Units

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Sample subject outline - 6 Week Teaching Period - 4 2013

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

Rationale

Business Leaders and Managers are driven by owners, shareholders and other stakeholders to deliver and sustain higher levels of business performance in a competitive, globalised business environment. The use of a Business Process Improvement (BPI) approach is recognised as being effective for improving business operations. The purpose of Business Process Improvement is to help organisations to achieve dramatic performance improvement through a redesign of the organisation's core business processes.

This unit provides an understanding of the key concepts, tools, and phases of business process reengineering and is designed to stimulate strategic thinking and analysis by applying business process reengineering theory in a real world context.

This unit has been included in the latter part of the MBA program as students undertaking this unit need to have a broad multidisciplinary, 'big picture' view of businesses and how they operate. This unit complements the other units in the Leadership and Strategy elective pathway.

Aims

The mission of the MBA and associated programs is to provide world class, graduate business education and stimulating real world learning opportunities to develop current and future business leaders and managers to confidently lead in complex environments.

The aim of this particular unit is introduce students to one of the major disciplines of the management consulting field.

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

Unit Objectives:

Upon completion of this unit, you should be able to:

1. Analyse client issues and identify the real client business problems. KS1.1 (MBA 1, 8), CTA2.1 (MBA 4, 5, 7)

2. Map the as-is state of a client process and apply the correct tools and methodologies for a given process improvement scenario. KS1.1 (MBA 1, 8), CTA 2.1 (MBA 4), PC 3.1 MBA 3), PC 3.2 (MBA3)

3. Recommend solutions consistent with the problems identified, with the aim of effecting improvements to a client business. CTA 2.1 (MBA 4, 5), SEU 5.1 (MBA 2)

4. Present a highly professional and polished report appropriate for client submission. PC3.1 (MBA 3), TW4.1 (MBA 6)

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

Content

• Introduction to Business Process Improvement (BPI)
  
• Process identification and selection


• Process mapping (As-Is)


• Process analysing (using Six Sigma)


• Process Improvement (To-Be)


• Process Implementation, executions, monitoring and control

Approaches to Teaching and Learning

This is a highly experiential unit that adopts a blended learning approach and as such, includes a variety of teaching and learning approaches.

Three hour face-to-face class sessions are supplemented by recommended readings and a range of online materials that are designed to support and extend learning prior to, during and after class sessions. Online materials are available in the unit Blackboard site. Given the importance of the unit Blackboard site to the teaching and learning strategy used in this unit, a computer or tablet device with internet access is strongly recommended for all students.

The three hour classes will be divided into lectures and practical creative problem solving and design led thinking workshops. The principal purpose of the lectures and readings is to build upon the key concepts that were introduced through the Preparation for Class activities and readings. The purpose of the case study work, experiential learning tasks and all assessment tasks is to help the student develop their understanding of the concepts and enable them to be applied within a range of business contexts.

There is an expectation that the student will participate in class sessions, to take advantage of the opportunity to discuss important issues with their instructor and their peers in an informal environment. These sessions also provide students with an opportunity to hone important generic skills that are in high demand in the business.

It is expected that students have completed all Preparation for Class activities and readings identified in the unit Blackboard site prior to coming to class to be able to maximise the learning opportunities of the class sessions.

A variety of learning activities designed to engage students in their learning will be incorporated into the lectures/workshops. Such learning activities may include short lectures, class discussions, debates, role plays, group work, guest speakers, student presentations, simulations, case study analysis, videos, readings, wikis, media/current events reports, web searches, etc.
There is a commitment to critical inquiry and intellectual debate in regard to the material covered. Students are encouraged to relate the theories and research discussed to situations known to them and will be encouraged to share their experiences related to this unit with the class to enrich the overall learning experience of all students.
Expanding the awareness of Australian management policies and practices into intercultural and international perspectives is fostered within this unit. Typically, students enrolling in this unit have extremely varied backgrounds. There is diversity of professional background and socio-cultural background. 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.

Assessment

A further Guide to the Assessment Items is available from the unit Blackboard Site: http://blackboard.qut.edu.au

At the end of the teaching period the Faculty Academic Board determines students' grades. 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.Students will receive a variety of formative feedback throughout this unit.

Informally, feedback will be given verbally in class through class discussions and during the debriefing of learning activities.

Direct feedback will be available to those students who request a private or group consultation session with the lecturer.

Formal feedback will be received on both formative and summative assessment tasks through a Criterion Reference Assessment sheet which will also include written feedback on the assessment task. The Criterion Reference Assessment Sheet will be available in the Blackboard site at the commencement of the unit. Students will receive feedback on their formative assessment task prior to their summative assessment task being submitted.

Assessment name: As-Is Report
Description: The As-is report should detail the students' understanding of the client issues and identify key business problems. The students should clearly demonstrate a point of view by showing that they have chosen an area to focus on, rather than attempting to address all problems.
This assessment item requires the group apply concepts and techniques from weeks 1-3 to produce a detailed report describing the issues driving/requiring performance improvement and mapping of the relevant business process(es). The report will be based on covering the following Business Process Improvement concepts:
- Background and company information
- Problem identification: key issues to be solved
- Identification and selection of the Business Process(es) requiring improvement
- Process mapping the 'As-Is' state.
Length/Duration: 1500 words max
Formative/Summative: Formative and Summative
Relates to objectives: Unit objectives: 1 and 2
AOL goals: KS 1.1, CTA 2.1, PC 3.1
Weight: 30%
Internal or external: Internal
Group or individual: Individual
Due date: Week 4

Assessment name: Presentation
Description: Presentation of As-Is and To-Be Report
Assessment Item 2 requires the group to summarise the As-Is organisation and steps involved in the business process re-engineering in a clear and concise manner. It is recommended that the presentation be displayed visually in PowerPoint or Prezi. Presentations should not exceed 15 minutes in length.
Length/Duration: 15 mins max
Formative/Summative: Formative and Summative
Weighting: Group - 15% content of presentation, Individual 15% quality of presentation
Relates to objectives: Unit objectives: 1, 2 and 3
AOL goals: KS 1.1, CTA 2.1, PC 3.2
Weight: 30%
Internal or external: Internal
Group or individual: Group with Individual Component
Due date: Week 6

Assessment name: To-Be Final Report
Description: Assessment Item 3 requires the group to produce a full report describing and analysing the chosen organisation and business process(es). The report will be based on covering the following Business Process Re-engineering concepts:
- Description of the Business Process(es) requiring improvement
- The current business process defined
- The business process re-design
- Stakeholder management
- Implementation planning and execution
- Performance metrics
Students should work together to produce a report which fully defines and analyses the current business process(es) within an existing organisation. The business process re-engineering process, implementation of the new process, and monitoring and controlling should all be analysed and defined in the report.
Length/Duration: 3000-4000 words max
Formative/Summative: Summative
Relates to objectives: Unit objectives: 1, 2, 3 and 4
AOL goals: KS 1.1, CTA 2.1, PC 3.1, TW 4.1, SEU 5.1
Weight: 40%
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

Prescribed Text: Nil

Other Resources: GSN559 Blackboard site

Risk assessment statement

There are no out-of-the-ordinary risks associated with lectures or tutorials in this unit. You should, however, familiarise yourself with evacuation procedures operating in the buildings in which you attend classes and take the time to
view the Emergency video.

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: 04-Apr-2013