PROGRAMME SPECIFICATION

KEY FACTS

Programme name Full-Time MBA

Award MBA
School Bayes Business School
Department or Bayes MBA Programme
equivalent
Programme code PSDMBA
Type of study Full Time
Total UK credits 230
Total ECTS 115

PROGRAMME SUMMARY

The core content is delivered in four blocks, each worth 25 credits. Each block clusters
compatible modules within identifiable business disciplines and they will require you to
apply module-specific skills and knowledge to develop an integrated understanding and
response to key business issues. Each block is finalised by a week of integrative learning
designed by the lecturers of the 3 disciplines you have studied. The elective block
comprises a free choice from a range of modules, which can be chosen to develop your
specialist or generalist expertise. In the final stage, you will produce a Business Mastery
Project, focusing on a minimum of two disciplines studied during your MBA and of
maximum 15,000 words.

The following is an outline of the FT MBA Structure:

Block 1 - Strategy and Organisations

Accounting & Financial Reporting (20 hours face-to-face teaching)
Organisational Behaviour (20 hours face-to-face teaching)
Strategy (20 hours face-to-face teaching)
Block 1 Integration Week (20 hours face-to-face teaching)
Block 1 = 25 credits

Block 2 - The Financial Environment

Markets and Investments (20 hours face-to-face teaching)

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Analytics for Business (20 hours face-to-face teaching)
Business in the Global Economy (20 hours face-to-face teaching)
Block 2 Integration Week (20 hours face-to-face teaching)
Block 2 = 25 credits

Block 3 - Creating Management Advantage

Human Resource Management (20 hours face-to-face teaching)
Operations Management (20 hours face-to-face teaching)
Marketing (20 hours face-to-face teaching)
Block 3 Integration Week (20 hours face-to-face teaching)
Block 3 = 25 credits

Block 4 - Knowledge and Policy

Responsibility and Sustainability in Business (20 hours face-to-face teaching)
Corporate Finance (20 hours face-to-face teaching)
Digital Technologies and Business Innovation (20 hours face-to-face teaching)
Block 4 Integration Week (20 hours face-to-face teaching)
Block 4 = 25 credits

Strategy Consulting Project: Knowledge and Skills into Practice

15 Credits

International Consultancy Trip

10 credits

Electives
Chosen from a range of specialist and general electives
Elective modules are either 10 or 5 credits per module. A total of 55 elective credits must
be achieved.

Business Mastery Project = 50 credits.

MBA Programme Total = 230 credits

Aims

The aim of the Full Time MBA is to educate you as managers and business specialists
and thus to strengthen the quality of the management of public, private and not-for-profit
organisations both small and large and with both formal and informal structures. The
Programme adds value to your first degree(s) and previous experience through the
development of an integrated and critically aware understanding of management and
organisations and preparing you to fulfil organisational roles in a highly effective manner
at a very senior level. The aim is fourfold:

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• develop a sound understanding of organisations, their management and their
changing external context

• build strong career potential in business and management by developing highly

professional skills and an attitude towards leadership, change and enterprise which
is at once both positive and critical - to reflect the dynamism and vibrancy of the
current business and management environment

• strengthen your ability to apply knowledge and understanding to complex issues,

both systemically and creatively, so that theory is converted into practice from a
critical and informed perspective, thereby enhancing organisational effectiveness
and competitiveness

• enhance your lifelong learning skills to ensure continuing self-direction and originality
in personal effectiveness and expertise.

WHAT WILL I BE EXPECTED TO ACHIEVE?

On successful completion of this programme, you will be expected to be able to:

Knowledge and understanding:

• Demonstrate a sound understanding of organisations, their management and their

changing external context
• Demonstrate a sound conceptual understanding of leading edge research such that
you can evaluate its validity and its relevance to current issues and can extrapolate
its significance to new and unfamiliar situations and problems

Skills:

• Design investigative methods for issues of competitive or organisational value:

identify relevant data and workable analytical approaches in order to produce reliable
conclusions
• Apply knowledge and understanding to complex issues, both systemically and
creatively, so that theory is converted into practice from a critical and informed
perspective, thereby enhancing organisational effectiveness and competitiveness
• Develop your lifelong learning skills to ensure continuing self-direction and originality
in personal effectiveness and expertise
• Identify issues of value to management practice or organisational effectiveness
• Communicate effectively orally and in writing using a wide range of media
• Think critically and creatively: organise thoughts, analyse, synthesise, critically
appraise, including the ability to identify assumptions, evaluate statements in terms
of evidence, detect false logic, define terms adequately and generalise appropriately
• Operate in a variety of inter-personal and team roles and take leadership roles where
appropriate

