• Offered for Year: 2023/24

• Module Leader(s): Dr Susan Addison
• Lecturer: Mrs Jo Clark, Mr Khang-Wai Chew, Dr Karen Elliott

• Owning School: Newcastle University Business School
• Teaching Location: Newcastle City Campus

Semesters

Aims

This practice-based module is designed to help students reflect upon and develop their own skills and abilities as they develop their careers. The module not only consolidates what students are learning on the IBM programme but also emphasises personal and professional transformation of a student by focusing on their professional and personal development. This is achieved through a series of lectures, workshops and student-led group activities that give students experiential practice as they learn and develop key employability skills.

The module comprises a series of skill development units that students progress through as they build upon each unit of learning. Students reflect upon their learning through formative assessment as they progress through each stage. Students learn to develop skills such as working effectively both individually and in teams, negotiation and leadership skills, conflict management, and cross-cultural management skills. Students develop self-awareness by learning key skills in job search, networking and personal career development. Students also develop their employability skills such as managing a project, and by developing professional business communication skills. Students complete the module by reflectively examining what and how they have learned and developed throughout the year and upon their own abilities, skills and aspirations.

Outline Of Syllabus

Syllabus to include topics such as:

- Being a Reflexive Practitioner: understanding the role of self-reflection in personal and professional development
- Working Effectively: including approaches to time and stress management and practical skills in efficient information search and data retrieval
- Working with Others: working in teams, and managing conflict, negotiation and cross-cultural communication
- Developing Linkages: including job search and networking skills as well as the professional use of social media
- Project Management: developing key skills in managing projects
- Professional Business Communication: writing and presenting for business

Teaching Methods

Teaching Activities

Teaching Rationale And Relationship

The teaching method of lectures, workshops, Q&A sessions, self-directed learning, and peer learning is the hallmark of this module. Because ‘theory in action’ requires not only an academic input but also practice, student learning will also be accomplished via a range of structured online practice-based activities.

The module plays a central role in the programme and is organised over the two semesters in order to support the student learning experience, escalating the application to practice and skills that then support other modules at critical points. In particular, the pedagogy of the module supports the development of effective international management skills that emphasise cross-cultural collaboration and team working including conflict management and negotiation skills to deal with challenges of working with others in collaborative learning in other modules. A focus on time management and introducing reflective writing supports students as they enter the programme. A focus on practical skills of managing a project directly supports preparation for the dissertation and for the simulation module. Finally, the focus on professional communication not only supports those who choose to do the practice-based dissertation but also the simulation module and several of the option modules in the programme.

Assessment Methods

The format of resits will be determined by the Board of Examiners

Other Assessment

Formative Assessments

Assessment Rationale And Relationship

The assessment tasks are designed to ensure students are able to understand and reflect upon their personal learning as they progress through the IBM programme and to apply their learning as they engage with this practice-based module.

The formative assessment requires students to create a reflective blog of their learning from the module. Students will submit short online summaries (max 200 words) in response to their learning at specified points in the module. The Portfolio is an appropriate mechanism to focus students’ reflection of their active learning as they experience practical skills workshops. Support to develop reflective writing skills is provided at the beginning of the module and hence is practiced and developed through creating the Learning Portfolio (which also forms the basis for providing formative feedback).

The team presentation will assess the ability of students to work in diverse teams as they manage a project and to present as if to a business audience. Support for developing professional communication skills is provided in the module. This module operates in line with the Business School policy on group work. As such, peer evaluations and instructor assessment of individual performance in the team project and presentation will be taken into account in the award of individual marks on group work.

The Reflective essay consolidates students’ learning by requiring them to draw upon evidence contained in their Portfolio to reflect upon key themes in their journey of learning across the module, and the overall IBM programme. Students are asked to consider their journey as a reflexive practitioner and to reflect upon who they are, what they have learned and what this learning implies for their future aspirations as an international management practitioner.

Reading Lists

• NBS8328's Reading List

Timetable

• Timetable Website: www.ncl.ac.uk/timetable/
• NBS8328's Timetable