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MBA GCU ASSESSMENT GUIDE

Coursework One (60%)

Your coursework one is as follows: “Scenario planning exercise”

“Critically evaluate the strategic position of an organization of your choice highlighting the core environmental factors influencing the organization and its strategic position. Undertake a scenario planning exercise to generate three potential scenarios arising from changes in CORE environmental forces. Highlight the potential impact each scenario could have upon the future strategic position of the organization and what action the organization could take”

You must submit a copy of your slides for this assignment via GCULearn into turnitin. The link in the system will be clearly identified. Submission of slides is by 1pm UK time Friday 11 th March 2022 . All members of the group must present.

Late submissions or non-attendance will receive a mark of 0% unless there are exceptional circumstances, such as illness.

Coursework Two (40%)

Your coursework two is as follows:

“Critically review the implementation issues associated with the proposed scenarios in Coursework 1. Ensure you underpin your review with theoretical analysis and pragmatic realism”.

Your answer should be a total of 3000 words (+/- 10%) in length and should be underpinned by reference to relevant literature and illustrations of contemporary organizations. Credit will be given for wide reading and critical analysis.

You must submit this assignment via GCULearn into turnitin. The link in the system will be clearly identified. Submission is by 22 nd April 1PM UK time. .

Late submissions will receive a mark of 0% unless there are exceptional circumstances, such as illness. Request for an extension must be supported by appropriate documentation e.g. medical certificate and be made to the Module Leader prior to the submission date.

Marking Guidelines

For all answers an 'excellent' student will demonstrate the ability to identify and address all components of the question; demonstrate a deep understanding of the subject; use a wide range of appropriate references; follow through arguments logically and systematically using appropriate

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references and/or practical examples to illustrate points; apply some innovative thinking. Cover all and more of the points covered in the answer scheme. (80 – 100)

A 'very good' student will demonstrate the ability to identify and address all the components of the question; demonstrate a sound understanding of the subject, use a wide range of appropriate references; structure the answer logically and use appropriate references and/or practical examples. Cover all of the points mentioned in the answer scheme. (70 – 80)

A 'good' student will identify and address the key components of the question. Demonstrate a competent understanding of the subject; select appropriate theories and references; structure the answer well with an identifiable introduction, main body and conclusion. Cover most of the main points outlined in the answer scheme. (60 – 70)

A 'marginal pass' constitutes identifying and addressing the key components of the question. Demonstrates an acceptable understanding of the subject but ideas and theories presented build little on that presented in lectures and directed reading. Reasonably structured with introduction, main body and conclusion but may not be logically arranged. Covers some but not all of the main points outlined in the answer scheme. (50-60)

A 'fail' indicates failure to adequately identify or answer the key components of the question. Demonstrates little real understanding of the subject area. Fails to arrange arguments logically. Brings in few in any theoretical references or practical examples. Covers less than 50% of the main points outlined in the answer scheme. (<50) Please note that for the assessment, you are required to obtain a minimum aggregate pass mark of 50% and not less than 45% for any individual component. This section has provided the basic background information with regard to assessment of this module. If you are unsure of any of the points raised please ask – DO NOT leave it until the day (or week) before an assignment/examination is due!

Assessment Criteria

You are required to demonstrate:  Knowledge of relevant theory and its application  Evidence of further reading around the subject area  Critical analysis skills  Essay writing skills  Information seeking skills  Knowledge of own organisation’s aims and objectives.  Internal and External Environmental analysis in relation to your organisational brand

Please note that there is no set examination for this module.

Marking Matrix and criteria – Coursework 1 (60%)

Criterion Indicative Weighting %

Mark or %

Company Background and Business Model 6

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Current Strategic Position (2×15) 30

Core Environmental factors explained 10

Development of 3 scenarios (3×10) 30

Impact on Strategic Position (3×4) 12

Proposed Action (3×4) 12

Total 100

Company Background and Business Model Up to 6 marks are awarded for presenting a concise and comprehensive overview of the organisation under study. The scope, boundaries, nature and profile of the organisation should be clearly set up and any business model or value propositions clearly determined.

