Faculty of Business and Law 

Module Code:

UMCDN3-15-1

Module Title:

Business Decision Making forManagement

Submission Deadline:

Assessment Component

Individual Business Decision Making Report (1200 words)

Assessment Weighting:

50% of the total module mark

Assessment Instructions

The aim of this assignment is to develop a critical understanding of the business decision making context. To develop this individual report, you are required to identify, select and analyse appropriate data, explore the factors that influence decision making and employ relevant decision making concepts and techniques.

For the 2021RESIT coursework, the topic of the report is “An analysis of the strategic position of Resolute Marine Energy”

The task is to evaluate a strategic position and to identify the decision making process that led to that position. Therefore, there is no right or wrong answer here.

You need to use the tools that were presented in the business context sessions - such as Porter`s 5 forces analysis, or Ansoff`s matrix, or use a decision tree to analyse the decision-making process. You could also consider issues such as leadership or organisational cultures in evaluating how you think the strategic position was reached

To conduct the analysis, you will need read the case study carefully and carry out some research on the environment in which the decisionswere made. Thus, your task here is mainly to focus on using `soft` tools, rather than the statistical tools (unless you can find data which would make such analysis appropriate).

Once you have done the analysis, you should summarise your observations. This should indicate whether or not you believe the decision making process was rational and has led to a viable strategic outlook for RME.

The assignment is short at 1200 words, so you will need to be concise and ensure your writing focuses only on the really important aspects of the analysis.

The structure of this resit report is:

• Title (not included in word count)
• Introduction (c. 200 words)
• Analysis and Discussion (c. 800 words)
• Conclusion (c. 200 words)
• References (not included in word count - Harvard referencing style is required, Footnotes and other referencing styles will NOT be accepted)
• Appendix (not included in word count – but only expected to include any additional data they feel necessary to support their argument elsewhere)

NB. This is different from the structure of the report required for the May assessment.

All word counts are approximate and for guidance only. Please ensure that any tables, diagrams or figures are labelled appropriately and referenced clearly (unless they are your own creation).

For the purposes of this assignment you are expected to use qualitative sources, such as news articles and company websites, to research the topic and reference them in your report using the UWE Harvard style. Appropriate concepts, tools and techniques from the business decision making context that have been explored in the module should be used to support the analysis and discussion. You should use wherever required figures and/or tables to present relevant information and to help the word count down. All figures/tables must be numbered and accompanied by an appropriate legend. The report is typical of those prepared in a business environment, so it must be professionally presented.

Marking Criteria – RESIT Coursework

Format and Word Limit

The word limit for this coursework is 1200. The document must be a Word (.docx or .doc) document and formatted as a professional business report.

· Word count includes everything in the main body of the text (including headings, tables, citations, quotes, lists, etc.).

· The title, any contents or lists of figures, and references are NOT included in the word count.

· There is no direct penalty for exceeding the word count, but the marker WILL stop reading once the word limit has been reached and nothing further will be taken into account in the allocation of marks.

Referencing

Please ensure you adhere to the principles of good academic practice and use the UWE Harvard system to reference your work. Failure to properly reference your work to original source material can be grounds for the assessment offence of plagiarism and may result in failure of the assessment or have more serious implications.

For further guidance on correct referencing go to:

Details of what constitutes plagiarism and how to avoid it can be found here:

Instructions for submission

You must submit your assignment before the deadline by electronic submission through Blackboard. Notification that the electronic submission portal is open for your assignment is displayed (usually two weeks before the submission date) in the Coursework tab in myUWE, the Coursework tab in Blackboard and via an announcement in the Blackboard course.

Please note that the submission deadlines are absolute and based on UWE server time, therefore you are strongly advised to submit work well ahead of the deadline dates to avoid situations where penaltiescould be incurred.

Please ensure you allow sufficient time to upload your script, noting that the system becomes busier and slower as the deadline approaches. Only your final upload will be counted. Ensure all your information is submitted at one attempt to avoid ‘overwriting’ your intended submission. Always check and retain your receipts. Only submit ONE document (combine parts of the document into one submission before uploading).

Markers will be aware of the structure suggested to students and expect a submission which includes all sections.

Submissions of coursework by any other method (including a paper copy, on disc, by email or by fax) are NOT permissible for this module.

Before submitting your work, please ensure the following:

• That you have proof read you work thoroughly to ensure your work is presented appropriately and minor errors are minimised.
• That you have addressed all the required elements of the assessment.
• That you have referenced in accordance with the guidance provided.
• That you have addressed each of the marking criteria.
• That the submission is in the correct format.

Feedback

Students will normally receive marks and feedback on their submission within 20 working days of the submission deadline (not including any public holidays or university closure days). Any delay in returning students’ work will be communicated by the module leader via Blackboard.

Please note feedback can take many forms and can be summative (provided for work completed) or formative (provided for on-going work or activities). Feedback on this module is not limited to the written comments you will receive on individual written assessment submissions.

For further guidance on feedback, please refer to the module handbook.