Airline and Airport Corporate ManagementMSc

Aviation Finance and Forecasting

This module currently runs:
spring semester - Thursday morning

(core, 20 credits)

This module introduces the vital appreciation of the management of airline costs as a key management skill for commercial airline managers. The airline industry in particular is highly volatile because of the complex costs of production of the service and is subject to violent external shocks on a regular basis. A sound financial strategy is therefore vital to airline survival and the module introduces techniques and tools to assess the steps to take for long term profitability.

The module takes an in-depth look at factors affecting costs, revenues and profitability at both airlines and airports and the ramifications of any such changes. Attention will also be given to forecasting travel demand from available data.

The module aims are therefore to evaluate the complex range of financial issues that airline managers have to address to ensure a sustainable business in the long term and how to manage the critical aspects of negative financial exposure that are common in the sector.

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E Commerce Strategy for Aviation

This module currently runs:
spring semester - Thursday afternoon

(core, 20 credits)

This module will focus on the concept of e-commerce within aviation management and the impact of the digital age will continue to have on the strategic activities of airlines and airports. The start of the e-commerce revolution was back in 1995 with the first innovators including Alaskan Airlines and British Midland developing their first website booking engines. Since this time the global online travel sector has grown to generate more than half a trillion dollars in revenue.

Airline e-commerce in all its forms is projected to grow significantly as we move into the 21st century. The ‘e’ story is about the continuing evolution of internet-based technologies and the proliferation of new internet-based applications. This development is shifting and enhancing the power of consumers and airlines to a more direct relationship and minimising the power of the intermediaries (travel agents). A particular focus on the new types of airlines and airports that are exploiting the e-commerce agenda and how the legacy carriers are having to adapt to these new sales and marketing dynamics.

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Safety Management Systems in Aviation

This module currently runs:
autumn semester - Tuesday afternoon

(core, 20 credits)

The study of safety management is critical in the aviation industry as it aims not only to prevent unwanted outcomes (accidents/incidents) but also in terms of enhancing production. A robust safety management system provides a balance between protection and production. The module covers safety risk management including different methods of hazard identification, safety assurance, safety culture and emergency response procedures. It also explores the importance of the under-pinning organisational structures as proposed by ICAO annex 19, regulation, documentation and polices which enable safety management systems to be explicit and proactive. The module also looks into accident causation models that use holistic approaches which focus on the aviation system environment, activities which take place within it and the way in which constituent parts of the aviation system (both human and non-human) interact and the behaviours required.

The module aims to provide students with:

• an understanding of the reasons why SMS was introduced
• skills to be able to competently implement a safety management system in an organisation
• skills to be able to risk assess and evaluate potential mitigations
• knowledge about the importance of safety culture and how to evaluate its effectiveness
• knowledge regarding the importance of States’ involvement in the SMS oversight of service providers
• skills to analyse accidents using causation models

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Strategic Aviation Management and Operations

This module currently runs:
autumn semester - Friday afternoon

(core, 20 credits)

The commercial airline industry is one of the most dynamic and fast moving of all the service industries because of the unique combination of high capital investment in technology (aircraft) and the volatile nature of air travel. This means that airline management is always having to strategically evaluate the future options for the airline and maintain the best return on investment by scanning the external environment and evaluate the best way ahead. In addition, airlines need to try and develop a competitive advantage so that they cannot be easily undermined by competitors.

Likewise, commercial airports need to develop plans of actions that anticipate the needs and wants of their airline partners and the ability to develop infrastructure that allows the seamless development of air travel opportunities for the future. This is complicated by the various ownership structures and regulatory dynamics of the sector internationally for both airlines and airports and means that different regions of the world have different features in the decision-making process for the aviation sector.

The module draws on a wide-range of academic research and professional experience. It introduces core strategic management concepts and encourages students to develop a critical, analytical approach to solving work-based management issues. Students will develop an awareness of different theoretical perspectives so that the complexity of managerial work is explored rigorously. The module explores a range of strategic and operational perspectives through academic research and an examination of work-based issues. It encourages students to adopt a reflective approach on current practice and critique academic theory in relation to their future leadership and management development. This module contains a strong experiential learning approach.

