The Impact of Technological Change on Business Strategies
Assessment Brief
Module Name: Business Environment
Trimester:
Academic Year: 2021-2022
|
Module Code |
Level |
Credit Value |
Module Leader |
|
UNL1002 |
4 |
30 |
|
|
Assessment code and title: |
Final Report AS2 |
|
Weighting: |
50% |
|
Word limit: |
2000 words Where the submission exceeds the stipulated word limit by more than 10%, the submission will only be marked up to and including the additional 10%. Anything over this will not be included in the final grade for the assessment item. Abstracts, bibliographies, reference lists, appendices and footnotes are excluded from any word limit requirements. |
|
Submission deadline: |
|
Please read this assessment brief in its entirety before starting work on the Assessment Task.
The Assessment Task
Write a Business Report of 2,000 words to the following brief:
Changes such as those in politics and information and communication technology (ICT) have transformed business. In this dynamic environment, companies must be sensitive to those changes. As part of their planning process, the companies listed below have asked for advice to determine their future business strategy and improve management decision making.
They are inviting contributions from business advisors to help them gain a better understanding of the environment in which they operate and the effect of technological change on aspects of their organisations. Choose one of the companies listed below:
- Assess the effects of technological change on the company and its overall technology strategy as a source of competitive advantage.
- Assess the impact of business ethics and corporate social responsibility (CSR) on modern business organisations.
- Assess what influences the businesses when making decisions and the impact this has on the company.
Companies:
- OCADO GROUP PLC
- HIKMA PHARMACEUTICALS PLC
- MONEYSUPERMARKET.COM GROUP PLC
- PETS AT HOME GROUP PLC
- FUTURE PLC
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this assessment, you will be able to:
- Identify the financial and ICT considerations for key business functions.
- Appraise and recognise use of corporate governance and ethics within a business context.
- Effectively communicate and argue information in a structured and appropriate written format that demonstrates awareness of a range of business topics
- Explore the influence and impact of decision making and ethical implications in businesses.
Your grade will depend on the extent to which you meet these learning outcomes in the way relevant for this assessment.
Academic Integrity and Misconduct
Unless this is a group assessment, the work you produce must be your own, with work taken from any other source properly referenced and attributed. For the avoidance of doubt this means that it is an infringement of academic integrity and, therefore, academic misconduct to ask someone else to carry out all or some of the work for you, whether paid or unpaid, or to use the work of another student whether current or previously submitted. Assess the effects of technological change on the company and its overall technology strategy as a source of competitive advantage.
For further guidance on what constitutes plagiarism, contract cheating or collusion, or any other infringement of academic integrity, please read the University’s Academic Integrity and Misconduct Policy. You will also find useful resources on the VLE: Referencing and Academic Integrity page.
N.B. The penalties for academic misconduct are severe and can include failing the assessment, failing the module and expulsion from the university.
Assessment Submission
To submit your work, please go to the relevant to the module page –
Assessments tile and submit to Turnitin. Please note that essays and text-based reports should be submitted as Word documents and not PDFs or Mac files.
Written work will be subject to anti-plagiarism detection software. Turnitin checks student work for possible textual matches against internet available resources and its own proprietary database.
N.B Work emailed directly to your tutor will not be marked.
Late submission of work
For first sits, if an item of assessment is submitted late and an extension has not been granted, the following will apply:
- Within one week of the original deadline – work will be marked and returned with full feedback, and awarded a maximum bare pass grade (D-).
- More than one week from original deadline – grade achievable LG (L indicating late).
For resits there are no allowances for late submissions.
Extensions
The University of Northampton’s general policy with regard to extensions is to be supportive of students who have genuine difficulties, but not against pressures of work that could have reasonably been anticipated. Assess the effects of technological change on the company and its overall technology strategy as a source of competitive advantage.
For full details please refer to the Extensions Policy. Extensions are only available for first sits – they are not available for resits.
Mitigating Circumstances
For guidance on mitigating circumstances please go to Mitigating Circumstances where you will find detailed guidance on the policy as well as guidance and the form for making an application.
Please note, however, that an application to defer an assessment on the grounds of mitigating circumstances should normally be made in advance of the submission deadline or examination date.
