U N I V E R S I T Y O F A B E R D E E N

MANAGING CHANGE AND

INNOVATION

M B A (BU5559)

COURSE OUTLINE

2011
 MANAGING CHANGE AND INNOVATION

1 Introduction
Welcome to the core MBA module on Managing Change and Innovation. In
preparation for this course you should make themselves familiar with Tidd, J. and
Bessant, J. (2009) Managing Innovation, 4th edition, Chichester: Wiley (copies are
available at Blackwells and a limited number of copies are available at the library). The
course runs over 12 weeks in a series of 3 hour sessions and MBA students will be split
into two different cohorts. You must attend the session to which you have been
allocated, on either Wednesday or Friday. A register will be taken at each session and
students will be permitted to change sessions only with the permission of the lecturer.
The sessions will comprise various combinations of lectures, case studies, videos, group
discussions, and plenary sessions. Students will be expected to participate in debates, to
submit an assignment and answer questions from a formal examination paper in May
2011.

2 Student Preparation and Self-Learning

It is essential that you prepare for lectures and ensure that you read and makes notes on
required readings. Lectures compliment and support student preparation and self-
learning and assume that you are familiar with core issues and concepts. Required
readings are therefore essential and additional reading is highly recommended. There
will normally be two to three required readings per week and these will usually be a
combination of book chapters and academic articles. Reading and preparation prior to
the lecture enables you to engage with the material presented, clarify concepts and issues
you have not understood, and ask appropriate questions. Some lectures require that you
read and makes notes on case study material (loaded on WebCT) before attending the
lecture, in preparation for discussion and debate during the scheduled session.
Searching key journals (outlined below) for relevant articles is recommended and is
expected of top class students. Additional material will also be highlighted by the
course lecturers during the programme and when possible (given copyright laws) will be
uploaded to WebCT. It is also essential that you attend lectures, maintain good note-
taking and follow up with further readings and self-learning activities.

The course assessments (assignment and examination) have been put together based on
a minimum of 150 hours work during the semester – this is the minimum that students
are expected to do if they are expected to pass the course. This work will comprise
attendance at lectures, preparation of required readings, additional reading and writing
the assignment. Students who wish to do well in the course should expect to do more
than the 150 hours.

3 Aims of the Course

This subject aims to give you a greater understanding of the dynamic and complex
processes associated with managing change and innovation. The concepts of change
and innovation have never been more topical, especially given the commercial context
of fierce business competition, shorter product life cycles and more demanding
customers. Increasingly, long-term commercial success is based on an ability to manage
change and to promote innovation. These processes interconnect and overlap and often
present major challenges to modern organizations. We address these issues through
providing detailed case illustrations on the management of change and innovation,
ranging from the workplace to the wider business market. Learning is encouraged

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through interaction, reading, investigation, video and case analysis, and critical
discussion. Theories, concepts and practical issues will all be raised and discussed, as it
is our intention to engage students in informed debates about the relationships between
academic learning, conceptual development and business practice.

4 Course Texts (available from Blackwells)

Core Text: Tidd, J., and Bessant, J. (2009). Managing Innovation: Integrating
Technological, Market and Organizational Change, 4th edition, Wiley.
Link:
http://www.readinglists.co.uk/rsl/student/sviewlist.dfp?id=32958

Supplementary Text: Andriopoulos, C. and P. Dawson (2009) Managing Change,

Creativity & Innovation, London: Sage (ISBN 9781412948531).

5 Assignment: Manufacturing Change at GM: An appraisal of Kurt Lewin’s

3-Step Model

The assignment for 2011 requires students to analyse the GM case study (uploaded
on WebCT) and then to use the case material to evaluate and comment upon Kurt
Lewin’s 3-step model of change (also see the Burnes article in the required reading
folder on WebCT).

Each student is expected to submit a written assignment which must be individually

prepared, typewritten and of not more than 1500 words (the 1500 words does not
include any tables, diagrams, the bibliography and any appendices). You must also
include a full bibliography following the Harvard referencing style (information about
the style available here:
http://www.usq.edu.au/library/help/ehelp/ref_guides/harvardonline.htm). Make sure
that you follow normal citation conventions in preparing your coursework by citing the
ideas or data of others at the point in your coursework where these ideas and data are
included. Anyone who is unsure about citation should speak to one of the course
lecturers.

