联系我们： 手动添加方式: 微信>添加朋友>企业微信联系人>13262280223 或者 QQ: 1483266981

Assignment:
Individual Assignment Guide:

As a market consultant, you have been asked by your Director to write a report on a company of your choice. Your brief is to evaluate and justify the company’s marketing and competitive strategy and provide recommendations for future development.

If you choose a large complex organisation, then it is advisable to focus on just one particular product or a product line sold by that company.

1. Introduction
Overall, the purpose of the assignment is to assess your ability to understand and apply the marketing theory in practice. Through this company’s marketing and competitive strategy, you need demonstrate your practical understanding of the topics covered during the course as well as to develop your skills in preparing a marketing report. The quality of your report will be assessed based on correct application of marketing theory and tools, as well as the strength of your arguments, the solidity of your justifications, and its logic and consistency throughout.

2. Choosing a company
You are required to pick a single company/organization for the study. While guidance will be given to those students who are unsure of areas of study which may prove most illuminating or which may best fit their longer-term interests, it is important that the final choice rests with you.

You are advised to choose a sector which interests you. There is nothing worse than doing a project on something for which you have lost all interest. The following guidelines may be useful in helping you decide:

?Consider your long-term career interests. Studying a company / industry in which you may wish to seek future employment will raise the relevance of the study and also provide you with additional knowledge which could prove useful in an interview.

?Pick an industry based on your general personal interests. Choosing a sector which reflects your personal interests should help to boost your enthusiasm for the project.

?Do not choose a company / industry just because your friend(s) have chosen it. This is likely to be a big mistake. If it is not interesting to you personally there is a strong likelihood it will not work out well for you.

?You can choose service sector which has intangible products or an ‘unusual’ company, such as a film studio, football team, tourist attraction, etc. It does not have to be the industry with many multinational corporations or FTSE 100 organisations.

?Some companies / industries may have more information published about them than others. Sectors such as the car industry and mobile phone industry are well served in terms of available data. Others receive far less attention. This does not mean that you should not tackle them but you might have to think more creatively about the application of theories to the industry in question. You may want to do a bit of exploratory research on two or three ideas before you make your final decision. Check you have access to enough data to complete the report.

(You can NOT choose the same company/brand for both group and individual assignments)

3. Researching your project
You are encouraged to conduct enough research to collect the necessary data and finish this project. The focus of this project should be based on secondary research (that is data which is already in the public domain). It is not suggested that you contact the company or any organizations beyond seeking marketing or strategy information.

A few clues on the types of reports and publications you may wish to look at are:
Annual reports and accounts, Key Note or Mintel Reports, Euromonitor, Marketing, The Economist, Newspaper articles (e.g. FT supplements), etc.. There are also numerous academic journals (e.g. Journal of Marketing, European Journal of Marketing, International Journal of Research in Marketing, Journal of International Marketing, Journal of Marketing Management, Journal of Strategic Marketing, International Marketing Review, Journal of International Business Studies, etc.) which will have relevant articles to support some aspects of your report. It is essential that you incorporate academic sources, and that they are referenced correctly according to the Harvard system of referencing (Using EBSCO, Pro-Quest, Google Scholar, etc.).

4. Writing the report
A good starting point when planning a project is to consider the structure of your final report. This will help you to decide what information you need to collect and identify any gaps in available information.

A suggested outline structure for the project is as follows
?Executive summary
?Introduction (including the company and targeting country issues)
?Market audit
?Marketing strategy, positioning, and sustainable competitive advantages
?Marketing mix strategy
?Recommendations for long-term development
?References (Harvard style referencing)
?Appendices

Or you may present your own structure for this report.

You need to apply marketing frameworks/models that you have learned in your lectures. You need to demonstrate your critical evaluation on the basis of the existing information. You need to present your ANALYSIS, but not just the information.
6. Submission and Format
The deadline for this coursework is Wednesday, 11th January 2023. Please submit your work via Canvas on the deadline by 12pm (GMT+0). 5% penalty will be received for each day of late submission.

Word limit: 3000 words excluding executive summary, references, and appendices. The number of words in your work can be 10% less than the total word count allowance. However, to ensure optimal length consistency and therefore marking fairness, submissions exceeding the total word count will be expected to receive penalties. The spacing should be 1.5 or 2. Accepted fonts are either 12, Times New Roman or 11 Ariel.

Module Learning Outcomes:
In this assessment the following learning outcomes will be covered:
?Develop an understanding of current marketing issues that surround markets and firms.
?Use a range of frameworks for strategic analysis leading towards the development of a marketing strategy.
?Apply techniques, models and frameworks to marketing strategy plans for large and small businesses.
?Develop written and oral communication skills through writing and presenting their work

Grading Criteria:
Marking will be divided between these sections as follows:
Structure:
Content is organised and appropriate; coherent; flow of information, arguments, and concepts
Knowledge and Understanding:
Identifies, explains, draws on appropriate theories, models, literature to demonstrate depth and breadth of reading to address the question
Application:
Application of theory or practical examples given appropriate to context
Analysis and Recommendations:
Evaluation and critical analysis of the topic, synthesis of ideas/concepts, appropriate conclusions, justified recommendations
Presentation:
Spelling, punctuation, grammar, layout, accurate Harvard Referencing style, writing style academic/professional

Feedback to Students:
Both Summative and Formative feedback is given to encourage students to reflect on their learning that feed forward into following assessment tasks. The preparation for all assessment tasks will be supported by formative feedback. Written feedback is provided as appropriate. Please be aware to use the browser and not the Canvas App as you may not be able to view all comments.

Plagiarism:
It is your responsibility to ensure that you understand correct referencing practices. You are expected to use appropriate references and keep carefully detailed notes of all your information sources, including any material downloaded from the Internet. It is your responsibility to ensure that you are not vulnerable to any alleged breaches of the assessment regulations. More information is available at https://intranet.birmingh am.ac.uk/as/studentservices/conduct/misconduct/plagiarism/index.aspx.