Geography with Business BA

This is a 10,000 word individual project based on a geographical topic involving fieldwork and/or secondary data, and agreed by the candidate with their tutor and a specialist supervisor.

This module introduces basic physical principles of remote sensing, key remote sensing platforms/sensors and their applications within geography and the environment. It covers the theory behind remote sensing, provides hands-on practical experience of remote sensing data processing and insights into recent and cutting-edge uses of remote sensing for responding to socio-environmental challenges facing the globe. Students will gain knowledge of cutting-edge developments in remote sensing via exposure to recent advances from the research community.

This module introduces and develops frameworks which enable businesses to understand the buying behaviour of consumers.

This module introduces you to key contemporary debates and practices, giving you a chance to engage with these debates and practices. You will gain an understanding of the human resource management approaches managers take as you grapple with the challenges of the global economy and a demanding and diverse workforce within an international context.

This module investigates key linkages between development, livelihood and environmental issues in the global South, with particular reference to competition and conflict over environmental resources. Attention is placed on exploring these from the perspectives of different income, gender and community groups and contrasting their everyday realities with key development concepts and aggregate statistics.

Major themes include:

• linkages between poverty, environmental quality and livelihoods 
• integration of environmental issues into development thinking and practice 
• debates about overpopulation versus overconsumption 
• urban environmental issues, slums and informality
• water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and livelihoods 
• industry-related environment, development and livelihood issues
• competition and conflict in agrarian environments 
• forest-based development and livelihood issues

The module introduces current practices, technologies and ideas at the forefront of environmental modelling. It covers several major research areas from an environmental modelling perspective and provides hands-on experience of using the types of models that are applied by scientists around the world to aid decision- and policy-making on important issues that affect society and the natural environment.

This module covers:

• the historical development of the city of Berlin, to be visited on a field excursion (full costs will be supplied nearer the time of the trip)
• a critical approach to the cultural, historical, social and economic geography of Berlin
• a wide range of methodologies for conducting urban field work

Small group teaching is integral to the module. You are assigned into a group of three or four for the purposes of conducting small group project work while in Berlin. Frequent meetings are held between teaching staff and the small groups before, during and after the field course to support preparation for and the carrying out of research while in Berlin, as well as the writing-up of individual reports.

This module explores the economic geographies of money and of contemporary processes of financialisation. Competing theories of money, and the changing landscapes of finance and the financial services industry are explored at a variety of spatial scales.

Spaces examined include the global financial system, the UK retail financial market, the City of London and the emergence of local currency systems. More specifically, the following core topics are covered:

• Financial crisis
• The history and theory of money
• Financial services and financial intermediation
• Globalisation and the international financial system
• The City of London as international financial centre
• Landscapes of retail financial services
• Alternative and imagined landscapes of money

This module considers the role of political violence in creating the human geographies of Europe, the Americas and Asia in the past and the present. Several different forms of systemic violence are investigating, including inter-state warfare, intra-state civil warfare, colonialism and terrorism. The module traces of the geographical impact of violence through its materiality and technologies, and by reference to historical evolution, geopolitical imaginaries, and rhetorical and epistemological categories. Students will engage with theoretical, moral and legal debates in different regional contexts, and will critically interpret contemporary media reports and debates about the nature and legitimacy of violence within and between nation states.

Grounded in the sub-discipline of health geography, and drawing on relevant interdisciplinary perspectives and critical social theories, this module explores the relationships between health and place. A range of historical and contemporary examples are used to consider how health is constructed at various scales and how health inequities are produced. Material emphasizes critical conceptual and empirical work that advances understandings of health as socially and contextually situated, in counterpoint to approaches that see health as largely individually determined by lifestyle ‘choices.'

The module brings together cultural and political geography to examine the connections of politics, culture and landscape. The focus is on England, where landscape has long been central to questions of power and identity, whether at local, regional, national, international or imperial scales. Relations of power shape landscapes, and the identities of those who inhabit them and move through them. From the agricultural and industrial ‘revolutions’ and the empire of trade in the 18th century, down to the political and cultural upheavals of the 21st century, landscape has played a key role in shaping national identity, in England as elsewhere.

The module traces the history of landscape, culture and politics in England, and shows how legacies of the past shape debates today. From political disputes over the UK’s relationship to Europe, to anxieties over our relationship to land and environment, to the ways in which legacies of empire and slavery inform landscape and recast English identity, the module shows how cultural, historical and political geography helps to make sense of a transforming world.

This module covers:

• social, political, and legal context of managing diversity
• concepts used in diversity management, including equality and inclusion
• stereotyping and unconscious bias
• intersectional approaches to understanding inequalities
• business case approaches and their limits
• organisational practices and interventions in diversity management
• trade unions and diversity

An overview of marketing and society, macro-marketing issues, responsible and sustainable marketing, consumer response to marketing activities, marketing's impact on society and consumption.

The ability to develop and manage new product and services is crucial for the long-term survival of the firm and lies at the heart of the marketing concept. This module is designed to develop an appreciation of the latest theory and practice in the management and development of new products and services.

This module aims to develop an understanding of new product and service development (NPSD) as a strategic process and will explore and apply a variety of approaches to its management. In particular it pays attention to the role of market research/marketing analytics, and new approaches to using the Internet and social media. The NPSD process models will be evaluated and this will include critiques of the ideation process/creativity, design, new product launch management and marketing communication strategies.

In addition, contemporary themes around user innovation, co-creation, sustainability and international NPSD will be explored.

The module covers examination of key forms of social theory, both classical, and more contemporary versions and consideration of the applicability of these theories in relation to organisations and work.

This module examines the managerial and organisational factors that influence the formation and subsequent realisation of strategy. It enables you to develop skills in the analysis of strategic processes and practice with particular reference to the role of organisation in strategy development and execution, strategic leadership, strategic change, internationalisation and stakeholder management in strategic management.

This module aims to provide you with the skills, knowledge and practical experience required to respond to the challenges involved in managing, commercialising and marketing technological innovation and new business development.