Module Study GuideAcademic Year 2021–2022MS40040E, MS40038E – Professional Skills forBusiness and FinanceLevel: 4Credits: 20This module applies to all of the University Partners who may have differentcontact details not included in this guideCopyright © 2021 University of West LondonPermission granted to reproduce solely for the purpose of teaching and learning at the University ofWest London and its approved academic partners.You are provided with study materials for your personal use only. You must not share these with othersor upload them to websites. Any student who is found to have shared materials, particularly forpersonal gain, will be subject to disciplinary action if appropriate.Table of contentsKey team contact details……………………………………………………………………………………………………41 Module overview 5Introduction ………………………………………………………………………………………………………….5Module summary content and aims………………………………………………………………………….5Learning outcomes to be assessed………………………………………………………………………….6Indicative Contact Hours ………………………………………………………………………………………..7Placement/Apprenticeship…………………………………………… Error! Bookmark not defined.2 Assessment and feedback 8Summative assessment grid …………………………………………………………………………………..8Assessment brief including criteria mapped to learning outcomes………………………………..9Learning materials……………………………………………………………………………………………….133 Things you need to know 14Engagement……………………………………………………………………………………………………….14Need help, just ask………………………………………………………………………………………………14Getting support for your studies …………………………………………………………………………….15Student support…………………………………………………………………………………………………..15Module evaluation – have your say!……………………………………………………………………….154 Appendix — Research ethics and integrity Error! Bookmark not defined.Key team contact details Module LeaderJames TamabangSubject Area & School/CollegeUK College of Business and Computing (UKCBC)Email[email protected]Phone020 8518 4994 Ext 7711Location5th Floor Eastgate House Module TutorMohammad AlahmadEmail[email protected]PhoneLocation11th Floor Paragon House Module/Course AdministratorSobhi D’CruzEmail[email protected]PhoneLocation5th Floor Eastgate House Subject LibrarianLucy BirchEmail[email protected]; [email protected]Phone020 8518 4994LocationWentworth House The Course Leader overseeing this module is Dr. Mohinish Khosla, and can be contacted at[email protected]The Head of Subject overseeing this module is Dr Dinusha Weerawardene, and can be contacted at[email protected]The Head of School responsible for this module is Dr Suresh Gamlath, and can be contacted at[email protected]The External Examiner responsible for this module is xxx Do not add their contact detailsThe Apprenticeship Support Link-Tutor responsible for this module is xxx, and can be contacted at[email protected] 1 Module overviewIntroductionWelcome to the Professional Skills for Business and Finance module. This module is the foundation forthe rest of your degree course and will equip you with many skills needed to complete your degree. Itwill introduce you to the world of Business and Finance and will use creative and engaging activitiesthroughout. The material will help you to become more self-reliant, critical, self-aware, self-confident,skilled and capable in the use of information and resources.This module provides, through practice within authentic tasks, an introduction to critical enquiry, teamworking, presentation skills and business ideas. By learning to enquire more critically you will becomemore analytical about truth claims and learn to differentiate between evidence-basedrecommendations, arguments or policies and unsubstantiated opinion. You will learn to use theHarvard referencing system correctly and develop argument through the process of critical enquiry.You will also be introduced to business ideas and learn presentation skills. There is a strong emphasison Professional skills required in the workplace and an expectation that students will learn anddemonstrate these skills during the module. Professionalism is a key business and employability skilland this module will introduce many of the concepts required to be successful.Throughout there is the opportunity through formative assignments which will help you with the formalassessments. Please note that this module will also support the other modules you do during thesemester.As with any other module on a degree programme, the amount of benefit that you will gain from themodule is related to the amount of effort that you put in. This includes regular participation and contactwith your peers, contact sessions, active participation in class discussions, and regular visits to theBlackboard site for this module.Full attendance on this module is expected. Latecomers to the seminars will be admitted up to1 hour after the start of the seminar. Students who need to miss a class must email their tutorprior to the class. Mobile phones are not to be used during seminarsModule summary content and aimsThis Study Guide provides important information about the structure, content, reading and assessmentin this module. Please read it carefully and refer back to it throughout the semester. Lessons will coverthe following topics:• Managing yourself and your Learning• Academic writing• Referencing and Plagiarism• Presentation skills/Interview Skills• Group work skills• Leadership• Professionalism• Personal BrandingExpectationsSpecific expectations students can have of tutors:• Helpfulness• Professionalism• Timely responses to queries and timely marking• Knowledge of the subject area and how to apply knowledge to the business environment• Good timekeeping• Help with assessment preparation• To make learning enjoyable and relevantSpecific expectations tutors will have of students:• Full attendance at classes either face to face or online• If you cannot attend to let the tutor know in good time• Engagement in all course activities (Online and Face to Face)• 161 hours of independent study• Submission of work on time• Professional behaviour in and out of class• Good communication with tutors/Course Leader should difficulties occur• Constructive feedback where possibleLearning outcomes to be assessedBy the end of this module you will be able to:LO1 Organise, structure and present information in a logical and coherent mannerLO2 Identify and select resources appropriate to a given subjectLO3 Cite sources and use Harvard referencing correctlyLO4 Collaborate effectively with others towards the completion of a defined task (teamwork skills)LO5 Develop skills in oral and written communication in the Business EnvironmentL06 Develop an understanding of the importance of Business etiquette, and the importance ofrules and values in an organisationL07 Develop skills to be a Reflective learner and to use feedback to improve performanceIndicative Contact Hours Teaching Contact Hours48 hoursIndependent Study Hours152 hoursTotal Learning Hours200 hours 2 Assessment and feedbackDuring the module you will have specific sessions and parts of sessions to prepare you for theassessments. You will be informed by your tutor of those opportunities and there will be a chanceto submit draft assessments and to practice the presentationsSummative assessment grid Type ofAssessmentWordCount orequivalentThreshold(if ProfessionalBody-PSRBapplies)WeightingPassMarkIndicativeSubmissionweekMethod ofSubmission& Date ofFeedback(refer to BB)WrittenAssignment1000N/A5040%Week 8Submittedon Turnitin,feedbackwithin 15workingdays of duedateOralassignmentN/AN/A5040%14/15/16 WeeksSlidessubmitted onTurnitin,feedbackwithin 15workingdays of duedate If your course is accredited by a Professional Statutory Regulatory Body (PSRB), the modulerequirements will specify the elements of assessment that must be passed and may overridethe University regulations. Please speak to your Course Leader for further advice. Assessment(insert belowtype ofassessment asper the tableabove)Teaching Weeksin whichAssessmentSupport TakesPlace (enter eachweek no. in a newrow)Outline of Typeand Form ofAssessmentSupport to beProvidedStudentPreparationRequired Priorto or After theSupport SessionHow will theSupportSession to beDeliveredWrittenassessment (A1)Weeks 6/7The assessmentis 1000 wordessay asdescribed laterDrafts should becompleted andthe studentshould haveattended thesupport classeson referencingIn class and atthe end ofclass there is achance forstudents tomeetindividually with the tutorto look atdraftsOral AssessmentWeek 14/15/16This assessmentis a Dragons DenPresentationwhere the studentwill pitch aBusiness ideademonstratingskills inPresentation andProfessionalismThere will be asession onPresentationskills at week 6which studentsmust attend andstudents shouldprepare their draftpresentation priorto week 13There will be achance to lookat othersamplepresentationsat week 13and forstudents tomeet with thetutor to look atdraftpresentation Assessment brief including criteria mapped to learningoutcomesThere are two summative assessments:• Essay writing including a literature search with good referencing (50%)• PresentationThe summative assessments will done at week 8, and week 12/13 of the moduleYou must achieve a minimum mark of 40% to pass the module and achieve 20 academic credits atLevel 4.Your module mark is obtained by aggregating the individual marks for the two assessments taking intoaccount the weighting for each element.Assessment 1“What is Academic Plagiarism and why is academic integrity relevant to professionalismin a Business environment ? ” – Weighting: 50%Learning Outcomes Assessed:• LO1 Organise, structure and present information in a logical and coherent manner• LO2 Identify and select resources appropriate to a given subject• LO3 Cite sources and use Harvard referencing correctly• LO5 Develop skills in oral and written communication in the Business Environment• L06 Develop an understanding of the importance of Business etiquette, and the importance ofrules and values in an organisationDate/time/method of submission:Submission via Turnitin at the end of week 8. The exact date will be confirmed on BlackboardWord count or equivalent: 1000 words (plus or minus 10%)Assessment criteria: Assessment criteriaMaximum MarksAwardedCover Page/Introduction10%Knowledge and understanding of the theory (critical thinking)25%Ability to apply the theory to business context25%Adequately and correctly cited and referenced following Harvardconvention (minimum of 5 academic references/citations)25%Conclusion10%Fit to submit Checklist used,completed and attached5%Total100% Marking scheme: 100-80%79-70%69-60%59-50%49-40%39-30%29-0%The workproduced isexceptional inmost/allaspects,substantiallyexceedingexpectationsThe workproduced is ofexcellentquality,exceedingexpectationsfor this level inmany aspects.The work meets allof the intendedlearning outcomesand exceeds thethresholdexpectations forthis level inseveral of themThe work producedmeets all of theintended learningoutcomes andexceeds thethresholdexpectations insome of them.The work producedmeets all of theintended learningoutcomes at, butrarely exceedingthe thresholdexpectations forthis level.The work producedfails to meet all ofthe intendedlearning outcomesand is marginallyinadequate for thislevelThe work producedfails to meet all of theintended learningoutcomes and isinadequate for thislevel. For guidance on online submission of assignments, including how to submit and how to access onlinefeedback, please refer to the UWL Blackboard student-help pages at:http://www.uwl.ac.uk/blackboardhelpAssessment 2PresentationWeighting: 50%Learning Outcomes assessed:LO1 Organise, structure and present information in a logical and coherent mannerLO2 Identify and select resources appropriate to a given subjectLO4 Collaborate effectively with others towards the completion of a defined task (teamwork skills)LO5 Develop skills in oral and written communication in the Business EnvironmentL06 Develop an understanding of the importance of Business etiquette, and the importance of rulesand values in an organisationL07 Develop skills to be a Reflective learner and to use feedback to improve performanceDragons DenStudents will be required to come up with an idea for a product or service that that would like toget an initial investment of up to £100,000 (Seed Capital) Seed capital is the initial capital usedwhen starting a business for covering initial operating expenses and attracting venturecapitalists.Students are encouraged to be creative about the product or service. They can invent acompany name and decide where and how the business is located. It should however be a smallor medium size enterprise, (SME) as it a new business idea. They can decide on the requiredworkforce and what the investment would be used for depending on the product or servicechosenStudents should cover the following in the presentation which should be a maximum of 10 slides.Note that the quality of slides will be assessed1. Introduction to the Pitch (1 Slide)2. Outline of the product or service idea (2 Slides)3. Statistical data to back up the idea (2 Slides)4. Why the idea is investable, (Business plan summary, return on investment) (2 Slides)5. What the investment would be used for (2 Slides)6. Conclusion/Summary (1 Slide)Presentation should last a maximum of 15 minutesAssessment criteria: Assessment criteriaMaximum MarksMarks awardedIntroduction10%Use of Powerpoint20%Use of Data to support argument10%Pitch has validity and is well argued10%Presentation skills25%Professional attitude and demeanour25%Total100% Students are expected to present as if they were presenting to a set of investors andshould present themselves in a manner that would be expected in this environmentDate/time/method of submission:This assessment will be done at weeks 14/15/16 in seminar groups. Students will submitPowerpoint used in the pitch on Turnitin before their presentation slot and by the end of week 14and the grade will be given based on the Presentation itself plus the slidesThe marking scheme for this is assignment will use the following criteria to determine grades:Marking scheme: 100-80%79-70%69-60%59-50%49-40%39-30%29-0%The workproduced isexceptional inmost/all aspects,substantiallyexceedingexpectations forthis level.The workproduced is ofexcellentquality,exceedingexpectationsfor this level inmany aspects.The workproduced meetsall of theintendedlearningoutcomes andexceeds thethresholdexpectations forthis level inseveral of themThe workproduced meetsall of theintendedlearningoutcomes andexceeds thethresholdexpectations forthis level insome of them.The workproduced meetsall of the intendedlearning outcomesat, but rarelyexceeding thethresholdexpectations forthis level.The work producedfails to meet all ofthe intendedlearning outcomesand is marginallyinadequate for thislevelThe work produced fails tomeet all of the intendedlearning outcomes and isinadequate for this level. For guidance on online submission of assignments, including how to submit and how to access onlinefeedback, please refer to the UWL Blackboard student-help pages at: uwl.ac.uk/blackboardhelpLearning materialsThe reading list for this module is available on Blackboard in the module area and online by searchinguwl.rl.talis.com. This shows real-time availability of books in the library and provides direct links toonline resources, recommended by your lecturer.Remember to log into Blackboard daily to receive all the latest news and support available atyour module sites!Subject guides (subject-guides-libguides) are also available to help you find relevant information forassignments, with contact details of the Academic Support Librarian for your School.Essential ReadingWeerawardene, D. & Byrne, P (2021) Academic development and Employability. Hampshire: Pearson.Recommended ReadingCameron, S. (2016) The Business Students Handbook. 6th Ed; Harlow: PearsonCottrell, S. (2013) The Study Skills Handbook. 4th ed. Basingstoke: Palgrave MacmillanDowson, P. (2015) Personal & Professional Development for Business Students 1st Ed; SageGallagher, K. (2012) Skills Development for Business and Management Students. 2nd ed. Oxford:OUPHorn, R. (2009) The Business Skills Handbook 1st edition; CIPDLumley, M., Wilkinson, J. (2013) Developing Employability for Business. Oxford: OUPMcMillan, K. and Weyers, J. (2013) How to Cite, Reference & avoid plagiarism at University, 1stEd; PearsonMcMillan, K. and Weyers, J. (2014) How to write for University: Academic Writing for Success 1stEd: Harlow: PearsonPrince, S. (2019) 7 Skills for the Future. 2nd edition Harlow: PearsonYou are reminded that the University applies penalties to students who commit an academicoffence, in which case the Academic Offences Regulations will be used to deal with any casesof academic misconduct including examination offences, plagiarism, use of ghost writingservices and other means of cheating to obtain an advantage.3 Things you need to knowEngagementTeaching at UWL during the academic year 2021-22 will be conducted using the UWL Flex model andmay involve a range of on site and online teaching and learning activities. Whether you are engagingwith teaching and learning activities on site or via the UWL Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), weexpect the same level of commitment and engagement from you. If you are unable to attend scheduledon site or online activities or complete activities in the time frames set out, you should let your tutorsknow. You should aim to stick to assessment deadlines; if you are concerned that you will not be ableto complete your assessments on time, you should talk to your tutors. Your engagement, whetheronline or on site, will be tracked and if we see that you are not engaging, we will get in contact with you.However, we encourage you to let us know if you are having problems so we can work with you to findsolutions and get you back on track as soon as possible. Give yourself the best possible chance tosucceed by engaging with the full range of learning and teaching activities available to you.All students should refer to the Attendance and Engagement Monitoring Policy particularly if yourcourse is accredited by a professional body, or if you are an International student on a Tier-4 visa, or astudent on an Apprenticeship course which have additional requirements.Need help, just askThe University recognises that there are times when you may encounter difficulties during your courseof study and provisions are made to help you. If you think you will be unable to meet deadlines pleasetalk to