Skills for Business and Management

Martin Sedgley

• Publisher: Red Globe Press
• Year: 2020
• Print ISBN: 9781137603357
• eBook ISBN: 9781137603364
• Topic: Study Aids
• Subtopic: Study Guides

This book provides practical guidance and strategies to help students make a successful transition to university and unlock their academic potential. Chapters are organised around five essential skills for success: time management, academic reading, academic writing and group-work, all of which are underpinned by independent learning. Students will learn how to demonstrate critical analysis in their writing, overcome challenges in group projects and deliver presentations with confidence and focus. In bringing together academic and employability skills, readers are encouraged to make connections between the skills they have developed inside and outside the classroom and to start the process of personal development planning sooner rather than later.
Packed with activities, 'pause for thought' reflective tasks, student insights and model assignments, Skills for Business and Management is an essential resource for undergraduates and postgraduates on any Business and Management course. It is also ideal for those studying relating fields, such as Accounting, Finance, Human Resource Management, Hospitality, Marketing and Tourism Management.

CHAPTER

1

The Distinctive Learning Journey on a Business and Management Degree

At the heart of your business and management degree, there are five essential skills for success. This first chapter presents an overview of the book showing how the chapters are structured around these five skills:

Box 1.1 Five essential skills for success in business and management studies

Time management	Academic reading	Academic writing	Group working
INDEPENDENT LEARNING

Independent learning underpins all university programmes, presenting any student with the challenge of spending a significant proportion of time studying away from class, and with limited direction from tutors. While this more self-reliant form of study has been sweepingly adopted by UK universities, it is likely to confront you with a different educational landscape to the one you have been used to before. Business and management studies programmes, in particular, are deliberately designed in this way to foster students’ resourcefulness - a crucial requirement for your future success in the dynamic workplaces of the modern corporate world.

An employability skill that is closely related to independent learning and correspondingly vital to meeting the demands of the business world is time management. With so much time left to your own devices on management degrees, you must develop a rigorous self-discipline and learn techniques to organise your studies efficiently. Again, this will be invaluable once you enter the fast-paced working environment.

Similarly, effective team-working is a crucial skill for those entering the corporate world. There are likely to be several assessed group projects on each year of your business degree, and successful students also take every opportunity to work together outside class in less formal study groups. Whilst these can be challenging experiences at times, learning to work effectively with others on business projects is vital training for your future employability.

The other two skills indicated in Box 1.1 as essential to business and management programme study are academic reading and writing. Not surprisingly, these are the major factors in determining your academic performance at university and are paramount to academic success. Business and management degree assessments have specific reading and writing requirements, particularly in terms of research, referencing and critical analysis. These skills are covered in depth over several chapters of this textbook so that you come to understand and directly meet your management tutors’ academic expectations.

Before we move on to a more detailed explanation of each chapter’s coverage of the essential skills for success, try this quiz to find out how much you already know about what university study involves:

ACTIVITY 1.1

How will this programme differ from your previous education?

1 How much time will you spend in class on a typical business degree compared with your previous education?

A. Half as much

B. Twice as much

C. The same

D. A third as much

2 What is the appropriate ratio of independent learning to classroom study?

A. 1:2

B. 3:1

C. 2:1

D. 1:3

3 What is likely to be the biggest demand on your time for successful study on business and management programmes?

A. Group work with others	B. Academic writing
C. Socialising	D. Academic reading

4 Which type of external support will best help you adapt to university study?

A. Personal tutor	B. Peer support
C. Subject teacher	D. Learning support, e.g. library, academic skills, language unit

5 Which personal attribute will best enable academic achievement?

A. Self-management	B. Motivation to study
C. Reflecting on your learning	D. Self-confidence

6 What is the most common cause of low grades in management students’ coursework?

A. Poor referencing	B. English language
C. Not answering the question	D. Confused structure

7 What is the most important skill for high marks in coursework?

A. Referencing	B. Critical analysis
C. English fluency	D. Essay structure

8 What do we mean by critical analysis in management studies?

A. Applying academic theory to business practice

B. Describing an academic theory or a ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half-Titlepage
• Seriespage
• Titlepage
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Acknowledgements
• Chapter 1 The Distinctive Learning Journey on a Business and Management Degree
• PART I Self-management
• PART II Academic Research
• PART III Academic Writing
• PART IV Communication
• PART V Personal Development Planning