Business School

Academic Success:

Transition to the Business School and how to succeed in your studies

Lindsay Williams

Senior Lecturer in Business and Management

Academic Conduct Officer, Business School

Business School

Plan for this session

• To introduce you to study at Oxford Brookes• transition, expectations, and Business School requirements

• Academic success in written work – 3 easy steps!

• A simple guide to referencing • what is plagiarism?• my top tips!

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What sort of teaching and learning are you used to?

• What can you expect at the Business School?:

• 8-10 contact hours per week

• Lectures (introduction to a topic)

• Seminars/workshops

• Virtual Learning Environment

• Independent Learning

Business School

Typical classroom activities: Lectures

• Lectures • Introduction to topics/concepts etc

• requires additional reading (‘so that’s what I do with the gaps!’)

• Can be in (very) large groups • Pace

• Clarity

• Mixed cohorts• Familiarity; cohort identity?

• Lecturer distance• Accessibility/support

• Virtual Learning Environments• Relationship with the module• Can be comfortable space

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What is teaching and learning like?

• Seminars/workshops

• Smaller groups (clarity; relationship with seminar leader; group identity; comfortable environment)

• A chance to prepare (and contribute)• Activities:

• directed questions (and volunteering answers)

• reinforcement activities (and summative assessment)

• ‘chat with your neighbour’• moving around the group• case studies • informal group presentations• discussions/debates• reflection• psychometric tests/self evaluation

activities• ‘active’ exercises• experiential learning

•Participatio

n and engagement!

Business School

What sort of teaching and learning are you used to?

• What can you expect at the Business School?:

• 8-10 contact hours per week

• Lectures (introduction to a topic)

• Seminars/workshops

• Virtual Learning Environment

• Independent learning (VERY important…that’s what you do in the gaps!!)

Business School

Assessment and feedback in the Business School

• Range of assessment methods:

• Essays

• Report writing

• Dissertations

• Exams (different types)

• Case study analysis

• Individual and Group presentations

• Role plays

• Portfolios

• Reflective statements

• Assessment Centres/Practical activities

• Videos• Virtual tasks/VLE assessment• Active research• ‘Dragons Den’ style pitches

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Some other points!

• No multiple hand-ins/hand-backs (a deadline IS a deadline)

• No teacher ‘micro-management’ (it’s your responsibility)

• Always check your Brookes email

But…

• It’s a chance to be autonomous and have an inquisitive mind!

• You will have lots of support

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Academic success in written work – 3 easy steps!

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Three easy steps: Step 1

Read lots of books

and journals

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Three easy steps: Step 2

Show us what you now know

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Three easy steps: Step 3

State where all of the information has come

from

Know the rules of the game – know how to

reference!

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Three easy steps: Step 1

Read lots of books

and journals

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“What degree are you reading?”

• Getting your degree is all about reading

• You are expected to read lots of material on:• Business• Marketing• Economics• Finance• Retail• Human resources• Hospitality

• As lecturers, we set you assignment or essay questions to PROVE or DEMONSTRATE what you know about a particular subject area….…. based on your reading

Business School

For example…….

You are required to write an assignment on the following topic:

What can managers do to effectively motivate their employees?

What sort of things will you read about?

* theories concerning motivation

* how are employees typically motivated?

* different management styles

* do different techniques motivate employees in different contexts?

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Having read lots of information, you must then:

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Three easy steps: Step 2

Show us what you now know

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Demonstrate what you know about the assignment or essay question now that you’ve read lots!

For example, you may have found out that

• People are motivated by different factors – some employees are motivated to work hard because of money

• Other people are motivated to work hard because of the praise they receive by their managers

• Some motivational techniques work better in certain situations

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However, you cannot just write these ‘facts’

• You must SUBSTANTIATE what you say

• For example:

• Who says people are motivated by different factors?

• Who says some employees are motivated to work hard because of money?

