academic and career skills

Academic and Career skills

Overview:

You will need to submit a substantial and independent piece of coursework to complete your MSc programme. The assessment is in two parts, a Business Report (weighted 70%) and an Individual Reflection Submission (weighted 30%). You must pass both parts of this assessment in order to pass the Academic and Career Skills Module.

Your assessment will give you the opportunity to showcase how you can use knowledge, skills and experience effectively to help make sound business orientated or personal development recommendations and conclusions. The ability to reflect on circumstances, evaluate opportunities from an informed/knowledge based perspective and then to form solid recommendations and conclusions, are attributes of a good business practitioner.

Please submit both parts in ONE document via Turnitin no later than 11.59pm on Tuesday 20th December 2016

 

Part 1 – Business Report (70 % weighting)

You are required to write a Business Report of 3,500 words maximum.

Your assessment requires you to consolidate relevant experience, skills and knowledge to produce a business focused report. This report should seek to critically evaluate a business known to you, a project you have worked on or a substantial learning experience you have been engaged with during your time on programme. Living, working and studying in the UK will have exposed you to a wealth of different sectors, professional bodies, businesses, projects or events. It is inevitable that in gaining this experience you will have been left thinking deeply and widely about specific issues or subjects. In this assessment you are asked to explore a business, project or experience of your choosing, identifying some key points of investigation or evaluation, before demonstrating sound knowledge based analytical reasoning in acquisition of information and formation of key recommendations and conclusions.

The first important question you need to ask yourself in identifying a suitable context, is ‘Do you have sufficient insight, exposure and experience of this context to be able to share information and comment on events from an informed and knowledgeable perspective?’

The context of your choosing might be any of the following scenarios (this is not an exhaustive list): –

  • A specific business project or simulation you have undertaken on your programme
  • A specific business that is of interest to you because you are currently employed there or have worked there recently.
  • A specific business that is of interest to you because it is run by friends, family or peers known to you.
  • A specific business of interest to you because it is in a chosen sector or company that you aspire to work for and you have professional contacts and connections in your network already working there.
  • A specific paid or unpaid work experience opportunity or project you have undertaken as part of, or alongside, your programme.
  • A specific volunteering or charitable project you have been exposed to as part of, or alongside, your programme.
  • A specific consultancy or research intensive project you have worked on.
  • A specific business development opportunity or idea you or your network has sought to develop.

The next important question is – ‘Can you identify a key question (or questions) to investigate within this context that relates to the subjects or disciplines you have studied on your programme?’

Specific subjects or disciplines of interest or relevance to you may be (this is not an exhaustive list).

  • Leadership and Management
  • Talent Management and Retention
  • Team Working
  • Change Management
  • Strategic Management
  • Knowledge Management and Information Systems
  • Marketing Strategies
  • Financial Control
  • Innovation Management
  • Project Management
  • Corporate Social Responsibility

You should ensure that a positive, ethical and productive relationship is maintained with the business or stakeholders impacted by the execution of your project. Confidential and sensitive data received or accessed in the course of your research should be treated respectfully and in accordance with the agreements you make with relevant parties. You should remain mindful that the information you provide in the context of your assessment will be shared with your supervisor, module leader and coursework marking teams, internal and external to BPP.

Your supervisor is key to assisting you with exploring the right context and subject for your coursework.

Management Report Content

To meet the learning outcomes for the module, your Business Report should evidence the following:-

  1. A clear and succinct introduction that incorporates and addresses the following:-
    • What is the context for your assessment?
      • Ensure you introduce this appropriately and assume your reader has no knowledge of the context or the circumstances under which you have been engaged with the organisation/project/role/ experience etc.
    • What are the key questions that form the direction of your research?
      • Be specific in explaining your subject of interest.
    • What is the relevance of this subject to your chosen context?
    • How do you intend to structure and present your report?
    • What are the methods by which you intend to access or use data and knowledge?

 

  1. Use of a wide range of reading (appropriately referenced) in your analysis, including relevant and appropriate arguments and debates from your Masters programme. Ensure you demonstrate the relationships and associations between concepts, theories and best practice to answer the key questions in your investigation.
  2. Ensure that the main question (or questions) your report is seeking to answer are critically considered from multiple perspectives. Your critical analysis must reference acquired data and internal knowledge that you identify as important to include. All data and knowledge you rely on should reflect current thinking, evidence best practice and be accessed from a wide range of sources. Make sure you draw upon a range of opinions and approaches and that you apply critical insight into the organisation/project/role/experience under consideration.
  3. Recommendations and justification of practical business solutions that will either respond to issues experienced or opportunities you can see for continual improvement or innovation in the organisation/role/project/experience
  4. Suggestions of an appropriate communication and engagement strategy that explains how key stakeholders will need to influence or direct internal and external stakeholders to respond to the issues and solutions in your report.

You can include diagrams, tables and style guides to help you present the information in a format which aids clear communication and engages with your target readership.

Remember to incorporate relevant academic models and theories from your programme.

If you are using models remember it is the analysis not the description that will gain marks.

You should use the Harvard Referencing System.