This individual assignment consists of a 2,300 word report based on the simulation including:
- A critical analysis of the changing strategic environment and review of company performance (1400 words);
- An assessment of group effectiveness and a reflection on the student's individual contribution and learnings (600 words).
Assessment Criteria
- Demonstrate ability to identify, select and analyse business knowledge.
- Apply critical thinking to business practice, using materials from the unit tutorials, lectures and readings.
- Solve complex problems through appropriate forms of business analysis.
- Effective communication in the form of professional writing skills.
- Assessment of group effectiveness.
- Reflection on individual contribution and learnings.
Objectives
These pages are designed to give you an overview of suggestions to guide your simulation report writing process. The structure here is not mandatory, it is a guide only and each student's report can be modified and presented in any way that the student believes will best achieve the marking criteria for the assessment.
Structure
Front matter
- Cover page with details
Body of the report Part 1 (~1400 words)
- Overview of strategy (~200 words)
- Critical analysis of the changing environment (~600 words)
- Review of the company's performance (~600 words)
Part 2 (~600 words)
- Group reflection - First person narrative. Can include your personal values, team working frameworks, leadership and any other relevant theories to analyse your individual and group effectiveness, discuss lessons learned and make recommendations for improvement.
Back matter
- Reference list - using the APA or BSRG (~300 words)
Overview of simulation
Company overview: Purpose - sets the scene.
- This is a formal business report written with academic style. That is, you
are presenting a company report to the board as a group of managers
using a professional business writing style, but it must still contain full academic references.
- Not a monologue or narration - it should be from a formal third person perspective presenting a business report, not from a student's perspective.
- Should include a strategic overview, key financial figures + graphs, and outline the intention and structure of report to follow.
- Can include stages/phases for analysis - purposeful grouping of the months rather than just round-by-round narrative, eg:
- Time periods - growth/recession/recovery, etc
- Themes - change in strategy, different focus on market segments, etc
What you could include:
- External and industry analyses using appropriate business theory and frameworks.
- How did the competitive environment change and what dynamic strategic reactions were made? Do not simply repeat them - review/critique/evaluate their success.
- The competitors - you respond to what you competitors do. Were they the right choices? Analysis rather than description.
- Recommendations - both retrospective and prospective.
- USE: Simulation data and outside tools for the external environment and industry.
Critical analysis of the changing environment
What is critical analysis? Definition:
Break down the topic into its component parts, explain the nature or relative importance of components, definitions or concepts and explain how they are interrelated as well as their implications. Also discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the definitions and concepts.
- Note that a frequent complaint from lecturers/tutors is that there is too much description and not enough analysis regarding what findings actually mean - if you would like a mark more than a pass you must analyse your findings.
Review of the company's performance
What you could include:
- Internal analysis to consider how your company aimed to achieve competitive advantage
using appropriate business frameworks and theory. Was this successful? Evaluation,
exploration of alternatives and recommendations.
- Analyse any relevant data from the simulation to explore the success of your company's strategy and competitive advantage.
- Do not fall into the narrative trap. Pick out the main points - build on what you wrote in the overview.
- Recommendations to the board for internal strategy.
1. How did your team member's experience working with you? How could you have been more effective from their perspective?
2. Using frameworks, what could you have done better to improve your results and team working?
3. What would you change or do differently knowing what you know now?
4. Has your behaviour been true to your values? How have these helped you and
your team to work effectively? Or how have they been compromised?
5. Did you display leadership characteristics in your group? If so, what were they and could you relate this to any theory of leadership you covered in lectures?
6. What has this experience changed about yourself or the way your perceive
working in a team? Will your team working behaviour change in the future?