Business organisations and their environments
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| 6 Tutor-marked assignments (TMAs) | |
| Examination | No residential school |
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This course is available for study in the countries shown. Fees may vary by country.
Summary
This practical course, grounded in your own experience as an employee, customer or stakeholder, is designed to develop your personal and professional practice in business. You’ll learn by sharing and widening your experience and analysing it in new ways, exploring three key themes – thinking about the business environment; theory and practice; and diversity and complexity. You’ll also focus on issues such as enterprise, globalisation, regulation, and corporate social responsibility. The course is delivered mainly online – helping you develop the IT skills needed in today’s rapidly changing business environment.
Course content
A huge revolution has taken place in the world of business with the rapid development of the internet over the last 20 years and more particularly in the last ten. This has major implications for business organisations and those who work in them. Web literacy and the ability to work collaboratively with others in an online environment are core business skills.
The business environment is rapidly changing, partly as a result of these technological developments, but also because of changes in other environments. These include the massive political and economic changes resulting from the decline of communism and the consequent emergence of Russia and China as powerful players on the global stage.
To offer you an up-to-date learning experience, the course is presented mainly via the web. The approach is highly innovative. It makes full use of the OU’s Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), the materials are offered online rather than having a set of course books, and you’ll make considerable use of The Open University’s e-Portfolio, MyStuff.
This course examines the environments in which business organisations operate. It also looks at how these environments shape, and are shaped by, the ways in which these organisations operate. It does this by using theoretical ideas about (and models of) these relationships. You’ll learn with other students, in both face-to-face and online settings. The course will help you to develop your personal and professional practice in business by drawing on your experience, whether as an employee, a customer or a stakeholder.
The course has three themes. Firstly, it focuses on the relationship between theory and practice. In its teaching and learning approach, the course encourages both reflection on practice and consideration of the implications of theoretical and ethical debates for the operation of businesses in the modern world. Secondly, it explores the diverse and complex worlds of business: nationally and internationally; large and small; and between the diverse range of organisations that engage with business, including public bodies and the social economy. Finally, it uses different theoretical models to investigate the implications of different ways of thinking about the business environment.
There are four blocks in the course:
Block 1, Encountering Organisations, starts by asking you to assess your current knowledge and understanding of business organisations. It then helps you to develop your skills using the online tutor group forum to reach a shared understanding with your fellow students. You’ll use an online tool to develop your portfolio of skills and abilities. You will also work through an introduction to the course themes and approaches.
Block 2, The Evolution of Organisations, explores how the organisations we see today have been shaped. Within a framework of systems thinking, it investigates the internal and external factors that shape business and that business seeks to influence. These include an ‘inside looking-out’ perspective, with discussions of organisational purpose, culture, structure, processes and control/decision-making, and an ‘outside looking-in’ perspective, with explorations of the ways that national culture, external control (such as law and regulation) and technological and economic environments impact on the relationships between business organisations and their markets.
Block 3, The Context of Organisations, focuses on four sets of debates that are current in the world of business. These are enterprise, corporate social responsibility, globalisation and regulation. Each topic will be approached through case-study material and theoretical debates about the implications of these issues for business organisations.
Block 4, Re-encountering Organisations, considers what organisations may look like in the future. Are the new organisational forms that are emerging, such as open-source networks and social enterprises, just a transient phase? Or are such forms the start of a revolution in the operation of business? What are the implications of this for the world of work?
Throughout the course, there will be a strong focus on the practical implications of the debates you consider and how these link into your experience of the world of business. The main course materials will be delivered online with embedded audio and video links and via DVD/CD–ROM and podcasts. This material illustrates the issues raised and links into tutorial discussion and activities to develop your understanding. Wikis and collaborative research work will be used to foster group learning.
Vocational relevance
The course will prepare you with practical skills that are in line with the QAA benchmark statement expectations for business studies.
