Sample Essay Managing Business Resources

       

 

  Managing   Business Resources

 

   

 

  Assessed   coursework assignment: supervised mini-project

 

   

 

  RESOURCE   ISSUES IN A SELECTED ORGANISATION 

 

   

 

  September   2007

 

   

 

  Date due -       

 

   

 

   

 

  Description of Task

 

   

 

  The purpose of this assignment is   to investigate, analyse and propose ways of addressing resource issues in an   organisation of your choice - which may be one you have worked in, or are   working in – against the background of resource issues affecting the business   sector to which the organisation belongs.   You need to agree your choice of   organisation with tutors, who will advise and offer guidance as you take the   work forward.

 

   

 

  In addition to any information   you may have from your working experience, or may be able to get from contacts   in your own organisation, you should rely on published sources - including   databases, websites, and public statements - to investigate resource issues in   the sector, and to supplement information you may have from personal sources   about your chosen organisation. 

 

   

 

  Start by critically reviewing the   issues relating to human, financial, and information/IT resources in the   sector.  Look for initiatives that organisations in the sector are taking to   cope with resorting problems and environmental pressures, and to improve   shareholder value (private firms) or stewardship of resources (public/   not-for-profit organisations).   

 

   

 

  After giving a general analysis   of resorting issues in the sector, concentrate on your particular organisation   within the sector, and use it as an example to show how the typical problems   and issues in the sector impinge upon a specific case. Discuss approaches to   dealing with some of the resource issues or solving some of the problems you   have identified in the organisation.  You should address the major issues and   problems identified in all three areas (HR, Finance and Information), at least   briefly, but may concentrate on one or two of the areas, according to where   your interests lie and how you judge the relative importance of the different   issues confronting the company.  In relation to IT, it may be appropriate to   consider not only the resource issues surrounding IT, but also the possible   role of information systems in addressing some of the other resource problems   in the organisation.  For your conclusion, think whether the approaches you   have identified for the organisation could be generalised for the sector.

 

   

 

  Your report should be of the   order of 5,000 words in length (+/-10%), and presented in the manner of an   (academically informed) external consultants’ report to a management audience   in the organisation.  You should demonstrate awareness of – and reference   appropriately – theoretical and conceptual frameworks in the relevant   literature, and use these frameworks in presenting and interpreting your   findings. 

 

   

 

  Balance your report so that it   deals with sect oral issues for about one third of its length and issues   relating to the particular organisation for the remaining two thirds. In the   general part, do not include detailed information (eg, financial data)   pertaining to individual companies, even if you have scanned such material for   forming a comparative view. Concise and relevant supplementary material – so   long as it does not form part of the main argument - may be included in   Appendices outside the word count. 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

CRITERIA       (ALL EQUAL WEIGHT)	LEVEL	DETAILED DESCRIPTION
1.  collection of information     about resource issues in the chosen sector and in the selected organisation	FAIL	Information collected     inadequate, insufficient, or irrelevant.
	PASS	Information collected of     acceptable quality, coverage and relevance.
	MERIT	Information collected of good     quality, coverage and relevance.
	DISTINCTION	Information collected     particularly well in respect to quality, coverage or relevance.
2.  use of appropriate     frameworks for analysis	FAIL	Appropriate frameworks either     not used or used inadequately.
	PASS	Appropriate frameworks selected     and used adequately.
	MERIT	Appropriate frameworks used to     achieve good analysis.
	DISTINCTION	Appropriate frameworks used to     achieve good critical analysis.
3.  analysis of information     collected about the sector and the particular organization	FAIL	Analysis poorly organized and     brings little illumination to the collected information.
	PASS	Analysis acceptably organized     and achieves a reasonable level of insight.
	MERIT	Analysis well organized and     achieves a reasonable level of insight.
	DISTINCTION	Analysis well organized and     incisive.
4. relation of the general     analysis to the discussion of the particular case	FAIL	No or very little connection     made between general analysis and individual case.
	PASS	Discussion of case flows     reasonably well from general discussion.
	MERIT	Discussion of case flows well     from general discussion.
	DISTINCTION	Discussion of case flows     particularly well from general discussion.
5. presentation of solutions or     approaches to dealing with the issues identified	FAIL	No or very few suggestions made     about tackling the resource issues identified.
	PASS	Concerted effort made to tackle     the resource issues identified.
	MERIT	Persuasive suggestions made     about tackling the resource issues identified.
	DISTINCTION	Incisive and persuasive     suggestions made about tackling the resource issues identified.
6.  overall coherence of     document, including development of argument and conclusions	FAIL	No clear line of argument or     multiple uncoordinated lines.
	PASS	Clear line of argument, leading     to well supported conclusions.
	MERIT	Good line of argument, leading     to well supported conclusions.
	DISTINCTION	Argument and conclusions     particularly lucid and integrated.
7.  standard of presentation,     including use of English (spelling, grammar)	FAIL	Unacceptably poor standard of     presentation and expression.
	PASS	Acceptable standard of     presentation and expression (at MBA level).
	MERIT	Good standard of presentation     and expression (at MBA level).
	DISTINCTION	Distinctively high quality of     presentation and expression.
8.  use of recognized academic     frameworks for citation and referencing	FAIL	Referencing and citation     inadequate, erratic, or seriously inconsistent.
	PASS	Largely accurate and complete     referencing using an appropriate citation system.
	MERIT	Accurate and complete     referencing using an appropriate citation system.
	DISTINCTION	Particularly high standard     achieved in use of referencing and citation.

 

Assessment

 

The supervised mini-project forms 100% of your assessed coursework for the Managing Business Resources module.  It aims to test your ability to amass, organize and analyse complex information available about resource management from a variety of sources, understand and apply relevant frameworks from the resource management literature, relate a general analysis to a particular case, and assemble and produce a coherent and well presented report.   The specific criteria used to assess your submission are shown in the table above. You should pay particular attention to criteria 1 and 2, because the rest depend on them to a significant extent.  It is also important to show progress from identifying issues to dealing with them (criterion 5).  Excessive length will produce poor grades under criteria 6 and 7 (at least).

 

Note:

 

FAIL= mark awarded less than 50%

PASS = mark awarded 50% or greater and less than 65%

MERIT = meritorious pass, mark awarded 65% or greater and less than 75%

DISTINCTION = distinctive pass, mark awarded 75% or greater