Additional Information
Book Details
Abstract
‘It is very clear and easy to understand and well laid out. A good key text.’
Alison Bragg, Faculty Lead for Employability, Business and Law, De Montfort University
‘Even though I’ve been in the field for 25 years, I found new and engaging information in The Business Student’s Handbook. So no matter how many times a student has been down this road, I’m confident that they will always find something new here.’
Jayne Mothersdale, Governor and Principal Lecturer Learning & Teaching, Leeds Beckett University
New edition of the definitive text for business students.
The Business Student’s Handbook brings together personal skills, study skills and employability
skills to help you succeed in your academic and professional lives. This handbook is all about
applying theory to practice; so you will find it filled with exercises, practical suggestions
and tips.
This new edition covers:
- Expanded sections on employability and transferable skills to help you become a highly desirable graduate.
- A strong focus on written and oral communication skills and presentation skills.
- Expanded data analysis and numeracy sections.
- New emphasis on self-management, team work and planning makes this an essential resource for any business student.
- The new TECHSkills boxes focus on your digital skills to ensure you’re making the most of the best tools you can find online.
Additional resources, templates and activities are also available at www.pearsoned.co.uk/cameron
Sheila Cameron has worked for the Open University Business School since its inception, now in a part-time role. She is also the author of The MBA Handbook, focusing on postgraduate study
and executive education.
Table of Contents
| Section Title | Page | Action | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cover | Cover | ||
| Title Page | iii | ||
| Copyright Page | iv | ||
| Brief Contents | v | ||
| Contents | vii | ||
| List of figures | xiii | ||
| Preface | xv | ||
| Acknowledgements | xvii | ||
| PART 1 EMPLOYABILITY AND HOW BEST TO MANAGE YOUR LEARNING | 2 | ||
| Chapter 1 Becoming a highly desirable graduate | 6 | ||
| Learning outcomes | 7 | ||
| Employability | 9 | ||
| Key skills and applications for learning and employment | 10 | ||
| Careers within today’s organisations | 13 | ||
| Implications for graduate employment | 15 | ||
| Structure of the book | 19 | ||
| Summary | 22 | ||
| Further information | 22 | ||
| Study resources | 23 | ||
| Chapter 2 Managing yourself and your learning | 24 | ||
| Learning outcomes | 25 | ||
| Self-management skills | 26 | ||
| The classic view of management | 28 | ||
| Basic ideas of control | 30 | ||
| Setting objectives | 32 | ||
| Action planning | 36 | ||
| Motivation | 38 | ||
| Time management | 44 | ||
| Stress management | 48 | ||
| Summary | 53 | ||
| Further information | 54 | ||
| Chapter 3 Learning, reflective practice and professional development | 56 | ||
| Learning outcomes | 57 | ||
| Learning theory | 58 | ||
| Learning styles | 62 | ||
| The role of reflection in learning | 66 | ||
| Tools for reflection | 74 | ||
| Managing your learning | 77 | ||
| Learning opportunities and how to exploit them | 78 | ||
| Organising your file | 81 | ||
| Summary | 84 | ||
| Further information | 84 | ||
| PART 2 ESSENTIAL LEARNING SKILLS | 86 | ||
| Chapter 4 Critical reading and note taking | 90 | ||
| Learning outcomes | 91 | ||
| ‘Simple’ reading skills | 92 | ||
| Selecting materials and choosing reading speeds | 96 | ||
| Reading critically | 101 | ||
| Notes and annotations using words and diagrams | 107 | ||
| Avoiding plagiarism | 113 | ||
| Summary | 114 | ||
| Further information | 115 | ||
| Chapter 5 Basic numbers | 116 | ||
| Learning outcomes | 117 | ||
| The importance of numbers | 118 | ||
| Diagnostic exercise | 119 | ||
| The importance of mathematical skills | 120 | ||
| Sources of difficulty | 121 | ||
| Basic mathematical signs, symbols and operations | 122 | ||
| Units | 131 | ||
| Estimating and rounding | 131 | ||
| Fractions, ratios and percentages | 133 | ||
| Using equations | 140 | ||
| Using brackets | 144 | ||
| Spreadsheets and databases | 144 | ||
| Going further | 146 | ||
| Summary | 147 | ||
| Further information | 147 | ||
| Chapter 6 Writing to communicate | 150 | ||
| Learning outcomes | 151 | ||
| Writing as a key transferable skill | 152 | ||
| Elements of communication | 153 | ||
| Assessing your writing skills | 155 | ||
| Basic English | 156 | ||
| General points on style | 158 | ||
| Basic written forms | 161 | ||
| Formal letters | 161 | ||
| 164 | |||
| Essays | 168 | ||
| Reports | 170 | ||
| The serious sin of plagiarism | 178 | ||
| Writing to look good | 180 | ||
| Summary | 182 | ||
| Further information | 182 | ||
| Helpfile 1: Grammar and spelling | 183 | ||
| Helpfile 2: If English is not your native language . . . | 192 | ||
