BUSINESS REPORTING TECHNIQUES - 2020/1

Module Overview

The Business Reporting Techniques module aims to help students to develop an understanding of the process involved in successfully completing an international business project, in preparation for the project module. It enables students to understand a research problem and source, process and conduct appropriate information while preparing a report on the problem. It facilitates independent learning process and provides them with the knowledge, skills and understanding required to articulate findings in a structured reporting format. By covering the fundamentals of reporting techniques and their applications, this module will enable students to work independently for the project module.

Module provider

Surrey Business School

Module Leader

ALHASSAN Razak (SBS)

Number of Credits: 15

ECTS Credits: 7.5

Framework: FHEQ Level 7

Module cap (Maximum number of students): N/A

Module Availability

Semester 2

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

None

Module content

Indicative content includes:

• Insights on how to structure a report


• Techniques of using models/frameworks to formulate and develop arguments


• Collection of secondary data


• Techniques of using and analysing secondary data


• Using these techniques in writing report on a chosen topic

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

N/A

Assessment Strategy

The assessment strategy is designed to provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate

•           Knowledge and Understanding.  Demonstrating a robust and wide-ranging knowledge and understanding of the various tools and frameworks used in constructing arguments and writing business reports

•           Professional, practical and transferable skills.  Demonstrating a practical ability to work in a group; communication and presentation skills, research skills.  Demonstrating revenue generation skills in accessing information from sources relevant to the context

•           Intellectual and cognitive skills.  Demonstrating critical thinking and an ability to evaluate and select from alternative logical perspectives.  The ability to apply and justify selected logical perspective(s) to address an identified business issue.

Thus, the summative assessment for this module consists of a business report

The feedback process will incorporate not just the grades but further reading and advice to facilitate learning. 
 

Module aims

• Introduce the fundamentals of business reporting.
• Enable students to effectively define the topic/ problem on which the report is to be prepared
• Highlight the key reporting tools and approaches used widely in the international business context
• Provide students with an understanding of using relevant and problem-specific, appropriate data from the secondary data sources to develop logical solutions
• Explain the importance of toning the delivery of the report based on the targeted users of the report.

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

The teaching and learning strategy for this module is designed to encourage students to think critically about the different stages of writing the report and to engage in sharing insights on the possible implications for the recommendations presented with appropriate justification.

The learning and teaching strategy is designed to:  Involve the students in a full action learning mixing lectures with workshops and detailed case analysis.

The learning and teaching methods including several elements to achieve the module learning outcomes: 

1. Lectures delivered by the module tutors designed to develop
   
   
   
   1. understanding of appropriate tools and frameworks used in writing business reports
   
   
   2. use the planning and writing strategies effectively
   
   
   3. develop appropriate skills to use referencing techniques appropriately
   
   
   
   

 

       2. Workshop activities and peer group exercises

       3. Self-initiated learning through reading Surrey learn and partner websites

Workshop activities and peer group exercises

1. Student-led class discussions of case studies and research scenarios to put theory into application and transform the acquired knowledge into practice.  


2. Students are encouraged to ask about their individual course work during the seminars/workshops.

 A. Students are expected to support the work undertaken during each lecture by undertaking a number of independent learning activities: 

1. Preparatory reading with questions to guide their note taking. 


2. Follow up exercises to consolidate their learning, where appropriate applying this to new situations.  


3. Guided further reading to enable them to extend their knowledge and understanding.

B. The University&rsquos virtual learning environment (SurreyLearn) will be used to support student learning by providing them with additional resources and links to useful websites. SurreyLearn will also be used for further discussion of the module topics between the students and the lecturers as well as the students and their colleagues. Additionally, PowerPoint presentations and case studies used by the lecturers will be placed on SurreyLearn before the lecture so that students may print off copies in time for the lecture.

Indicated Lecture Hours (which may also include seminars, tutorials, workshops and other contact time) are approximate and may include in-class tests where one or more of these are an assessment on the module. In-class tests are scheduled/organised separately to taught content and will be published on to student personal timetables, where they apply to taken modules, as soon as they are finalised by central administration. This will usually be after the initial publication of the teaching timetable for the relevant semester.

Reading list

https://readinglists.surrey.ac.uk
Upon accessing the reading list, please search for the module using the module code: MANM373

Programmes this module appears in

Please note that the information detailed within this record is accurate at the time of publishing and may be subject to change. This record contains information for the most up to date version of the programme / module for the 2020/1 academic year.