The Business Student's Handbook: Skills for Study and Employment

542 Pages·11.576 MB·English

by  Sheila Cameron

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‘Even though I’ve been in the fi eld for over 30 years, I found new E

and engaging information in The Business Student’s Handbook. B
BUSINESS
So no matter how many times a student has been down this road, U
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I’m confi dent that they will always fi nd something new here.’
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Jayne Mothersdale, National Teacher Fellow and Principal Lecturer,
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Leadership, Governance and People Management, Leeds Beckett University S
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S
STUDENT’S
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Develop essential learning and employability skills to excel U
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at business studies
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The Business Student’s Handbook, 7th Edition, by Cameron brings together T
’ H A N D B O O K
personal, study and employability skills to help students succeed in their S

academic and professional lives. Designed to support both online and face-to- H
face study, the book discusses transferable skills such as self-management, A
SEVENTH EDITION
teamwork, planning and critical thinking to help you become a highly desirable N
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graduate. A strong emphasis on project management, data analysis,
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communication and presentation skills makes this an essential resource for
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any business student. The TECHSkills boxes focus on your digital skills to
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ensure you are making the most of the best tools found online. Additionally,
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this handbook is all about applying theory to practice and covers up-to-date
exercises, practical suggestions and tips.
SEVENTH
EDITION
SHEILA CAMERON worked as a director of the Open University Business School.
She was involved in the development of the school’s pioneering MBA programme, and
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tutored undergraduate business-related courses for more than 20 years. She has been H
external examiner for management programmes at a wide range of universities. Sheila E
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is also the author of The MBA Handbook. A

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Pearson, the world’s learning company.
www.pearson.com/uk O
Front cover image: NicoElNino/Shutterstock N
and Robert Kneschke/Shutterstock
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Cover designed by Two Associates
SHEILA CAMERON
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THE
BUSINESS
STUDENT’S
HANDBOOK
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At Pearson, we have a simple mission: to help people
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THE
BUSINESS
STUDENT’S
HANDBOOK
Skills for study and employment
Seventh Edition
SHEILA CAMERON
The Open University Business School
Harlow, England • London • New York • Boston • San Francisco • Toronto • Sydney • Dubai • Singapore • Hong Kong
Tokyo • Seoul • Taipei • New Delhi • Cape Town • São Paulo • Mexico City • Madrid • Amsterdam • Munich • Paris • Milan
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PEARSON EDUCATION LIMITED
KAO Two
KAO Park
Harlow CM17 9SR
United Kingdom
Tel: [phone]
Web: www.pearson.com/uk
First published 1999 (print)
Second edition published 2002 (print)
Third edition published 2005 (print)
Fourth edition published 2008 (print)
Fifth edition published 2009 (print and electronic)
Sixth edition published 2016 (print and electronic)
Seventh edition published 2021 (print and electronic)
© Sheila Cameron 1999, 2002, 2005, 2008 (print)
© Sheila Cameron 2009, 2016 (print and electronic)
© Pearson Education Limited 2021 (print and electronic)
The right of Sheila Cameron to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
The print publication is protected by copyright. Prior to any prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system,
distribution or transmission in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, permission
should be obtained from the publisher or, where applicable, a licence permitting restricted copying in the United
Kingdom should be obtained from the Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd, Barnard’s Inn, 86 Fetter Lane, London EC4A 1EN.
The ePublication is protected by copyright and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed
or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed
under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased, or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any
unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and the publisher’s rights and
those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.
All trademarks used herein are the property of their respective owners. The use of any trademark in this text does not vest
in the author or publisher any trademark ownership rights in such trademarks, nor does the use of such trademarks imply
any affiliation with or endorsement of this book by such owners.
Pearson Education is not responsible for the content of third-party internet sites.
ISBN: 978-1-292-30459-5 (print)
978-1-292-30460-1 (PDF)
978-1-292-30461-8 (ePub)
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for the print edition is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Cameron, Sheila, author.
Title: The business student’s handbook : skills for study and employment /
Sheila Cameron, The Open University Business School.
Description: Seventh edition. | Harlow, England ; New York : Pearson, 2021.
Identifiers: LCCN 2020045703 (print) | LCCN 2020045704 (ebook) | ISBN
9781292304595 (paperback) | ISBN 9781292304601 (ebook) | ISBN
9781292304618 (epub)
Subjects: LCSH: Business—Vocational guidance—Handbooks, manuals, etc. |
Business students—Employment--Handbooks, manuals, etc.
Classification: LCC HF5381 .C25353 2021 (print) | LCC HF5381 (ebook) |
DDC 650.1—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020045703
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020045704
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Cartoons by Neill Cameron
Front cover image: NicoElNino/Shutterstock and Robert Kneschke/Shutterstock
Cover designed by Two Associates
Print edition typeset in 9.5/12pt Stone Serif ITC Pro by Spi Global
Printed in Slovakia by Neografia
NOTE THAT ANY PAGE CROSS REFERENCES REFER TO THE PRINT EDITION
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BRIEF CONTENTS
List of figures xiv
Preface xvi
Acknowledgements xviii
Guided tour xix
PART 1 EMPLOYABILITY AND HOW BEST
TO MANAGE YOUR LEARNING

