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Business and Study Fundamentals

  • Module code: BD4000
  • Year: 2018/9
  • Level: 4
  • Credits: 30
  • Pre-requisites: None
  • Co-requisites: None

Summary

This module focuses on building essential business, study and employability skills, and prepares you to be successful on your course and in your subsequent career in business and management. It also provides you with an opportunity to develop life-long learning and personal development skills.

The early part of the module will aim to develop the essential study skills that will be required to be successful on all the modules on level 4 of their HND, bearing in the mind the modest level of academic success that you are likely to have had to date, and will explicity support the learning and study taking place in those modules and ensure that you are engaging with appopriate personal academic planning and monitoring. As the module develops you will start to evidence those skills also in the context of your future career and learn how to build your employability, both for your own self-awareness, as well as for recruitment and selection activities you may face for placements and graduate employment. You will have the opportunity to apply your learning in a practical way working as part of a group on a business project/problem.

Aims

  • To develop the academic, study and transferable skills required for successful study at level four of the HND Business.
  • To support students in the essential personal academic development planning and monitoring required for success in their higher education studies and to facilitate their early and continuing engagement with study.
  • To introduce and start to develop essential business and employability skills.
  • To develop teamwork and individual development.
  • To ensure students adopt effective self-management and skills development tools to ensure success in their business careers.
  • To prepare students for graduate employment, a career in business and management and for life-long learning.

Learning outcomes

On successful completion of the module, students will be able to:

  • Use a range of essential business and study skills (including time and stress management, communication, problem solving, report-writing, IT, numeracy and research skills) to ensure the successful completion of their level 4 studies, to solve a business problem and present an effective answer.
  • Work effectively within a team to be successful in the achievement of group study objectives and to solve a business problem, identifying their own preferred role within those teams.
  • Perform and interpret numerical calculations for business.
  • Assess, reflect upon and start to evidence their current business skill levels.
  • Write and use a plan to develop skills which are essential to a graduate career in business.
  • Design a web site to market their skill levels and record skills development and career actions.

Curriculum content

  • The essential skills, required for successful undergraduate studies - specifically the successful progression from level 4 studies, and for employment, including:

o business communication: business English, report-writing, email etiquette and social networking, presentation skills

o interpersonal: giving and receiving feedback

o creativity and problem-solving: analytical and critical thinking

o independent study: academic planning and monitoring, research, referencing, effective reading/note-taking

o information literacy: word, powerpoint, Excel, internet, basic website building

o management and leadership: teamwork, time and stress management, co-ordination

o numeracy: percentages, ratios, averages, compound interest, margins, graphs, budgeting, interpreting company reports

  • Basic career development skills and self-awareness, including self-analysis, reflection, objective setting, planning, and first stage networking.
  • Introduction to Business Organisations, including the Legal Environment

Teaching and learning strategy

The module will comprise three main elements;

During the first element, students will initially cover the essential study skills required for level 4 study ensuring that they recognise and appreciate their current academic and study skill level, plan how to uplift that in this different context, and actually develop those skills directly needed for successful study in this module and the other level 4 modules being studied alongside.

In the second element the students will be introduced to a series of numeracy topics which all relate directly to business. They will learn how to answer numerical problems, analyse quantitative information and apply this to a business problem.

In the third element the students will be working in groups to solve a business problem. To be successful the students will need to use the essential skills outlined under Curriculum Content above and developed earlier. Each week, students will be introduced to a new skill; knowledge materials, exercises to develop the skills and further reading materials will be available on Moodle and students will be expected to have accessed and read those materials before each taught session. Formal class time will be used to introduce skills and generate debate, as well as providing the opportunity for participatory learning by means of exercises. Students will be expected to work in their group outside of class to use that skill further to address the business problem.

Students will also work independently and engage in individual research to identify the wider issues which affect the business problem they have been working on. This will allow students to develop their research and referencing skills and broaden their understanding of business issues.

During this final element of learning, students will assess and reflect upon the skills they have developed during the earlier elements, and use personal development and career management tools to develop a portfolio which will evidence those skills and form a basis for career management. They will design a website as a platform for that portfolio.

Use of Moodle will aid reflection and will be supported by appropriate online contact with the module leader or tutor.

Breakdown of Teaching and Learning Hours

Definitive UNISTATS Category Indicative Description Hours
Scheduled learning and teaching 5 hours per week over 32 weeks 160
Guided independent study (which includes work-based learning) 140
Total (number of credits x 10) 300

Assessment strategy

There are three elements of assessment:

1. Skills Audit and Personal Development Plan and series of online study and numerical skill tests

2. Business problem activity

3. Individual web based study portfolio and reflective journal

Mapping of Learning Outcomes to Assessment Strategy (Indicative)

Learning Outcome Assessment Strategy
Use a range of essential business and study skills (including time and stress management, communication, problem solving, report-writing, IT, numeracy and research skills) to ensure the successful completion of their level 4 studies, to solve a business problem and present an effective answer. A series of online tests and Group assignment in which the team must solve a business problem by working together, carrying out research, communicating with external parties and presenting their findings.
Work effectively within a team to be successful in the achievement of group study objectives and to solve a business problem, identifying their own preferred role within those teams Group assignment in which the team must solve a business problem by working together, carrying out research, communicating with external parties and presenting their findings
Perform and interpret numerical calculations for business A series of online tests
Assess, reflect upon and start to evidence their current business skill levels Individual element of assignment and in their website portfolio
Write and use a plan to develop skills which are essential to a graduate career in business Individual element of group assignment and in their website portfolio
Design a web site to market their skill levels and record skills development and career actions Website based career portfolio

Elements of Assessment

Description of Assessment Definitive UNISTATS Categories Percentage
Skills Audit and Personal Development Plan and series of online study and numerical skill tests Coursework 1 60%
Business problem activity Coursework 2 20%
Individual web based study portfolio and reflective journal Coursework 3 20%
Total (to equal 100%) 100%

Achieving a pass

It IS NOT a requirement that any major element of assessment is passed separately in order to achieve an overall pass for the module.

Bibliography core texts

The Study Skills Handbook - (Palgrave Study Skills) by Stella Cottrell 2008, Third Edition. Palgrave Macmillan, ISBN 13;978-0-230-57305-5

Trought F. (2011) Brilliant employability skills. How to stand out from the crowd in the graduate job market. Prentice Hall

Bibliography recommended reading

Effective Study Skills - Unlock Your Potential - Geraldine Price and Pat Maier 2007- Pearson Longman ISBN 13;978-1-4058-4073-6

Cameron, S. (2010) The Business Student's Handbook: Skills for study and employment. FT Prentice Hall (5th edition)

Horn, R. (2009) The business skills handbook. Everything you need to know in your studies and at work. Charted Institute of Personnel Development

Winstanley, D. (2005) Personal Effectiveness, CIPD

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