Coursework Assessment Brief

BUS113 Crafting Your Future: Professional Practice and Research

Session: September 2021

• The work you submit must be in your own words. If you use a quote or an illustration from somewhere you must give the source.
• Include a list of references at the end of your document. You must give all your sources of information.
• Make sure your work is clearly presented and that you use correct grammar
• Wherever possible use a word processor and its “spell-checker”.
• You are strongly advised to read “Preparation guidelines of the Coursework Document” before answering your assignment.
• Read your Student Handbook here for more information about the College assessment policies and procedures

Assignment Brief

As part of the formal assessment for the module you are required to submit a PROFESSIONAL PORTFOLIO – 100% comprising of the following three elements focusing on learning outcomes 3, 4 and 6:

1. Research Essay (40%)

1. Digital showcase of self-reflection (30%)
2. Personal development plan (30%)

The recommended word limit is 3,500 words, +/- 10%. You are strongly advised to read “Preparation guidelines of the Coursework Documents” before answering your assignment.

Background

The professional portfolio is to showcase your best work and produce a narrative of your experiences, skills and interests. This will help you to position yourself as a professional in your preferred sector and enable you to reflect on your development in productive ways.

Learning Outcomes 3, 4 and 6

The assessment for this module is informed by the learning and experiences in your degree programme to conduct research thoroughly and write an essay examining the market, industry or sector you wish to enter in terms of its direction and opportunities, your specialised skillset and its place in relation to opportunities. The following summaries will aid your understanding of the assessment requirements.

Portfolio: ‘The term portfolio is used as a catch-all that covers a wide range of methods for collating learning material and assessed work’ (McMillan and Weyers, 2008, p.38). For the purposes of this assessment, your professional portfolio will include the research and analysis you completed in the research essay on an industry or sector of your choice to position yourself as a professional in your preferred industry/sector that enable you to reflect on your development in productive ways. The information collated from the research

in the essay and your experiences, skills and associated feelings in your degree programme will inform the completion of your Self-Reflection and Career and Personal Development Plan.

Element 1. Research Essay (40%) Scenario

You have been hired as a consultant to offer specialist advice to an organisation in the industry of your choice in which you wish to enter in terms of its direction and opportunities and develop your career in, your specialised skillset and its place in relation to opportunities. You are required carry out a secondary research on the industry using research tools and techniques necessary to develop your critical thinking, and research and analytical skills. The research should relate to the following:

1. A brief background and context of the industry/sector/market being researched and analysed;
2. Provide a brief literature review by critically analysing the industry’s competitive environment, changes and trends in that environment using the appropriate tools.
3. From the above analysis, discuss and critically evaluate:
   1. how the chosen industry you wish to enter in terms of its direction and opportunities to develop your career in, requires specialised skillset and its place in relation to opportunities;
   2. what creative and ethical leadership skills are required in the chosen industry.

Guidelines

The area of research is to be agreed with the module tutor. Your essay should be based on a secondary research; carry out research on the chosen industry by applying a justified systematic approach to research methodology and demonstrate advanced information skills with the focus on the following:

• Debating and defending arguments
• Giving presentations on relevant topics
• Outlining a draft literature review
• Problem – solving and critical thinking
• Researching and critiquing academic papers and industry reports, etc.
• Produce persuasive argument regarding information, ideas, problems and solutions A good essay will contain the following elements:
• well-structured format;
• evidence  a   range  of   secondary   research   using  texts,   journals, magazines, newspapers, and computer based information sources;
• extensive research on the industry and provides references to data and academic theory;
• explicit reference is made to relevant theories and relevant market data;
• reflects on the impact of the research and industry analysis for learning on your future career plans
• carefully presented, structured and well-referenced

Element 2 – Digital showcase of self-reflection (30%)

You are required to reflect upon and evaluate your experiences, skills and associated feelings (evidencing key achievements) to celebrate everything that you have done that will be useful for your chosen career path. You are required to digitally showcase, analyse and evaluate your experiences you are expected to reflect upon what you have learnt and how you propose to transfer this learning into future thinking and behaving. For the purposes of self-reflection, you are required to enquire, reflect on, articulate your thoughts, feelings and discuss the following (Knott and Scraggs, 2016) structure for reflective writing: Evaluate the development of your creative and ethical leadership skills in a real world environment.

Analysis of your journey:

• What happened?
• What assumptions did you make?
• What does this show about yourself and your skills?
• What are the alternative ways of looking at the problem/process?
• What action would you take to improve?
• How can you learn from what has happened?
• How would you respond if this happened again?

Action

Element 3 - Personal Development Plan (30%)

‘Personal development Planning (PDP) is a structured and supported process undertaken by an individual to reflect upon their own learning, performance, and / or achievement and to plan for their personal, educational and career development (QAA, 2001b). In this personal development plan, you will appraise your strengths and weaknesses, reflect upon and benchmark where you are now and what you need to develop in order to continue your journey towards your career goals linked to Element 1 of the portfolio (how you can further develop your strengths and rectify your weaknesses). Evaluate the development of your creative and ethical leadership skills in a real world environment. You will also set realistic goals that you should visit and revise on a regular basis for the rest of your student life at ICON College of Technology and Management and beyond. Applying the SOAR (Self, Opportunity, Aspirations, Results) to the creation of your career and personal development plan will provide the theoretical base to focused planning. The essentials of the SOAR model are:

S = Strengths – your greatest assets

O = Opportunity – what are the opportunities that will enable you to use your strength?

A = Aspiration – what are your short / medium / long term aspirations. What is your preferred future?

R = Results – how will you measure what you have achieved?

Please complete the tables below:

A. Personal Analysis

Please add as many rows as you requir

C. Personal Objectives