MBA (Master of Business Administration) MBA

Future leaders: Skills for effective and responsible leadership

This module offers immersive learning experiences and a variety of transformational growth opportunities, built around three core leadership development pillars: leading yourself, leading individuals, and leading collectives. 

It will prepare you for long-term career success by combining cutting-edge leadership research and theories with personalised 360-degree feedback, expert-led self-reflection, leadership and career coaching and evidence-based skills development. 

Throughout the module, you will explore the complexities of leadership and learn how to lead authentically and responsibly by engaging in experiential learning activities.

15 credits

Transformative Marketing Challenge

You will put theory into practice by managing a live project to resolve a complex marketing challenge for a real-world organisation, while developing an awareness of how disruptions like digital transformation, AI, and sustainability impact the international marketing landscape. Working in teams, you will use academic research to create marketing strategies that solve business problems. By using marketing frameworks and data, you will identify gaps and deliver solutions to stakeholders. This experience will develop your strategic marketing thinking and leadership skills essential for your career.

15 credits

Supply Chain Networks: Strategies and Operations

Multi-tier supply chain networks underpin modern business, enabling the efficient flow of goods, information, and services from suppliers to customers. In this module, you will explore how strategic and operational approaches are used to design, manage, and improve global supply chain networks. It covers the strategic choices needed to design and manage multi-tier supply networks that align with business objectives, operational activities such as planning, co-ordination, sourcing, logistics, continuous improvement and performance management that ensure efficiency, responsiveness and sustainability across the supply chain. To support applied learning, the module incorporates simulations and optimisation platforms to analyse supply chain performance and support data-driven decision-making. The module also examines the key challenges associated with managing modern supply networks, including ethical practices, resilience, and sustainability. Your learning experiences are enhanced through real-world case studies, industry-based projects, guest lectures, and visits to logistics and distribution organisations.

15 credits

Global Managerial Economics

In this module you will gain an understanding of economic principles, tools and develop skills, including utilisation of real-time data from Bloomberg, to make informed business decisions and apply them to drive business success. This includes organisation-level issues such as the contractual relationships among the different stakeholders of firms and optimal boundaries of firms, as well as the structure and contestability of markets within which they operate. You will explore the regulatory environment and macroeconomic contexts in which firms operate designing of contracts in an environment of imperfect (asymmetric) information, and the role of transaction cost in influencing key strategic decisions involving both domestic and international operations of firms, and you will develop skills to address sustainability issues by examining the complex dynamics of economic growth.

15 credits

Leading People and Transforming Organisations

Organisations face growing pressure to evolve and maximise their value to societies and economies. At the centre of innovative organising that serves worthwhile purposes is the effective coordination of people. In this module, you will grow as a courageous leader, learning to navigate and build the complex networks of human relationships and interests that form organisations. The module will foreground the contemporary context: environmental uncertainty, increasing diversity, the demand for meaningful work, and the growth of complex technologies. You will plan for the workplace of the future, with a particular focus on the UN Sustainable Development Goals (Decent Work and Reduced Inequalities). Ultimately, you will gain a systemic and critical understanding of organisational dynamics that informs effective and responsible decision-making.

15 credits

Core modules:

Strategic Management in a Complex World

This module builds the strategic thinking and decision-making capabilities you need to succeed in today's complex global business environment. You will explore how organisations create and sustain value in conditions of uncertainty, technological disruption and rapid change, while engaging with AI, digital transformation, sustainability and responsible business practice. Through interactive and applied learning, you will develop the confidence to analyse and interpret complex situations, communicate strategic insight, influence stakeholders and contribute to strategic decision-making across international contexts. This  module prepares you for leadership in a fast-changing and complex global environment.

