MM284: Work Placement

Module code: MM284

Module provider: Leadership, Organisations and Behaviour; Henley Business School

Credits: 120

Level: Level 2 (Intermediate)

When you'll be taught: Full year

Module convenor: Mrs Jennifer Phillips, email: jennifer.phillips@henley.ac.uk

Module co-convenor: Mr Dominic Prosser, email: d.prosser@henley.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s): Students must attend the pre-placement briefing session. (Open)

Co-requisite module(s):

Pre-requisite or Co-requisite module(s):

Module(s) excluded:

Placement information: Maxi placement

Academic year: 2024/5

Available to visiting students: No

Talis reading list: No

Last updated: 28 May 2024

Overview

Module aims and purpose

1. To gain relevant work experience in order to provide a practical context for the academic material studied in the first, second and final year.
2. To enhance graduate employability through being able to demonstrate 12 months relevant work experience.
3. To extend knowledge and learning of degree discipline,
4. to help identify future career path(s).
5. To further develop nine employer-identified competencies, which in turn will be used to benchmark students’ performance while on placement: Relationship building, Communication, Analysis & Critical Thinking, Self-reliance & Accountability, Collaboration & Inclusion, Innovation & Creativity, Adaptability & Flexibility, Resilience, and Commercial Awareness.

The module lead at the University of Reading Malaysia is Elevita Estela Celis.

** Pre-requisite modules listed include preparatory learning for work placement.

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, it is expected that students will be able to:

1. Think critically, analytically and evaluate the work they have done and how it has contributed to the organisation/company’s business.
2. Appraise their own performance and have a commercial view of their placement company’s performance.
3. Reflect on what has been learnt from the placement year, examining and discussing the positives/negatives learnt.
4. Effectively articulate examples of the skills, behaviours and competencies acquired and developed whilst on placement in readiness for competing in the graduate labour market.

They will also have gained experience of being a paid worker/employee(1) within an organisation, and will have experience of working under a contract of employment which represent responsible business practices and shows strong corporate and social governance.

(1)Being a paid worker or employee within an organisation implies, under UK legislation, that they will have been paid at least the national minimum wage.

N.B. Some students elect to carry out a non-paid placement, which is their own decision but the university does not advertise any positions which do not meet minimum wage requirements.

Module content

Once a student has been offered and accepted a placement, they will normally work for a minimum of nine months (1200 hours) with that organisation /company.

During the placement the student is an employee of the organisation/company and must abide by all the company/organisations regulations and legal responsibilities as outlined in their contract of employment and associated documents.

The University will accredit the position offered in terms of opportunities for student development at graduate level and appropriate remuneration. The work placement must provide the student with the opportunity to expand their knowledge/understanding in one or more subject areas of their degree course and provide them with professional level work that will develop and enhance their graduate level skillset, behaviours and competencies.

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

The placement is viewed as a three–way partnership between the employer, the student and the University.

The work content will be determined by the organisation/company and the student’s line manager who will be responsible for setting and evaluating the work that the student must undertake.

Every student within their level of competence and training should have their ability stretched when out on placement.

This module may be taught in a different Semester if you are studying at our campus in Malaysia.

For students studying at our campus in Malaysia: This module may be taught in a different semester and the and the breakdown of study hours may differ to those set out in the Study Hours table (please refer to the Module Handbook for the correct breakdown). In addition to the 1,200 learning/working hours, students at the Malaysian campus will be required to complete an additional 400 hours of actual working hours to comply with the minimum learning hours for a 120-credit module (or 40 MY credits) as prescribed by the Malaysian Quality Agency (MQA).

Study hours

This module is a placement or study abroad module and therefore the teaching and learning activities will predominantly, or entirely, take place away from the University of Reading. Your host organisation will normally advise you of the associated hours of your placement or year abroad. If the module includes any in-person activities at the University of Reading, these will be confirmed to you before the start of the module.

Please note the independent study hours above are notional numbers of hours; each student will approach studying in different ways. We would advise you to reflect on your learning and the number of hours you are allocating to these tasks.

Semester 1 The hours in this column may include hours during the Christmas holiday period.

Semester 2 The hours in this column may include hours during the Easter holiday period.

Summer The hours in this column will take place during the summer holidays and may be at the start and/or end of the module.

Assessment

Requirements for a pass

This module is marked on a pass/fail basis. Students must pass each item of assessment to pass the module.

Summative assessment

Penalties for late submission of summative assessment

The Support Centres will apply the following penalties for work submitted late:

Assessments with numerical marks

• where the piece of work is submitted after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each working day (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of three working days;
• the mark awarded due to the imposition of the penalty shall not fall below the threshold pass mark, namely 40% in the case of modules at Levels 4-6 (i.e. undergraduate modules for Parts 1-3) and 50% in the case of Level 7 modules offered as part of an Integrated Masters or taught postgraduate degree programme;
• where the piece of work is awarded a mark below the threshold pass mark prior to any penalty being imposed, and is submitted up to three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline), no penalty shall be imposed;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): a mark of zero will be recorded.

Assessments marked Pass/Fail

• where the piece of work is submitted within three working days of the deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): no penalty will be applied;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): a grade of Fail will be awarded.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: https://www.reading.ac.uk/cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/qap/penaltiesforlatesubmission.pdf

You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is any task or activity which creates feedback (or feedforward) for you about your learning, but which does not contribute towards your overall module mark.

Performance Development Review.

A 3 -way interview between employer, student and placement tutor, reviewing progress and areas for continuous professional development.

Reassessment

Additional costs