Current Strategic Position 15 marks can be awarded for the quality of the internal analysis. Students are expected to explore the processes and value creation within the organisation to determine strategic capabilities. This may mean the use of value chain, BCG, or similar. Strengths and weaknesses should be clearly articulated. 15 Marks can be awarded for the quality of the external analysis. Students should explore the factors influencing the industry and business. It is expected that students use principles of PEST and Industry Structure analysis. Opportunities and threats should be clearly identified. The accumulation of the SWOT and the analysis should allow the student to clearly state the current strategic position. This is expected to be explicit.

Core Environmental Factors Explained To develop the scenario planning stage the student should identify the core environmental factors and explore their nature and potential impact. These can be filtered to provide for the critical uncertainties to be used later. Depending on the scenario planning framework adopted. The student should filter environmental factors down to one or two.

Development Of Three Scenarios 30 marks are awarded for the development of the scenarios. Three scenarios are required and each carries 10 marks. The student should identify the scenario planning framework to be adopted, determine the critical uncertainties and drivers, then label the scenario and write a plausible, brief yet meaningful narrative of the different potential futures.

Impact on Strategic Position In this section the student has been asked to highlight the impact of each scenario on the strategic position of the organisation. As such no in-depth evaluation is expected. Instead, the impact should be presented and explanation provided s to how this arises from the scenario. Each scenario impact section is worth 4 marks (4×3 scenarios).

Proposed Action In this section the student has been asked to highlight the proposed action for each scenario should it occur. As such, no in-depth evaluation is expected but actions can be listed in bullet points. The actions proposed should be realistic and feasible. Each scenario action section is worth 4 marks (4×3 scenarios).

Marking Matrix and criteria – Coursework 2 (40%)

Criterion Indicative Weighting %

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STYLE – rigor, references, synthesis and critical evaluation. 10

Introduction 5

Identification of scenario actions and issues 15

Clarification and justification of themes/issues to focus on 5

Critical Review of Issues 40 Theoretical analysis 20 Pragmatic realism

40 20

Conclusion 5

Total 100

Style Up to 10 marks are awarded for presenting rigorous, critical evaluation with clear evidence of synthesis and well referenced and defended arguments.

Introduction 5 marks can be awarded for the quality of the introduction. This should set up the work and establish the structure, contribution and value of each element of the analysis.

Identification of scenario actions and issues To develop the critical reviews it is necessary to focus down the scenarios developed in coursework 1 into clear actions and associated issues. The student can use a range of techniques and determine a collection of themes to narrow down. 15 marks are awarded for this.

Clarification and justification of themes/issues to focus on To allow for depth of analysis the themes or issues are required to be focused down to two or three key topic areas. This section awards 5 marks for the ability to filter the content and select the focus for the work. Critical Review Issues The critical review of issues is split between theoretical underpinning and practical realism. The student is expected to examine each issue and explain from a theoretical perspective the implications and potential actions. This is worth 40 marks. The student then explores the issues from a practical realism perspective using their own experiences, reflective practice and experience within the industry and field. This is worth 20 marks.

Conclusion The final conclusion to the work is worth 5 marks. This is expected to provide closure on the purpose of the paper and the key propositions made.

Writing Style

The following is a general guide to academic writing. HOWEVER, for your assessment, REMEMBER to follow the advice of the tutor.

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Some Advice On Writing For An Academic Audience

Five Steps For Effective Writing

Consider Your Audience For The Paper Decide how your readers will use your document and narrow your message to their interests. Choose details to be included on the basis of the audience’s experience and knowledge of your subject.

 Will there be a single reader or multiple readers?  What are the interests of your audience?  How will the readers use your information?  How much do your readers already know about the subject?

Anticipate Special Reader Reactions If you think your audience will be skeptical because of the data you cite or the polices you advocate, or if you foresee a personality or situational problem in the reader’s accepting your message, deal with the problem up front. Usually this consideration means refuting alternatives and supporting your conclusions with additional evidence and authority.  Will there be skepticism?  Is there a personality or situational problem?

Outline Your Message functionally Think before you write. Summarize your entire message in two or three sentences at most. Decide what action your reader needs to take or what action you plan to take. Answer  Who  When  Where  Why  How  And How Much Detail

Next expand this basic outline in to some logical format. Begin with a random list of ideas. Then shuffle your ideas into a logical order, chronological, geographical, most to least significant, categorical, or some other arrangement.

Give your reader the conclusions and recommendations first, follow with a discussion o the hows and the whys of your conclusions and recommendations; last, attach supplementary information in an appendix or enclosure.

