Module overview
This module provides an experiential training in practical and applied skills relevant to the workplace. Students will be exposed to a wide range of skills and competencies in the areas of communication, teamwork, leadership, ethics and problem-solving. The module encourages students to develop an oversight and appreciation of the ambiguities and contradictions of organisational life, and to find strategies for performing well under pressure.
The module is distinctive in being developed in collaboration with a professional advisory network which will meet periodically to discuss how to create a curriculum appropriate to meet the challenges of contemporary business organisations. The group will explore potential graduate skills-gaps, applied and tacit areas of knowledge, novel ways of training, and contextual factors in business education.
The module will assist you in preparing for internships, placements and work beyond the University. It will also feature guest speakers from business, where possible to provide professional insight into important key work skills.
Aims and Objectives
Learning Outcomes
Transferable and Generic Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- reflect on ideas deeply and richly in a way that opens up the space for the exploration of meaning in business contexts.
- appreciate ideas from different perspectives and use multiple framing to deepen your understanding of complex phenomena;
- use a wide range of intellectual ideas and analytical thinking to enrich your arguments;
Knowledge and Understanding
Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:
- how to develop thinking tools and strategies to cope with ambiguous working environments.
- the practical challenges of the workplace in relation to information and decision-making;
Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- appreciate the sensitivities, privacy and IP questions relating to business information, including digital information;
- develop confidence and skill in oral presentation and group discussions;
- develop techniques for prioritising, managing workload and meeting deadlines under time and resource pressure.
- develop and improve skills in report writing, memo writing, email communications;
Syllabus
The topics covered in this module will include:
- Rhetoric and public speaking, presentation and design skills;
- Time management, prioritising, meeting deadlines;
- Meetings and negotiation skills, sales and selling;
- PR and external communication;
- Digital literacy and data privacy;
- Report writing, emailing, memos;
- Ethics at work;
- Understanding bureaucracy and rules;
- Coaching and mentoring.
Learning and Teaching
Teaching and learning methods
Teaching methods include:
- Lectures will be designed to introduce general topics and provide case study examples. A rich range of video material, case studies and reports will be used to illustrate the main ideas.
- Seminars will be used to discuss and practise the skills and activities introduced in the lectures.
- Students will work in small groups to coach each other in the practical competences of organisational reality.
Example case studies:
- Yes Minister TV series
- Great orators.
- Coping in extreme conditions.
Learning activities include:
- Individual/group assignments.
- In class debate and discussion.
- Private study.
- Use of online material.
Type | Hours |
---|---|
Wider reading or practice | 40 |
Lecture | 24 |
Seminar | 11 |
Completion of assessment task | 40 |
Follow-up work | 15 |
Preparation for scheduled sessions | 20 |
Total study time | 150 |
Resources & Reading list
Textbooks
Van Emden, I., Becker, L. (2010). Presentation Skills for Students. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Leith, S (2010). You Talkin' to Me? Rhetoric from Aristotle to Obama. London: Profile books.
Allen, D (2002). Getting Things Done: How to Achieve Stress-Free Productivity. New York: Penguin.
Assessment
Formative
This is how we’ll give you feedback as you are learning. It is not a formal test or exam.
In-class activitiesSummative
This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.
Method | Percentage contribution |
---|---|
Report | 100% |
Referral
This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.
Method | Percentage contribution |
---|---|
Report | 100% |
Repeat
An internal repeat is where you take all of your modules again, including any you passed. An external repeat is where you only re-take the modules you failed.
Method | Percentage contribution |
---|---|
Report | 100% |
Repeat Information
Repeat type: Internal & External