The submission date for this coursework assignment is Thursday 3rd March 2011 at
15:00 (3pm) at the Graduate School Office. An electronic copy of the assignment in the
form of a Word document should also be submitted by the same deadline at Turnitin,
location: http://www.submit.ac.uk/. The login for Turnitin is ID 250022 and the
password is PDawson. Assignments that are not submitted in this way will not be
accepted. Assignments will not be accepted by fax or by e-mail to the course
coordinator or school office. Only in exceptional circumstances will the course
coordinator approve other methods of submission. Assignments will be marked using
the University’s Common Assessment Scale (see CAS.docx on WebCT). Assignments
that are submitted late will be reduced by one CAS mark for each day (or part) late.
Provided the assignment is submitted within a 14 day period and is on merit awardable a
CAS mark 9 or above, the assignment will not be awarded a CAS mark lower than 9.
Assignments submitted 14 or more days late will be assigned zero, and regarded as a
non-submission.

In analysing the case material, you should first read the case quickly to gain an overall
impression of the change process. You may find it useful at this stage to underline,
highlight or annotate information in the case which helps explain, for example, the

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context of change, the timeframe of change, key stakeholders, and the opportunities and
constraints on change. The aim at this stage is to identify potential elements of the case
which may help to explain why change occurred in the way that it did. You may ask
yourself, what are the main change issues being faced and by whom?

Once you have some familiarity with the case you then need to ensure a good
understanding of Lewin’s 3-step model of change (a brief overview of this is provided in
in the lecture presented in the second week). In familiarising yourself with this model,
there is a useful article by Bernard Burnes (2004) entitled ‘Kurt Lewin and the Planned
Approach to Change: A Re-appraisal’, Journal of Management Studies, 41(6): 977-1002
(available on WebCT). You should read this and again highlight areas that may be
usefully linked with the case analysis of GM. For example, can you identify an
unfreezing stage? Are his concepts of ‘field theory’ and ‘group dynamics’ relevant?

You should then read the case again very thoroughly, several times. These subsequent
readings will provide you with a more complete understanding of the case, and may also
reveal additional key information which was not apparent to you on your first reading.
Look for evidence that will help you to evaluate, discuss and comment upon the change
model of Lewin. You should also be careful when evaluating opinions expressed by the
key characters in the case. Organisations often comprise competing interest groups and
members of these different groups can have quite different perspectives on issues and
problems that face the organisation. An industrial relations issue, for example, is likely
to be viewed quite differently by managers than by union officials.

In writing you assignment, you must be able to cite evidence from the case to support
your arguments and recommendations. It is legitimate to draw inferences about matters
which are not explicitly stated in the case and/or the wider literature. Remember, you
should always be able to justify such inferences and develop a coherent argument.
Engaging in ‘flights of fantasy’ where no support or justification is given for the points
you make is not permissible. Focus: your aim is to apply knowledge and insights from
you case analysis to Lewin’s theory on change.

6 Method of Assessment
Assignment 30%
Examination 70%

7 Reading
Reading is considered an essential part of the course, and students are expected to access
and critically analyse the relevant literature. Lectures should be seen as an introduction
and guide to subject areas, not as a replacement for reading. We would also strongly
recommend you to refer to academic journals.

Some of the Main Academic Journals in the Area

Journal of Change Journal of Management New Technology, Work &
Management Studies Employment
Creativity and Innovation Scandinavian Journal of Sloan Management Review
Management Management
International Journal of Human Relations Harvard Business Review

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Innovation Management
Organization Strategic Management Administrative Science
Journal Quarterly
Organization Science Journal of Organizational Innovation: The European
Change Management Journal of Social Science
Research
Organization Studies Human Resource Personnel Review
Management Journal

8 Course Structure
The course is structured around the required readings, many of which will be uploaded
to WebCT, the required core textbook Tidd, J. and Bessant, J. (2009) Managing
Innovation, 4th edition, Chichester: Wiley, and the supplementary text Andriopoulos, C.
and P. Dawson (2009) Managing Change, Creativity & Innovation. Where they are
used, relevant Powerpoint slides will be uploaded to WebCT so that students can access
the slides used. These will be uploaded either prior or immediately after the lecture.
These slides are to provided to help you take notes during lectures and are not a
replacement for your own notes.

Session 1 (PD): Change and Innovation: An Historical Overview of Business

Practice and Theory Development
 Why study change and innovation?
 Change in practice: cellular manufacturing at Washdale
 Charles Handy on change: art and management development programmes
 Historical overview: steam engines to electronic hypertext
 Course administration

Required reading:
 Dawson. P. (2003a) Understanding Organizational Change: The Contemporary
Experience of People at Work. London: Sage, pp.11-25 (available on WebCT).
 Andriopoulos, C. and P. Dawson (2009) Managing Change, Creativity &
Innovation. London: Sage, Chapter 3, pp. 42-74 (available on WebCT).