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• Solve problems and make decisions: establish criteria, use appropriate decision
making techniques including identifying, formulating and solving business problems,
identify and evaluate options, implement and evaluate the effectiveness of solutions
• Scan and organise data, abstracting meaning from information and disseminating
knowledge

Values and attitudes:

• Develop a strong career potential in business and management by developing highly

professional skills and an attitude towards leadership, change and enterprise which
is at once both positive and critical and which reflects the dynamism and vibrancy of
the current business and management environment
• Dedicate your performance under both favourable and unfavourable conditions
• Demonstrate a real interest in managerial excellence
• Learn quickly and confidently how to apply your skills and knowledge on the job
• Understand the ethics (especially the concept of "fair play") in the practice of
business in all the areas covered by your programme
• Demonstrate an ethical approach to work, which resonates to that of a professional
business person.
• Work effectively within a team, while being tolerant of disagreement, open and
sensitive to diversity in business, cultures and people
• Engage in reflective, adaptive and collaborative learning
• Engage with a number of different approaches to learning, teaching assessment and
inter-personal communication

This Programme has been developed in accordance with the QAA Subject Benchmark
for Business and Management.

HOW WILL I LEARN?

The breadth and structure of the MBA as a Masters level programme demands a
compatible breadth in learning strategies and assessment methods. You will be required
to complete extensive preparation for lecture sessions and are encouraged to learn from
each other's practical experience through extensive group-work.

The programme reflects the pedagogic philosophy of Bayes Business School:

advanced, technically challenging and integrated education to prepare business
professionals and leaders to operate at decision-making levels.

Core theory is learned through textbooks, handbooks and self-study. Understanding and
application of theory is developed through case teaching, formal lectures, group work,
seminars, discussions, workshops, exercises and projects.

Professional skills typically involve experiential learning methodology.

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Emphasis is placed upon the specific acquisition of both the theoretical foundations of
various decision-making tools and their application in practical, real-world contexts. You
will present some of your work to lecturers, visiting experts, and other members of the
class, which will give invaluable practice in using, applying and expressing complex
subject matter clearly and concisely to a business audience. You will undertake
individual and group-work (some of which may be undertaken in semi-virtual teams) for
the preparation of case studies, research tasks, and other assignments. This aims to
consolidate your acquired knowledge and also build your interpersonal and
communication skills which are essential for your further career development.

A variety of teaching modes will be used (lectures, discussions, case studies, group
work and individual activities) to enhance the quality of learning and to develop your
interpersonal and teamwork skills. Your development and guidance will also be an
important aspect of these sessions. You will evaluate each workshop and your
feedback will be incorporated into a strategy of quality maintenance and improvement.

Independent/self-study will enhance and build upon the face-to-face contact for each
module, support your achievement of the learning outcomes, and encourage the
completion of the programme. Materials to support learning are provided on-line
through an appropriate Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), which has been chosen
for this programme. When necessary, you will be supported with printed versions of the
learning material as a complementary resource to electronic or computer-based
material.

Learning materials will consist of some or all of the following:

• Structured study guides (to assist students to navigate effectively through their
materials within a well-defined study timetable)
• Appropriate readings (books and textbooks plus other carefully selected
materials such as full-text journal articles)
• Exercises and other self-assessment activities
• Case studies
• Review questions and questions for group discussion
• Glossary
• Useful web links and internet resources
• References
• Specimen examinations

Summary of Course Hours (approximate)

Contact Hours = 654*
Self Study = 1546*
Total = 2200*
*Plus International Consultancy Week

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WHAT TYPES OF ASSESSMENT AND FEEDBACK CAN I EXPECT?

Assessment and Assessment Criteria

Assessment aims to evaluate students' ability to handle complex business and

organisational situations holistically with particular strengths in analysing, synthesising
and solving complex unstructured business problems and implementing agreed
solutions effectively and efficiently.

