MODULE HANDBOOK

INDU1107 Teams in Organisations

2023-24

Module leader
Dr Bernadette Ryan

1.

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Contents

1. Welcome message from your Module Leader 3

2. Key contacts (academic queries) 4
3. Enquiry-Based Learning and Research-Led Teaching 6
4. Module details and learning outcomes 7
5. Employability 7
6. Key Dates 9
7. Schedule of teaching and learning activities 9
8. Assessment 12
9. Resit assessments 20
10. Resource recommendations 20
11. Digital Student Centre (non-academic queries) 21
12. Changes to the module 22

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1. Welcome message from your Module Leader

In this module we examine classic seminal and current research on group and team processes to
understand the factors that influence the effectiveness of teams in organisations. The module will take
a social identity theory approach to the literature. We will study group composition, cohesiveness,
conformity, diversity, power and other aspects of group behaviour. We will attempt to understand why
individuals behave differently in groups. Group behaviour can produce disastrous or remarkable
results. As future managers you will want to understand how to use the power of the group to best
effect and how to avoid group dysfunction. One of the most challenging aspects of the module will be
that you will study group behaviour while working in a group. With thoughtful reflection you may learn
something about your own behaviour in a group.

This handbook provides essential information about this module including the aims and learning
outcomes, the schedule of teaching and learning activities, assessment tasks, reading
recommendations and, if applicable, any additional resources that you will need. Please read it at the
start of term so you are aware of key details and important dates

On behalf of the module team I wish you an enjoyable and interesting time on the module. Your
success depends upon your willingness to engage with all the tutorial activities and to reflect on your
own development.

Best wishes,
Dr Bernadette Ryan
[email protected]
.

This handbook provides essential information about this module including the aims and learning
outcomes, the schedule of teaching and learning activities, assessment tasks, resource
recommendations and, if applicable, any additional resources that you will need. Please read it at the
start of term so you are aware of key details and important dates.

3
1. Key contacts (academic queries)

The list below provides contact details of the module team.

Module Leader: Dr Bernadette Ryan

Insert
Location: QA157,
Email: [email protected],
Tel: 02083319984
Office hours: TBC for term 2

photo

Module Tutor: Barry Curnow [email protected]

Module Tutor: Guodong Cheng [email protected]
Module Tutor: Angie Ratcharak [email protected]
Module Tutor: Ayse Guzel [email protected]
Module Tutor: Simon Rudland [email protected]

Programme Administration Team

Student Helpdesk
The Student Experience Officers are situated at the Student Helpdesk and are here to help you
throughout your journey at the University. The Helpdesk provides support with general enquiries and
signposting you to the relevant team.

The student helpdesk can be found in the Queen Mary building on the second floor QM240.

The contact for general queries is provided below.

Student Helpdesk (General queries) [email protected]

Contact number 020 8331 9712 / 8341

The Welcome Page (linked below) contains information to get you started on your University Journey.
https://www.gre.ac.uk/welcome/inductions/business

We encourage you to enrol on our Student Moodle Page (linked below) where you can access
information including:
• Useful Contacts
• Timetable links
• Wellbeing guidance

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 • Instructions on navigating the Portal
• Introduction to our Programme Administration Team

https://moodlecurrent.gre.ac.uk/
Important: To access the Moodle Page, you will need to self-enrol yourself via the above link
.
Programme Administrators
The Programme Administrators can support you with programme specific queries (such as missing/
incorrect grades on your profile, accessing submission links, resit enquiries).

The contact for Programme Administrative queries is provided below.

Programme Administrators (Administrative queries) [email protected]

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2. Enquiry-Based Learning and Research-Led Teaching

Enquiry-Based Learning (EBL)

Defined as ‘an approach based on self-directed enquiry or investigation in which the student is actively
engaged in the process of enquiry facilitated by a teacher. EBL uses real life scenarios (for example,
from case studies, company visits, and project work) and students investigate topics of relevance that
foster the skills of experimental design, data collection, critical analysis and problem-solving’.

The module uses real, recent, and local case studies for learning and assessment. We are expected
to be intrigued by and interested in examining possible answers together with fellow students and
tutors.

