Assignment Submission Deadline Extension and FAQs

Please note that one and only one submission of you, the one submitted through the assignments tab, will be marked. Submissions to my mailbox will not be marked and will get zero. It is your responsibility to check that the file you submit is the final version and accessible to the module leader.

The deadline to submit assignment one has been changed from February 28th to March 2nd midnight. 

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Is it possible to get 100% in this module?Absolutely!
2. What are the topics covered in the module?We start with basics and then address topics such as blockchain, sustainability, Internet of Things, as a service (aaS) platforms, sharing economy, innovations in supply chain management, Industry 4.0, supply chain analytics, ethics and omnichannel supply chains as contemporary issues in international supply chains.
3. Are you my programme leader? No! The programme leader for MSc IB is Dr. Suzie Du and for MSc BANC is Fiona Robins.
4. Attendance? Attendance is monitored automatically by cards in class; please get in touch with your programme leader with regards to regulations and read emails from the programme team carefully. If in doubt, get in touch with your programme leader as soon as possible.
5. What is the core reading of the module?The module leader will recommend a wide range of resources, one to five each week, all available in the LRC or publicly available on the internet.
6. How can I get updates on the module, such as cancellation of office hours, change of class, ...?Announcements on the module page
7. Meeting outside the office hours? I am afraid to say that I am only available  during my office hours which are available on the module's page. See above.
8. When are the lecture slides available on Canvas?48 hours before the lecture
9. I need support in terms of university regulations, ... Please ask your programme leader.
10. I want an outstanding mark in this module, what are the magic ingredients? Ask lots of questions, read the supplementary material you will be asked to read, smile and enjoy learning.
11. What am I supposed to do in addition to the lectures?Almost 84% of your learning will be through self-study while 16% will be in class. Each week, you will read ~40 pages from a book or report, listen to a podcast of ~40 minutes and watch a video of ~40 minutes as self-study. These tasks will be given to you at the end of each lecture and as part of the slides.
12. When do you start and when do you finish the class? We start at 1602 and finish at 1758 (except the second and fourth week for the Wednesday cohort for which we will start at 1302 and finish at 1458).
13. Class etiquette.Please respect other students and be on-time. Entering the class and leaving in the middle can distract other students. Treat others as you want to be treated.
14. When is the class? Please refer to your time table. Please note that there will be a change of room for the Wednesday class in the second and fourth weeks.
15. I am thirsty to know more, what is your advice?Twitter is the best source of information for this module, type in the keyword and enjoy having thousands if not millions of sources for new information. You should note that sources such as Twitter open up doors to learn more; in your assignments, you will use that learning and insights to provide a clear, coherent and rich discussion.
16. Please ONLY use Canvas for sending me emails as those to my university email address will not be replied to.
17. What if I do not attend lectures?Students who do not have a significant record of attendance at tutorials are likely to be subject to an assessed viva
18. Clarity and relevance. Your submissions should be clear and relevant to the question. You should be careful not to digress.
19. Marking criteria.You are given a detailed set of marking criteria for the first and second assignment. One thing you need to bear in mind is that no redundant, irrelevant, repetitive text will be marked. By redundant, I mean anything which will be discussed in the class such as definition of supply chain management, different types of sustainability, value chain, ... What you need to include in submissions should be in addition to the things discussed in class. In your assignments, you will not be teaching but providing coherent arguments supported by literature, facts and figures. Redundant information will not add value to your submission and will negatively affect your mark. Please do not teach me the things I have already taught you. I am not expecting theories, fancy diagrams and quote as well regardless of their source or significance. In a nutshell, two things to bear in mind: (a) add to what is discussed in class, (b) answer the question 
20. Any advice on how not to provide redundant info? Yes, read the question multiple times and ask yourself if you are answering the question. Let's take the following question as an example: "How urbanisation has affected supply chains?". In answering this question, I do not expect you to talk about what supply chain is, what urbanisation is, how much people are immigrating to cities, ... The questions is clear. "How" is the question. The potential reader already knows that urbanisation is happening (did not ask you what urbanisation is or if there is such a thing happening in the world), s/he knows what supply chain, logistics, sustainability, ... are, knows what sustainable development goals are. In a nutshell, s/he knows all and all discussed in class inside out. S/he is interested in "how" and nothing else. 
21. I see colours used on my submission for marking, what are they? Anything in red is what I have found redundant, anything in blue means a coherent argument supported well by facts/figures/literature. Any other colour is for my own use.
22. I want to see my marks.Please refer to your student records.
23. I can't see it there.Please get in touch with your programme leader.
24. Can you tell me my mark over the phone or in person or email, etc?Sorry, but I cannot.
25. References?You are advised to use reliable sources and prestigious references. For further info on how to find reliable sources, please consult your programme leader. My advice is to use Scopus.com as a comprehensive database as well as white papers published by governments, United Nations, The World Bank or similar sources. Use of Wikipedia, lecture notes, conference papers, … will not add any value to your submissions.
26. Graphs and Tables. You should not copy and paste any table, figure, chart or any other object from any source. I am afraid you will be penalised for violating this rule.
27. I need an extension. To be fair to everybody, extensions are only possible in exceptional circumstances and are at discretion of the module leader. You may consider applying for Serious Adverse Circumstances (SAC). For further information, refer to https://ask.herts.ac.uk/serious-adverse-circumstances-sac(Links to an external site.)
28. Will our submissions be checked for plagiarism?Yes, you will also have the option to check your submission with Turnitin before submission. Read https://ask.herts.ac.uk/assessment-offences-and-academic-misconduct (Links to an external site.) for further information. 

