BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT - 2023/4

Module Overview

Businesses do not exist in isolation. They must operate within a complex and sometimes turbulent environment. The key forces facing businesses are economic, political, technological, demographic, social-cultural, ethical as well as ecological environments. This module examines the influences of various external environments at local, national and international levels on business organisations.

Module provider

Surrey Hospitality & Tourism Management

Module Leader

CHEN Jason (Hosp & Tour)

Number of Credits: 15

ECTS Credits: 7.5

Framework: FHEQ Level 4

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

Module Availability

Semester 1

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

None.

Module content

Indicative content includes, but is not restricted to:

• Introduction to business environment 


• Political environment 


• Public sector environment


• Economic environment


• Ethical environment


• Social demographic environment 


• Cross-cultural environment


• Technological environment 


• Ecological Environment


• International business environment


• Analysing and monitoring the changing environment  

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

N/A

Assessment Strategy

The assessment strategy is designed to provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate a comprehensive and accurate understanding of various environmental factors facing businesses and their impacts on business organisations. Thus, the summative assessment for this module consists of:

• A closed-book class-test.


• A closed-book final exam to be held during the examination period.

Module aims

• This module aims to demonstrate the relationships between businesses and a number of related external environments, with particular attention being paid to the economic, political, technological, social-cultural, ethical and ecological environments. For example, consideration is given to how governmental organisations at local, national and international levels influence business organisation and management.

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

The learning and teaching strategy is designed to encourage students to respond to formal presentations but also take responsibility for their own learning by combining lecture presentations with self-directed learning based around the core text and supporting material on SurreyLearn.

The learning and teaching methods include:

Lectures, seminars, directed reading and case studies followed by discussions on SurreyLearn. Electronic voting is used in most lectures.

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: MAN1062

Other information

This module adopts the university curriculum framework which aims to develop learners with strong capabilities in Employability, Digital Capabilities, Global and Cultural Capabilities, Sustainability and Resourcefulness and Resilience. This module contributes to the development of the following capabilities: 
Digital Capabilities: The Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) is an essential part of this module. Students will use the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) including SurreyLearn, video conferencing platforms such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams to facilitate learning and teaching. These include accessing teaching and learning materials, conducting assessments and engaging with their instructors and peers.
Employability: This module provides a range of opportunities to develop students’ knowledge, skills and capabilities in employability. This module examines the impacts of various external environments at local, national and international levels on business organisations and management. It will enable students to develop a solid knowledge base and critical understanding of business environments. Through the analyses of the impacts of the economic, political, technological, social-cultural, ethical and ecological environments on the conduct of business organisations, students will have the opportunity to develop the professional and analytical skills in employability.
Global and Cultural Capabilities: The module introduces the business environment from a global perspective. Examples and case studies from different countries will be used in lectures and seminars to allow students to develop a global view. In particular, topics such as Political Environment, Social Demographic Environment, and Cross-Cultural Environment provide comparisons and contrasts across different societies and cultures.
Sustainability: This module motivates students to critically evaluate the impacts of various external environments through case studies and class discussion. Particularly, topics such as Ecological Environment and Ethical Environment allow students to develop a comprehensive understanding of the sustainability issue.
Resourcefulness and Resilience: The assessment strategy comprises two stages: formative assessments and summative assessments. Through this strategy, this module empowers students to build self-evaluation into assessment process and create space for students to reflect on own performance whilst reviewing feedback. Two evenly-spaced summative assessments encourage students to be resourceful to quickly develop the skills required. The critical nature of the in-class discussion will help foster openness by encouraging students to understand and discuss contrasting perspectives.

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 2023/4 academic year.