Royal Docks School of Business & Law

MK 7041- Managing Sustainable Global Value Chains

Assessment Guide

2021–22, Term 2

Module leader and teaching team:

For the further contact details please see module handbook.

Note this module has two components (Managing Inward Value Chain and Managing Outward Value Chain) and two separate assessment guides, one for each component.

This is the assessment guide for the Component 1 – Managing Inward Value Chain. 

Assessment deadline:

5th May 2022, 15:00 noon, via TurnItIn

ASSESSMENT 

Learning Outcomes Evidenced by this assignment: 1, 2, 3.

Submission procedure:   Submission should be through Turnitin. No hard copy submission will be accepted.

Return of feedback and marked work: Your marked assignment and individual feedback will be made available through Turnitin

B.Structure of the assignment

There is one coursework to be submitted for this component. It has two parts: Part A (Report) and Part B (Appendix).

The understanding of this assignment is that an applied critical review of contemporary and in future magnifying change in an international supply chain context that demonstrates the importance of sustainability.

C.Details of the assessment task Part A: Report (70%)

You are asked to analyse a contemporary and in future magnifying change in an international supply chain context that demonstrates the importance of sustainability. 

Select a case of sustainability opportunities in a global supply chain, and use that case to explain best practices and critical aspects of either

• sourcing strategy or
• supplier selection. 

The task requires you to apply the evidence (data and theory implications) to making informed judgements about the contemporary developments of the industry and market dynamics in question. Students should acknowledge theory, secondary data and qualitative case evidence alike.

The notion of an applied literature review here is that you use journal articles, secondary data and complementary trade journals and company reports for the purposes of an industry-level analysis.

Explicitly choose one specific country and one specific industry to demonstrate your arguments.

The recommended structure of Part A is as follows:

1.  Outline / introduction (about 200 words)

Use your own words in this section. Explain why the chosen challenge can be considered as significant. Then explain why you have chosen the country and industry for its demonstration and discussion.

2.  Academic literature review (about 900 words)

You should critically evaluate the key authors and their main arguments. You are expected to cite a minimum of 10 academic journal articles as part of this assessment.

Where a topic is too current and academic articles are still rare, students can also refer to high quality newspaper reports and the output of reputable consultants, NGOs and government bodies. Blogs and corporate webpages shall only be used in exceptional cases to be justified.

3.  Country case (about 400 words)

You are asked to apply the literature review and reflections to a country of your choice. Demonstrate how the country does influence or drive the selected best practices.

Provide     reasoning     and     factual evidence.

4.  Industry case (about 400 words)

You are asked to apply the literature review and reflections to an industry of your choice.

Highlight how the industry is responding to the global market dynamics, using best practices. Provide reasoning and factual evidence.

5.  Conclusion and recommendation (about 300 words)

Summarise your findings about the future trends. This should logically follow from the evidence provided in previous sections. Provide few most critical recommendations for business managers. 

The recommended format, referencing and use of quotations for Part A.

Your work should be word processed in accordance with the following:

• Font size 12, using a Arial or Calibri or Times New Roman font.
• Line spacing of 1.5 be used. Distribute the text evenly between the margins (Justify).
• The page orientation should be ‘portrait’ (large diagrams and tables can be in landscape orientation if that enables them to fit on fewer pages)
• Margins on both sides of the page should be no less than 2 cm.
• Pages should be numbered.
• Your name should not appear on the script. – just student number (in some cases where your asked to provide certificates / evidence with you name on this usual rule does not apply)
• Your student number should be included on every page.
• Harvard Style referencing shown Cite Them Right must be followed. https://www.citethemrightonline.com/

Part B: Appendix (30%) 

Professional Learning Certificate/Badges

This part of your work will be based on learning ‘certificate/badges’. A learning badge is a certificate that a person will get when an institution validates the accomplishment of a learning activity such as workshop, conferences, social work or any educational strategy. The badges to be learned and earned are in alignment with this component’s learning and engagement. The Badges would be earned from the LinkedIn Learning platforms. The details are as follows:

 You will get guidance in your lectures and on the MK7041 module site that you MUST follow – this will show you how to use your UEL LinkedIn Learning Account (do not use your personal LinkedIn account for this – for reasons that will be made clear) – and show you how to access the correct courses to achieve your certificates.

·LINKS TO THE CORRECT COURSES ARE PROVIDED ON THE MOODLE PAGE FOR MK7041

We have also provided important guidance on the correct way to use

LinkedIn Learning here: https://moodle.uel.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=35442 

For both of the above see the ‘Assessment and feedback’ tab on MK7041 MOODLE page.

The above (Part A and Part B) would sum up to the maximum 3,000 words.

Part B (Appendix) should have all the three certificates of completion (downloaded as pdf/image file format) and be attached in the main submission after Part A.

The Certificate of Completion must clearly show the name, Name of Course and Completion Date. You will be asked to provide an original pdf copy by the module leader therefore please ensure you keep a copy safely.

An example of certificate is shown below. It clearly shows name (Manish Unhale), Name of Course (Lean Inventory Management), Completion Date (Jan 06, 2022 at 02.27 PM UTC). 

