Download MBA Royal Holloway, University of London

MBA Royal Holloway, University of London
Recommended Pre-reading List
Dear MBA candidate,
In September registered students will be provided with a full, academic reading list
for each module. MBA candidates are expected to read widely in each subject area
using the text books in the Bedford library and online peer reviewed academic
journals using search engines such as Business Source Completed (EBCO), Emerald
and Science Direct (accessed off campus via the ‘campus anywhere’ VPN
application).
Some lecturers ask students to buy a course text or two because it will be used
extensively for in class case studies and regular readings. These texts are usually
described as ‘must buy’ or ‘required texts’. Others recommend (but do not require)
one or several texts and expect you to read from them in the library or perhaps you
may choose to buy them.
The following list contains suggestions of books that you might want to buy or
borrow now and start reading over the summer before your MBA commences. They
will also feature in your longer reading lists once the new academic year commences.
Happy reading !
Justin O’Brien
MBA Director
Royal Holloway, University of London
Philosophy of Management
Suggested that students buy and read carefully:
Martin Hollis – Invitation to Philosophy
This is an excellent introduction and will give a good grounding in philosophical
thinking and issues which is the key preparation for the module. The application of
the thinking to management is something we work on in class.
International Business Strategy
We recommend the following textbooks: Exploring corporate strategy: text & cases,
By Gerry Johnson, Kevan Scholes, Richard Whittington - FT/Prentice Hall (2008) Paperback - 878 pages - ISBN 140588732X.
A Very Short, Fairly Interesting, and Reasonably Cheap Introduction to Studying
Strategy. (2008) London: Sage. (Chris Carter, Stewart Clegg and Martin Kornberger).
International Information Systems
Not a compulsory purchase, but recommended Text: Laudon, K.P. and Laudon, J.P.
(2012), Management Information Systems: Managing the Digital Firm, 12th Global
Edition, Pearson – Yes, the 2012 edition is already here.
Readings
Ives, B. et al. (2002), “What every business student needs to know about information
systems”, Communications of the Association for Information Systems, 9, 467-477.
Available at http://aisel.aisnet.org/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2765&context=cais
Also available at http://www.cis.gsu.edu/~yshen/Files/WhyCIS.pdf
Carr, N. (2003), "IT doesn't matter", Harvard Business Review, May 2003, 41-49.
Available at http://www.proxios.net/pdf/ITDoesn%27tMatter.pdf
International Marketing
Must buy: Gillespie, K. & Hennessey, H. D. (2010) Global Marketing 3rd
International Ed. SouthWestern: Canada
You may also want to hunt out a copy (used) of a general marketing text by Kotler et
al (European edition), Jobber or Baines, Fill and Page.
International Accounting and Finance
The ‘must buy’ is: D. Alexander and C. Nobes, Financial Accounting: An
International Introduction, Prentice Hall, 4th edition, 2010.
We do not recommend any other introductory reading/cases, but we would like the
students to read the first 3 chapters of the above book.
International Operations Management
Must buy text : “Operations Management: An international perspective”, by David
Barnes, published by Thomson Learning, London (2008) (ISBN: 978-1-84480-534-1)
International Human Resource Management
Harzing, A.-W. and van Ruysseveldt, J. (eds) (2010) International Human Resource
Management (London: Sage) (3rd edition)
Leadership & Behaviour in Organisations
International Business Economics
For economics I would recommend the primer chapter in the course textbook :
Economics of Strategy. (2010, 5th Edition) Wiley (David Besanko, David Dranove,
Mark Shanley and Scott Schaefer)