Process  Overview the objectives of the process, project, research  Pinpoint and mention the number of stages involved  Explain any equipment, materials, or items the read will not understand in the details to

follow  Explain the process chronologically

Definition or Description  Overview of the objects or persons role  Describe the subject area, debate in place, cited authors, etc.

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Question/Answer  Pose unknowns or problems  State your hypothesis or answer  Present your support material in descending order of significance in most presentation styles  Address and refute any alternative hypotheses or answers  Restate your answer or hypothesis

Persuasive  State your conclusions/recommendations in terms of the audiences needs  Explain your reasons and benefits  Refute objections and address alternatives  Restate your major conclusion/recommendation

Develop the first draft Do not write in long hand. The faster speed will improve the tone and give you momentum in getting your ideas down on paper. As you develop this fist draft, do not stop to edit and polish the grammar but rather concentrate on the logical flow of ideas.

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Edit for Content and Layout, Grammar, Clarity, Conciseness, and Style

Content & Layout

 Focus on the readers interest up front  Make sure your elaboration of details matches the intended emphasis  Check accuracy and completeness; add authority and answer the why factor more  Eliminate repetitious detail but retain first choice words  Paragraph by idea and eye appeal  Use informative headings, Easy to Skim lists, and adequate white space  Design and use visuals effectively; bold, bullets, underlined, etc.

Grammar

1. Thou shalt not dangle verbals; a participial verbal phase serves as an adjective and tells us more about a noun or a pronoun.

2. Thou shalt not write fragments for sentences; i.e., patchy sentences which should be rewritten as one. e.g.: The lease should be maintained. Although there is no clear guidelines. Is wrong, it should read – The lease should be maintained, although there is no clear guidelines

3. Thou shalt use parallel structure; Incorrect – One of the benefits of the call forwarding system is that the initiator has complete control of when it can be done, to whom it can be forwarded, and for any length of time. Parallel: One of the benefits of the call forwarding system is that the initiator has completed control of when, to whom, and for what time the forwarding can be done.

4. Thou shalt make pronouns agree with their antecedents and functions; i.e., if you use they (a plural pronoun) then it must refer to a plural noun such as chairs. A singular pronoun (it) must refer to a singular noun such as chair.

5. Thou shalt make verbs agree with their subjects; a single subject calls for a single verb; a plural subject calls for a plural verb. Remember that to make a noun plural, you add as S, but to make a verb plural, you remove the S. For example, The experiment proves our theory. The experiments prove our theory.

6. Thou shalt not change tenses and moods unnecessarily 7. Thou shalt punctuate correctly 8. Thou shalt use appropriate words 9. Thou shat spell correctly 10.Thou shalt not capitalise without reason

Clarity  Measure readability  Position to indicate emphasis  Link to show proper relationships  User clear transitions  Use clear references  Place modifiers correctly  Prefer concrete words and phrases  Use a consistent viewpoint and voice

Conciseness  Prefer active voice verbs  Dig out buried verbs  Cut waffle (clichés, redundancies, padding)

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Style

 Vary sentence structure and length  Revise weak verbs  Prefer a personal conversation tone

The former may help you as you shape your articles. We have also included some notes on essay writing which may help with how you express yourself.

Writing Notes

Experience over the years has shown that at the outset of their courses, students appreciate some guidelines on the task of essay writing, be it for an examination question or assignment. In certain respects passing on this advice is a bit like trying to teach your grandmother to suck eggs; if you have proceeded so far in an academic career it is certain that you are already aware of some of the more subtle tricks of the trade.

Nevertheless the expectations we have here may not correspond exactly to your previous practice and since your academic performance will in the end be judged on your essay writing ability it is worth setting down some elementary rules of thumb for you to consider. These notes are not intended to compete with the ranks of over-general and over-earnest "how to study" manuals aimed at university and college recruits, rather they are an elementary set of points to bear in mind whenever you put pen to paper.

While perusing these notes, remember – context is important! You will have limited time under examination conditions, compared to assignment essays – although the principles are the same.

