Events Management BSc (Hons)

Business Strategy for Competitive Advantage

You will develop knowledge and critical understanding of the classical principles of business strategy in exploring the question 'How should organisations compete to achieve sustainable, competitive advantage in today's global business environment?’ In answering this question, the potential of an organisation to create value through effective exploitation and development of internal resources and capabilities is examined using well-established analytical tools.

On successful completion of this module, you will be able to analyse and evaluate the relative impact of the international industrial and competitive environment on organisations and the strategic choices they face, apply decision-making criteria and weigh risks appropriately.

Creativity and Innovation

You’ll gain the underpinning theory, concepts and also some basic skills to understand and engage in the processes of creativity and innovation. You’ll take a holistic approach to look at this subject from a variety of angles. This could be from an

• academic perspective
• an organisational perspective
• a management consultancy perspective
• an entrepreneurial perspective. 

You’ll also have the opportunity and be supported to release and express more of your own creative potential. You’ll explore why creativity and innovation is increasingly being viewed as the key to competitive advantage in the New Economy.
 

Environmentally Sustainable Business

You’ll look at the environmental sustainability challenges facing society and businesses. You’ll discuss key environmental issues such as:

• global warming
• pollution
• biodiversity loss 
• freshwater depletion 

and the role of business in causing as well as responding to such issues. 

You’ll explore macro (economic, policy, governance) as well as micro (organisational and individual) perspectives. You’ll also be introduced to a variety of stakeholder perspectives and frameworks for evaluating business responses. Through the module you’ll develop your key competencies for sustainability that are endorsed by UNESCO (2017) and the QAA/Advance HE (2021). The competencies are:

• systems thinking
• anticipatory thinking
• normative competency 
• strategic thinking
• collaborative competency 
• critical thinking
• self-awareness 
• integrated problem-solving competency.
   

Independent Study in Business

This is your opportunity for independent study on an approved topic. It will relate to your programme learning outcomes. You’ll select and discuss a relevant topic area with your Programme Lead/Subject Co-ordinator. Your independent study may involve:

• action based learning 
• be based solely on desk research 
• limited primary research
• group work.

And will be self directed. Through any group work you may have a specific role and responsibilities.
 

Managing the Customer Experience

You’ll learn about the interlinked concepts of Customer Experience (CX) and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) as they are now practised. You’ll explore the strategic importance of these concepts to the modern marketer and their contribution to customer engagement and loyalty. You’ll also look at how they add value to the product/service offering in order to create competitive advantage. 

You’ll fully focus on the customer journey and look and learn at how marketers can control/influence it to improve the customer experience. You’ll develop a full understanding of customer experience and journey mapping, so you’ll be able to identify quick wins and improvements to a customer journey.
 

Revenue Management and Financial Essentials

Managing revenue effectively is of ultimate importance to maximising value and profit for the Hospitality, Tourism and Event industry. Management of revenue involves a co-ordinated application of a range of financial, operational and marketing skills, ranging from 

• price determination
• demand forecasting
• customer value perception
• inventory control 
• to channel distribution management. 

On this module you’ll examine all these topics and it will give you a holistic insight into Revenue Management from a combined financial and customer-centric approach. Your study will help prepare you for a fast-tracked career in the hospitality industry, in the Revenue Management area. You’ll finish this module equipped with the financial knowledge to tackle your final year financial modules.
 

Tourist Behaviour

You’ll explore and critically analyse theories, models and frameworks of tourist behaviour drawn from a range of social science disciplines such as:

• Anthropology
• Sociology
• Psychology
• Geography
• and Politics. 

You’ll be able to relate theory to practice through evaluation of academic and non-academic material. You'll also reflect on tourist narratives (e.g. social media) and your personal experiences. Finally, you’ll assess the relevance of the above to applied tourism management (especially destination management).
 

Wedding Planning and Celebratory Events

You’ll explore the socio-cultural origins and place in society of a range of celebratory events, such as:

• weddings
• anniversaries
• celebrations of birth and death.

You’ll critically review the religious, ethnic and social associations of such events in various settings. Also you’ll apply the key practical and creative requirements of designing and staging such events. 

Through your studies you’ll develop core events skills like taking a client brief, managing stakeholders and events communications. You’ll have the opportunity to work with a live client brief. Practising your core skills you’ll acknowledge the cultural expectations of the client, and reflect on difference and opportunity, to celebrate diversity.
 

Supervised Work Experience

This module helps students to develop the competencies required by graduate employers. Students undertake a placement in a hospitality, tourism, and events organisation to give a significant length of time to experience the realities of work. Learn more about how Oxford Brookes Business School supports students secure a work placement.

Business Analytics for Hospitality and Tourism

You will build skills in thinking logically and critically about complex managerial issues that hospitality organisations face today and structure solutions with a data-driven approach.

You’ll develop your understanding of the content, importance and relevance of business analytics and data visualisation in business decision-making with a focus on the hospitality and tourism industry.

