MNG03236 Business Professional Development

MNG03236
Business Professional
Development
Unit Information Guide
Session 1, 2020
scu.edu.au
CRICOS Provider: 01241G
Contents
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . About this unit 3
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Content 3
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Graduate attributes and unit learning outcomes 3
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Learning resources 4
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Prescribed texts and materials 4
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Studying this unit 5
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Teaching and learning arrangements 5
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Estimated workload 5
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Scheduled Study Hours 5
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Assessment 6
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Assessment overview 6
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Assessment details 6
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Assessment 1 6
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Assessment 2 8
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Assessment 3 10
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Timetables 13
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Suggested study timetable 13
2 | MNG03236 Business Professional Development (Session 1, 2020)
About this unit
Assists students to develop their own professional identity in a business related feld. Part one
covers practical job search skills, resumé writing and interview skills. In part two, students
evaluate the role of personality, values, ethics and other key aspects of organisational
behaviour in the contemporary workplace.
Content
Topic 1: Managing your career
Topic 2: Te written job application
Topic 3: Effective interviewing and networking
Topic 4: Personality and values at work
Topic 5: Opportunity awareness – Understanding the world of work (feld trip/industry panel)
Topic 6: Goal setting and work-life balance
Topic 7: Emotions in the workplace
Topic 8: Decision making and problem solving
Topic 9: Contemporary issues in leadership
Topic 10: Power, politics and influence
Topic 11: Experiential learning for internship and/or graduate careers
Graduate attributes and unit learning outcomes
As a graduate of Southern Cross University, you will have developed skills, values and attitudes
that are essential for gaining employment and advancing lifelong learning. Te University
refers to these as graduate attributes (http://policies.scu.edu.au/view.current.php?id=00091#s3)
and identifes them as follows:
GA1 Intellectual rigour, GA2 Creativity, GA3 Ethical practice, GA4 Knowledge of a discipline,
GA5 Lifelong learning, GA6 Communication and social skills, GA7 Cultural competence.
Tis unit will assist students to develop the following graduate attributes (shown below as they
relate to this unit’s learning outcomes):

On completion of this unit, students should be able to:
1. demonstrate the ability to effectively
meet the professional requirements of
the employment selection process
✓
2. synthesise key theoretical principles,
professional skills and individual
attributes relating to career planning and
development
✓ ✓
3. analyse the nature, scope, breadth and
variety of employment opportunities and
career paths in relevant industry sectors.
✓
About this unit | 3
Learning resources
Prescribed texts and materials
Tere are compulsory readings and a Study Guide for this unit. See MySCU
(http://learn.scu.edu.au) for details.
Required online resources
Access to a computer and a reliable internet connection will be required.
4 | MNG03236 Business Professional Development (Session 1, 2020)
Studying this unit
Te frst step in managing your study for this unit is to familiarise yourself with this document
and the MySCU (http://learn.scu.edu.au) Learning Site. You should refer frequently to the
MySCU Learning Site for announcements and updates.
Te most effective method of improving interpersonal and managerial skills is through
experiential learning. Tis means that when studying this unit it is important that you engage
with the class or online activities, and look for opportunities to explore the topics in your
current workplace or study groups. Tis can be through observation, reflection and/or
discussion. From these experiences you can develop your own learning.
To further facilitate your learning a feld trip is offered in each on-campus location. Every
effort will be made to schedule this trip during your regular tutorial time. Tis means that you
must approach the feld trip as if it were a class, including completing the pre-learning or
preparation required, being appropriately dressed, and asking considered and relevant
questions of the industry representatives. Your lecturer will provide more details in your frst
class.
Teaching and learning arrangements
Estimated workload

36 114 150
Your scheduled study hours are allocated as follows:
Sydney – Hotel School

Melbourne – Hotel School

Studying this unit | 5
Assessment
Assessment overview
In order to achieve a passing grade in this unit you must submit all assessment tasks and
obtain a score of at least 50% of the total assessment marks for the unit.

1.
Employment
Application
Individual 1, 2 Graded N/A 30% 1500
words
20 Mar
2020 5:00
PM
N/A
2. Portfolio Individual 2, 3 Graded N/A 30% 1500
words + 3
minute
video
17 Apr
2020 5:00
PM
N/A
3. Report Individual 1, 2 Graded N/A 40% 2500 22 May
2020 5:00
PM
N/A
Assessment details
Assessment 1: Employment Application
Tis assessment is for these students only: Melbourne – Hotel School; Sydney – Hotel School.

