Units

---

Sample subject outline - 6 Week Teaching Period - 6 2012

Note: Subject outlines often change before the semester begins. Below is a sample outline.

Rationale

Many management roles require managers to undertake planning and coordination tasks, involving risk management. These specific skills require a firm understanding the nature of uncertainty, organisational vulnerabilities and mitigation strategies.

Aims

N/A

Objectives

Course Learning Goals (Postgraduate)

The QUT Business School has established the Assurance of Learning (AoL) Goals to meet contemporary industry needs and standards. Achieving these learning outcomes will assist you to meet the desired graduate outcomes set at QUT - aligned with other internationally renowned business schools.

Students will develop the following capabilities relevant to a contemporary global and sustainable business environment:

Have knowledge and skills pertinent to a particular discipline (KS)

1.1 Well-researched knowledge and critical understanding applied to issues at the forefront of a specialised discipline area
1.2 Ability to select and use effectively a range of tools and technologies to locate and/or generate information appropriate to the disciplinary context

Be critical thinkers and effective problem solvers (CTA)

2.1 Apply logical, critical and creative thinking and judgement to generate appropriate solutions to problems in the disciplinary context

Be professional communicators in an intercultural context (PC)

3.1 Ability to create and present professional documents and/or reports using high levels of analysis/synthesis/evaluation for a range of contexts and audiences
3.2 Ability to orally communicate and justify ideas and information, at a professional level, for a variety of contexts and audiences, including peers and discipline specialists

Be able to work effectively in a Team Environment (TW)

4.1 Operate effectively and with flexibility to achieve common goals in collaborative settings, using a range of skills, including leadership, negotiation, reflection, proactivity and support for team members

Have a Social and Ethical Understanding (SEU)

5.1 Apply knowledge of the ethical, social and cultural dimensions relevant to business situations, including appropriate standards or codes of practice, to provide courses of action

The specific course learning goals that apply to this unit are shown in the assessment section of this unit outline.

Unit Objectives:

On completing this unit, you will be able to:

1. Understand the generic nature of risk management;
2. Carry out an organisational vulnerability and criticality analysis;
3. Prepare a Business Continuity Plan for an organisation (real or fictitious);
4. Demonstrate an understanding of Risk Management and Business Continuity Planning.

Content

This unit has been designed to provide a critical overview of key concepts from applied Risk Management in a range of contemporary settings. Students will develop an understanding of conceptual and applied risk-based methods (in particular Business Continuity Planning) used across the private and public sectors using Airport-based infrastructure systems as a central case study.

Approaches to Teaching and Learning

- The unit presented to students as being based on the Study Guide (available from the Blackboard Site http://blackboard.qut.edu.au), with support from the textbook specified.
- There is a commitment to critical inquiry and intellectual debate in regard to the material covered, and students are encouraged to relate the theories and research discussed to situations known to them. Expanding the awareness of Australian management policies and practices into intercultural and international perspectives is fostered.
- Students are expected to have read the suggested reading material before each class meeting, to facilitate discussion.
- Typically, students enrolling in this unit have extremely varied backgrounds. There is diversity of professional background and sociocultural backgrounds. Students are reminded that this is to their advantage and they have much to learn from one another. To this end, students are strongly encouraged to be sensitive to cultural, gender-related and international issues.
- A home computer with a modem is highly recommended for students who wish to get a 'student dialin account' and access the unit notes, and other resources that are available online. Not least of these 'other resources' are members of the GSN440 class, and the instructor, all of whom are available via e-mail.
- To access the GSN440 Blackboard site, simply bookmark the following URL: Blackboard Site
Note: The GSN440 Blackboard Site can be accessed only with the use of your QUT access username and password.

Assessment

At the end of semester student grades are determined by the Business Academic Board. The Unit Coordinators provide the detailed assessment results to the Board, working through the relevant School. These results are advisory in nature and do not necessarily constitute the final grades awarded by the Board. In its decision the Board compares results both within units and programs, using as a guide a set of standard distribution criteria. These criteria enable the Board to systematically compare student performance, but are not applied in a prescriptive fashion.

Assessment name: Online Quiz
Description: This assessment item entails Multiple Choice and Short Answer questions.
Formative or Summative: Formative and Summative
Relates to objectives: 1 & 2 and AoL Goals: KS (1.1)
Weight: 40%
Internal or external: Internal
Group or individual: Individual
Due date: Week 4

Assessment name: Report
Description: A Business Continuity Plan for an (International Airport)
Length/Duration: 3000 words
Group: Groups are formed to examine different aspects of functioning at a fictitious Australian International Airport from continuity of operations perspective. Each group will develop a Business Continuity Mgt Plan covering relevant aspects of Airprot operations.
Relates to objectives: 1,2,3,4 and AoL Goals: KS (1.1) CTA (2.1) PC (3.1)
Weight: 60%
Internal or external: Internal
Group or individual: Group
Due date: Week 7

Academic Honesty

QUT is committed to maintaining high academic standards to protect the value of its qualifications. To assist you in assuring the academic integrity of your assessment you are encouraged to make use of the support materials and services available to help you consider and check your assessment items. Important information about the university's approach to academic integrity of assessment is on your unit Blackboard site.

A breach of academic integrity is regarded as Student Misconduct and can lead to the imposition of penalties.

Resource materials

There is no Prescribed Text for this Unit. A set range of readings will be set.

The following are recemmended as base readings:

Elliot, D., Swartz, E. & Herbane, B. (2002) Business Continuity Management (A crisis management approach), Routledge, London & New York.

ASNZS 31000:2009 - Australian/New Zealand Standard Risk Management - Standards Australia

AS/NZS 5050:2010 - Business continuity - Managing disruption-related risk

HB 293:2006 - Executive guide to business continuity management

Optional Reading:

HB 292-2006 : A practitioners guide to business continuity management

International Journal of Risk Assessment and Management

Journal of Contingencies & Crisis Management

Risk assessment statement

There are no out of the ordinary risks associated with this unit.

Disclaimer - Offer of some units is subject to viability, and information in these Unit Outlines is subject to change prior to commencement of semester.

Last modified: 07-Nov-2012