1. Individual or group? Group of two
2. How many marks?30
3. There are five topics; which one is for my group?Find the reminder of your group number divided by five, add one to it. This will be your topic number. Groups 5, 10, 15, ... will do topic one; groups 1, 6, 11, ... will do topic two; groups 2, 7, 12, ... will do topic three; groups 3, 8, 13, ... will do topic four and groups 4, 9, 14, ... will do topic five. Please note that the topic cannot be changed once you form the group and get a group number from the module leader.
4. What is the topic?Check the assignment tab please. You have been given a topic, you should study the topic using books, journal papers, reports by prestigious sources and write a 800 +/- 10% summary of your findings. In a nutshell, you should demonstrate your understanding as 800 +/- 10% word write-up. Examples from real-world are highly recommended; provision of definitions or repeating the things discussed in class are not accepted. You can use any template you like and the format is flexible (font size, spelling, line spacing, font type, ...). Your arguments should be supported by the literature and reliable sources. If in doubt or need additional resources, feel free to come to my office hours.
5. What should be the size of a group? Two
6. What should I write in 800 words?You should introduce the topic and talk about why is it important. This is not a literature review and hence, I do not expect you write something like "As Jackson et al. (2018) ..." or "Lola (2019) posits that ...". You can attend my office hours to discuss your findings (see the top of the page) and check your progress.  Referring to real-world cases is highly recommended (refer to the case only rather than explaining it). All I will evaluate is your understanding of the topic, why is it important and how supply chains are dealing with the topic.  You should bring your findings to my office hours to discuss. They can be a mind map, a list, a draft of your submission, a figure, etc. See the marking criteria (via units) for details on how I will mark your submission. Some final notes are I do not expect to see a figure or  chart in your submission, statistics and numbers (if relevant) are value-adding and coherence of the arguments is of utmost importance. Think of this assessment as an elevator pitch to a CEO, but in writing.  Demonstrate YOUR understanding of the topic; not what others believe in and talked about in their publications. 
7. Can a group size be 1, 3, 4, ...?No!
8. Can group members be from different cohorts (Wed/Fri delivery)?
9. How many words? 800 +/- 10% per group. Anything outside this range will be penalised I am afraid.
10. I am the only member of a group. Please find another student.
11. When is the deadline to inform you of the group members? 6 February 2020, 4pm
12. How to inform you of the names of the group members? Both members should come to my office. I have blocked time in my diary every day between January 29th and February 6th, 9am-11am but on Tuesday, February 4th. This is the only way to form your group. Once a group is formed, no change to the members will be possible.
13. When is the deadline to submit? 2 March 2020, 23:59
14. Anything to bear in mind in forming a group? Once you form a group, it will be your responsibility to get on with the assignment. I will not be able to provide emails, phone numbers or any extra information about any students. You will be 100% independent researchers and the only way I can help is by meeting in my office hours and clarify things if needed.
15. Can you check our draft before submission? Sorry, but I cannot.
16. Where should we submit to?Canvas under assignments.
17. Can we send to your email?Submissions to my email will not be marked.
18. Can I change groups? I am afraid not.
19. Can we split groups?I am afraid not.
20. Can we combine groups?I am afraid not.
21. Can I submit individually?I am afraid not.
22. How many submissions?You should nominate one member of the group to submit on behalf of the group.
23. What format?PDF only, any other format will not be marked
24. A wrong version is submitted, can we resubmit?I am afraid not. It is your responsibility to make sure that the submitted version is final.
25. Is it my responsibility to make sure the submission is accessible to the module leader, is not password-protected and is not corrupted? YES