Business Analytics (Industry) BSc Hons - 2021 Entry

Course Structure

Lancaster University offers a range of programmes, some of which follow a structured study programme, and others which offer the chance for you to devise a more flexible programme to complement your main specialism. We divide academic study into two sections - Part 1 (Year 1) and Part 2 (Year 2, 3 and sometimes 4). For most programmes Part 1 requires you to study 120 credits spread over at least three modules which, depending upon your programme, will be drawn from one, two or three different academic subjects. A higher degree of specialisation then develops in subsequent years. For more information about our teaching methods at Lancaster please visit our Teaching and Learning section.

The following courses do not offer modules outside of the subject area due to the structured nature of the programmes: Architecture, Law, Physics, Engineering, Medicine, Sports and Exercise Science, Biochemistry, Biology, Biomedicine and Biomedical Science.

Information contained on the website with respect to modules is correct at the time of publication, and the University will make every reasonable effort to offer modules as advertised. In some cases changes may be necessary and may result in some combinations being unavailable, for example as a result of student feedback, timetabling, Professional Statutory and Regulatory Bodies' (PSRB) requirements, staff changes and new research.

Year 1

Core

• Introduction to Business Intelligence and Analytics

  The module will cover the introductory topics of business intelligence, business analytics and business data science. You will learn basic analytics concepts, principles and techniques and will see how the data collection, description, visualisation and analysis can help businesses, governments and other organisations make more informed decisions.

  The module will also cover topics on discovering, measuring and visualising relationships in data, and basics of forecasting and data mining. Examples of real cases studies will illustrate the practical potential, and special emphasis will be given on discussing what the main pitfalls in using different analytical techniques are, such as “lying with descriptive statistics”, misleading visualisation, data overfitting, or why “forecasts are always wrong”. The module will rely on a spreadsheet software to support the computing and visualisation side and will teach you useful approaches that will prove in valuable for your future studies and employment.

  Finally, you will learn how to write reports for the management based on the produced results. It is important to understand basics of analytics even if you do not intend to get an analytics job, because it is critical to business strategy, and so there is a great professional advantage in being able to interact competently with analytics teams. This module aims to shake you out of the belief that organisations and individuals may be able to successfully live without the use of data and analytics. This module is suggested for those taking any Business or Management degree and for those taking more quantitative degrees such as Mathematics, Statistics, Computer Science or Economics interested to learn howanalytics is used in to bring intelligence in business and management.

• Introduction to Operations Management

  Operations management is a core discipline for all kinds of organisation, from private-sector manufacturers through to public-sector service providers. This module introduces the core topics of operations management, including operations design, capacity management, supply chain management, inventory analysis, demand forecasting, quality management and risk analysis. Most of these topics have both qualitative and quantitative elements that need to be understood and practised in combination.

  By the end of the module you should be able to:

  • identify different kinds of operations and predict their attributes

  • apply basic planning and analysis techniques to particular cases

  • understand operations problems and related improvement strategies

  The quantitative parts of the course are basic, and if you prefer a more quantitative approach you should consider Management Science (MSCI 103) as an alternative. To take this module you must also take either MSCI 101, 100 or MNGT130.

• Preparation for Placement

  During this Preparation for Placement module, you will learn about the skills and expertise employers expect you to evidence; how to produce excellent CVs and cover letters; how to make an impact on application forms, what to expect at interviews and assessment centres. You will get to hear from final year students about their placement experience and a chance for you to learn about the placement opportunities on offer meeting graduate employers.

• Tools and Techniques for Business Analytics

  Business Analytics utilises skills from a number of disciplines. Management Science (also known as Operational Research) is used in all major organisations in industry, commerce, finance and government. Its application might involve well-defined problems, like reducing the cost of a complex goods distribution network, or more nebulous problems, such as improving the care of patients in hospital. Implementation can also involve specialised software or bespoke programmes.

