Tourism Management with Sandwich Placement

The aim of this module is to facilitate students to further develop a range of employability skills that will enable them to perform effectively in their work, academic and professional life by developing a deeper understanding of the world of work. Specific skills to be acquired will be in the area of people and financial management, thus enhancing employability.

This module identifies creativity as the foundation of enterprise learning and all enterprise activities. Creative thinking and applied creative behaviour is the first important step in all new undertakings, the module explores various interpretations and theories about creativity, providing you with creative skills that will be applied in practice. Innovation is at the heart of ensuring business success and long term prosperity. The module explores the linkages between creative processes and how these result in applications of innovation; how technology is widely used as a driver for innovation and how global economies and markets respond to innovation. Understanding the talents, techniques and temperament employed by entrepreneurs will be the foundation for understanding the process of creativity and innovation.

The aims of the module are four fold: 1. Within a theoretical framework to develop an understanding of and can explain the need to manage self before embarking on the management of others, and how, to identify and select tools to better manage self. 2. To gain an appreciation and understanding of theoretical constructs of managing and leading others. To explore, to explain and select which approaches should be used in the management of others. 3. To assess the impact of how individual perceptions, beliefs and also factors outside the managers control can impact upon the management of others and is able to explain how others respond to being managed or led. 4. Students will be able to identify the fundamentals of change in a business environment and apply tools of change management to case studies

The module provides students with the opportunity to understand the main concepts and methods associated with leisure research. The module is designed to flexibly incorporate emerging concepts and context in leisure research. The contemporary themes within the module will explore a variety of academic debates and industry issues at the local, national and international levels.The module encourages students to embrace and engage with empirical research and debates in high impact journals and industry gazettes.

This module aims to develop students understanding of services marketing theories& nbsp;and their applications in the real world.& nbsp;It will provide the student with an understanding of the complexities associated with defining and measuring relevant concepts& nbsp;and the steps taken in the process of developing a service provision& nbsp;in& nbsp;both the public and private sector contexts.& nbsp;The module will& nbsp;allow students to gain knowledge and understanding of& nbsp;services marketing tools and frameworks of analysis applied to real world situations. Students should become aware of relevant academic and other sources of best practice in the field of Services Marketing.

The main aim of this module is to develop a deep understanding of the concept of marketing management in making marketing management decisions in the context of destinations. Specifically, the module explores the challenges facing Destination Marketing or Management Organisations (DMOs) in analysing increasingly complex tourism market structures and consumer behaviour. It also emphasizes the role and importance of strategic thinking for the management of tourism. The module will also examine various tourism planning approaches and discuss the role of tourism planning within the context of destination development. A structured approach is adopted in the development of strategic and sustainable marketing plans. Issues covered include the researching and selecting of marketing opportunities and threats. Specific treatment is given to the analysis of creative aspects, such as positioning and image generation, whilst the significance of branding in destination marketing is addressed at a local, regional and national level. A largely practical perspective is adopted.

This final year module requires the completion of an original independent research project (between 8000 and 10,000 words). This can be a traditional dissertation or a consultancy type project. It can be case study based and encompass both primary and secondary data sources. As long as it aligns with the remit of independent study there is much flexibility in the approach undertaken. The focus for this module is an independent project, which can be linked to a specific organisation or organisations for which the student has access (many students work whilst they study and this experience and access can be invaluable). Areas of investigation may take the form of a competitor analysis, an investigation of procedures, a customer satisfaction survey, the computerization of a system, a training needs analysis, the development of a policy statement, employment relations, etc. This list is by no means conclusive as there are many business related areas, which can be investigated. The principle aim however is independence in terms of research and analysis of a business related topic.

Working with a local organisation, students will act as business consultants to focus on a contemporary business area. Students will evatuate the current status of the organisation, and then using research will develop a strategic plan for the business.  This plan will involve a critical analysis and application of current academic models and theory. This module will enable students to develop strategic managment skills, and provide an opportunity for taught knowledge to be applied to a real life context, providing opportunity for reflection and evaluation.

Tourism is an evolving industry that includes a wide range of sub sectors and activities. Using a variety of case study and examples, this module enables students to explore, analyse and evaluate the differing emerging markets and activities particularly in the BRIC and MINT countries. The module explores ways in which these markets are managed and probes into the future of market development and briefly explore sustainability vis a vis the emerging markets.

Applied Marketing Strategy explores the complexities of a strategic marketing approach that every organisation needs to employ to deveop and sustain competitive advantage. A critical appreciation of the external and internal elements that influence strategic decisions and how organisations create and sustain competitive advantage will be developed. The module expands the knowledge and understanding of marketing that students have previously acquired. A critical understanding of the strategic positioning of products and brands, and of the role of sales forces and distribution channels will be developed. It will assess the role of marketing from a strategic perspective. Students are unlikely to experience a strategic perspective within the business environment during the early years of their careers. This module allows them to experience strategic marketing decions within a marketing simulation. The necessary range of managerial skills will be developed with an emphasis on decision making and group work.

The module focuses on the transfer of a range of business concepts, theories and research methods into applied practices for creating and starting a new business venture. Many people express a strong desire to own and manage their own business, and to be independent with control over their own destiny. Equally, many people have very good business ideas, which regrettably, are never pursued because of the lack of knowledge, skills and understanding of the processes and practices involved in how to start a new business. This module explores concepts of adopting a business idea and turning the idea into reality by applying tools and techniques for assessing the feasibility and market potential of the idea. This includes applied business research, analysis and evaluation; managing the procurement and negotiation of start-up resources and the presentation of the idea for business investment and financial support. Finally, students transfer the business idea into a pro-active Business Plan; a plan that could be used in the future to start and launch a new business.