Consultancy Management Techniques

Assessment Information
The LOs for this module are as follows.
1. Identify and select sources of data and information
2. Analyse and present information to support decision making
3. Communicate results of information analysis and decision
4. Comprehend the range of tools and techniques available as support for managerial decision making
This assignment is designed to assess learning outcome 4 and accounts for 50% of the overall module mark.
This assignment should be completed with reference to the WM Pressings Case Study and the OIL Project, as
and where directed to do so (the OIL project is an Online Learning activity carried out in conjunction with a
partner called TARUC in Malaysia).
This assignment requires you to write a 2,000 word assignment submission answering the following questions:
1. Explain the limitations of using heuristics to carry out decision making with multiple objectives. (20 marks)
2. Using the SMART process for decision making with multiple objectives, carry out an analysis on the
information given in the case about the press refurbishment and identify which of the four companies lie
on the efficient frontier. (30 marks)
3. Based on your answer to (2) above, provide your recommendation on which of the four companies should
be chosen to carry out the work, providing justification for your decision. There is no need to carry out
sensitivity analysis. (15 marks)
4. Using relevant information from the WM Pressings Case Study and other sources, critically analyse the
role that making decisions in an ethical manner can play in enabling businesses to be successful. (25
marks)
5. Using relevant examples from the OIL project, reflect on your learning of various tools and objectives used
for decision making. (10 marks)
Assignment Brief – 251SAM Coursework 1
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WM Pressings Case Study
WM Pressings1 is a manufacturing company based in Coventry in England. The company makes small pressed
steel and aluminum parts for customers in the automotive industry.
The company has recently experienced a marked deterioration in its quality performance, with a significant
rise in the number of defective components being returned to the company from its customers. As a result, an
in-depth investigation has been carried out, which has led to the identification of the main root cause of the
issue, which is now known to lie with one of the presses that the company uses to manufacture its
components. The company has ten presses in all, and it is “Press No’2” that has been found to be responsible
for the largest proportion of the defective components being made.
A multi-functional team (comprising company experts from the production, quality and maintenance
departments) has been looking at solutions to the issue and has concluded that Press No.2 does not need to
be replaced, however it does need to be given a complete refurbishment. It is outside the scope of the
expertise of the staff at WM Pressings to carry out this work, so an external refurbishment company will need
to be appointed.
Appointment of External Refurbishment Company
Four companies have been contacted and asked to quote to carry out the refurbishment work, and quotes
have been received from each one; Arndale, Bell Mechanical, Calthorpe Tooling, and Drystone.
In addition, the multi-functional team described above has reconvened and carried out an analysis of the four
companies, focusing on four key factors;
1. Reliability. By researching available data on past performance (both within and outside WM Pressings) it
was possible to develop a measure for expected press reliability.
2. Performance. By analysing each of the quotes, it was possible to create a measure for performance,
based to the output levels planned to be achieved.
3. Changeover time. The companies were asked to find innovative solutions that would improve the ease &
speed of changing from one die to another, when switching production from one component to another.
4. Environmental performance. The companies were asked to consider ways in which they can reduce the
consumption of electricity and any other eco-friendly features.
The quoted prices and the results from the meeting of the multi-functional team are summarized below:
Cost Reliability Performance Changeover Environment
Arndale £160,000 30 50 0 0
Bell £180,000 0 0 50 20
Calthorpe £200,000 80 100 100 60
Drystone £240,000 100 80 80 100
However, it was recognised that the four non-cost attributes above had differing importance to the company,
and that this would need to be reflected in the way that the decision making process was conducted.
The multi-functional team was asked to produce swing weights for each of the four non-cost attributes and
the results are shown below.
1
WM Pressings & all other companies named are entirely fictitious organisations
Assignment Brief – 251SAM Coursework 1
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The final decision on which of the four companies to award the contract to will be based on the assumption
that cost performance is exactly twice as important as the combined value of the other four attributes.
Planned Facility Improvements
As a result of needing to invest in the new equipment, WM Pressings will now need to postpone a planned
investment of £150,000 that was due to be spent on improvements to facilities. The current facilities have
seen minimal improvements since the 1980s and there is an urgent need to install double glazing in some
areas, refit the toilets and amenity areas, and upgrade the central heating system.
