Module BUSS1121: ANALYSIS, RESEARCH AND BUSINESS SKILLS I

Department: Business School (Business) [Queen's Campus, Stockton]

BUSS1121: ANALYSIS, RESEARCH AND BUSINESS SKILLS I

Prerequisites

• None.

Corequisites

• None.

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None.

Aims

• to develop students' abilities to communicate, to work individually and to work with others to achieve goals.
• to increase students' awareness of their own and others' knowledge, skills, abilities and preferences in relation to learning and self-management.
• to introduce students to the use of basic tools and techniques of investigation, analysis and research in the context of business.
• to provide opportunities to acquire and develop entry-level skills in the practice of these techniques.
• to construct a basis for the exercise of critical enquiry at first year level.
• to form a foundation for the further development of business, analysis and research techniques and approaches in subsequent years of the programme e.g. Analysis, Research and Business Skills 2, Dissertation, Research Project.
• to address reflective, analytical, worldly, collaborative and action mindsets, with particular focus on the analytical.

Content

• The making of management
• Research & Consultancy
• Ethics & Research
• Ways of seeing
• Observation methods
• Presentation for affect
• Ethnography & business
• Accessing Organisations
• Back to the floor
• Differing perspectives
• Interviews and listening
• Focus groups
• Framework & analytical methods
• Delivering the project
• Reflexivity
• Annual research theme

Learning Outcomes

• At the end of the mdoule students should be able to:
• demonstrate knowledge of a range of qualitative and quantitative research methods and techniques.
• understand the importance of ethics in research and know how to approach ethical issues in research design and planning.

• At the end of the mdoule students should be able to:
• be able to design and conduct initial research and investigation.
• understand the relation of positivist and interpretive frameworks.
• be able to select appropriate methods and conduct initial analyses of data using basic statistical, mathematical and qualitative techniques.
• be able to report on the process, outcomes and implications of a business investigation.

• Ability to access data and information from a range of sources.
• Ability to analyse and present basic quantitative and qualitative data.
• Written communication.
• Time management.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• The central learning approach involves students taking an active role in learning, practising and developing the skills and approaches that make up the majority of the module content. The frameworks for these competences will be presented in lectures, through directed reading and by direction to other materials e.g. DUO.
• Preparation for and participation in workshop and seminar sessions will provide opportunities for students to analyse their current abilities, knowledge and preferences and to apply these to small-scale investigations, simulations and group and individual activities. These will then be developed and extended in active research and fieldwork.
• The module will also integrate closely with other level 1 modules. Skills and knowledge developed in this module will provide the bases for further enquiry, learning and practice in the other first year modules. In turn, the knowledge base from those modules will also be called on to inform and contextualise the development of skills and competences within this module. The timing of specific areas of learning will be designed in to the module so as to enhance these learning opportunities. Regular feedback from workshops and seminars along with that from specific formative assignment(s) will provide information to students on their progress.
• The summative assessments build skills and knowledge. Part one focuses on a team based project in which students are required to work together to observe an aspect of everyday working and analyse it in relation to that year’s key module theme (e.g. rationalisation, or anomie, or power, or innovation...). This is then incorporated into a summatively assessed YouTube Presentation for which all students in a group receive the same mark. Extending the analytical and observational skills gained in term 1; term 2 requires that students work individually to interview one worker and one manager within a single work context. Building on their newly acquired interviewing and listening skills students construct accounts of varying perspectives on organising and relate it to the literature. This is supplemented by a reflexive account. The teaching and assessments are designed to be constructively aligned so that well directed effort during the terms is rewarded through performance in assessment. These assessment components will ensure that the learning outcomes are addressed.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

Workshop exercises, research, presentations Ethics observation form Ethics interview form Topic guide construction and rationale (500-1500 words)

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University