Initial Proposal for Final Report

This assignment requires you to produce an initial proposal of 1000 words (Formative) about a topic you will like to write about in your final report. Please note that, the formative (proposal) element does not go into your final grading but it is a requirement before you can submit your final report (summative) as the final report will be based on the proposal.  

• Produce a formative assessment of 1000 words identifying an issue or problem in corporate governance or strategy in an organisation of your choice.
• You are recommended to use your own organisation but you may use any organisation that is well known to you.
• The proposal should explain why the issue or problem you have identified is important. There should also be a brief literature review about the area of proposed research as well as details of the methods to be used for both primary and secondary research.
• The proposal will include a Gantt chart showing the projected start and finish of the final summative project.

• Based on the feedback you will receive from the formative assignment; you are to produce a 6000word report which should include the following:
• An introduction that reviews the background of the organisation and the issues or problems faced.
• A literature review that discusses the key areas of theory applicable in this case.
• A discussion of the secondary and primary research undertaken to analyse the problem or issue. •        A critical review of the results of the secondary and primary research.
• A recommendation and action plan that proposes solutions to the problem of issue based on your findings.

This assignment has been designed to provide you with an opportunity to demonstrate your achievement of the following module learning outcomes:

LO 1 Critically evaluate the industry life cycle of a chosen organisation and reflect on the existing corporate strategy

LO 2 Compare and contrast the board’s corporate governance structure and effectiveness.

LO 3 Prepare a board crisis action plan for a natural disaster of unforeseen event of catastrophic proportions.

LO 4 Critically analyse a corporate governance failure and suggest actions that can be taken to reduce or eliminate any similar such occurrences from happening in the future

LO 5 Critically analyse the various methods of data collection in order to conduct research into complex organisational issues using both primary and secondary research techniques.

• The assessment consists of two parts. There will be one formative assessment and one summative assessment.
• The formative assessment will consist of a proposal comprising a 600-word report. This report will include a brief introduction to the issue or problem in corporate governance and strategy in a specific organisation along with a discussion of why the issue is important. Students will be required to produce a brief literature review about the area of proposed research as well as the details of the methods they will use for both primary and secondary data collections. As part of the formative assessment, students will be required to produce a Gantt chart showing the projected start and finish dates of the final summative project.
• Feedback from the formative assignment will prepare students for the summative assessment.
• A full individual report of 6000 words will be required for the summative assessment. This will include an action plan and recommendations to the management within the organisation of how the problems are to be resolved.
• This assessment will be used to assess the research skills and ability of the students to develop detailed action plans to address real life scenarios based on earlier research and analysis.
• This assessment method is used to develop and assess research skills, independent working and critical thinking to evaluate the strategic and corporate governance capabilities of an organisation (LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4, LO5)
• All assessment is undertaken through application of the criteria and weightings outlined on the Module Descriptors.
• Feedback is written and provided via Turn-it-in in accordance with University Regulations. Students are given an opportunity to reflect on feedback. Self-assessment becomes an important part of the student’s development during the course and is implicit throughout the tutorial and critique system. The opportunity for disagreement and reasoned justification of student work is present throughout the assessment method.