THE CONTEXT OF BUSINESS

MN3042QA

Assignment 3

Submission is due in: Week 25

Assignment weighting 40%

Submission deadline-Week 25 – By 19th April 2021 before 3. P.M.

This is an individual assignment of 1500 words in which you will write a Business Report.

You are required to find a UK based business. You should NOT USE the big companies
like Tesco, Morrison, BP etc. Choose a UK based innovative company, which is
interesting, and challenging. (You will fail if it is not UK based). You need to do an in depth
research as how the business operates. Using your knowledge of business concepts and
tools studied in this module, analyse the business doing a detailed SWOT Analysis of the
business, use of CSR and Innovation by the business.
You then need to come up with recommendations as how the business can improve as
well as expand.

Part 1 Introduction (200-250 words)

An overview of the business in terms of structure, location/profit/main competitors

Part 2 Analysis (1000-1200 words)

2.1 SWOT Analysis of business
2.2 Use of Corporate social responsibility by the business
2.3 Innovation and creativity in business

Part 3 Conclusion and Recommendations (200-250 words)

Recommendations for the business to improve and expand

Part 4 References and Appendices (not included in the word count)

At least 4 books and journal articles. You can also use websites to get information about
the business but 4 academic references are MUST.
Reference section which gives the full reference for in-text references that appear in the
main body of your report using the Harvard referencing format which you can access at:

http://student.londonmet.ac.uk/media/london-metropolitan-university/london-met-
documents/professional-service-departments/library-
services/referencing/HarvardReferencingGuideFull2016-05.pdf

You should NOT USE the big companies like Tesco, Morrison etc. Use a UK based
innovative company, which is interesting, and challenging. You should not use the
companies you have used for Assignment 2 as it will result in a Fail.

1
 Grading Scheme for Assignment 3 for MN3042QA
Assignment: Business Report

Marking criteria Letter Mark

grade recorded
The extent to which the work shows evidence of EXCELLENT RESEARCH:
 You have undertaken EXCELLENT research demonstrated by your
organisational knowledge
 Excellent introduction to the business showing brilliant research about
structure, location/profit/main competitors
 Excellent Analysis of the organization based on SWOT, Corporate Social
Responsibility and Innovation. You have analysed the business using the
theories related to the three areas in detail. It reflects exceptional critical A 70-100
analysis and research
 Exceptional Recommendations for the business to improve and expand
which shows your in depth and critical thinking
 Excellent Level of professionalism in the lay out and structure of the Report
with correct in text referencing and reference list using the Harvard
referencing system
 Extensive Harvard Referencing (Minimum 4 Academic Referencing)
- Evidence of wide reading, application and referencing.

The extent to which the work shows evidence of GOOD RESEARCH:

 You have undertaken GOOD research demonstrated by your organisational
knowledge
 Good Introduction with detail about the business structure,
location/profit/main competitors
 Good Analysis of the organization based on SWOT, Corporate Social
Responsibility and Innovation. You have analysed the business using the
theories related to the three areas in some depth B 60-69
 Good Recommendations for the business to improve and expand which
shows your critical thinking and research around the business
 Good Level of professionalism in the lay out and structure of the Report
with correct in text referencing and reference list using the Harvard
referencing system
 Harvard Referencing (Minimum 4 Academic Referencing)
- Evidence of some reading, application and referencing. Need to focus on
Harvard Referencing