  The techniques of Management Science, based on mathematics, statistics, analytics and computing, can be extremely powerful in helping to solve these organisational problems and are widely used in practice. This module explains the business situations in which such techniques apply and shows how to use the techniques and interpret the results to make better business decisions. Techniques are introduced through a mix of lectures, computer workshops and tutorials at which tutors can give extra help. The techniques introduced include decision analysis, simulation, queueing analysis, computer algorithms and linear programming. To support development, students are introduced to probability and probability distributions and gain familiarity with useful computer tools such as Excel and Python programming.

  In this module, students work on two challenging case studies based on real problems. These provide the opportunity to apply the concepts and techniques of problem solving, making recommendations and reporting results. There is a stress on practical examples of using the techniques. The module lays for foundation for learning more advance techniques later in their degrees and emphasises not only how to apply techniques, but also when (and when not) to apply them.

Year 2

Core

• Optimisation

  This module describes a variety of optimisation algorithms and how business problems can be modelled using these techniques.

  Optimisation is one of the primary techniques associated with management science/operational research. Linear programming models are used routinely in many industries, including petroleum refining and the food industry. Integer linear programming models are increasingly being used in practice for complex scheduling problems such as those that arise in the airline industry where such models have saved large amounts of money. Skills in formulating and solving applied optimisation problems are valuable for anybody interested in a career in operational research or business modelling and consultancy.

  This module is designed to enable you to apply optimisation techniques to business problems.

  Four main topics are covered:

  • Linear programming

  • Specially-structured linear programs

  • Integer and mixed-integer programming

  • Heuristics for large-scale problems

• Professional Skills

  The overall objective of this module is to introduce you to some of the key communication and technical skills needed in project work and to give you the opportunity to practise those skills in a progressive way.

  Via a group simulated consultancy study, it covers some of the key communication and technical skills needed in project work, such as teamwork, interviewing for information, oral presentations and writing a management report.

• Project Management Tools & Techniques

  Designed as an introduction to the theory and practice of managing business projects, this module introduces project management methods in a way which links to the life cycle of a typical project – from the early project identification and definition stages, through project execution and control, to issues of implementation and change. The coverage of the early stages of the project cycle uses methods emerging from the systems movement and stresses the strategic relevance of project management. The management of the project is covered by introducing techniques for planning, scheduling and controlling projects. Attention is also given to the people management aspects of this process, including leadership, team-working and motivation.

• Spreadsheet Modelling for Management

  Many organisational recruiters have identified a number of skills and knowledge they want to see from a prospective employee. Top in the priorities are spreadsheet modelling, problem structuring, statistics, and project management.

  Students will be introduced to Microsoft Excel 2016 and the basics of dynamic model building, including skills such as data handling, filtering and analysis, using functions, charting, plus advanced techniques such as optimisation, simulation, and the use of Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) to automate models and construct decision support models.

  The course will make extensive use of case-studies and workshop-orientated learning tasks.

• Statistical Methods for Business

  At the heart of many real management problems are data that needs to be described, analysed and interpreted. Statistical methods are important across the range of Management School subject areas (e.g. accounting and finance, marketing, economics, operations management and operational research). This module develops your ability to describe, analyse and interpret data soundly, making effective use of computer software.

  Developing these skills will also help you demonstrate to prospective employers that you have practical skills that can immediately be put to good use to solve problems for organisations either in the public or private sector.

  The lecture materials, and the problems you are asked to solve in workshops, reflect the problems that organisations have to solve in practical situations where data analysis skills are required.

• Work Based Learning

  This module, is scheduled for one week in the Lent Term of Year 2 and is the first in a series of compulsory modules designed for students undertaking a placement in Year 3.

  This first module takes the form of a number of lectures, workshops and seminars and combines academic work with work-based learning and careers knowledge of placement opportunities in preparation for the placement year.

Optional

• Business Modelling and Simulation

  This module covers the skills needed to improve business process by modelling and simulation.

  Computer simulation methods are among the most commonly used approaches within operational research and management science. This module teaches you the skills required to apply simulation successfully to help improve the running of a business, and it shows how companies can find good solutions by predicting the effects of changes before implementing them.

