International Business Management

How to succeed in your group assignments at uni

By Rhiannon Thefaut, BA International Business Management

In Business, the group work begins in first year with the Business Challenges and Business in Context modules. These modules can be a great opportunity to develop your teamwork – an important life skill that most employers will want after you’ve graduated.

Speaking from experience, Business Challenges is an example I’ve used in many job interviews; it shows how I successfully negotiated, listened to and worked with my team to work effectively, with our group winning the overall challenge!

However, you won’t always get a team that works together perfectly and might encounter issues along the way. You don’t choose your group and therefore you can get put with people who may clash with you personally, or who may not have the same drive as you do.

But, there are several things you can do to give your group the best possible chance of succeeding, starting before anyone even lifts a pen:

Have a preliminary meeting with everyone before you start any work.
This allows everyone to discuss their personal goals for the assignment, gauge each group member’s skill sets, and helps you get to know them a bit personally so your group can flow easier. Working with people you can get along with makes it a lot easier. I’ve made some of my best friends at Uni through group work – it’s a great opportunity to get to meet new people on your module.

Also, as you’re on a business course, networking is vital from day one – if you get to know these people and they end up at a great business, you could use this connection to help get you a job with them. They could also remember that you had strong analysis skills and recommend you to their manager!

Set deadlines for each part of the group work and give specific tasks to each person.

Designating specific tasks to each member of your group is the best way to ensure that everyone’s work is matched up with their skill set. This also holds the less motivated members of your group accountable to complete their work, and if they do not or complete it to a low standard, you can reflect this during the peer assessment stage of the group work. For those who are unfamiliar with peer assessment, this essentially lets you rate how much you feel each member has contributed to the group work, to ensure that everyone gets the credit that they deserve at the end of the module.

Make sure you stay in touch.

It’s important you know how your team is getting on with their tasks. People may be struggling with the work they’ve been assigned, so you need to make sure you know whether they need any help with it. Checking in with your group via social media is a good way of knowing where you’re all at with your tasks, and is key to remaining on schedule.

If you don’t communicate with your team and complete the work, then everybody’s grade is going to suffer.

Arrange regular meetups to go through the work together.

All the libraries have group rooms which you can book out for up to 4 hours, and the management school normally has space you can use as well! If you can’t physically meet in the same room, then group video calls are a good way around having to make the long trek from your dorms to the library!

The challenges I’ve faced during group assignments have helped me to grow and learn how to deal with difficult situations. In work, you’ll find you disagree with people, however, you still have to work with them so use these experiences as practice!

My Favourite Third Year Module

By Rhiannon Thefaut, BA International Business Management

One of the best things in third year is that you have such an amazing choice of modules that you can take. The wide range of topics and specialisations you can do is really cool – there were so many modules I’d never even considered taking such as ‘Work and Employment in the 21^st century’ and ‘Creativity and Innovation’ which honestly were so interesting and developed your business thinking immensely. You can choose modules that are exam based if that’s your strong point, or modules that are more coursework based – whether that coursework is through groupwork or through individual essays.

When I was choosing Universities, I had a taster lecture of Consumer Psychology and I absolutely loved it. It was one of the main reasons I chose Sheffield University – in the hopes of getting to study this module. I cannot remember the woman’s name who took the class, however, she was so enthusiastic about the topic. I had done business at A-level, but had not got to look at it from a psychological aspect before. One of my main memories is that she asked me about my most recent purchase – why I purchased it, how much it cost, what the value it was to me. I was a awkward, unconfident, red faced sixth former and went home and overthought all my answers and how awkward I was when answering the questions. However, the overthinking led me to realising how interested I was in this topic and how much I’d love to study it more.

Fast forward three years and I’m halfway through this module, in my final term at the University of Sheffield. The module has been interesting so far – we’ve learnt about what motivates a person to make a purchase, how companies use psychology to make their adverts appealing and how we make decisions.

With regards to how it’s graded, there is an individual essay and a group work. The individual essay is similar to the taster lecture I had 3 years ago in which we get to analyse how and why we made a purchase for ourselves and for somebody else. There’s also group work which requires you to make an advert and a poster, based on the theories you’ve learnt in class. Our group is advertising Mac make-up, and we’ve aimed to use repetition and humanistic psychology (which focusses on emphasising an individual’s potential). It’s been really cool to create and edit your own video as it’s allowed me to develop my editing skills, alongside my analytic skills for writing the essay section of the essay!

I do recommend this module if you are interested in understanding why people make purchases and how. I think it’s vital to have this understanding before you work in a business, especially if you want to work in Marketing – as you’ll be trying to sell products to consumers. Knowing how to do that is important.

