Students

MQBS3020 – Contemporary Business Challenges

2025 – Session 1, In person-scheduled-weekday, North Ryde

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit Convenor
Murray Taylor
murray.taylor@mq.edu.au
Contact via email
Office 613, 4 Eastern Rd
available via iLearn
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
Admission to BBus and 130cp at 1000 level or above including 10cp at 3000 level
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

This course-wide Capstone unit is designed to be taken by students in their final session of study within the Bachelor of Business. Students will apply their discipline-specific knowledge within collaborative environments and develop their leadership and communication capabilities through the Capstone project. At the completion of the unit, students are expected to have developed and critically reflected on the ethical and sustainability contexts.

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 and apply discipline specific knowledge and skills with an appreciation of cross disciplinary requirements.
  • ULO2: Identify and analyse issues from a variety of ethical and sustainability positions as applied to the business context.
  • ULO3: Reflect on outcomes of working in teams to apply communication and leadership skills to achieve business solutions in a range of contexts.

General Assessment Information

Late Assessment Submission Penalty (written assessments) 

 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/presentations, and/or scheduled practical assessments/labs, students need to submit an application for Special Consideration.

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Capstone Project Report 30% No 12/05/2025
Reflective Essay(s) 30% No 12/03/2025
Active Engagement 20% No From Week 1 onwards
Capstone Project Presentation 20% No Week 12 in tutorials

Capstone Project Report

Assessment Type 1: Report
Indicative Time on Task 2: 40 hours
Due: 12/05/2025
Weighting: 30%

 

A report comprised of approximately 4000 words.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Integrate and apply discipline specific knowledge and skills with an appreciation of cross disciplinary requirements.
  • Identify and analyse issues from a variety of ethical and sustainability positions as applied to the business context.
  • Reflect on outcomes of working in teams to apply communication and leadership skills to achieve business solutions in a range of contexts.

Reflective Essay(s)

Assessment Type 1: Essay
Indicative Time on Task 2: 30 hours
Due: 12/03/2025
Weighting: 30%

 

Reflective essay(s) totaling approximately 2000 words

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Integrate and apply discipline specific knowledge and skills with an appreciation of cross disciplinary requirements.

Active Engagement

Assessment Type 1: Participatory task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 10 hours
Due: From Week 1 onwards
Weighting: 20%

 

The participatory task will comprise students' contributions based on preparation, quality of participation and engagement with peers, lecturer(s) and business hosts. It is NOT an attendance mark. In addition, to these elements, students' ability to synthesise theories and their practical application of these theories will be observed.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Identify and analyse issues from a variety of ethical and sustainability positions as applied to the business context.
  • Reflect on outcomes of working in teams to apply communication and leadership skills to achieve business solutions in a range of contexts.

Capstone Project Presentation

Assessment Type 1: Presentation
Indicative Time on Task 2: 10 hours
Due: Week 12 in tutorials
Weighting: 20%

 

Collaboratively present on your Capstone project.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Integrate and apply discipline specific knowledge and skills with an appreciation of cross disciplinary requirements.
  • Identify and analyse issues from a variety of ethical and sustainability positions as applied to the business context.
  • Reflect on outcomes of working in teams to apply communication and leadership skills to achieve business solutions in a range of contexts.

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

see iLearn for 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/

Academic Success

Academic Success 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 2025.03 of the Handbook