BUSN11142 Professional Management and Research Skills Module Handbook 2026 | UWS

BUSN11142 Module Information

Summary of Module

This module helps students to manage both their professional management and research skills through a Continuing Professional Development approach. Students will be supported to set and manage aspirations for their success in the MBA programme and beyond. This will include 1) approaches to being a successful MBA student, 2) developing a high-quality research proposal for a Dissertation or Professional Project, and 3) planning for future professional development aligned to a chosen pathway of study.

Through a series of lectures and tutorials, students will have the opportunity to learn about key skills, including emotional intelligence, influencing and networking. Cultural contexts will be compared and considered to give context for work and learning. Research skills will be developed and enhanced to prepare students to undertake a high-quality Dissertation or Professional Project.

Additionally, the module is designed to introduce students to the ‘real world’ of the ways in which professional managers develop personal mastery to enable them to plan and implement career-long personal development in a variety of organisations (public, private and not-for-profit) to promote and achieve their career aspirations. The module examines the ways in which the main elements of research are planned and implemented in business and management environments within a range of organisations, and the principal challenges and issues facing managers in conducting business and management research. The module is designed to enable students to develop their knowledge of theoretical and conceptual elements of business and management research through an engagement with contemporary management practice.

To achieve this, there must be an underpinning of knowledge on the theory and practice of research in business and management, drawing particularly on leadership for management development and talent management development. Students will have the opportunity to get feedback on their work via the VLE platform.

BUSN11142 Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this module, the student will be able to:

L1. Demonstrate an in-depth understanding of the relevant skills and knowledge required to ensure current professional and academic practices are attained.

L2. Demonstrate a critical understanding of the demands of university and professional life.

L3. Critically developing related practical competencies by showing how these can be applied to the world of professional practice and the requirements of specific pathways.

L4. Critically develop a relevant professional persona and personal brand.

L5. Critically evaluate key research theories, tools and techniques as part of a master’s research proposal.

Employability and PDP Skills

Learning Hours

Attendance/Engagement Statement

The module will run in Trimesters 1, 2 and 3, and the learning modes will be a combination of formal lectures, case studies, student-centred tutorials and directed learning. The module will also run using a blended learning and distance learning format.

Lectures provide a basic framework for imparting knowledge that can be used as a foundation for developing understanding. The Lecture Schedule provides a detailed breakdown of the topics covered. Lectures and Tutorials will be on campus. Students will be allocated to a Tutorial Group, and you must attend the Group you are allocated to, as attendance will be monitored on a weekly basis. You will get more out of the module if you attend all sessions.

For the academic year 2025/26, the School of Business and Creative Industries will adopt a proactive and practical approach to the monitoring and reviewing of individual student engagement, reflecting the flexible definition of ‘engagement’ within the context of hybrid delivery.

Students will be expected to meet the following minimum thresholds for engagement during the academic year 2025-26

• Regular engagement with their Virtual Learning Environment is monitored via appropriate learner analytics within the VLE.
• Attendance at 80% of live (‘synchronous’) class activities, online or face to face, with attendance taken in each class by academic staff.
• Engagement and submission of all assessments unless non-submission is supported by submission of an Extenuating Circumstances Statement (ECS).

If you do not meet these minimum thresholds of engagement, you will be contacted by relevant University staff (your Year Leader, Programme Leader or School Enhancement Developer) to highlight the issue. The aim of this contact is supportive, with the intention of understanding your lack of engagement, offering advice and support to re-engage you with your studies, and to get you back on track. Additional information is available in the University Academic Engagement Procedure.

Learning and Teaching

Teaching and Learning Strategy

Delivery will take the form of lectures and tutorials, which include materials on theory and practice alongside opportunities for students to work individually and in groups to apply learning to practice. Each week, additional reading will be identified on the VLE to support students in deepen understanding of the topics covered.

Expectations for Student Participation

Students will be expected to engage in all synchronous and asynchronous activities. They will also be required to work collaboratively with peers on case studies and examples during tutorial sessions.

Lesson plan by week

The module covers 10 key topics across 10 weeks as outlined below. The assessment due date(s) will be communicated.

BUSN11142 Assessment Information

Assessment and weighting

There are two assessments for this module. They are worth 30% and 70% of the module mark.

Assessment Types and Details

There are two summative instruments of assessment for this 20-point post-graduate module:

1. Personal Development Plan: Due Week 6 (30%)
2. Research Proposal: After Week 10 (70%)

Further details on the above assessments are located on the VLE.

The Personal Development Plan- Date of Submission TBC on VLE Research Proposal -Date of Submission TBC on VLE

Personal Development Plan Marking Checklist 30% weight

Rubrics for Personal Development Plan:

• PDP Plan (100%)-1500 words 
• Personal introduction 100 words- 5%
• CV- 350 words-20%
• Career Aspirations (Short Term 1-2 years and Medium Term 3-5 years. Include a reflective theory as part of the discussion)-400 words-20%
• Personal Development: Strengths and Improvement areas- 150 words-10% 
• How to achieve aspirations i.e. How? When? And Costs? -200 words-15% 
• How will development be evaluated? -(Include a theory)- 150 words-10% 
• What are the Longer-Term Career aspirations- 100 words-10%
• What development will you undertake to promote the likelihood of achieving your career aspirations? - 50 words-5%
• Presentation and References -5%

Research Proposal Marking Checklist 70% weight

Rubrics for Proposal:

• Proposal Plan (100%) -2000 words 
• Title (not part of the word count) 
• Proposal Introduction- 100 words- 5%
• Proposal Focus/Academic justification/ why the topic? - 300 words-10% 
• Proposal Rationale- 100 words-10%
• Proposal Aim (What you want to achieve) -20 words- 5%
• Proposal objectives (What you will do to achieve the aim) – 100 words- 20%
• Initial Literature review (critical analysis with relevant and varying sources with gaps / Research questions/ Hypothesis to be tested- 880 words- 20%
• Methodology Plan with justification(s)-200words- 10% 
• Data Sources Plan with justification(s)-100 words- 5% 
• Data Analysis Plan with justification(s)-100 words-5%
• Completion schedule -Gantt Chart or Table- 100 words 5%
• References and presentation- 5%

The submission dates are fixed, and extensions will not be granted unless there are exceptional personal circumstances (not ‘pressure of work’) or medical reasons (supported by a medical certificate). Under such circumstances, you should contact the module coordinator before the deadline for submission to ascertain whether an extension is possible. Students who have not been granted an extension and who submit their assignments late will have a zero mark recorded in accordance with university regulations.

You will upload your assessment to the VLE folder allocated for your campus. Your assessment must include the declaration provided in Appendix 1.

Submission Instructions

Assessments should be submitted to the VLE using the format of a Word document, NOT a PDF

Late or non-submission

Late submissions may attract a 10% deduction of marks. 

The extension policy for the module is that:

Any student who is unable to submit their assessment on time due to circumstances out of their control should see the University Policy on Extenuating Circumstances, noting that any application for ECS must be made within 48 hours of the original assessment deadline.

Marking

You should pay attention to the weighing and rubrics in the table above to assist you in knowing where to place emphasis.

The marking will be done where feedback and feedforward comments are provided. This will be moderated by a different tutor.

Students can expect to receive feedback after 6 weeks of marking and moderation. Final marks will be published via Banner after the end of the term.

Referencing

Assessments should be referenced using UWS Cite Them Right Harvard Style

Further information and support on reference can be found on the VLE.

Reading List

Core Reading

Quinlan, Babin, Carr, Griffin and Zigmund (2024) Business Research Methods 3e Cengage, Andover United Kingdom.

Additional Reading

Saunder, Lewis and Thornhill (2019) Research Methods for Business Students 8e Pearson Education, Harlow United Kingdom.
Carmichael, Collins, Emsell and Haydon (2011) Leadership and Management Development Oxford University Press, Oxford United Kingdom.
Daft, R.L. (2023) The Leadership Experience 8e Cengage, Andover United Kingdom.

Relevant Journals

Academic Journals - these are published several times a year. Some deal exclusively with strategic management, while others contain articles on areas covered in the module syllabus. There are a large number of journals on professional development and research skills which will, from time to time, contain articles on aspects of professional development and research skills.

Appendix 1: Academic integrity, academic misconduct & plagiarism statement

The University requires all students to act with the highest standard of academic integrity. In relation to assessment submission, a student must demonstrate honesty and integrity in the completion of their work, ensuring that any submission is free from the following:

• Plagiarism – defined as the use of the work of other students, past or present, or a
  student’s own work submitted to another module (see self-plagiarism below), or substantial and unacknowledged use of published material presented as the student’s own work.
• Self-plagiarism – defined the use of a student’s own work — partially or in full — submitted for the purpose of obtaining credit (as part of an assessment) on a different module, past or present, except where explicitly permitted within the terms of assessment.
• Commissioning others to complete work – including the use of essay mills, paid-for assignments and work obtained through others.
• Collusion – defined as working with others to produce and submit work outside the allowed parameters of group work and peer learning, including allowing others to copy or submit work you have completed.
• Cheating – including the use of forbidden materials, attempting to subvert a formal examination

We expect all students to take personal responsibility for meeting the appropriate standards regarding academic integrity— all important information regarding academic misconduct, referencing and plagiarism can be found in the university regulations 3.49–3.55 and appendix A ‘Examples of misconduct’.

Any student alleged to have breached the University’s regulations in relation to academic integrity may be investigated. If found that the university’s expectations for academic integrity in any of the above categories have been breached, that breach will be categorised as “minor”, “serious” or “major” as per the UWS Plagiarism Procedure and the appropriate penalty applied.

It is the student’s responsibility to ensure that they seek information and advice on the avoidance of academic misconduct (plagiarism). If a student experiences difficulty or would want to make sure that their referencing meets the university’s requirements, they should not hesitate to speak to their tutor, the library and/or the Careers & Skills team.

Guidance on submitting an assessment

• You should abide by the following principles in your practice, except where explicitly permitted within a module or programme.
• You are expected to present academically and to provide evidence from theoretical literature to substantiate your discussion and analysis.
• Your work should be fully referenced using the Cite Them Right Harvard Style (seek advice from your Tutor/Moodle QuickLinks if you are unsure).
• Your work should be submitted through Turnitin; submissions of electronic copies via email will not be accepted (unless explicitly stated otherwise).

Where your work involves primary data collection, you abide by the School of Business and Creative Industries Code of Ethics.

You are required to add the following declaration to each of your written assessments, outlining that you fully comprehend the meaning of academic integrity and confirm your adherence:

BUSN11142 Appendix 2: UWS Standard Marking & Grading Scheme (Postgraduate)

BUSN11142 Appendix 3: UWS Standard Marking & Grading Scheme (Undergraduate)