How I fell and how I got back up on my feet, my journey with mental health

By Olivia Chavigny de Lachevrotiere, BA International Business Management

Going to study at the university is an absolute experience. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had moments here that I could never forget.

but…

It might not always be as jolly as I had imagined. I thought these years would be the absolute happiest, I thought that I would meet friends for life and become successful irrespective of what I do with my time. I even though I might find a future husband while at the university! That was my vision, and my plan.

But I felt it already within the first couple of weeks. Moving away from my home country where my friends and family live – to the UK – turned out to have a greater impact on me than I thought. I refused to give up and did all I could to be out there and get the experience. I joined the A Cappella and Beatbox Society, became a committee member for my national society, enrolled on a language course. I also participated in many study workshops at 301, and the Entrepreneurship Skills Autumn programme. I applied for the Study Abroad programme at an overseas partner university. I refused to lose the experience, with an intent to use the time I had to the maximum.

But even then, I felt lonelier than ever. Never being fully able to express myself, but most of all not being able to find friends that I would feel fully comfortable with. I couldn’t get close with anyone. Every exam session, I started either locking myself down in my room and crying through the evenings, or putting myself out in the library to be able to focus at all. I put on weight, ended up in a bad relationship where I felt suppressed. I felt like I always needed to impress people to be able to fit in, but it only caused me to persistently fail to open up.

I went on my Year Abroad to Amsterdam, met more people, I thought it went away…
And then I got aggressively crushed.
In winter, during my Year Abroad, I got depressed.

All of that happened during my “happiest” time, when I should be going out and party, and be all out there with people. But all I could do is stay in bed and sleep through the days, unable to fully focus, constantly catching colds and unable to accept myself, feeling hurt and alone. I felt like I was falling behind socially even more, seeing the new exchange students in my student accommodation in February, after the new semester started, spending time together, or at least knowing each other’s names! I didn’t know their names for months. I coped by binge eating sweets and watching TV shows, to escape my thoughts and get the sugar rush, and keep going. There and then, I knew it’s too much, and I reached out. Here’s what I did, and what ultimately helped me:

First, I reached out to the Student Psychologist at my university abroad, then to a private counselling centre (covered by my insurance). Slowly but steadily, I started getting up on my feet;
I studied, but allowed myself to let some pressure go, I allowed myself to be me in this foreign environment. I stopped chasing acceptance, but instead, I focused on the people that were there and the goals that I actually wanted to pursue;
I allowed myself for a slow summer without working, to recover and actually enjoy my time for a change!
As soon as I came back to Sheffield, I went to a doctor and asked for medical evidence for a disability (mental health), in order to receive help from the Disability and Dyslexia Support Service (DDSS). At DDSS, I got a Learning Support Plan written up by a staff member, based on my symptoms and needs;
I registered for a triage appointment with the Student Access to Mental Health Support (SAMHS), which eventually allowed me to access online counselling services with the Big White Wall Live Therapy,
I focused on physical exercise and eating healthy food – not necessarily limiting myself, but finding strength in overcoming physical limitations at the gym.

Now, it was a long and a very personal battle. It prevented me from having the desired by all “time of my life” while studying abroad, and experiencing the student life in full.

But it also taught me how to cope when I start feeling worse, and how to take care of myself in this fast-paced world. I’m better now, and I am on track to graduating soon with good grades.

Many people will have experienced symptoms of a common mental health disorder in their life. It’s good to know that if you feel this way, you’re not alone. And you should reach out, because there are means to help you. You deserve to be happy, and to enjoy your time at the university. I fought and won the battle, and I’m positive that you can too.

Cultural lessons from my year abroad

By Rhiannon Thefaut, BA International Business Management

I went to Rennes, France for my year abroad. In weather, it is the same as the south of England. However, everything else about it is very much French. As my University had people from over 100 countries and 50 languages, I didn’t just learn about the French culture, I got to learn about many other cultures. This will be some of the most interesting things I experienced and learnt whilst abroad. Hopefully, if you go abroad or work abroad in the future, some of these facts will be helpful for you or just make you laugh.

Firstly, the French have baguette machines. The French value their bread over all else, so for when boulangeries are shut on a Sunday or at 1am after a night out, you can still get your bread. You go to the supermarkets, and they will have a bakery in, constantly with fresh bread. Honestly, the bread is amazing – it tastes so much better than baguettes in England and you can get so many different types of bread, that you never even knew existed. So, if you don’t like bread, maybe don’t go to France!

