Durham University
Programme and Module Handbook

Postgraduate Programme and Module Handbook 2019-2020 (archived)

Module BUSI43K15: Organisational Context

Department: Management and Marketing

BUSI43K15: Organisational Context

Type Tied Level 4 Credits 15 Availability Available in 2019/20
Tied to N1KB07
Tied to N1KC07
Tied to N1KG07
Tied to N2K107
Tied to N1DL07
Tied to N1DE07
Tied to N1DB07
Tied to N1KN07
Tied to N1KR07
Tied to N1KS07

Prerequisites

  • None.

Corequisites

  • None.

Excluded Combination of Modules

  • None.

Aims

  • Allow students to critically evaluate the nature of organisations and the impact and application within their specialised organisational environment context.
  • Allow students to critically evaluate the academic issues of entrepreneurship, corporate entrepreneurship and / or innovation and critique their appropriateness and application within a specialised organisational environment context.
  • Allow students to critically evaluate the impact of macro economic factors on their specialised organisational environment context.
  • Develop students’ competency to innovatively assess the impact of these issues in a wider sectoral context.

Content

  • The content of this module is set within a specialist organisational environment perspective and includes the following areas:
  • Making use of library facilities, databases and other learning resources;
  • Application of advanced principles, concepts and methods to select a topic;
  • Selection of the appropriate research approach to match the chosen topic;
  • Growth, development, creativity and innovation;
  • The impact of economic factors
  • The impact of government policy.

Learning Outcomes

Subject-specific Knowledge:
  • Have advanced familiarity with the specialist facilities available for conducting literature searches and obtaining relevant data to facilitate empirical investigation;
  • Have a critical appreciation of the nature of organisations terms of size, structure and behavioural aspects within a specialist organisational environment;
  • Have an advanced knowledge and critical appreciation of traditional and emergent issues in entrepreneurship and innovation- e.g. social and gender issues - and their application in a specialist organisational environment;
  • Have an advanced knowledge and critical appreciation of traditional and emergent organisational issues in relation to the nature of the specialist route of their qualification.
Subject-specific Skills:
  • Have further developed advanced skills of inquiry, information retrieval, bibliographic search, interpretation and presentation,;
  • Be able to produce a literature review in the area of a specialised organisational environment appropriate to a masters level programme.
Key Skills:
  • Written communication; planning and organising; using initiative.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

  • The learning outcomes will be met through a combination of lectures and guided reading addressing key topics in research.
  • The assessment of the module, by written assignment, is designed to:
  • Test the capacity to examine a range of literature on specialized area and be able to communicate the results of this work to peers in a manner appropriate to the subject area;
  • Test conceptual understanding and synthesis of concepts and theories within a specialised organisational environment;
  • The group work carried out within the lectures and in the group tutorials is designed to enhance the capacity to be effective within a team environment and to value individuals' contributions in group processes.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Activity Number Frequency Duration Total/Hours
Lectures 2 days Part Residential 16 hours 16
Group Tutorials 2 days (8 hours) 1 per month 16 hours 16
Individual Tutorials 1 1 per month 6 hours 6
Preparation and Reading 112
Total 150

Summative Assessment

Component: Assignment Component Weighting: 100%
Element Length / duration Element Weighting Resit Opportunity
Assignment on specialised organisational environment 3,000 words 100%

Formative Assessment:

Feedback will be given on a group exercise aimed at understanding alternative viewpoints on enterprise development.


Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University