Study Abroad Module. The learning and teaching on your study abroad placement will be dependent on the partner and will be recorded in the learning agreement signed by you, the host University, and the University.

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NX9525 -

Newcastle Business School Work Placement Year (Optional,120 Credits)

The Work Placement Year module is a full year 120 credit module available on degree courses which include a work placement year which is taken as an additional year of study between levels 5 and 6. The placement consists of 48 weeks of full time work experience in a host organisation which is relevant to your studies.

The placement is an important element of your course structure and it will provide you with the opportunity to:

• Experience the environment of a real workplace which will help you decide the type of career you would like to follow after graduation
• Develop your organisational and interpersonal skills required to enable you to work efficiently as a member of a team
• Acquire and develop relevant technical skills associated with the nature of your work
• Identify, analyse and discuss with experienced practitioners how theoretical concepts are adapted and applied to suit practical requirements
• Apply knowledge that will help you to plan and evaluate future study and career development.


This is a Pass/Fail module and so does not contribute to your degree classification. When taken and passed, however, the Placement Year is recognised in your transcript as a 120 credit Work Placement Module and on your degree certificate in the format “Degree title (with Work Placement Year)”. The learning and teaching on your placement will be recorded in the training agreement signed by you, the placement provider, and the University.

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NX9526 -

Newcastle Business School Study Abroad Year (Optional,120 Credits)

The Study Abroad Year module is a full year 120 credit module which is available on degree courses which include a study abroad year which is taken as an additional year of study between levels 5 and 6. You will undertake a year abroad at a partner university equivalent to 120 UK credits.

The study abroad placement is an important element of your course structure and gives you access to modules from your discipline taught in a different learning culture and so broadens your overall experience of learning. At the end of the module you will have adapted to and appreciated a different cultural and learning environment and developed ability. You will have developed your interpersonal and intercultural communication skills as a result of your learning in an international environment.

This is a Pass/Fail module and so does not contribute to your degree classification. When taken and passed, however, the Study Abroad Year is recognised in your transcript as a 120 credit Study Abroad Module and on your degree certificate in the format “Degree title (with Study Abroad Year)”. The learning and teaching on your study abroad placement will be dependent on the partner and will be recorded in the learning agreement signed by you, the host University, and the University.

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NX9528 -

Newcastle Business School Blended Placement Year: Work Placement Semester (Optional,60 Credits)

The Work Placement Semester module is a semester long 60 credit module which is available on degree courses which include the option to take a blended placement year of Work and Study Abroad which is taken as an additional year of study between levels 5 and 6.

On this module you will undertake a semester long work placement. The placement consists of a period of full time work experience in a host organisation equivalent to a full semester of study which is relevant to your studies.

The placement is an important element of your course structure and it will provide you with the opportunity to:

• Experience the environment of a real workplace which will help you decide the type of career you would like to follow after graduation
• Develop your organisational and interpersonal skills required to enable you to work efficiently as a member of a team
• Acquire and develop relevant technical skills associated with the nature of your work
• Identify, analyse and discuss with experienced practitioners how theoretical concepts are adapted and applied to suit practical requirements
• Apply knowledge that will help you to plan and evaluate future study and career development.


This is a Pass/Fail module and so does not contribute to your degree classification. When taken and passed, however, the Placement Year is recognised in your transcript as a 60 credit Work Placement Module. The learning and teaching on your placement will be recorded in the training agreement signed by you, the placement provider, and the University. Combining this with the study abroad semester as part of the third year out of the University, this will be recognised on your degree certificate in the format “Degree title (with Study Abroad and Work Placement Year)”.

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NX9529 -

Newcastle Business School Blended Placement Year: Study Abroad Semester (Optional,60 Credits)

The Study Abroad Semester module is a semester long 60 credit module which is available on degree courses which include the option to take a blended placement year of Work and Study Abroad which is taken as an additional year of study between levels 5 and 6.

You will undertake a semester abroad at a partner university equivalent to 60 UK credits.

