Project Commercial and Organisation Environment 4PJMN001W Assessment

WESTMINSTER BUSINESS SCHOOL

SCHOOL OF APPLIED MANAGEMENT

Module Title: Project Commercial and Organisation Environment (Management 2)

Module Code: 4PJMN001W

Assessment title: Contract Law Video (5mins) Presentation Submission Only

Assessment weighting: 25% of the total module mark

Assessment deadline: 1 pm 18 February 2025

Semester 2, 2024/2025

Assessment Brief

Assessment Overview:

You are required to produce a 5-minute video that explores basic aspects of contract law as they apply to the construction industry. The video should clearly understand how contracts are formed and the key terms and roles involved in construction contracts. This assessment aims to help you recognise the stages, procedures, and processes involved in construction projects and understand the basic principles of contract law.

Learning Outcomes

On completing this coursework, you should be able to:

1. Demonstrate a recognition of the stages, procedures, and processes of the design, procurement, and management of construction projects.

1. Review the principles of the law of contract and the types of contracts commonly used in the construction industry.

The Assessment

Greenfield Estates, a property development company, entered into a contract with BlueSky Construction Ltd. to build a new residential complex. The contract was a lump-sum agreement specifying that the construction must be completed within 18 months, with a fixed price of 10 million. The contract also included a clause stating that any delays caused by BlueSky Construction Ltd. would incur liquidated damages of 10,000 per day.

Note:

Having executed the contract, Six months into the project, BlueSky Construction Ltd. encountered unexpected rocky soil conditions that were not mentioned in the initial contract documents or site survey. This condition required additional work to lay the foundation properly.

BlueSky Construction Ltd. requested an additional two months to complete the project due to the rocky soil conditions and asked for an extra 200,000 to cover the additional work required. However, Greenfield Estates refused the request, stating that the contract was a fixed-price agreement and did not allow for additional payments or extensions due to unexpected conditions.

Hence, BlueSky Construction Ltd. completed the project two months later than the original deadline. Greenfield Estates then enforced the liquidated damages clause, demanding 600,000 for the 60-day delay. Nevertheless, BlueSky Construction Ltd. argued that the delay was caused by unexpected site conditions that should not have been their responsibility to anticipate, and they should not be penalised with liquidated damages for these unforeseen circumstances.

Task Requirements:

Create a 5-minute video that addresses the following points using the hypothetical case study of BlueSky Construction Ltd. v. Greenfield Estates:

1. Understanding Contract Formation (50%):

Explain the Essential Elements of a Contract: Briefly describe the basic elements required for forming a legally binding contractoffer, acceptance, consideration, capacity, and legality.

Apply to the Case Study: Use the BlueSky Construction Ltd. v. Greenfield Estates case to identify these elements within the scenario. Explain in simple terms how each element relates to the situation described.

2. Understanding Key Contractual Terms and Roles in Construction (25%):

Identify Important Contractual Terms: Discuss key terms commonly found in construction contracts, such as the scope of work, payment terms, and deadlines. Relate these terms to the case study, explaining their importance in simple language.

Outline Roles and Responsibilities: Describe the roles of different parties in a construction contract (e.g., client, contractor, subcontractor) and explain these roles using the details from the case study.

3. Clear Presentation and Basic Use of Legal References (25%):

Basic Application of Legal Principles: Reference one or two simple legal principles or cases that are relevant to the scenario (e.g., a case that explains the importance of having clear terms in a contract). You do not need to go into detailed legal analysis but show that you understand how basic legal concepts apply.

Clarity and Structure: Ensure your video is well-structured and easy to follow. Use clear, concise language, and organise your content logically with a brief introduction, main content, and conclusion.

Submission Requirements:

• The video should be a maximum of 5 minutes in length. (How to Record and Present your Video folder will be available on the Module Blackboard to support you)

• Please use presentation slides for your presentation, which may wish to include images. However, the focus should remain on clearly communicating your understanding of contract law in the context of construction.

