Module Code:

BMA4000-20

Module Title:

The Business Environment

Assignment:

Assignment 2

Contribution to Module Mark:

40%

Assessment outline (from the Module specification):

Individual Reflective Performance Report (Based on Business Case Studies)

Submission Deadline

You must submit a draft before the Christmas break.

Final Deadline: Sunday 26^thJanuary 2025 by 5pm

File Type

MS word or PDF

Module Assessment Brief

Introduction:

This assessment is two-fold.

You will spend the next few weeks considering a Business case study (downloadable from FSB Connect) in-order to follow the appropriate process to get your product to market.

Once you have answered all case study questions, you will need to use your analytical and reflective writing skills to write a 1500 words (+/- 10%) reflective performance report on how you solved the problems that were raised in the Business case study.

You must give enough information to analyse the relationship between any business problem and the solution that was suggested. This means that you should be specific and detailed, when suggesting any possible solutions.

What you will submit:

You will submit an individual reflective performance report (1500 words + / - 10%), which reflects on how you solved the businesss problems and challenges, that were presented within the case study.

It is not expected that you will offer a step-by-step description of what happened within the respective case study, but rather you will discuss your experiences of engaging with the case study and how you worked with others, collectively within seminar time.

Time will be allocated for you to work on the case studies within seminars. Within seminars you may work in groups, to help when answering the questions. However, please note that your performance report is an individual effort and this should be written up individually.

You should base your performance report on GIBBs (1988) Reflection Model see overleaf.

Your reflective performance report should include:

1.Description (what happened?)

A detailed description of the nature of the case studies. A detailed description of the nature of the case studies.

Consider:

• Describe the nature of the case study
• Describe within which industry the case study was situated
• Briefly describe any discussions you had when working on the case study in class time (Refer to group working theory for this e.g., Tuckman and Jensen)
  
  

2.Feelings (what were you thinking and feeling?)

A detailed overview of what you thought and felt when working on the business case study. Consider:

• What did you think about the specific case subject?
• What did you feel/think about solving the challenges that were presented in the case? 3 - Did you feel that you were equipped with enough business knowledge to answer the questions?

3.Evaluation (what was good and bad about the experience?)

An objective overview of what worked, and what didnt work, whilst reading and analysing the case studies.

Consider:

• What was positive about the decisions you made whilst completing the case activities?
• What was negative about the decisions you made whilst completing the case activities?
• How did working in groups align with Tuckman and Jensens group working theory? (Also refer to other group working theories)
  
  

4.Analysis (what sense can you make of the situation?)

Interrogate your ability to make strategic business decisions.

Consider:

• Amongst the decisions you made, what worked well?
• What didnt work?
• Within which areas of Business & Management did you find it most difficult to make strategic business decisions (e.g., Marketing, Management, Operations, all aspects of the Internal Environment) etc.

(Did you apply Mintzbergs or Porters theories? If so how?)

5.Conclusion (what else could you have done?) Draw conclusions about:

What skills do you need to develop, to better perform and understand these types of case studies?

What skills do you need to develop to perform better when working within groups?

6.Action Plan (If it arose again what would you do?)

Devise an action plan, of actionable steps (e.g., step 1; step 2, etc.) that someone else could follow to better address the problems presented within the business case studies. This should address content relative to the internal business environment and business strategic decisions.

Finally create an appendix and place your case study answers within the appendices.

Submission Details

You must submit a draft before the Christmas break so your lecturers have time to provide you with feedback for you to improve your work.

Your report should be submitted no later than Sunday 26^thJan 2024 at 17:00. Late submissions will be capped at 40%. Please refer to the marking criteria, to see how marks will be awarded.

Reflection on strategic business decisions

(20%)

Reflection in accordance with the 6stages of Gibbs model

(60%)

Evidence academic capabilities, such as: critical thinking, academic writing and referencing.

(20% of marks)

85%-100%

High First

You identify that business decisions are located within multiple business functions and explicable by multiple factors. You reflect on how this influenced your decision making

You have produced an exemplary reflection based upon Gibbs model. We gain further insight into your work through deeper and broader reflection on your experiences, and consideration of theory. You include all 6 stages of Gibbs model. Your action plan is strong and thorough, as well as visually appealing.

Your report structure is professional. Overall presentation is of an excellent standard. You demonstrate wide and indepth reading, and evidence this with a comprehensive list of quality references. There are no observable errors within in-text citations.

70%-84%

First

You identify that business decisions are located within business functions and explicable by a number of factors. You reflect on how this influenced your decision making

You have produced a strong reflection based upon Gibbs model. We gain further insight into your work through broader reflection on your experiences, and consideration of theory. You include all 6 stages of Gibbs model, your action plan is very good and thorough, as well as visually appealing.

Your report structure is professional and overall presentation is of an excellent standard. You demonstrate wide and indepth reading, and evidence this with a comprehensive list of quality references. There are no observable errors within in-text citations.

60%-69%

Upper second

You identify that business decisions are located the

businesss internal environment and explicable by a number of factors. You reflect on how this influenced your decision making

You have produced a good reflection based upon Gibbs model. We gain further insight into your work through a thorough reflection on your experiences, and consideration of theory. You include all 6 stages of Gibbs model. Your action plan and appendices are comprehensive, as well as visually appealing.

Your report structure is professional and overall presentation is of a very good standard. You demonstrate wide and indepth reading, and evidence this with a comprehensive list of references. There are very few observable errors within intext citations.

50%-59%

Lower second

You identify that business decisions are located within the businesss internal environment. You reflect on how this influenced your decision making

You have produced a satisfactory reflection based upon Gibbs model. We gain further insight into your work through a reflection on your

experiences, although your reflection is limited. You include most stages of Gibbs model and have applied the assessment brief in part. Your action plan is satisfactory.

Your report structure is of a good standard. You demonstrate some wider reading, you evidence this with a list of references. There are a number of observable errors within in-text citations.

40%-49%

Third

You identify that business decisions need to be made. You reflect on how this influenced your decision

You have produced a reflection based upon Gibbs model. We gain very little insight into your work through this reflection. You include less than half of

Your report structure is of a satisfactory standard. You demonstrate the inclusion of information covered within seminars and lectures. There are a number of

making

the stages outlined in Gibbs model and you have failed to apply the assessment brief. You do not include an action plan

observable errors within in-text citations.

0%-39%

Fail (re-sit to pass module)

You fail to identify the need to make business decisions. Thus, you do not reflect on decision making.

You have not produced a reflection based upon Gibbs model. We gain very little insight into your work. Your work does not consider theory. You fail to include Gibbs model and you have failed to apply the assessment brief. You do not include an action plan

It is clear that you have done no reading and your answers are vague and unclear. Your report is poorly structured and poorly presented.