This module aims to stimulate the student’s critical awareness and application of key strategic management theories to their own practice and develop their ability to evaluate current practice in the light of relevant academic theories. It is expected that students will develop an increased awareness of the impact and influence of leaders and their own leadership development.

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Sustainability in Global Companies

This module currently runs:
autumn semester - Tuesday morning
autumn semester - Monday morning
autumn semester - Tuesday afternoon
autumn semester - Monday afternoon

(core, 20 credits)

This module will address the critical issue of how current thinking on sustainability will impact on businesses and organisations and how they respond.

The need to create more sustainable organisations and businesses is fundamental to current and future organisational development strategies, and it is necessary for students to understand the growing influence of the sustainability agenda on industry. This influence takes on many forms, from government policies and international agreements to the measuring of impacts of organisational practices on the ecology and communities. It is clear that in the future, organisations, businesses, communities and individuals will be expected to understand and take responsibility for their economic, environmental and social impacts. This module will examine the current and future challenges, it will equip students with knowledge to deal with the challenge of creating sustainable forms of business that operate within ecological and socio-economic limits.

It will explore the sustainability context, and how business practices will need to evolve to reflect the realities of operating within a globalised trading system that is striving to apply sustainability principles. This is an important area of increasing scrutiny for airlines and airports. Particular focus will be given to the importance of Sustainability reporting and reporting standards.

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Business Consultancy Project-portfolio assessment

This module currently runs:
summer studies - Friday morning
autumn semester - Friday morning
spring semester - Friday morning

(alternative core, 60 credits)

This module provides you with the opportunity to work on specific business issues that organisations are facing. Utilising your competences of handling and managing business challenges, starting from problem identification and concluding with solution-related recommendations, thus encouraging research into real world business issues impacting organisations.
Useful and applied business research, like useful reflection, leads to change. To that end, students will be encouraged to take a pragmatic approach to their research, seeking always to create actionable conclusions of value to business managers, owners and entrepreneurs.
The aims of the module are to:
1. Foster a critical awareness and deep interest in a management/business issue or topic associated with their subject specialist area and to combine knowledge and analyses acquired in modules to explore that topic in depth
2. Enable students to produce a full business research report and a management summary on an appropriate topic to a professional and engaging standard that provides the basis for action.
3. Encourage reflection to critically evaluate the success of a business-related project and assess personal competence in the light of current knowledge and skills.
4. Build each student’s knowledge and confidence in their chosen subject to facilitate employability.
The expectation is that students will undertake research in areas of interest to them that is in context to their chosen programme and that develops knowledge and skills that support employment. Examples of possible areas of research include:
• Evaluation of an opportunity to enter a new market e.g. is it feasible for a low cost airline to enter the market in Brazil?
• Evaluation of a specific firm’s strategy and performance e.g. how is Ford responding to the advent of electric vehicles, driverless technology and ride sharing?
• Analysis of the impact of technology change on a company, industry or sector e.g. how will driverless technology and ride sharing impact on car ownership?
• Analysis of trends to create potential strategic scenarios for a firm or industry e.g. what are the future scenarios for law firms in the light of the adoption of AI?
• Analysis of competition in a specific market or industry e.g. global competition in the rapidly growing e-bike industry
• Identifying solutions to a specific business problem e.g. with a small or medium sized business e.g. what needs to be done to grow the business to the next level
• Analysis of disruption in an industry and the implications for a specific incumbent e.g. how should a black cab driver respond to Uber and other ride sharing platforms?
• Analysis of the effect of government intervention in a particular industry e.g. the current trade dispute over subsidies to Boeing and Airbus
• Response from Banks and FIs to the changing customer interaction and business landscape in the post pandemic era

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Dissertation

This module currently runs:
autumn semester - Monday evening
spring semester - Wednesday evening
summer studies - Wednesday afternoon

(alternative core, 60 credits)

This module provides students with the opportunity to undertake research projects on specific research questions related to their course.

Students will critically investigate issues cognate to their programme of study. The aim will be to make proposals or recommendations for the future and / or a contribution to extant theory.