Additional reading:
 Alvesson, M. and S. Sveningsson (2008) Changing Organizational Culture:
Cultural Change Work in Progress, London: Routledge.
 Burnes, B. (2009) Managing Change. 5th Edition. London: Financial Times/
Prentice Hall.

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  Collins, D. (1998) Organizational Change: Sociological Perspectives. London:
Routledge.
 Dawson. P. (2003a) Understanding Organizational Change: The Contemporary
Experience of People at Work. London: Sage, pp.98-111.
 Grey, C. (2009) A Very Short, Fairly Interesting and Reasonably Cheap Book
About Studying Organizations. London: Sage.
 Palmer, I,. Dunford, R., and G. Akin, (2008) Managing Organizational Change:
A Multiple Perspectives Approach. 2nd Edition. McGraw-Hill Higher Education.

Session 2 (PD): Frameworks for Understanding Change

 Dimensions and drivers to change
 Resistance and communication
 Video: Change management in large organizations
 Kurt Lewin and planned change
 Political process approach
 Contingency theory and change
 Kanter’s ten commandments: How to be masters not victims of change

Required reading:
 Burnes, B. (2004) ‘Kurt Lewin and the planned approach to change: a re-
appraisal’, Journal of Management Studies, 41(6): 977-1002 (available on
WebCT and required reading for assignment).
 Dunphy, D. and Stace, D. (1990) Under New Management: Australian
Organizations in Transition. Sydney: McGraw-Hill, Chapter 4, pp.65-93
(available on WebCT).
 Buchanan, D. and Badham, R. (1999) ‘Politics and organizational change: the
lived experience’, Human Relations, 52(5): 609-629 (available on WebCT).

Additional reading:
 Andriopoulos, C. and P. Dawson (2009) Managing Change, Creativity &
Innovation. London: Sage, Chapter 10, pp.278-327.
 Burnes, B. (2009) Managing Change. 5th Edition. London: Financial Times/
Prentice Hall, Chapter 8, pp.259-286.
 Buchanan, D. and Badham, R. (2008) Power, Politics, and Organizational
Change. Winning the Turf Game. 2nd edn. London: Sage Publications.
 Kanter, R.M. (1985) The Change Masters: Corporate Entrepreneurs at Work.
London: Allen and Unwin.
 Kanter, R.M., Stein, B.A, and Jick, T.D. (1992) The Challenge of
Organizational Change: How Companies Experience It And Leaders Guide It,
New York: Free Press.

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Session 3 (AP): Managing Innovation: What is Innovation and Why is it
Important?
 The process of innovation
 The role of innovation in creating competitive advantage
 The incentive to innovate
 Types of innovation

Required readings:
 Tidd, J. and Bessant, J. (2009). Managing Innovation: Integrating
Technological, Market and Organizational Change, 4th edn. Wiley, Chichester
(Chapters 1 and 2).
 Christensen, C. and Bower J. (1996). Customer Power, Strategic Investment and
the Failure of Leading Firms, Strategic Management Journal, 17, 197-218,
(article available from course WebCT).

Additional reading:
 Belenzon, S. and Patacconi, A. (2010). Performance, Firm Size, and the
‘Basicness’ of Research, Working Paper. Downloadable at
http://www.abdn.ac.uk/~pec220/
 Besanko, D., Dranove, D., Shanley, M. And Schaefer, S. (2010). Economics of
Strategy, 5th edn. Wiley, Chichester (Chapter 15).
 Christensen, C.M. (1997). The Innovator’s Dilemma, Harvard Business School
Press, Boston MA.
 Henderson, R. M. and Clark, K. B. (1990). Architectural Innovation: The
Reconfiguration of Existing Product Technologies and the Failure of Established
Firms, Administrative Science Quarterly, 35: 9-30.
 Hill, C. and Rothaermel, F. (2003). The Performance of Incumbent Firms in the
Face of Radical Technological Innovation, Academy of Management Review, 28:
257-274.

Session 4 (JC): Developing an Innovation Strategy

 The importance of technological changes
 Technological (core) competences: what they are and why you need to know
about them
 How to nurture TCCs?

Required reading:
 Tidd, J. And Bessant, J. (2009) Managing Innovation: Integrating
Technological, Market and Organizational Change, Chichester: Wiley,
Chapter 4.

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  R. Burgelman, C. Christensen and S. Wheelwright (2004) Strategic
management of technology and innovation, 4th edition, McGraw-Hill. pp.
102-112: the core competence of the corporation (article available on
WebCT).

