MSc Management 

Suggested pre-programme reading

Offer-holders sometimes ask if there is any preparation they can do before joining the programme. This typically means any suggested pre-reading that you could do to bring yourselves reasonably up to speed on a topic, especially if you are taking the programme as ‘conversion’ course where you may not have studied business before.

• We have therefore assembled a list of a few recommendations from some of our Module Leaders for several core modules below. These might include a trade magazine that you could read, a website from a professional association to explore, an introductory textbook to check out, some academic journal articles (although we appreciate that you won’t all be able to access these fully at this stage), or it might be just general advice about the type of things to look for in the wider media.

Please note that these are not required readings; they are provided to give you a taste of the topics you will be exploring during your studies. If you think they sound interesting, then we hope you may find these suggestions useful as you prepare to join us in Durham.

 

Organisational Behaviour (OB)

What is OB about? - How people feel, think and act in organisations; how to make ethical decisions that ensure the well-being and productivity of everyone in the organisation.

Why does OB matter? - Because we all are part of organisations: At work, you may be a manager, in your sports club you may be a teammate; at university and in college, you are students (and friends).

What can I do to prepare for the OB module? - Read widely and reflect on your own experience! A few tips are provided here:

• Check out the table of contents in our OB textbook (older editions will do).
• Get inspired by some great TED talks about work and career development.
• Check out current research about the world in which we work with the Academy of Management Insights (e.g. remote working, harrassment at work, parenthood and work). 
• Connect with your OB Module Leader and other OB networks via Twitter.

Human Resource Management (HRM) 

The Human Resource Management course is accredited by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), and this will provide you with an in-depth understanding of human resource’s role in modern organisations.

Search the CIPD website to learn what the CIPD offers student members to build a career in HRM. 

The module builds on Armstrong's Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice (2020).

Here are some indicative pre-readings that provide an overview of the HRM topics and challenges discussed in lectures and seminars:

• Is there an ethics deficit in human resource management? This paper explains why this is so and explores how ethics can be implemented seriously in HRM. 
  • Alzola, M; (2018). Decent work: The moral status of labor in human resource management. Journal of Business Ethics, 147(4), pp.835-853.
• ‘Facing up to a recruitment crisis’. This article by Viren Patel (2021) discusses recruitment and talent management and training strategies in the post-pandemic workplace.
• Managing human resources is about managing work and people. How work, respectively jobs, are designed is important for organisational and individual performance. The Harvard Business Review article ‘Designing Jobs Right’ provides interesting insight into why this is the case.
• According to a survey conducted by Nicholas et.al (2023) managers and employees disagree profoundly about key aspects of work-from-home. ‘Where Managers and Employees Disagree About Remote Work.’
• There is a lot of talk about HR Analytics. Analytics in human resource management has been around for years, so why, is HR Analytics so hot?
  • Marler, J.H. and Boudreau, J.W., 2017. An evidence-based review of HR Analytics. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 28(1), pp.3-26.

Here is a list of professional HR managers’ sites to explore and engage in up-to-date HRM debates:

• The website for the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (the UK's professional body for HR professionals).   
• The web version of its practitioner-oriented magazine (this may require membership to access some sections).
• Links for the HR magazine Personnel Today.
• The US Society for Human Resource Management.
• The Hong Kong Institute of Human Resource Management. Has useful summaries of recent research studies on both Hong Kong and the adjacent areas of the Chinese mainland.

Fundamentals of Finance

Below is a book that is seen as essential reading and a recommended purchase:

• Brealey, R.A., Myers, S.C. and Allen, F. (2019). Principles of Corporate Finance. 13th Edition (McGraw-Hill).

And here is some further recommended reading:

• Hillier, D., Ross, S., Westerfield, R., Jaffe, J. and Jordan, B. (2016). Corporate Finance. 3rd European Edition (McGraw-Hill).
• Berk, J. and DeMarzo, P. (2014). Corporate Finance. 3rd Edition, Global Edition (Pearson).

Strategy

To develop strategic awareness of what may happen tomorrow, we suggest that you read a quality newspaper or magazine.

• For example, The Economist is a weekly publication focusing on international business, politics and technology.
• Alternatively, you may choose daily newspapers like the Wall Street Journal or Financial Times.

If you have not studied business-related subjects before, you may wish to read the following article to get a sense of what strategy is:

• Porter, M. E. (1996). What is strategy? Harvard Business Review, 74(6), 61-78.

Even if you can’t get full access to this original paper, it will be worth doing a quick search on the Internet to get an idea of what Michael Porter said here, and why it has remained so important in management thinking.

 

Operations & Supply Chain Management (OSCM)

What is OSCM about? – Just look around yourself, everything is relevant to a process, e.g., order food from UberEats, apply for a master program, or design a trip to oversea countries. You might wonder what the performances of these processes are, how to improve the efficiency and control the cost. Perhaps you can get some answers from this module. This module will provide you with an understanding of the principal processes which add value, in both manufacturing and service sectors.

Why does OSCM matter? - Because we are surrounded by processes in daily life or work. 

What can I do to prepare for the OSCM module? - Read widely and reflect on your own experience! A few tips are provided here:

1. Check out the table of contents in our OSCM textbook.

• Slack, N; Brandon-Jones, A. (2019). Operations Management. (9th Edition). Pearson Education Limited.
• Heizer, J; Render, B; Munson, C. (2020). Operations Management: Sustainability and Supply Chain Management. Pearson Education Limited.

2. Get inspired by some professional reports or magazines, such as Bloomberg businessweek or Mckinsey report.

• For example the Supply Chain Management Review magazine will be a good starting point: https://www.scmr.com/
•  Find some interesting videos from the website, e.g. YouTube.

3. Connect with your OSCM module leader (yanlu.zhao@durham.ac.uk) or other researchers' blog (e.g., https://janfransoo.com/).