Open University

BA (Honours) in Business Management (Innovation and Enterprise)

Knowledge and understanding

On completion of this degree, you will be able to demonstrate:

• Knowledge and critical understanding of the main concepts, theories and principles associated with business management
• Systematic knowledge and understanding in one or more of the following specialisms, and the role they play in enhancing knowledge and practical skills in business management: accounting, economics, innovation and enterprise, leadership practice, and marketing.

Cognitive skills

On completion of this degree, you will be able to:

• Synthesize, critically evaluate, and challenge information, arguments, and assumptions from diverse sources, including current research and scholarship, using theories, concepts, and principles of business management.
• Apply knowledge and understanding to a broad spectrum of principal professional skills, techniques, practices, and materials related to business management, even in unpredictable or specialized contexts.
• Recognize the potential uncertainty, ambiguity, and limitations of knowledge within business management.
• Select and accurately employ established techniques of analysis and inquiry outside their original context, while being mindful of their constraints.

Practical and/or professional skills

On completion of this degree, you will be able to:

• Critically engage with practical and professional skills, demonstrating awareness of responsible and ethical issues in business management.
• Regularly review current situations and future career options, developing strategies to address limiting factors.
• Recognize the significance of developing both technical and non-technical skills, learning from feedback and self-reflection.
• Plan, monitor, and evaluate learning processes, seeking ways to improve performance and potentially enhance career prospects.

Key skills

On completion of this degree, you will be able to:

• Identify, interpret, and solve complex problems in business management.
• Reflect on the appropriateness and effectiveness of problem-solving processes and identify key principles applicable to future situations.
• Utilize formal, logical planning processes and contextual understanding to identify relevant information, risks, and alternative strategies.
• Present information about specialized topics effectively to different audiences, fostering the exchange of ideas and perspectives.
• Communicate with peers, experts, and senior colleagues on both academic and professional levels.
• Collaborate with others to achieve shared goals, facilitating effective group interaction and demonstrating leadership when necessary.
• Create, use, share, and repurpose digital content responsibly and ethically in the context of business management.
• Independently find, critically evaluate, and accurately use a wide range of information, data, or tools in complex contexts.
• Apply numerical skills and digital practices relevant to business management.
• Understand academic language and literacy practices to engage effectively with academic knowledge and skills at the OU level 3 study.

This degree has three stages, each comprising 120 credits.

You’ll study a 60-credit introductory business and management module. Thereafter, for your remaining 300 credits, you'll combine the study of business and management with the principles of innovation and design thinking, as well as entrepreneurship theory and practice.

Stage 1 (120 credits)

You'll study the following:

• An introduction to business and management (B100)

You'll complete Stage 1 with 60 credits from:

• Communication skills for business and management (LB170)
• Design thinking: creativity for the 21st century (U101)
• Discovering mathematics (MU123)
• Economics in Context (DD126)
• Fundamentals of Accounting (B124)
• Introducing statistics (M140)
• Making your learning count (YXM130)
• You and your money (DB125)
• Business data analytics and decision making (B126)

Stage 2 (120 credits)

You'll study both of the following:

• Shaping business opportunities (B207)
• Exploring innovation and entrepreneurship (B205)

Stage 3 (120 credits)

You'll study both of the following:

• Strategic management (B302)
• Creating futures: sustainable enterprise and innovation (B327)

You’ll complete your degree with one from:

• Leadership in a changing world (B329)
• Marketing in action (B328)

Assessment

Our assessments are all designed to reinforce your learning and help you show your understanding of the topics. The mix of assessment methods will vary between modules.

Computer-Marked Assignments

• Usually, a series of online, multiple-choice questions.

Tutor-Marked Assignments

• You’ll have a number of these throughout each module, each with a submission deadline.
• They can be made up of essays, questions, experiments or something else to test your understanding of what you have learned.
• Your tutor will mark and return them to you with detailed feedback.

End-of-Module Assessments

• The final, marked piece of work on most modules.
• Modules with an end-of-module assessment won’t usually have an exam.

Exams

• Some modules end with an exam. You’ll be given time to revise and prepare.
• You’ll be given your exam date at least 5 months in advance.
• Most exams take place remotely, and you will complete them at home or an alternative location.
• If a module requires you to take a face-to-face exam, this will be made clear in the module description, and you will be required to take your exam in person at one of our exam centres.

Skills for career development

This degree course will help you develop a broad set of skills that are of high value to employers, including the ability to:

• Understand key business functions such as marketing, human resources, information management, accounting and finance, and operations in their wider organisational and social context.
• Put together reasoned arguments and question assumptions.
• Draw together, analyse, and critically evaluate information.
• Understand the nature of leadership skills and behaviours within organizations.
• Communicate effectively, clearly, and accurately with others.
• Use ICT to research, identify, and present information.
• Manage time effectively and take responsibility for your personal development.

Career relevance

The skills and knowledge you’ll develop by studying this degree will equip you to follow several career paths and are recognised by employers as having great value for work in management and business. A qualification in business management can lead to opportunities in a wide range of areas such as:

• Middle and senior management positions across all sectors
• Advertising and marketing
• Accountancy
• Human resources
• Banking, including investment banking
• Sales and retail
• Management consultancy
• Business journalism
• Transport and logistics

Other careers

Employers are keen to utilise the commercial awareness that business graduates offer, as increasing globalisation and continual changes in technology, communications, financial services and distribution of goods and services open up new business opportunities. This awareness can also lead to opportunities in specialist areas concerned with offering guidance to managers, such as management consultancy or business journalism.

Many graduate-level jobs are open to graduates of any discipline, particularly in business, finance, management consultancy and the public sector.

With our unique approach to distance learning, you can study from home, work or on the move.

You’ll have some assessment deadlines to meet, but otherwise, you’ll be free to study at the times that suit you, fitting your learning around work, family, and social life.

For each of your modules, you’ll use either just online resources or a mix of online and printed materials.

Each module you study will have a module website with

• A week-by-week study planner, giving you a step-by-step guide through your studies
• Course materials such as reading, videos, recordings, and self-assessed activities
• Module forums for discussions and collaborative activities with other students
• Details of each assignment and their due dates
• A tutorial booking system, online tutorial rooms, and your tutor’s contact details
• Online versions of some printed module materials and resources.