Additional reading:
 Adner, R. and Helfat, C. (2003) Corporate effects and dynamic managerial
capabilities. Strategic Management Journal, pp.1011-25
 C. Freeman and L. Soete (1997) The Economics of Industrial Innovation, 3rd
Edition, the MIT press. Chapter 11: Innovation and strategy of the firm.
 Kim, L. (1997) Immitation to Innovation: the dynamics of Korea’s
technological learning, Harvard Business School Press.
 Tripsas, M. and Gavetti, G. (2000), Capabilities, cognition and inertia:
evidence from digital imaging, Strategic Management Jounal, 21, pp. 1147-
1161
 Winter, S.G. (2003) Understanding dynamic capabilities, Strategic
Management Journal, 24, pp. 991-5

Session 5 (AP): Sources of Innovation

 Searching for innovative ideas
 Learning from others
 Selecting ideas
 Organizing for innovation

Required readings:
 Tidd J. and Bessant, J. (2009). Managing Innovation: Integrating Technological,
Market and Organizational Change, Wiley, Chichester (Chapter 5).

Additional readings:
 Arora A. snd Gambardella, A. (1994). The Changing Technology of
Technological Change: General and Abstract Knowledge and the Division of
Innovative Labour, Research Policy, 23: 523-532.
 Chesbrough, H. (2003). The Era of Open Innovation, MIT Sloan Management
Review, 44: 35-41.
 Chesbrough H. (2003) The Governance and Performance of Xerox’s Technology
Spin-Off Companies, Research Policy, 32: 403-421.
 Cohen, W. and Levinthal, D. (1990). Absorptive Capacity: A New Perspective
on Learning and Innovation, Administrative Science Quarterly, 35: 128-152.
 Pisano, G. (2006). Science Business, Harvard Business School Press, Boston
MA.

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Session 6 (JC): Strategic Alliances and Innovation Networks
 Motivations for alliances
 Types of alliances
 Innovation networks

Required reading:
Tidd J. et al. (2009) Managing innovation: Integrating technological, market and
organizational change, Chichester: Wiley Chapter 6.

Additional reading:
 Duysters, G. and A. De Man (2003) Transitionary alliances: an instrument
for surviving turbulent industries? R&D Management, 33(1): 49-58
 Rothaemel, F. and D. Deeds (2004) Exploration and exploitation alliance in
biotechnology: a system of new product development, Strategic Management
Journal, 25(3): 201-221
 Trott, P. (2008) Innovation Management and New Product Development, 4th
Edition, Harlow: Prentice Hall, chapter 7
 Teher, B. (2002) Who co-operates for innovation, and why? An empirical
analysis, Research Policy, 31(6): 947-967.

Session 7 (JC): Marketing of High-Tech Products and Innovations: Finance for

Innovation
 Customer visit programmes
 Empathic design
 Lead user innovation processes
 Different forms of capital available for innovation
 How to evaluate innovation investment

Required reading:
Mohr, J. et.al. (2010) Marketing of High-Technology Products and Innovations, 3rd
edition, Prentice Hall, Chapters 6 & 7 (part of chapters 6 and 7 that this course is heavily
reliant on will be available on WebCT).

Additional reading:
 Burgelman,R. Christensen,C. and Wheelwright,S., 2004, Strategic management
of technology and innovation, 4th edition, McGraw-Hill. pp.245-264: customer
power, strategic investment, and the failure of leading firms.
 von Hippel, E. 1986, ‘Lead users: a source of novel product concepts’,
Management Science, 32(7): 791-805.

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  Smith, D. (2010) Exploring Innovation, Berkshire: McGraw Hill, Chapter 10,
pp. 200-222.
 Tylecote, A. B. and P. Ramirez, (2006) ‘Corporate Governance and innovation:
the UK compared with the US and `insider´ economies’, Research Policy, 35(1):
160-180.

Session 8 (AS): Building the Business Case for Innovation

 Forecasting the market
 Managing risk
 Assessing the alternatives
 Developing a project portfolio

Required reading:
 Tidd J. and Bessant J. (2009) Managing Innovation: Integrating Technological,
Market and Organizational Change, 4th edn. Chichester: Wiley Chapter 8.

Additional reading:
 Rogers, E. (1995) Diffusion of Innovations. 4th ed. New York: Free Press
 Geroski, P. A. (2000). Models of technology diffusion, Research Policy, 29 (4-
5): 603-625.
 Johnson, Mark, Christensen, Clayton, Kagermann H. (2008) Reinventing Your
Business Model Harvard Business Review, 86 (12): 50-59.

