Principles of Operations Management- Supply Chain
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EBUS 102: Principles of Operations Management
Assignment 1 - Specification
Submission deadline: 7th March 2019 (Thursday), 2:00 pm
Contribution to the Final Mark of the Module: 50%
Maximum Word Length: 2000 words (excluding references and appendices).
Requirements:
Write an essay on the “supply chain” of a particular product of your choice. In your essay you should
focus on the following key tasks:
• Map the supply chain of your product (at least up to 4 layers of supply chain) and critically
analyse the role of different firms / companies involved in this supply chain.
• Critically discuss the potential challenges of effectively managing this supply chain and
provide your recommendations to address these challenges.
• Critically analyse the environmental issues in relation to your selected supply chain, and
review the green practices currently being adopted in the supply chain.
In your essay, you should incorporate your independent thinking and use real-life examples to support
your arguments. You should also cite different literature, newspaper reports and journal articles
to frame and justify your arguments.
Assignment Submission Details:
You should compile a professional and detailed essay. Your essay should be typed with a font size 12
or more, and 1.5 or 2-line spacing. Essay should be well structured in different logical sections, and you
should make sure that you write in a focused manner. You can add a short executive summary
highlighting the key discussions and findings. The maximum word count of 2000 excludes title page,
table of content, executive summary, bibliography and appendices. You must reference your work
correctly using the Harvard referencing style.
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This coursework requires only ONLINE submission. You must submit your assignment via Turnitin
on the VITAL site under the assessment folder. If you do not submit to Turnitin, your work will not be
marked. There is no hardcopy submission for this assignment.
Marking Guidelines:
Follow the marking guidelines provided in the Management School Student Handbook. Your essay will
be evaluated on the basis of your critical understanding of the subject matter; your ability to draw upon
relevant literature; Independent thinking and critical analysis; and effective structure and presentation.
Plagiarism:
Whilst you are encouraged to discuss assignments with staffs and colleagues, the final write-up must
be your own work. The essay must present your own analysis, understanding and conclusions rather
than a copy of someone else’s. You must not plagiarise your assignment.
Penalties:
Late penalties will be applied to any work submitted after the deadline. You will also be penalised if
you exceed the word count. You should consult the student handbook for further information about
penalties.
Lateness Penalty: 5% of total marks shall be deducted from the assessment mark for each working
day after the due date up to a maximum of five working days; however, the mark will not be reduced
below the pass mark for the assessment (40%). Work assessed at below 40% will not be penalised for
late submission of up to five working days. Work received more than five working days after the
submission deadline will receive a mark of zero.
Other Penalties:
• Up to -5% of total marks for poor referencing. This is expected to be in the Harvard style.
• -3% of total marks for every 100 words over the word count.
• 5% of the overall mark available for the piece of work will be deducted if an essay is
presented in a form that makes it difficult to read e.g. if not word-processed, in a font of less
than 12 pts, in single spacing or with inadequate margins. For example, if a piece of work is
marked out of 100, you will lose 5 marks, if it is out of 60, you will lose 3 marks etc.
• I will not impose a penalty for the use of Wikipedia, but students should be aware that it is an
inappropriate source for this level of studies and will be an indicator of the works quality.
• The above can be found in the ULMS Student Handbook.