Marketing with Foundation Year

This module will introduce you to key concepts of business and management, looking at what business is (and isn’t). You will be encouraged to draw on real-life examples found in the businesses you use in your every day life. You will develop an understanding of the key functions used within contemporary businesses and learn about the tools and techniques used in business for analysis and planning. 

This module takes you through how to get to grips with the technology you need to succeed, as well as using the library, how to reference and how to produce the different styles of academic writing. It also helps you to develop yourself; you will create a CV, learn how to write a cover letter and find out what your learning style is. The module has guest speakers who share their expert knowledge and experience with you. All the skills covered in this module will help you to succeed in your chosen degree.

This module looks at what’s involved in starting up a sustainable business. You will discover what is needed for long term business success. We’ll look at financing and funding, business formation, planning, business ethics and sustainability along with other core aspects of start-ups. You will work closely with industry partners to gain insight into the world of start-ups. If you are interested in starting a business, this module will really help you to discover what is involved. You also gain key knowledge which your degree will build upon.  

This module will explain the importance and key elements of digital business. You will explore how digital business ideas drive technology choices and how those technologies support the development of the business.  

This module brings together everything you have learned so far and gives you the opportunity to put your knowledge into practice. Working in teams, you will develop a business idea and take it through the process of setting up a start-up. You will pitch your idea to a panel to secure investment, launch the business and organise an event, with profits donated to a local charity of your choice. Whatever your chosen business discipline, this module allows you to demonstrate and further develop your skills in a real-world context.

The module aims to acquire and develop an understanding of the employability skills required to succeed in your chosen industry. This is a practical module which will help you create and develop a professional CV and will develop your understanding of the recruitment and selection process. You will learn essential life-long skills to help you succeed in job applications whether they are for part-time work whilst you are a student or for your future graduate career.

This module introduces you to the core functions of business and provides an opportunity to see how they operate in practice. You will gain an understanding of key areas such as people management, accounting, marketing and operations, and how these functions contribute to business success.

The module draws on real-world examples from successful businesses across the Greater Manchester region, including start-ups, family-run firms, large enterprises and multinationals from various sectors. It offers a first insight into what makes businesses thrive and helps you begin to shape your future learning and career journey.

This module introduces a range of digital tools essential for both academic and professional environments. Core business skills such as management, collaboration and teamwork are central to the module.

You will engage regularly with online platforms to enhance your digital competency, while co-creation tasks offer opportunities for self-reflection and confidence building. Activities include working towards the Inspiring Digital Enterprise Award (iDEA), completing LinkedIn Learning assessments on Microsoft applications and producing collaborative video content.

As digital business becomes increasingly vital, this module equips you with the 21st-century skills needed to succeed in a modern workplace.

In this module you will be introduced to a variety of data analysis methods, which will be practiced on real world data sets. Regular formative assessment will be set for practice, with timely feedback given to aid learning and personal development.

You will have an opportunity to formulate your own research questions before analysing data to draw reasonable conclusions. The module will predominantly utilise real data and include a mixture of computer-based questions, calculations, interpretation and drawing conclusions.

What are the opportunities for business in the future? This module begins by establishing a strong understanding of the business context, including core economic principles and the evolving digital environment. You will explore the role of the digital economy and how it is reshaping industries.

Key global challenges will be examined—such as mass digitisation and Industry 4.0, inclusive growth, food security and the climate emergency—alongside the opportunities they present for businesses to develop responsible and sustainable solutions.

This will be your first opportunity to work on a real life problem, giving you insights into problem solving and decision making in a team environment. Working in teams you will apply the fundamental principles of marketing to develop a campaign for a University of Salford client.

This module will cover:

• Contemporary marketing in a mobile-first world
• Anticipating, understanding and fulfilling customer needs and desires
• Creating and curating social media content to engage audiences

This module will enable you to plan and carry out appropriate professional development activities to increase your employability and performance. These include self-presentation, professional networking, project planning and implementation, team working, influencing and multimedia communication. You will gain all the necessary experience required to take advantage of global employment opportunities.
 

Providing an immersive customer experience is a critical differentiating factor for firms today and, notably, one of the fastest growing business disciplines in the world. This module will provide you with the skills to develop and implement a coherent customer experience strategy that is both practical and actionable. It explores the theories and concepts of customer experience management with a customer centric focus by analysing the strategies, issues and dilemmas that are characteristic of the service industry and the delivery of an engaging customer experience.

You will learn how to apply various tools and processes to help you bring your organisation closer to its customers with emphasis on creating value for customers, through relationship building strategies, mapping the customer journey and engaging in service innovation and excellence. 

During this module we take a detailed look at various aspects of Project Management through a variety of means such as lectures and practical seminars informed by research and industrial collaborations. We will focus on theoretical approaches, tools and techniques of planning and controlling projects.

We will discuss project management as an important and integral part of a business whether this is product or service based.

This module is a chance to get hands-on experience inside a real organisation. Working in teams, reflecting your future working environment, you will help one of our partner organisations develop a solution to a current business problem. This is a chance to apply your people, project and time management skills in a real-world situation and to see how your solutions can apply in practice. Our employers tell us that experience of live briefs is important to them, and this is your chance to apply the knowledge you have gained on the course in that context. It's also a great addition to your CV.

This module introduces a range of analytical methods to support effective management decision-making, applied using real-world data sets. You will learn techniques that can be used across various business contexts, including interpreting market performance, forecasting growth, make-or-buy decisions and optimising scarce resources.

Being able to communicate effectively with your key markets and target audiences is an important part of business success. This module gives you an effective introduction to the key aspects of marketing communications theory and practice.

You will design and develop an efficient integrated marketing communications plan and strategy, and study key topics including: advertising, public relations, direct marketing, sales promotion, personal selling, point-of-purchase and e-communications.

On this module, you will learn about some of the key aspects of law and how these impact upon business. You will be introduced to the outline of the English Legal System, Contract Law, Employment Law and Company Law. You will develop a critical understanding of legal issues that may arise in business situations and be able to use your knowledge of the law in relevant business practices.

The aim of this short module is to support and empower you with the right skills and confidence to enter the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) Pitch competition. CIM is the professional body for the marketing industry.

You will learn to interpret a campaign brief and how to respond to it in a strategic way, developing the strategies, tactics and tools you need to be able to make a professional pitch to industry. At the same time, you will increase your skills for employment and gain experience of a live brief from the leading professional body. You will be able to use your pitch and the presentation of your creative advertising ideas as evidence of your abilities for prospective employers.

You will be introduced to some fundamentals of basic financial and management accounting, learning to understand the content of financial statements and the accountancy practices required to prepare these statements. You will learn to analyse and interpret financial statements and use the data to make informed management decisions. With cost (and its impact on profit) a key factor in an organisation’s success, you will learn to communicate financial information both in writing and speaking.

On this short module, you'll look at the issues affecting current marketing in a global setting and the impact this has on the wider business environment. You'll look at different marketing niches from a social, economic and environmental perspective, considering the importance of minority group affiliations associated with Black Lives Matter, LGBTQ+, social inclusion, ethics, sustainability and the marketing-savvy green consumer. You'll also gain an understanding of the ethical, moral and legal requirements that managers must appreciate when engaging in international marketing activities.

The module provides a comprehensive understanding of economic and financial principles as applied to the sports industry. You will analyse contemporary sport issues, financial statements, revenues, costs, demand, pricing strategies and the market structure of the sport industry. The module also covers financial strategies for sport organisations, including business formation, fundraising, maintaining a healthy financial position and expansion strategies. 

Additionally, you will learn about the application of economics and financial management in sport organisations, data-driven decision-making and the role of sport in political and diplomatic issues. You'll gain the knowledge and skills to make sound financial decisions and strategic management in the dynamic and evolving field of sports business.

The digital workplace is here to stay. This module helps you gain an understanding of the application of digital technologies in organisations. You will develop a critical awareness of the relationship between people and the workplaces of the future. You will also explore the issues around implementing a digital strategy.

A short internship—whether paid or unpaid—offers valuable real-world experience to help you develop and demonstrate your skills. This module allows you to gain academic credit for work that is relevant to your degree and enhances your employability.

The Business School will support and guide you in finding suitable internship opportunities. These may take place during the summer between Level 4 and Level 5, or at other times, provided the required amount of work-based learning is completed. During term time, you will produce a reflective report to demonstrate what you have learned through your internship experience.

You have the option to do a placement year, taking a year in industry to learn in a real-life environment whilst earning a salary and paying no tuition fees.

This is an excellent opportunity to take advantage of and we will help you find out about vacancies and make the right connections with high profile employers through regular events and presentations.

 For more information, please visit the placement and internships page. 

This module will prepare you for one of the modules that is part of the CIM Certificate in Professional Marketing. You will explore one theme – marketing communications campaign in detail using the CIM brief to help them understand the current needs surrounding an organisation’s communication with the wider audience/s. You will develop a communications plan around a real communication issue which requires the use of decision-making skills and creative ideas as a solution for the issues identified. Issues may include a new product/service launch, refreshing a brand identity or reminding audiences as examples. Satisfactory pass completion of this module subject to all other mapped modules achieving a pass will enable students to attain the Certificate Level in CIM. The assessment will use the current CIM assessment for each academic year

This module equips you with an appreciation and in-depth understanding of the implications of Business Ethics, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Sustainability within national and international organisations. This module will also develop your knowledge with respect to the importance of the balance between shareholders, stakeholders and the purpose and values of the organisation. It will explore the roles of social and technological innovation in global ethical organisations in order to prepare you for future employability.

This module aims to develop your core skills in digital and social media-based targeting and communication strategies. It’s a practical module where you will cover a host of topics; you will look at how to create an effective digital presence and consider the critical components of a digital marketing strategy and its strategic significance.

You will also extend you capabilities in digital brand awareness, search engine optimisation and search engine marketing, content optimisation etc.

You will be working in intensive case discussion sessions and group activities, and learning from guest lectures and insightful study materials to understand how the concepts that underpin digital and social media marketing support business success.

This module will help you to develop your leadership skills and prepare you for your future career. You will explore theory, behaviour, people management and leadership within a general organisational framework and apply it within a specific marketing context. This is an opportunity to develop the skills you have gained in the early part of your degree and apply them to prepare you for the responsible and authentic leadership that future business requires

This module offers a unique in-depth knowledge and understanding of the key practical and theoretical aspects of leadership and management in contemporary organisations. There is a focus on specific individual leaders, leadership styles and traits and offers an insight into how leaders operate in an organisational context. The module also explores personal leadership, the development of leadership and how leadership occurs at all levels. This module will allow you to  reflect on your own leadership development and application, enhancing your employability. 

Employers tell us that they are looking for employees with an entrepreneurial mindset.  Or perhaps you're thinking of setting up your own business.

In this module you have the opportunity to undertake an enterprise project for an internal or external sponsor on a topic of common interest.  Alternatively, you can use this opportunity to undertake in-depth research for your own project, for example, a business plan if you are wanting to start up a company after you graduate. The nature of the project will be negotiated by yourself, the module leader and the sponsoring company. 

This module will provide a detailed understanding of business strategy, so that you acquire an organisation-wide perspective through exploring strategy techniques and processes within the global environment. You will draw together your knowledge from across the Business Management with Marketing programme, and apply this to real world organisational problems, deploying accurately established techniques of analysis and enquiry, some of which are at the forefront of strategic research and practice. Working on industry problems drawn from Marketing situations, you will prepare for a career in Marketing management.