Not just to mention their love for bread, they also definitely love their cheese. On my first night out in Rennes, we pre’d at one of the French guys homes and he provided us with a baguette and cheese board. I can’t eat cheese but I definitely enjoyed having the bread! To make it better, on a different night out, whilst walking home (French buses stop running at midnight so we had to walk home over an hour most days), we found a slab of camembert cheese on the floor!

I didn’t just learn about the French culture, I learnt about other cultures too. I learnt the super interesting fact that prawn crackers are not Chinese and if you ask a Chinese person about them, they won’t have a clue what they are. Also, Chinese food made my Chinese people is so much better than Chinese from a takeaway in England. My best friend would bring me food to my lecture and it was great.

Thai people are honestly so polite and friendly – they will literally do anything for you. They’re happy people and honestly some of the best friends you can have, as they are so caring and so willing to help you if you have a problem. My Thai friends are constantly messaging me, a year on, asking me how I am and offering me their home to stay at when I come visit. I love them and miss their kind personalities a lot.

German’s value being on time, so if you walk late into class, they will glare at you profusely – which is made worse by the fact there was only around 20 people in my class! The German’s are also a British person’s best friend – honestly, if you’re sarcastic, they’ll match that sarcasm with a stoic face and sarcastic banter back. It’s brilliant and made for some hilarious conversations. However, do be warned that some countries aren’t sarcastic, so you need to be aware of this and gage who it’s okay to be sarcastic with before you bring out the British humour.

If you can, do a year abroad – the cultural lessons and the memories you get are so worth it. I would give anything back to do another year abroad and I’m very jealous of all of you who are about to embark on yours.

My first semester at NTU Singapore

By Alice Lando, BA International Business Management

Having reached the end of the first semester of my exchange year at the Nanyang Technological University of Singapore, I have found myself looking back at the journey so far. If you intend to do an exchange, and I highly recommend it, you should know that there will definitely be ups and downs, it won’t be all about travelling and meeting new people.

I was lucky enough to meet a group of friends from all around the world on my third day here that eventually stuck as a group till the end of the semester, when it came the time for very sad goodbyes as most of them were here for only one semester. With this group – we called it “No Spice” because everything in Asia is spicy and we had no tolerance for it – I discovered Singapore, travelled to Bali, went to Halloween at the Universal Studios and many more unforgettable experiences. We are still in touch and planning the next meetups. We even made a t-shirt and a book with all our names, details, fun facts and pictures 🙂

Given the location of Singapore, there are plenty of opportunities to travel around South East Asia, so far I have been to Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Cambodia.

In regards to my University experience, the Singaporean system comes with an intense workload and it puts students in competition with each other. I was able to keep up with the materials but I had moments where I felt the need to take a step back and focus on myself when the workload was becoming too overwhelming. Business classes are 3 or 4 hours long seminars, there is a lot of preparation work before class and assessments are more frequent compared to what I had in Sheffield in my first year. Moreover, all five modules I took in the first semester had group-project that counted for a major part of my final grade. It was a demanding first semester but I do have to say that the topics discussed were based on real-life situations and therefore overall very useful.

I have just started the second semester but I already look back with nostalgia at all the beautiful memories I have made. I hope this second semester will be as great as the first one and I am looking forward to being back in Sheffield next September.

Applying to University – a horror story?

By Olivia Chavigny De Lachevrotiere, BA International Business Management

Hours, and hours, and hours of research. Documents. Eligibility. Studying. Financial planning. Research. Universities, courses, rankings, research. Studying, and again research.

Deciding to study in the UK wasn’t the easiest one. Moving abroad, figuring out how to afford the living, how to design my university experience and make the most out of it. Planning for so many details, yet little did I know how different the whole experience would be.

I was a strong person back in Poland, back home. I would always come up with the initiatives, offer my leadership and organise events. I knew I wanted something more for myself, I wanted to develop on more dimensions than it would ever be possible, had I stayed in the country. The decision wasn’t the easiest, because financially speaking, such a life turn wasn’t really feasible. The entire application process didn’t make it any easier, requiring so much organisation and planning – first, the choice of a course. Then, the universities (research, research, research). Finally, the accommodation, the finance, societies, finding my flatmates, walking through Sheffield on Google Maps so many times, trying to gauge the distance between student halls and my future department.