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General Advice

Question the question This is the essential prerequisite to answering the question. Essays at this level are intended to make you deliberate, interpret, analyze and criticize. They are not a form of comprehension test, which merely ask you to show you have read and digested all the relevant material. What is required is for you to select points from your reading and research which are of particular relevance to the set topic and to argue a case around these points. Consequently a great deal rests on your interpretation of the question and you should always attend closely to its wording to find out what is implied. This is not to say that there will normally be one and only one pertinent interpretation; more often than not the slippery nature of sociological concepts and varied business practices / situations will prompt alternative strategies for an answer. Hence having identified the broad territory in which you will work, it is a good idea to make every use of this scope for interpretation of the question. In the introductory paragraphs of your essay you should justify the particular approach you are taking, perhaps even challenging some of the assumptions implied in certain questions.

Another useful way of examining the question is to break it down into smaller issues so as to bring out the possible conceptual distinctions available in an answer. To take rather stock-in-trade introductory question suppose you were asked to what extent is marketing orientation important to the hotel and catering industries. This divides down into a range of sub-questions; what is marketing orientation; the nature of products and services; the nature of markets; the problems which marketing orientation can overcome, the weakness in adopting some supposed marketing formulae and so on. The nature of markets could be taken from a view rooted in technology, organizational implications, economics, etc. Each of these issues might lead you on to a range of finer conceptual distinctions, a choice of different empirical evidence and selection between the different theoretical perspectives open to analysis. You cannot of course be expected to deal with all these points in one essay – hence the importance of the early justification of a guiding theme for your answer.

Anticipate the answer

This brings us to another important stage of preparation – namely planning the answer. A widespread error in essay preparation is the artificial separation of the process of collecting the material from the planning and writing of the essay. Many students do not embark on the planning and writing of the essay until they have collected all or most of their information in the hope that a framework for an answer will somehow leap out and hit them from their mass of notes or their memory retention. Producing some form of outline structure of your answer is the essential preliminary to essay preparation. You should sketch out a rough plan perhaps in the form of sub-headings and key words, identifying the material you intend to cover. These sections might be modified or scrapped as you go along but will guarantee much more purposeful reading, and can be used to gain credit in examination situations.

If you follow this approach it should assist in taking your reading beyond the standard texts and commentaries. Your reading lists will identify the main books and articles that will help you in an essay and judicious use of their indexes and bibliographies will extend the material which will be useful for your own line of inquiry.

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Write for your audience

A useful trick in essay writing is to write for your audience. "Obvious!" you cry, but is it.

A few minutes spent thinking during the essay planning stage can help direct your writing towards the expected standard and language of the reader. Especially useful when the reader is the examiner.

So think, who am I writing this for, what do they expect, how should it be written, how do they write, what are their criteria for essay writing, and what is their specialist field. A simple process but highly effective.

Follow a format

It would be an error to try to dictate your writing style but it is not a bad idea to employ the conventional "sign posts" which help the reader through an essay. Think about including the following : an introduction which states clearly and succinctly what the essay aims to communicate; the main body of the essay in which arguments are developed, evidence is marshaled, evaluations are made; a conclusion in which the main argument may be summarized; and finally a list of references actually consulted in preparing the essay. If the essay is a long one it is also a good idea to use sub-headings to mark divisions in the main body of the essay. Particularly in early years of courses it is useful to define exactly what is meant by terms which may have a specialized meaning in the context of the hotel and catering industry and within an academic discipline.

As far as references are concerned the conventions for citing these are as long as your arm and you should begin adopting some of the simpler requirements. The one guiding rule is that you must always cite the sources you have used in gathering essay material. At the end of every essay insert a full bibliography including the writers name, the title of the work (plus the journal, if it is an article) and the date of publication of each of your sources, eg. Book :- Kotas, R (editor) Market Orientation in Hotel & Catering Industry – Surrey University Press, 1975. Article:-Mullins,L "Is the Hotel and Catering Industry Unique ?" Hospitality, September 1981.

If you are directly quoting an author in your own essay, the normal convention is to refer to the writers name and publication date directly after the quotation, leaving the full reference for your bibliography. Alternatively you can use numbered footnotes after each quotation and list the sources at the end of your text. In an examination situation, time is of the essence, and thus predetermine a degree of knowledge. In this respect, an authors name and date will suffice. There are a whole range of other rules for the presentation of footnotes and bibliographies which you can learn by attending to how they are produced in the professional journals. By the way, do not bother with the old trick of producing a massive bibliography for its own sake – you should only list books and articles in the bibliography if you have read them. (Examination essays will not contain a bibliography). The essay itself will provide the real evidence of your scholarship.

Timing

While the fundamentals of content and style are obviously key areas in successful essay writing, timing is an area often overlooked.

