Undergraduate Course: Introduction to Business (BUST08026)
Course Outline
| School | Business School |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 8 (Year 1 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 40 |
ECTS Credits | 20 |
| Summary | This course affords students an understanding of the nature, structure and workings of contemporary business organisations. This is achieved by applying the concepts and techniques of the social sciences to the problems of business. With the mix of lectures, tutorials and assignments, the course aims simultaneously to cater for the needs of those who have, and have not, formally studied the subject prior to University.
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| Course description |
This course affords students an understanding of the nature, structure and workings of contemporary business organisations. This is achieved by applying the concepts and techniques of the social sciences to the problems of business. With the mix of lectures, tutorials and assignments, the course aims simultaneously to cater for the needs of those who have, and have not, formally studied the subject prior to University.
PLEASE NOTE: This is the course for students for whom Business is an outside course option. If Business is a mandatory part of your degree programme you must take Foundations of Business (BUST08025).
Syllabus
Module 1: Business Policy & Strategy
Module 2: Operations Management
Module 3: The Economist Environment Anatomy of Business
Module 4: Marketing
Module 5: Finance
Module 6: Management Science
Module 7: Foundations of Organisational Behaviour
Module 8: Employment Relations & HRM
Student Learning Experience
After an initial lecture which introduces the subject content of Business and its methodology, the course comprises eight modules throughout Semesters 1 and 2 (see above)
The students are introduced to the subject-matter of the modules by a combination of lectures and weekly tutorials, and students have the opportunity to select areas to study in depth through a choice of essay topics. The poster exercise is designed to encourage practical application of concepts and models introduced in the initial module on Business Policy and Strategy, and to encourage early interaction with academic staff and peers.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
Students MUST have passed:
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | Students MUST NOT also be taking
Foundations of Business (BUST08025)
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Other requirements | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2015/16, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
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Quota: 300 |
| Course Start |
Full Year |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
400
(
Lecture Hours 59,
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 18,
Feedback/Feedforward Hours 2,
Summative Assessment Hours 5,
Revision Session Hours 1,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 8,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
307 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
50 %,
Coursework
40 %,
Practical Exam
10 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Group project (poster exercise) accounts for 10% of the assessment.
Two essays, each essay accounts for 20% of the assessment.
Final degree exam accounts for 50% of the assessment. |
| Feedback |
Generic feedback on your coursework, together with individual marks, will be available on Learn. You can also look at your individual feedback in the UG Office (Room 1.11, Business School, 29 Buccleuch Place) and take away a copy of the feedback form, but you will not be able to take away the original piece of coursework, as it may be required by the Board of Examiners.
Your examination marks will be posted on Learn (together with generic feedback and examination statistics) as soon as possible after the Boards of Examiners' meeting (normally early-mid June). During the summer months (i.e. mid/end June - end August), you may come into the UG Office (Room 1.11, Business School, 29 Buccleuch Place) to look at your examination scripts. Note that you will not be able to remove any examination scripts from the UG Office as they may be required by the Board of Examiners.
Non-Honours students are permitted to take examination scripts away with them from the UG Office.
Continuing students will also be given the opportunity to review their examination scripts early in the new academic year in Semester 1 (i.e. in October). |
| Exam Information |
| Exam Diet |
Paper Name |
Hours & Minutes |
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| Main Exam Diet S2 (April/May) | | 3:00 | | | Resit Exam Diet (August) | | 3:00 | |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Describe the various ways in which organisations are structured and managed
- Describe the inter-relationships between organisations and the environments in which they operate
- Explain and evaluate critically the contribution of the various techniques and functions to the operation and development of organisations.
- Describe and discuss critically such key contemporary topics as the globalisation of business, and the responsibilities of organisations, including environmental concerns and employees welfare.
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Reading List
| You are strongly advised to purchase a copy of the Custom Textbook, Volumes 1 & 2 (available exclusively from Blackwell's South Bridge) |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Cognitive Skills
On completion of the course, students should have had inculcated into them the desirability, and the methods, of time management and planning through lectures, tutorials and course assignments. Students should have been encouraged to:
(a) use the entire range of learning resources that are available to today's students;
(b) analyse and solve organisational problems and issues, especially through tutorials;
(c) appreciate the holistic nature of the contemporary organisation, especially through the two integrated assignments.
Key Skills
On completion of the course, students should have been encouraged to:
(a) develop their written skills, through the two assignments and the degree exam;
(b) develop their oral skills through the weekly tutorials;
(c) be aware of, and confidently to use, the range of quantitative and qualitative techniques that are appropriate to contemporary organisations;
(d) acquire, or develop, computer literacy techniques.
Subject-Specific Skills
On completion of the course, students should be aware of:
(a) the techniques and insights that are germane to Strategy, Business Economics, Marketing, Operations Management, Management Science, Finance, Human Resource Management and Employment Relations, and Organisational Behaviour.
(b) the uses, abuses and limits of these techniques and insights |
| Additional Class Delivery Information |
3 Lectures plus 1 tutorial per week for 8 weeks (S1)
3 Lectures plus 1 tutorial per week for 10 weeks (S2) |
| Keywords | Business Policy and Strategy; the Economic Environment and Anatomy of Business; Marketing; Operation |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Ashley Lloyd
Tel: (0131 6)50 3817
Email: |
Course secretary | Miss Anastasia Fliatoura
Tel: (0131 6)50 3826
Email: |
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