  Modern simulation packages are a valuable aid in building a simulation model, and this module uses the Witness simulation package, which is widely used commercially. However, without the proper approach, the results of a simulation project can be incorrect or misleading. This module looks at each task required in a simulation project. It emphasises the practical application of simulation, with a good understanding of how a simulation model works being an essential part of this.

• Introduction to Financial Accounting for Managers

  This module provides an introduction to the analysis and use of published financial statements and the concepts which underlie financial reporting by companies. It also considers the relationship between companies and their financial environment. The concepts and use of financial statements are placed within the current commercial context, so that you acquire an appreciation of the role of financial accounting.

• IT in Organisations: Introduction to ERPs

  Enterprise resource planning systems (ERPs) and integration solutions are essential to every modern enterprise, and this module gives you hands-on experience of SAP, a widely used enterprise technology. The module develops your understanding of how information technologies can help companies to achieve their strategic objectives, and introduces you to techniques and tools that can be used to evaluate the performance of business processes, diagnosing where problems lie and how processes can be improved.

  After introductory sessions which look at the pervasive use of IT by business and at quantitative and qualitative business process analysis, you then work in small teams to compete in running a virtual dairy company, using SAP GUI as your ERP technology.

• Managing Business Information Systems

  This module provides an introduction to the use and impact of information, communication and integrated technology systems on business and organisations. It focusses not on technical specifications, but rather on managerial and business implications of using these systems.

  The following issues will be addressed:

  • Data, Information and Decision-making
  • Business Uses and Benefits of IS
  • IT Selection
  • Obtaining Information Systems
  • Strategy and Information Systems

  The course provides the business foundation for other more specialised or technical topics in Information Systems.

• Marketing Fundamentals

  This module forms a self-contained introduction to marketing. It examines components of the marketing system, concepts of buying behaviour, analysis of market opportunities, market segmentation, the marketing mix and marketing strategy. Consideration is also given to a number of special topics, including services marketing, retailing and international marketing. It aims to develop your appreciation and understanding of the conceptual and descriptive language of marketing and how it is used within a business and management context.

• Quality and Risk Management

  Introducing you to the main concepts and techniques in the management of operational risk and the management of quality, this module deals with both the technical and broader social analysis of these disciplines.

  Its purpose is to give you an understanding of these concepts within the general subject of operations management. It will treat the concepts analytically, but as grounded in the practical problems faced by both manufacturing and service operations.

  Topics in quality management range from statistical process control to total quality management, while those in risk management range from quantitative risk assessment to high reliability organisations. The module will also look at both subjects as social constructions, and examine the implications of taking such a viewpoint.

• Supply Chain Management

  This module examines the principles and practices of supply chain management, and examines supply chain and logistics management in relatively high-volume industries such as retailing. It also looks critically at supply chain management, as just one manifestation of the more general issue of trans-organisational operations management.

  Most of the time will be spent considering inter-organisational relationships from various perspectives, but you will also need to understand how they relate to matters within the organisation. For example, adopting Just-in-Time supply requires Just-in-Time approaches to be adopted within the firm, and vice versa.

Year 3

Core

• Work Based Learning

  This module aims to bridge the gap between the workplace and study and to provide a closer link between activities undertaken on the placement and the academic programme. While on placement students submit a negotiated learning agreement followed by monthly reflective learning logs.

Year 4

Core

• Project Management: Negotiation and Decision Support

  Central to this module is the Crossbay Contracting Game, a management game designed by the module convenor and his colleagues at HCS Ltd.

  Three (health service) organisations are involved in a contract negotiation, and you will be part of the management team of one of these organisations. The contract concerns funding requirements for core activities over the coming financial year.

  The main aim is to reach an agreement that is satisfactory to all three parties – but you must of course ensure that your own organisation is likely to come out of it well. Much of your time will be spent analysing the emerging situation and negotiating with the other parties.

  Alongside this 'management' task there is also a modelling task. Teams are provided with a decision support system they can use to analyse the emerging situation and help them decide which strategies are cost-effective for their organisation.