2
 The extent to which the work shows REASONABLE RESEARCH:

 You have undertaken some acceptable research demonstrated by your

organisational knowledge
 Reasonable introduction to the business. Needs improvement in terms of
status and structure
 Reasonable Analysis of the organization based on SWOT, Corporate Social
Responsibility and Innovation. You have done some analysis and tried to C 50-59
apply some theories to the three areas
 Acceptable Recommendations for the business to improve and expand
which need more thought and effort and link directly to the business
 Acceptable Level of professionalism in the lay out and structure of the
Report with some incorrect in text referencing and reference list
 Harvard Referencing needs improvement
Acceptable Evidence of reading, application and referencing.
The extent to which the work shows adequate, but limited and weak
research:
 You have undertaken limited research demonstrated by your organisational
knowledge
 Weak Introduction
D 40-49
 Weak Analysis of the organizations
 You have not developed realistic recommendations
 Inadequate Level of professionalism with presentation with in text
referencing and reference list using the Harvard referencing system
Some evidence of reading and Harvard referencing needs improvement
Does not address the assignment criteria. Presents minimal material related to Condone
the topic. Little evidence of understanding of the theory. Poor structure. Little d Pass
30-39
evidence of scholarship and Harvard referencing
F1

Does not address the task set. Little evidence of understanding either the task or
the subject matter. No evidence of scholarship.
Fail 0-29
Learning Outcomes not met /Non-attendance and non-engagement.

University Grading Scheme for Undergraduate Programmes: 20/21

Following discussion at Academic Board (Date………..), it was agreed to implement a revised grading scheme
for undergraduate programmes for the 20/21 academic year.

What is the new grading scheme?

The scheme uses a 12-point letter grading, replacing the previous continuous percentage scale, as above.
This grading scheme applies to all assessment components on all UG modules which would previously have
been marked using the percentage scale – exceptions are marking of numerically based work or a pass/fail
assessments. This grading scheme is to be used for all UG students who are new enrolments on modules in
20119/20 – whether this is their first attempt at the module or a retake of the module. Students doing
reassessments only in 2019/20 should be marked as for their original assessment.

Numerically based work and pass/fail assessments

When an assignment or exam is based on numerical work (such as online multiple choice tests which
generate a specific number of correct answers, or where there are a series of questions with a set number
of marks assigned to each answer) the full range of marks from 0 to 100 should be used, that is, they should

3
not be ‘translated’ into a letter grade). Assessments which are marked on a pass/fail basis such as
placements) should continue to be marked on a pass/fail basis.

Using the grading scheme

The process for marking work under the new grading scheme is as follows:
 Assign the appropriate letter grade by considering the criteria specified on the table under each
category.
 Students should be given their letter grade along with their feedback. It should be clear to the
students how the criteria have been applied to assess their work.
 The mark entered onto Evision should be the spot percentage which corresponds to the letter
grade on the table (e.g., a grade of A should be entered as 85%, a grade of C as 53%).

Calculation of module grades

 If a module is assessed by more than one unit of assessment, the percentage marks should be
averaged (with appropriate weighting) to produce the module result. As the module result is
calculated by averaging marks, it will not necessarily be one of the fixed percentages on the scale.

4
vom Brocke, J., Zelt, S. and Schmiedel, T., 2016. On the role of context in business process
management. International Journal of Information Management, 36(3), pp.486-495.

Ortiz-Villajos, J.M. and Sotoca, S., 2018. Innovation and business survival: A long-term approach. Research
Policy, 47(8), pp.1418-1436.

Visnjic, I., Wiengarten, F. and Neely, A., 2016. Only the brave: Product innovation, service business model
innovation, and their impact on performance. Journal of product innovation management, 33(1), pp.36-52.

Prajogo, D.I., 2016. The strategic fit between innovation strategies and business environment in delivering
business performance. International journal of production Economics, 171, pp.241-249.

Kahn, K.B., 2018. Understanding innovation. Business Horizons, 61(3), pp.453-460.

Geissdoerfer, M., Vladimirova, D. and Evans, S., 2018. Sustainable business model innovation: A
review. Journal of cleaner production, 198, pp.401-416.

Souto, J.E., 2015. Business model innovation and business concept innovation as the context of incremental
innovation and radical innovation. Tourism Management, 51, pp.142-155.

Taran, Y., Boer, H. and Lindgren, P., 2015. A business model innovation typology. Decision Sciences, 46(2),
pp.301-331.