What will I learn on this module?
The Management Enquiry module is a student-led individual project that enables you to undertake a significant piece of assessed work commensurate with a capstone module. The module aims to provide you with an opportunity to demonstrate an authentic engagement with managers and/or professionals from within HRM or Management more generally, and to integrate the knowledge you have developed during your programme to explore theory in practice.
The learning on this module is experiential and research-based with a focus upon you discovering, probing and questioning key practice-based issues. Through the module you will be offered the opportunity to develop and enhance key transferable employability/enterprise skills including: problem-solving and analysis, creative-thinking, time and project management, negotiation, communication (written, aural and verbal), persuasion and influence, discovery, initiative.
The module has five thematic areas; explore, review, engage, reflect and connect. These form the key elements of the assessed submission.
Part A (35%, 3,500 Words)
• Explore: Initial discussion a manager or HR professional explore with them the key issues that they feel they are facing in practice. It is expected that you will consider how you approach this conversation, drawing upon suitable forms of questioning and that you will provide evidence of the conversation, typically in a visual format, within the submitted enquiry report. From this conversation you will discern a specific area of focus for your Enquiry
• Review: Critical examination of appropriate literature to support your exploration. You will display your ability to critically assess and appraise the HR and/or management knowledge related to a specific key issue arising from your exploration.
Part B (65%, 6,500 Words)
• Engage: You will display your authentic engagement with the discipline problem/issue you identified in Part A, by collecting/generating and analysing live data regarding your identified problem/issue. This live data may be primary data (e.g. further interviews with, or questionnaire to, managers and/or professionals in practice) or secondary data (e.g. industry data). You will apply appropriate, ethically-considered, research methods and appropriate qualitative or quantitative data analysis.
• Reflect and Connect: You will demonstrate your ability to critically evaluate and reflect on the issues arising from your Management Enquiry. You will use the conclusions you have derived from your findings to develop clear contextualised, prioritised, well-justified, practical and actionable recommendations for change/enhancement/improvement to existing practice. This will include you demonstrating how the recommendations would potentially affect workplace professional decision making. You will demonstrate how you have connected and fed-back your key findings and recommendations to the participants of the Enquiry (usually the manager and/or participants).
A supporting reading list provides you with key references to enable you to undertake a more detailed and in-depth review of your enquiry. You will be expected to keep up-to-date with your project tasks.
How will I learn on this module?
You will learn through active engagement in research-rich learning. The module is predominantly research-based but is also informed by a research-orientated, research-tutored and research-led curriculum. Tutor-led sessions will support you in developing the underpinning knowledge necessary for undertaking an individual student-led investigation into an HRM or Management-related problem or issue of interest to you that is worthy of academic investigation. Tutor-guided and learner-led activities provide you with opportunity to put this knowledge into practice for your own research project. You will develop team and peer-review skills through group activities and your reflection upon them, helping you to develop your research approach further.
The one-to-one or small-group supervisions provide you with the opportunity to seek guidance on the research process in relation to your chosen study. Supervisors are appointed in line with NBS policy, which recognise the requirements of professional bodies (CMI and CIPD) and AACSB accreditation. Your supervisor will not instruct you but will provide you with on-going formative feedback on your progress as you engage with the Management Enquiry process.
Through the process you will concurrently l further develop key transferable, employability and enterprise skills including: problem-solving and analysis, creative-thinking, time and project management, negotiation, communication (written, aural and verbal), persuasion and influence, discovery, initiative.
How will I be supported academically on this module?
The selection of a suitable Management Enquiry topic that is specific to your discipline rests with you through your engagement with practitioners/workplace professionals. However, to achieve this, you will be supported by a number of discipline-specific academic staff including those leading the tutor-led/guided activities as well as by your supervisor.
Your key point of support is your supervisor. The module is led by an academic from the department who has oversight of this supervisory and support processed, alongside responsibility for supporting the e-learning portal, allocation of supervisors and regular communication with students on the module.
In addition, you will be provided with support from your peers in the tutor-guided / learner-led activities.
The module’s e-learning portal acts as a repository for relevant exercises and materials, exemplar Management Enquiry and assessment details (including submission, plagiarism detection and marking criteria). In addition, the eLP houses the online reading list (including direct links to textbooks, journal papers, academic and conference reports) and various support facilities such as recordings of certain lectures.
What will I be expected to read on this module?
