Assignment 5: Research Report Supply Chain Management (15%)
Assignment 5: Research Report Supply Chain Management (15%)
The objective of the research report is to let students explore a supply chain and operations management topic) on their own by consulting different sources and readings, and demonstrate their understanding of that issue. The assignment will be graded out of 100 marks.
Part 1: Term Paper Proposal: (15 marks)
Submit between a 1 to 3 page proposal to your Open Learning Faculty Member regarding what you intend to do in the term paper. Clearly state your objective, the topic you want to focus on or the company you wish to study, and what level of access you have to the information.
The proposal should be submitted well in advance (at-least two months before the intended course completion date) to allow sufficient time to work on this assignment.
Clear objective (3 marks): Has the objective been stated clearly? Is it of sufficient depth and breadth for a research proposal?
Topics of focus (3 marks): Have the relevant topics or company been identified to explore the research objective?
Access to information (3 marks): Has the student identified potential sources of information or articles?
Timelines (3 marks): Major timelines and milestones identified for the research report.
Spelling, grammar, and format of proposal (3 marks)
Possible Topics
Some possible topics are provided below as a sample, but feel free to propose any relevant topic and discuss with your Open Learning Faculty Member.
Green supply chain
Green sustainable manufacturing
Reverse logistics and closed-loop systems
Description of supply chain or manufacturing strategy of a real world company
Description of operations of a distribution center or warehouse
Focus on one of the unit topics and study them in depth considering a real company
Role and applications of IT in supply chains
Supply chain risk management and resilient supply chains
Third and fourth party logistic providers
Humanitarian relief supply chain management
Inter-modal transportation facility operations of a company
Block chain and its impact on supply chain
Cost management in supply chain management
Pricing and revenue management in supply chain management
Carbon trading and carbon management in supply chains
Suggest your own topic and get it approved from Open Learning Faculty Member
Upon approval of the topic by the Open Learning Faculty Member, proceed to Part 2 of the assignment.
Part 2: Term Paper Research Report: (85 marks)
Assignment Requirements
The paper length should be between 4000 to 6000 words, not including the table of contents, appendix, tables, list of references etc.
The paper should be submitted in 12 point Times New Roman font and double spaced.
The work from other courses cannot be used to get a credit in this course.
You should cite at-least fifteen references in APA format. These reference sources could be websites, journal articles, books, personal interviews, industry reports etc (a sample is given below on how to write the references). Website references cannot be more than half of all the references. You may consult the material from references, but the report must be written in your own words. A collection of paragraphs and sentences copied and pasted from literature sources onto your report is not acceptable and will constitute plagiarism. Your Open Learning Faculty Member frequently use plagiarism software and search engines when assessing student papers.
Format for Report
Title page: Give an appropriate title to your term paper. Include your name and student ID.
Executive Summary/Abstract: Executive summary will briefly summarize your project in about 150-200 words. If you want to showcase your work to a busy executive who doesnt have more than 2 minutes to read your entire report, what would you put in the executive summary for that busy executive?
Introduction: A brief introduction to the topic including introduction to the company (if any). This may be around 800-1200 words.
Objective & Scope
Your objective should be very clear showing your focus in about 500 words. The objective should be narrow enough for you to focus on and complete in a reasonable time (i.e. not a collection of multiple objectives). For example, to investigate green supply chain is vague but to investigate green practices at company ABC is a more focused objective.
The boundaries of your paper should be clear in terms of what the term paper covers and which issues although related but fall outside the scope and are not covered here. You can also state here the assumptions you are making in the term paper.
Literature Review
Most Literature Review material should be recent (Preferably after 2010)
Can be a mix of references from journals, magazines, newspapers, personal interviews but only a few from the web links. Some independent literature search is expected.
Literature Review must be arranged into a logical sequence (e.g. to follow the order of issues given in the scope or chronological order).
You must cite your references properly. Due credits must be given to the sources (example Michael, 2006) in the body of the term paper.
Citations to references could be included in all sections starting from introduction to conclusion, anyway you see fit.
Methodology/Data Collection/Discussion & Analysis
This should be the largest and most important part of your report (2500 to 3000 words). Your analysis should include comment on:
The quality of data or information collected.
The issues involved, existing approaches and possible future challenges/solutions clearly demonstrating your authority on the topic learnt through self-study.
Linkages and relevance of the studied topic to the seven units studied in this course.
Findings of the Study
Must follow from the discussion and analysis above and should be around 800 words
Must state if your findings are supported by or contradictory to the literature review and to the class material
Conclusion
A brief summary and your final words of wisdom.
References
References must follow the APA style. Every citation must be referenced and every reference must be cited in the report. (See the TRU Librarys APA Citation Style Guide at https://libguides.tru.ca/apa).
Grading Criteria: (85 marks total)
Marks in the assignment will be distributed as follows.
Report quality [10 marks]: Flow, clarity, grammar, spelling, writing skills etc. Put your report through grammar and spell checker in Word, read it loudly for flow and clarity; or possibly ask a native English language expert to review it for you.
Adherence to the Format [10 marks]: Ensure that the report adheres to the format provided.
Relevance of Contents [10 marks]: Ensure that the contents in the report match with your chosen topic in the proposal. You should focus on the approved topic with very minimal deviation. Here, the contents should be judged against the stated objectives.
Sources and References [10 marks]: Make sure that you explore all the available sources and references. Library searches, personal interviews and consulting a variety of sources is values more than just exploring the web-links.
Level of knowledge demonstrated [45 marks]: The depth, breadth and application of the topic will be judged here. These terms could be mutually exclusive if the paper length is fixed; but students should try to maintain a good balance between depth, breadth (without deviating from the topic) and application of the topic chosen.
