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.

MiM Capstone Course aims to build connections between management theory and practice and to equip students with the skills necessary to succeed in their managerial careers. MG488 runs throughout the MSc Management’s first and second years and forms the programme’s capstone course.

First year students are prepared for MG488 by attending bespoke sessions led by the LSE Careers team during the programme pre-sessional course. The MG488 programme that follows 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 Capstone 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.

MiM Capstone Course 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 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.

Essay (20%, 1000 words) and project (60%).
Other (20%) in the MT and LT.

Attendance at Management Practice Seminars - 20% of total course marks.  Students are required to attend at least 12 sessions over the two years of the programme, with credits for attendance attaching pro-rata to each session. Students must engage fully with session activities in order to receive attendance credit. One to one appointments with LSE Careers Consultants do not count towards session attendance.

Individual Summative Assignment – 20% of the total course marks.  In year 2 students will be given the choice of writing: (a) a reflective note and action plan based on their personal development programme; (b) a reflective note specifically addressing what they have learnt from the business project, or; (c) an academic essay on a topic which addresses the relationship between management theory and practice. Students working on their business projects in MT of year 2 submit their individual summative assignments at the end of week 2 of LT.  Students working on their business projects in LT submit their individual summative assignments at the end of week 2 of ST.

Group Business Project - 60 % of total course marks.  Business projects are 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. Of the 60% assessed on the Business project, 10% (i.e. 10/60) will comprise an individual mark based on a confidential intra-group peer evaluation exercise. Presentations for students working on their business projects in MT take place during LT. Presentations for students working on their business projects in the LT take place in the first two weeks of ST.