• Structuring Complex Problems

  Issues and problems in the complex world of management do not necessarily arise in a well-structured form. People often do not know what they want or what is possible. They may also disagree about what they are trying to achieve and the means for arriving at their goals. Much thinking needs to be done in order to define an appropriate framework within which a useful analysis or project can be carried out.

  Various approaches have been developed in recent years to assist in this task, often referred to as problem-structuring methods (PSMs). These very practically oriented methodologies typically involve the management team to help facilitate the structuring of complex situations. They place emphasis on dialogue to think through strategic problems, identify the salient issues, formulate goals and negotiate action plans. This module introduces you to several PSMs and some of the process skills needed to use them.

• Work Based Learning

  On return from placement for the final year of the degree, students engage in group presentations. They present their work-based learning experience in small groups and critically reflect on, and draw out, relationships between theory and practice. Students also complete a portfolio of professional practice, to show the links between theory and practice, and an extended essay which takes the form of a critical reflection on work-based learning experiences.

Optional

• Advanced Spreadsheet Modelling

  Many organisational recruiters have identified particular skills and knowledge they want to see from a prospective employee. Top in the priorities are spreadsheet modelling, problem structuring, statistics, and project management. This highly practical module equips you with an advanced set of spreadsheet modelling skills, including advanced functions and programming using Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) that can be used to produce a wide range of effective decision-support models.

  You will learn general concepts about spreadsheet modelling using VBA and a wide range of modelling skills which are highly relevant to management. These include structured programming, program documentation, program verification, user interface design, and general investigative modelling – including applications involving optimisation, forecasting and simulation.

• Business Forecasting

  This module introduces you to various current techniques for forecasting future customer demand, including a range of predictive models that develop your knowledge of the best ways of forecasting in problem situations.

  The aim is to ensure that you have the skills needed to develop a validated quantitative set of forecasts using both extrapolative and causal forecasting methods, and that you can apply a simple forecasting method to support demand and revenue management.

  You will also learn to identify and exploit opportunities for revenue optimisation in different business contexts. You review the main methodologies used in each of these areas, discuss legal issues associated with different pricing strategies, and survey current practices in different industries. Most of the topics covered are either directly or indirectly related to pricing issues faced by firms operating in environments where they enjoy some degree of market power.

• Business Modelling and Simulation

  This module covers the skills needed to improve business process by modelling and simulation.

  Computer simulation methods are among the most commonly used approaches within operational research and management science. This module teaches you the skills required to apply simulation successfully to help improve the running of a business, and it shows how companies can find good solutions by predicting the effects of changes before implementing them.

  Modern simulation packages are a valuable aid in building a simulation model, and this module uses the Witness simulation package, which is widely used commercially. However, without the proper approach, the results of a simulation project can be incorrect or misleading. This module looks at each task required in a simulation project. It emphasises the practical application of simulation, with a good understanding of how a simulation model works being an essential part of this.

• Data Mining for Direct Marketing and Finance

  At the heart of many real-world industrial and scientific problems are increasingly large data sets that need to be analysed efficiently in order to gain novel and useful insights. The field of as data mining (also known as intelligent data analysis) brings together real large-scale datasets and algorithms from statistics, machine learning and computational intelligence that can work efficiently with real-world datasets.

  he course provides an introduction to the fundamental methods and approaches from the interrelated areas of data mining, statistical/ machine learning, and intelligent data analysis. The course covers the entire data analysis process, starting from the formulation of a project objective, developing an understanding of the available data and other resources, up to the point of statistical modelling and performance assessment. The focus of the course is classification. The course content covers:

  -Exploratory data analysis including visualisation and simple feature selection methods

  -Classification methods like: Logistic Regression, Decision trees (Random forests), k-Nearest Neighbours, and Naive Bayes

  -Performance assessment and model selection

  The course uses the R programming language and more specifically the RStudio integrated programming environment.