A well planned, well timed essay will not only ease the pressures of submitting numerous pieces of course work throughout the year but will also improve the quality and structure of your work.

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Allocate time for specific tasks such as the literature search, essay plan, and writing up process, and try to stick to this plan. under examination conditions, allocate time to each question and sub elements of the question. Be strict in sticking to these times and do not over-run. Remember, it is always easier to score the first 50% of the next question than the last 10% of the previous question. Besides, if you have time left over you can always revisit the previous questions to “top them up”.

Although realistic timing can act as an excellent form of motivation, do not be to ambitious, as if targets are not achieved panic can set in.

NEVER SUBMIT AN ASSIGNMENT OR EXAMINATION ESSAY EARLY – it can always be improved.

Voice your values

Obviously, the best essays are those with maximum originality, but no-one can expect to be original all the time, even after years of work on a subject, so don't despair if you never seem to have any brilliant insights yourself. The next best thing is recognizing which ideas that other people have are brilliant and which are mundane or misconceived. In other words every essay can and should include your own personal evaluation of the significance of evidence or the correctness of arguments. The more of your own thought that enters in to an essay the better – even if you turn out to be misguided. Do not be afraid to be unconventional or controversial in what you write, providing you can find some suitable evidence following your own view and can cite it in the essay.

In the early stages of your academic career you will learn a lot more by taking risks and making mistakes than by accepting uncritically what you find in textbooks. Use your own industrial experience and applied knowledge in balance with your academic reasoning.

See off sexism

Another aspect of presentation worth bringing to your attention is the avoidance of sexism in writing. As good scholars you will know that language is our means of classifying and ordering the world and thus can become a means of manipulating reality. One rule which we can see in operation in the language is the of male-as-norm. The word "man", "men", "he", "his" and "him" are often used to describe human beings of either sex. This cannot be dismissed as an insignificant literary convention, for it inevitably gives the impression that women are absent, silent or simply less important. When reference is to either or both sexes the word "man" and "men" can easily be avoided – there are plenty of alternatives such as "person", "people", "human beings", "men and women". Avoiding "he","his", and "him" can be more difficult, since the repeated use of "he or she", "his or her", "him or her" can be particularly clumsy. Sometimes you may be able to use s/he. Also it is usually practicable to change to the plural and use "they", "their", or "them" instead.

In general you can do your bit for the cause (if you wish) by looking out for gender stereotyping in all of your scribbling.

Examples Alternatives

The manager….he.. Managers…they The room-maid…she.. Room-maids…they Mankind Humanity / Human beings The man in the street People in general

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Man-made Synthetic / Manufactured The inequality of man Individuality among people Foreman Supervisor

…and so forth.

Avoid first person familiarity

In academic work on the printed page, convention indicates the avoidance of the first person – I or We. This convention has been ignored in this handout, but it is easy to stick to by the inclusion of such terms as – "It may be viewed; it can be concluded;…" and so on.

Prune your plagiarism

We now come to the rather more sinister problem of plagiarism –

"To purloin the published thoughts or words of another"

"The wrongful attempt to pass off another's literary mark as one's own"

"Copying without permission or acknowledgments"

However one cares to phrase it, plagiarism is cheating and is seen as cheating. Unfortunately almost every year, on perhaps a couple of occasions, we come upon situations in which students reproduce, as though it was their own work, whole passages (sometimes whole essays) copied from the work of other authors. Accordingly we need to take this opportunity of reminding you of the seriousness with which we regard plagiarism. This applies, most obviously, to those long essays which count towards your assessment but you should avoid the practice in even the humblest tutorial essay / presentation. Avoiding plagiarism is an absolutely straightforward matter. Students are, of course, allowed and, indeed, expected to quote from the writings of key authors in the field. However, they must only do so by setting the copied sentences in quotation marks and by giving a clear reference to the source in the manner indicated above.

Good as this simple piece of advice is, the issue does not end here since the decidedly deviant act of plagiarism bears a familiar resemblance to the more palatable skill of summarizing. An important part of the art of essay writing is the ability to produce clear and precise summaries of the key themes and issues which characterize a particular area. However, the whole point of the sketch and the précis is to produce a new and hopefully clearer rendition of complex sets of ideas. This is a skill which we can all admire in the best text-book writers and so you to should feel free to summarize authors …