RESIT COURSEWORK ASSESSMENT
The resit assessment is similar to that set for the first diet, although for the resit diet we will specify the organisation that your report must be based on.
Your report should be based upon one of the following named organisations:
For MBA students your report should be based upon Sainsburys plc
For MBA Oil and Gas Management students, your report should be based upon Premier Oil
In the form of a management report, conduct a critical analysis in which you clearly identify the key strategic drivers for the organisation, based upon your research and analysis of the available information.
Explain how these strategic drivers (external, internal, and competitive factors) have changed over the past 5 years, and give specific examples of how changes in these factors have impacted upon the strategy of the organisation.
Your report should also explain how the strategic drivers identified in your analysis might contribute to pressures or tensions (on strategic direction, organizational purpose, or other critical themes) between different stakeholder groups. This will require a detailed stakeholder analysis.
Your report should conclude with a critical evaluation of how the organisation's internal strengths and weaknesses are currently positioned in relation to the strategic drivers you have identified in your analysis.
Your analysis of the strategic drivers and stakeholder groups should be based upon appropriate analytical tools, models and theories covered in the BSM146 module and any additional reading of the strategic management literature that you may have undertaken. In addition to the annual reports of your chosen organisation, we expect that you will conduct supplementary research using newspaper articles, journals, websites, industry reports etc. upon which to base your analysis.
Reports that do not make extensive reference to academic models and theories shall not attract a high mark. 40% of the marks for this assignment will be allocated to the quality of your background research, and the identification and application of appropriate academic models and theories to interpret and analyse the data.
A further 40% will be allocated to the quality of your critical evaluation of the data and the outcomes of your analysis. We will be assessing your ability to build and justify a logical, coherent and independent argument based upon your analysis of the organisation in question. 10% of the assignment marks will be allocated to the standard of referencing in your report, and a further 10% of the marks will be allocated for communication and presentation.
2 A penalty of 10% (i.e. one grade) will be applied to reports that fall outside the word limit of 3000w (+/-10%). Executive summary, figures, tables, figure legends, reference lists and Appendices do not count towards word count. We ask that you limit any Appendices to a maximum of 20 pages. Please include a statement of word count on the cover sheet of your report, as well as a Turnitin report.
Pass mark: 40% (Grade D)
GUIDANCE FOR THE ASSESSMENT
1. Answer the question! Think carefully about how you structure your work and ensure that it explicitly meets the criteria set out in the assignment brief. Pay attention to the themes and issues set out and check that you have included everything that you need to when you submit the work.
2. Written presentation. Your work should take the form of a written management report of not more than 3,000 words within a boundary of 10% +/- (2,700-3,300 words). You should include a word count. Use headings, diagrams, brief tables if appropriate to illustrate points and to support your arguments. Ensure that these are relevant, based on your reading, and their significance to your argument is clear. Please include a cover sheet (a template will be provided), a title page, followed by a one-page executive summary in which you summarise the main points of the report. We will also require a table of contents illustrating the main headers and page numbers for each section. This should be followed by a list of figures and tables, again with the appropriate page numbers. Please number the pages of your report, and use a minimum of 12pt font size, one and a half line spacing.
3. Citation. You should demonstrate your reading in the subject area through reference to or occasional direct quotations from appropriate sources. Do not simply reproduce diagrams or extensive general information for the textbooks or articles, however. You should assume that your reader is familiar with the workings of any basic theoretical or analytical models you use and will allocate marks for the way you apply them to the question or to clearly support a line of argument that helps you to answer the question. Where you use direct quotations or show diagrams, try to keep them short and ensure that they make a direct and clear contribution to your argument.
4. Style and content. Proof-read your work - or get someone to read it through for you. Does it look professional? Is it free of grammatical or spelling mistakes? 10% of the marks for this assignment will be for the way you communicate and present your work. Remember that your work summarizes your findings and evidence that is relevant to the questions answered. You do not need to make a complete listing of all the analytical and interpretive processes you went through. You should expect, therefore, to carry out considerably more analysis in the process of exploring the question than you will show in your final work.
5. Combine practical information and organizational theory. We will give marks for a well- supported argument and discussion of the question that draws on evidence, applies the evidence intelligently and shows some insight in drawing conclusions. The aim of the assignment is to evaluate the issues embedded in the question, not to descriptively reproduce factual information on a topic area.
6. Sources of research and case development information. You will find information from a variety of sources, including academic and trade journals, press reports and the company- or industry- produced information, as well as the company's annual reports. Remember to consider the 3 validity of the information and the writer's viewpoint in the sources that you use in your final text. You should minimize the general descriptive information you include. You should focus on analysis and interpretation of the significant issues you identify, rather than describing them in excessive detail. Remember to credit all sources of information that you use, in your text and in the reference list, following the university's guidance on referencing and citation conventions. 10% of this assignment's marks will be allocated for referencing, so make sure that you follow the correct Harvard-style referencing convention.
7. Structure and development. Try to ensure that the structure of your work follows a clear pattern and that the themes develop in a way that is appropriate to your line of argument. Ensure that what you write makes a direct and clear contribution to all parts of the question and try to avoid including general or irrelevant information in your answers. We will not allocate marks to any particular format for the written work. However, please include appropriate headings, sub-headings and other ‘sign-posts' so that we can see the direction of your thinking and analysis.
8. Appendices. You may wish to include some additional, contextual information or analysis that you have carried out in the appendices. Appendices will not be included in the word-count or marked. They should not act as a ‘dumping ground' for information you don't know what to do with - we ask that you limit any Appendices to a total of 20 pages. You cannot use appendices to get round the word limit e.g. saying ‘See Appendix 1 for the literature review'! Remember that appendices work well for additional supportive information which shows the work you have undertaken but should not include anything that is essential to your arguments or main answers to the questions.