• Developing Business Information Systems

  In this module we look at how to study business operations, analyse the situation and develop appropriate information systems designs. The same techniques can be of value whether you develop them further and become an information systems professional or use them in general management or consultancy. There is an emphasis on practical application and extensive use of class exercises.

  The techniques taught in this module are widely employed by analysts in the fields of information systems and general business consultancy, and the ability to analyse information requirements and design efficient and effective information systems to meet those requirements is increasingly recognised and valued by employers as an important management skill.

• E-Business Management and Technology

  Digital or 'e' business is today’s leading form of doing business. Not only the Internet giants like Google and Facebook are e-businesses, but also any 'going concern' needs to understand how to ‘enhance the digital’ if it is to survive and thrive in today’s fast-moving world. To this end, the module presents a variety of frameworks that help the student formulate a comprehensive understanding of e-business in theory and practice. By creating their own Internet venture, students are introduced to the process of ideation and testing their business model assumptions, which are valuable tools in an area that is evolving quickly and faces a lot of uncertainties. The module features guest lectures from speakers from industry and a number of case studies.

• Essentials of Strategic Management

  This module provides you with an understanding of strategy that will enable you to discuss real-life business activities within a framework of contemporary strategic management thinking. It is designed to encourage you to develop a personal and distinctive understanding and appreciation of strategising for different industries and in uncertain environments, through lectures, case analyses, and class discussions. Topics to be examined include the identification and analysis of key macro-environmental drivers, competitive advantage, resources and capabilities, and stakeholder influence.

• Innovative Developments in Operations Management

  There have been a number of innovative developments in Operations Management that have sought to organise resources in a significantly new manner in order to make a big step change in performance. This module discusses these key innovative developments in detail, including those that have led to extensive modernisation both in the manufacturing and service sectors.

  There will be an emphasis on the importance of successful innovation in the current competitive environment, and the key role of Operations Management in sustaining a competitive advantage and bringing about service improvements.

• Managing Business Information Systems

  This module provides an introduction to the use and impact of information, communication and integrated technology systems on business and organisations. It focusses not on technical specifications, but rather on managerial and business implications of using these systems.

  The following issues will be addressed:

  • Data, Information and Decision-making
  • Business Uses and Benefits of IS
  • IT Selection
  • Obtaining Information Systems
  • Strategy and Information Systems

  The course provides the business foundation for other more specialised or technical topics in Information Systems.

• Optimisation

  This module describes a variety of optimisation algorithms and how business problems can be modelled using these techniques.

  Optimisation is one of the primary techniques associated with management science/operational research. Linear programming models are used routinely in many industries, including petroleum refining and the food industry. Integer linear programming models are increasingly being used in practice for complex scheduling problems such as those that arise in the airline industry where such models have saved large amounts of money. Skills in formulating and solving applied optimisation problems are valuable for anybody interested in a career in operational research or business modelling and consultancy.

  This module is designed to enable you to apply optimisation techniques to business problems.

  Four main topics are covered:

  • Linear programming

  • Specially-structured linear programs

  • Integer and mixed-integer programming

  • Heuristics for large-scale problems

• Quality and Risk Management

  Introducing you to the main concepts and techniques in the management of operational risk and the management of quality, this module deals with both the technical and broader social analysis of these disciplines.

  Its purpose is to give you an understanding of these concepts within the general subject of operations management. It will treat the concepts analytically, but as grounded in the practical problems faced by both manufacturing and service operations.

  Topics in quality management range from statistical process control to total quality management, while those in risk management range from quantitative risk assessment to high reliability organisations. The module will also look at both subjects as social constructions, and examine the implications of taking such a viewpoint.

• Supply Chain Management

  This module examines the principles and practices of supply chain management, and examines supply chain and logistics management in relatively high-volume industries such as retailing. It also looks critically at supply chain management, as just one manifestation of the more general issue of trans-organisational operations management.

  Most of the time will be spent considering inter-organisational relationships from various perspectives, but you will also need to understand how they relate to matters within the organisation. For example, adopting Just-in-Time supply requires Just-in-Time approaches to be adopted within the firm, and vice versa.