TFCBUS 92F : Foundation Business

Business and Economics

2022 Summer School (1220) (15 POINTS)

Course Prescription

Develops an understanding of the role of business in a rapidly changing national and international context. Focuses on factors impacting success and value creation including effective management and leadership, understanding customers, innovation and product development, financial and accounting practices, and strategic planning and decision-making.

Course Overview

By understanding your place in the world, you can then grow your ability and capability to add value in those places. This paper lays the foundation to success by developing business literacy, business milieu, and growing the key skills, knowledge, and attitudes
that employers seek.

A key goal of TFCBUS is to support you to develop the academic and professional skills needed to succeed in your University studies and in your future business careers. The particular capabilities that we focus upon include developing skills in written and oral
business communication, teamwork, and critical thinking.

Another key goal of TFCBUS is to grow your business literacy. Language is the enabler of action. If you can successfully communicate your ideas by understanding and applying business concepts then you are able to translate these ideas into action. To do this we
develop an expanding foundation of business knowledge that brings greater understanding of yourself and the roles you can build in your team, your organisations, your industries, the nation, and the world. 

Course Requirements

No pre-requisites or restrictions

Capabilities Developed in this Course

Capability 1: Disciplinary Knowledge and Practice
Capability 2: Critical Thinking
Capability 3: Solution Seeking
Capability 4: Communication and Engagement
Capability 5: Independence and Integrity
Capability 6: Social and Environmental Responsibilities

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, students will be able to:
  1. Adopt and demonstrate the attitudes that employers are seeking in business professionals (Capability 1)
  2. Build Business Literacy so identifying, understanding, applying, and communicating key organisational and business ideas are easier to action. (Capability 2 and 3)
  3. Demonstrate skills in academic and information literacy (in particular with respect to academic writing), and in time and self-management. (Capability 2, 4 and 5)
  4. Demonstrate skills in working effectively as a team member. (Capability 4)
  5. Identify, discuss and problem solve organisational issues empathetic to the social cultural factors that form New Zealand’s unique world view. (Capability 1 and 6)

Assessments

Assessment Type Percentage Classification
Quizzes (5 x 2%) 10% Individual Coursework
Academic writing Test 20% Individual Coursework
Team Performance (best 8 fron 1o mini essays 16%) + 4% team poster/presentation 20% Group Coursework
Final Examination 50% Individual Coursework
Assessment Type Learning Outcome Addressed
1 2 3 4 5
Quizzes (5 x 2%)
Academic writing Test
Team Performance (best 8 fron 1o mini essays 16%) + 4% team poster/presentation
Final Examination

Workload Expectations

The TFCBUS 92F approach to learning is purposefully modelled to complement the design of courses found in Stage one of University of Auckland business degree that use the principles of flipped classroom and team learning. This approach emphasises both individual and team capabilities.

Just like students find in first year business papers, this course also has an online component, called Workshop Preparation that guides students to complete tasks in preparation for their weekly workshop. Using a similar model ensures that you can be introduced to and build capability and confidence in the commonly used academic systems and programmes used in the Business School. This provides confidence and skill in navigating these importance learning technologies and practices setting you up to succeed.

Each week you will attend a Lecture, a Weekly Workshop, and a tutorial. Weekly workshops require team work to develop solutions to relevant problems. They build applied knowledge and experience. Just like the modern workplace brings different groups of people together with a mix of perspectives and skills to work on a project before disbanding, so you will your team formation follow suit. Each week you will be allowed to choose the team of people you will work with that week to answer your team assessment task. This might or might not be the same group of people from week to week. Each team normally comprises of five to six students. When our learning is on campus, there is no requirement for you to meet or work as a team outside of the scheduled weekly workshop times apart from in the later stages of the course when you team prepares for a team presentation. If learning is online (because of University response to lockdown levels in society), then often students appreciate greater flexibility of choosing when to meet to work on their assessments in addition to the time provided in class time.

You will be required to finalise the members of your team poster/presentation and lock that in a couple of weeks before this part of the course.

This course is a standard 15 point course and students are expected to spend 10 hours per week involved in each 15 point course that they are enrolled in.

For this course, you can expect 1 hour of lectures, 2 hours of workshops, a 1 hour tutorial, 3 hours of reading and thinking about the content, and 3 hours of work on assignments and/or test preparation.

Delivery Mode

Campus Experience

Attendance is required at scheduled activities including lectures, workshops, and tutorials to complete components of the course.

Lectures are taught live (either in person or via zoom) with a recording made available on canvas as soon as practical afterwards. Other learning activities including workshops and tutorials will not be recorded.

The course may include live online events for teaching and learning components of the course. Depending on University policy at the time, this can include: Lectures, workshops, tutorials, seminars, group discussions.

Attendance on campus for the final exam is dependent on University Policy and requirements. This depends on lockdown levels and providing students certainity in their course experience.