Session 9 (AS): Building New Products and Services?

 Activities and competencies involved in new product / service development
o Knowledge acquisition for new products / services
o New product development project execution
o Product launch

Required reading:
 Tidd J. et al. (2009) Managing Innovation: Integrating Technological, Market
and Organizational Change, Chichester: Wiley Chapter 9.
 Berry L., Shankar, V., Turner Parish, J., Cadwallader, S. and Dotzel, S. (2006)
Creating new markets through service innovation Sloan Management Review 47
(2): 56-63 (Available on WebCT)

Additional reading:
• Clark, K.B. & Wheelwright, S.C. (1993) Managing New Product & Process
Development: Test & Cases. Free Press, New York.

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 • Cooper, R. (2000) Doing it right: winning with new products Ivey Business
Journal 64(6): 54 - 60
• Ernst, H. (2002) Success factors of new product development: a review of
empirical literature, International Journal of Management Reviews, 4(1): 1-40
• Griffin, A. & Page, A.L. (1996) PDMA success measurement project:
recommended measures for product development success and failure, Journal of
Product Innovation Management, 13(6): 478-496

Session 10 (AP): Profiting from innovation

 Protecting intellectual assets
 Network effects and platform competition
 Technology brokering
 The market for technology

Required readings:
 Tidd J. and Bessant J. (2009). Managing Innovation: Integrating Technological,
Market and Organizational Change, 4th edn. Wiley, Chichester (Chapter 11).
 Grant, R. (2010). Contemporary Strategy Analysis, 7th edn. Wiley, Chichester,
Chapter 12 (available on WebCT).

Additional readings:
 Arora, A., Fosfuri A. and Gambardella A. (2001). Markets for Technology, MIT
Press, Cambridge, MA.
 Cohen, W., Nelson, R. and Walsh, J. (2000). Protecting their Intellectual Assets:
Appropriability Conditions and Why US Manufacturing Firms Patent (or Not),
NBER Working Paper 7552.
 Hargadon, A. (2003). How Breakthroughs Happen, Harvard Business School
Press, Boston MA.
 Pisano, G. (2006). Profiting from Innovation and the Intellectual Property
Revolution. Research Policy, 35: 1122-1130.
 Teece, D. (1986). Profiting from Technological Innovation. Research Policy, 15:
285-306.
 Teece D., Pisano G. and Shuen A. (1997). Dynamic capabilities and strategic
management, Strategic Management Journal, 18: 509-533.

Session 11 (AS): Process Innovation

 Product innovation vs process innovation
 The drivers for process innovation
 Innovation in a service setting

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Required reading:
Barras, R. (1986) Towards a theory of innovation in services Research Policy 15(4):
161-173 (available on WebCT)
Freeman, C. The Economics of Industrial Innovation 3rd edn Pinter (London) Chapter 4
(available on Googlebooks) or 2nd edn (Pinter) Chapter 2 (available on WebCT, but note
the print is small)

Additional reading:
 Abernathy, W.J. and Utterback, J.M. (1978) Patterns of industrial innovation,
Technology Review, June/July, 40-47
 Cooper, R.B. and Zmud, R.W. (1990). Information technology implementation
research: A technological diffusion approach. Management Science, 36: 123-
139.
 Kwon, T.H. and Zmud, R.W. (1987) Unifying the fragmented models of
information systems implementation In Critical issues in Information Systems
research (Eds. Borland, R.J. and Hirschheim, R.A.) John Wiley & Sons,
Chichester, pp. 227-251.
 Smart, A.U., Bunduchi R. and Gerst, M. (2010) The costs of adoption of RFID
technologies in supply networks, International Journal of Operations and
Production Management 30(4): 423 – 447
 Smith, Adam (2003) An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of
Nations Oxford University Press (or any similar edition), particularly Chapters 1
– 4 (the chapters are short)

Session 12 (PD): Managing Change and Innovation: Lessons from Processual

Research
 The processual perspective
 Competing for the Future
 Case illustrations: identifying rules of thumb?
 Leading change and innovation (open road video)

Required reading:
 Dawson, P. (2003b) ‘A processual approach to understanding change’ Chapter 2
in Dawson, P. Reshaping Change: A Processual Perspective, London: Routledge
pp.7-28 (available on WebCT).
 Dawson, P. (1997) ‘In at the deep end: conducting processual research on
organisational change’, Scandinavian Journal of Management, 13(4): 389-405
(available on WebCT).

