Business Studies

This module is designed to provide a comprehensive introduction to the area of management. It introduces students to key managerial issues and wider environmental factors affecting organisations. This module aims to develop with students a realistic understanding about management practice and to investigate this in line with management theory. It is designed and delivered to address management issues with specific focus on culture, ethics, leadership and sustainable management practices.

This module seeks to examine the nature and purpose of Marketing. As a discipline, Marketing has both organisational and societal underpinnings. This module is designed to support students in exploring marketing practice from both an organisational and societal perspective. The module will trace the development of marketing as a business philosophy. Students will also engage with contemporary marketing issues including changing consumption behaviour, the global factors at play in marketing and the focus on customer experience and engagement. A strong focus will be on developing the creative mindset to appreciate and develop a strategic marketing campaign focusing on real-world situations.

An understanding of statistical and mathematical concepts is central to the modern practice of business. Much of the relevant academic business literature and corporate research is highly mathematical, thus the ability to interpret and analyse mathematical findings is essential for modern business students. The purpose of this module is to develop computational and mathematical skills and to prepare learners for the practical application of these concepts in relevant business and financial situations. This module also seeks to develop, with students, a systematic approach to dealing with numerical data in business and financial contexts.

Organisations do not operate in a vacuum; instead they form part of a complex eco-system consisting of other firms, local communities, the Government and the wider domestic and international economies. This module introduces students to economic theory. The objectives are to provide students with the basic tools to apply economic analysis to real life problems and to ensure an understanding of macroeconomic issues such as unemployment and inflation. It assumes that students have no prior knowledge.

Those involved in decision making in organisations must have a broad knowledge of the principles of Irish and EU law and their impact on commercial transactions. The purpose of this module is to introduce learners to the legal and regulatory environment in which a business operates and to develop an awareness of the legal issues relevant to management practice. In so doing this module provides an overview of the legal context of business through an examination of Irish and EU law. This module also investigates contract law and tort. Learners are also exposed to an investigation of the law relating to commercial transactions, company law and the protection of proprietary knowledge through intellectual property law.

The Business Studies Accounting module provides students with understanding of fundamental accounting concepts and terminology. It assumes no prior knowledge of the subject area but rather introduces and progressively builds on a series of key accounting topics. Overall, the module aims to provide learners with the necessary skills, knowledge, and competence to assemble, record, process, analyse, and interpret financial statements with adjustments, to prepare and interpret cash budgets, and to provide for material and stock control.

Organisations are complex social entities encompassing many problematic organizational and managerial issues. The purpose of this module is to familiarise students with this ambiguity, through a political, psychological and sociological understandings of human behaviour in organisations. This module aims to investigate the complex behavioural issues that concern individuals and groups in the workplace, while also emphasising that organizational behaviour does not occur in a vacuum, but happens within a wider social, political, economic and cultural context. Overall, this module aims to highlight the complexities arising from the social processes that constitute life in organisations.

This module introduces students to both the theoretical and practical underpinnings of entrepreneurship. Through an exploration of the entrepreneurial context and new firm formation the module provides opportunities for students to develop and demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the importance of entrepreneurship and the entrepreneurial process. Building upon theoretical concepts, the module also gives students a more pragmatic insight into the processes and systems required to conceive, research, and present a credible business plan in order to gain the necessary resources to start a new entrepreneurial firm. The overall aim of the module is to aid in the development of an entrepreneurial mind-set among students, including; developing abilities in creativity, innovation and problem solving, all of which are built upon an appreciation of the role and function of entrepreneurs and their impact on society.

Increasingly managers across all disciplines are tasked with managing information and information systems, to improve both their personal performance and the overall organisation’s performance. In today’s business landscape, there is often a need for managers to guide their organisations through complete ‘digital transformations’ in order to keep pace with the rate of business and technological change and to remain competitive in the ‘digital’ era. The purpose of this module is to introduce students to Information Systems in the context of business, with a focus on the application of Information Systems in the facilitation of business processes and the realisation of business value. The module aims to give students a realistic understanding of how continuing developments in Information Technology influence the use of Business Information Systems and contribute to business success. In addition, students will gain skills in business analytics and decision support systems by engaging with advanced spreadsheet (MS Excel) and database management (MS Access) programs.

This module will provide students with an evidence-based analysis of the Irish economy and its place within the global economy. Driven by the concept of ‘globalisation’, the global economy is characterised by a high level of economic, cultural, political, and technological interdependence among national institutions and economies, which enables a freer flow of goods and services across national borders. This module explores the nature of the global economy in terms of its key growth indicators, its economic development, instances of regional economic integration, trends in international trade, and the ethical challenges of globalisation. The Irish economy is one of the most globally integrated economies in the world. This module further explores Ireland’s position within the global economy, built upon an understanding of the historical and current performance of the Irish economy itself and its transition from a small closed economy to a regional economy with high levels of integration.

Strategic Management is the process of formulating, implementing, and evaluating decisions that enable an organisation to achieve its objectives and ultimately gain and maintain competitive advantage. This module is the capstone module of the Business Studies Degree. It examines the complexities and uncertainties surrounding managerial decision making at the strategic level of organisations - small-medium enterprises, multinationals, charities, and government agencies. Strategic management raises the ‘big’ questions about these organisations – how they grow, innovate, and change in an ever-evolving business landscape. The module aims to provide an appreciation of the dynamic and uncertain nature of strategic management in practice, the process of strategy formulation, and the structures and systems required for strategy implementation within an organisation. Students will gain a comprehensive understanding of the issues and techniques that underpin strategy and strategic management through the application of theory, using a case study approach.