Information, Organisation and Accountability from a Historical Perspective

Learning Outcomes

Knowledge and Understanding

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

• the processes of change within the global economy;
• how to apply a variety of concepts and techniques to the understanding business and governmental decision making. This will include, but is not limited to, accounting, economics and marketing;
• how to interpret evidence from a variety of sources – documentary, film, biography and journalism.

Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• understand how to apply a variety of concepts and techniques to the understanding business and governmental decision making. This will include, but is not limited to, accounting, economics and marketing;
• understand how to make management theory ‘practical’ by informing the interrogation of archival evidence.
• understand the processes of change within the global economy;
• understand how to interpret evidence from a variety of sources – documentary, film, biography and journalism;

Transferable and Generic Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• apply a variety of concepts and techniques to the understanding business and governmental decision making. This will include, but is not limited to, accounting, economics and marketing;
• interpret evidence from a variety of sources – documentary, film, biography and journalism;
• make management theory ‘practical’ by informing the interrogation of archival evidence.

Context: Globalisation and International Business: USA Germany & Japan. British de-industrialisation and decline? Approaches to continuity and change: Understanding Business Models, Policy Models and firm ‘ecology;’ within industrial districts. Restructuring British Business in response to global challenges: The following case evidence will be explored Materials and Aerospace Approaches to restructuring mature industry: example the steel industry – nationalisation to privatisation, competition policy and merger activity. Project management capabilities and the restructuring of aviation: Concorde and the early satellite industry. Managing manufacturing processes and project based businesses Trade Services and the City of London: Industrial Policy and the Bank of England. Managing service enterprise: insurance, shipping, etc. The evolution of banking and financial services. British trade and investment in the international economy; Management control of banking organisations. De-regulation and the ‘Big Bang’. Decisions for Restructuring: Competition, merger and acquisition policy; From the firm to the market: shifting organisational solutions, from nationalisation to privatisation. ‘Financialisation’ of decision making. The evolution of managerial capabilities: accounting and economic measurement. Understanding technical performance through business and management methods. History as an approach to understanding business change.: Comparing British and American management capabilities as ‘best practice’. Alongside the above core content, the case evidence will use Annual Reports, the trade press and where relevant, internal documents from government/business enterprise.

Lectures will set out the background and key questions arising from globalisation and the difficulties in adjusting to change. It is proposed to invite two guest lecturers who are archivists to present on document interpretation. This approach is at the heart of the module: how to use primary documentary evidence to understand how individuals in organisations ‘made’ decisions. Evidence from the National Archives will be used to demonstrate how financial and economic information informed decision making and policy in the British economy. This will be used as an exemplar of an economy seeking to restructure from manufacturing to services. Classes will be informed by journal articles and case study material including documents from the relevant archives.

Formative

This is how we’ll give you feedback as you are learning. It is not a formal test or exam.

Coursework

• Assessment Type: Formative
• Feedback: Examination grade, exam report and written feedback on coursework and personal meetings where required
• Final Assessment: No
• Group Work: No

Summative

This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.

Referral

This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.

Repeat

An internal repeat is where you take all of your modules again, including any you passed. An external repeat is where you only re-take the modules you failed.