Students are expected to utilise appropriate investigative techniques and standards of data collection and analysis as they write their postgraduate research-based dissertation.

The dissertation will be 10,000 words in length.

The dissertation module has the following aims:

1. To facilitate a detailed investigation of one area or topic within the subject field;

2. To develop a thorough analysis and synthesis of theory, policy and practice in relation to the chosen topic;

3. To provide an opportunity for critical reflection on the research topic.

The expectation is that students will undertake research in areas of interest to them that is in context to their chosen course; the research supervisor will be allocated by the subject area within which the course is located.

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Digital Marketing and Social media

This module currently runs:
spring semester - Monday afternoon
spring semester - Wednesday morning
spring semester - Wednesday afternoon
spring semester - Thursday morning
spring semester - Friday morning

(option, 20 credits)

This module will equip you with Masters-level skills and awareness of the challenges and opportunities within the everchanging digital ecosystem. You will be able to critically explore the theoretical frameworks and models which are relevant to digital and social media marketing practice. You will look at the development and planning of supporting technologies for digital marketing and examine digital channels and their suitability for inclusion for effective integrated marketing programmes and campaigns.

The module aims to:

- enable you gain a comprehensive understanding of digital and social media marketing techniques applicable to marketing theory and practice, research and advanced scholarship.

- provide you with an understanding and the development of critical awareness of current theoretical research in digital and social media for the evaluation and effectiveness of different tools and technologies in digital and social media marketing.

- enhance your cognitive/intellectual, transferable digital practical skills and applied decision-making skills needed successful career in digital and social media marketing.

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Economics of International Trade

This module currently runs:
autumn semester - Thursday evening

(option, 20 credits)

This a core one semester module delivered on MSc International Trade and Finance course and as an option on other courses in the subject area. The focus of the module is on the international trade and economic theory. The topics that will be covered in the module include the benefits and reasons for international trade, patterns of international trade, reasons for protectionism, trade barriers, welfare effects of international economic policies, forms of regional economic integration, balance of payments, and determinants of exchange rates. The module will draw on the current research and empirical studies, and examine theoretical and contemporary policy issues and current debates in the international economy. It will also consider the issues and controversies that surround these activities, and illustrate the links between the theoretical concepts and practical realities.

The module also aims to develop a number of transferable skills of students, e.g. strategic thinking, problem solving, oral and written communication skills, subject research, quantitative and analytical skills.

Note: If there are not sufficient student numbers to make a module viable, the School reserves the right to cancel such a module. If the School cancels a module it will use its reasonable endeavours to provide a suitable alternative.

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Environmental Economics and Investment

This module currently runs:
autumn semester - Tuesday evening

(option, 20 credits)

Environmental Economics and Investment is a Level 7 module which is core to MSc Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability. It is one of the optional Economics modules studied on other courses.

The Environmental Economics and Investment module considers in depth the issues faced by governments and businesses in the face of climate change and other global trends in relation to the environment and the economy. It extends their understanding of the complex and critical relations between man and nature in the processes of economic reproduction.

The module assesses the standard economic principles in their use as tools to investigate the causes, consequences and the possible solutions to problems of environmental degradation and climate change. The three major themes in the module are (i) the determination of the ‘optimum’ levels of environmental resource usage (ii) the analyses of alternative ways of attaining those targets and (iii) the impact of these actions on business decision making.

The crucial notion of 'sustainability' is a key to the investigation. So are the proximate and underlying causes of environmental problems. The main aim of the module is to introduce students to the established economists’ way of analysing environmental problems, and to explore the evolving methodologies prompted by the environmental crisis now upon us.

Note: If there are not sufficient student numbers to make a module viable, the School reserves the right to cancel such a module. If the School cancels a module it will use its reasonable endeavours to provide a suitable alternative.