                                                      2021–22, Term 2, MK 7041, Component 1 Managing Inward Value Chain                                                     

D.Assessment criteria

1. E.Additional formative, unmarked assessment

This coursework’s (Inward value chain) weight upon the overall module is 50%. There will be another assessment for the other component (Outward value chain) and a separate assessment guide will be available for the other component.

There is no formative assessment and students are rather asked to discuss their drafts in the provided assessment clinic.

F.Further important assessment task notes

General remarks:

No Abstract – Please note that an abstract shall not be added.

Embed all own figures in text (not in an appendix) and embed own tables as well as tables essential for understanding into the text sections as well (not in appendices). Use a maximum of 5 figures and 5 tables.

The references list section is excluded from word count.

Remarks regarding the choice of topic:

Please make sure that there is data publicly available or well documented in press or trade publications. Do not choose case examples where information is not accessible. The choice of the material and case is up to you and marking cannot be accommodating for a lack of insight due to a poor choice of material.

Do not choose a case that you have found fully written up online or in a book. You must not rewrite an already published case study.

G.Reassessment

For the re-sit assignment (as per continuous assessment policy), the same task outlined in this document applies. However, you will have to improve your first submission based on the feedback and comments provided by the tutor.

Deadlines and any further terms, if applicable, for the re-sit assessment will be published on the Moodle site in due course.

Re-sit assessment support will be provided, with appointments to be arranged.

H.Late submission and extenuation

We strongly suggest that you try to submit all coursework by the deadline. However, in our regulations, UEL permits students to submit their coursework

up to 24 hours after the deadline. The deadline is published in this module guide. Coursework which is submitted late, but within 24 hours of the deadline, will be assessed but subjected to a fixed penalty of 5% of the total marks available (as opposed to marks obtained). This is, 5 out of 100 total marks available.

If you submit twice, once before the deadline and once during the 24 hour late period, then the second submission will be marked and 5% of the total marks available deducted. This rule only applies to coursework. It does not apply to examinations, presentations, performances, practical assessments or viva voce examinations. If you miss these for a genuine reason, then you will need to apply for extenuating circumstances, or accept that you will receive a zero mark.

Please refer to the UEL intranet for our Extenuation Policies. Extenuation requires a proper formal application and cannot be just agreed with faculty. The links to the forms and policies are provided on the module’s Moodle site.

Further information is available in the Assessment and Feedback Policy at https://www.uel.ac.uk/Discover/Governance/Policies-Regulations- Corporate-documents/Student-Policies (click on other policies)

I.Guidance on referencing

As a student you will be taught how to write correctly referenced essays using UEL`s standard Harvard referencing system from Cite Them Right. Cite them Right is the standard Harvard referencing style at UEL for all Schools apart from the School of Psychology which uses the APA system. This book will teach you all you need to know about Harvard referencing, plagiarism and collusion. The electronic version of “Cite Them Right: the essential referencing guide” 9th edition, can be accessed whilst on or off campus, via UEL Direct.

The book can only be read online and no part of it can be printed nor downloaded. Further information is available at: https://uelac.sharepoint.com/LibraryandLearningServices/Pages/default.a spx

J.Details of submission procedure

Word count tariffs:

Your word count does not include your contents page, the reference list and the pure data tables in appendices. Exceeding the maximum word count will result in a penalty of 10% of your marks for your work. If your work is significantly shorter than words limit, then you will probably have failed to provide the reasonable level of detail required.

Submitting Assessments Using Turnitin: 

Notice is hereby given that all submissions must be submitted to Turnitin. If you fail to submit the coursework to Turnitin, in accordance with the guidance provided on the Virtual Learning Environment (Moodle), a mark of 0 will be awarded for the component.

There are two main reasons we want you to use Turnitin:

• Turnitin can help you avoid academic breaches and plagiarism. When you use Turnitin before a submission deadline, you can use the Originality Report feature to compare your work to thousands of other sources (like websites, Wikipedia, and even other student papers). Anything in your work that identically matches another source is highlighted for you to see. When you use this feature before the deadline, you will have time to revise your work to avoid an instance of academic breach/plagiarism.
• Turnitin saves paper. When using Turnitin to electronically submit your work, you will almost never have to submit a paper copy.

Late Submissions Using Turnitin

UEL has permitted students to be able to submit their coursework up to 24 hours after the deadline. Assessments that are submitted up to 24 hours late are still marked, but with a 5% deduction. However, you have to be very careful when you are submitting your assessment. If you submit your work twice, once using the original deadline link and then again using the late submission link on Turnitin, your assignment will be graded as late with the penalty deduction (see previous section “Late submission and extenuation”).

Turnitin System Failure

Please don’t wait until the last minute to submit your assessments electronically. If you experience a problem submitting your work with Turnitin, you should notify your lecturer/tutor by email immediately. However, deadlines are not extended unless there is a significant systems problem with Turnitin. UEL has specific plans in place to address these issues. If UEL finds that the issue with the system was significant, you will receive an email notifying you of the issue and that you have been given a 24 hour extension. If you don’t receive any email that specifically states you have been given an extension, then the original deadline has not been changed 

To claim any significant issue with IT, you shall have contacted the IT Helpdesk via The Hub first and provide tangible evidence to the lecturers concerning the IT issue.