Entrepreneurship and Innovation with a Year in Business

Core Modules

Year 1

• Venture Creation and Financial Planning

  This module will introduce you to the basic theories and practices related to business planning and the entrepreneurial start-up process. You will look at the discovery of business opportunities, the development and assessment of business ideas, the formation of founding teams, and how to preparare a business plan.

• Business Ethics and Social Entrepreneurship

  In this module you will develop an understanding of the key aspects of entrepreneurship. You will look at the entrepreneurship process, the key differences between large companies and small and medium-sized enterprises, and the financing options available to start-up and developing companies. You will examine enterprise barriers, growth and performance, with particular consideration given to the role of start-up and entrepreneurial activity in the hi-tech and biopharma sectors.

• Entrepreneurial Marketing

  This module will provide you with an introduction to the key topics in marketing, focussing on how small and entrepreneurial organisations with limited resources market and promote themselves. You will develop an understanding of selling and negotiating, market analysis and customer segmentation, consumer behaviour, creativity and innovation, leveraging limited marketing resources, customer relationship management and brand building.

• Entrepreneurship and Innovation: Theory and Practice

  In this module, you’ll gain an understanding of the theoretical underpinnings and development of both entrepreneurship and innovation and will learn to evaluate sources and strategies of innovation for competitive advantage.  It contains two halves; The first half introduces contrasting perspectives on the practice of entrepreneurship by considering the contribution of several influential theorists and the second half of the module develops an understanding of the key debates and businesses challenges within the fields of both entrepreneurship and innovation and how these impact upon opportunity seeking and resource allocation within the firm.

• Dissertation Preparation and Research Methods

  In this module you will develop your analytical research skills so that you are better prepared for your dissertation project. You will look at approaches to management research and the assumptions upon which they are based, and consider how to critically evaluate primary and secondary data sources. You will examine how to choose appropriate quantitative and qualitative research methods for data collection and subsequent analysis, and how to conduct research in a systematic and critical reflective manner. You will also analyse the ethical implications of research investigations and their impact upon findings.

• Academic Integrity

  This module will describe the key principles of academic integrity, focusing on university assignments. Plagiarism, collusion and commissioning will be described as activities that undermine academic integrity, and the possible consequences of engaging in such activities will be described. Activities, with feedback, will provide you with opportunities to reflect and develop your understanding of academic integrity principles.

   

Year 2

• Year in Business

  This year will be spent on a work placement. You will be supported by the School of Management and the Royal Holloway Careers and Employability Service to find a suitable placement. However, Royal Holloway cannot guarantee that all students who are accepted onto this degree programme will secure a placement, and the ultimate responsibility lies with yourself. This year forms an integral part of the degree programme and you will be asked to complete assessed work. The mark for this work will count towards your final degree classification.

• Independent Business Research Project

  In this capstone module you will be given a topic, drawn from current issues faced by businesses, and you will be expected to identify and select an organisational or industry context. You will expected to undertake a substantial review of secondary sources, comprising both academic journals and industry publications. Using relevant market research techniques, you will undertake a substantive and unique primary research study, providing a critical analysis with key insights. You will be asked to make justified and feasible managerial suggestions, prepare an executive summary, and deliver a presentation to communicate your findings.

Optional Modules

There are a number of optional course modules available during your degree studies. The following is a selection of optional course modules that are likely to be available. Please note that although the College will keep changes to a minimum, new modules may be offered or existing modules may be withdrawn, for example, in response to a change in staff. Applicants will be informed if any significant changes need to be made.

Year 1

• Business Ethics and Social Entreprenuership

  In this module you will develop an understanding of the role of business in modern society from an ethical perspective. You will look at different types of business, including publicly traded multinationals, small and medium-sized enterprises, social enterprises and family firms. You will examine the issues in these organisational types and articulate moral arguments from a range of perspectives, critiquing alternative models of business, including social entrepreneurship, fair trade and microfinance.

• Family and Small Business Management

  In this module you will develop an understanding of the challenges and opportunities of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). You will consider family businesses as a distinct type of organisation, looking at their strengths and weaknesses. You will examine the prevalence and economic contribution of family firms, as well as issues of governance, strategic management, succession, change and transgenerational value creation, and relationships and conflicts between family members.

• Consumption, Markets and Cultures

  In this module you will develop an understanding of the broader socio-cultural issues relevant to marketing practice in the 21^st Century. You will look at the interactions that occur between the market, consumers and the marketplace, focussing on how particular manifestations of culture are constituted, maintained and transformed by broader forces such as cultural narratives, myths, ideologies and grounded in specific socio-economic circumstances and marketplace systems. You will engage with complex theoretical concepts including consumer culture theory, symbolic consumption and the production of culture.

• Marketing, Environment and Society

  In this module you will develop an understanding of the scope and nature of marketing ethics. You will explore issues at the interface of marketing and moral philosophy, examining the complexity and interconnectedness of moral dilemmas in marketing practice. You will look at ethical reasoning and decision making, developing frameworks for approaching ethical problems that may arise in day-to-day marketing practice. You will consider the links between various ethical dilemmas in marketing mix decisions and marketing management more broadly, assessing the range of responses to marketing issues on behalf of businesses, regulatory bodies, and consumers.

• Marketing Communications

  In this module you will examine the principal means of marketing communications – advertising, promotion, public relations, and direct marketing. You will develop an understanding of the contemporary media environment and how this impacts on marketers' efforts to communicate with stakeholders. You will examine how communications must be tailored to the market segments and media channels, and look at the impact of communication cultures, particularly across markets and internationally.

• Services Marketing

  In this module you will develop an understanding of how the role of service marketing is changing in society and the changing factors that influence marketing decision-making for organisations. You will look at the differences between services and goods, the key elements of service marketing, the service delivery process, and implementing and managing profitable service strategies.

• Foundations of Modern Management

  This module, taught during your induction, will introduce you to the key elements of organisational management for commercial success. Through analysis of historical roots, you will develop an understanding of the current practices for managing customers, shareholders, and employees, and discuss how numbers and technology influence management decision-making.

• Creative Accounting and Impression Management

  In this module you will develop an understanding of the contemporary issues regarding the theory and practice of communication in accounting. You will look at the nature of the international reporting environment, examining the roles, needs and characteristics of lay and expert readers of financial reports. You will consider how impressions are created through the use of graphs, narratives and pictures, and the role of experimental research. You will also explore rhetorical, literary and cultural theory perspectives in the critical study of financial reporting documents, and will examine case studies on a variety of international reporting practices.