Businesses operate within a complex external environment that impacts organisational operations and decision-making.

This module aims to develop an understanding of some of the major external factors that impact organisations; including the political, economic, market, socio-cultural, ecological, demographic, and technological environments.

The module examines these influences at various scales: the local, national, and international, and analyses how organisations respond to such external environments, and the challenges and opportunities such environmental contexts present.

On successful completion of this module a student will be able to:

LO1
Demonstrate an appreciation of the external environment that impacts and shapes how organisations operate.

LO2
Analyse the opportunities and challenges of the external environment for specific businesses, industries, or commercial sectors.

LO3
Collaborate with others to produce a visually effective presentation that communicates an aspect of the external environment that impacts an aspect of the external environment which impacts specific businesses, industries, or commercial sectors.

This module introduces students to the concept of “business” as a societal construct, and places them within the wider environmental context in which they operate. Some of the key topics covered in this module are: the political, economic, market, socio-cultural, ecological, demographic, and technological environments.

This module will examine these influences at various scales, from the local, national, and international levels, and analyse how organisations respond to the challenges and opportunities of such external environments.

Seminar:
The seminars are where students will begin to apply some of the concepts and ideas raised within the lectures to specific case studies and examines which are drawn both from the core text and contemporary examples drawn from the media.

The seminars are also where students will be introduced to Microsoft PowerPoint and some of its functionality and key features. Students will also be tutored in the foundations of working as a team to deliver a common objective within a relatively short timescale. Students will then lead the seminars through presentations and discussions on the topic. These presentations are assessed as part of this module’s learning outcomes.

Lecture:

The lectures are where students are introduced to some of the key concepts and ideas underpinning this module. The lecture material will be developed to be accessible and engaging for students. This includes the use of guest lectures (from within the faculty and external speakers) which allows students to hear a variety of voices and experiences. The lectures will further foster engagement with the use of quick-click quizzes, and think-pair-share exercises. It will be inclusive by using a range of examples and cases/case studies drawn from different national and socio-cultural contexts. It will be accessible, with lecture material using descriptions of all graphs and pictures, and will be recorded.

Group Study:

To meet learning outcome #3, students will have the opportunity to work together as a team to produce a visually effective, clear presentation on one of the topics of their choosing.

This presentation can be used by students to demonstrate skills in effective teamwork to deliver a common goal to future employers. It can also be used as evidence to illustrate competencies in an important ICT tool – Microsoft PowerPoint.

Self-directed learning:

At first-year (level 4) we would not expect students to engage in too much self-directed learning. However, we will provide students with additional reading for the topic each week, including both academic material and short articles drawn from quality media sources.

We also encourage students to take up the university-funded subscription to the Financial Times so that students may keep updated on relevant stories related to this module’s aims.

Group Presentation - 20%
LO - 3
Collaborate with others to produce a visually effective presentation that communicates, with clarity, to non-specialist audiences an aspect of the external environment that impacts specific businesses, industries, or commercial sectors.

Pass mark - 40%

10 mins

Collaborate with others to produce a visually effective presentation that communicates, with clarity an aspect of the external environment that impacts business. Delivered during seminars within the semester.

Essay - 80%
LO - 1 & 2

Demonstrate an appreciation of the external environment that impacts and shapes how organisations operate.
Analyse the opportunities and challenges of the external environment for organisations.

Pass mark - 40%

1,500 words

Drawing on the Group Presentation, students will expand and develop this work into an essay which demonstrates an appreciation of the external environment that impacts how organisations operate and analyses the opportunities and challenges of the external environment for organisations.


Nature of FORMATIVE assessment/task supporting student learning:
The assessments are well-scaffolded and directly build on each other.

By cross-referencing Academic and Professional Practice, and through additional resources and guides curated on the Moodle page and seminars, students will engage with the principles of good communication through public speaking and PowerPoint design. Students will have the opportunity to submit their slides to the tutor for comment and feedback before the presentation. After the presentation, the tutor will provide constructive forward-focused feedback on how to then turn the presentation into a well-written essay. Through this design, we are providing students with a clear pipeline of work which is very well-scaffolded and supported with feedback to enact for the next assessment.