15 credits

Accounting and Corporate Finance

This module integrates financial accounting, management accounting, and corporate finance to equip senior leaders for strategic, board-level decision-making. To prepare for a global landscape, you will learn to blend financial fundamentals with international perspectives on cross-border reporting and capital markets. You will develop creative problem-solving skills to navigate the corporate funding lifecycle—from private equity to Initial Public Offerings (IPOs). You will also master equity and debt capital raising strategies as well as financial statement analysis to optimise governance. You will embed sustainability and environmental, social and governance (ESG) metrics into performance frameworks, alongside exploring the disruptive impact of digitalisation and fintech on corporate strategy. Overall, you will gain the analytical agility to drive growth, manage financial risk, and lead with purpose in a dynamic, tech-driven international business environment.

You will also gain insight into the funding lifecycle of a corporate entity, as it transitions through the private equity, IPO, and post-IPO stages of its development. This  area will enable insights into the preparation of companies for listing, and the major channels for seasoned equity and debt funding that emerge post-IPO.

15 credits

Crisis Management

In a dynamic and complex world, the potential for the scale and scope of organisational disruption is increasing. In this module, you will explore how uncertainty and risk present challenges but also opportunity for business. Drawing on a range of disciplines, including strategy, psychology and communications, you will develop the insights and analytical tools to be effective managers. Based on a processual and broad systems approach, you will gain an understanding of risk and crisis management and what this means for responsible management practice. This will enable you to diagnose, mitigate and respond to disruptions which threaten the continuity of business operations. Finally you will be able to evaluate real world practice across different regions and industries to make  appropriate strategic and operational responses.

15 credits

The Sheffield MBA Challenge

This capstone module integrates your learning into a transformative, real-world business research based consultancy project. Embedded within the region's vibrant ecosystem,—from Sheffield's historic manufacturing roots to its booming digital and tech hubs,—you will partner with a regional /or international organisation to tackle a critical live business dilemma. This hands-on challenge demands high-level leadership and creative problem-solving as you apply robust research methodologies to complex corporate issues. Moving beyond theory, you will evaluate market dynamics to architect agile, forward-thinking solutions. Your strategic recommendations must balance commercial viability with sustainability and social responsibility. Through this project, you will sharpen your executive presence, master cross-functional management, and deliver a high-impact boardroom presentation, marking your definitive transition to a purpose-driven global leader. 

45 credits

A student will take 15 credits from the following:

Entrepreneurship and innovation challenge

This module allows you to get an understanding of the mindset, tools, and real world networks that drive modern venture creation. Blending theories of entrepreneurship with hands-on exposure to founders and innovators, it equips you to identify opportunities, design viable digital business models, and navigate entrepreneurial uncertainty.

You will participate in fireside chats with successful founders. They bring fresh perspectives on AI, funding, sustainability, product development, leadership, and innovation strategy.

You will also gain structured pathways into Sheffield incubators and innovation hubs, to refine your ideas, access mentorship, and engage with the regional ecosystem. Whether launching a venture or driving innovation within established organisations, you will leave with practical experience, a broader network, and the confidence to turn ideas into impact.

15 credits

AI, Analytics and Digital Technologies Challenge

In this module you will explore the strategic role of artificial intelligence (AI) and complementary Industry 4.0 technologies in supporting digital transformation within modern organisations. You will examine how these technologies are aligned with Industry 5.0 priorities, including human-centricity, sustainability, and resilience, to create responsible and value-driven digital innovation. You will also explore ethical considerations surrounding AI adoption. Systems thinking and assessing organisational readiness for transformation are also integral components of this module. As digital transformation generates large volumes of data, you will learn how advanced analytics can be used to support effective decision-making processes. Finally, you will gain direct exposure to technology platforms used in simulation, AI, and advanced analytics.

15 credits

Impact Investing and Portfolio Management Challenge

This module introduces sustainable finance and impact investing, including environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing, climate finance, transition finance, and responsible investment. You will explore how finance supports Net Zero and sustainable development. You will learn the principles and practice of portfolio management within investment environments. You will be able to construct, analyse, and evaluate portfolios using a range of investment strategies, asset allocation approaches, and risk management techniques. The module emphasises the use of digital tools,including the Bloomberg Terminal as a key feature of modern investing to support data-driven investment analysis and portfolio decision-making. Throughout the module, you will examine how sustainability and ESG considerations influence portfolio performance, risk, and long-term investment value.

15 credits