BA International Business, Finance and Economics (IBFE) Dr Leo McCann Programme Director for BA International Business, Finance and Economics

Welcome!  Congratulations!  Very competitive again this year 85 first year students on IBFE. A considerable achievement: one of the most competitive courses in the country. Outside of UK, recruiting from China, Bulgaria, Romania, Norway, Cyprus, Palestine, India…and more  Structure Who we are and contacts Programme structure & learning outcomes Additional admin

BA IBFE Learning Outcomes A. Knowledge & Understanding At the end of the Programme students should be able to:  A1. Understand the principles and theory of micro and macro economics as applied to business and management  A2. Understand financial concepts and accounting practices for business  A3. Understand the context within which business operates. This includes knowledge of recent literatures on globalisation, Post- Fordism, the changing organisation of business and the impact of new technologies.  A4. Understand the different economic, political and sociological perspectives on the workings of the UK and other economies.  A5. Understand the main current approaches to business strategy and broader debates about the impact of the ‘new economy’ on management decisions.

BA IBFE Learning Outcomes B. Intellectual Skills At the end of the Programme students should be able to:  B1. Critically analyse arguments, theories and policies in relation to business  B2. Solve problems and provide individual argument in relation to particular business scenarios  B3. Synthesise and evaluate data from a variety of different sources  B4. Think through and assess the impact of economic and organisational contexts on business performance  B5. Reflect on ones own work, as well as that of ones peers

BA IBFE Learning Outcomes C. Transferable/Key Skills and Personal Qualities At the end of the Programme students should be able to:  C1. Locate/process/collate data or literature in a suitable form for analysis  C2. Input primary sources of information into database format  C3. Use basic mathematical and statistical techniques to understand the decision making process within businesses  C4. Present quantitative and/or qualitative information, together with analysis, argument and commentary, in report form  C5. Correctly cite, acknowledge and reference sources  C6. Present data and argument in oral form, both individually and in groups.

Your Programme BA IBFE Semester 1 – compulsory courses  BMAN10501: Financial Reporting  BMAN10770: Financial and Digital Innovations in International Business  BMAN10780: Business and Management Skills With either  ECON10041: Microeconomic Principles Or  ECON10081: The UK Economy – Microeconomics And either  ECON10061: Introductory Mathematics Or  ECON10001: Further Mathematics Or  ECON10071: Advanced Mathematics

Your Programme BA IBFE Semester 2 – compulsory courses  BMAN10512: Introductory Management Accounting  BMAN10522(M): Financial Decision Making  BMAN10770: Financial and Digital Innovations in International Business  BMAN10780: Business and Management Skills With either  ECON10042: Macroeconomic Principles Or  ECON10082: The UK Economy – Macroeconomics And either  ECON10062: Introductory Statistics Or  ECON10132: Further Statistics Or  ECON10072: Advanced Statistics

Your Programme BA IBFE Optional courses You have the choice between two of the following 20-credit courses:  POLI10601 – Introduction to International Politics Or  SOCY10912 – Work, Organisations and Society This choice accounts for the remainder of your 120-credit requirement

Other features of the IBFE course 1 st year  Introduction to databases, 2 nd semester 2 nd year  Opportunity to learn a foreign language  Opportunity to participate in an exchange with institutions in Singapore or Sweden (average of 2:1 in 1 st year required)

Time Management  hours per week contact time  Important that you: a) work in your own time, 10 credits = 100 hours work b) make sure you hit deadlines; penalties often imposed on late submission  Tips: Work steadily rather than cram Try & submit early: computer/printer failure is not generally accepted

Work & Attendance  Attendance at all workshops and tutorials is compulsory & monitored  If you are absent, you need to complete an ‘absence from class’ form, available from the UG office D20  The form can be downloaded from:

What to do if you are ill…  Especially important immediately before or during exam period  ALWAYS get medical evidence  Need to submit a mitigating circumstances form to D14 (Assessment & Student Support Centre)  Your case will then be discussed in a ‘mitigating circumstances board’  We do need to know as soon as possible

Student reps.  Finally, it is important to get feedback on the course  Need an elected ‘student rep’ to represent IBFE student opinion on the IBFE Programme Committee.  A good CV entry & a valuable way of communicating student sentiment/ideas to academics & administrators who run the degree.

Feedback  Feedback from us to you – on assessment, presentations etc;  Feedback from you to us – via questionnaires, focus groups and surveys;  Further information in the MBS Undergraduate Welcome Guide.

Course Information  All courses have a space in the Virtual Learning Environment (Blackboard)  IT Support in C11 in Welcome Week and Week 1  Attendance at all workshops, seminars and labs is compulsory and will be monitored  Course Co-ordinator & Seminar Leaders  English proficiency – testing and language classes are available  Medical, personal and other problems

Student Representatives  Student representatives are the voice of students on MBS committees  Staff-student liaison committee  IBFE Programme committee  Nomination forms available from D20 (including self- nominations)  Deadline 3 October 2011

Contacts  Undergraduate Office (D20, MBS East)  Assessment and Student Support Centre (D14, MBS East)  Dr Leo McCann, Programme Director (E31, MBS East)

Good luck for the forthcoming year! Manchester Business School