Unit Outline

The nature of the workforce is changing. The future of work is characterised by a shrinking ‘traditional’ job market and a rising gig economy. In Australia, self-employment now makes up a third of the workforce, and small business is considered to be the backbone of the Australian economy. To navigate this landscape, people require flexibility, autonomy, and small business skills. The aim of this unit is to develop your understanding of how to package and develop your skills to meet market needs, and to design flexible and sustainable career pathways and strategies for running a small business. In this unit you will you explore freelancing and small business sectors, including small business management theories, concepts, and strategies. Through independent and collaborative research, during the unit you will have the opportunity to develop a personal plan for future employment (within or outside of the traditional job market) and to work towards enhancing the effectiveness of a real-world small business.

Intended Learning Outcomes

As per the Assessment and Results Policy 1.3, your results will reflect your achievement against specified learning outcomes.

On completion of this unit, you will be able to:


1	Evaluate and apply small business management theories and concepts.
2	Critically evaluate contemporary small business management challenges & opportunities using theory, independent and collaborative research.
3	Communicate small business management strategies, theories and practices.

Requisites


REQUISITE TYPE	REQUISITES
Anti-requisite (mutual excl)	BMA227

Alterations as a result of student feedback

To be determined

How will I be Assessed?

Assessment schedule


ASSESSMENT TASK #	ASSESSMENT TASK NAME	DATE DUE	WEIGHT	LINKS TO INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES
ASSESSMENT TASK 1:	Personal Business Model Canvas	Week 5	50 %	LO1, LO3
ASSESSMENT TASK 2:	Individual Report	Week 12	20 %	LO1, LO2, LO3
ASSESSMENT TASK 3:	Group Presentation	Week 12	30 %	LO1, LO2, LO3

Assessment details

Assessment Task 1: Personal Business Model Canvas

TASK DESCRIPTION:

This is an individual assignment, worth 50% of your final grade.

For this assessment, you are required to create an annotated personal business model canvas accompanied by a 2,000-word explanation of your proposed career and/or personal business strategy. Theoretical justifications for your decisions should be provided where appropriate.

A personal business model canvas and additional resources to help you craft your canvas will be provided on MyLO.

Secondary research must be appropriately referenced using an established academic referencing system (e.g. Harvard or APA).

TASK LENGTH:

Annotated personal business model canvas and 2,000 words +/- 10%

DUE DATE:

Week 5

WEIGHT:

50 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOME


1	Evaluate and apply small business management theories and concepts.	LO1
2	Communicate small business management strategies, theories and practices.	LO3
3	Describes all elements of your personal business model canvas to a professional standard.	LO3

Assessment Task 2: Individual Report

TASK DESCRIPTION:

Assessment Task 2: Individual Report

This is an individual assignment, worth 20% of your final grade.

This assessment is an extension of the work students carried out in Assessment Task 3.

Where students work in groups to identify 2-3 strategies for enhancing the effectiveness of a Tasmanian small business.

For this assessment (Assessment Task 2: Individual Report), you are required to select one of those strategies and provide advice to the Tasmanian small business for how they could put that strategy into practice, including:

• A one sentence description of the strategy you have chosen, which you are recommending the business implement
• A justified explanation of how the strategy will improve the business
• Practical advice (i.e. a roadmap) for how the business should implement your recommendation i.e. what steps they should take to make your recommendation a reality in their business.

Secondary research must be appropriately referenced using an established academic referencing system (e.g. Harvard or APA).

Resources to assist with this assessment will be available on MyLO.

TASK LENGTH:

1000-words +/- 10% excluding references and appendices

DUE DATE:

Week 12

WEIGHT:

20 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOME


1	Evaluate and apply small business management theories and concepts.	LO1
2	Critically evaluate contemporary small business management challenges & opportunities using theory, independent and collaborative research.	LO2
3	Communicate small business management strategies, theories and practices.	LO3

Assessment Task 3: Group Presentation

TASK DESCRIPTION:

Assessment Task 3: Group Presentation

In this assessment, students are required to form into groups (3-5 students), and work together to simulate the role of small business consultants and provide recommendations for enhancing the effectiveness of a Tasmanian small business.

To complete this assessment, groups will need to:
a) Identify a Tasmanian small business and gain agreement from them to participate in this assessment.
b) Conduct primary research activities e.g. interviews with multiple stakeholders to gain awareness of the business and the marketplace in which it operates.
c) Craft 2-3 recommendations for enhancing the effectiveness of the business. Recommendations must be based on evidence from primary and secondary research activities and link to key theoretical concepts as presented in this unit.
d) Demonstrate awareness and application of the tools and techniques taught in this unit (BMA357).
e) Present your findings and recommendations via an oral presentation.

In addition, each (Individual) group member is required to complete and upload a (maximum) 1-page reflection of their contribution to the group assignment. Details are provided on MyLO.

How to submit your assignment:
On-campus students: due to class time availability, some groups may present during scheduled class time and upload a copy of their presentation slides to MyLO prior to presenting. Students who do not present in class are required to upload a recorded video of their presentation to MyLO.

Off-campus students are required to upload a video presentation OR present online at an agreed time with the lecturer and upload a copy of the presentation slides to MyLO 24 hours prior to presenting.

TASK LENGTH:

Group presentation: 15 minutes +/- 60 seconds (25% of final grade) Individual self-reflection : maximum 1 page (5% of final grade)

DUE DATE:

Week 12

WEIGHT:

30 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOME


1	Evaluate and apply small business management theories and concepts.	LO1
2	Critically evaluate contemporary small business management challenges & opportunities using theory, independent and collaborative research.	LO2
3	Communicate small business management strategies, theories and practices.	LO3
4	Deliver an engaging presentation suitable for an industry-based audience	LO3
5	Demonstrate self-reflective practice	LO3

How your final result is determined

To pass this unit, you need to demonstrate your attainment of each of the Intended Learning Outcomes, achieve a final unit grade of 50% or greater, and pass any hurdle tasks.

Submission of assignments

Where practicable, assignments should be submitted to an assignment submission folder in MYLO. You must submit assignments by the due date or receive a penalty (unless an extension of time has been approved by the Unit Coordinator). Students submitting any assignment in hard copy, or because of a practicum finalisation, must attach a student cover sheet and signed declaration for the submission to be accepted for marking.

Requests for extensions

If you are unable to submit an assessment task by the due date, you should apply for an extension.

A request for an extension should first be discussed with your Unit Coordinator or teaching support team where possible. A request for an extension must be submitted by the assessment due date, except where you can provide evidence it was not possible to do so. Typically, an application for an extension will be supported by documentary evidence: however, where it is not possible for you to provide evidence please contact your Unit Coordinator.

The Unit Coordinator must notify you of the outcome of an extension request within 3 working days of receiving the request.

Late Penalties

Assignments submitted after the deadline will receive a late penalty of 5% of the original available mark for each calendar day (or part day) that the assignment is late. Late submissions will not be accepted more than 10 calendar days after the due date, or after assignments have been returned to other students on a scheduled date, whichever occurs first. Further information on Late Penalties can be found on the Assessments and Results Procedure.

Review of results and appeals

You are entitled to ask for a review of the marking and grading of your assessment task if there is an irregularity in the marking standards or an error in the process for determining the outcome of an assessment. Details on how to request a review of a mark for an assignment are outlined in the Review and Appeal of Academic Decisions Procedure.

Required resources

Required Reading Materials

You will need the following text (free e-text available via the UTAS Library]:

Osterwalder, A. & Pigneur, Y. (2010). Business Model Generation: a handbook for visionaries, game changers, and challengers. John Wiley & Sons.