Durham University
Programme and Module Handbook

Postgraduate Programme and Module Handbook 2018-2019 (archived)

Module BUSI41030: Organisational Inquiry Report

Department: Business School (Business)

BUSI41030: Organisational Inquiry Report

Type Tied Level 4 Credits 30 Availability Available in 2018/19 Module Cap
Tied to N1KB07
Tied to N1KC07
Tied to N1KG07
Tied to N2K107
Tied to N1DL07
Tied to N1DE07
Tied to N1DB07
Tied to N1KN07

Prerequisites

  • None

Corequisites

  • None.

Excluded Combination of Modules

  • None.

Aims

  • Allow students to conduct a more critical and rigorous examination of a specific issue in their organisation or industry sector with the intention of increasing the body of knowledge on a specialist organisational environment and their role within the organisational community.
  • Students will be able to demonstrate their ability to learn autonomously, identify research questions, work independently and accept personal responsibility in relation to academic and professional codes of conduct.
  • Specialist organisations are complex and changing and the issues are often approached with enthusiasm but often without intellectual rigour. A more scholastic approach will be developed building on the methods of inquiry module, and set within the context of enterprise development and organisational effectiveness.

Content

  • The content of this module will be dependent on the nature of the project selected by the student and will be approved by the Programme Director and Chairman of the Board of Examiners.

Learning Outcomes

Subject-specific Knowledge:
  • Have a critical appreciation of the organisation, structure and management of a complex research project;
  • Have a detailed and advanced knowledge of, and familiarity with, the specialist facilities available for conducting literature searches and obtaining relevant data to facilitate empirical investigation;
  • Have a critical appreciation of the impact of action research done by managers within their own enterprise;
  • Have a critical appreciation of the use of research methods in line with their research requirements in a specialised organisational environment.
Subject-specific Skills:
  • Be able to identify research questions and advance a convincing argument for a specific area of detailed research within their own organisation;
  • Be able to demonstrate a sense of critical discrimination in the choice of relevant sources of literature requirements;
  • Be able to apply any appropriate knowledge and understanding from all previous modules in the programme to an in-depth area of study at an advanced level.
Key Skills:
  • Written communication; planning and organising; problem solving and analysis; using initiative; computer literacy.

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

  • Group tutorials will be used to review progress against deadlines and discuss emergent issues in the research, analysis and write up stages.
  • Individual tutorials will be used to give specific feedback on the student's area of study.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Activity Number Frequency Duration Total/Hours
Group Tutorials 2 days (8 hours) 1 per month 16 hours 16
Individual Tutorials 6 1 per month 18 hours 18
Preparation and Reading 266
Total 300

Summative Assessment

Component: Work-based Project Component Weighting: 100%
Element Length / duration Element Weighting Resit Opportunity
Work-based Project 6,000 words 100%

Formative Assessment:

Written feedback will be provided on the draft project proposal.


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