Criteria for Assessment
This table details the weightings of the five criteria by which your work will be assessed.
Criteria Proportion of overall
module mark
1. Content and Learning Outcomes 75%
2. Evidence of reading, use of resources and research 15%
3. Accurate citations and referencing 5%
4. Presentation, grammar and spelling 5%
Total 100%
Please refer to the Marking Scheme below for information on how work is assessed and graded.
How to submit your assessment
The assessment must be submitted via Turnitin by 23.55 on 25th April 2016. No paper copies are required. You
can access the Turnitin link through the module web.
 Your coursework will be given a zero mark if you do not submit a copy through Turnitin. Should you
submit work on time but fail the assignment, you will be offered a resit opportunity but the resit mark
will be capped at 40%.
 All work submitted after the submission deadline without a valid and approved reason (see below)
will be given a mark of zero. Please note that a non-submission is not the same as a failed submission;
Assignment Brief – 251SAM Coursework 1
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a failed submission counts as an attempt whereas an absent mark does not necessarily allow you to
resit the coursework.
 Short deferrals (extensions) of up to three calendar weeks can only be given for genuine “force
majeure” and medical reasons, not for bad planning of your time. Please note that theft, loss, or
failure to keep a back-up file, are not valid reasons. The short deferral must be applied for on or
before the submission date. You can apply for a short deferral by submitting an Examination/
Coursework Deferral Application Form. Application Forms along with the supporting evidence should
go to the relevant Student Support Office. For a longer delay in submission a student may apply for a
long deferral.
 Students MUST keep a copy and/or an electronic file of their assignment.
 Checks will be made on your work using anti-plagiarism software and approved plagiarism checking
websites.
GUIDELINES AND BACKGROUND TO THIS ASSIGNMENT
Plagiarism
As part of your study you will be involved in carrying out research and using this when writing up your
coursework. It is important that you correctly acknowledge someone else’s writing, thoughts or ideas and that
you do not attempt to pass this off as your own work. Doing so is known as plagiarism. It is not acceptable to
copy from another source without acknowledging that it is someone else’s writing or thinking. This includes
using paraphrasing as well as direct quotations. You are expected to correctly cite and reference the works of
others. The Centre for Academic Writing provides documents to help you get this right. If you are unsure,
please visit www.coventry.ac.uk/caw.
Turnitin includes a plagiarism detection system and assessors are experienced enough to recognise plagiarism
when it occurs. Copying another student’s work, using previous work of your own or copying large sections
from a book or the internet are examples of plagiarism and carry serious consequences. Please familiarise
yourself with the CU Harvard Reference Style (on Moodle) and use it correctly to avoid a case of plagiarism or
cheating being brought. Again, if you are unsure, please contact the Centre for Academic Writing or a member
of the course team.
Return of Marked Work
You can expect to have marked work returned to you 3 weeks after the submission date. Marks and feedback
will be provided online. As always, marks will have been internally moderated only, and will therefore be
provisional; your mark will be formally agreed later in the year once the external examiner has completed his /
her review.
Marking and Assessment Scheme
Mark range Guidelines
70 – 100% In order to secure a mark in this range, a candidate must submit an outstanding answer
that could hardly be bettered. In addition to the criteria identified below for a mark
between 70-85%, an answer scoring a mark of 85-100% would show an excellent level of
understanding and critical/analytic skills and originality. For example, such an answer
would include new insights into Consultancy Management Techniques which are not
drawn from the literature but from the student’s own critical thinking, and which add
something to the existing literature.
Assignment Brief – 251SAM Coursework 1
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Mark range Guidelines
An essay in this range will demonstrate a strong understanding of theories, concepts and
issues relating to Consultancy Management Techniques. There will be evidence of wideranging reading from a variety of valid sources (as described and presented in the
marking criteria for 60-69%).
The assignment must be written in a clear, well-structured way with a coherent and
seamless flow and show evidence of independent, critical thought. It must show
extensive relevant reading on the subject and intelligent use of the material to present a
well-balanced and well-argued assignment. For example, the student will have
considered a range of relevant issues and be able to assess the strength and weaknesses
of various approaches/arguments and put forward a confident and articulate view of
their own.
60 – 69% An essay in this mark range will demonstrate a good understanding of the requirements
of the assignment and of theories, concepts and issues relating to Consultancy
Management Techniques. An assignment in this percentage range will include a
balanced discussion of issues central to the question, how these are addressed by
different authors or sources and some critical thinking into their relative merits or
shortcomings.
The answer will be contain few errors and little, if any, irrelevant material. It will show
evidence of reading from a variety of sources (i.e. more than 3 or 4) but not so many
sources that the discussion loses focus and becomes unclear or irrelevant. All sources
should be of some academic merit (e.g. books, journals, reports, media publications).
Unreferenced material from non-credible internet sources MUST be avoided.
All sources must be included and properly referenced in the references. The assignment
will be well-organised and clearly written/presented overall.
50 – 59% The answer will demonstrate some reasonable understanding of relevant theories,
concepts and issues relating to Consultancy Management Techniques but also some
minor errors of fact or understanding.
The assignment will not be based on an extensive range of sources (for example few
references are included), or much evidence that they have been read closely or wellunderstood. For example, the assignment will retell sources rather than analyse them.
The assignment may be quite general in part. Some errors may be present and some
irrelevant material may be included.
The essay may not be particularly well-structured, and/or clearly presented and contain
some spelling mistakes and grammatical errors. A few sentences may be unclear.
40 – 49% A mark within this percentage range will be given to an essay which:
– shows some limited basic understanding of the subject but is incomplete. For
example, if it answers one part of a question but not the rest.
– makes only very general statements
– includes some factual errors or misunderstandings e.g. confusion between different
companies or misuse of certain key terms.
– shows limited use of material with limited reading/research on the topic and includes
Assignment Brief – 251SAM Coursework 1
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Mark range Guidelines
only a very small number of references, not all of which are included in the
references
– includes spelling mistakes, is poorly structured with no clear argument and grammar
mistakes making it difficult to understand.
– includes some irrelevant material.
35 – 39% A mark within this percentage range will be given to an assignment which:
– includes only a limited amount of relevant material.
– shows little evidence of reading/research on the topic. For example, the essay
includes only very few references, and relies only on material or case studies used
during the course.
– shows only a very basic understanding of the subject.
– is poorly presented with bad grammar, some spelling mistakes and an incomplete
reference list.
– has a poor structure and does not flow e.g. if there is no conclusion or new facts are
introduced in the conclusion rather than introduction or main discussion.
– contains some fundamental errors.
20 – 34%
0 – 19%
A poor fail on this assignment means the assignment submitted:
– is poor and suggests that the student has spent very little time on it e.g. if the answer
is considerably under the word requirement and/or presented in note form rather
than as a fully written up essay.
– bears little relation to the assignment topic.
– shows a poor understanding of theories, concepts and issues relating to Consultancy
Management Techniques and to the learning outcomes detailed in this document.
– contains some or many fundamental errors and misunderstandings of the academic
or other material used. For example many of the facts cited are incorrect.
– uses literature or other material which is largely irrelevant or has no academic value
– is poorly structured and poorly presented. For example, sentences may be hard to
understand and contain many spelling or grammatical mistakes.
– contains no references.
Work within this mark range shows a complete failure to meet the requirements of the
assignment. A mark in this range will be given for an essay which:
– is below 500 words in length.
– bears no link to the question chosen and shows very little or no knowledge or
understanding of any of the theories, concepts and issues relating to Consultancy
Management Techniques. The answer may be fundamentally wrong or trivial.
– contains no references and/or evidence of relevant reading.
– shows little understanding of the requirements of the assignment and only a vague
knowledge of the subject area.
– includes numerous fundamental errors in the understanding or presentation of the
material discussed. There is a general lack of facts/evidence and what is provided is
mostly incorrect and/or irrelevant.
Assignment Brief – 251SAM Coursework 1
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Mark range Guidelines
– is poorly structured and poorly presented. Spelling and grammar are poor. Many
sentences are incomprehensible.
– the examiners do not feel could be described as a serious attempt by any reasonable
standards.
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