Research-Led Teaching (RLT)

An element of Enquiry Based Learning links to RLT, which involves faculty introducing students to
their own research where it is relevant to the curriculum being taught as well as drawing on their own
knowledge of research developments in the field, introducing them to the work of other researchers.
RLT sees students as active participants in the research process, not just as an audience. This is
achieved by discussing such developments in lectures and classes, and setting reading lists including
recent research publications at the frontier of the field. The definition of a diverse assessment regime
at the programme level (incorporating an expectation of familiarity with, and use of, such
publications in assignments) and the inclusion of projects at every level of the programme is also
fundamental to achieving these objectives.

This module uses research publications authored by faculty teaching on the module, and the wider
academic community as reading material.

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3. Module details and learning outcomes

Host Faculty: Business

Host School: Business
Number of Credits: 15
Term(s) of delivery: 2
Site(s) of delivery: Maritime
Pre-requisite modules: none
Co-requisite modules: none

Aims:
This module will further deepen the student's understanding of Organisational Behaviour by examining
inter and intra group processes within organisations. Students will understand that effective group
management is essential to organisational success and that membership of supportive groups can be
beneficial to individual well-being.

Learning Outcomes:
On successful completion of this module a student will be able to: 1. Understand group processes and
social influence 2. Understand the impact of organisational culture on group behaviour 3. Understand
the ethical and well-being responsibilities of management in relation to managing teams 4. Have
insight into own role in group dynamics 5. Understand the role of power in relation to individuals,
teams and organisations 6. Apply critical thinking in relationship to, for example, evaluating and
criticising theoretical models of teams.

Glossary:
• A pre-requisite module is one that must have been completed successfully before taking this
module.
• A co-requisite module is one that must be taken alongside this module.
• A learning outcome is a subject-specific statement that defines the learning to be achieved
through completing this module.
4. Employability

By undertaking this module students will develop these employability skills and competences:
These skills are assessed in the report.

Cognitive Skills

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Level 5: You will be exposed to a wide set of problems within the context of organisational behaviours
and groups. You will discuss how teams assess risk, justify decisions and draw conclusions. You will
reflect on skills gained whilst working in a team.
b. Generic Competencies
Level 5 Group work – you will set goals including influencing, planning, questioning, listening,
persuading, interpersonal sensitivity. Group work tasks will include an element of individual reflection
on how the task was managed and how the group worked together. You will both give and receive
feedback on your performance in the team. You will further develop your presentation skills.
c. Organisational Awareness
Level 5: You will develop more awareness of issues around management and leadership of teams in
organisations.
d. Technical Ability
Level 5: Consolidate skills in these applications and further reflection.
e. Organisational Awareness
Level 5: Understanding organisational goals and structures. Awareness of issues around management
and leadership in sector-related organisations.
f. Practical and Professional Elements
Level 5: Demonstrate increased professionalism and encourage effective applications for placement,
internship or mentoring within industry. Provide a further networking opportunity.

You can find out more about the Greenwich Employability Passport at: Greenwich Employability
Passport for students.

Information about the Career Centre is available at: Employability and Careers | University of
Greenwich.
You can also use LinkedIn Learning to gain access to thousands of expert-led courses to support your
ongoing personal development. More information can be found at: LinkedIn learning | IT and library
services

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5. Key Dates

2023/24 Term Dates

Please note that dates may differ depending on when you start your programme of study, and
where you are studying. Please refer to https://docs.gre.ac.uk/rep/sas/term-dates for full details,
and details of University closure dates.

Welcome Week 11 September 2023 22 September 2023

Term 1 25 September 2023 15 December 2023

Examination Period 8 January 2024 12 January 2024
Term 2 15 January 2024 5 April 2024
Examination Period 29 April 2024 17 May 2024

Resit Examination Period 15 July 2024 26 July 2024

6. Schedule of teaching and learning activities

7. Assessment

Assessment schedule:

First sit Deadline or Weighting Maximum Marking Learning

assessments exam period out of length type outcomes
100%* mapped to this
assessment.

