International Fashion Management MBA

During the first semester, learning will focus on the originality in the application of knowledge, together with practical business understanding of how established techniques of research and enquiry are used to create and interpret knowledge in the discipline together with evaluation of the methodologies and developing their critiques and, where appropriate, proposing new hypotheses relevant to fashion business management and marketing.

The second semester is designed to build on your comprehensive understanding of academic knowledge, in order to try and apply these new skills and knowledge through advanced scholarship in a more advanced sectoral setting and work on a project with a real industry client.

The academic year concludes with several final semester options to choose from, which offer you the opportunity to specialise your award to the career option you intend to pursue after graduation. You can choose from doing a dissertation, applying for work experience in an internship* and consulting project*, or work on an entrepreneurship business plan in preparation for launching your own business.

Modules

• Leadership Towards Mastery of Leading Self and Global Cultures - 15 credits

  This module is about leadership as a living practice through the mastery of leading self and others in the context of organisational cultures and a complex global environment. To understand your role as an effective leader and the impact you will have on individuals, groups, organisations and the environment, it is necessary to explore the dual aspect of leading self and others as a living practice and bring to a level of mastery the ability to lead self and others. The module will help you to develop your leadership skills in preparation for a career in international business or to establish your own business.

  Compulsory

• Marketing in a Global Age -15 credits

  This module aims to deepen your understanding of global marketing and its role within business, and help you understand how to meet the needs of a range of stakeholders. After completing this module, you will be able to: track and respond to complex and cross-cultural macro and micro- environments; apply marketing strategies and concepts to multinational business environments; assess the effectiveness of marketing, discuss new opportunities and challenges (e.g. globalisation, digitalisation, and social responsibility) in affecting marketing management. This module will facilitate your understanding of applied marketing.

  Compulsory

• Global Market Trends and Strategic Fashion Branding - 30 credits

  In a highly competitive global market, the significance of the brand and its strategic positioning is vital to the financial success of fashion brands. This module will provide you with the opportunity to explore macro and micro trends, and the key concepts of branding and develop an understanding of the branding process and its application within a contemporary omni-channel fashion context. A significant component of the module delivery will focus on the increasing digitalisation of international fashion brands and their impact across the global fashion market. You will explore how the use of digital innovation and communication has impacted on the strategic growth of global brands across the fashion industry, from high street to luxury fashion retailers. The module will explore how different fashion organisations create and establish their own distinctiveness and how they have used brand identity to strategically and globally position themselves in a contemporary marketplace. You will investigate brand influence across different levels of the global fashion industry and the importance of branding and product strategy in responding to the ever-changing consumer behaviour.

  Compulsory

• Leadership Towards Mastery of Leading Change and Inclusivity - 15 credits

  In a highly competitive global market, the significance of the brand and its strategic positioning is vital to the financial success of fashion brands. This module will provide you with the opportunity to explore the key concepts of branding and develop an understanding of the branding process and its application within a contemporary omni-channel fashion context. A significant component of the module delivery will focus on the increasing digitalisation of international fashion brands and their impact across the global fashion market. You will explore how the use of digital innovation and communication has impacted on the strategic growth of global brands across the fashion industry, from high street to luxury fashion retailers. The module will explore how different fashion organisations create and establish their own distinctiveness and how they have used brand identity to strategically and globally position themselves in a contemporary marketplace. You will investigate brand influence across different levels of the global fashion industry and the increasing importance of brands, branding and brand-engagement in relation to consumer behaviour.

  Compulsory

• Entrepreneurship and Innovation - 15 credits

  This module is designed to create a shared and critical assessment of the knowledge, skills and attitudes that make up what it means to be entrepreneurial and innovative – discovering and acting upon opportunities and ideas, and transforming them into social, cultural, or financial value for oneself and others. This will allow you to critically reflect on the core competencies that are needed to lead and manage new venture creation, including initiative taking, resilience, problem solving, open-mindedness, as well as the ability to turn external knowledge into internal capabilities. The module will cover fundamental theories and concepts in entrepreneurship and innovation, and you will be encouraged to evaluate them in relation to other operational and strategic aspects of the firm, including marketing, finances and leadership. This will also enable you to reflect on the idea that entrepreneurial and innovation activities are often subject to resource constraints with regard to time, money, raw materials, and knowledge, although these may differ for new and existing firms. A customer-focused approach will be the centre of these reflections as it will teach you to identify windows of opportunities and avenues for strategic growth.

  Compulsory

• Fashion Brand Immersion: Retail, Finance and Risk Management - 30 credits

  The contemporary global fashion industry relies on these agnostic omni-channels for its business strategy, sales (buying and merchandising and clienteling), communication, promotion and customer engagement. Consumer segmentation and profile analysis help to digitally engage with existing and new audiences, both local and abroad. Brand marketing, buying and merchandising, budgeting and financial forecasting, clienteling, communication, and successful project and financial management play important roles to ensure the successful implementation of these online and offline integrated promotional strategies. This module is designed to guide you, acting as aspiring consultants to fashion entrepreneurs. You will critically appraise how the finance function supports the organisation’s success and propose online and/or offline brand development and omni-channel retail opportunities working closely with a real fashion industry client. The module enables you to critically assess current and emerging technological factors which impact on financial strategy, practice industry networking, team work, project and risk management, leadership, as well as online and offline marketing strategies in line with consumer profile building. The aims are to provide an opportunity to research, to engage with the industry and to develop your critical and creative thinking, in-depth business research and efficient decision making on contemporary financial, management, and cost accounting and omni-channel retail strategies.

  Compulsory

• Research Methods

  This is a compulsory module, delivered in the final semester and assessed within the output from your final semester research project. The aims of the module are to equip you with the skills to be able to sensitively and critically design, carry out, report, read, and evaluate the quality of qualitative and quantitative research projects. Consequently, to provide you with an understanding of the major philosophical issues within business and management research and enable you to identify the nature and characteristics of different research approaches. Over the course, you will learn to formulate good research questions, using different methods of data collection and data analysis, and critically evaluate the research. During researching learning activities you will cover fundamentals of a good research design. The module will cover the steps necessary to prepare you to identify which research approach or method is appropriate for the final term module options, i.e., Dissertation, Internship Consulting Project* or Entrepreneurship Business Plan. You will be encouraged to be critical and analytical, to work independently and to benefit from receiving feedback from both the lecturer and peers.

  Compulsory

• Final Project - choose from one of the following:

  Internship Consulting Project* - 60 credits

  The internship consulting project offers you a unique opportunity for practical, meaningful and hands-on work experience, to learn how to work collaboratively with others and obtain a better perspective of careers within your chosen field. The aim of this module is to develop work-related knowledge, skills and capabilities necessary to pursue further career related opportunities related to your chosen areas of interest. The internship consulting project allows you to put the skills and knowledge gained throughout your MBA into practice, in a professional environment. This module will also enhance your own understanding of your working practise, time-management, and develop your critical and self-reflective awareness through reflecting on your own learning and personal development in a strategic, analytical and autonomous way.

  Dissertation - 60 credits 

  The dissertation module provides you with the opportunity to consolidate your learning by conducting a comprehensive study of a chosen research topic. You will be responsible for framing a research problem guided by existing knowledge in the academic literature or an identified organisational issue discussed and agreed with the academic supervisor. The aim is for you to independently research a subject area by applying appropriate research strategies supported by a critical appreciation of appropriate research designs. The module is structured around taught Research Methods classes aimed to build your knowledge of the research process in order to work independently on your research project. After completing this module, you should be confident to communicate the research outcomes in a manner that demonstrates clarity of organisational thinking, logical argument and the production of relevant recommendations for further research and for practice.

  Entrepreneurship Business Plan - 60 credits

  This module represents the culmination of an MBA journey comprising the diverse perspectives, techniques, models and frameworks learnt during the study of many discrete modules, and for the first time during your studies, critically and selectively combine them into a holistic business road map capable of realising a commercial or a not for profit opportunity, of interest to you, and located anywhere in the world. Through this module, you will practice analysing opportunity, validating strategies, assessing resourcing, and measuring performance whilst learning how to compile a comprehensive and classical business plan, via a written document, and a pitch, all to a level of academic and of commercial mastery. Working independently, you are supported by a supervisor able to answer practical and academic problems of compiling a business plan, and develop the softer skills of questioning, pitching argument, and problem solving demanded in a commercial environment. This module is the finishing school of the MBA, that synthesises your learning, develops your character and disciplines of independent working through compiling a business plan may comprise a blueprint for a postgraduate commercial future in the profit or not for profit sectors.

  Optional