Module Directory

This module seeks to bring together the knowledge and understanding you have gained during the Business Management, Management and Marketing, and Business Management and/with Modern Languages degree courses.

This module will enable you to apply and integrate your research skills and combine them with your business skills by investigating a contemporary issue in business, management or marketing and developing a problem or practice-oriented report on it.

The aims of this module are:

• To develop a deep understanding of a business, marketing, or management issue of interest.


• To analyse a range of literature, documentary evidence and/or other available primary source material.


• To demonstrate a critical understanding of the issues facing businesses and society in the world today.

By the end of this module, students will be expected to be able to:

1. Identify, plan, organise and pursue a research-based project or study.


2. Demonstrate the capacity to exercise a range of research and transferable skills and methods in order to produce a research-led report.


3. Analyse and reflect critically on theories and/or conceptual/analytical frameworks in addressing real-life management, marketing or business problems.


4. Demonstrate a series of transferable skills including those related to accessing documentary evidence, academic research evidence and data from primary sources.


5. Demonstrate an ability to synthesise and critique knowledge from a variety of sources.


6. Communicate effectively findings and analysis, and generate appropriate recommendations.

Skills for Your Professional Life (Transferable Skills)

By the end of this module, students should have enhanced the following key professional and transferable skills:

1. Written Communication – through the preparation of a final report.


2. Research Skills – through the retrieval, evaluation and synthesis of published academic research and commercial and professional literature.


3. Critical Thinking – through the evaluation and critique of published academic, commercial and professional literature.


4. Digital and Technical Fluency – through the use of internet and electronic database searches to obtain published academic research and commercial and professional literature; or through research into on-line communities, for example.


5. Innovation and Curiosity – through the development of a research question and awareness of the academic process.


6. Data and Analytics – through the evaluation of published research.


7. Personal Brand – through the development of all these skills to enhance your curriculum vitae.


8. Commercial Awareness – through the evaluation and critique of professional and commercial literature.

This module is a one-term project where you will critically investigate a contemporary issue in business, management or marketing. Crucially, while you will be expected to provide evidence for your findings and recommendations, there is less emphasis on data collection and analysis than on BE939.

This module will rely on the knowledge and skills imparted in core and compulsory modules and reinforce the research-led environment that is a hallmark of Essex graduates.

This module will be delivered via:

• Independent study.
• Lectures.
• Voluntary skills-focused workshops.
• Group meetings.

This module is an independent study module where you decide when and how you carry out the tasks. There are also two required lectures during the term and a number of voluntary workshops to help you with your project. Overall, you will have some facilitated learning activity every other week during the term to keep your project going. You will also have access to a tutor who will help you with the research process and who you can turn to for support.

Lectures and meetings with your tutor will provide guidance on the work process as well as the structure and format of the coursework assignments. Key information on the module and assignments will be made available on Moodle. The module leader will also periodically email further guidance and reminders.

Your tutor is your primary contact and support during the process. Be sure to seek their advice during group meetings as well as academic support hours during term time. You, however, are ultimately responsible for the scheduling, development and completion of the project.

The module consists of two lectures, skills-focused workshops and two Spring Term group meetings on the processes of conducting and completing the Final Year Project.

Each project is different, however, and has its own, project specific requirements.

Typically, meetings would be arranged for the following milestones:

• Group meeting to discuss your topic and the development of your outline. 
• Group meeting to discuss progress with data analysis and the writing process. 

In addition, during the support classes lectures, the Essex Sloman Library team will provide group guidance on drawing upon library resources in the development of your projects.

Throughout the term you will have access to your tutor (primarily during their Academic Support Hours).The Essex Business School Learning Team is also available to help and support you in your development of your study and research skills.

Tutoring could be offered in small groups rather than individually.

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