MSc Management Full Time

Strategy

Coursework Assessment Brief

Spring Term 2017

September 2016
1. General Assessment Guidance

Your summative assessment for Strategy is a Coursework based on:

o A consultancy report based on a Business Simulation [80% of module
grade]
o A stakeholder management summary [20% of module Grade]
You are required to submit your assessment via Turnitin online access. Only
submissions made via the specified mode will be accepted and hard copies or
any other digital form of submissions (like via email or pen drive etc.) will not
be accepted.
For the consultancy report, the submission word limit is 3,500 words. You
must comply with the word count guidelines. You may submit LESS than
3,500 words but not more. Tables, diagrams, bibliography, appendices,
annex and headings are NOT included within word count calculations. You
must specify total word count on the front page of your report.
For the Stakeholder Summary, the submission word limit is 500 words. You
must comply with the word count guidelines. You may submit LESS than 500
words but not more. Tables, diagrams, bibliography, appendices, and
headings are NOT included within word count calculations. You must specify
total word count on the front page of your report.
For coursework, please use font size 12 for body text and the typeface (font)
should be Arial, or Times New Roman with minimum 1.5 spacing.
For headers and titles, please use font size 14. Your submission must have
standard margins and page numbers.
Please use English (UK) as your language in the submission.
Do not put your name or contact details anywhere on your submission. You
should only put your student identification number (SRN) which will ensure
your submission is recognised in the marking process.
A total of 100 marks are available for this module assessment and you are
required to achieve minimum 50% in each Component to pass this module.
You are required to use only Harvard Referencing System in your submission.
Any content which is already published by other author(s) and is not
referenced will be considered as a case of plagiarism.

You can find further information on Harvard Referencing in the online library
on the VLE. You can use the following link to access this information:

http://my.bpp.com/vle/mod/data/view.php?d=223&rid=596

September 2016
 BPP University has a strict policy regarding plagiarism and in proven
instances of plagiarism or collusion, severe punishment will be imposed on
offenders. You are advised to read the rules and regulations regarding
plagiarism and collusion in the General Academic Regulations (GAR) and
Manual of Policies and Procedures (MOPP) which are available on VLE in the
Academic registry section.
You should include a separate completed copy of the Assignment Cover
sheet for each of the Consultancy Report and the Stakeholder Summary. Any
submission without these completed Assignment Cover sheets will be
considered invalid and not marked.

2. Assessment Brief

2.1. The Consultancy Report (Based on the Cesim Business

Simulation of the Global Mobile Phone Manufacturing
Industry)

You are required to write a report on the Cesim Global Challenge Simulation with
3 main parts as follows:

Part 1 Analysis of the industry and its external environment

Part 2 Critical Evaluation of the performance and strategy of your
simulation company
Part 3 - Recommendations for the strategy of your simulation company
over the next 3 years.

2.2. Stakeholder Summary Report (Based on the company

that you have researched through the term not on the
company within the Cesim simulation)

The summary report should comprise a mapping of the stakeholders and a

critical evaluation of the performance of the companys executives in managing
their stakeholders interests over the past 5 years.

2.3. Assessment Submission and Structure

One TurnItin link will be available. Ensure that you submit your report to the
appropriate link.

The report should be structured as follows:

Section 1 - Consultancy Report

Section 1 should comprise:

The Business School Coursework Cover Sheet, which must be completely,
including an accurate Word Count and your SRN
The Report Cover Page
A Table of Contents

September 2016
 An Executive Summary
Analysis of the mobile phone industry and its external environment
Critical evaluation of your Cesim companys performance
Justified recommendations for the strategy of your company.
References
Appendices

Section 2 Stakeholder Summary Report

Section 2 should comprise:
The Business School Coursework Cover Sheet, which must be fully completed,
including an accurate Word Count
A mapping of the Stakeholders of your chosen company
A critical evaluation the success of the companies executives in balancing
stakeholder needs over the last 5 years.
References
Appendices.

2.4. Assessment Marking Scheme

The Consultancy Report is marked out of 100. The following table shows the
mark allocation and the approach required.

Component 1 Approach
Mar
- Consultancy
k
Report
Your Executive summary should contain all the key points of
your report so that a busy executive reader would be able,
without additional reading, to understand your analysis,
An Executive conclusions and recommendations. It differs from an
10
Summary introduction but is often confused with it. Make sure you
submit an executive summary rather than an introduction.
For an excellent mark your summary will be concise, cover
all elements of your report and present key data.
Analyse the external environment and industry structure
External portrayed by the simulation. For an excellent mark you will
20
Analysis make use of data from the game and the theories and
models considered during the module.
The 30 Critically evaluate the performance of your company in
Performance of relation to the other companies in the industry in which you
your Cesim have competed, identifying your approach to setting
company strategy and creating competitive advantage (LO3).

For an excellent mark you will present clear data, graphs and
tables that support your conclusions, drawing appropriately
on relevant theories and models.

Your finishing position in the competiton has no bearing on

your marks.

Mark Allocation
Evaluation of the Approach to Strategy Development and

September 2016
Component 1 Approach
Mar
- Consultancy
k
Report
Implementation 10 marks
Evaluation of the Strategy Outcomes 10 marks
Use of Simulation Data in Support of the Evaluation and
Conclusions 5 marks
Conclusions 5 marks
For an excellent mark you will develop options and make
choices, defending your choices in terms of potential future
scenarios for industry development, the resources of your
Justified company and your competitors, and any other relevant
recommendatio factors. Assumptions made will be clearly stated. You should
ns for the identify key implementation activities, for example
strategy of your 30 increasing R&D, changing the approach to outsourcing and
company over the need for financing.
the next 3
years. Mark Allocation
Options 10 marks
Assumptions Made 5 marks
Key Implementation Activities 5 marks
Justification of the Recommendations 10 marks
Referencing must adhere to Harvard standards. Writing
needs to be precise with clearly structured paragraphs. .
Referencing For an excellent mark referencing must be complete and
and 10 conform to the Harvard approach. The structure will ensure
Presentation that the evidence that supports your claims can be easily
identified. Presentation style will be that of a professional
business report.
Total 100

The Stakeholder Summary is also marked out of 100.

Component 2
Stakeholder Mark Approach
Summary
You need to complete a stakeholder map that succinctly
Stakeholder reflects your key stakeholders and their power/ interest
40
map in the organisation, highlighting any current or recent
issues.
Critically evaluate the success of the companys
executives in managing their stakeholders interests
Managing the over the last 5 years. For an excellent mark there will be
50
stakeholders consideration of shareholder value, employees,
suppliers, other stakeholders and Corporate Social
Responsibility.
You work should be professionally presented , making
Referencing and
10 use of tables and appendices for supporting information
Presentation
and it must be correctly referenced.
Total 100

September 2016
You must achieve a mark of at least 50% in both components
(Component 1 & Component 2) in order to pass the Module. Your
overall mark will be combination of the two Component marks as
follows:

Overall Mark = (0.8 x Component 1 mark) + (0.2 x Component 2 mark)

