Coursework Description:

In business, managers are constantly making decisions about the future. In order to make the best
possible decisions, managers need to have the best possible information. In order to have that best
possible information, managers need to start by collecting data, summarising it and analysing it.
Once that is completed, managers will be able to use it in support of the decision-making process.

In the first five topics of this module, we cover the areas above, more specifically:
• What is and how to access data;
• How to analyse data; and
• How to use the past to start predicting the future.

Considering the above, for this coursework, you’ll need to:

• select a company in any sector (it can be a company you have an association with or one you
are interested in knowing more about)
• collect data related to that company’s supply chain (e.g. revenues, transportation costs,
procurement costs, inventory costs or any other quantitative data). This data will ideally be
for the last five years, but whether it is or not, you’ll need to collect a minimum of 60
observations

You may want to consider a particular issue, topic or area of interest within the company’s activity
that interests you prior to collecting the data or you may look at what data is available and then see
what issues, topics or areas that data refers to.

The data to be collected about the company may be directly collected from one or more
organisations of interest (such as companies, government agencies, educational institutions etc.) or
from data websites. Examples of such websites include (but are not limited to):

https://www.kaggle.com/datasets
https://www.ukdataservice.ac.uk/
https://data.gov.ie/
https://opendata.cityofnewyork.us/
https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/

Once you have collected the data you should:

1. Briefly explain why you chose the company and supply chain process/activity, establishing a
link to your current or planned future professional activity.
(10%)

2. Briefly discuss what you expect the outcome of your analysis to be and why. (5%)

3. Describe the variables you collected data for, what they represent and how they allow you to
analyse and draw conclusions about the issue, topic or area of interest you will be analysing
in your report. (15%)

4. Using the appropriate techniques discussed in the first five topics of the module, analyse the
data in as many meaningful ways as you are able to. (50%)

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 5. Draw conclusions from the analysis done, concentrating especially in identifying whether the
company is performing well or poorly within the areas analysed. (20%)

Additional to the general assessment criteria, your work will be assessed according to following
criteria:

Meeting assignment objective – was the objective understood and fulfilled?

Research – was relevant data collected for the analysis and final recommendations?
Theory to practice – is there a clear link from theory learned from the course to structure
thinking, analyse the case, and build credibility for practical actions?
Recommendations – did suggested actions follow logically from the data and analysis?
Presentation - was the project clearly structured, explained well, and produced to good
standard?
Knowledge and understanding – is there clear evidence of knowledge and understanding of
the theories and concepts from the academic literature, reading list and from wider
reading?
Argument, structure, and style – was the work structured with clarity, relevance and
coherence; ability to argue the case; clear evidence of analysis and logical thought; use of
evidence to support arguments; appropriate academic style with correct referencing?
Critical analysis – is there critically engagement and evaluation with material; recognition of
alternative interpretations; synthesis of the literature showing willingness to apply an
independent approach or interpretation; avoidance of excessive generalisations or gross
oversimplifications?

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Instructions:
Assessment Criteria:

Please refer to the Programme Regulations for detailed Assessment Criteria

Plagiarism:

This is cheating. Do not be tempted and certainly do not succumb to temptation. Plagiarised copies
are invariably rooted out and severe penalties apply. All assignment submissions are electronically
tested for plagiarism. More information may be accessed via:

https://supplychain.elearning.london.ac.uk/mod/lesson/view.php?id=487

Penalties for exceeding the word count:

There are penalties for exceeding the specified word count.

• The maximum word limit for this coursework assignment is 2,500 words (excluding the list of
references).

• You may use less than 2,500 words but in so doing you may be penalising yourself as it is
likely to be challenging to respond to the coursework brief.

• You MUST state an accurate word count (excluding the list of references) at the end of your
work. If you do not state an accurate word count your mark will be reduced by 5 marks.

• The content within the main body of text comprises the overall word count, including in-text
citations, references, quotes, heading and sub-headings. The cover page, reference list and
any appendices do not count towards the overall word count.

• If you submit more than 2,500 words the following penalties apply:
a. Up to 5% more than 2,500 words – no penalty
b. 5% to 10% more than 2,500 words – your mark will be reduced by 5 marks;
c. For more than 10% than 2,500 words you will receive zero marks for this work.

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