• Who says other people are motivated to work hard because of the praise they receive by their managers?

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Three easy steps: Step 3

You must therefore state where all of the information has come

from

In other words, you must

REFERENCE!

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Referencing

• Referencing is all about showing or stating where you have got your information from

• You MUST reference in your actual assignment AND in a reference page at the end of your assignment.

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How to reference

In your assignment In your reference page

Family name, Year

E.g. Williams, 2007

Sometimes you need a page number

Williams, 2007, p67 You need the page number if you use the exact words that are printed in the book/journal

Williams, L. (2007) Motivation Today. 3rd Edn. London: Sage

Your reference page must always be in alphabetical order by family

name

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An example (referencing in your assignment)

Some employees can be motivated by money, although others can be motivated by praise (Williams, 2007)

ALSO

According to Williams (2007) some employees can be motivated by money whilst others can be motivated by praise

Some employees can be motivated by money, however “employees can also motivated by other factors such as praise from their managers” (Williams, 2007, p67)

ALSO

Some employees can be motivated by money, however Williams (2007, p67) states that “employees can also motivated by other factors such as praise from their managers”.

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Referencing books (in your reference page):

SID TEPP

Surname Date Edition Publishers

Initial Title Place of publishers

of book

Williams, L. (2007) Motivation Today. 3rd Edn. London: Sage

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Referencing Journals

You reference the same way in the assignment

• E.g. (Aitken, 2005)

The format is different for the reference page:

Aitken, S. (2005) ‘What motivates employees?’, Journal of Human Resources Management, Vol. 9, No 3, pp 325

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Referencing Websites

You reference the same way in the assignment

• E.g. (Jones, 2007)

The format is different for the reference page:

Jones, C. (2007) Why employees have low morale [online]. Retrieved from: http://motivationmatters.co.uk/morale.html [Accessed 3 October 2007]

Note: If there is no author name for a website then use the company/corporate author e.g. BBC (2007)

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What happens if you do not reference?

• You will be PLAGIARISING

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Plagiarism

• “wrongful attempt to pass off another’s literary or musical work as one’s own; act of copying without permission or acknowledgement.”

(Garmonsway, 1982, p.551)

Lots of international students plagiarise...why?

• “The English sounded better than mine.”

• “I ran out of time and it was quicker than taking notes.”

• “But I was allowed to do this before.”

None of these reasons are acceptable

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What happens if you breach the academic conduct regulations?

• Required to attend an investigative interview with an Academic Conduct Officer to discuss your work

• You will be required to bring evidence that demonstrates that your work is original etc

• If you are found to breach the regulations then you will receive a penalty, which can be extremely severe depending on the case

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What do we expect of you at University in the UK?

What we want• We want you to read widely• Use your knowledge in your work (show us what you now know)• Provide evidence from credible evidence to support your arguments

(SUBSTANTIATE, and reference where this information has come from)

But also - to get good marks and avoid cheating‘Original’ does not mean ‘no one ever thought of it before’. It means ‘made by

you’, ‘coming from you’.

‘Your own words’ does not mean words that have never been used before. It means ‘written by you’.

You ‘show you know’ by changing things. Transformation shows understanding

‘New’ means putting together others’ work in a new way

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To recap. . . . Three easy steps to success:

Read loads…

Tell us what you now know because of what you’ve read….

Reference your (academic/credible) sources of information to signpost what you’ve read

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Top Tips

1. Always keep a reference guide by your PC

2. Keep a note of your references as you go along

3. Read through your drafts – is everything you say SUBSTANTIATED?

4. Remember, always list your reference page in alphabetical order

5. Save drafts of your work under different file names (and keep records of your notes)

If you are not sure whether you are referencing correctly, ask you seminar leader, module leader, personal tutor, UPGRADE team etc

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How do you structure an assignment/essay/report…?

• Key points to remember:

• …that the reader is an ‘alien’

• Structure

…say what you are going to say, say it, and say it again