Grading Criteria
Your SAR’s assessment will be based on three components, weighted as follows:
I. Completeness – 75% of total grade –
a. Your report should use a fact based approach to:
i. Identify and explain (i.e., justify your choices) the three most impactful functions (R&D, Marketing, Production, etc.) related to your strategy.
ii. Discuss:
• How effective the functions were in achieving your company’s strategic and operational goals. (What did you do well or not?)
• The competitive factors that influenced the timing and outcome of your company’s strategic and operational decisions (e.g., competitors dominated a segment, competitors had limited production capacity, etc.). How did your company perform relative to your competitors?
• How your company’s strategy will change in the future to improve operations. (How can you do better next year? You can always do better.)
II. Use of Research – 15% of total grade –
a. Your report should:
i. Utilize course concepts (e.g., from lecture) in the discussion of your company’s strategy, its effectiveness, and your planned improvements to your company’s strategy and operations.
ii. Support quantitative or fact based statements in the paper with evidence from the Courier and other Capsim reports, including relevant ratio analysis (Think DuPont).
iii. Provide evidence in the appendix of the paper (e.g., charts, graphs, data analysis that you have created) for relevant quantitative or fact based statements made in the paper, and make sure that every item in the appendix relates to a statement or argument made in the paper. Please note that you should only present graphs and charts in your appendix that support and extend the arguments you make in your paper (i.e., Do not simply cut and paste the charts and graphs from the Courier, unless this representation of the data best supports your argument).
III. Structure – 10% of total grade –
a. Your report should:
i. Include a signed Academic Integrity Pledge on the cover page.
Academic Integrity Pledge: I _______________________ affirm that I have not and will not give or receive unauthorized aid on this deliverable and I will complete this work honestly and according to the instructor’s guidelines.”
ii. Recognize the company’s Board of Directors as the audience for the report.
iii. Not use a year by year structure for organizing the report.
iv. Be well organized and concise.
v. Be professionally written (correct use of terminology, no slang).
vi. Have a cover sheet with your name, your PSU email (i.e., ANGEL ID), and your section number included.
vii. Use a 12 point font, double spacing, and one inch margins.
viii. Adhere to 3 page limit (not including the appendix).
ix. Adhere to the file naming protocol. You should save your simulation analysis report using the following filename format (assuming you were team Andrews in Industry 39177) Ind_39177_Andrews_SAR.doc so that your industry, your company name, and the title of your report are easily identified with your submitted file.
x. Cite all works referenced, including the Capsim manual and related documents. Failure to cite works referenced will result in a 10% penalty on the paper grade.
xi. Be submitted to turnitin.psu.edu/.