This practical module covers topics in marketing and accounting and finance through activities and problem-solving. It takes a very practice-based approach to studying management concepts focusing on your own role. You can study this module on its own or start your OU management studies with it.
This module is offered with online tuition only. If you wish to study this module outside the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland you will need to register on this online version. Otherwise you may register for a combination of face-to-face and online tuition by choosing Managing 2: marketing and finance (B629).
What you will study
The module looks to answer a variety of questions relating to marketing and finance.
The marketing questions include:
- What is marketing exactly and how is it done in different contexts, including the public sector?
- What’s internal marketing?
- Who are your customers and stakeholders?
- How can you avoid marketing mistakes?
- What is your organisation exchanging with consumers and clients?
- How does your organisation deliver your goods and services and how does it add value?
- How do you price, promote and deliver your goods or services?
- How do you keep your consumers and clients happy?
The finance questions include:
- Why is finance important?
- What are budgets for and how can they be used?
- What are costs and how can you break them down to understand them better?
- What is cash flow and why is it important?
- What’s a profit and loss account and is it relevant to non-commercial sectors?
At appropriate points throughout the module, questions of business ethics and sustainability are addressed and you are encouraged to consider these aspects carefully in the module activities you undertake.
Through activities related to your own work and practices and related reading you'll critically reflect on and analyse workplace situations and your own ways of managing clients and finance. The module is ‘solution oriented’ to help you to understand work situations from a manager’s perspective, and to work out what to do, given that you are not likely to be in charge of the organisation you work for. As you work through activities, problems and solutions, you'll question the idea that there are single solutions to problems or that there is ‘one best way’. You'll come to understand the constraints, choices and demands that managers need to take into account when making decisions.
As many first line managers are not directly responsible for marketing or finance, the module includes problem scenarios and cases for you to work on. A single problem scenario runs through the finance content to help you make sense of how the different elements of financial management fit together. The idea is to improve your understanding of finance so that you can improve your managerial decision making, rather than to teach you accountancy. The same is true of marketing: every manager needs to understand who the organisation is serving, and why, in order to manage employees in the organisation more effectively.
Vocational relevance
The teaching and learning strategy of Managing 2: marketing and finance is problem-based. Through this approach, the module aims to develop the skills an effective manager needs: such as analysis, constructing sound arguments, critical and reflective thinking, problem identification and problem solving, active listening and communication, sourcing and presenting information, and report writing. Many of these are the same learning skills that any university-level learner requires and will help to equip you for study at postgraduate level.
Entry
To study this module you are required to have work experience as the activities assume you have current or prior work situations to which you can apply what you are learning. Your work experience can be as a manager, deputising for a manager, management trainee, supervisor, team leader, if you work in an informal capacity, for example in a voluntary organisation.
If you have no prior higher education experience, pre-module preparatory work is provided (see Preparatory work below).
If you have any doubt about the suitability of the module, please speak to an adviser
Preparatory work
If you have not have encountered the problem-based approach to learning before, the Module Guide and The Manager’s Good Study Guide are provided and will be particularly useful at the start of the module. The Module Guide explains the approach and describes the skills required so that you can remedy any gaps in your knowledge. It will also provide an orientation to the module. The Manager’s Good Study Guide enables you to refresh study skills such as reading and note-taking, using logic and building arguments, written communication and report writing, and using numbers.
You may find this module easier to engage with if you have previously studied Managing 1: organisations and people (B628/BZX628). This module is now discontinued.
Qualifications
BZX629 is a compulsory module in our:
BZX629 is an optional module in our:
It can also count towards most of our other degrees at bachelors level, where it is equally appropriate to a BA or BSc. We advise you to refer to the relevant qualification descriptions for information on the circumstances in which this module can count towards these qualifications because from time to time the structure and requirements may change.
Excluded combinations
Sometimes you will not be able to count a module towards a qualification if you have already taken another module with similar content. To check any excluded combinations relating to this module, visit our excluded combination finder or check with an adviser before registering.
If you have a disability
The OU strives to make all aspects of study accessible to everyone and this Accessibility Statement outlines what studying BZX629 involves. You should use this information to inform your study preparations and any discussions with us about how we can meet your needs.
Study materials
What's included
Module books, other printed materials and, via a website, additional resources in digital formats.
You will need
All set books will be provided as part of the study materials pack. However, non-native English speakers, particularly those studying outside the UK, may wish to purchase The Oxford Dictionary of Business English for learners of English.
Computing requirements
You’ll need broadband internet access and a desktop or laptop computer with an up-to-date version of Windows (10 or 11) or macOS Ventura or higher.
Any additional software will be provided or is generally freely available.
To join in spoken conversations in tutorials, we recommend a wired headset (headphones/earphones with a built-in microphone).
Our module websites comply with web standards, and any modern browser is suitable for most activities.
Our OU Study mobile app will operate on all current, supported versions of Android and iOS. It’s not available on Kindle.
It’s also possible to access some module materials on a mobile phone, tablet device or Chromebook. However, as you may be asked to install additional software or use certain applications, you’ll also require a desktop or laptop, as described above.
Teaching and assessment
Support from your tutor
You will have a tutor who will help you with the study material and study activities. You can ask the tutor for help and advice. The tutor will also mark and comment on your assignments. If you are new to the OU, your tutor can also provide additional support with your study skills.
Other tutor support will be delivered primarily online as you study. In addition, online tutorials will be offered. These tutorials are not compulsory but you are strongly encouraged to participate.
Contact us if you want to know more about study with the OU before you register.
Assessment
The assessment details can be found in the facts box above.
You must use the online eTMA system to submit your tutor-marked assignments (TMAs).
The TMAs consist of activities carried out as part of your study of the module.
The end-of-module assessment (EMA) is wholly problem-based and will be focused on a workplace situation of your own.
Future availability
Managing 2: marketing and finance - online version starts once a year – in October. This page describes the module that will start in October 2020 when we expect it to start for the last time.
Regulations
As a student of The Open University, you should be aware of the content of the academic regulations which are available on our
Student Policies and Regulations website.