The activities for the course are scheduled as a standard weekly timetable.

Learning Resources

Course materials are made available in a learning and collaboration tool called Canvas which also includes reading lists and lecture recordings (where available).

Please remember that the recording of any class on a personal device requires the permission of the instructor.

Using the University’s learning management system, Canvas, you can log into the course site for TFCBUS 92F. There, you will be able to access all official course information and course policies, follow your week-by-week Workshop Preparation tasks, and link to the
Piazza online platform that we use for course communication.

Please remember that the recording of any class on a personal device requires the permission of the instructor.
The Workshop Preparation learning resources that are accessible online each week through Canvas will include set and recommended readings, lecture, workshop, and tutorial slides, video clips including lecture recordings, assessment instructions, and an online weekly quiz that counts towards your final grade.

There is no assigned textbook for this course. Rather, the course talis reading list within Canvas provides links to a range of readings that collectively aim to cover all of the topics in this course. While not having a set text can take a while to get used to, it also ensures you
are not paying for a text where its content is not completely covered in this course. Instead, learning resources have been specifically selected to grow the knowledge and perspectives that will help you flourish in this course. Some of your readings in these
courses will be selections that have been digitised from a range of current textbooks in business, management, economics, and marketing. Other readings will include case studies, as well as articles that have been selected to develop our first year students’ appreciation for the difference between academic journals and the popular business press. 

Student Feedback

At the end of every semester students will be invited to give feedback on the course and teaching through a tool called SET or Qualtrics. The lecturers and course co-ordinators will consider all feedback and respond with summaries and actions.

Your feedback helps teachers to improve the course and its delivery for future students.

Class Representatives in each class can take feedback to the department and faculty staff-student consultative committees.

Other Information

Students feedback from previous semesters have asked that they have the flexibility in team make up so they can switch teams between group assessments. While other students from the last semester have stated they would like to stay in the same group each assessment. The course has built flexibility into the group work so it can cater for both student preferences. It is your responsibility to join a team and commit to producing good outputs to be submitted for grading. Teams who typically perform best are those that have a committed and consistent core membership that can quickly adjust to welcoming and working with new members. 

Academic Integrity

The University of Auckland will not tolerate cheating, or assisting others to cheat, and views cheating in coursework as a serious academic offence. The work that a student submits for grading must be the student's own work, reflecting their learning. Where work from other sources is used, it must be properly acknowledged and referenced. This requirement also applies to sources on the internet. A student's assessed work may be reviewed against online source material using computerised detection mechanisms.

Class Representatives

Class representatives are students tasked with representing student issues to departments, faculties, and the wider university. If you have a complaint about this course, please contact your class rep who will know how to raise it in the right channels. See your departmental noticeboard for contact details for your class reps.

Inclusive Learning

All students are asked to discuss any impairment related requirements privately, face to face and/or in written form with the course coordinator, lecturer or tutor.

Student Disability Services also provides support for students with a wide range of impairments, both visible and invisible, to succeed and excel at the University. For more information and contact details, please visit the Student Disability Services’ website http://disability.auckland.ac.nz

Special Circumstances

If your ability to complete assessed coursework is affected by illness or other personal circumstances outside of your control, contact a member of teaching staff as soon as possible before the assessment is due.

If your personal circumstances significantly affect your performance, or preparation, for an exam or eligible written test, refer to the University’s aegrotat or compassionate consideration page https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/academic-information/exams-and-final-results/during-exams/aegrotat-and-compassionate-consideration.html.

This should be done as soon as possible and no later than seven days after the affected test or exam date.

Learning Continuity

In the event of an unexpected disruption, we undertake to maintain the continuity and standard of teaching and learning in all your courses throughout the year. If there are unexpected disruptions the University has contingency plans to ensure that access to your course continues and course assessment continues to meet the principles of the University’s assessment policy. Some adjustments may need to be made in emergencies. You will be kept fully informed by your course co-ordinator/director, and if disruption occurs you should refer to the university website for information about how to proceed.

Student Charter and Responsibilities

The Student Charter assumes and acknowledges that students are active participants in the learning process and that they have responsibilities to the institution and the international community of scholars. The University expects that students will act at all times in a way that demonstrates respect for the rights of other students and staff so that the learning environment is both safe and productive. For further information visit Student Charter https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/forms-policies-and-guidelines/student-policies-and-guidelines/student-charter.html.

Disclaimer

Elements of this outline may be subject to change. The latest information about the course will be available for enrolled students in Canvas.

In this course students may be asked to submit coursework assessments digitally. The University reserves the right to conduct scheduled tests and examinations for this course online or through the use of computers or other electronic devices. Where tests or examinations are conducted online remote invigilation arrangements may be used. In exceptional circumstances changes to elements of this course may be necessary at short notice. Students enrolled in this course will be informed of any such changes and the reasons for them, as soon as possible, through Canvas.

Published on 04/11/2021 06:39 p.m.