30 Sep Assessment Point 1 Managing strategy, operations and partnerships
8749ASSESSMENT BRIEF AND MARKING RUBRIC
Module title: Managing strategy, operations and partnerships (SG7001)
Assessment point: Assessment point 1 (Week 6)
Assessment task: Report
Word count limit: 4500 words +/- 10% (excluding references and appendices)
Width: 75% of overall module grade
Procedure in the event of illness or other valid cause (extenuating circumstances)
If you believe that:
• your performance in assessment or reassessment has been impaired, or;
• you were unable to attend for an assessment or reassessment, or;
• you were unable to submit assessed or reassessed work by the scheduled date due to
illness or other valid cause (as defined in the Procedures Governing Extenuating
Circumstances), may submit an application for extenuation for the relevant component(s) to
Unicaf Extenuating Circumstances team (extenuating.circumstances@unicaf.org). *Once a
component has been capped, extenuation does not uncap it.
Academic misconduct including plagiarism
Ensure that you are familiar with the relevant regulations regarding academic misconduct. By
submitting the assignment, you declare that it is your own work and that the material and
sources of information used, including internet sources, have been fully identified and
properly acknowledged. In addition, you confirm that the presented work has not been
submitted for any other assessment. You also acknowledge that the faculty reserves the right
to investigate allegations of plagiarism and other forms of academic misconduct which, if
proven and dependent on the severity level of the offence, may result in a penalty that could
affect your progress.
By submitting your work, you acknowledge that you have read and agreed with the above
statements.
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SG7001 / Managing Strategy, Operations and Partnerships
General Guidance
Your assignment should be MS Word processed (handwritten assignments are not accepted),
using Times New Roman size 12 font, double spaced, with numbered pages and your student
number printed as a footer on every page. Note this is a report supported by academic
research so you should adhere to the appropriate referencing guidance. The word limit stated
for this assignment excludes the list of references at the end of the assignment but includes all
text in the main body of the assignment (including direct quotations, in-text citations,
footnotes, tables, diagrams and graphs). Please be aware that exceeding the word limit will
affect the academic judgement of the piece of work and may result in the award of a lower
mark. Appendices are not considered a supplement and will not be assessed as part of the
content of the assignment. As such, they will not contribute to the grade awarded; however, it
may be appropriate to use an Appendices section for any material which is a useful reference
for the reader. Please note that appendices are not included in the word count. The majority
of references should come from secondary sources (e.g. journal articles, conference papers,
reports, etc.) although you can also utilise area specific textbooks. You must ensure that you
use the Harvard style of referencing. Please indicate the word count length at the end of your
assignment.
Marking and assessment
This assignment will be marked out of 100% and contributes to 75% of the total module
mark. The pass mark is 50%. Nevertheless, in order to pass this module, you must both
achieve an aggregate mark of 50% and also meet the assignment threshold marks. For the
purposes of passing a module each assignment has a threshold mark of 40%.
The marking rubric is attached, which offers guidance on the assessment criteria and weighting.
Late Submission
There will be a stipulated deadline date for all assignments. All assignments will need to be
submitted by the set time on the stipulated deadline date. Assignments submitted up to 24
hours late will be accepted, but the assignment mark will be subject to a deduction of 5 marks
from the mark awarded.
Learning outcomes applied in this assessment
2. [critically] Evaluate the impact of current and emerging trends on organizations.
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SG7001 / Managing Strategy, Operations and Partnerships
3. Demonstrate an ability to effectively analyse problems and issues employing a range of
appropriate concepts, theories and approaches.
6. Apply tools and techniques of strategic and operations analysis.
8. Develop succinct business reports.
Assessment guidelines
Produce a 4500-word report (+/- 10%) (excluding the list of references) which offers students
the ability to demonstrate their developing knowledge and application of the teaching and
learning material covered in weeks 1 to 5. It also encourages students to develop their
thoughts and perspectives on contemporary business issues, and be intellectually creative
(underpinned by credible resources).
Task
Students are required to produce a report (LO8) on one international organization of their
choosing and address the following issues:
Task 1:
Brief introduction to the organisation and sector it operates in, including a summary of the
past 3 years’ revenue, operating profits and general overview of the business’s operational
activities (LO2).
Task 2:
An outline of one strategic business issue they are, or have recently, faced; contextualised
within the organisational setting, including an overview of relevant strategic decisions that
led to their current position (discussed through relevant literature, tools and techniques)
(LO2/3).
Task 3:
Critical analysis of why the issue has strategic implications and its impact on its
stakeholders (discussed through relevant literature and supported by other contemporary
examples) (LO2/6).
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SG7001 / Managing Strategy, Operations and Partnerships
In selecting the company to analyse, students will want to spend time identifying an
international organization which has experienced, or is experiencing, major issues as a result
of current and emerging global trends, and satisfy themselves that there are a number of
credible resources from which to refer. Well established media (e.g. BBC, Financial Times,
New York Times, etc) may be used to develop the context of the discussion, but the material
used to underpin the research and analysis should be from academic books and/or peer
reviewed academic journals.
***
Report Format
What is a report?
A report is written for a clear purpose and to a particular audience. Specific information and
evidence are presented, analysed and applied to a particular problem or issue. The
information is presented in a clearly structured format making use of sections and headings
so that the information is easy to locate and follow.
When you are asked to write a report, you will usually be given a report brief which provides
you with instructions and guidelines. The report brief may outline the purpose, audience and
problem or issue that your report must address, together with any specific requirements for
format or structure. This guide offers a general introduction to report writing.
What makes a good report?
Two of the reasons why reports are used as forms of written assessment are:
• to find out what you have learned from your reading, research or experience;
• to give you experience of an important skill that is widely used in the work place.