Team Present 20 % 10 minutes Numerical All

Presentation infographic
12th Feb –
26th Feb

Individual 28/03/2024 80 % 2,500 Numerical, All

essay 11.30pm words

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*The weighting refers to the proportion of the overall module result that each assessment task
accounts for.
Date Lecture Tutorial Activity Preparation

W/B

Theme - Foundations, formation, and development

Introduction to module and assessment. Introductory Module handbook
Why study groups? tutorial Nijstad (2009) pages 1-17
Social Loafing in Teams, Rutte, C (2006)
Wk. 1 Background, basic characteristics of teams. Discuss assessment.
Allocate team The Relation Between Group Cohesiveness and Performance
15 Jan members for An Integration (Mullen and Copper, 1994)
presentations. Book
presentation slots Watch: Stanford Prison experiment

Theme - Inclusion and identity

Social Identity Theory (SIT) Quiet Rage, The Nijstad (2009) pages 204 - 214
Stanford Prison
The role of group identity and affiliation with Experiment Rethinking the Nature of Cruelty: The Role of Identity
other group members, applications to Leadership in the Stanford Prison Experiment, Haslam, Reich
institutions and individual roles. The analyses, group Bavel (2019)
Wk. 2 discussion with
reference to SIT and Social comparison and group interest in ingroup favouritism
ethics Turner, Brown and Tajfel (1977)
22 Jan
A Theory of Social Comparison Processes, Festinger (1954)

Preparation for next week

Watch: The Milgrim studies

Theme – Influence, authority and power (Social Identity approach)

Conformity studies and Obedience The Social identity Nijstad (2009) pages 31 – 41
wheel
Group influences on individual behaviour, Contesting the ‘Nature’ of conformity: What Milgram and
group norms and peer pressure, Asch Zimbardo’s studies really show (Haslem et al, 2012)
conformity studies, Milgram conformity
Wk. 3 studies. Questioning authority: new perspectives on Milgram's
‘obedience’ research and its implications for intergroup
29 Jan relations (Haslam et al, 2016)

Studies of independence and conformity: I. A minority of on

against a unanimous majority (Asch, 1956). Psychological
Monographs: General and Applied, 70(9), 1–70.

Preparation for next week

Research and prepare for your team presentations

Wk. 4 Groupthink, group performance and decision Practice for Nijstad (2009) pages 140 – 144
making presentation/use an
5 Feb article that has Groupthink (Janis, 1971)
The conditions that lead to the phenomenon already been
of Groupthink, characteristics, and outcomes Twenty-Five Years of Groupthink Theory and Research: Less
deconstructed
on performance and decision making. from the Evaluation of a Theory (Turner and Pratkanis, 1998
Summarise Haslem
et al (2012) using Quality of Decision Making and Group Norms (Postmes and
Cihangir, 2001)
the presentation

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 structure Preparation for next week
Research and prepare for your team presentations

Conflict, causes and concepts, group Student Nijstad (2009) pages 167 – 180
polarisation presentations
Cooperation and conflict, a personal perspective on the hist
Cause of conflict, managing conflict. of the social psychological study of conflict resolution (Deut
2005)
Wk. 5
Divided Britain? Polarisation and fragmentation
12 Feb trends in the UK, The Policy Institute, King’s College London
pages 20 – 81

Cooperation and Conflict within Groups: Bridging

Intragroup and Intergroup Processes (Dovidio et al 2009)

Preparation for next week

Teams prepare for presentations next week

Theme - Organizational context of teams (Social Identity approach)

How to manage diverse groups and teams Student Nijstad (2009) pages 168 – 176
presentations
The role of diversity in the workplace (and Work Group Diversity and Group Performance: An Integrati
society more generally) and how diversity Model and Research Agenda (van Knippenberg et al., 2004)
challenges and benefits group dynamics and
Wk. 6 team performance. Consequences of Diversity for Social Cohesion and
Prejudice: The Missing Dimension of Intergroup Contact
19 Feb (Hewstone, 2015)

Preparation for next week

Teams who have presented reflect on tutor and peer feedb
begin final essays. Other teams continue to prepare

How to manage multicultural remote groups Student Managing Multicultural Teams (Brett et al, 2006)
and teams presentations Cultural diversity in cross-border alliances (Jackson and
Schuler, 2003)
The importance of appreciating multi-cultural
diversity for team success. How VWG differ Information and communication technology use, work
Wk. 7
from traditional work groups. intensification and employee strain and distress (Chesley,
26 Feb 2014)

The Role of Personality and Group Factors in Explaining

Prejudice (Reynolds et al, 2001)
Preparation for next week
Reflect on tutor and peer feedback, begin final essays.

Power in Organisations Privilege for Sale A Case Study on Power and Politics in Organizations: (Hemm
Wk. 8 & Dixon, 2015)
Interpersonal bases of power, French and
4 Mar Raven’s five bases of power. Concepts of Preparation for next week
power. Prepare two sides of A4 draft of essay, preferably email to
tutor in advance
Wk. 9 Group Roles, development and Reflection Assessment surgery Nijstad (2009) pages 228 - 232
West (2012) pages 221 – 238
11 Mar Roles and reflective practice, material to help Belbin self-
with the reflective writing component of the inventory Recent Developments in Reflexivity Research: A Review,
essay. Revision of assessment and criteria. questionnaire Pascale et al., (2012)
KSA team feedback

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 Preparation for next week
Editing and proof reading of essays for final submission
Wk. 10 The experience of stress and the importance Assessment surgery
of groups for wellbeing - How can we Preparation for next week
18 Mar Prepare two sides of A4 draft of essay, preferably email to
create healthy groups with good outcomes?
tutor in advance

Module revision and reflection Student reflection Assessment deadline 28th March
Wk. 11 What did we learn about ourselves and on what you ‘see’
groups in the world? differently. How is
25 Mar your world
constructed?
Wk 12 Bank Holiday Tutors will be Support for students submitting through ECs
available for
1 Apr students online, see
links on Moodle

Thank you from the teaching team.

Your assessment brief:

THE TEAM PRESENTATION (Groupwork worth 20%)

You are part of a small learning and development team (four to five members) for a Human Resources
consultancy firm. Your CEO has recently read an academic paper from a peer reviewed journal (which
covers one of the topics from the six questions below) and has asked you to create an infographic to
disseminate this information to the other teams in your company. The staff are all social scientists with
a background in group processes therefore the staff would appreciate you presenting the research in a
critical way. You need to briefly summarise your understanding of the paper to the other teams, not
just read out extracts from the paper.

You will need to make the infographic original and visually engaging and explain how the findings in
the research paper can be applied to a ‘real life’ case of group processes/team working found in
business or political institutions or current affairs. You have been allocated a maximum of 8 minutes
plus two minutes for question and answer (four minutes to summarise the article, four minutes to
outline how you plan to apply to your chosen case study) so it will be important to be succinct and only
capture key points from the paper. Your presentation will help you begin to draft your final individual
essay.

You may select an article from the Moodle site or find one of your own from a peer reviewed journal.
Your CEO will also assess you for teamworking/presentation skills, your ability to paraphrase,
summarise and communicate complex ideas.

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Guidance to presentation structure
The infographic will explain in your own words the:
 Abstract (Summary of the paper)
 Introduction (Why is this paper of interest, what’s new?)
 Literature Review (Who else has researched this topic?)
 Methodology / Materials and Methods (How did the author/s carry out the research?)
 Results (What happened, what did they find?)
 Discussion / Analysis (What does it mean for our understanding of the topic?)
 Conclusion (What was learned)
 Limitations (one example only, i.e. sample size, data collection, bias?)
 Apply to the real world (How can this topic be applied to a ‘real life’ case of group
processes/team working found in business or political institutions or current affairs?)

The presentations of the infographic will be recorded for moderation purposes. All team members
must present on the day. At the conclusion of the presentation, your tutor and student peers will
provide immediate feedback to the presenting team. This assessment will help you and other students
build a body of literature to support the final essay.

Your tutor will aim to provide written feedback within a week via email and will indicate the team mark
by allocating a degree classification, for example, 2:1, the exact mark will be finalised following
moderation. Although the presentation is complete you should keep working as a team so that you can
share materials and articles through discussion and online forums.

One of the easy ways to create infographics is to use Adobe Express, or any tool of your choice. You
can sign up for free. On your presentation day, you will project your infographic on the screen in the
classroom. You do not need to submit through Turnitin as your tutor will assess your group
performance on the day.

