- An undergraduate course
in
Business and Management.
Managing 2: marketing and finance - online version
- On this page
This practical course covers topics in marketing and accounting and finance through activities and problem-solving. It takes a very practice-based approach to studying management concepts focusing on your own role. You can study this course on its own or start your OU management studies with it. However, you may find this course easier to engage with if you have studied B628 first.
This course is offered with online tuition only. You may register for a combination of face-to-face and online tuition by choosing course code B629.
Modules at Level 3 assume that you are suitably prepared for study at this level. If you want to take a single module to satisfy your career development needs or pursue particular interests, you don’t need to start at Level 1 but you do need to have adequately prepared yourself for OU study in some other way. Check with our Student Registration & Enquiry Service to make sure that you are sufficiently prepared.
| Course facts | |
|---|---|
| About this course: | |
| Course code | BZX629 |
| Credits | 30 |
| OU Level | 3 |
| SCQF level | 10 |
| FHEQ level | 6 |
| Course work includes: | |
| 2 Tutor-marked assignments (TMAs) | |
| End-of-module assessment | |
| No residential school | |
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What you will study
The course poses such questions as: What is marketing exactly? How is it done in different contexts, including the public sector? What’s internal marketing? Who are your customers and stakeholders? How can you avoid marketing mistakes? Precisely what is your organisation exchanging with consumers and clients? How does your organisation deliver your goods and services and how does it add value? How do you price, promote and deliver your goods or services? How do you keep your consumers and clients happy? Why is finance important? What are budgets for and how can they be used? What are costs and how can you break them down to understand them better? What is cash flow and why is it important? What’s a profit and loss account and is it relevant to non-commercial sectors?
At appropriate points throughout the course, questions of business ethics and sustainability are addressed and you are encouraged to consider these aspects carefully in the course activities you undertake.
Through activities related to your own work and practices and related reading you will critically reflect on and analyse workplace situations and your own ways of managing clients and finance. The course is ‘solution oriented’ to help you to understand work situations from a manager’s perspective, and to work out what to do, given that you are not likely to be in charge of the organisation you work for. As you work through activities, problems and solutions, you will question the idea that there are single solutions to problems or that there is ‘one best way’. You will come to understand the constraints, choices and demands that managers need to take into account when making decisions.
As many first line managers are not directly responsible for marketing or finance, the course includes problem scenarios and cases for you to work on. A single problem scenario runs through the finance content to help you make sense of how the different elements of financial management fit together. The idea is to improve your understanding of finance so that you can improve your managerial decision making, rather than to teach you accountancy. The same is true of marketing: every manager needs to understand who the organisation is serving, and why, in order to manage employees in the organisation more effectively.
Further information about the certificate to which this course contributes can be found in the Professional Certificate in Management Information and sample study material.
Vocational relevance
The teaching and learning strategy of Managing 2: marketing and finance is problem-based. Through this approach, the course aims to develop the skills an effective manager needs: such as analysis, constructing sound arguments, critical and reflective thinking, problem identification and problem solving, active listening and communication, sourcing and presenting information, and report writing. Many of these are the same learning skills that any university-level learner requires and will help to equip you for study at postgraduate level.
Residential school
There is no residential school in this course, but to achieve the Professional Certificate in Management, you will need to take the companion course B628, or its online version BZX628, and B690. B690 comprises a preparatory period, a residential school and, after a revision period, a three hour examination.
Entry
The course has been designed for working managers, aspiring managers, team leaders or supervisors. It is possible to study the course if you work in an informal capacity, for example in a voluntary organisation, or if you have had previous work experience. It is not possible to study the course without any work experience. This is because activities that include problem solving assume you have current or prior work situations to which you can apply what you are learning.
Managing 2: marketing and finance is an undergraduate Level 3 course.
It can also be studied as part of the open access route to stage 1 of the MBA (F61). If you have no prior higher education experience, pre-course preparatory work is provided (see Preparatory work).
Further information about studying this module as part of the Professional Certificate in Management can be found in the Professional Certificate in Management Information and sample course materialbooklet.
If you have any doubt about the suitability of the course, please contact our Student Registration & Enquiry Service.
Preparatory work
If you have not have encountered the problem-based approach to learning before, the Module Guide and The Manager’s Good Study Guide are provided and will be particularly useful at the start of the course. The Module Guide explains the approach and describes the skills required so that you can remedy any gaps in your knowledge. It will also provide an orientation to the course. The Manager’s Good Study Guide enables you to refresh study skills such as reading and note-taking, using logic and building arguments, written communication and report writing, and using numbers.
Regulations
As a student of The Open University, you should be aware of the content of the Module Regulations and the Student Regulations which are available on our Essential documents website.
If you have a disability or additional requirement
Written transcripts of any audio components and Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) versions of printed material are available. Some Adobe PDF components may not be available or fully accessible using a screen reader. Alternative formats of the study materials may be available in the future. Our Services for disabled students website has the latest information about availability.
If you are a new student, or new to study using a computer or the internet, you will need to inform us of your particular needs as soon as possible, as some of our support services may take several weeks to arrange. Details of how to do this and our range of support services are described in our publication Meeting Your Needs.
You can also find information about accessible study materials, the Disabled Students' Allowance, equipment and other services on our Services for disabled students website. It also includes our contact details for advice and support both before you register and while you are studying.
Study materials
What's included
Course books, other printed materials and, via a website, additional resources in digital formats.
You will need
All set books will be provided as part of the study materials pack. However, non-native English speakers, particularly those studying outside the UK, may wish to purchase the following book:
The Oxford Dictionary of Business English for learners of English.
Computing requirements
You will need a computer with internet access to study this course which includes online activities. You can only access these using a web browser with Flash and Java.
You will also need a headset, with a microphone and earphones, to talk to your tutor and other students online during some of the course activities.
- If you have purchased a new desktop or laptop computer running Windows since 2006 you should have no problems completing the online activities.
- If you’ve got a netbook, tablet or other mobile computing device check our Technical requirements section.
- If you have an Apple Mac or Linux computer – please note that you can only use it for this course by running Windows on it using Boot Camp or a similar dual-boot system.
You can also visit the Technical requirements section for further computing information including the details of the support we provide.
Teaching and assessment
Support from your tutor
You will have a tutor who will help you with the study material and study activities. You can ask the tutor for help and advice. The tutor will also mark and comment on your assignments. If you are new to the OU, you will find that your tutor will be particularly concerned to help you with your study methods.
Other tutor support will be delivered primarily online as you study. In addition, online tutorials will be offered depending on the version of the course for which you register. These tutorials are not compulsory but you are strongly encouraged to participate.
Contact our Student Registration & Enquiry Service if you want to know more about study with the OU before you register.
Assessment
The assessment details can be found in the facts box above.
You must use the online eTMA system to submit your tutor-marked assignments (TMAs).
The eTMAs consist of activities carried out as part of your study of the course. The end-of-module assessment (EMA) is wholly problem-based and will be focused on a workplace situation of your own.
Future availability
The details given here are for the course that starts in November 2012 and May 2013. We expect it to be available twice a year.
Students also studied
Students who studied this course also studied at some time:
How to register
To register a place on this course return to the top of the page and use the Click to register button. For more information and advice about registration see OU Study Explained.
Student Reviews
“I really enjoyed this course because it involved solving marketing and finance problems within a business. PBL suited my learning ...”
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“I would recommend choosing this course with great care - It is a good course, if it's what you expect. ...”
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Distance learning
The Open University is the world’s leading provider of flexible, high quality distance learning. Unlike other universities we are not campus based. You will study in a flexible way that works for you whether you’re at home, at work or on the move. As an OU student you’ll be supported throughout your studies – your tutor will guide and advise you, offer detailed feedback on your assignments, and help with any study issues. Tuition might be in face-to-face groups, via online tutorials, or by phone.
For more information about distance learning at the OU read Study explained.
| Course facts | |
|---|---|
| About this course: | |
| Course code | BZX629 |
| Credits | 30 |
| OU Level | 3 |
| SCQF level | 10 |
| FHEQ level | 6 |
| Course work includes: | |
| 2 Tutor-marked assignments (TMAs) | |
| End-of-module assessment | |
| No residential school | |
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