You will learn through workshops, tutor guidance and feedback and independent directed and self-directed learning. Importantly, you will also learn at work, through reflecting on your experiences and applying your knowledge from the module to your practice in the workplace. The workshops will introduce you to theories and concepts and allow you to discuss with the tutors and your peers how these relate to your own work based experiences and practice. The workplace provides an opportunity for you to put your own knowledge and skills into practice and review your learning with your manager/mentor and your guidance tutor.

Your learning is supported by a Teaching and Learning Plan, offering guidance on reading to prepare for workshops and help with the completion of the assessment. Within this plan there are also suggested learning activities, which guide you in your independent learning. These activities allow you to reflect and evaluate your knowledge and skills and in this area.

You will also be given work-based assignments and projects which will support your learning by providing an experientially based opportunity to apply your learning and evaluate your own practice in this area.

The Teaching and Learning plan will provide a number of prompts and guidance to support you academically. Support will also include opportunities to gain feedback from workshop tutors, guidance tutors and peers.

Your module is also supported by an e-learning portal, which houses all the module learning materials, workshop resources, interactive activities, assessment details and various other support facilities which are provided by the University.

In addition, in order to assist you in developing knowledge, you will have access to the University’s library facilities, including extensive electronic resources, eBooks and electronic academic journal articles.

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)

Knowledge & Understanding:

You will demonstrate your understanding of the internal resources and capabilities and external competitive/collaborative environment as a basis for how modern organisations can enhance their performance . (MLO1)

You will demonstrate a critical appreciation of the uncertainty, ambiguity and limits to knowledge related to responsible strategy (ML02)




Intellectual / Professional skills & abilities:
You will engage with a range of methods, tools and practices in order to apply knowledge to complex problems and identify appropriate and sustainable strategic solutions. (ML03)

Personal Values Attributes (Global / Cultural awareness, Ethics, Curiosity) (PVA):

Develop an understanding of ethical and cultural issues impacting on approaches to strategy for individuals and organisations in a diverse society (ML04)

Formative assessment
Formative assessment of knowledge and understanding, intellectual/professional skills and attributes and professional value attributes will be carried out on a continuous basis within the workshops. This will take place through presentations and by individual and group work, assignment discussion and reflection together with theory/practice related discussions.

Summative assessment
The final assessment will be a single piece of work divided into two components, both submitted together at the end of the module:
1. A 3,000-word individual business report. You will review, in the light of your new knowledge and understanding of theory, an analysis of the strategic position of your own (or a chosen) business organisation. (constitutes 80% of your overall mark)
2. A personal strategy learning log. (constitutes 20% of your overall mark)

You will include the following:
i) Demonstrate your understanding of a range of contrasting theory and research about approaches to strategy management practice and solutions,
ii) Analyse how your own organisation engages with strategy management techniques and methods
iii) Analyse the ethical and cultural issues impacting on the organisations strategy
iv) Evaluate the use and effectiveness of the organisations strategy.
v) Outline a range of appropriate recommendations for improving your organisations strategic positioning. This assessment will assess MLO1- ML05.

None

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This module aims to develop your knowledge of business strategy as well as your skills and confidence to enable you to engage with, and contribute to, the implementation of an organisation's strategic decisions. In addition, it aims to develop your methodological and synthesis skills in order to conduct an assessment of the business environment and an evaluation of strategic choices in accordance with corporate social responsibility and sustainability agenda expectations.

It is also designed to develop your capacity and confidence as an independent learner through your engagement with the module learning activities and sources of support and materials you will have access to from the module team and wider sources available from the university.

The module will enable you to extend your knowledge of management practice, particularly in the area of strategic thinking, and to employ your intellectual and practical skills in an organisational context.

In doing so your learning will focus on themes addressing the following broad issues:
• The impact on organisations of the external environment: macro-environment, industry, markets.
• The strategic choices available to organisations to improve strategic position and promote commercial success.
• The alignment of strategic directions with the corporate social responsibility and ethics framework

This module is intended to develop your awareness and critical evaluation of strategic management by assessing the impact of the business environment on organisations. The nature of practising strategy will be evaluated by reviewing the tools and activities involved when formulating strategies. The concept of corporate social responsibility and sustainability will be central when discussing the above topics by assessing the role of stakeholders in organisations.