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Additional reading:
 Andriopoulos, C. and P. Dawson (2009) Managing Change, Creativity &
Innovation. London: Sage, Chapter 10, pp. 306-315.
 Dawson. P. (2003a) Understanding Organizational Change: The Contemporary
Experience of People at Work. London: Sage.
 Dawson, P. (2003b) Reshaping Change: A Processual Perspective. London:
Routledge.
 Dawson, P. (1994) Organizational Change. London: Paul Chapman Publishing.
 Hamel, G. and C.K. Prahalad (1994) Competing for the Future. Boston,
Massachusetts: Harvard Business School Press.
 Pettigrew, A., Whittington, R., Melin, L., Sanchez-Runde, C., van den Bosch, F.,
Ruigrok, W., and T. Numagami (eds) (2003) Innovative Forms of Organizing.
London: Sage.
 Reissner, S.C. (2008) Narratives of Organizational Change and Learning.
Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.
 Ridderstrale, J and Wilcox, M (2008) Re-energizing the Corporation.
Chichester: John Wiley & Sons.

ASSESSMENT REGULATIONS

Attendance
You should attend all lectures all sessions as required by the course. We recognise that
attendance and Academic performance can be adversely affected by illness and a variety of
personal difficulties.
If you are intending to be absent from classes, it is important to inform the University that you
will be away by contacting the Graduate Business School Office at [email protected]. Please
read your e-mails on a daily basis, and reply in good time to requests from the Office or your
tutors for information.
Monitoring Students' Progress and Class Certificate Refusal
The University is introducing a system for monitoring students' progress to identify students
who may be experiencing difficulties in a particular course. If you do not attend or we are
concerned about your performance, the Registry will be informed. The Registry will then write
to you (by e-mail in term-time) to ask you to contact the Senate Office. Depending on your
reason for absence, the Senate Office will either deal directly with your case or will refer you to
the Graduate Business School or a relevant Support Service. This system is operated to provide
support for students who may be experiencing difficulties with their studies. Students are
required to attend such meetings with the Graduate Business School office in accordance with
General Regulation 8.
Set criteria are used to determine when a student should be reported in the monitoring system.
You will be asked to see Graduate Business School staff if any of the following criteria apply
for this course:-
either (i) if you are absent for a continuous period of two weeks without good cause being
reported;
or (ii) if you are absent from two small group teaching sessions (e.g. tutorial) without good

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cause;
or (iii) if you fail to submit a piece of assessment by the stated deadline.
If you fail to respond within the prescribed timescale (as set out in the e-mail or letter),
you will be deemed to have withdrawn from the course and will not be allowed to take the
end-of-course assessment or the resit. The Registry will write to you (by e-mail in term-time)
to inform you of this decision. If you wish consideration to be given to reinstating you in the
course you will be required to meet with the Convener of the Students' Progress Committee.
Absence from classes on medical grounds
Candidates who wish to establish that their academic performance has been adversely affected by their
health are required to secure medical certificates relating to the relevant periods of ill health (see General
Regulation 17.3).
The University’s policy on requiring certification for absence on medical grounds or other good cause can
be accessed at: www.abdn.ac.uk/registry/quality/appendix7x5.pdf
You are strongly advised to make yourself fully aware of your responsibilities if you are absent due to
illness or other good cause. In particular, you are asked to note that self-certification of absence for
periods of absence up to and including eleven weekdays is permissible. However, where absence has
prevented attendance at an examination or where it may have affected your performance in an element of
assessment or where you have been unable to attend a specified teaching session, you are strongly
advised to provide medical certification (see section 3 of the Policy on Certification of Absence for
Medical Reasons or Other Good Cause).
Notification of Long-Term Disability or Personal Concern
If you have a persistent medical disability (such as dyslexia, diabetes or impaired sight or hearing) or any
enduring personal problem (such as family illness) which is likely to disadvantage your work and/or
attendance, please inform go to the Student Support reception in the Hub, Elphinstone Road, who will
then assess your requirements and inform the GBS Office of these.

