CW2 ASSIGNMENT
This assignment represents the culmination of all your work on this module. This is also where you incorporate your revised/enhanced material from your CW1 assignment. You have studied the strategic options available to the business. You are now required to independently evaluate the existing strategy of the business and make recommendations to the Board of Directors as to the future development of the business’ strategy. Your evaluation and recommendations should be presented as a Management Report.
Your management report should include:
Title Page: This must contain the following:
Module title and code
Assignment title
Your name and ID number
Name of your seminar tutor
Word Count (see later note on word limit): This needs to be in two parts (a) the total number of words in the document and (b) the word count minus the title page, contents page, executive summary, tables/charts, reference list and any appendices.
Submission date
Executive Summary: This should be no more than one page in length and should present a ‘snapshot’ of the report including your findings from the environmental audit and the strategic direction of the organisation. You should also include an overview of your recommendations with a brief rationale. [Note: This is not counted in the word limit.]
Table of contents: This should be no more than one page in length. [NOTE: This is not counted within the word limit.]
Introduction: An introduction to the company’s operations – in other words ‘setting the scene’. This to include an overview of the organisation’s operations, their proposed strategy, its financial situation, general state of the sector/industry (for example, is it in growth or decline) and its key competitors. It is expected that elsewhere in the report you will apply the models/concepts and frameworks to the organisation. This approach should underpin your knowledge and understanding of the organisation and the environment in which it operates.
Analysis and critical evaluation of the organisation’s environmental audit:
This is the material from your Formative assignment (Pestel, Capabilities, Porter’s Five Forces, SWOT/TOWS). However, you need to have taken into account the feedback provided and, where necessary, enhanced your work. [Note the comments made in the earlier section on the Formative.]
Analysis of the organisation’s strategic direction: This needs to be undertaken with a clear identification of the methods by which the organisation’s strategies have been pursued. You must use Ansoff and either BCG or GE/McKinsey.
Critical evaluation of the organisation’s strategy: This is in terms of its suitability, acceptability, feasibility and sustainability (SAFS Framework).
Conclusions: What conclusions have you drawn from analysing this organisation?
Recommendations: These are what you have derived from examining the organisation. These should link back to the material that you have critically reviewed within the previous sections. There must be a clear rationale for the recommendations. Read your recommendations carefully and ask yourself the following questions:
Are your recommendations rational?
What evidence can you provide in support of these recommendations?
How would the various stakeholders react? How would you react if you were a shareholder?
Is it logical that the company would or need to take these specific actions?
Do they make sense?
Would you be prepared to discuss them at a Board meeting?
References: These must be in the CULC Harvard Format. There must be appropriate in-text citations throughout your submission. [NOTE: You must seek out reliable and validated sources of information for your assignments – Please refer to comments elsewhere in this document and other guides on the M002 Moodle pages.] The references (both in-text and within the reference list) are not included within the overall word count.
Appendices: If required and no more than four pages. If there are more than the stipulated four pages those additional pages will not be read.
Your response to the brief must show evidence of your ability to research independently relevant data, using appropriate sources and databases, as well as relevant academic literature, to support your arguments.
Conducting and applying research is crucial to this module. Additionally there is a mark awarded for the level of research demonstrated (See rubric). You will be expected to read and apply information (as an absolute minimum) from the core text, the company’s most recent Annual Reports & Accounts, two news items (from reliable sources) and four journal articles. The journal articles can include the two used to support the Formative assignment and those listed in Moodle (however the key is application of the information within those articles.)
Please note that marks will be deducted for the use of such sources as (though not exclusive to): ‘Wikipedia’, ‘Businessballs’ ‘essays UK’ (or any site that states the word ‘essay’ in its title or introduction), QuickMBA and ‘tutor2u’. These are not Level 7 reading and should be avoided. If you have any doubts regarding the reliability and validity of sources please ask either your seminar tutor or the module leader.
Please refer to the guides on the M002 Moodle site for further information. It is expected that every student will comply with good academic practice. Any suspicion of a breach of good academic practice will be investigated.
When presenting the frameworks do not simply re-create the diagrams. Your role is to apply the frameworks. It is perfectly acceptable to use a series of subheadings to delineate the points that you wish to make.
Presentation of Summative Assignment
The Management Report must be professionally presented and appropriately referenced. As stated above we want you to develop the mind-set that this is for the Board of Directors of your chosen company. Even though you are submitting this electronically we want you to follow the format stated below.
Assignments must be presented in the following format:
• Word-processed in Arial font, 12 pitch and double-spaced.
• Margins must be as follows: Top; 1.0 inch (2.5cm), Bottom; 1.0 inch (2.5 cm), Left; 1.25 inches (3.2 cm), Right; 1.25 inches (3.2 cm).
• All pages must be numbered in the top right-hand corner.
• Use only a plain white background – no coloured/designed backgrounds (including company logos) as this impedes readability. Please also remember that a report can be enhanced or damaged through layout, for example placing all tables and drawings in Appendices can hamper the flow of discussion. Decisions therefore need to be made about the most appropriate place to use tables and so on to support your case.
Use of Tables
Use tables very sparingly. Where you do use tables (perhaps to show changes in revenue and profit over a period of time) make sure that there is a clear interpretation of the information within the text. In other words, what are the figures meant to display?
Do not place the macro factors, Porter’s Five Forces, SWOT/TOWS, Ansoff, BCG and GE Matrices in tabular format. It becomes cumbersome and difficult to read. Use sub headings to delineate the text and write in a narrative style. This enhances readability and allows you to add the necessary evidence to support your perspectives.
Equally, do not use generic diagrams of the various models and frameworks: (1) We want you to demonstrate knowledge and understanding through their application and (2) images of ‘cows’ and ‘dogs’ as used in some Internet depictions of the BCG matrix are not suitable for a management report for a board of directors.
Diagrams
Use diagrams sparingly.
Remember that this is to be a professional management report, as such any illustrations must be suitable to present to a board of directors.
Written English Language Skills
Review both your sentence and paragraph structuring prior to submission. Read and re-read your work to make sure that you are communicating information clearly and effectively. Your written English must be of a professional standard. This includes avoiding ‘journalistic’ words and phrases.
Word Limit: 3,500 words using the standard format described above.
Please Note: The specified word count refers to the main body of the report and does not include: title page, executive summary, tables, graphs, references or appendices (however no more than four pages of appendices). There is an upper limit of 10% above the word limit. However, exceeding this upper limit will result in the reduction of marks.
Retaining Your Working Notes & Source Materials
You will need to retain all your working notes. This material will include (but not be limited to):
Written or typed notes that you have developed from textbooks, journal articles and other sources.
Rough drafts of your work.
Any downloads or print outs of journal articles that you have obtained via Locate.
Material from quality newspapers and business magazines that you have collected together.
This material will be required if you are requested to attend a Viva voce in support of your submission. You can be required to attend a Viva voce especially if there is any concern regarding the authenticity of your work. [Please refer to the University’s Regulations on Academic Misconduct.]
Submission Date:
It is your responsibility to upload the correct document onto the university system prior to the deadline. You are strongly advised not to leave your submission to the very last minute as this is a high-risk strategy. Late submissions are not marked and you will have to undertake a resit the following term.
[NOTE: Please refer to the Module Guide and the University’s Regulations on late and non-submissions.]
Rubric
When preparing both your Formative and Summative assignments please review in conjunction with the rubric. Make sure that all the criteria (those on the left hand side) are covered in your work. Once you have drafted your assignments, carefully review them in relation to the rubric.
PARTICIPATION AND ENGAGEMENT
As part of your Summative Assessment there is a mark allocated for Participation and Engagement within the Seminars (See Rubric and the Guide to Success on M002). Attendance is governed by a separately regulated process. Simply attending the Knowledgecasts (Lectures) and Seminars does not gain marks. To gain marks in this rubric criterion you must actively engage with the module. This includes (but is not limited to):
1. Being on time for the seminar.
2. Not texting or checking personal emails during the seminar (Equally, this should not be undertaken during the Knowledgecast).
3. Preparing in advance for the seminar (reading and preparing notes on the various case studies).
4. Collecting and building a portfolio of ‘breaking news’ stories for discussion in the seminars.
5. Reading sections in the core text in advance of the seminar.
6. Taking notes (either on laptops or paper-based) during seminars to build your knowledge base and assist in your understanding of the subject material.
7. Actively participating in the team working sessions, seeking to make worthwhile contributions. The mark gained for participation and engagement could make the ‘difference’ between either a fail or a pass on this module.
GENERAL POINTS
How is My Work Marked?
Both the CW1 and CW2 are marked by your seminar tutor. There is a formal team benchmarking process for the Summative assessment to monitor standards across the cohort and to align with comparable Level 7 standards across the UK higher education sector. A benchmarking report, along with samples, are provided to an External Examiner (an experienced academic from another UK higher education institution) who reports to the Examination Board on standards.
What if I Do Not Pass the summative assessments?
If you do not achieve the pass mark of 40%, there is normally a resit opportunity available to you. There will be a separate assessment briefing document provided for students who have this resit opportunity. This will be provided once the results have been ratified by the Examination Board and a resit seminar date and time have been announced.
Queries
If you have any queries, please feel free to discuss them with your tutors or contact me directly either via email or during my Office Hour (details are posted on the M002 Moodle pages). If you email me and I feel that your query has value to all students, then I will post an Announcement in Moodle so that everyone can benefit.
Good luck with your assignments!
Chris
Chris Matthews Lead Teaching fellow Strategy & Business Skills
(Revision: October 2015)
You are strongly advised to cross reference this document with:
M002 Assessment Rubric
How to Succeed on M002: A Student Guide
Both are listed on the M002 Moodle site.
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