Business School
Level 1
Business Core
Programme
BBS001-1
Module Handbook
Phase 3
2014
Introduction
You are now moving on to the next stage of your university career. You start
units specific to your degree programme and these run alongside spending
half your time on the Core Programme (pods).
In Phase 3 of the pods we have a change of style. It is a chance for you to
work and learn in a different way. All assignments are individual so it is an
opportunity for you to shine on your own and, if you havent done so already,
to take responsibility for your own learning.
Staff and your student colleagues are here to work with you and to give you
help and support. It is up to you to work co-operatively with each other if you
want to and take advantage of the staff help offered.
The main assignment in this phase is an individual essay exploring the way
organisations work. You can work together in small groups to help each other
with finding sources and in discussing ideas. Your pod staff and the LRC
librarians will also provide support. See the assignment brief for the essay for
more detail.
You also have an individual quiz, a reflective appraisal in the form of an essay
looking back at this phase and your share portfolio review.
Assignments
As in other phases, the set submission dates for assignments (as on your
assignment briefs) are the only opportunity to achieve the maximum grade
your work deserves (F to A+) unless CAAS allows you late submission for
extenuating circumstances. There will be opportunities for late submissions
and referral work at the end of Phase 4. A date will be notified to you for this
during Phase 4.
If you have a good reason for not submitting on time (eg being ill or having
some family problem such as a bereavement) you should go to see the
Corporate Academic Advisory Service (CAAS) as soon as possible. If they
accept your reason (and they will require evidence), your pod staff will give
you another date to submit your work and it will then be marked without
penalty as a first submission.
CAAS will not allow you extra time for minor illnesses such as a cold, for
computer problems or for other issues which you would be expected to avoid
or cope with at work.
Assignments in Phase 3
Phase 3 accounts for 20% of your total marks on the Core Programme. The
assignments and their weighting in the phase are given below.
Week 1 starts on 12 January 2015.
No.
Assessment
Type
3.1 Share Portfolio
Individual
review
In class
individual quiz
Individual
academic
essay
Personal
Essay, pllogs
30%
Group
20%
3.2 Individual Quiz
3.3 Organisational
Behaviour Essay
3.4 Attendance,
pllogs, and
Reflective Appraisal
Essay
3.5. Business Plan
Weight in
Phase 3
Submission
Week
5%
Learning
Outcomes
Demonstrate
d
1, 2, 3, 12, 15,
19, 27, 31
2
25%
1, 2, 8, 27, 31
3 or 4 and 5
20%
9, 23, 29, 31,
32, 33, 34
Phase 3
Week 7
Phase 3
Week 1
In one pod
Week 7
Weekly Schedule
You continue with your pod sessions of the week (Monday and Wednesday).
You have 2 lectures per week for the first 5 weeks.
Appendix 1
By the end of the Core Programme you should be able:
1. To recognise the concept of the business organisation operating within
the parameters of a changing external environment.
2. To demonstrate an awareness of current issues, facts and events in the
national and international business world
3. To identify the key characteristics of organisations of different sizes and
different legal forms
4. To understand and apply the concepts and techniques of market
segmentation to given exercises related to consumer goods and
services
5. To understand how market segmentation relates to the marketing mix
and to develop an appropriate marketing mix to match a particular
segments needs
6. To explain the importance of market research and to apply basic
principles in a given case
7. To describe a range of theories related to consumer buyer behaviour
and their role in analysing markets
8. Identify some key behavioural factors and explain their relevance to
understanding organisations and people working in them
9. To appraise their own and others motivation in the light of a range of
theoretical perspectives of how people behave in groups and
organisations
10. To understand the importance of profit and cash flow and be able to
apply the concepts to simple businesses (real or in a case study)
11. To understand the difference between fixed and variable costs, explain
why it matters and apply the concepts to given examples
12. To identify some possible sources of finance in a business and select
an appropriate option in a given case
13. To prepare simple financial and other quantitative information and
analysis using appropriate software as required
14. To communicate simple financial information
15. To understand common measures of financial performance and their
role in making decisions about the future of a business
16. To interpret the principal elements of a companys balance sheet
17. To understand the role of data analysis in making business decisions
18. To understand the role of information databases and spreadsheets in
information processing and data analysis and apply the tools to given
tasks
19. To interpret data presented in various forms
20. To calculate and interpret summary measures
21. To carry out basic mathematical operations
22. To meet basic requirements in written communication
23. To demonstrate interpersonal skills of effective listening, negotiating
and persuasion
24. To collect, evaluate and use information from published sources to
assess a problem, select the most relevant information and use it to
propose solutions
25. To write in report format to communicate a variety of business topics
26. To prepare and deliver a short presentation
27. To write an academic essay with appropriate referencing
28. To list and apply a number of techniques to encourage creativity
29. To state the concepts of group dynamics and team roles as applied to
working in small groups
30. To work with others in a group to deliver set tasks
31. To manage your time to meet deadlines and obligations including those
to other members of your group
32. To understand the requirements for professionalism in business and
show evidence of meeting them
33. To be aware of ethical issues affecting your personal behaviour while at
university and in your career
34. To appraise your own strengths and weaknesses, evaluate your
learning and prepare a strategy to for future development of
competencies necessary for a career in business
