You are now a part of the senior management team of a large global airline and each manager is to make a short presentation to the Company Board, the Company Directors, and the other senior and middle managers at a planning away-day in June.
Your Chief Executive says to you
‘We are doing well but we need to do better. This is the theme of our away day next week. I want each senior manager to make a short presentation as a basis for discussion on a key aspect of strategy in their area and how it will impact on our performance. As Director of Human Resources I would like you to talk about our need for a comprehensive Total Reward Strategy, what it involves and how it will contribute to improved performance. Any information you can provide based on benchmarking or evidence from research will be welcome’
You are tasked with:
1. Developing the 6 slide maximum PowerPoint presentation to accompany your Presentation – maximum 200 words in total.
2. Writing the detail of your presentation in the form of a REPORT which includes background and explanation for each slide.
3. Include a copy of your slides either as an Appendix to the Report or within the body of the Report.
The assignment must be in Report format – word limit 2000 words +/- 10% (excluding References and Appendices).
Please note the following when completing your assignment:
1. Writing: Written in English in an appropriate business/academic style
2. Focus: Focus only on the tasks set in the assignment.
3. Length: 2000 words +/- 10%
4. Formatting: Typed on A4 paper in Times New Roman or Arial font 12 with at least 2.5 centimetre space at each edge, double spaced and pages numbered.
5. Document format: In business report format (unless otherwise directed), with a clear title, course, and name or ID number on a cover sheet and including a bibliography using Harvard referencing throughout.
6. Research: Research should use reliable and relevant sources of information e.g. academic books and journals that have been peer reviewed. The research should be extensive.
GUIDANCE FOR STUDENTS IN THE COMPLETION OF ASSIGNMENTS
NOTE: The guidance offered below is linked to the five common assessment criteria overleaf and specifically aligned to the “exceptional” outcome category to which we anticipate students aspire.
1. Research-informed Literature
Your work must embed and be informed and supported by relevant and credible scholarly material that is accessible in the learned journals listed on the module schedule. You should refer to at least 10 such sources. Additionally, you should refer to text books, current news items and benchmark your organisation against other organisations to ensure your assignment is current and up-to-date. High-level referencing skills using the Harvard Method must be demonstrated throughout your work and all sources listed alphabetically within your bibliography.
2. Knowledge and Understanding of Subject
Your work must demonstrate the growing extent of your knowledge and understanding of concepts and underlying principles associated with the subject area. This means that within your work, you should provide evidence of your growing mastery in critical awareness of current challenges, new insights and the constant need for innovation within the field. Furthermore, a critical awareness of the ambiguities and limitations of knowledge and even understanding, should be considered and examples of such, illustrated within your work.
3. Analysis
To be considered masters worthy, your work must contain evidence of analysis, evaluation and synthesis. This means not just describing “What!” but also justifying: Why? How? When? Who? Where? And at what cost! At all times, you must provide justification of your arguments and judgements. Evidence that you have reflected upon the ideas of others on matters occurring in the real world of business is crucial to you providing a reasoned and informed debate within your work. Your choice of methodologies to gather data and information must be rigorously defended. Furthermore, you should provide evidence that you are able to make sound judgements and convincing arguments in the absence of complete data, since within the real world of work, we rarely have access to, or know all the information! Persuasive conclusions are especially necessary and must be derived from the content of your work – there should be no new information presented within your conclusion. Your work should aspire to resemble work which is of journal publishable quality.
4. Practical Application and Deployment
It is essential that you rationalise how you decided upon certain methods, materials, tools and techniques to inform and complete your work. You must demonstrate what informed your decision(s) to apply certain concepts that enabled you to formulate innovative and creative solutions to the challenges presented to you or that you identified for yourself. Plausible and justifiable recommendations are demanded and where these are absent, your work is undermined. Your work should provide evidence that you are growing in mastery in developing cutting edge processes and techniques within the subject area.
5. Skills for Professional Practice
Your work must provide evidence of your attributes in the application of professional practice. This includes demonstrating that you are highly capable of individual and collaborative working. Regarding the presentation of your work, you must demonstrate your ability to select and deploy the appropriate media that is “fit for purpose”. Additionally, you must exhibit your ability to: communicate with an exceptionally high level of professionalism; work professionally, autonomously and within a team; develop leadership skills; and produce/present work that is coherent, cogent and specifically addresses the challenges set for you or you have set yourself. Importantly, your work should be easily understood by specialists and non-specialists in the field.
ASSIGNMENT MARKING CRITERIA
This section details the assessment criteria. The extent to which these are demonstrated by you determines your mark. The marks available for each criterion are shown. Lecturers will use the space provided to comment on the achievement of the task(s), including those areas in which you have performed well and areas that would benefit from development/improvement.
Common Assessment Criteria Applied
Marks available
Marks
Awarded
1. Research-informed Literature
Extent of research and/or own reading, selection of credible sources, application of appropriate referencing conventions.
20
2. Knowledge and Understanding of Subject
Extent of knowledge and understanding of concepts and underlying principles associated with the discipline.
30
3. Analysis
Analysis, evaluation and synthesis; logic, argument and judgement; analytical reflection; organisation of ideas and evidence
4. Practical Application and Deployment
Deployment of methods, materials, tools and techniques; application of concepts; formulation of innovative and creative solutions to solve problems.
10
5. Skills for Professional Practice
Attributes in professional practice: individual and collaborative working; deployment of appropriate media; presentation and organisation.
10