THE ESSAY (Individual worth 80%, 2,500 words)

Following on from your infographic presentation, your CEO has asked you to develop your analyses of
how this topic can be applied to an event in the real world of business or political institutions or current
affairs. The consultancy adopts social identity theory (SIT) to case study analysis so you will
consider this in your analysis. All examples of ‘real life’ should be recent (within the last 5 years,
maximum 10 years). A minimum of ten academic articles will support the discussion.

Conclude your essay with a short self-reflection using a suitable model of self-reflection (400 – 500
words included in the total wordcount of 2,500). Include a minimum of two academic references to
support the reflection (total for assessment minimum 12 references). Your self-reflection is on how

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you worked in the team, what worked successfully, what challenged you and what you learnt from the
experience.
Library support link to reflective writing. https://www.gre.ac.uk/articles/ils/reflective-writing

1. How does SIT inform our understanding of Conformity Studies and Obedience in your
chosen case study?
2. How does SIT inform our understanding of Groupthink and faulty decision making in your
chosen case study?
3. How does SIT inform our understanding of conflict and group polarisation? Suggest a
model for conflict resolution.
4. How does SIT inform our understanding of managing diverse groups and teams?
5. How does SIT inform our understanding of managing multi-cultural remote groups and
teams?
6. How does SIT inform our understanding of power in organisations?

Marking Criteria Marks allocated

Team presentation worth 20% of overall assessment

Content: clear explanation of; abstract, introduction, literature review, 35

methodology, results, discussion / limitations, analysis, conclusion

Visually appealing and original infographic 10

Infographic has original design, not template

Application of article: application of theory, convincing example from ‘real 15

life’

Structure, delivery: followed presentation guidelines, pace and clarity, 40

responds well to questions, evidence of good teamwork

Individual Essay and reflection worth 80% of overall assessment

Understanding 20
Demonstrate an understanding of group processes within a named
organisation, understands key concepts

Critical awareness 30
Demonstrate critical awareness of different perspectives on group dynamics
(Critique recognises that concepts and theories are rarely universally agreed,
for example, social identity theory brings a different perspective)

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Analysis 30
Demonstrate analysis of a problem within named organisation, drawing on
concepts and research into group dynamics (application to case study is
analysis)

Self -reflection 10
Demonstrates thoughtful consideration of own role in teamwork. Is aware of
models of self-reflection and can apply to self

Execution 10
Able to communicate effectively using academic style language, minor
grammatical and spelling errors. Good structure, clear signposting, minimum of
12 academic references, follows appropriate Harvard referencing conventions

Coursework is marked on the understanding that it is the student’s own work on the module and that it
has not, in whole or part, been presented elsewhere for assessment. Where material has been used
from other sources, this must be properly acknowledged in accordance with the University’s
regulations regarding Assessment Misconduct.

Marking, feedback and next steps

To pass this module, you must achieve an overall mark of 40 for all assessments.

For coursework, the marks and feedback will normally be provided to students within fifteen working
days of the submission deadline. In exceptional circumstances, where there is a delay in providing
feedback, you will be informed by the module leader.

If you do not pass a module at the first attempt, you will likely be eligible for a resit opportunity on the
failed assessments. The Progression and Award Board (PAB) will decide whether you will be offered
an opportunity to resit. Note that marks on resit assessments are capped at 40% unless extenuation
has been applied for and granted.

For further details on resit assessments, please see section on Resit assessments below.
The assessment and feedback policy can be accessed at Assessment and Feedback Policy.

Academic skills support

In addition to the teaching and learning activities within the module, additional academic skills support,
guidance, and resources are available at the following links:

Academic and Digital Skills support - https://www.gre.ac.uk/academicskills

Academic Integrity - https://libguides.gre.ac.uk/courses/integrity

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Guidance on use of AI - https://docs.gre.ac.uk/rep/information-and-library-services/ai-guidance
The IT handbook for new students -
https://docs.gre.ac.uk/rep/information-and-library-services/student-booklet

Strong academic skills will help you to act with academic integrity, honesty, and trust. These are the
values on which academic achievement at the University of Greenwich is based. As a student, you are
expected to take responsibility for the integrity of your own work, including asking for clarification
where necessary. Any improper activity or behaviour which may give you an academic advantage in
assessment is considered to be assessment misconduct. Allegations of assessment misconduct will
be considered under the University’s Assessment Misconduct Procedure and may result in a penalty
being imposed. More information about this procedure can be found at Assessment Misconduct
Procedure.

