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The Ultimate Business/Management Info Thread

Since this forum started there have been quite a few threads with the same kinds of questions so I thought I'd start a new one as a general advice thread. This is intended to help those thinking of applying for business/management courses but also for those who have applied and need advice/info etc.

I applied this year and did loads of research so I will post info here and I hope other people can do so too if they can help. Please don't spam here though or post anything unrelated to the topics :smile:

. Please feel free to PM me if you want to know anything and i will try to help. i will also try to respond promptly but i cant always guarantee it so be patient :biggrin:

I intend to post info on universities, courses & content and general info. If you need help with personal statements/work experience then PM me but i'll try and post some stuff here too if i can.

Everyone has their own ideas so I'm only going to post my opinions :smile:

Useful sites or magazines (will update)
www.bized.ac.uk
Business Review
www.triplealearning.co.uk
www.tt100.co.uk - case studies

www.ft.com
www.tutor2u.net
www.bloomberg.com/uk/index
www.yahoo.co.uk/headlines/financial
www.bbc.co.uk
---
Here's the Business Connect/Stalking Page - you'll be able to see other applicants' grades and offers. If you enter your details it will be really helpful for other people applying. :h:

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 1

Jump

Good idea!

Some more useful links:

www.economist.com
www.ibtalk.com
www.investopedia.com

Reply 2

Blackmarket Boy

I applied to 6 universities but the ones I went to see and know most about for B/M are KCL, Nottingham and Warwick. They are all very good universities in general and for B/M courses.

KCL, central London- BM one of the best courses at King's and this is reflected by its relatively high entry requirements. Typical offer - AAB or ABB (if you do Maths A level). The course gives a broad coverage of all aspects of BM but you choose many of your modules. The first 2 years have 2 compulsory units in Quantitative & Qualitative Methods (Math/Statistics). In the final year you choose all 8 of the modules. Intake of around 100 with around 20 applicants per place - sounds like a lot but its not as competitive as it appears since most people applying don't meet the requirements. Single honours or joint with Maths, Computer Science, French, Physics and probably more. Top 20 university and good reputation as part of the prestigious University of London. Course rep has been improving massively recently, from 31st to 15th to 9th according to the Times rankings.

Nottingham - has the advantage of a large business school so research is excellent, there are even more modules to choose from, facilities and resources are excellent. It is located on the Jubilee Campus, which opened in 1999 so its v new and it looks great! Many combinations of degree including Industrial Economics (and Insurance) for a more academic path, Management with a language e.g Spanish or even Chinese. Possibility of going to Nottingham's campus in Malaysia (which is a good experience and much cheaper too!). Typical offer - ABB, intake around 175 for straight Management. also has specialised degrees in E-commerce & Digital Business and Finance, Accounting and Management. Modular/Credit system so you can choose literally any modules from Politics to a language as one of your options for credits. Top 10 - 15 university with great reputation and top 5-10 for the course

Warwick, 3 miles from Coventry, near Leamington Spa and Birmingham - has a very large business school with all the advantages of Nottingham and added reputation. Courses include Management, International Business (must have a language and it is 4 years) and Accounting and Finance (some exemptions from major accountancy bodies). Management in particular is very flexible since 9/15 of the modules in the 3 years are chosen by you and the other 6 are compulsory. With so many options you can specialise in Marketing, Operations or Personnel Management, Accounting & Finance, small business management etc. University reputation is great, top 5-10 and the course is also very much top 5, being well taught and having so much flexibility.

Sorry I don't know as much about other universities but other good choices for B/M include Aston, Bath, Birmingham, Durham, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Imperial (for joint degrees with a science subject), Lancaster, Loughborough, LSE, Oxford (for Economics & Management), Manchester and others I cannot think of!

Reply 3

Blackmarket Boy

Main points of a Business/Management degree - all good BM degrees will involve Economics, Computing, Psychology/Sociology usually called something like Organisational Behaviour, Accounting & Finance and Quantitative Methods.

When looking at standard B/M courses, there will be some variation but most of them should be quite flexible. This is a big advantage in this degree because you can do what you like, what you're good at and what will help you in your careers - make the best of your options!

Look at the degree course components to see which ones you like the most, as I said they tend to be v flexible anyway, but look out for subtle differences. Bath do an excellent course In Business Administration (AAA/AAB typical offer), which is very practical in nature and you do projects and case study work from the beginning. Others are more academic and involve more theory (from a social science perspective) from economic theory to studying Marx's ideas. Also, you might want to consider how mathematical the degree is (LSE require AS Maths for e.g) to see if it suits you or not. Another aspect to think about is work placements (sandwich placements) where you organise a year in the middle of the degree, which you spend working gaining experience. Work experience is a bonus when applying for jobs after uni and gives you a taste of working life and what you might want to do in your career. However, it isn't for everyone and some people prefer to do the 3 years (or 4 sometimes) without getting out of the routine of studying for exams.

