Students

MQBS1100 – Business Innovation Challenge

2024 – Session 1, In person-scheduled-infrequent, North Ryde

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit Convenor
Rebecca Bachmann
rebecca.bachmann@mq.edu.au
Room 352, Level 3, 4ER
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
Permission by special approval
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

The capacity to identify and solve business problems is a sought after skill. Businesses seek employees who can identify and systematically assess the problems they face, propose innovative solutions, and evaluate the impact of solutions on business performance. This unit provides participants with the opportunity to directly interact with business partners and work on authentic, challenging business problems. In this unit, participants will work individually and in teams on business challenges to innovatively solve authentic problems posed by a business. Participants will develop knowledge of basic theories and skills related to teamwork, problem-solving, business analysis, and time management. Participants will also learn how to assess the significance and relevance of different solutions and their impact on social, economic and environmental factors.

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: Identify and apply methodologies to analyse a business problem.
  • ULO2: Work in teams and individually to identify and solve business problems.
  • ULO3: Communicate in both written and oral form to diverse stakeholders about business problems and solutions.
  • ULO4: Critically self-reflect on personal business problem-solving practices.

General Assessment Information

Submission of assessment tasks

All applicable text based assessments must be submitted through Turnitin. 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 takes approximately 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 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, please email the Unit Convenor directly. 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 Assessment Submission Penalty  

Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, a 5% penalty (of the total possible mark) will be applied each day a written assessment is not submitted, up until the 7th day (including weekends). After the 7th day, a grade of ‘0’ will be awarded even if the assessment is submitted. Submission time for all written assessments is set at 11.55pm. A 1-hour grace period is provided to students who experience a technical concern.  

For any late submissions of time-sensitive tasks, such as scheduled tests, exams, performance assessments, and/or scheduled practical assessments/labs, students need to submit an application for Special Consideration.

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Stakeholder Analysis 20% No 23/04/2024
Reflective Journal 40% No 05/05/2024 11:55pm
Group Solutions Presentation 40% No 25/04/2024

Stakeholder Analysis

Assessment Type 1: Essay
Indicative Time on Task 2: 10 hours
Due: 23/04/2024
Weighting: 20%

 

Students will be required to identify the range of different stakeholders both impacting and impacted by the client problem. Analysis of stakeholder perspectives on the problem will be documented in 1000 words.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Identify and apply methodologies to analyse a business problem.
  • Work in teams and individually to identify and solve business problems.
  • Communicate in both written and oral form to diverse stakeholders about business problems and solutions.

Reflective Journal

Assessment Type 1: Reflective Writing
Indicative Time on Task 2: 10 hours
Due: 05/05/2024 11:55pm
Weighting: 40%

 

The reflective journal will be the key individual assessment item. It will take the form of an individual report of no more than 1500 words.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Identify and apply methodologies to analyse a business problem.
  • Work in teams and individually to identify and solve business problems.
  • Communicate in both written and oral form to diverse stakeholders about business problems and solutions.
  • Critically self-reflect on personal business problem-solving practices.

Group Solutions Presentation

Assessment Type 1: Presentation
Indicative Time on Task 2: 30 hours
Due: 25/04/2024
Weighting: 40%

 

Over the course of the program students will present/interview the client twice as well as pitching their final idea at the end. All client engagements will require preparation, organisation and delivery.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Identify and apply methodologies to analyse a business problem.
  • Work in teams and individually to identify and solve business problems.
  • Communicate in both written and oral form to diverse stakeholders about business problems and solutions.

1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:

  • the academic teaching staff in your unit for guidance in understanding or completing this type of assessment
  • the Writing Centre for academic skills support.

2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation

Delivery and Resources

Required Text No textbook required
Unit Web Page The web page for this unit can be found at: https://ilearn.mq.edu.au/login/
Technology Used and Required

Students are required to have access to a personal computer, Microsoft Teams and familiarise themselves with iLearn (https://ilearn.mq.edu.au/login/).

iLearn will be used to post lecture slides, assessment details, student grades and as a means of communication between staff members and students.
Delivery Format and Other Details This unit will be delivered off-shore in Japan during the mid-session break (April 2024). This unit cannot be completed online.
Recommended readings Recommended readings are provided via the links on the iLearn Unit page
Inherent Requirements None

Unit Schedule

Day Date Lecture Topic*
0 Pre-departure orientation (TBA)

Team Introduction and ice-breakers

Introducing the Client & the Business Problem
1 Monday 15th April

Morning session: Understanding Modern Japan

Afternoon session: Doing Business in Japan
2 Tuesday 16th April

Morning session: Meeting with the client

Afternoon session: Meeting with the client
3 Wednesday 17th April

Morning session: Framing problems – STEEP & Systems perspectives

Afternoon session: Market research
4 Thursday 18th April

Morning session: Stakeholder Analysis

Afternoon session: Market Research
5 Friday 19th April

Morning session: Report & Pitch Coaching

Afternoon session: Group Project Work
6 Monday 22nd April

Morning session: Group Project Work

Afternoon session: Group Project Work
7 Tuesday 23rd April

Morning session: Group Project Work

Afternoon session: Submit report for distribution to client
8 Wednesday 24th April

Morning session: Pitch preparation

Afternoon session: Submit Pitch deck
9 Thursday 25th April

Morning session: Team Pitch Symposium

Afternoon session: Client feedback
10 Friday 26th April

Morning session: Debrief and reflection

Afternoon session: Debrief and reflection

*Subject to change, please refer to iLearn for final program details.

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

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

To find other policies relating to Teaching and Learning, visit Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au) and use the search tool.

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/admin/other-resources/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 connect.mq.edu.au or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

Academic Integrity

At Macquarie, we believe academic integrity – honesty, respect, trust, responsibility, fairness and courage – is at the core of learning, teaching and research. We recognise that meeting the expectations required to complete your assessments can be challenging. So, we offer you a range of resources and services to help you reach your potential, including free online writing and maths support, academic skills development and wellbeing consultations.

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

The Writing Centre

The Writing Centre provides resources to develop your English language proficiency, academic writing, and communication skills.

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

Student Services and Support

Macquarie University offers a range of Student Support Services including:

Student Enquiries

Got a question? Ask us via the Service Connect Portal, or contact Service Connect.

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.

Unit information based on version 2024.02 of the Handbook