marketing audit

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Assessment Brief

Module Name:

Module Code Level Credit Value Module Leader

MKTM028 7 20 Deborah Clewes

Assessment title:

Assessment One MKTM028: Marketing Audit

Weighting: 40% of Module Marks

Submission dates: Please see NILE under Assessment Information

Feedback and

Grades due:

Please see NILE under Assessment Information

Please read this assessment brief in its entirety before starting work on the Assessment Task.

The Assessment Task

The purpose of this assessment is to produce a marketing audit that would support a

marketing plan. The audit should be produced for a company (or business unit) of your choice

in one sector from; mobile network providers, fashion clothing, automotive or charity and

should focus on the UK only.

You should conduct independent research using quality secondary sources, fully referenced, to

provide the evidence to support your analysis e.g. