What are the benefits of supplier relationships/partnerships for both the supplier and customer and how this can benefit strategic procurement.
In the current international economic environment managers are frequently required to undertake project work in addition to their core responsibilities. Frequently these projects are focused upon investigating new opportunities or potential strategic changes in order to retain and extend competitive position within a turbulent business environment.
This module aims to equip managers and aspiring managers with the necessary skills to undertake independent project work within a business environment. It will achieve this via asking participants to conduct an independent piece of research based upon an actual business case situation within the Supply chain sector. Specifically, participants are invited to pursue one of two possible approaches:
- An inductive study whereby participants are required to carry out a research project within a particular corporate or industry setting and derive some general management principles or theories.
- A deductive approach whereby participants are required to examine or test the validity of an existing management theory to a particular management context.
- To facilitate the development of advanced level independent working and critical problem solving skills in a largely unstructured framework. Participants will be asked to define both the business problem and select the most appropriate data sources. This will include development of an appreciation of the case study technique as a vehicle for understanding managerial problems and issues. In particular, participants should be able to comprehend the complimentary nature of various research approaches and methodologies and the value of triangulation in research design.
To develop participant knowledge of and proficiency with, a range of management research methodologies including quantitative and qualitative interventions, including data gathering, synthesising, analysing and consultancy skills alongside capabilities in report writing skills. The module aims not just to develop an academic writing style but to also enable participants to cultivate a professional corporate style.
