Unit Guide

General Information

Unit convenor and teaching staff	Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit Convenor Craig Terry craig.terry@mq.edu.au See iLearn for details of consultation hours Moderator Prof. Rahat Munit rahat.munir@mq.edu.au Contact via 02 9850 4765 4ER Room 312 Rahat Munir rahat.munir@mq.edu.au
Credit points	Credit points 10
Prerequisites	Prerequisites (Admission to MCyberGovMgnt and 40cp) or (admission to (MCom or MBioBus) and 80cp at 8000 level)
Corequisites	Corequisites
Co-badged status	Co-badged status
Unit description	Unit description This is a course-wide capstone unit that is intended to be taken by students in their final session of study. The unit is designed to broaden students' understanding of the importance of strategic business matters in the areas of an organisation's planning, operations, control and leadership, ethics and industry relationship, and broader economic and global developments. Through the unit's real world preparatory experience opportunities and engagement in business issues and challenges requiring cross-disciplinary insights and knowledge, students are not only required to develop their reflective and integrative thinking but also engage in the development of their future-focused thinking. Students are exposed to comprehensive case studies devised to give them the opportunity to consider practical implications of business issues and challenges and to investigate strategic business matters within the context of a business environment. Students will work in self-managing teams to prepare group reports and complete a session long individual research-based project.

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:

ULO1: Integrate discipline-specific knowledge and skills and apply subject knowledge critically, analytically and creatively to different bodies of knowledge or practice.
ULO2: Synthesise knowledge from alternative perspectives and generate critical thinking and problem-solving skills in formulating and implementing strategy.
ULO3: Apply knowledge of complex ethical, sustainability and global business management issues to explain the relationship between sustainability, value creation and governance and articulate an informed ethical position.
ULO4: Research and critically analyse recent or developing business issues, appraise the outcomes of proposed solutions and defend propositions.
ULO5: Demonstrate professional written and interpersonal competencies, including critical reflection on personal, social and practical issues in a team environment.

Assessment Tasks

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update

Assessment details are no longer provided here as a result of changes due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Students should consult iLearn for revised unit information.

Find out more about the Coronavirus (COVID-19) and potential impacts on staff and students

General Assessment Information

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.

Late Submission(s): Late assessment must also be submitted through Turnitin. No extensions will be granted. There will be a deduction of 10% of the total available marks made from the total awarded mark for each 24 hour period or part thereof that the submission is late (for example, 25 hours late in submission incurs a 20% penalty). Late submissions will not be accepted after solutions have been discussed and/or made available. This penalty does not apply for cases in which an application for Special Consideration is made and approved. Note: applications for Special Consideration Policy must be made within 5 (five) business days of the due date and time.

Delivery and Resources

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update

Any references to on-campus delivery below may no longer be relevant due to COVID-19.

Please check here for updated delivery information: https://ask.mq.edu.au/account/pub/display/unit_status

	Required Reading: Primary text: Johnson, G. Whittington, R. Scholes, K. Angwin, D. and Regner, P. 2017. Exploring Strategy: Text and Cases 11th ed, Pearson. A digital edition is available - see iLearn for details. 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. The readings below are the other required class readings (as indicated in the unit schedule). Note that these will be available on-line via ILearn. Book Chapters : Hubbard, G. Rice, J. and Galvin, P. 2015 Strategic Management: Thinking, Analysis, Action 5^th ed, Pearson pp 4-19 only McKee, A., Kemp, T. and Spence, G 2013 Management: A Focus on Leaders Pearson Chapter 10 “Teams and Team Building” only. Journal Articles : Casal, C and Caspar, C. 2014 “Building a forward looking Board”, McKinsey Quarterly, Issue 2 pp119-126 Feser, C. Mayol, F. and Srinivasan, R. 2014 “Decoding leadership: What really matters?” McKinsey Quarterly, Issue 4 pp88-91 Freeman, R.E. 2010 “Managing for stakeholders: Trade-offs or value creation”, Journal of Business Ethics, 96 pp7-9 Higgins, J.M. 2005 “The Eight ‘S’s of successful strategy execution”, Journal of Change Management, 5 No. 1, March pp3-13 Kellerman, B. 2007 “What every leader needs to know about followers”, Harvard Business Review, December pp84-91 Kotter, J.P. 1995 “Leading Change: Why transformation efforts fail”, Harvard Business Review, March-April pp59-67 Llopis, G. 2013 “Personal branding is a leadership requirement, not a self-promotion campaign”, Forbes April 8 Porath, C.L. and Pearson, C.M. 2010 “The cost of bad behavior”, Organizational Dynamics, Vol 39 (1), pp.64-71
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.
Technology Used and Required:	On-line access to iLearn and to the simulation game website www.capsim.com
Delivery Format and Other Details:	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/ Students are expected to attend all classes. Students are expected to get involved in class discussion and debate including in-class completion of simulations and case studies.
Recommended Readings:	Other optional readings will be referred to in class.
Other Course Materials:	A class case study will be supplied which is required for Parts A and B Business Project assessment task

