Global Logistics And Supply Chain Management

Global Logistics and Supply Chain Management is an area that is rapidly gaining importance and focus as businesses address the challenge of meeting increasingly demanding customer expectations globally. There has been a growth in interest in how organisations manage the flows into, within, and out of their enterprises and recognition that this fundamentally affects their competitive position. In an increasingly competitive marketplace those organisations that appropriately embrace logistics and supply chain management rationale will strengthen their ability to compete successfully.

This unit aims to enable you to:

• Have a sound understanding of the various dimensions of the complex and dynamic subject of logistics and supply chain management;
• Examine critically the key issues of contemporary developments and practices in logistics, supply chain management and other related areas, and solve practical problems creatively by using relevant and well researched theoretical concepts and frameworks.

This unit will introduce you to well-developed theories and concepts in global logistics and supply chain management as well as the current research in the areas of sustainable supply chains and technological innovations. In particular, it will concentrate on contemporary developments within subject area of the course, and the increasing integration between the highly related areas of logistics management, supply chain management, and sustainable operations management. It will consider the ways in which these developments are expanding and challenging the traditionally accepted roles and objectives of these functions and how integration can contribute to enhanced competitive advantage for organisations.

Sustainable Business Management

The central aim of this unit is to equip students with the knowledge and skills to understand the scope and aspects of business impacts on the environment and how these impacts may be managed to improve business sustainability. The unit will closely reflect the needs of the revised international environmental management standard, ISO14001:2015 and recognise the contexts of climate change and the move to a circular economy that are integral to the perspectives of the standard. The unit will help students develop their management skills in the light of rapidly developing, complex ideas about business sustainability. Research will play a large part in this. The need for managers to find out fast through sound research skills, and the ability to carry out independent research and appreciate the quality of sources, will be integral to success on the unit. In particular, the unit will help students critically assess current business practices while developing strategic and operational opportunities to embed sustainability more deeply throughout the business. This will include systems but, to reflect the emphasis of ISO14001 (2015) will emphasise the need for senior leadership, creativity and engagement skills. The unit will work in partnership with Bedfordshire Green Business Network (GBN) to engage students with real life case studies and opportunities for practical skills development.

Risk And Procurement Management

This unit explores the theory and principles of Risk and Procurement Management as well as quality issues in Engineering and Project Management contexts. The emphasis will be on managing the issues (risks, procurement and quality) and problems encountered within any project or operation and the difficulties of delivering projects and programmes within the agreed objectives.
The aim of this unit is to enable you:

• To understand and analyse the Risk and Quality Management using necessary tools and techniques to ensure a successful engineering or project management
• To understand and evaluate distinguished features of negotiation within contract and procurement management within variety of organisational settings

Performance Achievement Planning

This short course is a professional development course that is designed to support all PG students in the University of Bedfordshire Business School to enhance their employability and develop a professional profile through their journey in the Masters. The specific aims are to:

1. Enhance students’ professional, personal development and communication skills.  
2. To support students to evidence how their experience at masters level has contributed to the development of their professional profile as required after graduation.
3. To support students to develop the necessary academic skill required for successful completion of postgraduate research

Business Dissertation

Aims:

• To bring theory and practice together to formulate a  topic of your interest whether it is a research-oriented topic or a more clinical topic that is relevant to the context of business and conduct research on your choice of topic relevant to your field of study
• To stimulate you to reflect on issues critically and to identify aspects that need further research
• To provide you with the opportunity to explore a topic and appreciate the importance of literature review in the learning process
• To critically evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of other people’s research to formulate your own study
• To enhance skills in time-management, research management, project organisation and decision-making
• To apply and reflect on the practicalities of research including access to sources and ethical considerations

Relevance

An important aim of a Master’s degree is to master and apply your knowledge and skills independently so that you can successfully carry out research. This dissertation provides you with the opportunity for sustained independent study that builds on your research proposal and represents the culmination of your Master’s level studies.

Project And Operations Management

Project Management has become increasingly important and is an essential skill in many business related careers today. Operations Management has always been one of the key functions in an organisation since it is concerned with the production and delivery of the organisation’s products and services.

The competitive environment for operations demands new ways of thinking about the way we approach the management of our own organisation and those we network with. Global sourcing and relocation are now commonplace for manufacturing and service organisations.

The unit first seeks to provide a fundamental understanding of operations management. This foundation is then developed into the new ways in which organisations should be managed in the global context.

The unit also explores the theory and principles of project management for a wide range of project types. It will consider the appropriate application of project management tools and techniques.

This unit is informed by research-based knowledge and scholarship, emanating from a range of operations and project management practices.

The aim of this unit is to enable you to:

• Evaluate the principles and techniques associated with Project and Operations Management both in manufacturing and service industries in the private and public sectors;
• Critically assess the relationship between operations and other functions within an organisation, and the need for integration between marketing, operations and human resources which is essential for modern business to meet customer needs;
• Evaluate the implications of taking a global perspective of project/ operations management.
• Consider the significance of project management and the role of a project manager in modern businesses.
• Select and use appropriate project management tools and techniques to plan a project.