Dr Aleksandra Webb

• work, skills and training, career, and employment

• childcare as a barrier to work and employment, and the policy-driven expansion of Early Learning and Childcare sector

• sustainable and resilient cultural leadership; creative learning: creativity, artistry and resilience in personal and professional development; value-driven education; social impact of arts: arts making and arts engagement as a tool for social change; and social entrepreneurship in arts sectors

I teach and coordinate two early undergraduate modules on Business and Management Programmes.

MGTU9S2: The Management Challenge (1st Year) This module seeks to explore some of the challenges facing management today. Some businesses may have predominantly commercial objectives, while other organisations may have more complex social or environmental objectives, yet regardless of the organisational goal, vision and purpose all of them share fundamental management concerns and activities. Building on the content of MGTU9S1, which introduced you to the importance of external environment in which businesses operate, this module focuses on challenges predominantly understood as and related to the complexity of management job. Managers work in organisations. Organisations are complex entities - they produce products and deliver services through a range of activities and processes within the key organisational areas called “organisational functions”. This module will outline and set the importance of these five key organisational functions: Operations, Marketing, HRM and Finance. In order to develop and lead competitive, adaptive, ethical and sustainable businesses; and to formulate appropriate strategies and actions; managers must understand the different demands and constraints associated with the interactions of these different core functions, which impact organisational performance and often challenge management. By studying this module, students will gain an appreciation of the reality of management, with particular focus on managing: operations, marketing activities, people and finances. In this way students will gain understanding of organisations as complex and evolving systems. In addition, the module will explore the importance of strategy, information and communication technologies assisting managers’ activities across the organisational functions. Students will also be introduced to contextual themes of management to help appreciate the differences between managing in public vs. private, or local vs. global organisations. Guest lectures delivered by practitioners will allow students to further develop the understanding of challenges facing management. Importantly, this module will focus on development of important management skills such as team working, communication and presentation skills, which are sought after by today’s employers.

MGTU9S3: Fundamentals of Business & Management (2nd Year) This module builds on the content of MGTU9S1 and MGTU9S2 and aims to further explore management as an essential component and function of all organisations. Some businesses may have predominantly commercial objectives, while other organisations may have more complex social or environmental objectives, yet regardless of the organisational mission and purpose all of them share fundamental management concerns and activities. The common themes will be explored across a variety of types of organisations, while emphasising the specific challenges of management found in different organisational contexts.

This foundational module aims to introduce students to a wide range of themes important for all aspiring managers and business leaders but it will be also interesting and relevant to everyone who intends to work in business organisations. The module will present and critically explain the key foundations of management: planning, organising, leading and control. It will start from exploring the meaning of management, who managers are, where they work, and what and why they do. A brief history of management will be outlined with emphasis on how the approaches to management have changed over time. To further explore management as an area of study and a professional practice, the module will look at the impact of the external environment, the societal influences, the national and global contexts, as well as the organisational culture and design (structure) on the managerial activities. The module will examine how all these factors influence the way managers behave, plan, make decisions, lead and control organisations, people and projects. A specific attention will be placed on understanding of the changing nature of work and the impact of those changes on the behaviours at work and the manager/employer-employee relationship. The module will introduce key concepts from ergonomics to address management areas of concern related to designing optimal (productive and healthy) work environments. Ethics as an important and timely managerial issue will also be discussed with references to notions of responsibility and organisational ethical/non-ethical behaviour. The module concludes with a study of insights into managers’ experience of leading and implementing change initiatives. Some considerations for management skills, learning and careers will be interwoven into concluding lectures.