Unit Synopsis
This unit explores the dynamic factors shaping the success and direction of contemporary businesses, with an emphasis on understanding and managing modern organisations. You will examine relevant theories and conceptual frameworks to analyse how business environments affect operations and decision-making. The unit emphasises the role of core management functions, including planning, organising, leading, and controlling, in improving organisational performance, while also highlighting the importance of driving entrepreneurship, fostering innovation, and achieving sustainability.
Details
| Level | Undergraduate |
|---|---|
| Unit Level | 1 |
| Credit Points | 6 |
| Student Contribution Band | SCA Band 4 |
| Fraction of Full-Time Student Load | 0.125 |
| Pre-requisites or Co-requisites |
There are no pre-requisites for the unit.
Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework). |
| Class Timetable | View Unit Timetable |
| Residential School | No Residential School |
Unit Availabilities from Term 1 - 2026
Attendance Requirements
All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes - in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).
Recommended Student Time Commitment
Each 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.
Assessment Tasks
| Assessment Task | Weighting |
|---|---|
| 1. Presentation | 40% |
| 2. Reflective Practice Assignment | 60% |
This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%).
Past Exams
All University policies are available on the Policy web site, however you may wish to directly view the following policies below.
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of policies are available on the Policy web site .
Term 1 - 2025 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 81.25% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 16.49% response rate.
Feedback, Recommendations and Responses
Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.
Source: SUTE student feedback
The lecturer created a very inclusive environment
Drawing on lived experience of students provides an effective link to discussion of business concepts.
Continued using students’ lived experiences in discussions and designed activities that encourage all students to share and connect ideas to business concepts.
Source: SUTE student feedback
Valuable feedback was provided on written work
Significant effort is provided with constructive feedback at three levels: in the submission, through the rubric evaluation, and in developmental comments uploaded through Feedback Studio.
Maintained multi-level feedback with clearer, more targeted comments and provided examples of high-quality work to guide improvement.
Source: SUTE student feedback
Lectures and workshop discussions really connected the content to real-world applications
Applying conceptual frameworks to understand what is being published in business media provides an ongoing opportunity to track and analyse the impact of management decisions on business performance.
Used current business media and case scenarios to apply conceptual frameworks and analyse management decisions in class.
Source: SUTE student feedback
Teaching strategies were very effective and exceeded the standards I expected.
The great conceptual thinkers in business academia develop their insights from researching business practices. Unpacking the conceptual frameworks in real-world contexts adds great depth to workshop discussions.
Continued applying evidence-based strategies, integrating research and frameworks into interactive activities to strengthen practical application.
Source: SUTE
The lecturer is supportive and delivers clear content.
Continue maintaining a supportive teaching approach and delivering clear, well-structured content, while exploring additional ways to enhance engagement.
In Progress
Source: SUTE
The video presentation submission process (Assignment 1) and locating the lecturer’s feedback were seen as complex.
Provide clear, step-by-step instructions for submitting the video to Echo360 and linking it in CQUniversity Moodle, supported by a short screencast video guide.
In Progress
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
- Explain relevant theories and conceptual frameworks in contemporary business.
- Apply relevant frameworks to determine the impact of key factors in business environments on operations and decision-making.
- Discuss the impact of entrepreneurship, innovation, and sustainability on business strategies, organisational structures, and design.
- Apply essential management skills in planning, organising, leading, and controlling, and their contribution to enhancing organisational performance.
- Discuss the role of leadership in driving entrepreneurship, fostering innovation, and achieving sustainability.
Not applicable
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| 1 - Presentation | • | • | • | ||
| 2 - Reflective Practice Assignment | • | • | • | • | • |
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| 1 - Communication | • | • | • | • | • |
| 2 - Problem Solving | • | • | • | • | |
| 4 - Information Literacy | • | • | • | • | • |
| 6 - Information Technology Competence | • | • | • | ||
| 8 - Ethical practice | • | ||||
| 9 - Social Innovation | • | ||||
| Assessment Tasks | Graduate Attributes | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 | |