Course Title: Business Frameworks

Part A: Course Overview

Course Title: Business Frameworks

Credit Points: 12.00

Terms

Course Code	Campus	Career	School	Learning Mode	Teaching Period(s)
ACCT2035	Bundoora Campus	Undergraduate	630H Management	Internet	Sem 1 2006, Sem 2 2006, Sem 1 2007, Sem 1 2008
ACCT2087	East Gippsland TAFE Bairnsdale	Undergraduate	630H Management	Face-to-Face	Sem 1 2006, Sem 2 2008, Sem 2 2009
ACCT2104	RMIT University Vietnam	Undergraduate	630H Management	Face-to-Face	Viet2 2007, Viet3 2007, Viet1 2008, Viet2 2008, Viet3 2008, Viet1 2009, Viet2 2009, Viet3 2009

Course Coordinator: Associate Professor Carlene Boucher

Course Coordinator Phone: +61 3 9925 5914

Course Coordinator Email: carlene.boucher@rmit.edu.au

Course Coordinator Location: City Campus

Course Coordinator Availability: please email

Pre-requisite Courses and Assumed Knowledge and Capabilities

There are no pre-requisites required although students will be asked to draw upon previous learning and working experiences as part of their own understanding of the theories provided in this course.

Course Description

Business Frameworks aims to introduce you to a range of theories to assist your understanding of how organisations and individuals operate as systems.  The theories provide a framework for you to observe a workplace setting and build a case study using data you will collect from your chosen company.  The course develops capabilities that prepare you for future learning, particularly reflective abilities, communicative capabilities and an ability to access and evaluate data from a variety of sources.  You will also have an opportunity to use these capabilities and other learning theories to develop an understanding of yourself as a system. This course is designed to enable you to apply your academic learning to a contemporary workplace situation. The integration of work-based learning and academic learning, commonly referred to as Work Integrated Learning (WIL), will allow you to solve authentic business problems or address real issues faced in organisations

Objectives/Learning Outcomes/Capability Development

Business professionals need to have an understanding of the many different perspectives that influence and create the workings of an organization.  It is expected that you will acquire a greater capacity to recognise, describe and reflect on these perspectives within an organisation and with your colleagues compare and contrast a range of different organisations and industries.  You are also encouraged to draw on perspectives and knowledge from your previous studies. The aim is also that you understand your own influences, beliefs, values and strengths as a learner and with your colleagues think conceptually about yourself as a professional in a system.

In addition there are general capabilities that will be developed such as the application of summarising and communicating ideas, presenting arguments, recognising the importance of diversity within groups/organisations and reflecting on your own skills as a learner.  You will be asked to use data and information to support your position and justify your thinking.

At the conclusion of this course you should have developed capabilitiies in order to:

• Recognise, describe and reflect upon your knowledge, beliefs, values and role within the organization (with a focus on the       organisation  that you work in) as a learner and a professional.
• Recognise, describe and reflect upon the scope of roles within the organisation and how various roles carry out company objectives.
• Understand through colleagues the different types of organisations and analyse the perspectives that operate within them.
• Evaluate and describe the organisation from a “systems perspective”. ..
• Apply skills in summarising, communicating ideas and presenting arguments.
• Work independently and also when required contribute to the team environment through the guided online discussion.
• Apply skills in information literacy in tasks relevant to the case study and the development of the learning portfolio.

Overview of Learning Activities

Your coordinator will provide a range of materials as well as self and peer assessment activities.  In some locations such as Melbourne the course is fully online and other locations the course combines face to face and online modes.  The online course includes weekly online guided discussion questions that assist your progress in the course.  These questions guide your reflection as well as allow you an opportunity to compare/contrast experiences with your colleagues.  A virtual company is also used to illustrate many of the materials in a practical setting and each student has an opportunity to apply the theories with a case study and a learning portfolio. You and your class will be provided with the opportunity to receive industry feedback on your learning activities or assessment tasks.

Overview of Learning Resources

The resources for the course include online materials, key journal articles/ readings and a number of recommended texts. There is no prescribed text for this course.
The DLS will provide guided discussion questions to highlight issues in the reading and relate these to students’ experiences.

Overview of Assessment

Assessment in this course is concerned with your ability to integrate work and learning. This will occur through the completion of a case study on an organisation as well as a learning portfolio. This may be done individually in an organisation in which you work or in a group after a suitable organisation is identified.

You will be required to build a case study based on an organisation in which you have some knowledge or connection.  This will involve interviews with company personnel as well as a collection of written material to support your observations.

Your learning portfolio will include a range of self assessment exercises that will assist your understanding of yourself as a professional in an organisation.

Ongoing guided discussion questions will assist you with progress and will ensure you have opportunities for regular feedback from both fellow students and staff.