Teaching and Assessment
Teaching on the programme involves a combination of formal lectures, group discussions, seminars, directed reading and personal research. Generally, the MBA programme aims to integrate applied and theoretical knowledge with assessment processes that test knowledge and understanding, application and analysis of the disciplines.
Case study analysis and discussion is used widely to contextualise the learning and the application of techniques. Students are assigned to small study groups for this purpose. This approach encourage participative learning, provides experience of working with people from different cultures and helps development organisational and project management skills.
Each module represents approximately 100 hours' study time of which typically 30 hours is contact time with the course tutor(s). One or more texts provide the basis for most modules but students are encouraged to develop their understanding by making use of the institution's library and computing facilities.
Additionally, a detailed manual is provided with each Bradford taught module to minimise note-taking in lectures and provide details of the preparatory work required. Additional support materials for Bradford taught modules - cases, video clips, audio recording, lecture notes/slides, etc. are also provided via the Schools' VLE. Support material for taught modules delivered by the University of Perugia is provided via their own VLE.
To effectively assess whether a student has achieved a module's learning outcomes a combination of formative and summative assessment methods are applied. Multiple methods of assessment are commonly applied within individual modules, e.g., individual course work, group work, formal presentations, written management reports and examination.
Education for Sustainable Development (ESD)
The University of Bradford is committed to providing students with opportunities to learn about sustainable development (SD). The School of Management sees sustainable development as a key issue for society and recognises the need for all its graduates, to be aware of sustainable development issues, and to understand the way in which their discipline and professional practice can impact on sustainability. The School is working to explicitly integrate ESD into its Learning Teaching and Assessment strategy, in line with the University's status as an 'Ecoversity'.
The key issues that will be emphasized or addressed under ESD have been developed through a curriculum review process, referenced against the UNESCO framework for ESD. The key issues, drawn from the UNESCO framework for ESD, are:
- Respect for the dignity and human rights of all people throughout the world and a commitment to social and economic justice for all
- Respect for the human rights of future generations and a commitment to intergenerational responsibility
- Respect for cultural diversity and a commitment to build locally and globally a culture of tolerance, non-violence and peace
- Respect and care for the greater community of life in all its diversity which involves the protection and restoration of the Earth's ecosystems.
These represent the foundations upon which critical thinking is developed. Students will be expected to address these issues in each of the Bradford taught modules, e.g. in Operations Management students may consider the implications of adopting particular processes, sourcing decisions and modes of transportation, whilst in Marketing students may reflect on the role of this function in influencing consumer behaviour, whilst the management project is the ideal forum for exploring the complexity of the sustainability agenda in the business context. Throughout, a critical approach to SD will be adopted and students encouraged to consider the nuances of the SD statements, the contradictory research evidence that underpins some of the debates in SD, and how theories and knowledge become legitimised.