Durham University
Programme and Module Handbook

Postgraduate Programme and Module Handbook 2018-2019 (archived)

Module BUSI4K420: Leading and Managing People (Taught)

Department: Business School (Business)

BUSI4K420: Leading and Managing People (Taught)

Type Tied Level 4 Credits 20 Availability Available in 2018/19 Module Cap None.
Tied to N1T717

Prerequisites

  • None.

Corequisites

  • None.

Excluded Combination of Modules

  • Leading and Managing People (Online) BUSI 4K320

Aims

  • To develop students’ understanding of the nature of leadership and management in organisations.
  • To develop knowledge and understanding at an advanced level of key issues in the conceptualisation and practice of leadership and management.
  • To develop a critical understanding of a range of contemporary processes and practices relating to human resource management.
  • To critically evaluate the theories of leadership and management and how they apply in practice.
  • To critically explore the concepts of leadership and management as they relate to organisations.
  • To critically review the leadership and management of change in organisations.
  • To increase students’ professional effectiveness as leaders and managers.

Content

  • Organisational Behaviour - organisational culture and communications; motivating teams and individuals; ethics and sustainability
  • Leadership - leadership perceptions; leadership and individual differences; leadership skills and development; leadership and performance; leading and managing organisational change
  • Human Resources Cycle - attraction, selection and recruitment; performance management; managing diversity; training and development; reward and recognition; succession and exit strategies

Learning Outcomes

Subject-specific Knowledge:
  • Upon successful completion of the module, the students will have:
  • a specialist knowledge of the nature of leadership and management and how they apply in practice;
  • a critical appreciation of the assumptions, implications and limitations of leadership and management studies;
  • a critical perspective of the how leadership and management apply in practice.
Subject-specific Skills:
  • Upon successful completion of the module, the students will have:
  • advanced skills in, and a critical understanding of, the process of leadership and management.
Key Skills:
  • Written communication; planning, organising and time management; problem solving and analysis.

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

  • Learning outcomes are met through classroom-based workshops, supported by online resources. The workshops consist of a combination of taught input, groupwork, case studies and discussion. Online resources provide supplementary material for the workshops – typically consisting of directed reading and video content.
  • The formative assessment includes classroom-based exercises involving individual and group analyses of specific business situations/problems relevant to the learning outcomes of the module. Feedback will be given as appropriate.
  • The summative assessment comprises the analysis of a case from an organisation with which they are familiar, designed to test the acqusition and articulation of knowledge and critical understanding, and skills of application and interpretation within the business context; and a reflective learning journal designed to test students' ability to critically reflect on leadership and management issues from their own experience and perspective.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Activity Number Frequency Duration Total/Hours
Workshops (a combination of taught input, groupwork, case studies and discussion), timetabled in blocks 8 Over a 4-day teaching block 4 hours 32
Preparation, reading and other independent study 168
Total 200

Summative Assessment

Component: Written assignment Component Weighting: 100%
Element Length / duration Element Weighting Resit Opportunity
Reflective journal 1000 words max 25% same
Case analysis 3000 words max 75% same

Formative Assessment:

Group presentation based on a case analysis


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