Employment
Application
Individual 1, 2 Graded N/A 30% 1500
words
20 Mar
2020 5:00
PM
N/A
Employment Application Guidelines
Tere are three (3) components to this assessment:
1. Professional Email – present in a Word document saved as Your name, MNG03236 Email
2. Application Letter and Résumé/CV – single Word document saved as Your Name
Application
3. Response to one selection criteria from chosen job advertisement saved as Your Name
Selection Criteria.
Length:
1. Email (body = 1 paragraph)
2. Application Letter (1 page) and Résumé/CV (2–3 pages)
3. Selection criteria response (2–3 paragraphs).
Guidelines to the employment application
6 | MNG03236 Business Professional Development (Session 1, 2020)
Tis assessment item is an opportunity to customise this part of your study to suit your own
individual needs, interests and career aspirations. You need to fnd an advertised position that
you would be likely to apply for when seeking an internship or graduate position. It should be
relevant to your degree and realistic for your level of experience. Constructing your
Employment/Internship Application is an exercise designed to develop your professional
writing skills and your ability to understand and respond to the requirements of job
applications in order to secure interviews.
Tis assessment also tests your editing skills and attention to detail, to ensure that your
application is error free and of the highest quality. Tis assessment item is designed to be used
by you as an ongoing working document to assist you in securing an appropriate internship
position or employment upon graduation.
1. Professional email
• Present your email in a Word document that contains the following parts:
◦ Email address/to
◦ Subject line: Your name, MNG03236 Application
◦ Body
◦ Signature.
• Each part of your email should be grammatically correct and have no spelling errors or
inappropriate abbreviations. It should contain a brief message explaining the purpose of
the email and list the attached documents (i.e. your cover letter and CV and a response to
the selection criteria).
• Your ‘signature’ feld must contain your name and contact details. Ensure these are
professionally presented and clearly shown. Tis will allow a potential employer to quickly
contact you if they have difculties opening the attachments.
• Note: Although you will be uploading the text of your email as a Word document you
should address the email to the person and organisation that you are applying for a
position with and include.
2. Application letter and CV
Application letter
• Tis should be an application letter written in response to an advertised position. You
should choose a position which will be similar to one that you wish to gain for your future
internship or graduate position.
• Te letter should be a maximum of one (1) page, typed, single-spaced, A4.
• Te letter should follow correct fve paragraph, business letter format as per the template
available in the Unit Content section of the MySCU/Blackboard site.
• Insert a section break (not page break) at the bottom of your cover letter to ensure that
your layout stays as it should when transferred across different computers. Tis will also
assist you in setting up footers on your résumé.
• Do not use a footer or page number at the bottom of your letter.
• Your application letter always comes before your résumé.
Résumé/Curriculum Vitae (CV)
• A résumé or curriculum vitae (CV) is the standard and accepted way of setting out in an
ordered and factual format, the key aspects of your professional background or working
history.
• Tis should be part of the same Word document as your application letter and start on the
page directly afer your application letter.
• You must include a footer with your name and page number on pages two and three of
your CV (i.e. not on the frst page).
Assessment | 7
• You must include page breaks at the end of each page to preserve formatting and page
layouts.
• Your CV content should be appropriate for the type of position you are targeting.
• It must include personal contact details, previous education, work history,
skills, achievements, and contact details for three referees.
• Your CV should be no more than three (3) pages, typed, single-spaced.
• See guidelines for the format contained in CV guides and templates in the Unit Content.
3. Response to one selection criteria
Tis is a separate document headed, ‘Addressing the Selection Criteria’. Tis will be for an
advertised job of your choice that requires applicants to address the selection criteria as part of
the application process (typically these are government roles). Tis job can be different from
the one you are targeting in your application letter and CV.
Select one criteria from this document that you will address. Use the wording of the selection
criterion as a sub-heading and following the guidelines relating to selection criteria from
Topic 2 (Understanding the application process), address a single selection criterion in 2–3
paragraphs.
See the MySCU site – Assessment Tasks and Submission link – for the feedback sheet for this
assessment and be sure to check your work against those criteria before submitting, via the
link in the Assessment Tasks and Submission part of the MySCU site.
Assessment 2: Portfolio
Tis assessment is for these students only: Melbourne – Hotel School; Sydney – Hotel School.