I didn’t have the opportunity to come to Sheffield, or any of my chosen universities, before actually moving here; but if you have that opportunity, please take it. For me, choosing the perfect place was like walking in the dark – I could see the general shapes and contours, but never the full detail. The University of Sheffield organises a few Open Days for the applicants throughout the year. The successful ones are also provided with a detailed brochure, which is sent over by post. It walked me through the rather difficult time of trying to understand the city and where everything is, the accommodation and the university facilities. The university offers help in all sorts of issues you might have during the application, but also once you arrive here or later in your studies – be it problems with your landlord, financial issues or job hunt. If you’re still hesitant, let me assure you – the university will welcome you, no matter which country or what family you come from. In the EU and UK in particular, you don’t have to be super wealthy to have access to the top higher education!

The whole process of taking exams, getting a language certificate, researching and organising might seem a little daunting, but the reward is worth it more than anything – so don’t give up! There is so much more awaiting you!

How to sort accommodation for after your year abroad

By Rhiannon Thefaut, BA International Business Management

In first year, my flat decided to live together in second year. However, I was going abroad for my second year and so couldn’t live with them. Instead, I agreed to live with them all in third year and assumed that was that. However, after some disagreements whilst I was away, this was no longer an option. I then had to rethink what I wanted to do.

I am originally from Chesterfield, which is an 11-minute train journey or a 30-minute drive from Sheffield. Therefore, one option for me was to move home and commute to University. Whilst this isn’t an option for everyone, depending how far Sheffield is from your family home, however, it may be something to consider. It’s likely in third year you’ll have less contact hours (and more study hours), so it is an option. Just note if you do commute, your maintenance loan will be significantly less – however, you won’t have the same living costs, so it evens out.

My second option was to live with 2 of my friends from first year. This is the option I took, as I decided that I wanted to have the live-in university experience in Sheffield again, as I enjoyed it so much in first year. However, the main issue for me was that, I had to trust my friends to sort the accommodation. We were on different time zones, and had different free time, meaning that I couldn’t even facetime them to see the places.

The third option is to live with strangers again; this is probably not the most popular idea, however, it can lead to making some really great new friends. There is the facebook page ‘Sheffield student accommodation’ and websites such as ‘Campusboard’ where you can find people who have spare rooms available for the following year.

The last option is to live on your own in a studio or 1 bedroom flat. Honestly, after my year abroad, I felt a strong sense of autonomy and responsibility. I was probably ready to live alone and that may be how some of you feel. A year abroad gives you so much freedom and builds your confidence, meaning that sometimes moving back and living with your friends isn’t the same. Your friends can still visit, but you don’t have the added stress of dealing with their mess or their noise – which is always nice!

My last piece of advice would be, make sure to decide what you want to do early on. As you probably remember from first year, students start deciding who they’re living with and where quite early (October onwards). You need to make sure you look too! It’s quite difficult when you can’t visit the place yourself, so, get them to do a skype call to show you it or get one of your friends to visit for you – it’s vital to make sure the place is legitimate and suits your needs.

Zero-waste in Sheffield

By Serena Wong, BA International Business with Study Abroad

For my first blog post, I’ve decided to share with our fellow friends how I do zero-waste in Sheffield!

Back home in Malaysia, the closest zero waste store was an hour drive away with majority of the stores congregated in the Central Business District. This lack of access proved to be an inconvenience when I first started going zero-waste. It was also difficult to implement small, incremental changes in my household, as my parents deemed it easier and cheaper to buy plastic-packaged products. The biggest change I made back home was designating a recycling area at home.

Six months later- today, my flat mates and I compost, recycle, and we do not use kitchen rolls at all!

In just about every university building- the Sheffield Students’ Union, Information Commons, the Diamond, we can purchase food and drinks in recyclable packaging and then toss them out at the many and easily-available recycling bins. In addition, our Students’ Union has an outlet- Our Zero Waste Shop- dedicated to plastic-free wholefoods and environmentally friendly household goods.

One of the best aspects of the shop is the refilling station for both food and household liquids. You can refill your shampoo, conditioner, laundry detergent as well as rice and herbs. My personal favourite however, is refilling my empty jars with delicious sweets!

Its wide array of zero-waste products coupled with the affordable prices, makes Our Zero Waste Shop (https://www.facebook.com/OurZeroWasteShop/) one of its kind in Sheffield.

I am so proud to share that the store makes ZERO profit from their reusable pads and menstrual cups range. It’s incredibly heartwarming to know that our university prioritise making sanitary products both accessible and affordable for our students. As perfect alternatives to regular sanitary essentials, they make perfect gifts for ladies! Just last month, I bought a set of 6 with 1 wash bag, for just £15.76! If that’s not a bargain, I don’t know what is.

