Students
FOBE800 – Contemporary Business Issues
2017 – S1 Evening
General Information
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| Unit convenor and teaching staff |
Unit convenor and teaching staff
Unit Convenor
Rahat Munir
Contact via 98504765
Room 312, Building E4A
See iLearn
Lecturer
Craig Terry
See iLearn
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|---|---|
| Credit points |
Credit points
4
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| Prerequisites |
Prerequisites
(Admission to MCom or MAcc(Prof)MCom or MBioBus) and 48cp at 600 level or above
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| Corequisites |
Corequisites
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| Co-badged status |
Co-badged status
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| Unit description |
Unit description
This is a program-wide capstone unit and must be taken by students in their final session of study. The unit will broaden students’ understanding of the importance of strategic business issues in the organisation's planning, operations, control and leadership, ethics and industry relationship, and broader economic & global developments. The unit is not only reflective and integrative, but also future-focused, offering opportunities for “real world” preparatory experience. Students will work individually and collaboratively with peers to understand “real world” business issues and challenges requiring cross-disciplinary insights and knowledge. While the unit aims at giving students an opportunity to explore strategic business issues within the context of a business environment, students will be exposed to comprehensive case studies, which will give them the opportunity to learn about the practical implications of business issues and challenges. Students will also work in self-managing teams to prepare group reports and complete a session long individual research-based project that will be assessed by the academic staff.
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Important Academic Dates
Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
- Integrate discipline-specific knowledge and skills and apply subject knowledge critically, analytically and creatively to different bodies of knowledge or practice.
- Synthesise knowledge from alternative perspectives and generate critical thinking and problem-solving skills in formulating and implementing strategy.
- Apply knowledge to complex ethical and global issues and understand its impact on organisations and/or in simulated situations.
- Research and critically analyse recent or developing business issues, appraise the outcomes of proposed solutions and defend propositions.
- Demonstrate professional written and interpersonal competencies, including critical reflection on personal, social and practical issues in a team environment.
General Assessment Information
Turnitin
All text based assessments must be submitted through Turnitin as per instructions provided in the unit guide. It is the student’s responsibility to ensure that work is submitted correctly prior to the due date. No hard copies of assessments will be accepted and only Turnitin records will be taken as records of submission.
Multiple submissions may be possible in some units via Turnitin prior to the final due date and time of an assessment task and originality reports may be made available to students to view and check their work. All identified matching text will be reconsidered carefully. Students should note that the system will not immediately produce the similarity score on a second or subsequent submission - it approximately takes 24 hours for the report to be generated. This may be after the due date so students should plan any resubmissions carefully. Please refer to these instructions on how to submit your assignment through Turnitin and access similarity reports and feedback provided by teaching staff. Should you have questions about Turnitin or experience issues submitting through the system, you must inform your unit coordinator immediately. If the issue is technical in nature may also lodge OneHelp Ticket, refer to the IT help page.
It is the responsibility of the student to retain a copy of any work submitted. Students must produce these documents upon request. Copies should be retained until the end of the grade appeal period each term. In the event that a student is asked to produce another copy of work submitted and is unable to do so, they may be awarded zero (0) for that particular assessment task.
Assessment Tasks
| Name | Weighting | Hurdle | Due |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reflection A | 10% | No | Week 3 |
| Capstone simulation (Capsim®) | 15% | No | concludes Week 10 |
| Reflection B | 10% | No | Week 8 |
| Business project | 40% | No | Week 11 |
| Capsim evaluation presentation | 25% | No | Week 13 |
Reflection A
Due: Week 3
Weighting: 10%
Individual
Estimated student workload - 3 hours
Submission - via iLearn
Extensions - No extension will be granted unless a ‘Disruption to Studies’ application has been approved.
Penalties - Late submission will not be accepted for marking, i.e., a mark of ZERO will be assigned accordingly.
On successful completion you will be able to:
- Integrate discipline-specific knowledge and skills and apply subject knowledge critically, analytically and creatively to different bodies of knowledge or practice.
- Demonstrate professional written and interpersonal competencies, including critical reflection on personal, social and practical issues in a team environment.
Capstone simulation (Capsim®)
Due: concludes Week 10
Weighting: 15%
Individual (5%) + Teamwork (10%)
Estimated student workload: 14 hours (2 hours per week on average for 7 weeks).
Submission - Online via capsim.com
Extensions: No extension will be granted unless a ‘Disruption to Studies’ application has been approved.
Penalties: Late submission will not be accepted for marking, i.e., a mark of ZERO will be assigned accordingly.
On successful completion you will be able to:
- Integrate discipline-specific knowledge and skills and apply subject knowledge critically, analytically and creatively to different bodies of knowledge or practice.
- Synthesise knowledge from alternative perspectives and generate critical thinking and problem-solving skills in formulating and implementing strategy.
Reflection B
Due: Week 8
Weighting: 10%
Individual
Estimated student workload - 3 hours
Submission - via iLearn
Extensions - No extension will be granted unless a ‘Disruption to Studies’ application has been approved.
Penalties - Late submission will not be accepted for marking, i.e., a mark of ZERO will be assigned accordingly.
On successful completion you will be able to:
- Synthesise knowledge from alternative perspectives and generate critical thinking and problem-solving skills in formulating and implementing strategy.
- Demonstrate professional written and interpersonal competencies, including critical reflection on personal, social and practical issues in a team environment.
Business project
Due: Week 11
Weighting: 40%
Individual
Estimated student workload - 25 hours
Submission - via iLearn
Extensions - No extension will be granted unless a ‘Disruption to Studies’ application has been approved.
Penalties - Late submisson will not be accepted for marking, i.e., a mark of ZERO will be assigned accordingly.
On successful completion you will be able to:
- Integrate discipline-specific knowledge and skills and apply subject knowledge critically, analytically and creatively to different bodies of knowledge or practice.
- Synthesise knowledge from alternative perspectives and generate critical thinking and problem-solving skills in formulating and implementing strategy.
- Apply knowledge to complex ethical and global issues and understand its impact on organisations and/or in simulated situations.
- Research and critically analyse recent or developing business issues, appraise the outcomes of proposed solutions and defend propositions.
- Demonstrate professional written and interpersonal competencies, including critical reflection on personal, social and practical issues in a team environment.
Capsim evaluation presentation
Due: Week 13
Weighting: 25%
Individual (15%) + Team (10%)
Estimated student workload - 10 hours
Submission - In weekly seminar
Extensions - No extension will be granted unless a ‘Disruption to Studies’ application has been approved.
Penalties - Late submisson will not be accepted for marking, i.e., a mark of ZERO will be assigned accordingly.
On successful completion you will be able to:
- Synthesise knowledge from alternative perspectives and generate critical thinking and problem-solving skills in formulating and implementing strategy.
- Research and critically analyse recent or developing business issues, appraise the outcomes of proposed solutions and defend propositions.
- Demonstrate professional written and interpersonal competencies, including critical reflection on personal, social and practical issues in a team environment.
Delivery and Resources
Classes
- This unit includes thirteen three-hour weekly seminars (classes) as detailed in this unit guide.
- The timetable for classes can be found on the University web site at: http://www.timetables.mq.edu.au/
- Class attendance for this unit is compulsory.
- Students are expected to get involved in class discussion and debate including in-class completion of simulations and case studies.
Required and Recommended Texts and/or Materials
Compulsory text:
Johnson, G. Whittington, R. Scholes, K. Angwin, D. and Regner, P. 2014. Exploring Strategy: Text and Cases 10th ed, Pearson.
You must have read the relevant materials before coming to class and in completing the assessment tasks as well as undertaking your own further research. Direction will be provided by the lecturer on additional research materials.
Unit Web Page
You are required to access a computer and the internet at various times in completing this unit, to download course material available on the learning management system (iLearn) and to complete assessment tasks.
Unit Schedule
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Class |
Date (week beginning) |
Topic |
Referenced content & readings for this week’s class (also see weekly PP slides) |
Assessment Due (in this week) |
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1
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Mon 27 Feb |
Introduction Unit Overview & key themes Models of Strategic Thought A strategic framework for a sustainable organisation |
- Hubbard et al Ch1, pp 4-19 only
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2 |
Mon 6 Mar |
Leadership Models of leadership Leaders and followers The impact of ideas about business ethics on individual and leader behaviour Personal branding |
- Feser et al 2014 “Decoding Leadership: what really matters?” - Kellerman 2007 “What every leader needs to know about followers”. - Llopis 2013 “Personal branding is a leadership requirement…” |
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3 |
Mon 13 Mar |
Introduction to CAPSIM The critical nature of teams Team Agreement |
- Supplied materials - McKee et al Ch10 |
Reflection A |
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4
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Mon 20 Mar
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Sustainability Stakeholders, organisation purpose and ethical stance How business models affect views on business ethics Sustainability reporting |
- Johnson et al Ch2 pp34-37 only and Ch4
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Capsim (Practice Round) |
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5
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Mon 27 Mar |
Governance Governance and control Conformance/performance Role of boards |
- Johnson et al Ch4 cont. and Ch15 pp501-510 only; - Casal and Caspar 2014 “Building a forward looking Board” |
Capsim Rd1 Team Agreement |
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6
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Mon 3 Apr |
Strategy Formation (1) Next steps in the strategy cycle: external/internal analysis and SWOT |
- Johnson et al Ch2 and Ch3
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Capsim Rd2 |
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7
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Mon 10 Apr |
Strategy Formation (2) Strategic options and choice |
- Johnson et al Ch6 and Ch7
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Capsim Rd3
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Mon 17 Apr |
Recess/no class
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Mon 24 Apr |
Recess/no class
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8 |
Mon 1 May |
Strategy Formation (3) Strategic options/choice cont. |
- Johnson et al Ch6/Ch7 cont.
