BA (Hons) Business Management (HK PolyU SPEED, Hong Kong)

You will learn advanced academic skills; such as how to use structured approaches to read, note-making, research and writing, transferable skills to ensure academic success in all your other academic modules and enabling you to conduct a critical literature review of employability, graduate marked place informed by career theory (see themes 1,2 and 3 below). Then using advanced research skills, theory and self-assessment tools you will learn how to and choose and apply for a relevant job role and career path, in turn enhancing your employability and transferable academic skills (themes 4 and 5). Finally, you will conclude the module by designing a complete set of graduate application tools for the job role and career chosen and will experience a no of recruitment exercises such as interviews, group exercises and self-branding and presentation to further develop your employability, academic performance and career management skills. The module will be concluded with a theoretical session and a number of practical exercises designed to develop your self-confidence and employability (theme 6).

Theme 1 – Introduction and advanced study skills
1. Introduction to advanced study skills and career development.
2. Searching for and critically evaluating academic and professional sources.
3. Critical analysis of information and data.
Theme 2 – Understanding the graduate labour market and employers
4. Understanding the global graduate labour market.
Theme 3 – What employers want from graduates and how to achieve it?
5. Enhance business awareness, networking, cultural sensitivity and global mind sets.
Theme 4 – Choose career path
6. Understanding and choosing suitable career paths.
Theme 5 – Design career personal development plan
7. Design a career personal development plan using the NU (ELA) framework.
Theme 6 - Recruitment, selection and employability/application tools
8. An introduction to recruitment and selection processes.
9. Development of skills and tools to enable students to demonstrate effective self-presentation.
10. Develop techniques and practice to excel at interviews.
11. Self-confidence and Employability: Conclusions and introduction to the extended critical literature review module that follows.
12. Assignment surgery

The aim of this module is to encourage engagement with Organisation Theory through offering a comprehensive account of ideas, perspectives and practices of organisation. You will learn to analyse organisations, people and organising practices through critical employment of Organisation Theory which challenges conventional understanding of organisations. You will learn to explore the impact of recent trends in Organisation Theory and Practice on people and their behaviour in organisations.

The module links topics on Organisation Theory and Practice:
• Introduction to Organisation Theory, and implications for practice: overview of three main perspectives (Modern, Symbolic and Contemporary)
• Organisation Theory:
o Theorizing relationship between Organisation and its environment
o Theorizing different perspectives on Culture and Organisation, and managing across cultures
o Theorizing organisational (physical and social) structure
o Theorizing power, control and conflict (including the feminist perspective)
o Theorizing Identity and organisational behaviour
• Applications in practice:
o Organisational Design, Sustainable Organisational Design
o Organisational learning, tacit knowledge and knowledge management
o Organisational change, change management, and sustainable development
o Aesthetics and organisations, performance, narrative, theatre and organisation
o Managing culture, people and behaviour in organisations, and managing across cultures

Upon completion of the module you will gain an in-depth understanding of:

o The major perspectives on Organisation Theory
o ‘Critical’ organisation theory and management practices
o The recent trends in organising practices
o Theory and practices involved in working in multi-cultural organisations with an awareness of ethical considerations.
o How to form your own construction of knowledge on organisations, managing people and their behaviour

This module will extend your knowledge and understanding of marketing acquired from your previous studies into the marketing strategy area (approach and application). You will learn to apply the principles and techniques of marketing strategy across a wide range of goods and services in different markets. You will learn to use models which help marketing managers to make more informed decisions (e.g. new product development, brand repositioning, deletion, sales force management and communication techniques). You will undertake analysis of complex situations via the use of case studies and learn how to present solutions through group discussions. The ability to think strategically will be expressed in the production of marketing plans.
Within this module, you will cover three main areas associated with contemporary marketing strategy:

1) Designing appropriate marketing strategies:

• Assessing internal and external environments
• Strategic marketing decisions: choices and mistakes
• New product development
• Branding strategies
• Relational and sustainability strategies

2) Implementation of strategies:

• Implementing services marketing strategies
• Delivering customer value
• Sales management strategies
• Retail management strategy
• Marketing metrics

3) Emerging areas in contemporary marketing strategy:

• Internal marketing
• Marketing across the border
• Social and ethical strategies
• Internet marketing

On completing the module you will be able to critically evaluate the usefulness of marketing knowledge in business decision making and apply marketing theory strategically. You will also develop the skills required for effective Integration of learning from marketing and other business areas into a plan for solving business problems.

This is a non-credit bearing module, and forms an extension to the 120 module credit points on your top-up programme. The module is designed to provide greater understanding of academic expectations for your direct entry into the final year and support you in the transition process of learning experience.

The aim of the module is to facilitate the development of your independent learning over the one-year course. Induction and on-going personal support activities are to be phased in line with the academic development and the need to support the delivery of programme modules.

In personal support, you will cover:
• The key support and points of contact available to you within the institution
• Societies and social wellbeing
• Library resources and academic skills
• ARTA regulation
• Teamwork protocol
• Use LinkedIn to network

In academic development, you will cover:
• Emailing tutors
• Introduction to referencing
• Finding and evaluating sources
• APA reference guide
• Paraphrasing, summarising and writing critically
• Reporting words, cohesion/linking
• Combining sources
• Conclusions, abstracts and marking criteria

On completion of this module, you should be able to complete the process of transition directly to the final year. This will include your personal and academic development activities. You will also be able to seek learning resources and study support, including academic and social integration.