Birmingham Business School

A leading edge qualification formanagers who want to drive innovation.

Professor Andrew Cox

MBA in Strategy andProcurement Management

MBA in Strategy andProcurement Management

Birmingham Business School’s MBA in Strategy andProcurement Management was first introduced in1994, making it the longest established programmeof its type in the UK.

The programme structureFrom its inception, the aim of the MBA (SPM)has been to introduce students to leading-edge thinking in the area of purchasing andsupply. This has not meant delivering rigidprescriptions, however. Rather, it has meanthelping managers to respond flexibly to theunique challenges that they face in their own particular work environments.

Such an emphasis on flexibility extends to theway in which the programme is delivered. TheMBA (SPM) is offered on both a full-time andpart-time basis. This is to give managers thechoice between combining their studies withfull-time employment, or taking a year out tostudy intensively.

Irrespective of whether the programme iscompleted in 30 months (for part-time students)or 15 months (for full-time students), the coursecontent and mode of delivery remain the same.The structure of the course is modular, witheach module delivered over two consecutivelong weekends (Saturday–Monday andFriday–Monday). Students completing the part-time programme are required to take eight modules over a twenty-four month period,while full-time students take all eight modules in twelve months.

Programme modulesThe eight modules taken by students include a range of generalist subjects as well as a setof core specialised modules aimed directly atmanagers working in the area of purchasingand supply chain management. The list ofmodules include:

General modules� Strategic Management – ‘strategic’ is one

of the most over-used but least understoodterms in the management lexicon. Thismodule starts, therefore, by explaining what is meant by the concept, before examininghow firms should (and do) go aboutdevising their business strategies.

� International Business and RiskManagement – regardless of whetherglobalisation represents an opportunity or athreat to organisations, global competitionhas created a need amongst managers tounderstand the new markets that they nowfind themselves operating in. This moduleprovides both a survey of the different typesof business environment as well as anassessment of the risks associated with each.

� Strategic Marketing – effectiveprocurement management requiresmanagers to have an understanding abouthow their suppliers view them. By showingstudents how firms position themselves inthe marketplace, this module attempts toprovide such an understanding.

� Financial Management – this modulecovers many of the key areas in finance,including the interpretation of financialstatements, project appraisal, managementaccounting systems and the management of currency risk.

� Organisation and Resource Management– this module focuses on one of the mostintractable problems facing all managerstrying to bring about change in theirorganisations: navigating the complexpolitical environments in which they operate.

Specialist modules� Operations and Logistics – taking waste

(and cost) out of the production and supplyprocesses has become one of the centralpreoccupations of supply managers. Thismodule explains the rationale behind thenew ‘efficiency revolution’ as well asshowing how it is achieved in practice.

� Supply Chain Management andContracting; and

� Business Strategy and ProcurementCompetence – the final two modules of the programme are linked modules. Theyfocus on how to develop and implement astrategic source plan that is aligned to thepriorities of the organisation as well as therealities of the marketplace. Amongst thetopics covered are: identifying and selectingthe right sourcing option; vendor appraisaland selection; negotiation and conflictresolution; and, performance measurementand performance management.

Upon completing the taught element of theprogramme, students spend their remainingtime undertaking a research-based project,normally built around a business problemrelevant to the organisation in which they work.

In addition to receiving their MBA qualification,successful students are also awarded MCIPSby the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply.

Studying an MBA at University of BirminghamBirmingham is one of the UK’s oldestestablished red-brick universities. It is part of the Russell Group of elite institutions which until recently was chaired by Birmingham’s Vice-Chancellor, Sir Michael Sterling.Birmingham is a major centre for teaching andresearch and its strong research culture runsthrough everything that the University and itsBusiness School deliver.

The Centre for Business Strategy andProcurement (CBSP) which is responsible forco-ordinating and delivering the programme, hasbrought in nearly £3 million in research fundingin the last decade alone. This funding has comefrom a diverse range of public and private sectorinstitutions including the DTI, EPSRC, CIPS, theNHS, Bernard Matthews, Carillion, Rolls-Royce,Railtrack, BAA, BUPA and ICL-Fujitsu.

The quality of Birmingham Business SchoolMBA’s has been recogised in internationalrankings including the Financial Times and Economist Intelligence Unit.

The home of Birmingham Business School isUniversity House, conveniently situated on theedge of the main campus opposite the maingates of the University. Originally built in 1968,a multi-million pound state-of-the-art learningand teaching complex has been added.

Furthermore, the city itself has recently beensubject to a major redevelopment culminating inthe new Bull Ring shopping centre, the largestin Europe. This, coupled with the city’s centrallocation and transport links make Birmingham an excellent place in which to study.

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www.bham.ac.uk This leaflet was written several months in advance of the start of theacademic year. It is intended to provide prospective students with ageneral picture of the programmes and courses offered by the School.Please note that not all programmes or all courses are offered everyyear. Also, because our research is constantly exploring new areasand directions of study some courses may be dropped and new onesoffered in their place.

The course attracts students from a wide range of backgrounds. In recent years students have joined the course from the following organisations:

ApplyingStudents wishing to apply will need to haveachieved either a good honours degree or a professional qualification such as MCIPS.Applicants must also be expected to showthree years relevant work experience.Applicants whose first language is not Englishwill need to show competency in the language.A TOEFL score of 580 or an IELTS score of6.5 (with no less than 6.0 in any band) isnormally expected.

Application forms are available on request from the Programme Administrator or via the website. For more information please contact:Mrs Carol LevyTel: +44 (0)121 414 6266 Fax: +44 (0)121 414 3217Email: c.m.levy@bham.ac.ukwww.mba.bham.ac.uk

� BAE Systems� Bank of Uganda� BP Exploration� British American

Tobacco� British Broadcasting

Corporation� British Sugar� British Telecom� Centrica� Consignia� Defence Procurement

Agency

� Devonport RoyalDockyard

� First Choice Holidays� Ghana Civil Aviation

Authority� GlaxoSmithKline� HM Prison Service� International Atomic

Agency� Kenya Agricultural

Research Institute� KPMG

� Ministry of Food and Agriculture

� National Express� NHS PASA� Rolls-Royce� Scottish Power

Systems� Siemens Building

Technologies� Swiss RE Insurance� T-Mobile� Unisys� Virgin Atlantic