us, whether it’s your course/module leader, personal tutor or any member of staff, so they canget you the support you need to succeed. You can extend your deadline if you have a good reasonwhy you are not able to submit a piece of coursework on time, apply online for an extension beforeyour deadline. If an extension is not sufficient and circumstances beyond your control arepreventing you from completing your assessment, then you can, apply online for mitigation.Please remember late submission without extension or mitigation may result in penalties depending onhow late it is, see University Academic Regulations.You are encouraged to seek advice from the Students’ Union Advice Service; UWLSU support you withall aspects of your academic experience by providing advice and guidance to ensure you are fullyinformed of the academic regulations set out by the University as well as being an advocate for studentviews.You are expected to behave in line with UWL expectations, irrespective of whether your interactionswith staff and other students are in person or online. As you will be engaging with others online andwith a range of online materials, it is important to consider how to stay safe online and ensure yourcommunications are secure and appropriate. If you have any questions about how to manage youronline UWL activities, please contact your module leader.If you have an issue about the module, you should speak to your Module Leader or Course Leaderinformally in the first instance. Your Course Representative can also raise your concerns at CourseCommittees, which take place each semester. If you are unable to resolve it informally, you shouldrefer to the Complaints Procedure which is outlined in the student handbook and consult the Students’Union about it. The University aims to ensure that issues are resolved informally as quickly as possibleto have minimum impact on your studies.Getting support for your studiesThroughout your course of study, you will have access to a wide variety of sources of supportdepending on your individual circumstances and needs. Your first point of call for getting generalacademic support is your Personal Tutor. As well as approaching your Module Leader with anyquestions specifically related to your module and your Course Leader with questions on your Course,do contact your Personal Tutor or Apprenticeship Support Link Tutor for academic advice in relation toyour studies and your academic development.Apart from the University-wide support framework, which encompasses the Module Leaders, CourseLeader, the Subject Librarian, and your Course Administrator, you will also have at your disposal theUWL Engagement Team. The Engagement Team offers One-to-One Academic Support opportunitieshelping you to develop skills relevant to your degree. Academic Skills Workshops throughout the yearinclude the following:• Essay Planning and Writing• Critical Thinking• Reflective Writing• Group Work and Presentation Skills.Maths Support and English Language Support opportunities are available too. For more information orto register for weekly updates email [email protected] or you can visit the website to findout more about the support offered by the Engagement Team, such as Peer Mentoring or onlineacademic skills resources at: uwl.ac.uk/current-students/support-current-students/academic-supportStudent supportIn addition to the support listed in the previous section, there is also more help offered by UWL StudentSupport Services. The Student Hub is located in The Street at St Mary’s Road, Ealing campus, butoffer drop-in sessions at all UWL sites. They offer a wide range of support and advice servicesconsisting of Student Advice, and Funding & Immigration advice; Careers; Counselling;Disability/Mental Health; Inter-faith Advisor; Placement & Employment; Volunteering; Student Welfare;and Scholarships and Bursaries. You can book your 1-2-1 appointment at https://studenthub.uwl.ac.uk/Contact Student Services (general) for more information at [email protected] or call020 8231 2345.Module evaluation – have your say!Towards the end of the module you will be invited to provide some anonymous feedback to the ModuleLeader through an online survey. This is your opportunity to give some direct feedback about themodule through a series of questions and free text. Your constructive feedback will help the ModuleLeader and teaching team to understand the module experience from your perspective and helpsinform the development of the module. At the end of the survey period, a response to the survey will beavailable so that you can see exactly how your voice has been heard.