The study abroad placement is an important element of your course structure and gives you access to modules from your discipline taught in a different learning culture and so broadens your overall experience of learning. When taken and passed the study abroad semester will be recognised in your transcript as a 60 credit Study Abroad Module. The learning and teaching on your study abroad placement will be dependent on the partner and will be recorded in the learning agreement signed by you, the host University, and the University. Combining this with the work placement semester as part of the third year out of the University, this will be recognised on your degree certificate in the format “Degree title (with Study Abroad and Work Placement Year)”.

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HR9636 -

Strategic Leadership for Responsible Organisational Change (20 Credits)

Change is a constant factor in today’s globalised business world. All organisations, whether private, public NFP or social enterprises need to adapt to a rapidly changing external environment and world developments in technology and economics, the call for more social responsibility, wicked problems such as climate change, increased international competition and global pandemics. In order to address these issues, organisations need to create strategy that can respond as required in an agile manner and develop leaders who can get the best out of their teams in times of uncertainty and change.

Strategic Leadership and Organisational Change will equip you with the key graduate tools necessary for you to critically engage with the nature of strategy and change. It will critically examine the processes involved in setting an organisation's direction, objectives and priorities in changing landscapes, in focusing internal energy and resources to achieve the objectives and in aligning internal and external stakeholders. The module deals with analysis, decision making and planning alongside the implementation of strategic plans and organisational change programmes to meet key internal and external objectives. The module will introduce you to effective strategic leadership and tools and instruments that can help you in developing and implementing effective strategies which are central to your future employability, enterprise or entrepreneurial activity. You will learn how critically engage with change models, to questioning their relevance in an unstable world and recognise the value of unpredictable crisis driven change. You will examine the inequalities and unintended consequences borne out though change programmes and critically appraise the nature of leadership by engaging with leadership theorising.

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HR9637 -

Transforming Self and Organisations (Core,20 Credits)

Successive global and national crises and organisational failures have demonstrated that conventional approaches to understanding and managing organisations and their people are less than effective.
Transforming Self and Organisations will support you in developing alternative approaches to analysing organisations, people and work practices. Building upon the multiple perspectives that you have been introduced to in the second year of your programme and upon your understanding from the module “People, Management and Organisations”, a research-rich curriculum will enable you to develop your appreciation and application of Critical Management tools and perspectives which challenge conventional approaches to understanding organisations. Drawing upon tools from, for example, identity, aesthetics, power and culture, you will develop your capabilities for questioning the neoliberal status-quo and the politics of managerialist and performance-driven agendas. You will examine the practices of large corporates through to SMEs, NFPs and social enterprises, interrogating, challenging, questioning what is typically taken-for-granted, seen as usual and appropriate, to recognise the inherent power and control that exists, to propose far-reaching change within organisations and society that prioritises fairness, justice, equality, diversity and sustainability. Your learning will place you in good stead to bring about future transformation within organisations. In adopting these alternative Critical perspectives on organisations so this may also challenge your own assumptions, values and beliefs transforming yourself. This learning will be invaluable to your future employment, enterprise/entrepreneurial activity.

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HR9638 -

Employment Relations (Optional,20 Credits)

- Critical and practical approaches and perspectives towards the employment relationship and how they impact organisations within the UK and internationally
- The connection of the employment relationship to wider trends in the economy, society, politics and technology
- Employment relations processes including different forms of employee voice and participation and how these can contribute to a meaningful voice at work and influence workplace culture
- The role and influence of different actors in the employment relationship including employees, managers, the state and trade unions
- Conflict, mobilisation, negotiation, mediation and resolution at work
- Skills in negotiation, including strategic power and constructive compromise, through a simulation of collective bargaining

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HR9640 -

Contemporary issues in Business and Management (Optional,20 Credits)

This module brings together the latest research in contemporary issues in business and management, building upon the foundation developed in earlier modules to critical understand current issues and analysing how they affect strategy development and management. The module builds critical analysis and encourages a close look at diverse viewpoints on ongoing debates on contemporary business and management research at macro-meso-micro levels. You will consider various contemporary business and management challenges, critically examining how organisations plan to respond to strategic challenges, use technology, innovate, create, operate virtually, collaborate, engage employees, manage knowledge, and learn collectively.

The module aims to assist students in comprehending, analysing, and evaluating various contemporary issues in business and management. By the end of the module, you will have acquired the skills to critically assess current business and management issues, evaluating social, organizational, leadership and individual responses to these challenges. This involves establishing meaningful connections between theories and contemporary issues in business and management. The activities and assessments are designed to help you understand the implications of these contemporary issues in organizational settings and to develop effective managerial responses. This academic journey will support you in cultivating the confidence and insight necessary to navigate the intricacies of contemporary management. It provides opportunities for critical analysis, debate, critique, and reflection on personal career goals.

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HR9692 -

Futures of Work (Optional,20 Credits)

This module will provide students with a broad, interdisciplinary understanding of contemporary organisational practice and emergent forms of work. Drawing from organisational psychology and sociology, the module will explore changes through a macro and micro perspective, allowing for appreciation of responses to societal change at the individual and collective level. Building upon core levels 4 People, Management and Organisations and Business, Economy and Society, the relevancy of the module lies in its future-orientated focus. ‘Futures of Work’ will provide an overview of key changes to the labour market and organisational practices, such as those connected to the rise of the gig economy and automation, and examine how managers and organisations are responding to these changes.. The module will encourage students to critically assess issues connected to the future of work through longstanding concepts such as agency, time, dignity and power.
The module has broad relevancy to business and management students as it offers insights that will assist in understanding a complex and dynamic labour market. By focusing on emergent trends and alternative ways of working, students will be able to identify how organisations change, adapt and ‘future-proof’ themselves in response to external environmental and societal changes. The module will prepare students to enter a dynamic workplace by equipping them with the theoretical framework to understand emerging trends and the conceptual lens through which to recognise how individuals and organisations as a collective are affected.

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HR9693 -

Fiction and Organisation (Optional,20 Credits)

Through this module you will develop your understanding of academic critique and gain confidence in your ability to construct academic arguments by critically reflecting upon a range of fictions. You will encounter theories and perspectives that will support your understanding of a range of contemporary organisational issues and improve your ability to separate rhetoric from reality. Key theories will include gender, identity, performativity, power and the nature of being, such as embodiment. You will learn the benefit of reading widely and how to see real life scenarios as human stories and shared narratives. This will support you to empathise and see people, and yourself, from different perspectives. Learning from a variety of quality fictions related to the world of work will help you in developing critical thinking skills and how to apply the persuasive narrative style of fiction to evoke affective responses from colleagues and audiences in business contexts. These skills are essential to performing well in academic work as well as operating at a strategic level in organisations, particularly when managing projects which necessitate challenging existing ways of doing things, from eliminating discriminatory practices to implementing large-scale change. The assessment on this module will support you in reflecting on the implications of what you have learned for your future professional career as well as wider business and social change. You will also consider your future career as a professional and your potential social impact in a way that goes beyond standard preconceptions of how business professionals think and what they do.
You will develop these skills by engaging with fictional narratives (i.e. reading, listening and watching). Fictions are typically more accessible to wider audiences compared to management texts as sources of information about management and organisational practice. While fiction is often defined as something which is imaginary or invented, it is often inspired by real life; it feels real because it draws us closer to different experiences and allows us to glimpse alternative possibilities. Therefore, through fiction, you will consider aspects of organisational life and management that are not typically covered in traditional business and management textbooks, such as emotions, prejudice, sexuality, and humour, and thus develop a more holistic picture of management practice.

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HR9694 -

Ethics in Business (Optional,20 Credits)

After undertaking this module, you will be able to identify the normative presuppositions involved in ethical dialogue and use this in your analysis of ethical issues. This will enable you to better understand conflicts over such issues as executive pay, prompt payment, workplace rights, privacy, positive discrimination and many others. When developing organisation policy, representing the organisation in the media, negotiating agreements and otherwise undertaking work with an ethical dimension, this will enable you to anticipate and plan for objections, to identify weaknesses and contradictions in your interlocutors’ arguments and your own and thereby enable you to better manage ethical conflict at work. Through this process you will also improve your internal ethical dialogue. Clarifying your own normative presuppositions, values and virtues and better understanding their implications and exclusions will enable you to reflect upon the coherence of your own moral agency.