• All legal references, including any statutes or case law mentioned, should be included in a reference slide at the end of the presentation.

Tips for Success:

• Start with a brief introduction that outlines the purpose of your video and what you will cover.

• Use straightforward examples and avoid complex legal jargon to ensure clarity.

• Practice your presentation to stay within the time limit and maintain a clear and concise delivery.

• Review your video for audio and visual quality to ensure all content is understandable.

Work must be submitted to the module Blackboard > Assessments > Contract Law Video 1, via Turnitin before 1 pm (UK time) on or before 18 February 2024. Please submit video files.

Assessment Criteria

The assessment criteria and weightings show you what is important in the assessment and how marks are shared across each criterion. When completing your assessment, remember you must fulfil the brief and the assessment criteria below.

At the end of this document, we provided you with a more detailed marking grid, which describes the expectation for each criterion and how marks would be awarded based on performance.

Your video will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

1. Evidence of understanding contract formation (50%):

• Explain the Essential Elements of a Contract: Clearly describe the basic elements required for forming a legally binding contract, such as offer, acceptance, consideration, capacity, and legality. Focus on defining these terms in simple language and provide basic examples relevant to the construction industry. (25 marks)

• Apply to the Case Study: Briefly discuss how these elements are evident or challenged in the hypothetical case of BlueSky Construction Ltd. v. Greenfield Estates. Focus on identifying the elements rather than detailed legal analysis. (25 marks)

1. Evidence of grasping the key issues of essential contractual terms, forms, and parties to a contract applied to management in construction (25%):

• Identify Important Contractual Terms: Describe key terms that are common in construction contracts, such as scope of work, payment terms, and completion deadlines. Relate these terms to the case study in simple terms. (15 marks)

• Outline Roles and Responsibilities: Explain the basic roles of different parties in a construction contract (e.g., client, contractor, subcontractor) and how these roles are reflected in the hypothetical case study. (10 marks)

1. Presentation of coherence and suitable application of statutes and case law (25%):

• 
  

  Basic Application of Legal Principles: Mention any relevant legal principles or basic case law that supports your discussion on contract formation or key terms. Aim for a general understanding rather than in-depth legal analysis. For example, reference a simple case that illustrates contract formation or a typical construction law principle. (15 marks)

• Clarity and Structure: Present your content in a clear, logical, and structured manner. Ensure your video is easy to follow, using simple language and avoiding overly complex legal jargon. (10 marks)

In addition to the general criteria identified above, the rubric assessment appraisal template on specific aspects will be used. See page from 9

The University has arrangements for marking, internal moderation, and external scrutiny. Further information can be found in Section 12 of the Handbook of Academic Regulations, westminster.ac.uk/study/current-students/resources/academic-regulations

Anonymous marking

Do NOT include your name or student number within your submissions file name or anywhere. The submission will be subject to anonymous marking. Having logged into blackboard, the system will record your details anonymously, and tutors will only see your name after the entire submission has been assessed and all students' provisional marks have been released simultaneously.

Referencing requirements for the assessment

Statements, assertions, and ideas made in coursework should be supported by citing relevant sources. Sources cited in the text should be listed in a reference list at the end of the assignment. Any material you read but do not cite in the report should go into a separate bibliography. Unless explicitly stated otherwise by the module teaching team, all referencing should be in Cite Them Right Harvard format. If you are unsure about this, the library provides guidance (available via the library website pages).

The deadline and submitting your coursework - checks

Unless indicated otherwise, coursework is submitted via Blackboard.

The deadline for this assessment is Tuesday, 18 February 2025, at 13:00. Your work should be fully uploaded before 13:00. The University would treat your submission late if your work has not been fully uploaded and stored on the server before 1300.

To avoid your submission being marked as late, you should upload your work as soon as possible before the deadline and must not wait until or just before the deadline to start uploading your work.

At busy times the coursework submission process may run slowly. To ensure that your submission is not recorded as late, avoid submitting very close to the deadline.