Extenuating circumstances
The University recognises there are times when matters that are unexpected and beyond a student’s
control will impact on their performance and ability to complete assessments within the specified
timeframe. Examples include unforeseen illness, a death in the family, or injury. Guidance on
submitting an extenuation claim can be found at: Extenuating circumstances.

If you have a disability, specific learning difficulty, for example dyslexia, a long-term medical condition
or a mental health condition which might affect your studies and assessments, and you have not
already done so, then we advise that you seek support from the Student Wellbeing Service by
contacting [email protected] in the first instance

Student Support
The University offers a range of support services including health and medical services, a chaplaincy,
disability and dyslexia support, and mental health & wellbeing support. Support can be accessed at
Student Support | Support and Wellbeing.

External Examiner
The External Examiner for this module is:
Name: Dr Yuanyuan Huo
Institution: University of Surrey

Please note that the role of the External Examiner is to evaluate the overall standard of assessments
on the module. They are unable to correspond with individual students about their work. If you need to
discuss your marks or feedback, please contact the module leader.

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8. Resit assessments

Assessment schedule:

Resit assessments Deadline Weighting Maximum Marking Learning

out of length type outcomes
100%* mapped to this
assessment.

Individual TBC 20 % 10 minutes Numerical, All

presentation 11.30pm

Individual essay TBC 80 % 2,500 words Numerical All

11.30pm

9. Resource recommendations

The following are suggested readings for the module. Additional, more detailed reading
recommendations will be provided for the module topics.
You can check availability of the resources by using the search tool LibrarySearch at
https://librarysearch.gre.ac.uk.

Author Title Publisher ISBN

Nijstad, Group performance ProQuest 9781841696690

Bernard Arjan, Ebook Central
Hove :
Psychology,
2009.
West, MA, The Essentials of Teamworking : ProQuest
Tjosvold, D, & International Perspectives Ebook Central
Smith, KG (2006)
West, Michael Effective teamwork: practical lessons ProQuest 9781405110587
A. from organizational research Ebook Central
Oxford :
Blackwell,
2004.
Weekly readings in module handbook and Moodle site

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10. Digital Student Centre (non-academic queries)

Our new Digital Student Centre is your space to find answers 24/7 to your questions about student life,
helping you get the support you need when you need it. AskUoG provides you with hundreds of up-to-
date articles covering topics such as student engagement, student finance, academic and
personal conduct, accommodation, visa and international student advice, disability, mental health
and wellbeing support.

You can also download important documents like bank, student status and council tax letters by
visiting My Documents on the Digital Student Centre (eligibility criteria apply).

If you can't find the right answer or need more personalised support for your query, you can create an
enquiry and our specialist teams will respond swiftly. You will be able to track your requests and check
the status of your enquiries in real time.

For academic queries, always contact the staff who work with you on your academic programme -
your programme leader, module leader or personal tutor.

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11. Changes to the module

At the University of Greenwich, we value feedback from students as well as External Examiners and
other stakeholders and we use this information to help us improve our provision. For example, last
year students were asked to discuss two topics from the module but feedback requested we reduce
this to one topic to allow for a more in-depth discussion.

Important note: The University of Greenwich will do all that it reasonably can to deliver the module and
support your learning as specified in our handbooks and other information provided. However, under
some circumstances, changes may have to be made. This may include modifications to the:
 content and syllabus of modules, including in relation to placements
 timetable, location and number of classes
 content or method of delivery of your module
 timing and method of assessments.

This might be because of, for example:

 academic changes within subject areas
 the unanticipated departure or absence of members of university staff
 where the numbers expected on a module are so low that it is not possible to deliver an
appropriate quality of education for students enrolled on it
 industrial action by university staff or third parties
 the acts of any government or local authority
 acts of terrorism.

In these circumstances, the university will take all reasonable steps to minimise disruption by making
reasonable modifications. However, to the full extent that it is possible under the general law, the
university excludes liability for any loss and/or damage suffered by any applicant or student due to
these circumstances.

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