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NX9624 -

Management Enquiry (Optional,40 Credits)

The Management Enquiry module is a student-led individual project that enables you to undertake a significant piece of assessed work commensurate with a capstone module. The module aims to provide you with an opportunity to demonstrate an authentic engagement with managers and/or professionals in your discipline, and to integrate the knowledge you have developed during your programme to explore the theory in practice. The learning on this module is experiential and problem based, where the focus is upon you discovering, probing and questioning key practice-based issues. Through the module you will be offered the opportunity to develop and enhance key transferable employability skills including; time management, project management, communication (written, aural and verbal), negotiation, persuasion and influence, discovery, initiative, problem-solving and analysis.

The module has five thematic areas; explore, review, engage, reflect and connect. These form the key elements of the assessed submission.

Part A (35%, 3,500 Words)
• Explore: Interviewing a manager and/or professional in your discipline. In this interview you will either explore a key issue which you feel the discipline is facing or, alternatively, explore with the manager or professional the key issues that they feel they are facing in practice. It is expected that you will apply appropriate interview methods and provide evidence of the interview within the submitted enquiry report (e.g. within the appendices).
• Review: Critically examining the appropriate literature to support the exploration, displaying an ability to critically assess and appraise the knowledge of your discipline related to a specific key issue arising from your exploration.

Part B (65%, 6,500 Words)
• Engage: Displaying an authentic engagement with the discipline problem/issue identified in Part A, by collecting/generating and analysing further live data (beyond the initial interview) regarding the discipline problem/issue. This live data may be primary data (e.g. further interviews with, or questionnaire to, managers and/or professionals in practice) or secondary data (e.g. industry data). Application of appropriate, ethically-considered, research methods and appropriate qualitative or quantitative data analysis.
• Reflect and Connect: Demonstrating an ability to critically evaluate and reflect on the issues arising from the Management Enquiry. Demonstrating how you have connected and fed-back to the participants of the Enquiry (usually the manager and/or participants) your key findings to provide clear prioritised, well-justified, practical and actionable recommendations for change/enhancement/improvement to existing practice to show how the recommendations would potentially affect workplace professional decision making.

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NX9625 -

Dissertation (Optional,40 Credits)

The dissertation module aims to equip you with the necessary intellectual and practical skills for undertaking an individual student-led, ethical investigation into an applied business (or the named degree) problem or issue. In addition, the dissertation aims to equip you with key transferable, employability skills, including: time management, project management, communication (written and verbal), negotiation, persuasion and influence, discovery, initiative, creativity and innovation in problem-solving, analysis.

The module is student-led but you are supported by, initially, weekly lectures and seminar-workshops which provide an introduction to undertaking Business-Management research followed by one-to-one or small-group supervision meetings.
The lectures and seminar-workshops will cover the following topics:
1. Developing a research aim/question (focusing and scoping the research)
2. Developing a literature review
3. Writing a research proposal
4. Researching ethically
5. Quantitative research techniques
6. Qualitative research techniques
7. Quantitative analysis techniques
8. Qualitative analysis techniques

Upon completion of the module you will be able to:
1. Conduct independent and ethical academic research involving the application and critical evaluation of appropriate theories and models,
2. Engage critically with relevant literature to establish a framework in which to analyse and synthesise the results of your primary or secondary research
3. Generate / collect relevant primary or secondary data using an appropriate and justified method
4. Analyse your data using an appropriate and justified method of analysis
5. Recognise the ethical implications of your work
6. Critically evaluate the source of your data and the method you adopted

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NX9626 -

Undergraduate Consultancy Project (Optional,40 Credits)

The module aims to provide you with an opportunity to integrate the knowledge acquired during the programme and apply this to a consultancy project for a real organisation. This consultancy project provides a vehicle for participants to develop and demonstrate key employability skills, to relate theory to practice, and to undertake a significant piece of assessed work commensurate with a capstone module.

You will work on behalf of an external organisation, which has identified a business problem or question, requiring a solution, working in small group of typically 4 individuals (you will select their own team members), participating in group and individual activities. The host organisation will provide a project briefing, and review; students will be supported by appropriate academic input and guidance from Newcastle Business School in the form of a mentor and via the Business Clinic.

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To start your application, simply select the month you would like to start your course.

Business and Human Resource Management BA (Hons)

Home or EU applicants please apply through UCAS

International applicants please apply using the links below

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