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International Logistics

This module currently runs:
spring semester - Monday morning
spring semester - Monday afternoon
spring semester - Thursday morning
spring semester - Thursday afternoon
summer studies - Monday morning
summer studies - Monday afternoon

(option, 20 credits)

This module will enable you to understand the actual processes of the exchange of goods and services between partners in global trade, and the logistical arrangements within transnational corporations across state and regional boundaries. The focus will be on the economic imperatives which have influenced the development of global supply chain management, the micro-economic dynamics affecting the transport and logistics sector and the disruptive trends which are transforming the industry. It will include increasingly relevant concerns such as ethics and sustainability in global supply chains and the importance of understanding risk, especially in developing markets.

The module aims to introduce you to the different theories, methodologies and data sources which will allow you to monitor and understand the logistical strategies developed by the major global producers and consumer goods intermediaries. These connections and processes are part of the development of global trade and economic growth, and have profound consequences for economic and social development.

The aims of the module are:

1 To provide you with an understanding of the nature of logistics studies.

2 To ensure that you are able to explain the different theories and techniques applied to the study of logistics

3 To enable you to understand the types of logistics companies and the processes they use in moving goods around the world.

4 To define and explain to you supply chain management concepts, such as the trade-off between inventory and transport costs, which have influenced the production strategies of multinational enterprises.

5 To outline the types of technologies used to provide visibility in the supply chain and increase efficiency.

6 To provide an overview of the disruptive innovations which are being developed to make international logistics more efficient, and the impact these will have on supply chain strategy.

7 To explain the increased level of risk, which has evolved through the relocation of production processes to developing countries and how multinational enterprises should deal with it. Global waste recycling issues.

8 To provide a background to the increasingly important role which ethical and environmental factors play in the development of sustainable and economically viable supply chains. The circular economy.

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International Project Management Practice

This module currently runs:
autumn semester - Monday afternoon
spring semester - Tuesday morning
spring semester - Tuesday afternoon
spring semester - Wednesday afternoon
spring semester - Wednesday afternoon
spring semester - Thursday morning
spring semester - Thursday afternoon

(option, 20 credits)

Project management practice in the US and Europe is set out in a number of methods and bodies of knowledge (BOK) including the:

• US Project Management Institute’s PMBOK
• UK Association of Project Managers APMBOK
• best practice guides published by the UK Government that have built on the PRINCE method and now include Programme Management, Risk Management and Agile,
• Dynamic System Development Method (DSDM) Project Management developed by the Agile Business Consortium.

This module deals with the core activities of project management as set out in the APM BOK version 7, making comparisons with the PMBOK and PRINCE. The focus is primarily on managing a highly predictive project where the output is clearly defined and understood, for example a building construction project. Consideration is also given to projects where the solution emerges in an iterative or evolutionary way and so Agile methods are also introduced.

Students will develop the ability to create, manage and close projects effectively, and to make use of project management software. The module will introduce relevant theories and research in relation to projects as temporary social organisations, the categorisation of project types, the nature and management of risk, and the importance of stakeholder communication and management.

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Leading and Developing People

This module currently runs:
spring semester - Monday morning
spring semester - Monday afternoon
spring semester - Tuesday morning
spring semester - Tuesday afternoon
spring semester - Wednesday morning
spring semester - Wednesday afternoon
spring semester - Thursday morning
spring semester - Thursday afternoon
summer studies - Tuesday morning
summer studies - Tuesday afternoon

(option, 20 credits)

The aim of the module is to prepare students to lead and develop people in a complex international environment, to build high performance teams and to create a productive work environment and culture. Over the course of the module, you will learn from relevant contemporary research, theories, and examples of business practices both past and present.
Management and leadership go together in business organisations, with managers typically expected to lead others as part of their role. The module will examine the roles and responsibilities of manager and leader, and the demands on these roles in international, digitally enabled businesses.

Critical to the value of the module is the encouragement of continuous learning and reflection in order to be effective in a changing world. You will have the opportunity to assess their own capabilities using Strengthscope.

The aim of the module is to ensure that students will:

• understand the role of business leaders and business managers in creating successful business organisations, cultures and working environments
• have the necessary knowledge of leading, motivating and developing to enable them to take on a management role successfully
• be able to evaluate their own capabilities and skills in relation to managing themselves and leading others
• be equipped to assess the challenges associated with workplace change and make a valuable contribution to the management of change.

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