SG7001 Strategy Operations and Partnerships

Question:

General Comment.

Go to the rubric in the handbook and identify which cell your grade falls within for each of the criteria. The content of the cell will give you an idea of the problems / good elements of your work.

A few students submitted excellent work, but for the majority the problems were:

· Wasted words

o Too much background information, especially in the introduction.

§ This includes too much description throughout the text.

o Introducing each theory or concept by explaining it. We can assess how well you understand the theory by simply seeing how you apply it.

o Using lengthy phrases when a few words would do. E.g.

§ When we look at Morgan’s Motors, we can see that they……
instead of:

§ Morgan’s Motors ……

o Using too many adjectives / flowery language.

o Repetition: Referring to the same description (eg the use of Ash, Aluminium and leather) frequently.

o An inability to summarise, e.g. repeating the feedback from individual people.

· Discussing Challenges:

o In the assessment brief, underneath the bullets that identify the approach you should take, I outlined the challenge involved in completing the task well. This was support and direction for you the student. It would appear a lot of you saw the word challenge and decided it was part of your task. No. It was intended as support for you.

· Ignoring the flow chart / detail in the assessment brief:

o The detail in the assessment brief was required. The flowchart showed how it all fitted together. I was surprised at the number of scripts with no reference to stakeholders.

· Did not manage word count wisely:

o I did stop marking at about 900 words – especially when the report (without reference list) was well above 1000 words.

o Important note: Look at the weighting for the different criterial. For this assessment, 70% of your marks were for the operation. 20%, for the stakeholders. It did not make sense to have more words focused on the stakeholders than the operation.

· Conducted too much research.

o You were told that you should use the resources provided. A large proportion of students clearly looked elsewhere for their material, providing dated information and reference to inappropriate concepts.

All of the above suggest that: Either the student had not attended the classes, or they had sought the assistance of someone not on the programme. The assessment is designed to assess what you have learned on the course and you replicated every part of the analysis in your seminars.

The Operation

Qualities that caused the lower marks for this criteria:

<25	· Wrote about the wrong subject. o Introduced too much about strategy rather than operations including use of the tools (Resource based view or VRIN) with minimal content on operations. o Wrote extensively about HRM / Leadership / Marketing / History of Morgans. § Keep an eye on the subject matter taught on the module. · Concentrated on a range of activities such as hosting visits for purchasers or giving their staff tea breaks – These are not part of their operation. It is peripheral. o Passing comment was one thing was accepted.
25	· Concentrated largely on: o The different models. o The components of the car.
30’s	· Described a range of strategies, not operations · Pure description of relevant theory but no application. · An incomplete description of the operation. · Presented a variety of strategies / hypothetical situations o E.g. Morgan’s could…. / should….. (you were asked to assess what they actually do) · Provided a description of processes rather than the operation. o Operations include identifying how the processes fit together. · Concentration on just the supply chain or the partnerships. o Whilst these are concepts that are clearly part of the operation, they are relatively peripheral to the operation of getting the cars manufactured and the activities of Morgan’s Motors themselves.
40’s	· A thorough description of the entire operation. · Only one theory applied, but with errors or omissions. · Some technical terms accurately used.
50’s	· One theory applied well. o The most basic – 4Vs or QSDF&C · Numerous technical terms accurately used.
>60	· Greater breadth in the number of theories that were accurately applied.