Tag: module choice

My favourite Business Management module – ‘Business Challenges’

By Katie Bryant, BA Business Management

Out of all the modules that I’ve studied in my two years at Sheffield, one has stood out as being my favourite – Business Challenges. This is an optional module in first year, and is available to all undergraduate Management School students, whether you’re on Business Management, International Business Management or Accounting and Financial Management. Here’s why I think you should choose it!

What was this module?

This is a very different module as it has only one lecture and one seminar with a presentation. The rest of the seminars are mainly for students to meet, collaborate with their team members and successfully carry out a 10 weeks project work. Tutors will be present in all the seminars to help you with your queries but there will be no formal teaching. This is a very practical module where you learn by doing and there is very limited teaching involved.

Our Business Challenge

The Business Management Experience simulation is based on a realistic but fictional business, where you and your team members act as a board of directors. The simulation allowed my team and I to run a business over a period of time and to make decisions that made an impact on how much profit the business makes.

Our aim was to make as much profit as possible. We were also responsible for maintaining customer satisfaction and deciding on out investment strategy, especially in R&D (research and development), throughout the time we ran the business.

How the module was assessed

The assessment for this module consisted of a ten-week team project which was a PowerPoint with a voice over, critically analysing our groups performance throughout the project. We had to complete one reflective essay as a group and two individual reflective essays. It was great to have such a varied method of assessment throughout the module.

Why this was my favourite module?

  • I loved working in a group. Group work is great as you all bounce ideas off of each other in order to create the best possible outcomes. It is great to bond with people and work well as part of a team and ultimately produce a really good piece of coursework.
  • I found it brilliant that we could be creative within our module. Every week as a team we could decide how much money to invest into which part of the business and what to set the selling price of the products at. It was really interesting to be part of such a realistic simulation.
  • It was amazing to have freedom within the module. We could decide how we presented our final group project. The fact that we didn’t have lectures meant everything was down to us. We had to decide when we were meeting and get the work done without the reminder or help of lectures. It was great to essentially self-lead a module.
  • This was such a unique module, which gave me opportunities to learn that other modules didn’t. Business challenges allowed me to develop many of my skills including teamwork, communication, thinking on the spot and analytical skills.

I really recommend that you choose this module as it is the best module I have completed so far at university!

A degree that suits you

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By Annabel Faulkner

I’m Annabel and I am in my final year studying Accounting and Financial Management, here at the University of Sheffield. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time here in Sheffield and studying at the Management School.
One of the key reasons why I have enjoyed my course so much is because of the flexibility there is within the course. This is a benefit for many different reasons, from choosing from a wide variety of modules to taking a year in industry in your penultimate year.

_MG_8465I opted to undertake a research project between my second and third year; a scheme run through the central university and supervised by an academic member of staff in the Management School. This is an example of one of the many options available to you during your years of study within the Management School; all of which add to your CV and to the skills you build upon throughout your degree. I really benefited from the research project and it gave me an insight into the world of academia and into some of the topics that the Management School research alongside running degrees. It lasted for 6 weeks; however, I extended mine to last the majority of the summer as I enjoyed the work more than I thought I would! I had a great experience and built on many different skills such as interviewing, collating results and writing up a research report, which was new to me at that time. Overall, I would definitely recommend looking in to the variety of options there are for work and experience during the summer months, such as a research project, internship or year in industry.
_MG_8278In first year of study, the school get everyone ‘up to speed’ by introducing an assortment of modules so students get a taste of many topics and get to understand and learn about many of these and to know which they would like to specialise in. Then, in second and especially third year, the modules studied become more and more the choice of the student. You can pick from a huge variety of modules which interest you and can choose to specialise more in finance or the management side of the degree. The choice is yours! Some of the modules give professional exemptions whilst others are more practical. There are modules which have more coursework, are more exam-based or include group work. You are able to choose the modules which suit you and will benefit you most. This is a real asset whilst studying here because you can really tailor your course to suit yourself and also choose modules heading in the direction of where you would like to work when you graduate. There is also help on hand, in the form of your personal tutor, the Management Society and module leaders, to aid you in your choice.
The flexibility of the course really enables you to select the path you take yourself, rather than it being dictated to you. This is definitely one of the main reasons why I have enjoyed the course so much!