To achieve this, students need to demonstrate:

• systemic understanding of organisations, their external context and how they are
managed
• application of relevant knowledge to a range of complex situations taking account of
inter-connectedness internally and externally with other parts of the organisation and
with stakeholder organisations
• critical awareness of current issues in business and management and leading edge
research and practice in the field, including sound understanding of how research is
used to develop and interpret knowledge in this field
• understanding of appropriate techniques for detailed investigation of vital business
and management issues
• ability to identify, analyse and evaluate the validity of relevant data, and to synthesise
varied and complex information in order to apply it to new and unrelated situations
or problems
• ability to communicate complex, policy-oriented information effectively using a wide
range of media.

Assessment criteria relate to validity, reliability and fairness, assessing appropriate

aspects of knowledge and skill, supporting the aims of learning and teaching, providing
opportunities for feedback wherever appropriate and open to external scrutiny (for
example by external examiners) as appropriate.

Assessment Criteria are descriptions, based on the intended learning outcomes, of the
skills, knowledge or attitudes that you need to demonstrate in order to complete an
assessment successfully, providing a mechanism by which the quality of an assessment
can be measured. Grade- Related Criteria are descriptions of the level of skills,
knowledge or attributes that you need to demonstrate in order achieve a certain grade
or mark in an assessment, providing a mechanism by which the quality of an assessment
can be measured and placed within the overall set of marks. Assessment Criteria and
Grade-Related Criteria will be made available to you to support you in completing
assessments. These may be provided in programme handbooks, module specifications,
on the virtual learning environment or attached to a specific assessment task.

Assessment is carried out according to context and purpose and, where different
methods of assessment are in use, recognises that you may exhibit different aptitudes
in different forms of assessment. Also assessment methods encourage you and give
you credit for clear explanations and a high standard of English.

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You will be assessed through a number of diverse, but complementary, methods,
including examinations (primarily paper-based), invigilated coursework (tests under
exam conditions), non- invigilated individual coursework, assessed group-work (for
example case studies and business plans) and class presentations.

A major course project (Business Mastery Project) facilitates the integration of learning
and is designed and managed by students with considerable independence, and
support and advice from an academic supervisor: it provides a clear assessment of both
the growth of independence of learning and the ability to integrate learning from the MBA
in a holistic way.

Feedback on assessment

Feedback will be provided in line with our Assessment and Feedback Policy. In
particular, you will normally be provided with feedback within three weeks of the
submission deadline or assessment date. This would normally include a provisional
grade or mark. For end of module examinations or an equivalent significant task (e.g. an
end of module project), feedback will normally be provided within four weeks. The
timescale for feedback on final year projects or dissertations may be longer. The full
policy can be found at:
https://www.city.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/68921/assessment_and_feedback_
policy.pdf

Assessment Regulations

In order to pass your MBA Programme, you must successfully complete all the relevant
modules and assessments and therefore acquire the required number of credits (230).

The pass mark for each module is 50%, with a minimum component mark of 40 for
Blocks 1-4. More details on each module’s assessment regulations can be found in the
relevant module descriptor.

If you fail an assessment component or a module, the following will apply:

Resit: you will be offered one resit attempt. If you are successful in the resit, you will be
awarded the credit for that module. The mark for each assessment component that is
subject to a resit will be capped at the pass mark for the module. This capped mark will
be used in the calculation of the final module mark together with the original marks for
the components that you passed at first attempt.

If you do not meet the pass requirements for a module and do not complete your resit
by the date specified, the Assessment Board may require that you be withdrawn from
the Programme.

A student who has not met the pass requirements for a Module due to failure in a resit
may, at the discretion of the Assessment Board and under exceptional circumstances,
be offered a second resit subject to the following conditions:

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 1. The resit is permitted for no more than one assessment component
2. The student does not attend City, and access is limited to certain learning
resources for the component being repeated,
3. The marks that can be achieved for the component being repeated is
capped at the module and/or component pass marks,
4. The student retains the marks for the modules and/or components
already passed,
5. No further resit opportunities are permitted.

Where the Assessment Board is satisfied that a further opportunity to take the original
assessment is not possible or is inappropriate, it may arrange for an alternative
assessment task to be set, on the condition that it must be an equivalent task which
will enable the relevant Learning Outcomes to be demonstrated

If you would like to know more about the way in which assessment works at City, please
see the full version of the Assessment Regulations at:
http://www.city.ac.uk/__data/assets/word_doc/0003/69249/s19.doc

WHAT AWARD CAN I GET?