To submit your assignment:

1. Log on to Blackboard at http://learning.westminster.ac.uk;

1. Go to the Blackboard site for this module.

1. Click on the Submit assessment link in the navigation menu

1. Click on the link for the assessment.

1. Follow the instructions, ensuring you have selected the correct file to upload.

REMEMBER

It is a requirement that you submit your work in this way. All coursework must be uploaded by 13:00 (UK Time on the due date).

If you submit your assessment late, but within 24 hours or one working day of the specified deadline, 10% of the overall marks available for that assessment will be deducted as a penalty for late submission, except for work which is marked in the marginal pass rate range (9?ove the pass mark) and in this case the mark would be capped at the pass mark.

If you submit your coursework more than 24 hours after the specified deadline, you will be given a zero mark for the work in question.

Difficulties in submitting assignments on time

If you have difficulties for reasons beyond your control (e.g., serious illness, family problems etc.) that prevent you from submitting the assessment, make sure you apply to the Mitigating Circumstances board with evidence to support your claim as soon as possible. Further details can be found on the following URL: https://www.westminster.ac.uk/current-students/guides-and-policies/assessment-guidelines/mitigating-circumstances-claims

If you are unsure about the above information, you should seek academic support from your module leader, personal tutor, or course leader. You will find details of your module leader in this modules handbook, and you can find the name of your course leader and personal tutor from your My Student Records page via the Universitys student portal.

ACADEMIC SUPPORT & FEEDBACK ARRANGEMENTS

For this assessment, there will be an opportunity for an academic support & feedback drop-in session, where you will receive support and feedback on your assessment before submission.

Summative feedback

We will provide summative feedback for this assessment; this feedback will help you understand how you performed in the assessment and provide guidance on how you can improve your academic skills for future assessments in this and other modules within your course.

Summative assessment will be marked against the marking criteria outlined in the assessment. The summative assessment and grades will be available on Blackboard 15 working days after submission. There will also be an opportunity to meet with the marker for oral feedback.

NB: Working days do not include weekends, banks, or public holidays.

General feedback for the entire module will also be made via blackboard to the module, which will discuss the key areas of shared strengths, weaknesses, and academic skills improvements. This general feedback is likely to be issued before your specific summative feedback. Please read this feedback to improve your understanding of the module and potential areas of weakness in your academic skills, which you could develop before your next submission within your course.

Academic integrity

What you submit for assessment must be your OWN current work. It will automatically be scanned through a text-matching system to check for possible plagiarism.

Do not reuse material from other assessments you may have completed on other modules. Collusion with other students (except when working in groups), recycling previous assignments (unless this is explicitly allowed by the module leader) and/or plagiarism (copying) of other sources all are offences and are dealt with accordingly. If you are not sure about this, then speak to your class leader.

University of Westminster Quality & Standards statement

Plagiarism is a particular form of cheating. Plagiarism must be avoided at all costs, and students who break the rules, however innocently, will be penalised. It is your responsibility to ensure that you understand correct referencing practices. As a University level student, you are expected to use appropriate references and keep carefully detailed notes of all your sources of material, including any material downloaded from the www.

Plagiarism is defined as submission for assessment of material (written, visual or oral) originally produced by another person or persons, without acknowledgement, in such a way that the work could be assumed to be your own. Plagiarism may involve the unattributed use of another persons work, ideas, opinions, theory, facts, statistics, graphs, models, paintings, performance, computer code, drawings, quotations of another persons actual spoken or written words, or paraphrases of another persons spoken or written words.

Plagiarism covers both direct copying and copying or paraphrasing with only minor adjustments:

• a direct quotation from a text must be indicated by the use of quotation marks (or an indented paragraph in italics for a substantive section) and the source of the quote (title, author, page number, and date of publication) provided.

• a paraphrased summary must be indicated by the attribution of the author, date, and source of the material, including page numbers for the section(s) which have been summarised.

Use of Generative AI tools in assessment: Please read the Universitys Guidance For Students On The Use Of Generative AI, found [here].