Plymouth Business School
School of Management
Stage 3 2012-2013
ECN308: Business Management
Module leader: Neil Brooks (CKY233A), tel (01752) 585606 e-mail: neil.brooks@plymouth.ac.uk
Module leader (Singapore)
Full-time class: Yeo Ai Ling (ai_ling_yeo@yahoo.com)
Part-time class: Kelvin Yeow (mid7ield@hotmail.com)
Introduction
This final year module is a ‘capstone’ for the Business Administration programme. The module is largely student centred and designed to enable student involvement with real business issues. Students will work in small teams to produce two consultancy-style reports.
Module Aims
To strengthen the vocational aspects of the …show more content…
programme by providing an opportunity to engage with the business world and further develop an understanding of practical strategic management issues
Assessed Learning Outcomes
At the end of this module the learner will be expected to be able to:
(i) select and apply appropriate techniques of organisational and environmental analysis to detailed cases;
(ii) plan, perform and disseminate research for business briefs;
(iii) demonstrate an ability to marry theoretical concepts to the practical reality of business situations;
(iv) develop appropriate detailed implementation and evaluation strategies.
Learning Style
The learning will take place preparing two consultancy style reports, one of which will be based on a strategic problem while the other will be a ‘live’ consultancy with a local organisation.
The module folder on the student folder will include this module handbook, announcements and other relevant information.
ECN308SA Business Management
Programme of activities and assessment
May 2013 Intake
Week
Lecture Date (FT)
Lecture Date (PT)
ECN308SA Business Management
1
May 20
May 22
Lecture
2
May 27
May 29
Lecture
Form groups and who is doing which question
3
May 27
Jun 5
Lecture
Finalise Live Consultancy title and staff mentor
Submit Appendix A
4
Jun 4
Jun 12
Lecture
5
Jun 13
Jun 19
Lecture
6
Jun 27
Jun 26
Meeting
Strategy case study due on 30 June, Sunday
50% weight (35% individual; 15% group)
7
Jul 5
Jul 3
Meeting
8
Jul 12
Jul 10
Meeting
9
Jul 19
Jul 17
Meeting
10
Jul 26
Jul 24
Meeting
11
Aug 2
Jul 31
Meeting
12
Aug 5
Aug 7
Meeting
13
-
Live consultancy due 18 August, Sunday
50% weight (25% individual; 25% group)
Notes
All coursework elements are due in by 2355h on deadline date. Work may be handed in on any day prior to the deadline. All coursework must be handed in via SCOLAR (Submitting Coursework Online and Remotely), an electronic coursework submission tool available in tulip module site.
When submitting group work, please ensure the names of all group members and the registration numbers are clearly stated on the front sheet of the work.
Scheme of Study
(i) In the first lesson, you will have a briefing session to explain the components of the module. You will be organised to a group of four or five students for the case study in ECN308 (ECN308.1).
(ii) You will undertake a group activity based on a Strategy case (ECN308.1). This case approach will enable you to explore group dynamics within a relatively safe environment. Staff will provide regular “guidance” to each group throughout this period.
(iii) At the same time, you will commence work on your ‘live’ group consultancy (ECN308.2).
Assessment Method
100% Coursework (60% individual, 40% group)
The individual element comprises the following: a sub-report for Project ECN308.1 (35%) a reflective log and analysis of the ‘live’ consultancy [project ECN308.2] (25%)
The group element comprises the following: a group over-arching analysis of project ECN308.1 (15%) a group consultancy report for the client [project ECN308.2] (25%)
Where word limits are specified, you are required to include a ‘word count’ on the front cover of your work. Bibliographies and Appendices do not contribute to this ‘word count’.
Note: Academic offences, including plagiarism, are treated very seriously in the Plymouth Business School. A student who is proven to have committed an academic offence may be placing his or her degree in jeopardy. It is your responsibility as a student to make sure that you understand what constitutes an academic offence, and in particular, what plagiarism is and how to avoid it. Read through the information in the document called ‘Examinations and Assessment Offences’, including the penalties for offences. This document is available on the student portal under My Course and Career. Click on the section called Academic Regulations and scroll down until you find the right document. If you still do not understand what constitutes an academic offence, please consult the Student Support Office, your personal tutor or your programme manager.
