MN50743: Consultancy project
[Page last updated: 15 October 2020]
 Academic Year: | 2020/1 |
| Owning Department/School: | School of Management |
| Credits: | 30 [equivalent to 60 CATS credits] |
| Notional Study Hours: | 600 |
| Level: | Masters UG & PG (FHEQ level 7) |
| Period: |
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| Assessment Summary: | CW 100% |
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| Supplementary Assessment: |
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| Description: | Aims: This unit aims to provide students with the opportunity to: * integrate the multi-disciplinary knowledge and insight gained from the core taught programme and their personal experience by acting as a consultant to solve a managerial problem or address a challenge in their own or a different international higher education context * embed consulting skills along with an understanding of how high-performance and creative teams are developed and managed * apply relevant knowledge to a range of complex situations in higher education, taking account of the relationship between the specific focus of the consultancy project and other areas of the university of higher education system within which it is set. Learning Outcomes: * Systematic understanding of the role of consultancy in supporting strategic and sustainable leadership at different levels in universities * Critical awareness of the role of external change agents in key areas of operations management and the relationship between operations strategy and business strategy both within and between universities in international partnerships * Conceptual understanding of the management, development and deployment of technology and innovation to improve higher education Skills: Students who successfully complete this unit should develop: * The ability to analyse specific university management situations using appropriate theoretical models, allied to pragmatic, well-reasoned judgements * Self-direction and the ability to act as a consultant with originality in tackling and solving problems arising when planning and implementing projects at professional levels * The ability to apply with originality in-depth understanding of the resources and competences required for successful management in universities including international partnership skills All skills are initially taught through online content (drawing upon consultancy content in previous units) and then facilitated through individual supervision of the consultancy project. Students will receive significant support in terms of academic and practical research guidance and skills development. All skills should also be evident in the final assessed work. Content: Typical content covered in the unit includes: * Phases of policy formation and problem solving in HE: where consultants fit in and why universities use them * Internal and external consultant roles as change agents; methodologies and skills * Bringing an international perspective to an organisational problem * Negotiating a consultancy brief or identifying a specific departmental, institutional or systemic challenge * Relationship with the client: ethics and protocols; steps to ensure client ownership * Analysing and understanding the institutional climate, culture and micropolitics * Identifying, collecting and analysing relevant data * Diagnosis and originality in management problem-solving * Structuring a consultancy report * Presenting consultancy outcomes to clients - addressing questions * Project termination and exit strategies * Compiling a portfolio of evidence for discussion and assessment The above content will be provided through cohort face-to-face teaching as part of optional units 3/4, online resources, plus group and individual supervision. |
| Programme availability: |
MN50743 is Compulsory on the following programmes:School of Management
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