Senior Leader Degree Apprenticeship | Strategic Leadership MSc - in partnership with QA

The purpose of this module is to provide you with an opportunity to engage in discussion and debate on contemporary issues/themes of contemporary leadership and management practice. There is particular emphasis on individual and organisational development, and processes and relationships within organisations. This module draws on your knowledge and experience of leading and managing in organisations. By reflecting on your experiences and combining this with a critical exploration of theories and models, you will start to explore your identity as leader as a foundation for developing yourself and others.
You will consider contemporary issues and challenges facing individuals and organisations in terms of leading and managing in increasingly dynamic business environments, individual and organisational values and ethical and sustainable practice. In this way, the module aims to develop your ability to critically analyse behaviour and actions in organisations; to problem solve, plan and to employ critical judgement through careful consideration of and reflection on current and future management and organisational challenges. This will help you to demonstrate an appreciation of the changing context of work and organisations, the need for change and adaptability and ability to innovate and respond to complex situations. You will subsequently be able to apply this knowledge and skill in your own context, and subsequently critically analyse opportunities for implementation and recommend potential future improvements.

The purpose of this module is to develop the participant’s ability to apply and critically evaluate concepts, theories and techniques related to organisational strategy and the implementation of strategic change. Participants will be introduced to a managerial view of strategic processes and change implementation, developing the skills to understand the macro and micro business environment, both in a domestic and global context.
Typical topics covered in the module include:
- Strategic Planning and Evaluation
- External Macro/Micro Environment
- Strategic Positioning
- Strategic Resources and Capabilities
- Strategy Evaluation and Practice
- Strategic Change and Implementation

The skills learnt in this module have been taken from the Degree Apprenticeship standard for Senior Leader. Apprentices will develop your knowledge and understanding of the range of classical and topical strategic concepts and theories, and the range of strategic analysis and planning techniques that can be used to evaluate both the external competitive environment and internal business processes and resources. Apprentices will develop an understanding of new market strategies, changing customer demands and trend analysis. Furthermore, the module will analyse contemporary theories and models informing strategic approaches to leading change and managing new ways of working across infrastructure, processes, people, culture and sustainability within organisations.

Entering Postgraduate higher education requires specific skills and attributes to both manage your studies, and to communicate effectively your ideas within the academic community. This module aims to support this development at a level appropriate for where you join your programme of study.

You will develop the underpinning skills which support independent study and research, and which thereby support the remainder of your programme. These skills will also benefit you in the workplace and are transferrable in terms of undertaking business related communications and research.

You will develop your academic and intellectual skills, through applying criticality and communication skills, secondary and primary research and the development to new knowledge.

The outline syllabus will be based on the following themes:

• Learning styles and academic literacies – how these influence research and communication approaches
• Research rich learning and teaching
• Managing academic projects – how to plan effectively and appropriately
• Searching for information to support effective study - conducting primary and secondary research
• Academic Writing – in particular the presentation of research, and the development of critical literature reviews
• Professional Writing - in particular the presentation of research and management reports
• Presentation skills – in particular the persuasive presentation of research
• Developing criticality – the critical analysis of both secondary sources and primary data, and of your own independent research
• Citation and referencing skills – how to appropriately acknowledge the sources of the information that you use
• Ethics – the importance of ethics in your own and other’s research and NU Ethics Policy
• Profession Skills and Behaviours - resources to support the development and practice of a range of skills to support your professional impact in the workplace
• Personal Development and career planning – How to plan your personal and professional development and develop approaches to career planning
• Digital Portfolio Building - Building your Portfolio of Practice using Pebble Plus

There is an increasing need for business leaders to understand best practice in research and to know how to use data to develop meaningful and robust business solutions. In this module, you will gain an understanding of how knowledge is generated, presented and disseminated and the role that critical management inquiry and data analytics play in decision making for senior managers. You will acquire a skill set which will enable you to carry out and critically evaluate results from research and analysis. Specific topics covered will vary but are likely to include content such as: What knowledge sources to evaluate when investigating a managerial or organizational problem; The Politics and Ethics of Management Research; Project Management; Systematic Literature Reviews; Evidence-Based Practice; Management Fads, Fallacies and Fashions; Data Management for Decision Making (using specialist software packages such as SAS); Statistics for Business; Predictive Modelling.

You will develop knowledge and critical appreciation of the key components of accounting and finance relevant to strategic leaders, and be able to apply these within the context of your organisation. Specifically, this module provides you with a foundation in the key principles of accounting and financial management, including: understanding & analysing accounts, budgeting, investment decisions, capital decisions and risk., . This module is designed to strengthen your ability in applying knowledge to management issues, both systematically and creatively, so that theory is converted into practice from a critical and informed perspective in order to enhance organisational effectiveness and competitiveness. The module also investigates how financial information can be used to inform strategic plans and operational decisions. Reflective of the research strength within the Business School within responsible business, you will be encouraged to consider ethical implications of decision making.