- An undergraduate course
in
Business and Management.
Making it happen! Leadership, influence and change
- On this page
| Course facts | |
|---|---|
| About this course: | |
| Course code | B204 |
| Credits | 60 |
| OU Level | 2 |
| SCQF level | 9 |
| FHEQ level | 5 |
| Course work includes: | |
| 6 Tutor-marked assignments (TMAs) | |
| End-of-module assessment | |
| No residential school | |
This course focuses on leadership and change practice, and has considerable potential to support employability. Its strong work-based and reflective enquiry component will help you explore how to initiate and carry through improvements and projects in your current work from an early stage. You will also develop skills to enable you to manage your learning in new work contexts. ‘Work’ isn’t just limited to paid jobs. However – for successful completion of this course – it’s very important to be involved in some ongoing project where you can influence others and initiate change.
There is a version of this course specifically designed for people working in retail – see course code BXA204.
Modules at Level 2 assume that you are suitably prepared for study at this level. If you want to take a single module to satisfy your career development needs or pursue particular interests, you don’t need to start at Level 1 but you do need to have adequately prepared yourself for OU study in some other way. Check with our Student Registration & Enquiry Service to make sure that you are sufficiently prepared.
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What you will study
By the end of the course you will be able to:
- understand processes of leadership, influence and change within the day-day operations of organisations or other work contexts
- draw upon different, and often conflicting, academic ideas in order to develop your own skills and practice of leading and initiating change within the scope of your potential to do so
- use robust, practical and scholarly processes of research and reflection so as to evaluate the contribution of new ideas and practices to success within your work context
- plan, manage and communicate the processes and outcome of practical, work-based projects that require high-quality inquiry.
Vocational relevance
This course is for students who are currently working in either formal or informal settings. Its content is directly relevant to providing you with the skills to develop your ability to initiate and carry through projects and day to day work. Please note that involvement in a workplace and participation in online discussion forums will be important to the successful completion of the assignments. By ‘workplace’ we do not necessarily mean paid employment but a context where you are working with others, over the six- eight months of the course, to achieve some particular goal. This course will prepare you with practical skills that are in line with the QAA benchmark statement expectations for business studies.
Entry
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). Working and learning: developing effective performance at work (BU130) (or an equivalent course of study) is also ideal preparation if you are new to work-based learning.
It is important to note that this course will require you to explore the subject content within a ‘work context’. By ‘work context’, we do not mean that you have to be in paid employment but the work-based nature of the course will require that you have some organisational context within which you can learn. This can include informal social groupings, voluntary, religious or sporting organisations.
If you have any doubt about the suitability of the course, please contact our Student Registration & Enquiry Service.
Regulations
As a student of The Open University, you should be aware of the content of the Module Regulations and the Student Regulations which are available on our Essential documents website.
If you have a disability
To study this course you will be expected to use online resources and participate in online forums and where appropriate tutorials. Tutors and students on this course have the option of using online tutorials. Your tutor will advise if they plan to use online tutorials as part of the teaching on the course. If you have any concerns about participating in online tutorials you should contact your tutor. If you use specialist hardware of software to assist you in operating a computer or the internet and have any concerns about accessing this type of material you are advised to talk to the Student Registration & Enquiry Service about support which can be given to meet your needs.
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. Other alternative formats of the study materials may be available in the future. Our Services for disabled students website has the latest information about availability.
If you have particular study requirements please tell us as soon as possible, as some of our support services may take several weeks to arrange. Visit our Services for disabled students website for more information, including:
- help to determine your study requirements and how to request the support that you need
- Disabled Students' Allowances (DSAs)
- using a computer for OU study
- equipment and other support services that we offer
- examination arrangements
- how to contact us for advice and support both before you register and while you are studying.
Study materials
What's included
Course books, readers, other printed materials, DVD, online resources and activities.
You will need
You will need a headset with a microphone and earphones if you wish to take part in online tutorials.
Computing requirements
You will need a computer with internet access to study this course as it includes online activities, which you can access using a web browser.
- If you have purchased a new desktop or laptop computer since 2007 you should have no problems completing the online activities.
- If you’ve got a netbook, tablet or other mobile computing device check our Technical requirements section.
- If you use an Apple Mac you will need OS X 10.6 or later.
You can also visit the Technical requirements section for further computing information including the details of the support we provide.
Teaching and assessment
Support from your tutor
You will have a tutor who will help you with the study 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 (either face to face or online) or day schools that you are encouraged, but not obliged, to attend. How and where tutorials are held depends on the distribution of students taking each 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.
Future availability
The details given here are for the course that starts in October 2013. We expect it to be available once a year.
Students also studied
Students who studied this course also studied at some time:
How to register
To register a place on this course return to the top of the page and use the Click to register button.
Student Reviews
“Overall, an excellent course. Above all, very practice-centred which as the University advises, it is better if you are in ...”
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“I had very mixed feelings towards B204. On the positive side, this course contains huge amounts of extremely interesting and ...”
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“We're glad you enjoyed the course and found it useful. We are currently reviewing the course and will feed your ...”
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Distance learning
The Open University is the world’s leading provider of flexible, high quality distance learning. Unlike other universities we are not campus based. You will study in a flexible way that works for you whether you’re at home, at work or on the move. As an OU student you’ll be supported throughout your studies – your tutor or study adviser will guide and advise you, offer detailed feedback on your assignments, and help with any study issues. Tuition might be in face-to-face groups, via online tutorials, or by phone.
For more information read Distance learning explained.
Undergraduate
| Course facts | |
|---|---|
| About this course: | |
| Course code | B204 |
| Credits | 60 |
| OU Level | 2 |
| SCQF level | 9 |
| FHEQ level | 5 |
| Course work includes: | |
| 6 Tutor-marked assignments (TMAs) | |
| End-of-module assessment | |
| No residential school | |
Course satisfaction survey
See the satisfaction survey results for this course.
Your questions
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