MSM7039 Business Solutions and Transformation Project Portfolio - Cardiff Metropolitan University

Task/assessment brief:

Overview

The Business Solutions and Transformation module aims to provide an authentic and holistic overview of business and management.  Work based issues are seldom solely focused on a single discipline or function within an organisation and require leaders and managers to integrate their knowledge and understanding of wider organisational needs and consequences when solving problems and/or making decisions.

Students will be given an authentic work-based business challenge to study, analyse and problem solve. Students will be required to understand the context of the business challenge including that relating to the organisation itself and also wider environmental factors. The Business Solutions and Transformation module is a project-based module in which the teaching content and assessment is based around the business challenge.  The problem you face will be delivered to you in the first week of the teaching programme and will require you to both work within a group, and on an individual basis.  There are a number of assessments to be completed relating directly to the business challenge and these are outlined in the module handbook and associated assessment briefs. Please read these very carefully and make sure that you fully understand what is required of you.

The Business Challenge

You will be provided with a separate brief detailing the business challenge (see Moodle). You are expected to generate solutions to the challenge based on research (secondary sources only) and a robust academic underpinning. Imagine you are pitching your solution to a Board of Directors and asking for a £100 million investment. The Board would expect to see evidence and work justifying the request, investment and planned outcomes. You are expected to evidence a similarly robust approach to your problem solving. Moreover as Masters level students you are expected to ‘demonstrate a systematic understanding of knowledge, and a critical awareness of current problems and/or new insights, much of which is at, or informed by, the forefront of their academic discipline, field of study or area of professional practice’, (QAA, 2014).

Task

Throughout this module, you are required to keep a project portfolio which details your individual and group activities and progress.  Your portfolio must include the following five elements:

1.    An individual weekly diary as a personal reflection on your individual progress and that of the group.  At a minimum this should be ten (10) weekly entries and take the form of a diary.  Where possible this reflection should be critically based. A proforma will be provided for you to use.
2.    Individual Notes and/or mind maps taken from all lectures delivered during the semester. These should be detailed and reflect the content of the lectures and your learning and knowledge derived from them. These can be in the form of notes and/or mind maps
3.    You are required to complete a series of project-related tasks over the semester. The project tasks are:
•    Project Plan Gantt Chart
•    Code of Conduct
•    Terms of Reference
•    Progress Report and Tutor Feedback 1
•    Mid Stage Progress Report
•    Literature Review Evaluation
•    Progress Report and Tutor Feedback 2
These tasks must be completed by the project team and each team member must upload the tasks to their Mahara portfolio for this requirement of the project portfolio. You may work as a team on the underlying information and knowledge needed to complete the tasks but the assessment itself must be an individual submission.  Further details will be provided on Moodle.

4.    An individual literature review record must be maintained of the academic and industry based literature used to research the business challenge and solve the problem. A proforma will be provided for you to use and must be uploaded to your Mahara portfolio.
5.    At the time of the formal interview presentation, you are required to produce a group-based report of 4000 words (excluding reference list and appendices) detailing your proposed solution/transformation.  Further details concerning the content, structure and format of this report will be given nearer the time. All team members must include the report in their Mahara portfolio. The report will be the same for each member of the team and all team members are expected to contribute to its completion. 

Assessment Criteria

Learning outcomes assessed

1. Demonstrate a systematic understanding and awareness of business knowledge and its application
2. Critically evaluate the interrelationship between business disciplines and the complexity of business thinking, and recognise and judge alternative courses of action.
3. Design and undertake appropriate courses of action to investigate areas of theory and practice, and demonstrate high levels of abstraction in such problem solving.
4. Demonstrate decision-making skills, and judgment, in deciding between alternative courses of action, taking into consideration a range factors including ethical and sustainability considerations.
5. Demonstrate the ability to work effectively as a team leader and group member, and be able to identify appropriate communication strategies in a range of complex and specialised contexts.
6. Demonstrate a wide range of skills and competencies, and be able to plan and implement projects in a professional, self-directed and autonomous manner.

Objective

The aim of this module is to provide students with an integrated and multi-disciplinary approach to international business.  It will integrate both business theory and practice, and provide for the student the opportunity to develop a wide range of business skills and competences. It will encourage students to think in creative and innovative ways, and seek transformative solutions to real world business problems.