Dr Emma Soane NAB4.05 and Dr Alexander Pepper NAB4.37

and Dr Rebecca Newton

This course is compulsory on the MSc in Management. This course is not available as an outside option.

The Professional Development Programme (PDP) aims to build connections between management theory and practice and to equip students with the skills necessary to succeed in their managerial careers. MG489 runs throughout the MSc Management’s first and second years and forms the programme’s capstone course.

The MG489 programme will run five guest-speaker led sessions for each of MT and LT. The remaining five sessions per term will comprise one to one meetings with a Careers Consultant or a member of the PDP team from the Department of Management.

Sessions will cover a range of topics, each of which will contribute to the overall goals of a successful business project, and enhanced employability. Guest speakers will include MSc Management alumni and representatives from organisations that offer business projects. Topics include networking, team working, leadership, public speaking. Additional guest speaker and one to one sessions can be added to the curriculum if there is sufficient demand. There will also be two sessions about business projects in each of MT and LT specifically for second year students.

Second year students apply the theoretical knowledge and business management skills gained in the first year by working on a business project.  This takes place in either MT or LT and culminates in a presentation by each project team to their company sponsors, LSE faculty and student peer group. At the start term of students will be allocated to a client project team, typically comprising 5 or 6 students, supported by a sponsoring executive and a faculty coach, to carry out research on a business question posed by the client company. The actual topic is for the sponsoring organisation to decide and questions have historically been very diverse.

Students have the option of proposing companies as business project company sponsors (“self-sponsored projects”) or of developing a viable business plan for an entrepreneurial idea (“entrepreneurial business projects”), although these options must be agreed in advance with the faculty member responsible for business projects to ensure their suitability.

7 hours and 30 minutes of workshops and 7 hours and 30 minutes of help sessions in the MT. 7 hours and 30 minutes of workshops and 7 hours and 30 minutes of help sessions in the LT.

PDP workshops run once a fortnight throughout the Michaelmas and Lent Terms of both the first and second years.

Students will be expected to produce 1 essay in the MT or the LT.

Students will have the option of carrying-out formative assignments to help them prepare for their individual summative assignments.  Students working on business projects in MT will submit their formative course work at the end of week 7 of MT.  Students working on their business projects in LT will submit their formative course work at the end of week 7 of LT.

Many of the core areas are covered in the text Cottrell, S. (2010). Skills for Success. The Personal Development Planning Handbook (2nd edition), Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan Ltd.

A full reading list is provided at the start of the course.

Project (65%) and other (35%).

• PDP assignment - 35 % of total marks. Students must refer to the Professional Development Programme Syllabus.
• Business Project - 65 % of total marks, assessed on a group basis under three headings: quality of group presentation; quality of research including application of theoretical concepts; quality of outcomes (recommendations and solutions) and other deliverables. 5% of the total mark for the Business Project assessment (i.e. 5/65) will comprise an individual mark for a peer evaluation assessment.

The presentation will be the assessed component of the Business Project. The presentation must include the following sections: an introduction, literature review, methods, results, discussion and recommendations. Students working on their Business Projects in MT will submit their summative Professional Development course work at the end of week 2 of LT. Students working on their Business Projects in LT will submit their summative Professional Development course work at the end of week 2 of ST. Presentations for students working on their business projects in MT will take place during LT. Presentations for students working on their business projects in the LT will take place in the first two weeks of ST. Business projects are assessed on a group basis.