This module is an introduction to key contemporary issues and global challenges affecting multiple disciplines - Business, Science, Engineering, Computing, Health and Social Care. You will engage in interdisciplinary thinking and working to develop a deeper understanding of the current global issues that impact your discipline, other sectors in society and your future career path. The module will provide you with real-world context and insights from industry professionals and academics, allowing you to develop your academic foundations as you analyse and propose solutions to real-world challenges. The module assessments enable you to develop your research, problem solving and critical thinking skills through in-depth study, as well as be able to communicate your findings effectively using both traditional and creative media formats.
This module will enable you to learn a set of important skills and competencies needed to progress to level 4 of an undergraduate degree. On the successful completion of this module, you will have developed, as a minimum, the literacies expected of an undergraduate student. These literacies include Independent Learning, Digital, Academic, Information, Creative, Social, Emotional and Assessment. The module will consist of several ‘taster’ subject specialist sessions early in trimester 1 (for Business & Law, Engineering & Computing, Built & Natural environment, Health, and Science), as well as sessions focused on employability, professional bodies/membership, and career pathways. The module assessments will include individual and group projects, which will enable you to apply the knowledge and skills you have gained during your first year of study. You also will be encouraged to reflect on your own learning and development throughout the module.
View the full module definitionThis module will help you develop additional critical knowledge, skills and competencies that will prepare you for progression to undergraduate study on our portfolio of extended degree programmes. The module will give you the opportunity to focus on an area most relevant to your chosen course and investigate a topic that interests you the most. There will be specific lectures, workshops and tutorials covering the approaches, skills and competencies required for project-based learning, you will also be participating in regular group supervision sessions with a relevant member of staff for your topic. You will be encouraged to be creative with the outputs presented – both “in writing” and “in person” using graphics, audio, video etc. to bring your topic to life. You will be encouraged to reflect on your own learning and development throughout the module.
View the full module definitionEntering third level education is exciting; but it can also be a daunting experience. At ARU, we want all students to make the most of the opportunities Higher Education provides, so they reach their potential, become lifelong learners and find fulfilling careers. However, we appreciate that the shift from secondary education, or a return to formal education is, in itself, quite a journey. This module is designed to ease that transition. You will be enrolled on it as soon as you receive an offer from ARU so you can begin to learn about university life before your course starts. Through Into ARU, you will explore a virtual land modelled around ARU values: Courage, Innovation, Community, Integrity, Responsibility, and Ambition. This innovative module is designed as a game, where students collect knowledge and various complete mini tasks. You will proceed at your own pace, though we expect all students to have completed their Into ARU exploration by week 6. Students who, for whatever reason, are unable to complete by that date, will be signposted to existing services so that we can be confident that they are supported.
View the full module definitionThe module aims to give you a sound grasp of the basic concepts required for financial analysis and management. The module will help you understand the role of managerial finance and financial markets and will enable you to analyse and present data using Microsoft Excel. For those studying BSc (Hons) Business Management and BSc (Hons) Business Management with Placement, successful completion of this module fulfils the requirements of the Chartered Management Institute's Unit 520 Managing Finance.
View the full module definitionThis module presents a fusion between the philosophies which underlie marketing, with a strong emphasis of integrating digital and traditional concepts and the real life application of marketing across a variety of sectoral contexts. You'll examine the core marketing concept of customer value and the interplay between marketing and sustainability and the ethical challenges and critiques of modern marketing. You'll gain a wide range of knowledge across a breadth of sectors and be able to adapt these to whatever career or future research you choose. On completion of the module you'll have not only a solid grounding in marketing philosophies and theories but also a critical view of marketing, based around the realisation of the reality of modern digital marketing operations and management in a context of increasing global economic challenges, but also within a context where the customer profile is shifting to become increasingly demanding, critical and questioning of the motivations and ethics behind the marketers activities.
View the full module definitionYou'll explore the factors that affect business, from a mostly external perspective, including elements of globalisation and international business and the fundamental skills needed in the world of business. Political, Economics, Social, Legal, Ecological and Technological factors will be examined in the macro business environment and how these interact in a competitive environment with globalisation, technological and social change to create complex strategic options for organisations. You will also explore in some detail the concept of sustainability and introductory economics.
View the full module definitionYou'll be introduced to a range of organisational behaviour issues that you may encounter in your career and be provided with evidence-informed analyses of ways in which culture, leadership, structure and motivation affect workers and workplaces. This foundation enables you to analyse the human side of management and diagnose problems affecting organisations both independently and as part of a group. You'll have the opportunity to take managerial, critical, symbolic-interactivist and feminist perspectives to business issues and organisational behaviour related theories, models and concepts to build your social capital and critical analytical skills. Specifically, we will equip you with the knowledge and human capitals to understand how people and organisations function in individual, group and organisational levels based on the latest academic evidence on topics such as motivation, leadership, teams, organisational structure and culture. Finally, we aim to inspire you to value and continuously use the best available academic evidence on effective management of people and organisations throughout your career.
View the full module definitionAs an introduction to a broad range of civil legal issues, you'll get an insight and appreciation of the various ways in which the law impacts on the world of commerce and our everyday life. The module provides a foundation across a broad range of fundamental legal principles and concepts of the English Legal System. The rights and obligations of legal entities/individuals under the Law of Contract and the Law of Tort will also be examined.
View the full module definitionYou'll explore consumer behaviour but not only the what and how we buy, you'll be getting deeper into how marketers tailor their offer to consumer demands and market trends, how consumer behaviour is influenced by new products and services, the marketing mix and its design and implementation. The psychological and sociological models and theories and emerging consumer psychology research will be illustrated with practical examples of the day to day marketing activities of product and service providers. You'll work in teams, following market research techniques, to develop your skills and entrepreneurial awareness. By analysing your research, you will propose a business case for a new market offering, after identifying a need within a consumer group. How you use marketing techniques to convey this offering and the value to the target consumer, how this would affect their decision making and behaviour as well as motivate them to purchase will form the basis of your individual assignment. On completion you will have gained technical and professional marketing skills to be able to identify opportunities and the transferable skills to be able to creatively and innovatively develop appropriate and entrepreneurial business cases.
You'll develop core marketing principles in a retail and experiential context and specialist knowledge of the retail and experience industry, such as museums, galleries, and physical visitor experiences, all from a marketing perspective. You'll explore retail and experiential marketing's key issues such as retail mixes and strategies, the 'retail product', experiential elements of customer satisfaction, digital retailing, behaviour research and supply chain management and retail performance. You'll look at the synergy between retail marketing and the marketing of experiences focusing on the services area of marketing. The sustainable and ethical issues of retail and experience operations are considered including the growth of consumerism, use of consumer data, environmental impact and consumer attitudes to debt.
Ruskin Modules are designed to prepare our students for a complex, challenging and changing future. These interdisciplinary modules provide the opportunity to further broaden your perspectives, develop your intellectual flexibility and creativity. You will work with others from different disciplines to enable you to reflect critically on the limitations of a single discipline to solve wider societal concerns. You will be supported to create meaningful connections across disciplines to apply new knowledge to tackle complex problems and key challenges. Ruskin Modules are designed to grow your confidence, seek and maximise opportunities to realise your potential to give you a distinctive edge and enhance your success in the workplace.
Entrepreneurs are people who identify and exploit opportunities for new products, marketing or processes to generate economic and social value. Entrepreneurship is not just about new venture creation, it involves using creative or innovative ideas to recognise and develop solutions. You’ll work as part of a team over 3 rounds of activity (such as gamification, experiential learning and simulation) to focus on the identification of an opportunity, the creation of a product or service and pitching a concept to work as part of the team to develop your skills and collaborate with organisations and guest speakers.
Project Management is a key skill for any future professional. This module focuses on providing a sound basis for managing or working on project outcomes, cost and time. This module covers: Project Management Body of Knowledge; the importance of stakeholder and risk management; scheduling and costing; monitoring and controlling techniques, time management and resource optimisation; improving the success of projects; and the principles of agile project management.
Successful branding creates consumer value and can provide protection from price competition and pressures towards commoditization. This involves complex processes which transform experience from satisfaction of basic needs to becoming a medium of social exchange. Brands are very important to consumers and firms. In this module you will learn about how to manage these valuable assets and the concept of brand equity whilst developing and exploring the work of leading marketing theorists and practitioners. You will not only examine leading global brands such as Coca Cola and Apple, but also lesser known brands in the context of strategic brand management.
You'll develop understanding of the shift towards more environmentally, socially and economically responsible business practice and in particular focus on the drivers behind this shift; including an understanding of the sustainable development goals and growing business arguments for including a consideration of sustainability in all business and management practice. The module promotes a personal approach to the issues of sustainability and personal and social responsibility. The module includes an authentic assessment where you'll be diagnosing, designing and evaluating an environmental management plan for your households or organisations, while reflecting on your personal responsibility and ethical behaviour. You'll pay special attention to questioning the different responses of business in relation to social responsibility and sustainable management.
This module is designed to give you an overall understanding of marketing communications and the part that it plays in marketing and in business success. You'll explore the role of communications and the integrated nature of modern advertising campaigns, the tools and techniques used in marketing communications, both online and offline whilst looking into how and why each tool is used. You'll analyse the advantages and disadvantages of each, illustrating how the tools interact with the other elements of the marketing mix and how they must all integrate to achieve vital synergy. The promotional planning process at the strategic, tactical and operational levels is identified and examined and applied. You'll gain the knowledge and skills which will enable you to pursue a career in the marketing industry and in particular marketing communications in either a company or agency. The assessment requires you to develop and demonstrate your theoretical knowledge, as well as to develop your skills in the application of this theory in the creation of marketing communications and the appropriate media formats. Your brief will be to develop your advertising campaign – live where possible - which you will present to a panel of experts (from the company when live). You can then take this feedback to reflect upon and improve your communications plan where necessary for the report submission. Working in a team, you'll develop your skills and marketing knowledge, whilst exploring cultural trends, entrepreneurial opportunities and reflect on your own pitch and performance to develop a positive, creative experience.
View the full module definitionYou'll have the opportunity to bring together your learning on live brief assessments and be part of an interdisciplinary team addressing a current issue in business. You'll be presented with a current business issue and be required to research, analyse and evaluate the issue effectively as a team. You'll act as the expert in your field of study to bring the perspective of that specialty to a complex business problem. You'll identify the key problems and issues, conduct literature reviews, evaluate information, investigate and adopt suitable development methodologies, determine solutions, process data, critically appraise and present the findings of your project using a variety of media. You'll create a poster presentation on your project for your team to display, and answer questions on, to an audience of academics and employers at a poster presentation event. You'll write a group business report on the outcomes of your project, evidencing your recommendations alongside an individual piece of reflective work on how you approached the issue, worked successfully as a team member, conducted robust business research and developed sound conclusions and recommendations.