The Masters Degree will be awarded if the student achieves:

i) 230 credits (required core and correct number of elective modules)
ii) An award mark of no less than 50%

The Masters Degree with Merit will be awarded if the student achieves
i) 230 credits (required core and correct number of elective modules)
ii) An award mark of between 65% and 69.9%
iii) No modules failed at the first attempt

The Masters Degree with Distinction will be awarded if the student achieves
i) 230 credits (required core and correct number of elective modules)
ii) An award mark of at least 70%
iii) No modules failed at the first attempt*

*If a student fails one module at the first attempt, and subsequently passes that
module, and achieves an award mark of 70% or above, they will be eligible for a Merit.

Master’s Degree:

Part HE Credits Weighting Class % required

Level (%)
Degree 7 230 100 With Distinction 70
With Merit 65

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 Without 50
classification

WHAT WILL I STUDY?

Core Modules
Can be
Module Core/
Module Title SITS Code Compensa Leve
Credits Elective
ted?
Block 1: Strategy and Organisations MBM406 25 C N 7
Block 2: The Financial Environment MBM407 25 C N 7
Block 3: Creating Management Advantage MBM408 25 C N 7
Block 4: Knowledge and Policy MBM409 25 C N 7
Strategy Consulting Project: Knowledge
MBM561 15 C N 7
and Skills into Practice
International Consultancy Week MBM545 10 C N 7
Business Mastery Project MBM100 50 C N 7

Indicative electives
Please note that the list of electives below may be taught in daytime, evening or weekend format.
Can be
Module Core/
Module Title SITS Code Compe Level
Credits Elective
nsated?
Advanced Corporate Finance MBM107 10 E N 7
Advanced Corporate Strategy in a
MBM167 10 E N 7
Globalizing World
Applied Financial Analysis for Managers
MBM520 5 E N 7
and Investors
At the Core of Entrepreneurship - Silicon
MBM176 10 E N 7
Valley*
Behavioural Finance MBM530 5 E N 7
Branding and Advertising MBM522 10 E N 7
Capturing Value from Technological
MBM179 5 E N 7
Innovation
Bayes Entrepreneurship Fund Project MBM122 10 E N 7
China International Study Tour MBM137 10 E N 7
Competitive Edge with Digital
MBM182 10 E N 7
Technologies
Consulting to Management MBM113 10 E N 7
Crisis Management and Leadership MBM021 5 E N 7
Cuba, an Economy in Transition MBM177 10 E N 7
Topics on Derivatives MBM512 10 E N 7
Digital Marketing and Social Media MBM560 10 E N 7

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Fintechs – Disruption and Cooperation MBM528 5 E N 7
Forecasting MBM515 10 E N 7
Global Real Estate MBM814 10 E N 7
Innovation and Entrepreneurship MBM109 10 E N 7
Innovation Practice MBM320 5 E N 7
Innovation & Technology Study Tour-
MBM175 10 E N 7
Israel and Palestine
International Financial Management MBM518 10 E N 7
Investment Strategy and Practice *** MBM163 10 E N 7
Leading Digital Transformations MBM173 5 E N 7
Leading in Challenging Situations MBM183 5 E N 7
Managerial Decision Making MBM112 10 E N 7
Managing Strategic Change MBM526 10 E N 7
Mergers and Acquisitions**** MBM140 10 E N 7
New Venture Creation MBM542 10 E N 7
Private Equity***** MBM134 10 E N 7
Scaling Ventures MBM553 10 E N 7
Silicon Valley: Digital Innovation in
MBM171 10 E N 7
Action**
South Africa - leading change in a
MBM540 10 E N 7
complex world
Storytelling in Business MBM600 5 E N 7
Strategic Marketing in Action: Exploring
MBM546 10 E N 7
Location Brands
Strategic Valuation and Management of
MBM120 10 E N 7
Customer Relationships
Succeeding in Professional and Financial
MBM538 10 E N 7
Services
Supply Chain Finance and Risk MBM184 5 E N 7
Sustainability: Business Challenges and
MBM186 10 E N 7
Opportunities
Tech for Social Good Study Tour - Kenya MBM181 10 E N 7
The London Symposium MBM170 10 E N 7
UAE International Study tour MBM312 10 E N 7
Machine Learning for Business MBM183 10 E Y 7
Managing Strategic Change MBM810 10 E Y 7
Global Economic and Social Challenges MBM805 10 E Y 7
Competitive Edge with Digital
MBM808 10 E Y 7
Technologies
Consulting to Management MBM806 10 E Y 7
Advanced Corporate Finance MBM804 10 E Y 7
Advanced Strategy and Business Models MBM809 10 E Y 7
New Venture Creation MBM811 10 E Y 7
Digital Marketing and Social Media MBM809 10 E Y 7
Capturing Value from Innovation:
MBM807 10 E Y 7
Strategies for Innovative Firms