Portfolio Individual 2, 3 Graded N/A 30% 1500
words + 3
minute
video
17 Apr
2020 5:00
PM
N/A
Career Portfolio Guidelines
Tere are two (2) components to this assessment:
Part A – Written report (1500 words)
Part B – Video (3-minute presentation).
Tis assessment is designed to be used by you as an ongoing working portfolio to assist you in
identifying your career goals and appropriate organisations you wish to pursue for internship
or employment positions. Writing in frst person (‘me’, ‘I’, ‘mine; etc.) is permitted however,
you should remember that this is a university assessment and not a descriptive story. A
minimum of fve (5) well integrated academic references are required.
Part A – Written Report
Te following may assist you to structure your work:
Executive Summary
An Executive Summary of a report is just that, a summary. It contains a statement of report
purpose and an overview of the actual and specifc fndings. Generally, it should be no longer
than one page and does not count towards the word limit of your report. Te Executive
8 | MNG03236 Business Professional Development (Session 1, 2020)
Summary can only be written afer you have completed your report. Write in past tense (e.g.
Te purpose of this report was to … ). If an Executive Summary is well written the reader
should be able to understand the main points, fndings, and conclusions of the actual report
without having to read the full report. Be sure to check the relevant Academic Skills Quick
Guide (https://www.scu.edu.au/staff/teaching-and-learning/academic-skills/quick-guides/) for
help with writing your summary.
Contents
1.0 Introduction
Ensure that you write an introduction for this assignment. Te Academic Skills Quick Guides
(https://www.scu.edu.au/staff/teaching-and-learning/academic-skills/quick-guides/) will
provide you with a reminder on what should be contained in an introduction.
2.0 My Career
• Describe how you visualise your perfect graduate position and broader career in 1–2
paragraphs. Ten critically evaluate how your descriptions compare and contrast with the
literature covered in this unit relating to defnitions of careers, career management and
career success (Topic 1). Do not use dictionary or Wikipedia defnitions in this discussion.
Instead, you should be evaluating the descriptions contained in academic writings such as
your Readings.
• Name the industry sector that you wish to pursue for your internship and/or graduate role
and refer to Appendix A which will contain your database of potential employers.
3.0 Goal Setting
• Setting goals (both short and long term) is important in career planning. Challenging, but
realistic, goals can have powerful positive influence on career success. Identify a goalsetting theory (model) or motivation theory and discuss how it may be useful to assist you
in achieving your career goals.
• In this section summarise the four (4) most important learning/career goals that you wish
to achieve within the next 10 years. Refer to Appendix B which will contain detailed
information about these four (4) goals.
4.0 Conclusion
Again, consult the Academic Skills Quick Guides (https://www.scu.edu.au/staff/teaching-andlearning/academic-skills/quick-guides/) for details on how to write a great conclusion.
5.0 References
Start this section on a new page and use Harvard referencing.
Appendices (A & B)
Insert a section break (start on a new page).
• Appendix A – Database of Potential Employers
Here you will list each of your fve preferred employers. Use appropriate headings
numbered 1–5 ensuring each organisation is listed in order of preference (i.e. your most
preferred organisation is number 1, your second choice employer is number 2 etc.). You
may include your feld trip organisation as one of the potential employers.
Use the following headings for each organisation to ensure all relevant information is
provided and then include a short review, in 1–2 paragraphs, of the career prospects
available within each of your selected organisations:
• Company name
Assessment | 9
• Contact person
• Position title (of contact person you would address an application to)
• Postal address
• Phone number
• Email
• Organisation website – [Copy the link to the page you are referring to here]
• Other links – [If there is a specifc employment and or internship link copy this link
here]
• Overview of [Insert organisation name here]:
Now write one to two paragraphs around what each organisation is renowned for and
the types of career opportunities available in this organisation. Use your own words.
Appendix B – Learning/Career Goals
Detail your four (4) most important learning/career goals that you wish to achieve
within the next 10 years using the template from the MySCU site – Assessment Tasks
and Submission link.
NB: Te word count of appendices is not included in your overall assessment word
count. Go crazy!
Part B – Video
Tis component of the assessment requires you to prepare a video in which you present an
academic quality, industry sector analysis. You will need to be succinct as the video should be
no more than three minutes in length.
Graduate Careers Australia (http://www.graduatecareers.com.au/careerplanningandresources/
starting-your-search/acareerplanningdevelopmentmodel/) provides some details about what
an industry sector analysis should include. Tese include:
• a detailed description of the industry sector that you want to be working in afer you
complete your current degree
• information on the career opportunities within this industry sector
• information on the career challenges within this industry sector
• an evaluation of the most appealing aspects of this industry sector for YOU personally.
You must use information gained from discussions with industry insiders, academic journals
and from your observations and general research but be sure to note the source of your
information. For example, you might say: ‘Timeshare is a growing sector of the hotel industry.
According to an article published in Perspective Timeshare Magazine on 3 May, total revenues for
this sector are up by 3% compared to the same time last year.’ Before going on to discuss in your
own words what this means for the industry and your career.
You can also cite information that was shared with you on the feld trip but again be sure to
cite the source. E.g., ‘In a presentation on 12 July 2018 Mr. Brown, Vice President of A Very
Good Hotel Group said key challenges for the sector included … ‘
See the MySCU site – Assessment Tasks and Submission link – for the feedback sheet to review
the criteria for this assessment.
Submit your report and video via the Assessment 2 ‘Assessment Tasks and Submission’ link on
the MySCU site.
Assessment 3: Report
Tis assessment is for these students only: Melbourne – Hotel School; Sydney – Hotel School.
10 | MNG03236 Business Professional Development (Session 1, 2020)