Unit Schedule

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update

The unit schedule/topics and any references to on-campus delivery below may no longer be relevant due to COVID-19. Please consult iLearn for latest details, and check here for updated delivery information: https://ask.mq.edu.au/account/pub/display/unit_status

Weekly Schedule MQBS8000 – Contemporary Business Issues – Session 1 2020

Class	Date (week beginning)	Topic	Readings for this week’s class (also see weekly PP slides for other optional reading ref.)	Assessment Due
1	Mon 24 Feb	Introduction Unit Overview & key themes Models of Strategic Thought A strategic framework for a sustainable organisation	- Unit Summary (see iLearn) - Hubbard et al Ch1, pp 4-19 only
2	Mon 2 Mar	Leadership Models of leadership Leaders and followers Ethics and individual behaviour Personal branding	- Feser et al 2014 “Decoding Leadership: what really matters?” - Kellerman 2007 “What every leader needs to know about followers”.
3	Mon 9 Mar	Teamwork and Introduction to CAPSIM Effective team behaviour - what makes a top team?	- McKee et al Ch10 - Porath and Pearson, 2010 “The cost of bad behaviour”
4	Mon 16 Mar	Sustainability Stakeholders, organisation purpose and ethical stance How business models affect views on business ethics Sustainability reporting	- Johnson et al 2017 Ch 1 pp7-10; Ch2 pp34-48; Ch5 - Freeman 2010 “Managing for stakeholders: Trade-offs or Value creation”	Reflection A 16 Mar 2pm Capsim (Practice Round)
5	Mon 23 Mar	Governance Governance and control Conformance/performance Role of boards	- Johnson et al 2017 Ch5 cont.; Ch16 pp500-508 - Casal and Caspar 2014 “Building a forward looking Board”	Capsim Rd1
6	Mon 30 Mar	Strategy Formation (1) Next steps in the strategy cycle: external/internal analysis and SWOT	- Johnson et al 2017 Ch2, Ch3 and Ch4	Capsim Rd2 Capsim Team Agreement
7	Mon 6 Apr	Strategy Formation (2) Strategic options and choice	- Johnson et al 2017 Ch7 and Ch8	Capsim Rd3
	Mon 13 April	Recess/no class
	Mon 20 April	Recess/no class
8	Mon 27 Apr	Strategy Implementation How organisations change Deliberate/Emergent and Intended/realised strategy The management of change The role of leaders	- Johnson et al 2017 Ch13 and Ch15 - Kotter 1995 “Why transformation efforts fail”	Capsim Rd4 Reflection B 27 Apr 2pm
9	Mon 4 May	The Strategic Control of Operations Strategy/Operations alignment Strategic Drift A control framework	- Johnson et al 2017 Ch14; Ch6 pp180-184 - Higgins 2005 “The 8 ‘S’s of Successful strategy execution”	Capsim Rd 5
10	Mon 11 May	CAPSIM review	In-class discussion of results and key learning outcomes	Capsim Rd 6 (final round)
11	Mon 18 May	Communication Individual communication skills/methods	In-class discussion	Project Report – Parts A and B 18 May 2pm
12	Mon 25 May	Capsim Group Presentations		Presentation
13	Mon 1 Jun	Capsim Group Presentations		Presentation

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policy-central). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Academic Appeals Policy
Academic Integrity Policy
Academic Progression Policy
Assessment Policy
Fitness to Practice Procedure
Grade Appeal Policy
Complaint Management Procedure for Students and Members of the Public
Special Consideration Policy (Note: The Special Consideration Policy is effective from 4 December 2017 and replaces the Disruption to Studies Policy.)

Students seeking more policy resources can visit the Student Policy Gateway (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/student-policy-gateway). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.

If you would like to see all the policies relevant to Learning and Teaching visit Policy Central (https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/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/study/getting-started/student-conduct

Results

Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) 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 or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@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 help you improve your marks and take control of your study.

The Library provides online and face to face support to help you find and use relevant information resources.

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

If you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@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.