| Chapter 7 Impressing assessors | 196 | ||
| Learning outcomes | 197 | ||
| The aims of assessment | 198 | ||
| Why students fail | 199 | ||
| Improving your assessment technique | 202 | ||
| Deconstructing questions and planning answers | 203 | ||
| Doing well in examinations | 210 | ||
| Viva voce examinations | 216 | ||
| Portfolio assessment | 217 | ||
| Summary | 219 | ||
| Further information | 219 | ||
| Helpfile: Terms commonly used in assessment | 220 | ||
| PART 3 WORKING WITH OTHERS | 224 | ||
| Chapter 8 Talking and listening | 228 | ||
| Learning outcomes | 229 | ||
| The importance of interpersonal skills | 230 | ||
| Active listening | 232 | ||
| Talking | 243 | ||
| Assertiveness | 245 | ||
| Negotiation | 254 | ||
| Networking | 255 | ||
| Summary | 258 | ||
| further information | 259 | ||
| Chapter 9 Team work and leadership | 260 | ||
| Learning outcomes | 261 | ||
| Team working in organisations | 262 | ||
| Discussion groups | 264 | ||
| Formal meetings | 270 | ||
| Task groups | 275 | ||
| Virtual teams | 277 | ||
| Challenges of online collaboration | 281 | ||
| Developing effective groups | 282 | ||
| Managing diversity and conflict | 286 | ||
| Developing your leadership skills | 288 | ||
| Potential hazards of team work | 290 | ||
| Summary | 292 | ||
| Further information | 293 | ||
| Chapter 10 Presenting to an audience | 294 | ||
| Learning outcomes | 295 | ||
| The risks in presentation | 296 | ||
| Structure | 298 | ||
| Delivery technique | 299 | ||
| Effective visual aids | 301 | ||
| Handling questions | 305 | ||
| Virtual presentations and podcasts | 306 | ||
| Poster presentations | 307 | ||
| controlling your nerves | 308 | ||
| Preparation | 310 | ||
| Summary | 311 | ||
| Further information | 312 | ||
| PART 4 CONCEPTUAL SKILLS | 314 | ||
| Chapter 11 Complexity, cases and diagrams | 318 | ||
| Learning outcomes | 319 | ||
| Rational approaches | 320 | ||
| Problem definition: description and diagnosis | 323 | ||
| Description as a basis for diagnosis | 324 | ||
| Diagnosis – exploring causes | 327 | ||
| Making diagrams work for you | 335 | ||
| Case study analysis | 339 | ||
| Summary | 347 | ||
| Further information | 347 | ||
| Chapter 12 Becoming more creative | 350 | ||
| Learning outcomes | 351 | ||
| The need for creativity | 352 | ||
| Creating a creative environment | 355 | ||
| Barriers to creativity | 356 | ||
| Techniques for improving creativity | 357 | ||
| Finding opportunities to be creative | 367 | ||
| Summary | 368 | ||
| Further information | 369 | ||
| Chapter 13 Data, information and decisions | 370 | ||
| Learning outcomes | 371 | ||
| Information versus data | 373 | ||
| Looking for information – academic literature and other sources | 378 | ||
| finding relevant secondary data | 385 | ||
| Interviews | 386 | ||
| Focus groups | 389 | ||
| Questionnaires | 390 | ||
| Developing your information-gathering skills | 392 | ||
| Summary | 394 | ||
| Further information | 394 | ||
| Chapter 14 Making sense of data | 396 | ||
| Learning outcomes | 397 | ||
| ‘Lies, damned lies and statistics’ | 398 | ||
| Drawing and using graphs | 399 | ||
| Calculus | 403 | ||
| Frequencies and histograms | 408 | ||
| Bar and column charts | 410 | ||
| Pie charts | 414 | ||
| Summary measures | 414 | ||
| Measures of dispersion | 417 | ||
| Drawing conclusions from figures | 419 | ||
| Levels of significance | 420 | ||
| Developing your inference skills | 422 | ||
| Summary | 422 | ||
| Further information | 423 | ||
| PART 5 INTEGRATING YOUR SKILLS | 424 | ||
| Chapter 15 Managing projects and dissertations | 428 | ||
| Learning outcomes | 429 | ||
| Project teams | 430 | ||
| Group projects | 431 | ||
| Finding a topic | 432 | ||
| Obligations and responsibilities | 442 | ||
| Project proposals | 446 | ||
| Objectives clarification | 448 | ||
| Literature search | 449 | ||
| Data planning | 450 | ||
| Gaining client agreement | 451 | ||
| Chapter 16 Managing your career | 462 | ||
| Learning outcomes | 463 | ||
| Looking forward | 464 | ||
| Reviewing your strengths | 466 | ||
| Reassessing your objectives | 467 | ||
| Finding out about opportunities | 469 | ||
| Becoming more attractive to employers | 471 | ||
| Preparing a good cV | 472 | ||
| completing application forms | 475 | ||
| Interviews and assessment centres | 476 | ||
| Developing your career | 480 | ||
| Summary | 482 | ||
| Further information | 483 | ||
| Answers to test exercises | 484 | ||
| Bibliography | 494 | ||
| Index | 498 | ||
| A | 498 | ||
| B | 498 | ||
| C | 499 | ||
| D | 499 | ||
| E | 500 | ||
| F | 501 | ||
| G | 501 | ||
| H | 501 | ||
| I | 501 | ||
| J | 502 | ||
| K | 502 | ||
| L | 502 | ||
| M | 502 | ||
| N | 503 | ||
| O | 503 | ||
| P | 503 | ||
| Q | 504 | ||
| R | 504 | ||
| S | 505 | ||
| T | 505 | ||
| U | 506 | ||
| V | 506 | ||
| W | 506 |