Report Individual 1, 2 Graded N/A 40% 2500 22 May
2020 5:00
PM
N/A
Report Guidelines
Te self-awareness report is designed to be a practical exercise with personal benefts – a reallife self-management strategy to assist you in obtaining a suitable employment position and
developing your career. Tis report should demonstrate a solid self-awareness and discuss your
career-related strengths and weaknesses.
You discussion should focus on the Organisational Behaviour (OB) factors discussed in this
unit. Include the following headings/parts:
Executive Summary
Remember that an Executive Summary of a report is just that, a summary. It contains a
statement of report purpose and an overview of the actual and specifc fndings. Generally, it
should be no longer than one page and does not count towards the word limit of your report.
Te Executive Summary can only be written afer you have completed your report. Write in
past tense (e.g. Te purpose of this report was to … ). If an Executive Summary is well written
the reader should be able to understand the main points, fndings, and conclusions of the
actual report without having to read the full report. Be sure to check the Academic Skills
Quick Guides (https://www.scu.edu.au/staff/teaching-and-learning/academic-skills/quickguides/) for details on how to write an excellent executive summary.
Contents
Use heading styles and the insert – contents function in your word processing sofware when
including the contents page.
1.0 Introduction
Ensure that you write an introduction for this assignment. Te Academic Skills Quick Guides
(https://www.scu.edu.au/staff/teaching-and-learning/academic-skills/quick-guides/) will
provide you with a reminder on what should be contained in an introduction.
2.0 Self-awareness
For each sub-section below you should discuss the literature, provide evidence of your own
approach or level of competency, then discuss this in the context of your chosen career/career
choices.
• 2.1 Personality
• 2.2 Values and Motivators
• 2.3 Emotional Intelligence
• 2.4 Leadership
• 2.5 Power and Politics.
3.0 Decision making and planning
Refer to the literature on Problem Solving and Decision Making and critically evaluate how an
understanding of these theories can be of assistance to the decision-making and problemsolving processes you will be using when seeking your internship/graduate employment. You
must compare and contrast at least two approaches/theories.
Assessment | 11
Your discussion should identify and elaborate upon factors that will be important in your
internship/graduate position decision such as the geographic location, paid/unpaid nature,
opportunity for training and development, opportunity for ongoing employment, and so forth.
4.0 Conclusion
Conclude and summarise the report.
References
Include at least ten quality academic references and cite these in your report to support your
discussion.
Appendices
Include these as appropriate. Appendicies are not included in the word count.
Submit your assessment via Turnitin through the Assessment Tasks and Submission part of the
MySCU site.
12 | MNG03236 Business Professional Development (Session 1, 2020)
Timetables
Suggested study timetable

Timetables | 13