In particular, please note that your work must be largely written in your own words to demonstrate your understanding of the material. It is not acceptable to copy large sections of text from other sources, however well referenced. It is useful to include some fairly short direct quotes (say up to 4 or 5 lines). In this case, you must put the quotes in inverted commas and state the page number in the text of your essay as well as the author’s name and date. If you are at all unsure of how to reference properly, you should look at the guide to referencing using the Harvard system, which is available via the student portal.
Return of Coursework
The teaching staff will endeavour to mark and return the coursework within 4 working weeks of the coursework deadline. Results are subject to moderation.
Skills Elements
In this module you will develop the following skills: use appropriate sources of information for research; gather, organise, handle and analyse information critically; present information, arguments and ideas – persuade rationally; learn and work productively in different group settings; take responsibility and carry out agreed tasks; adapt to the needs of the group; listen, question, negotiate and persuade; support the learning of others; identify key features and conceptualise issues; identify strategic options and create solutions; plan, implement and monitor any course of action taken; use information in innovative and creative ways; evaluate outcomes.
Indicative Reading:
Saunders, M. Lewis, T. and Thornhill, A. (2000) Research Methods for Business Students. Prentice Hall.
Lippit, G. and Lippit, R. (1994) The Consulting Process in Action (2nd ed) Jossey-Bass.
ECN308.1 Apple
The case study will be based on Apple and has a 50% weighting.
Objectives:
The case will enable you to:
Research and analyse the company’s strategy;
Apply relevant tools and techniques covered;
The Brief:
You should ensure your research includes appropriate literature as well as web sites.
Group task: Maximum 3,000 words per group response.
Provide an overview of the growth of Apple, analysing the company in terms of its products, technology and marketing.
Individual question: Maximum of 1,500 words per individual response.
Choose one of the following (each group member must select a different question).
1. Examine the implications of the change of leadership on Apple’s strategy.
2. Identify and evaluate Apple’s distinctive competences.
3. Critically assess the rationale for any two alliances that Apple has entered into.
4. What is meant by the ‘halo effect’ and are there any dangers for Apple of this?
5. Examine the competitive environment in which Apple operates and discuss the implications for Apple’s future strategy.
6. How far does Apple’s success reflect its ability to offer innovative and differentiated products?
Marking Scheme
This case study is worth 50% of the total marks. This is split as follows:
Group element = 15%
Individual element = 35%
When awarding marks the following will be taken into consideration:
Bringing in a wide range of material from lectures and other identified sources. You should specifically refer to models, methodologies, issues, concepts and frameworks etc. It is important to relate events and practical experience to the analytical tools provided in the lectures.
Writing well-presented, structured, researched and referenced answers.
Using relevant appendices which should be referred to in the main body of the work. (Do not include copies of web pages which are in the public domain.)
The assessment criteria include:
Structure – report style to include front page, executive summary and table of contents, introduction, sections on theory, evidence and analysis, and conclusion
Theory – presentation and discussion of appropriate theory in response to the question. Use of appropriate tools, constructs and models.
Data/evidence – presentation of good quality and appropriate data and evidence related to the theory. Range of sources to be used.
Analysis – ability to apply the specified theory to the presented evidence in order to provide a coherent and academically robust answer to the question.
Presentation – professional appearance, layout and writing. Quality of English (spelling, grammar, etc.) and accuracy of referencing (Harvard style). Effective use of figures and tables and report presented in colour.
Submission deadline: 2355h on Sunday 30th June 2013
ECN308.2 THE LIVE CONSULTANCY
This is a ‘live’ piece of consultancy done under the guidance of a staff mentor for a local business or organisation.
ECN308.2 can earn up to 50% of the module marks – 25% from the GROUP report [maximum 5,000 words] and 25% from your REFLECTIVE INDIVIDUAL LOG and ANALYSIS.
The Brief
1. The group’s specific task will depend on the client’s needs but in all cases you must agree the task’s title with the client and must present a summary of your findings and conclusions to the client at the end of the work.
Your group consultancy report plus the reflective individual logs and analyses must be submitted to the Business School to be assessed. You must use the normal coursework system, and hand in the work by 2355h Sunday 18 August 2013. At the same time also hand in another copy of your Group Report in a form suitable for sending to the client by the School.
2. Although the actual task may entail a focus on (say) marketing or finance, your group report must place the specific task in its contexts within the firm or organisation’s business environment.
3. As a capstone activity your group should draw on the whole range of business knowledge, understanding and skills covered in any previous and present study.
4. Areas to cover (normal requirements) are as follows:
A critical analysis of the organisation’s internal structure and the task’s relationship to it
A critical analysis of the organisation’s objectives and/or strategy plans and the task’s relationship to them
A critical analysis of the key drivers in the organisation’s external environment, the marketing function, financial management and control, human resources policy etc.
Since any recommendations to enact a new policy, strategy or procedure entails risks, an analysis of such risks and their management is an essential part of the report
An Action Plan, which prioritises the recommendations, broadly investigates their financial implications and indicates and assesses their likely ultimate viability.
An executive summary
5. Skills to use (minimum requirement) are as follows:
Qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis as appropriate
Analytical and synthesising skills
Report/log writing skills
Group Element
5,000 words maximum with 25% coursework weighting.
Task title to be agreed with client.
Individual Element
Reflective individual analysis
A project process reflection (maximum of 1000 words) and an academic reflection (maximum of 1000 words) count in total for 20%.
An individual log (as specified and to be included as an Appendix B) to record and reflect on the individual contribution to the consultancy and the usefulness and appropriateness of the academic disciplines and available resources (no word limit) counts for 5%
So here you are – having sorted out what you wished to achieve, prioritised the goals, considered the resources available, worked out your plan and subsequently undertaken the appropriate tasks then the time will come when you should look back over what actually happened. This is the reflective stage when the project is reviewed in order to, for example, identify elements of best practice to apply in future and improve performance.
Looking back along the time line of the project, questions will suggest themselves. You will be aware of the existence of critical events along the way.
To successfully produce a reflective analysis you will need to firstly keep a log identifying and analysing key developments over time. You should reflect on the team function by logging important events in the project process grid (Part 1 – Project Process Reflection) and also by logging relevant material in the academic reflection grid (Part 2 – Academic Reflection).
Reflective individual analysis
The Project Process Reflection focuses on the functioning of the consultancy team and its progress (both steps forward and steps backwards) towards the consultancy goal.
Were you successful? Did things work out as planned/anticipated? Did you misjudge certain aspects of the job in hand? Did you learn something from the process that could be useful in the future? In this particular project you are working as part of a team. You are collaborating to produce, and be judged by, the common output. Your reflective analysis should have particular focus on team dynamics including planning, time management, choice of strategies and your contribution.
The Academic Reflection is concerned with assessment of usefulness and appropriateness of academic disciplines and available resources. To what extent did your previous and current studies inform your action? If you consider that your academic studies have provided you with a toolkit what tools have you used? Are there tools that you don’t have which would have been useful? This second part of the process of reflection focuses on methodological and analytical issues where the relationship between content of your academic studies and the requirements of the project are
assessed.
Taking a reflective approach should give you the flexibility to tackle a wide range of tasks. You will be able to learn and adapt continually. Your competences should, as a consequence, be enhanced.
Appendix A: Project Information
Submission by group
Group Members
Form groups of 4 or 5
No.
Name
Student Number
1
2
3
4
5
ECN308.1 Apple
Individual Report - Allocation of question
Qn
Name
1
Examine the implications of the change of leadership on Apple’s strategy.
2
Identify and evaluate Apple’s distinctive competences.
3
Critically assess the rationale for any two alliances that Apple has entered into.
4
What is meant by the ‘halo effect’ and are there any dangers for Apple of this?
5
Examine the competitive environment in which Apple operates and discuss the implications for Apple’s future strategy.
6
How far does Apple’s success reflect its ability to offer innovative and differentiated products?
ECN308.2 THE LIVE CONSULTANCY
Name of organisation
Staff mentor
Address
Title
Description
Appendix B: The Reflective Individual Log
Part 1- Project Process Reflection
Week Number
Feelings
re progress on project
Achievement
during period What went badly
Lessons
to learn Tasks ahead Strategies to deal with tasks Functioning of the team 1
2
3
4
5
6
Contd. Part 2- Academic Reflection
Week number Academic inputs- disciplines, framework and theories
Assessment
of academic inputs’ usefulness
Consulting skills which would have been useful
Strategies
to deal with skills mis-match
Resources used Resources sought but not found Overall assessment of ‘academic toolkit’ 1
2
3
4
5
6
Contd.
Source: Northledge, Thomas, Lane and Peasgood (1997)- The Sciences Good Study Guide. Open University: Milton Keynes.