BSc (Hons) International Business and Management

For students enrolling on to this course in January, please note that you will be required to enrol for the second year of the course in September (of the same calendar year), subject to successful completion of year 1.

Each year of study requires you to complete 120 credits, which are split between two terms.

Your first year of study on the BSc International Business & Management course – will include a broad base of business and management topic areas and provide a good foundation of knowledge for the duration of the course.

Your second year of study on the BSc International Business & Management course – will look deeper into some softer topic areas specific to international business. This is also when the placement will take place.

Your third year of study on the BSc International Business & Management course – is your final year of study. You will undertake your dissertation, which can be focussed upon an international business area you find most interesting and compelling. You will be allocated a supervisor who can support you along the way.

Year One: International Business degree

People, Work, and Society – 20 credits
Students will look at the experience of people in the workplace and the impact this has on wider society. The module looks at some historical and more modern approaches to management in the workplace, including the advent of technologies (for example automation and artificial intelligence) which are reshaping the workplace and the skills people require. This also leads to the impact of new workplace technologies on society in general.

Economics, Law, and the Business Environment– 20 credits
The module helps students consider the internal and external environment and how it impacts on the current decision-making and future direction of business. Looking at the importance of economic and legal factors, students will assess the impact of these key external pressures, building scenarios of how this can force change in business. In addition, the internal organisational environment will be considered to understand the capabilities of companies to deal with change.

Becoming a Professional; Critical Enquiry – 20 credits
Students will be assisted in the transition to learning in Higher Education with the first of the skills based modules, which will provide an introduction to thinking critically and crucial research skills which provide the foundation for the next 3 years of study.

Principles of Supply Chain Management – 20 credits
This module assesses the importance of recognising and managing the holistic supply chain as being increasingly seen as a key constituent of any organisations' ability to deliver value to its customers and stakeholders.

Marketing and Consumer Behaviour ¬– 20 credits
Marketing is the management process used to identify, anticipate, and satisfy the requirements of customers both efficiently, and profitably. At the heart of marketing is the idea that your customer is your best asset. This module teaches you how to understand and market to your customer. These are fundamental skills in the diverse and fast-paced marketing industry.

Becoming a Professional; Enterprise Project – 20 credits
Students will have the opportunity to investigate the entrepreneurial environment by developing their own business ideas. Knowledge will be gained from the entrepreneurial journeys of local, regional, national, and global entrepreneurs, and students will understand how they created their successes or downfalls. This module will teach students that businesses are born from many situations and can be both structured and unstructured, and still be successful.

Year Two: International Business degree

Project Management – 20 credits
This module aims to critically explore and examine project management skills in a business context, enabling students to understand, explore and apply key project management techniques and principles and assess the impact that they have on operations and business processes.

Intercultural Communication – 20 credits
This module capitalises upon the opportunities students from diverse cultural backgrounds bring when understanding our differences. It enables students to enhance their own learning by sharing knowledge and working in small multicultural groups. Topic areas covered in this module will allow students to reflect upon their previous multicultural experiences and develop future workplace experiences.

Business Analytics for Decision-Making – 20 credits
The ability to make informed decisions is crucial for the success of any business. Through the analysis of financial and statistical data and information, students will be guided through the interpretation of figures to make sense of data and inform decision-making.

International Study Placement or International Work Placement – 60 credits
Students will either choose an international study placement or an international work placement. Students will be provided with ample support from the SWBS in order to carry out this 60-credit module. Students will need to carry out their placement for 16 weeks and will be assessed on a variety of their learned experiences. All placements will be approved and assessed by the module team to ensure students have valuable experiences. This module will take the place of a full taught term in your second year of study.

Year Three: International Business degree

International Business Management – 20 credits
This module facilitates a systematic and critical understanding of the global business environment. Students’ ability to critically analyse emerging themes in international business will be enhanced and the opportunity to link business and management theory with business and management practice will be facilitated.

Business Ethics and Sustainability – 20 credits
In contemporary business, simply complying with the law is no longer seen as an acceptable way to operate. This module develops a critical understanding of the current ethical considerations for business which drive them towards being more socially responsible and sustainable bodies.

Contemporary Global Leadership – 20 credits
This module will provide any student who aspires towards management in any industry (including SME’s), with a critical insight into contemporary discourses on leadership in a global context. Students will develop an understanding of the myriad of complexities inherent in managing or leading a diverse contemporary workforce. 

Strategic Management – 20 credits
This module is the ‘capstone’ module of the BSc (Hons) International Business & Management degree and draws on the student experiences from a number of other modules studied throughout the course. Students will benefit from contemporary class-based simulation exercises which will require students to select and apply a range of tools, techniques, theories and frameworks to address a changing, dynamic business environment.

Year Three Business and Management – Dissertation - 40 credits
Throughout the final year of study, students have the option to undertake a dissertation (aka critical enquiry project) or a consultancy-based project. Students can choose an international business topic area of their choice with relevance to international business management. Both project options are double modules and will be developed throughout the whole of the final year of study, both will be supported by an individually allocated supervisor.

The course is available over three years or four years for the sandwich course option. 

Typically, the learning experience will be a blend of class activity and independent learning.

For the study abroad and project modules, students will have a combination of taught elements but with a stronger focus on self-study.

Modules are delivered over 10-week blocks. One block between September and December, the other from January to May.

Studying through the medium of Welsh

Over a third of this course can be studied through the medium of Welsh, and specific scholarships, including the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol Scholarships are available to students who choose to do so.

Research

Your studies will be underpinned by the latest research undertaken by the South Wales Business School Research Group. This means you will be taught by academics who are at the forefront of their specialist field.

A variety of assessment methods are incorporated into the programme to reflect authentic global workplace settings and prepare students for the world of work. These include business producing reports; presentations; case-studies; posters, portfolios and digital diaries; business simulations; and research or consultancy projects in addition to more traditional methods.