September 2016
Appendix A - General Grading Criteria
Criteria Pass Grades
High Distinction
85-100%
The work displays:
Knowledge & (a) Strong evidence of a
Understanding comprehensive and
(a) Systematic systematic understanding of
Understanding an extensive range of
appropriate issues,
(b) Emerging
concepts, theories and
Thought
research
(b) Sustained excellence in
the application of thoughts
and practices at the
forefront of the discipline
Argument (a) Consistently precise,
(a) Analysis, accurate and reasoned
Synthesis & analysis, synthesis and/or
Evaluation evaluation; addressing
issues with insight or
(b) Numerical
originality
Analysis
(c) Argumentation (b) Numeric analysis that is
complete and free from
(d) Independent errors with application of
Research methods that may be
insightful or original
(c) Extremely strong and
consistent argument making
a convincing whole with
evidence of originality.
Impressive dexterity in the
use of information gathered
Distinction
70-84%
The work displays:
(a) Clear evidence of a
comprehensive and
systematic understanding
of a considerable variety of
issues, concepts, theories
and research
(b) Precise and well judged
application of thoughts and
practices at the forefront of
the discipline
(a) Consistently precise,
accurate and reasoned
analysis, synthesis and/or
evaluation addressing all
issues, some with
creativity
(b) Numeric analysis that is
complete and mostly free
from errors with fluent and
appropriate application of
methods.
(c) Extremely strong and
consistent argument that
convincingly addresses issues
including uncertainties and
conflicts. Excellent use of
information gathered which to
support and further the
Merit
60-69%
The work displays:
(a) Clear evidence of a
comprehensive and
systematic understanding
of all major - and some
minor - issues, concepts,
theories and research
(b) Some clear evidence of
the application of thoughts
and practices at the
forefront of the discipline
(a) Precision, accuracy
and clear reasoning
throughout the analysis,
synthesis and/or
evaluation addressing all
issues appropriately
(b) Numeric analysis that is
complete and mostly free
from errors with relevant
and effective application of
methods.
(c) Evidence of an
argument that is generally
convincing with a good
internal consistency and
addresses most issues.
Very good use of
Pass
50-59%
The work displays:
(a) Evidence of a
systematic understanding,
which may contain some
gaps, of all major - and
some minor - issues,
concepts, theories and
research
(b) Clear evidence of an
understanding of thoughts
and practices at the
forefront of the discipline.
(a) Broad levels of
precision, accuracy and
reasoning in analysis,
synthesis and/or
evaluation, and addresses
all key issues
(b) Numeric analysis that is
mostly complete and free
from significant or critical
errors with appropriate
application of methods.
(c) Evidence of an overall
convincing argument but may
have weaknesses, gaps or
inconsistencies. Clear use of
information gathered but may
have some weaknesses in the
integration into the argument.
Fail Grades
Fail
30-49%
The work displays:
(a) Evidence of an
understanding of an
appropriate range of
issues, concepts, theories
and research but has
significant gaps or
misunderstandings.
(b) Unclear or imprecise
understanding of thoughts
and practices at the
forefront of the discipline.
(a) Errors which affect the
consistency of the
analysis, synthesis or
evaluation and/or key gaps
in the issues addressed
(b) Numeric analysis that is
mostly complete but
contains errors with
significant effect, or
methods that are applied
inappropriately
(c) Evidence of a
consistent argument but
may have weaknesses,
significant gaps or be
unconvincing. Clear use of
information gathered but
Low Fail
0-29%
The work displays:
(a) Evidence of a limited
understanding of issues,
concepts, theories and
research either major
and/or minor.
(b) Significant gaps in the
understanding of the
debates at the forefront of
the discipline.
(a) A lack of precision,
accuracy or reasoning in
analysis, synthesis or
evaluation with significant
gaps in the issues
addressed
(b) Numeric analysis that is
incomplete or contains
errors which have critical
effect, or methods that are
applied inappropriately
(c) Lack of consistency or
structure in the argument.
Serious weaknesses in the
integration of evidence
and/or no awareness of
the limitations or
September 2016
Criteria Pass Grades
High Distinction
85-100%
The work displays:
to support the argument.
Argument (d) Evidence of an
(continued) innovative or original use of
extensive personal research
which has been thoroughly
(d) Independent
critically evaluated both
Research
conceptually and
methodologically
Presentation (a) Excellent structure and
(a) Structure presentation
(b) Referencing (b) Precise, full and
(c) Use of appropriate references and
Language notes.
(c) Subtle use of language
expressing highly nuanced
thought with clarity and
precision to a level
appropriate for submission
for publication.
Distinction
70-84%
The work displays:
argument
(d) Substantial research
and evidence of an
innovative use of a wide
range of personal research
with clear and consistent
critical evaluation both
conceptually and
methodologically
(a) Excellent structure and
presentation
(b) Precise, full and
appropriate references and
notes.
(c) Precise use of
language expressing
complex thought with
clarity, accuracy and
precision which furthers
and enhances the
argument
Merit
60-69%
The work displays:
information gathered to
support the argument.
(d) Clear evidence of
considerable personal
research and the use of a
diverse range of
appropriate sources but
may contain problems with
consistency in the
conceptual and
methodological critical
evaluation
(a) Good structure and
presentation
(b) Full and appropriate
references and notes with
minor or insignificant errors
(c) Clear and precise use
of language allowing a
complex argument to be
easily understood and
followed
Pass
50-59%
The work displays:
(d) Appropriate use of a
wide range of personal
research which is critically
evaluated for key
conceptual and
methodological issues
although this may not be
consistent throughout
(a) Adequate structure and
presentation
(b) Good references and
notes with minor or
insignificant errors or
omissions
(c) Generally clear use of
language sufficient for
arguments to be readily
understood and followed
Fail Grades
Fail
30-49%
The work displays:
may not be sufficient to
sustain the argument.
(d) Evidence of a range of
personal research but
evidence of
methodological or
conceptual evaluation may
be limited, inconsistent or
inappropriate
(a) Adequate structure and
presentation
(b) Competent references
and notes but may contain
inconsistencies, errors or
omissions
(c) Generally
understandable use of
language but significant
errors in expression
affecting overall clarity
Low Fail
0-29%
The work displays:
weaknesses of the
research.
(d) Over reliance on very
restricted range of
personal or secondary
research much of which
may not be evaluated and
may not be directly related
to the question or area
(a) Poor structure and
presentation
(b) Poor references and
notes with multiple
inconsistencies, errors or
omissions
(c) Serious errors in the
use of language which
makes meaning unclear or
imprecise
September 2016