1 Becoming a highly desirable graduate 4
2 Managing yourself: time, stress and motivation 20
3 Learning, reflective practice and professional development 52
PART 2 ESSENTIAL ACADEMIC SKILLS

4 Critical reading and note-taking 84
5 Basic numeracy 112
6 Academic and business writing 148
7 Improving your grades 194
PART 3 WORKING WITH OTHERS

8 Talking and listening 224
9 Teamwork and leadership 256
10 Presenting to an audience 292
PART 4 CONCEPTUAL SKILLS

11 Complexity, cases and diagrams 314
12 Becoming more creative 346
13 Data, information and decisions 368
14 Making sense of data 396
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vi BRIEF CONTENTS
PART 5 INTEGRATING YOUR SKILLS

15 Project management and dissertations 426
16 Managing your professional life 462
Answers to test exercises 485
References 495
Index 498
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CONTENTS
List of figures xiv
Preface xvi
Acknowledgements xviii
Guided tour xix
PART 1 EMPLOYABILITY AND HOW BEST
TO MANAGE YOUR LEARNING

1 Becoming a highly desirable graduate 4
Learning outcomes 5
Introduction 6
The purpose and design of this handbook 6
Employability 9
Transferability of skills 11
The business and employment context 12
Career expectations 13
Seeing yourself as a product 14
Summary 19
Additional resources 19
2 Managing yourself: time, stress and motivation 20
Learning outcomes 21
Introduction 22
Self-management skills 22
Ideas from project management 24
Basic ideas of control 26
Setting objectives 29
Action planning 33
Motivation 35
Time management 40
Stress management 44
Summary 49
Additional resources 50
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viii CONTENTS
3 Learning, reflective practice and professional development 52
Learning outcomes 53
Introduction 54
Learning theory 54
Learning styles 59
The role of reflection in learning 63
Tools for reflection 70
Managing your learning 73
Learning opportunities and how to exploit them 74
Organising your file 77
Summary 79
Additional resources 80
PART 2 ESSENTIAL ACADEMIC SKILLS

4 Critical reading and note-taking 84
Learning outcomes 85
Introduction 86
‘Simple’ reading skills 86
Selecting materials and choosing reading speeds 90
Reading critically 95
Note-taking and annotations 104
Avoiding plagiarism 109
Summary 109
Additional resources 110
5 Basic numeracy 112
Learning outcomes 113
Introduction 114
The importance of numbers 114
Diagnostic exercise 115
The importance of mathematical skills 116
Sources of difficulty 117
Choosing appropriate units 120
Estimating and rounding 120
Fractions, ratios and percentages 122
Using equations 129
Using brackets 134
Spreadsheets and databases 134
Going further 136
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CONTENTS ix
Summary 137
Additional resources 137
HelpFile 5.1: A basic mathematical primer 139
6 Academic and business writing 148
Learning outcomes 149
Introduction 150
Writing as a key transferable skill 150
Elements of communication 151
Assessing your writing skills 153
Basic English 155
General points on style 156
Basic written forms 159
Formal letters 160
Emails 162
Essays 166
Reports 168
The serious sin of plagiarism 176
Writing to create a good impression 178
Summary 180
Additional resources 181
HelpFile 6.1: Grammar and spelling 182
HelpFile 6.2: If English is not your native language … 191
7 Improving your grades 194
Learning outcomes 195
Introduction 196
The aims of assessment 196
Why students fail 198
Improving your assessment technique 201
Deconstructing questions and planning answers 202
Doing well in examinations 209
Viva voce examinations 214
Portfolio assessment 215
Summary 217
HelpFile 7.1: Terms commonly used in assessment questions 218
PART 3 WORKING WITH OTHERS

8 Talking and listening 224
Learning outcomes 225
Introduction 226
The importance of interpersonal skills 226
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