If you’re looking for an easy way to reduce your plastic consumption, why not ditch the cling film and grab bags, and head down to your local market for some fresh and cheap fruits and vegetables. I particularly enjoy doing my grocery shopping at the Moor Market for plastic-free fresh produce. From a plethora of cheeses, to freshly-baked scones, Moor is my go-to destination for fruits, vegetables, fresh poultry, free-range eggs and buttery scones! You can even find stores that stock oriental spices and sauces.

My zero-waste lifestyle will always be a work-in-progress, but to know and believe that our university isn’t just a supportive platform but rather the support, I have no doubts I will continuously lead the lifestyle that fills my heart and brings me happiness.

What I learnt on my summer internship

By Rhiannon Thefaut, BA International Business Management

My internship was a learning experience. I hated it, but reflecting back, I learnt some really important lessons and developed as a person because of it. I’ve got a clearer idea now on how best I worked, what I wanted from a job and what I was and wasn’t interested in. Therefore, I recommend doing an internship, even if it’s not what you expect – because the lessons learnt are worth it and, honestly, the extra money is really helpful for third year when your maintenance loan lowers.

The first thing I learnt was that I did not want to work in Human Resources – until this internship, I was sure this was what I wanted to go into. However, after learning it was more about policies and following guidelines, rather than directly helping people, I decided it wasn’t interesting to me. The positive from this was that through my project on creating a tool to predict unplanned absence, I learnt I really enjoyed working with data. I’m now applying for master’s in data analysis and graduate jobs that directly involve looking at trends in data. This was probably the best thing that came out of my internship; it allowed me to see what areas I enjoyed working in a practical sense, rather than theoretical.

The second thing I learnt was that who you work with really makes the job – the people I worked with didn’t try to include me, help me or support me. I went to work and didn’t speak to anyone all day and then went to the flat I lived in alone to not speak to anyone some more. Looking back on it, I could have tried more to talk and be part of the HR team, however, as they didn’t try to include me, I didn’t have the confidence to put myself out there. I asked my manager for help 12 times, and each time got rejected and told she didn’t have time for me.

This links to the third thing I learnt – ask for help. If your manager won’t help you, ask someone else. If they can’t, ask another person. It felt so uncomfortable interrupting people who constantly complained how busy they were, but you’re not burdening them by asking – nearly everyone will be willing to help, or direct you to who can help.

My last piece of advice would be to think hard about whether it is worth doing an internship for the whole summer – when you’ve just been away from home for a year. I struggled with home sickness more during my internship, than my year abroad as I really wanted the time with my family after so long and didn’t have the chance.

My year abroad with a dairy allergy

By Rhiannon Thefaut, BA International Business Management

As someone who cannot eat dairy, going to France for my year abroad was probably not my best idea. For one, I spoke minimal French and was left using google translate to explain to the waiters that I needed pizza, sans fromage. Secondly, France has not yet progressed to including allergy information on their menus, let alone providing vegan options. And lastly, everything in France includes dairy products, from the classic croissants and French breads to meat, pizza – and even ‘les escargots! However, as I narrowly managed to avoid death by dairy last year, I’ve proved that it is possible. Here I will give you some top tips to effectively manage your allergy whilst abroad.

The first thing that helped me was stocking up and bringing lots of dairy free foods from home – luckily, you can get the ferry or the Eurotunnel to France and so I had quite a bit of room to bring everything necessary. I made sure to bring the basics – sauces, hot chocolate powder, butter etc and then packed the rest of the car to the brim with as many snacks as possible; chocolate, biscuits, crumpets and sweets. This was vital, because I couldn’t buy them from French supermarkets – and with 40 hours of lectures a week, stress eating was a common occurrence!

Secondly, look everywhere for small, family owned businesses – these are your best bet for finding speciality foods that cater to specific dietary requirements. One that I found in France, called Bio, sells vegan ‘pains au chocolat’ and croissants; finding these was amazing, especially when my friends had croissant mornings as it let me join in on the fun! Also ensure to look out for international chain businesses such as Starbucks Coffee. They will have dairy and gluten free alternatives, with less risk of contamination.

Lastly, try to meet people from the country where you’re staying, as they can then explain to restaurant waiters and shop clerks about your dietary requirements. If you don’t know anyone, then make sure you’ve perfected how to explain it yourself in the language using simple phrases such as ‘sans fromage’ (French for ‘without cheese’).

Most European countries aren’t as accommodating towards veganism or allergies as England, unless you’re in a major city like Rome or Paris. But it’s definitely possible to cope with just an extra bit of effort in most places. I went to many different restaurants whilst on my year abroad and whilst I struggled in some places, in the end they want your money – so they’ll be as accommodating as possible. You got this!