All modules at Northumbria include a range of reading materials that students are expected to engage with. The reading list for this module can be found at: http://readinglists.northumbria.ac.uk
(Reading List service online guide for academic staff this containing contact details for the Reading List team – http://library.northumbria.ac.uk/readinglists)
What will I be expected to achieve?
Knowledge & Understanding:
• To critically evaluate and assess contemporary knowledge of theory, research and professional practice relating to a your marketing discipline. [MLO1]
• To critically apply knowledge of Management or HRM to identify complex real-world problems in professional practice. [MLO2]
Intellectual / Professional skills & abilities:
• To undertake an independent self-managed Management Enquiry involving primary research, adopting an evaluative and critical perspective, thereby critically reflecting upon professional practice relating to your discipline. [MLO3]
• To develop and appraise key employability capabilities, including time management, project management, communication (written and verbal), negotiation, persuasion and influence, discovery, initiative, creativity and innovation in problem-solving and analysis as a means of assessing personal development. [MLO4]
Personal Values Attributes (Global / Cultural awareness, Ethics, Curiosity) (PVA):
• To generate and analyse relevant primary or secondary data using an appropriate level of, and critically justified, method while critically evaluating the limitations of the data source/s and the method/s employed. [MLO5]
• To critically evaluate the ethical implications of the research work undertaken. [MLO6]
How will I be assessed?
Formative assessment
Through applied group-based activities within initial tutor-supported sessions. You will be encouraged to discuss initial your initial research ideas through peer review activities and discussions.
You will receive on-going formative feedback from your supervisor based on the research proposal that has formed your summative assessment to ‘Management Research and Analysis’ and throughout the period of your engagement with the Enquiry process.
Summative assessment
Management Enquiry report based about your choice from your discipline.
The module assessment comprises two components, each of which is in the form of a business report, which demonstrates your engagement with the five themes of the module.
Part A: Explore and Review (35%, 3,500 words)
Part B: Engage, Reflect and Connect (65%, 6,500 words)
This will assess the module learning outcomes MLO1-3 and MLO5-6 inclusive.
In addition, you will submit a 1,000 word reflective statement providing an individual assessment of how you have met the UG goals and objectives that underpin your programme and undergraduate study, and in doing so, how you are prepared for graduate employment, enterprise activity or higher-level study. This will assess MLO4.
Pre-requisite(s)
None
Co-requisite(s)
None
Module abstract
The Management Enquiry module is your chance to undertake your own independent investigation into an applied business problem or issue. It builds on
the knowledge you’ve already developed on the HRM or Management programmes, with initial lectures introducing you to the underpinning knowledge
and theories needed to get you started. Associated workshops then support you in putting this knowledge into practice, covering such topics as critically
reviewing the literature, ethical research, and quantitative and qualitative research and analysis techniques.
Once you’ve submitted your enquiry proposal, you’ll work though one-to-one or small-group supervisions with your allocated supervisor. They’ll provide
you with on-going formative feedback on your progress as you engage with the Management Enquiry process. Supervisors will be appointed in line with
NBS policy which recognises the requirements of professional bodies (CMI and CIPD) and AACSB accreditation.
Course info
UCAS Code N205
Credits 40
Level of Study Undergraduate
Mode of Study 3 years full-time or 4 year sandwich
Department Newcastle Business School
Location City Campus, Northumbria University
City Newcastle
Start September 2022 or September 2023
All information on this course page is accurate at the time of viewing.
Our Campus based courses starting in 2022 and 2023 will be delivered on-campus with supporting online learning content. We continue to monitor government and local authority guidance in relation to Covid-19 and we are ready and able to adjust the delivery of our education accordingly to ensure the health and safety of our students and staff.
On-campus contact time is subject to increase or decrease in line with any additional restrictions, which may be imposed by the Government or the University in the interest of maintaining the health and safety and wellbeing of students, staff, and visitors. This could potentially mean increased or fully online delivery, should such restrictions on in-person contact time be required.
Our Campus based courses starting in 2022 and 2023 will be delivered on-campus with supporting online learning content. We continue to monitor government and local authority guidance in relation to Covid-19 and we are ready and able to adjust the delivery of our education accordingly to ensure the health and safety of our students and staff.
On-campus contact time is subject to increase or decrease in line with any additional restrictions, which may be imposed by the Government or the University in the interest of maintaining the health and safety and wellbeing of students, staff, and visitors. This could potentially mean increased or fully online delivery, should such restrictions on in-person contact time be required.
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