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 International Finance MBM803 10 E Y 7
Global Real Estate MBM814 10 E Y 7
Strategic Business Analysis MBM816 10 E Y 7
Investment Strategy and Practice MBM819 10 E Y 7
Mergers and Acquisitions (online) MBM820 10 E Y 7
Private Equity (online) MBM821 10 E Y 7
Start-ups in Latin America: Practicing
MBM187 10 E N 7
Entrepreneurship
ESG Strategy and Investing MBM144 10 E N 7
Leading AI and Industry 4.0 MBM822 10 E N 7
* The pre requisite to this module is successful completion of the 10 credit modules ‘New
Venture Creation’ MBM542 or ‘Innovation and Entrepreneurship’ MBM019.
** The pre-requisite to this module is successful completion of the 5 credit module ‘Leading
Digital Transformations’ MBM173.
*** Cannot be taken alongside ‘Investment Strategy and Practice’ MBM819.
**** Cannot be taken alongside ‘Mergers and Acquisitions (online)’ MBM820
***** Cannot be taken alongside ‘Private Equity (online)’ MBM821

This list of electives is an indication of the range of modules that can be on offer and is
subject to change due to circumstances such as: enhancing or updating the quality and
content of educational provision; responding to student feedback; academic staffing
changes; the number of students in each programme; a lack of student demand for certain
modules; or factors beyond the institution’s reasonable control, such as meeting the latest
requirements of a commissioning or accrediting body. For these reasons, not all the
electives listed will be offered every year. New (additional or replacement) modules may
also be added for these reasons.

The list of electives offered in a given year will be confirmed in the last week of January
that academic year.

Electives can be offered to MBAs in a different format and timetable to the core modules
of the programme chosen. In order to have access to a wider array of electives, students
should be prepared to adapt their personal agenda to the schedule of the modules, which
can vary every year for the reasons mentioned above. The MBA will use all reasonable
endeavours to ensure that at least the required number of credits are delivered in the basic
format and location of the core courses of the programme chosen.

TO WHAT KIND OF CAREER MIGHT I GO ON?

If you would like more information on the Careers support available at Bayes, please go
to: Bayes Careers Online www.cass.city.ac.uk/careersonline

WHAT STUDY ABROAD OPTIONS ARE AVAILABLE?

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 No formal options available. However, you will be located overseas for your International
Consultancy Week, the international electives and potentially your Business Mastery
Project, and you can also take some electives in Dubai.

WILL I GET ANY PROFESSIONAL RECOGNITION?

Accreditation Body Association of MBAs

Nature of Accreditation
Periodic re-accreditation every 4-5 years

Approval of quality of design, delivery and administrative support

HOW DO I ENTER THE PROGRAMME?

Applicants will normally be required to hold:

a good university degree or appropriate professional qualification. Candidates who do

not have a degree or a professional qualification may be considered on the basis of
evidence of their ability to study successfully at postgraduate level
• a balanced GMAT of 600 or above
• a minimum of three years full-time relevant work experience gained after graduation
and
• if English is not the candidate's first language, they will require a minimum well-
balanced IELTS score of normally 7.0. This may be waived if the candidate has
worked or studied in an English-speaking environment for at least a year.

Applicants will also be required to submit a resume and two professional referee reports.
All offers will be subject to face-to-face or telephone interviews, where interpersonal
skills and English proficiency will also be assessed before formal acceptance onto the
programme. Candidates whose language competence is considered weak, may be
required to take a Pre-sessional English programme before commencing the MBA
programme.

Version: 11.0
Version date: February 2023
For use from: 2023-24

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