COURSEWORK AND WRITTEN EXAMINATIONS

Submission - Individual course outlines will specify the time and date for the deadline for submission of
written work. In the absence of a time being given, it will be assumed to be 3.00 pm on the date specified.
You are required to submit online using the Turnitin website (see your handbook for instructions
or on webct under GBS). Course code log-in passwords will be available on webct under the GBS
heading.
You should also submit TWO PAPER COPIES of your essay by 3.00pm on the due date with the essay
submission form (available on webct under the GBS heading) to the Graduate Business School Office,
Room KQG1, Kings Quad.
Please note, that failure to submit an assignment using Turnitin will result in a zero score being
awarded.
Students wishing to send assignments by post may do so, provided the assignment bears a postmark on or
before the deadline. We will not accept responsibility for lost assignments sent by mail unless proof of
postage can be shown. All assignments sent by mail must therefore be sent Recorded Delivery. It is the
responsibility of the student to ensure that his/her essay is received by our administrative staff.
Assignments that are submitted late will be reduced by one CAS mark for each day (or part) late. Provided
the assignment is submitted within a 14 day period and is on merit awardable a CAS mark 9 or above, the
assignment will not be awarded a CAS mark lower than 9. Assignments submitted 14 or more days late
will be assigned zero, and regarded as a non-submission. Penalties for late submission will be suspended
only in the event of a reasonable cause, supported by written evidence, such as a medical certificate from a
GP, or notification of attendance at the University’s Counselling Service.
Extensions - Students seeking extensions need to complete an official request for extension. The
appropriate form can be picked up from the GBS Office, Room KQG1, Kings College. This form is also
available on Webct under the GBS heading. The form has to be completed and signed by the appropriate
Course Coordinator and Director of Graduate Programmes or Deputy Director of Graduate Programmes
and has to be returned to the Graduate Business School Office with appropriate documentation. Any
evidence should be presented within one week of the deadline for that particular assessment.
Assessment - Course work will normally be examined by the lecturer who set the assignment and another
member of academic staff. In order to ensure conformity between the course work grades awarded by

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teaching staff, the distribution of grades given by each marker will be compared at the end of each
semester to ensure that no individual is being unusually generous or harsh.
Plagiarism
When you have to write an essay or project you will have to reference all the material that you
use. It is worth getting into the habit of doing this correctly – as you go through your
programme, you will find that you will lose more and more marks if you fail to do this.
Any course work assignment must be the work of the student who submits it. Plagiarism is regarded as a
serious offence. Please read your referencing guide, available on webct under the GBS heading for how to
reference in any assignment. In any case where plagiarism is identified, following investigation, the essay
can be awarded a mark of zero. (See the Code of Practice for Student Discipline online at
The University has adopted a Code of Practice on student discipline (available to download
from http://www.abdn.ac.uk/registry/quality/appendix5x15.pdf) which includes a section on
‘plagiarism’. ‘Plagiarism’ is defined as:
‘the use, without adequate acknowledgement, of the intellectual work of another person in work
submitted for assessment. A student cannot be found to have committed plagiarism where it
can be shown that the student has taken all reasonable care to avoid representing the work of
others as his own.’ (University of Aberdeen, Code of practice on student discipline).

There is no excuse not to use adequate referencing and if in any doubt at all, make sure that you
have fully acknowledged your work. This should include not only the referencing of direct
quotes, but also the acknowledgement of the use of any paraphrased material or ideas of others.
For example, you should ALWAYS reference the following:
 using a choice phrase or sentence that you have come across
 copying word-for word from a text
 paraphrasing the words from a text, eg amending a piece of text with some of your own
words
 Using text downloaded from the internet
 Borrowing statistics or assembled facts from another person or source
 Copying or downloading figures, photographs, pictures or diagrams without
acknowledging your sources
 Copying notes or essays from a fellow student, or from a previous piece of coursework of
your own.
(OU Assessment handbook 2004-05, p29)
Remember, that while you may get into serious trouble for not fully acknowledging your
sources, you will often get extra marks for clearly referencing a range of different sources.
Using lots of sources for your work in essays or assessments is encouraged, but using them
without acknowledgment is not!!
Examinations
Assessment - Examinations are anonymously marked by members of the teaching staff. Exam marks are
then anonymously audited internally before they are then audited (again anonymously) by an External
Examiner. It is University policy not to return final exam scripts to students (a final exam is a course exam
which counts towards the final degree). Under these regulations, anyone undertaking a taught masters
programme is permitted to review their examination performance. If requested, you can expect to receive
feedback on your performance in all final examinations normally within two weeks of results being
published from the tutor concerned. The nature of this advice will be formative and aimed at helping you
learn the lessons in preparation for future examinations. You should contact your Course Coordinator in
the first instance, outlining your reasons for the feedback request.
The University's regulations on progression and award for taught postgraduate programmes can be found
at http://www.abdn.ac.uk/registry/quality/appendices.shtml#section7
Publication of results – Results will be available via Student Portals the day after they have been
submitted to Registry Services. Results letters will not be mailed to students. Students should ensure they
have registered for Portals at the following web address before the exam period starts:

