BUU44611 Management Experience and Reflection

(5 ECTS) 

Lecturer:

Dr. Wladislaw Rivkin

Email: rivkinw@tcd.ie 
Office Hour: By appointment via email  

Pre-Requisite

During the first term of the third year, students must secure one of the following practical experiences to undertake experiential learning:

1. A summer internship in an approved organization;
2. A volunteership in an approved non-profit organisation;
3. A summer research placement at Trinity Business School under the supervision of the module leader.

The time allocated to the practical experience must be at least 200 hours (or approximately 7 weeks of full-time work).

Note that for most students the practical experience will take place over the summer between their 3rd and 4th year in the TBS undergraduate business programme.

Module Description

This module provides students an opportunity to engage with, reflect on, and learn from their experiences in an organisational context. During the first term of the third year, students must secure one of the following practical experiences to undertake experiential learning:

1. A summer internship in an approved organization;
2. A volunteership in an approved non-profit organisation;
3. A summer research placement at Trinity Business School under the supervision of the module leader

The time allocated to the practical experience must be at least 200 hours (or approximately 7 weeks of full-time work). Through successfully completing one of the above-mentioned practical experiences students become familiar with the work-related context of their choosing and engage in meaningful and focused reflection on how their experiences can expand the application of their knowledge and skills and contribute to their professional and personal development. In the following term, students will deepen their reflection on these experiences through six interactive and engaging workshops, which focus on a variety of work-related topics such as work motivation, teamwork, resilience, virtual work, work communication, and professional development.

Learning & Teaching Approach 

The learning and teaching approach for this module combines obtaining practical experiences with coaching-based reflection exercises to maximize students’ learning. Through completing the required work hours in an organizational or business environment students will gain practical “real” world work experiences. The workshops aim to maximize the learning from these experiences by giving students the opportunity to reflect on different topics. The workshops will involve coaching-based inquisitive reflection exercises by inquiring students about their experiences and facilitating the development of effective strategies for their professional development.

Learning Outcomes

Successfully completing this module will help students to:

• Develop professional knowledge and skills through practical experiences and reflection.
• Formulate, and execute a personal (delete the word ‘and’ currently in this sentence) career development plan which focuses on long-term career goals.
• Understand how their personal characteristics and professional skills contribute to being effective in a work environment.
• Reflect upon their practical experiences in order to broaden and deepen their understanding of how they 'fit' into an organisational context of their choosing and to identify development opportunities, which are useful for their career progression.
• Improve Student’s resilience to effectively cope with work demands.

Relation to Degree

This module is designed to offer students the opportunity to reflect on and thereby enhance their learning in a professional environment during their undergraduate studies. The module unique nature of this module aims to offer students “real” work experience and help them familiarize themselves with today's organizational landscape.

Workload

Textbooks and Required Resources

Required core course textbook

N/A

General Supplemental Readings

Additional readings will be provided as required before each lecture

Student preparation for the module

To be eligible for this module students must secure one of the following practical experiences to undertake experiential learning during the first term of the third year:

• A summer internship in an approved organization;
• A volunteership in an approved non-profit organisation;
• A summer research placement at Trinity Business School under the supervision of Dr. Rivkin

Assessment

Part 1 – Work experience reflection (70%): 

During their practical experience, students will be required to engage in critical reflection on the following topics (450 Words +/-10% per topic; 1800 Words in total +/-10%):

• Motivation: Reflect on a situation or task when you experienced high levels of motivation.  
• Health and Well-Being: Reflect on your job demands and resources and how they influenced your well-being during your work experience. 
• Teamwork: Reflect on a time when you successfully delivered a results with your team. 
• Professional development: Reflect on your future professional development. 

Part 2 – In-class participation (30%): 

As the workshops that are part of the module are highly interactive and are strongly dependent on your contributions this is also reflected by the module assessment. Accordingly, your in-class contributions will be assessed based on your contributions to in-class discussions, exercises, and presentations.  

Further information about each part of the assessment will be provided on Blackboard and in the workshops. 

Evaluation breakdown 

• Practical experience reflection – 70%
• In-class participation – 30% 

Supplemental Assessment

In case a student fails a component of the module assessment only the failed component will be reassessed. For the work experience reflection the reassessments will remain the same as the original assessment. For in-class participation, students will have to research two topics covered in the module and submit a 450-word (+/-10%) essay about the topic.  

Biographical Note

Dr. Wladislaw (Wlad) Rivkin is an Associate Professor in Organisational Behavior at Trinity Business School. His research focuses on how self-regulation affects employees’ mental health, well-being, and effectiveness. It has been published in high-impact academic journals such as the Journal of Applied Psychology, and the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology.