Risk Management and Supply Chain Vulnerability

Risk Management and Supply Chain Vulnerability

Risk Management and Supply Chain Vulnerability List of sectors This is a list of the sectors with illustrative products for each sector.

Aerospace

 private and commercial aircraft  aero engines  satellites

Automotive

 passenger vehicles  commercial vehicles

Clothing and Apparel

 fashion garments  footwear  leather clothes  sports clothing  bags  workwear

Construction and building items

 bricks, stone, tiles, paving  concrete  plasterboard  joists  nuts and bolts  flooring  glazing

Consumer electronics (excluding mobile phones and tablets)

 home entertainment (televisions, audio/video)  health and fitness gadgets  laptops and personal computers  smart watches  printers and consumables

Consumer electronics: mobile phones and tablets only

Risk Management and Supply Chain Vulnerability

Consumer products (non electronic)

 toys  books  eyewear  watches  jewellery

Cosmetics and beauty products

Defence

 defence equipment

Durable home goods

 furniture and furnishings  lighting  home appliances  garden equipment  tools  musical instruments  bicycles

Food: Beverages

 Alcoholic beverages (beer, wine, cider, spirits)  Non-alcoholic beverages (Tea, Coffee, Soft drinks)

Food: Fresh, chilled and frozen unprocessed food items

 Dairy (milk, eggs, cheese, ice-cream, yoghurt)  Fish and seafood  Fruit and vegetables  Meat and poultry

Food: Processed foods

 Ready-cook meals and dishes  Pet foods and animal feed  Bread and cereals  Condiments and seasonings

Food: confectionery and snacks

 Chocolate bars  Sweets  Crisps and similar snacks  Biscuits

Healthcare/pharmaceutical/life science

Risk Management and Supply Chain Vulnerability

 prescription and non-prescription drugs and medicines  personal care equipment  medical devices  hospital equipment

Industrial machinery

 manufacturing machinery  pumps, motors  industrial tools

Petrochemical

 fuels  refined chemicals  soaps and detergents  paints

Rail and shipbuilding

 Railway o rolling stock (For example Hitachi Rail I Global I Rolling Stock Solutions | Hitachi Rail) o signalling equipment o track

 Shipbuilding o cruise ships, container ships, bulk carriers, oil tankers o super and leisure yachts

Power and utilities

 Power o generating equipment – e.g. turbines o distribution infrastructure – cables, pylons

 Other utilities (e.g. water) o pipelines

Telecoms and networks

 servers  transmission equipment  fibre-optics

Textiles (non clothing)

 flooring, carpets

Assignment 2 Specification v1 September 2023 1

Assignment 2: Critical Essays In assignment 2 you investigate two specific supply chain risk and vulnerability topics. The assignment is designed to develop your knowledge of these topics and to test your ability to formulate and structure a critical argument. You are to submit two 800 word (maximum) essays.

The assignment is 50% of the module.

Instructions

Choose 2 topics Choose one topic from list A and one from list B.

List A 1) Vulnerability to supply chain disruption risk. Discuss a sector or compare two sectors in

regard to vulnerability to disruption risk and its management. 2) Vulnerability to unsafe supply chain operations. Discuss a sector or compare two sectors in

regard to vulnerability to the risk of unsafe supply chain operations and its management. 3) Business Continuity Management (BCM). Discuss a sector or compare two sectors in regard

to the relevance and application of BCM.

List B 1) Modern Slavery risk in supply chains. Discuss a sector or compare two sectors in regard to

modern slavery risk and its management. 2) Counterfeiting risk in supply chains. Discuss a sector or compare two sectors in regard to

counterfeiting risk and its management.

Create a question for each essay Each essay is to discuss a topic in the context of one or two sectors in the list provided on the moodle site (and you can discuss different sectors to those you analysed in assignment 1). Do this by formulating and answering a question, such as (but note these questions are not suitable for this year’s lists):

 Is the typical fresh food supply chain more susceptible to fraud and corruption than the typical automotive supply chain?

 Are aerospace supply chains becoming more or less resilient?  Does the risk appetite of fashion brands have a significant bearing on the design and

management of their supply chains?

The question is the title of your essay and you must answer the question. That does not mean you are obliged to give a clear-cut answer as the real world is not straightforward, but you need to tell the reader your answer. Don't leave it to the reader to guess your answer.

Make use of literature in your essay You must make use of literature. The purpose of the assignment is to increase your knowledge of topics and reading literature is the route to doing that. Be aware that 30% of the assignment mark is connected to quality, relevance and number of academic and non-academic sources.

Assignment 2 Specification v1 September 2023 2

You may find academic articles that focus on the topic in the sector(s) that you have chosen but, in general, you will need to read articles about the topic (e.g. supply chain resilience) and other material about the sector(s). Your task will be to interpret what you have read and synthesise an answer to your question.

Each essay must make use of and cite academic literature and can also make use of and cite non- academic sources of information. You are expected to have 6 or more academic references and several non-academic references for each 800 word essay.

The reference list (which must be in APA 7 format) must be divided into two sub-sections: Academic References and Non-Academic References.

Academic literature An academic source is a journal article or book found through the library’s databases (e.g. EBSCO Discovery Service, Business Source Complete, SCOPUS) or the library’s book catalogue. If you are not familiar with these databases you should take time to learn how to use them.

Other literature (non-academic) Non-academic literature and information about the topic and sector(s) you are analysing can be useful. For example, various Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO) write reports about issues in sectors and supply chains. News articles can provide supporting evidence for a line of argument. Web sources can be sources of data about a sector and supply chains. These are not academic sources and must be listed in the Non-Academic References list.

Guidance A good essay will …. Therefore, don’t …. Use one or two opening sentences to set the scene and the question

Don’t use up a significant chunk of the essay describing the sector(s) and explaining your question

Contain a few clear arguments, in a logical sequence, to address the question

Don’t jump around from one idea to another. Don’t leave the reader to work out how and why your points relate to the question

Be divided into well-formed paragraphs. Read the guidance from The Writing Center (nd)

Don’t write the essay as a big slab of text

Be rounded off with a conclusion and answer to the question

Don’t leave the question unanswered

You can use tables and diagrams but only use then if they add to the quality of the essay. Don’t use them as decoration. If you do include a diagram or table, be careful:

 Words in tables and diagrams are counted. Although word processing software might not be able to count words in a diagram, a human can. If the number of words in tables and diagrams causes you to exceed 800 words, you will lose marks.

 Do not cut and paste diagrams or tables from sources and insert them into your document. That is lazy practice and you will lose marks. If you wish to present a diagram or a table, create it yourself.

Report format and maximum word count The report should be a standard Microsoft Word document.

Assignment 2 Specification v1 September 2023 3

The maximum is 800 words for each essay. The title and reference list are excluded from the word count. As stated above, words in diagrams are included in the word count even though software might not be able to count them! Marks will be removed if the word count is exceeded.

State the word count for each essay (exclude the title and the reference list).

State your student number at the top of the document. Do not include your name in the document.

Marking scheme Component Factor % 1st essay  Quality of the question

 Correct interpretation of the topic  Quality of the analysis, discussion and answer to the question

30%

 Calibre and range of academic and non-academic references used  Relevance of the academic and non-academic sources to the

question  Number of academic and non-academic sources used (not too

many, not too few)

15%

2nd essay  Quality of the question  Correct interpretation of the topic  Quality of the analysis, discussion and answer to the question

30%

 Calibre and range of academic and non-academic references used  Relevance of the academic and non-academic sources to the

question  Number of academic and non-academic sources used (not too

many, not too few)

15%

Presentation Presentation of the document. Clear presentation of text and diagrams. Citations and references conform to APA 7 style

10%

This is an individual report, therefore your report must be different from other students. I encourage you to discuss your work with others, but you must not copy the work of another student. Two or more reports that are similar will lose marks and may trigger the plagiarism process. Speak to me if you have any concerns about this issue.

References

The Writing Center (nd). Paragraphs. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved from https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/paragraphs/