An effective report presents and analyses facts and evidence that are relevant to the specific
problem or issue of the report brief. All sources used should be acknowledged and referenced
throughout, in accordance with the preferred method of your department.
The style of writing in a report is usually less discursive than in an essay, with a more direct
and economic use of language. A well written report will demonstrate your ability to:
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• understand the purpose of the report brief and adhere to its specifications;
• gather, evaluate and analyse relevant information;
• structure material in a logical and coherent order;
• present your report in a consistent manner according to the instructions of the report
brief;
• make appropriate conclusions that are supported by the evidence and analysis of the
report;
• make thoughtful and practical recommendations where required.
The structure of a report
The main features of a report are described below to provide a general guide. These should be
used in conjunction with the instructions or guidelines provided by your department.
Title Page
This should briefly but explicitly describe the purpose of the report (if this is not obvious
from the title of the work); remember to add your name and student number/assessment
number, and which assessment it pertains to.
Summary (Abstract)
The summary should briefly describe the content of the report. It should cover the aims of the
report, what was found and a brief review of the conclusions. Aim for about 1/2 a page in
length and avoid detail or discussion; just outline the main points. Remember that the
summary is the first thing that is read. It should provide the reader with a clear, helpful
overview of the content of the report.
Contents (Table of Contents)
The contents page should list the different chapters and/or headings together with the page
numbers. Your contents page should be presented in such a way that the reader can quickly
scan the list of headings and locate a particular part of the report. You may want to number
chapter headings and subheadings in addition to providing page references. Whatever
numbering system you use, be sure that it is clear and consistent throughout.
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Introduction
The introduction sets the scene for the main body of the report. The aims and objectives of
the report should be explained in detail. Any problems or limitations in the scope of the
report should be identified, and a description of research methods, the parameters of the
research and any necessary background history should be included.
Methods
Information under this heading may include: a list of research methods used (e.g. literature
review using ProQuest resources and the filter criteria applied for each search) and other
sources of information and details of selection/rejection; reference to any problems
encountered and subsequent changes in procedure.
Discussion
The main body of the report is where you discuss your material. The literature and evidence
you have gathered should be summarised, analysed and discussed with specific reference to
the problem or issue. If your discussion section is lengthy you might divide it into section
headings. Your points should be grouped and arranged in an order that is logical and easy to
follow. Use headings and subheadings to create a clear structure for your material. Use bullet
points to present a series of points in an easy-to-follow list. As with the whole report, all
sources used should be acknowledged and correctly referenced (remember to use the most
credible resources available).
Conclusion
In the conclusion you should show the overall significance of what has been covered. You
may want to remind the reader of the most important points that have been made in the report
or highlight what you consider to be the most central issues or findings. However, no new
material should be introduced in the conclusion. Remember to specifically answer the initial
questions posed.
Appendices
Under this heading you should include all the supporting information you have used that is
not published. This might include tables, graphs, questionnaires, surveys or transcripts. Refer
to the appendices in the body of your report.
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List of References
A key feature of academic writing, the list of references should list – in alphabetical order by
author – all published sources referred to in your report. There are different styles of using
references so be sure to refer to the study guide and check your departmental handbook for
guidelines.
Note the suggested structure for your essay:
Section/aspect Content to cover Marks available
Introduction General background on the 10 Marks
500 words topic you are going to discuss.
Possible definitions for terms
relating to the question.
What the essay will include
and/or leave out (scope).
What themes the essay will
discuss and the order they are
presented.
What the essay will argue /
demonstrate (thesis statement).
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SG7001 / Managing Strategy, Operations and Partnerships
Main Body The following structure can be 60 Marks
3500 words used for discussion of the themes
that you have identified:
T – topic (sentence to introduce
the theme or topic of the
paragraph)
E – example (you could mention
an example here to focus the
topic)
S – support (bring in supporting
information from your research /
eg. theory, research studies,
statistics, legislation,
professional guidelines,
examples from practice)
T – talk about the ideas
(strengths, weaknesses,
importance, relevance,
usefulness, comparison to other
ideas). Evaluation and critical
discussion of the supporting
materials and how they relate to
the question under scrutiny –
keep the discussion focused on
answering the question in the
essay title.
Conclusions Links back to the themes 15 Marks
500 words identified in the introduction.
A reminder of what the essay has
argued.
A recap of the main themes that
have been discussed.
Formatting and High quality presentation of the 15 Marks
Referencing material that conforms to
(list of references not principles of academic writing
included in word and contains minimal errors in
count) sentence construction, grammar
and punctuation. The
assignment followed
appropriate academic
conventions regarding in-text
citations and referencing.
Total: 4500 words 100
Marks
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SG7001 / Managing Strategy, Operations and Partnerships
Masters Grading Scale
Grade Grade Range
Distinction 70-100 %
Merit 60-69 %
Pass 50-59 %
Not passed 0-49 %
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SG7001 / Managing Strategy, Operations and Partnerships
Module Title: Managing strategy, operations and partnerships (SG7001)
Assessment Title: Assessment Point 1 Weighted: 75% 4500-word
report
Criteria and 90-100% 80 – 90% 70 – 79% 60 – 69% 50 – 59% 40 – 49% 20 – 39% 0-19%
weighting Highly Outstanding Excellent Very Good Good Quality Acceptable Work does not Work fails to
Exceptional Work Work Quality Work Work work with some satisfy meet the
Work good aspects assessment assessment
criteria criteria
25%
Selection and Exceptional and Excellent Very good Good Adequate Some Poor quality of No
application of a outstanding integration of integration of integration of
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