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Capsim Rd4 Reflection B |
|
9 |
Mon 8 May |
Strategy Implementation How organisations change Deliberate/Emergent Strategy The role of leaders Culture and change |
- Johnson et al Ch12 and Ch14 - Kotter 1995 “Why transformation efforts fail” |
Capsim Rd 5 |
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10 |
Mon 15 May |
The Strategic Control of Operations Strategy v Operations Intended v realised strategy Strategic Drift A control framework |
- Johnson et al Ch13 and CH5 pp162-166 only - Higgins 2005 “The 8 ‘S’s of Successful strategy execution” |
Capsim Rd 6 (final)
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11 |
Mon 22 May |
Communications Individual communications |
In-Class Discussion |
Project Report – Part A and B |
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12 |
Mon 29 May |
Guest Speaker – The impact of effective leadership |
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13 |
Mon 5 Jun |
Presentations |
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Capsim Group Presentation |
Policies and Procedures
Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central. Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:
Academic Honesty Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/academic_honesty/policy.html
Assessment Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/assessment/policy_2016.html
Grade Appeal Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/gradeappeal/policy.html
Complaint Management Procedure for Students and Members of the Public http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/complaint_management/procedure.html
Disruption to Studies Policy (in effect until Dec 4th, 2017): http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/disruption_studies/policy.html
Special Consideration Policy (in effect from Dec 4th, 2017): https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policies/special-consideration
In addition, a number of other policies can be found in the Learning and Teaching Category of Policy Central.
Student Code of Conduct
Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/support/student_conduct/
Results
Results shown in iLearn, or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au.
Student Support
Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/
Learning Skills
Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to improve your marks and take control of your study.
Student Services and Support
Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.
Student Enquiries
For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au
IT Help
For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/.
When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.
Graduate Capabilities
PG - Capable of Professional and Personal Judgment and Initiative
Our postgraduates will demonstrate a high standard of discernment and common sense in their professional and personal judgment. They will have the ability to make informed choices and decisions that reflect both the nature of their professional work and their personal perspectives.
This graduate capability is supported by:
Assessment tasks
- Capstone simulation (Capsim®)
- Business project
- Capsim evaluation presentation
PG - Critical, Analytical and Integrative Thinking
Our postgraduates will be capable of utilising and reflecting on prior knowledge and experience, of applying higher level critical thinking skills, and of integrating and synthesising learning and knowledge from a range of sources and environments. A characteristic of this form of thinking is the generation of new, professionally oriented knowledge through personal or group-based critique of practice and theory.
This graduate capability is supported by:
Learning outcomes
- Integrate discipline-specific knowledge and skills and apply subject knowledge critically, analytically and creatively to different bodies of knowledge or practice.
- Synthesise knowledge from alternative perspectives and generate critical thinking and problem-solving skills in formulating and implementing strategy.
Assessment tasks
- Reflection A
- Capstone simulation (Capsim®)
- Reflection B
- Business project
- Capsim evaluation presentation
PG - Research and Problem Solving Capability
Our postgraduates will be capable of systematic enquiry; able to use research skills to create new knowledge that can be applied to real world issues, or contribute to a field of study or practice to enhance society. They will be capable of creative questioning, problem finding and problem solving.
This graduate capability is supported by:
Learning outcomes
- Synthesise knowledge from alternative perspectives and generate critical thinking and problem-solving skills in formulating and implementing strategy.
- Research and critically analyse recent or developing business issues, appraise the outcomes of proposed solutions and defend propositions.
Assessment tasks
- Capstone simulation (Capsim®)
- Business project
- Capsim evaluation presentation
PG - Effective Communication
Our postgraduates will be able to communicate effectively and convey their views to different social, cultural, and professional audiences. They will be able to use a variety of technologically supported media to communicate with empathy using a range of written, spoken or visual formats.
This graduate capability is supported by:
Learning outcome
- Demonstrate professional written and interpersonal competencies, including critical reflection on personal, social and practical issues in a team environment.
Assessment tasks
- Reflection A
- Reflection B
- Business project
- Capsim evaluation presentation
PG - Engaged and Responsible, Active and Ethical Citizens
Our postgraduates will be ethically aware and capable of confident transformative action in relation to their professional responsibilities and the wider community. They will have a sense of connectedness with others and country and have a sense of mutual obligation. They will be able to appreciate the impact of their professional roles for social justice and inclusion related to national and global issues
This graduate capability is supported by:
Learning outcomes
- Apply knowledge to complex ethical and global issues and understand its impact on organisations and/or in simulated situations.
- Demonstrate professional written and interpersonal competencies, including critical reflection on personal, social and practical issues in a team environment.
Assessment tasks
- Capstone simulation (Capsim®)
- Business project
- Capsim evaluation presentation
Research & Practice, Global & Sustainability
This unit also addresses global and sustainability issues as direct areas of study and as necessary implications arising from the materials, assessment and academic discussion and debate in classes/seminars. We promote sustainability by developing ability in students to research and locate information within accounting discipline. We aim to provide students with an opportunity to obtain skills which will benefit them throughout their career.
This unit also gives you opportunities to conduct your own research and gives you practice in applying research findings in your assessment tasks. Students will be required to use library resources to research beyond these materials in undertaking research necessary to complete their tasks. The unit encourages students to read journals of interest and publications in these journals have a reference list at the end of each article containing all references cited by the author. These provide some guidance to references that could be used to research particular issues.