Reply 4

Alchemy

For expanded knowledge i find: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/ useful.

purely a UK slant on things mind you. Laws and regulations etc

Reply 5

Blackmarket Boy

Hello, where is everybody? woohoo this thread is a sticky now
I thought I'd put up the rankings:

Times Business 2006

1. Oxford
2. Warwick
3. LSE
4. Bath
5. St Andrew's
6. Nottingham
7. Manchester
8. Lancaster
9. KCL
10. City
11. Imperial
12. Aston
13. leeds
14. Royal Holloway
=15. Cardiff
=15. Birmingham
17. Surrey
18. Loughborough
19. Queen's, Belfast
20. Exeter

Reply 6

Blackmarket Boy

Guardian Business 2006

1. Oxford
2. St Andrew's
3. Bath
4. Imperial
5. LSE
6. Bradford :confused:

:wtf?:
7. Warwick
8. Cardiff
9. Manchester
10. City
11. KCL
12. Aston
13. Queen's, Belfast
14. Durham
15. Reading
16. Bristol
17. Nottingham
18. Loughborough
19. Birmingham
20 Southampton

As you can see there is a big difference between Times and Guardian. League tables are never amazingly accurate but can give some indication. I would advise you to consider the Times rather than the Guardian because it is more accurate.

Reply 7

Blackmarket Boy

Times Accounting and Finance 2006

1. LSE
2. Warwick
3. Loughborough
4. Bristol
5. Glasgow
6. Queen's. Belfast
7. Nottingham
8. Edinburgh
=9. Leeds
=9. Durham
-11. City
=11. Southampton

Reply 8

Blackmarket Boy

hey guys, I just thought I'd update the thread with a couple more links:

http://education.guardian.co.uk/universityguide/0,10085,488282,00.html
This is an article (admittedly a bit old) which discusses benefits of studying business/economics

http://www.graduatecareers.hobsons.co.uk/advice/finance
I thought this link (although not specific to BM) might be useful for people thinking of a finance-related career. Enjoy :smile:

Post any questions/info/comments

Reply 9

NSPROAT

Nice thread, so what's ur situation now BMB i've forgotten? LSE is ur firm choice yeah? and what's your insurance?

By the way that link only takes you to the main Guardian uni guide, i think this is the article you're talking about:
http://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/universityguide/story/0,9889,720338,00.html

Reply 10

Blackmarket Boy

Thanks for the correction, Nick :wink:

I knew I could count on YOU to add to this thread (unlike all the others :rolleyes:

)

Nottingham had to be my insurance because its ABB. I'm sure you noticed Warwick is now ahead of LSE in the Times rankings lol. I've just realised that I'm so screwed for getting a 1st or a 2.1 but at Warwick your chances are much MUCH higher than LSE :afraid:

oh and I gotta teach myself maths P2 and P3 calculus over summer :puke:

glad you contributed to the thread :smile:

Reply 11

NSPROAT

Hehe come on Warwick!! :smile:

Well I'm glad things worked out for u in the end and thanks for all the help :biggrin:

Reply 12

AlexMaximus

Nottingham had to be my insurance because its ABB. I'm sure you noticed Warwick is now ahead of LSE in the Times rankings lol. I've just realised that I'm so screwed for getting a 1st or a 2.1 but at Warwick your chances are much MUCH higher than LSE oh and I gotta teach myself maths P2 and P3 calculus over summer

You didn't take maths?

Reply 13

Blackmarket Boy

no lol I think i was pretty lucky to get certain offers :wink:

I would advise Maths A level is worthwhile for B/M courses but not usually essential (there are exceptions). You will have to study some quantitative methods at uni though so it is probably useful to study it at A level.

Reply 14

yeahyeahyeahs

statistics is bloody boorrring - mainly because its the longest thing ever to do. i think theres a module called business statistics in the mangement course.

Reply 15

Blackmarket Boy

just to help distinguish between Business Administration and Management; I think Bus Admin (e.g at Bath) tends to be a more vocational course where you do a lot of case studies and projects from the beginning. Management (e.g Nottingham), I believe, has a more theoretical approach in which you study the various disciplines (such as economics, accounting, organisational behaviour) of management rather than specific techniques.

i think management is more common amongst good universities simply because it seems to be more academic but some bus admin courses like the one at Bath look like very good/perhaps better preparation careerwise.

Reply 16

Blackmarket Boy

Another important difference to bear in mind is between Management and Management Sciences - they are not the same thing. Management is a general business degree in which you learn all the various areas (e.g economics, acc/fin, stats, marketing etc) but usually have options esp in years 2 and 3 during which you can specialise in what you want.

Management Sciences is not something I know too much about but it generally has a far more mathematical emphasis on it. It is mainly concerned with decision-making using a quantitative approach. It may involve more application of computers for statistical analysis and modelling. It is also widely known as Operational Research

Warwick changed their degree name this year from Management Sciences to Management to avoid the confusion. Their equivalent to Man. Sci. is MORSE (Mathematics, Operational Research, Statistics and Economics) and that is a highly respected degree with breadth to prepare you for a range of careers (it is also favoured by those wishing to become actuaries) and furthermore, you can choose to do a 3 year BSc or stay on for another year and then you get a Masters in it.

Some places might call their degrees Management Sciences when really the course is Management [probably because they want it to sound better (?!) ] so I advise you to look into the actual course components if you have applied to/are applying to a Management Sciences degree to see if that course is what you want or if you prefer a more general course with less maths. Usually this info is best found on the university website.

Reply 17

2tal

heres an interestin fact 4 u! www.tt100.biz the case study website! Thats a picture of me put on their twice! yes u could say i was a model!

Reply 18

Puddles the Monkey

Hey everyone,

I just updated the OP with a link to Business connect/stalking page - if you haven't already go connect to see other applicants' grades & offers. Also, if you enter your details it will be really really useful for everyone else making their applications this year.

:woo: