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 outcomes 1, 2 and 3 and accounts for 50% of the overall module
mark.
This assignment should be completed with reference to the Jenning’s Case Study & other sources, as detailed
in the questions.
This assignment requires you to write a 2,000 word assignment submission answering the following questions:
1. With the aid of suitable examples from the Jenning’s Case Study and other sources, contrast the meaning
of the terms “data” and “information”. (20 marks)
2. Identify the sources of information for the analysis of the promotional activities at Jenning’s. Critically
evaluate these sources and then select the sources that you feel will be most useful for conducting further
analysis. (20 marks)
3. Analyse the information that has been gathered by your team about the potential impact of promotional
activities at Jenning’s and summarise your key findings. (30 marks)
4. Draw up a PowerPoint presentation that you will use to communicate the results of your analysis on the
promotional activities to the Managing Director of Jenning’s. Your presentation should be 4 – 6 slides long
and should be included in your word document as a series of JPEGs (2 JPEGs per page). Do not submit the
PowerPoint file on Turnitin. (30 marks)
Assignment Brief – 251SAM Coursework 1 DEFERRAL
Page 2 of 7
Jenning’s Case Study
Jenning’s Limited1 is a manufacturer of small electric vehicles, based in Birmingham in England.
The company has three main strands to its operations;
• Mobility scooters for the elderly
• Golf buggies
• Industrial work buggies (for use in warehouses, factories, hospitals etc.)
The company had a turnover of £28.5 million in 2015 and made a profit of £2.9 million, with turnover and
profits split roughly equally between the three product lines.
The company currently uses a variety of different methods to promote its products;
• Advertising in national news papers e.g. Sunday Express
• Advertising in trade magazines
• Running stalls at trade shows
• Liaising directly with key customers using sales executives
Although the company is profitable, it is worried that its market share is falling in the wake of increasing
competition from competitors in the Far East.
One of its main concerns is that it does not fully understand the effectiveness of its promotional activities, and
that there may be potential for increased sales and profits by managing its promotion budget more effectively.
As a result, the managing director of Jenning’s has appointed you as a Marketing Consultant to help provide
some insight into the current situation with the company’s promotional activities.
Information Relating to Promotion for 2015
Your team of analysts has now spent 2 months at Jenning’s analysing information about their recent sales and
promotional activities, as well as making detailed analysis of industry and competitor data.
They have now created the following forecasting tables, showing the anticipated relationship between the
amount spent on promotional activities and increased sales.
.
1
Jenning’s Limited and all other companies named are entirely fictitious organisations
Assignment Brief – 251SAM Coursework 1 DEFERRAL
Page 3 of 7
The current marketing budget is £1.2 million, & is split relatively evenly across all 12 of the above tables.
Online Survey
In addition to the analysis carried out by your team, Jenning’s have also carried out their own online poll using
their Facebook page, with the results as follows;
Where did you hear about our products?
• Sunday Express – 134
• Mail on Sunday – 165
• Magazine advertising – 246
• At a trade show – 5
• Other – 65
Next Steps
With the data collection phase complete, you are now in a position to carry out the necessary data analysis
and provide some feedback on your findings to the managing director.
Assignment Brief – 251SAM Coursework 1 DEFERRAL
Page 4 of 7
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 the 27th June 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;
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.
Assignment Brief – 251SAM Coursework 1 DEFERRAL
Page 5 of 7
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.
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.
Assignment Brief – 251SAM Coursework 1 DEFERRAL
Page 6 of 7
Mark range Guidelines
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
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% 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.
Assignment Brief – 251SAM Coursework 1 DEFERRAL
Page 7 of 7
Mark range Guidelines
0 – 19%
– 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.
– 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.