You will gain knowledge of the key concepts and methods combined with extensive opportunities to develop your hands-on skills for applying business analytics and data visualisation to managerial decision-making.
 

Contemporary Consumer Behaviour

This module builds on students’ previous marketing knowledge by developing a thorough understanding of the theories of consumer behaviour and their appropriate application in different organisational contexts. It examines decision-making processes, consumption or product usage and post consumption behaviours. The module is important because the actions of consumers lie at the heart of modern marketing theory and practice.

Contemporary issues in International HRM

This module enables you to review and develop disciplinary knowledge and research skills within a contemporary global context. The module adopts a broad definition of `international human resource management', to include issues relating to the impact of diversity management, national culture, the debates in the comparative HRM literature and examples of differences in the way HRM is conducted around the world. It also examines how international organisations deal with the extra complexity that operating internationally brings to HRM.

Current issues will also be examined including the foreign vs. local staffing debate, women expatriates, joint venture issues and issues surrounding cross-cultural management.
 

Entrepreneurship and Creativity Enterprise in Hospitality and Tourism

You will be exposed to what is involved in being a successful entrepreneur in the Hospitality and Tourism industry sectors. Also you’ll learn techniques to foster creativity and innovation.

You’ll undertake informed reflection on your entrepreneurial predispositions and have the opportunity to work up and present an idea for your own potential venture to a panel of expert entrepreneurs.
 

Financial Decision Making for Hospitality and Tourism

Explore how the assets of a hospitality and tourism organisation are effectively managed on behalf of internal and external stakeholders and key techniques of financial decision-making for hospitality and tourism organisations. Also, you will get the opportunity to analyse and interpret the Annual Report and Accounts of a publically listed Hospitality or Tourism business.

You’ll look at hospitality and tourism financial reports, where you build your skills and knowledge of:

• uniform accounting systems
• responsibility accounting
• hotel industry studies and comparative analysis.
• content and interpretation of annual reports of hospitality and tourism businesses
• hotel management contracts
• franchising
• business valuation
• capital project appraisal methods
• responsibilities of the asset manager within the owner/operator context
• contemporary financial issues.
   

Food, Drink and Culture

You’ll have the opportunity to explore complex relationships between food and drink, individuals and societies.You will build your critical thinking skills and be able to argue and present about the extensive implications of food and drink-related practices for society. 

You’ll analyse a variety of factors that shape these relationships and examine the

• consequences for health
• environment
• distinctiveness of cultures
• cohesiveness of communities.
   

International Business Strategies in Hospitality and Tourism

You will explore factors affecting the decisions related to the international business strategies of hospitality and tourism (H and T) organisations. You’ll also learn methods to evaluate various international expansion modes considering the political, economic and socio-cultural environments of potential destinations. 

You’ll build appreciation of the risks associated with doing business in international markets by addressing transnational differences (with a particular focus on emerging markets) that affect the strategy, performance, and value of international H and T organisations. 

You’ll have the oppportunity to critically reflect on the impacts of a globalised brand or brands on local markets and consider ethical, social and environmental effects of a company’s decision to expand internationally. You’ll also look at models for organising and managing an international network of operations and how to coordinate knowledge transfer across borders.
 

Optimising Hospitality Operations

You will explore the fundamental techniques and tools to analyse and improve operational capabilities of hospitality organisations. You will learn about commonly occurring application problems such as

• hotel/restaurant inventory control
• facility layout and workflow problems
• process and bottleneck analysis. 

Also you’ll look at optimisation models that support hospitality procurement and purchasing functions, including labour productivity analysis and regulating waiting times.

By the end of this module you will have explored various case studies of the role of operations in building the competitive strengths of an organisation and in fulfilling its ultimate goal of creating value and delivering customer satisfaction. 
 

Perspectives on International Management

This module aims to equip you with the skills and knowledge necessary to manage effectively in a globalised business environment. You’ll analyse a wide range of management practices, while also evaluating theoretical frameworks and conducting research on national cultures. You will evaluate the strategic implications of culture on business operations and HRM practices, while also developing the aptitude required to manage effectively across cultures.

Benefits to you include gaining a competitive edge in the job market by expanding knowledge about managing in a globalised world and navigating cross-cultural communication challenges. You will also broaden your horizons and increase your cultural awareness and sensitivity, enhancing your ability to work effectively with individuals from different backgrounds.

Independent Study

L6 IS modules edited.
This is your opportunity to embark on independent study of an approved topic that relates to your learning outcomes. Your study will be conducted under supervision and you will select a relevant topic area from your course and you’ll need to get approval from the module leader.

Your study on this module can involve:

• action-based learning
• solely on desk research 
• limited primary research.
   

Tourism Impact Analysis

You’ll focus on the study of the range of nature and type of impacts associated with tourism and tourists on the 

• Environment
• Economy 
• Society.

Including approaches to impact assessment and management to ensure that the tourism and hospitality industry benefits from them.