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http:/www.abdn.ac.uk/studentportal. Results will not be given over the telephone or by email.
Medical or personal problems during exams and in course assessments
If illness and/or other personal circumstances may have affected your performance in any element of
assessment you must submit written details to the GBS Office (by letter or email [email protected]) no
later than one week after the date of the examination or the deadline for the submission of coursework
allow these to be taken into consideration by the internal examiners.
In the case of illness, provide medical certification from your doctor no later than one week after the
date of assessment. The External Examiners who have the final decision about your work can only
consider mitigating circumstances if these are supported by a note from your Doctor or medical
practitioner.
Re-Sit Policy
Candidates are permitted to re-sit a first half-session course or courses worth no more than 30 credit
points, and a course or courses worth no more than 60 credit points over the duration of the programme.
Note that this permission excludes the dissertation (MSc students) which is a compulsory element of
assessment. The maximum re-sit grade which can be recorded is CAS 9; the result of any re-sit will count
in determining progression and award. In no circumstances shall any candidate be permitted to submit
themselves for assessment in any element more than twice.

Assessment Scale
Most courses are assessed via a combination of examination and in-course assignments, as indicated in
individual course outlines. In all cases, the Common Assessment Scale (CAS) will be employed. The
guidelines used to judge which mark band is awarded are outlined in CAS.docx that has been uploaded
onto WebCT. A shortened version of this – which covers knowledge and understanding - is summarised
below:

COMMON ASSESSMENT SCALE:

Band 18-20 Distinction An excellent understanding of all the general and specialist theories,
principles and concepts in subject. Good awareness of wider context. The work is relevant to the
questions asked.
Band 15-17 Commendation A very good understanding of all the general and specialist theories,
principles and concepts in subject. The work is relevant to the questions asked.
Band 12-14 Pass A solid understanding of all the general and specialist theories,
principles and concepts in subject. The work is relevant to the questions asked.
Band 9-11 Pass Demonstrate a satisfactory understanding of most, if not all, the
general and specialist theories, principles and concepts in subject. The work is relevant to the questions
asked.
Band 6-8 Fail Displayed a limited grasp of he general and specialist theories,
principles and concepts in the subject.
Band 3-5 Fail Displayed a very limited grasp of he general and specialist theories,
principles and concepts in the subject.
Band 0–2 Fail Token or no submission.

Progress: Postgraduate Students

The School can terminate a person’s candidature provided that it is satisfied that there is
sufficient reason for doing so. Please see the Senate approved Policy and Guidelines are
available in Appendix 5.17a and Appendix 5.17b) of the Academic Quality Handbook. Your
Graduate Handbook has outlined the specific requirements for progression (e.g. from the
Diploma to the Master’s stage) and also specifies the minimum level required for an award.
This information is summarised on webct, under the GBS heading for each programme.
Postgraduate students who have any concerns about their progress should contact the Graduate
Business School office in the first instance.
Cheating in Prescribed Degree Assessments is defined in your Graduate Handbook, which is also
available online at www.abdn.ac.uk/business/
Further information regarding examination regulations can be found by visiting:
http://www.abdn.ac.uk/registry/quality

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Support available to students
The University is keen to help you successfully complete your studies. If at any time you feel you need
assistance, there is a range of support services available to help you. These include support to help with
unexpected and/or exceptional financial difficulty, support for disabled students and academic learning
support through the Student Learning Service. Further details about all these services are available at
http://www.abdn.ac.uk/studenthelpguide/ .
Code of Practice on Student Discipline
The Code of Practice on Student Discipline for PGT students is available in the GBS office for students to
check through, and also online at http://www.abdn.ac.uk/registry/quality/appendix5x15.pdf
Students should make themselves familiar with the rules regarding plagiarism. Please see your Graduate
Handbook for definitive descriptions and also webct under the GBS heading.
Student Complaints
The University aims to provide a welcoming and supportive environment for its undergraduate
students. However, occasionally students will encounter problems and difficulties. Complaints
should be addressed in the first instance to the person who is in charge of the University
activity concerned, e.g. the Head of the relevant School about academic matters; the Head of
the relevant administrative section about the service that you receive; a Warden about
residential matters. The Graduate Business School or the Students’ Association will assist you
if you are unsure how to pursue a complaint.
The University's Policy on Student Complaints is available at:
www.abdn.ac.uk/registry/appeals. The Vice-President (Advice & Support) in the Students'
Association is available to help students wishing to make a complaint (tel: +44(0)1224
272965).

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