Entry
The course is for you if you want a general overview of modern business and the ways in which they relate to their environments. It makes as few assumptions as possible about what you already know and about your experience of formal academic study. However, this is a Level 2 course and if you have no previous experience of studying business studies, it is strongly recommended that you first study An introduction to business studies (B120) (or its equivalent).
If you have any doubt about the suitability of the course, please contact our Student Registration & Enquiry Service.
Qualifications
B201 is a compulsory course in our
- BA (Honours) Business Studies (B04)
- BSc (Honours) Computing with Business (B35)
- BA (Hons) Leadership and Management (B54)
- Foundation Degree in Business (G07)
- Foundation Degree in Leadership and Management (G08)
- Foundation Degree in Financial Services (G16)
- Diploma of Higher Education in Financial Services (E54)
B201 is an optional course in our
- Diploma in Business Studies (E20)
- Foundation Degree in Business Information Technology (G13)
- Diploma of Higher Education in Business Information Technology (E45)
- BA/BSc (Honours) Nursing Studies (B47)
- BSc (Honours) Nursing Practice (B53)
It can also count towards most of our other degrees at bachelors level, where it is equally appropriate to a BA or BSc. We advise you to refer to the relevant qualification descriptions for information on the circumstances in which this course can count towards these qualifications because from time to time the structure and requirements may change.
Excluded combinations
Sometimes you will not be able to count a course towards a qualification if you have already taken another course with similar content. To check any excluded combinations relating to this course, visit our excluded combination finder or check with our Student Registration & Enquiry Service before registering.
If you have a disability or additional requirement
Written transcripts of any audio components and Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) versions of printed material are available. Some Adobe PDF components may not be available or fully accessible using a screen reader and musical notation and mathematical, scientific, and foreign language materials may be particularly difficult to read in this way. Large print versions of the course materials can be provided on request. Other alternative formats of the course materials may be available in the future. Our Services for disabled students website has the latest information about availability.
If you are a new student, or new to courses using a computer or the internet, you will need to inform us of your particular needs as soon as possible, as some of our support services may take several weeks to arrange. Details of how to do this and our range of support services are described in our booklet Meeting Your Needs which you can download or request from our Student Registration & Enquiry Service.
You can also find information about accessible course materials, financial support and the Disabled Students' Allowance, equipment and other services, on our Services for disabled students website. It also includes our contact details for advice and support both before you register and while you are studying.
Course materials
What's included
Main course material, four blocks in 32 weekly texts including extra resources and activity material, are provided online. Three course readers, a book of supplementary readings, a course guide and a DVD containing copies of the online video material are provided in a hard mailing.
You will need
The ability to play CDs and DVDs.
Computing requirements
This course includes online computer activities – you can access these using a web browser that can play Flash and Shockwave.
You will need internet access and a computer. If you have purchased a new computer since 2002 it should meet your course computing requirements. Check our Technical Requirements section if your computer is older than this or is otherwise unusual.
Teaching and assessment
Support from your tutor
You will have a tutor who will help you with the course material and mark and comment on your written work, and whom you can ask for advice and guidance. We may also be able to offer group tutorials or day schools that you are encouraged, but not obliged, to attend. Where your tutorials are held will depend on the distribution of students taking the course.
Contact our Student Registration & Enquiry Service if you want to know more about study with The Open University before you register.
Assessment
The assessment details for this course can be found in the facts box above.
You will be expected to submit your tutor-marked assignments (TMAs) online through the eTMA system unless there are some difficulties which prevent you from doing so. In these circumstances, you must negotiate with your tutor to get their agreement to submit your assignment on paper.
One of the TMAs is double-weighted.
Students also studied
Students who studied this course also studied at some time:
Future availability
The details given here are for the course that starts in February 2010. We expect it to be available once a year.
How to register
To register a place on this course return to the top of the page and use the Click to register button. For more information and advice about registration see OU Study Explained.
About this page
An undergraduate course in Business and Management.
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Student Reviews
I really enjoyed completing B201!!! I already run two businesses of my own and found most of the course relevant ...
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B201 was an excellent course that really improved my business knowledge. The course is very up-to-date and much of what ...
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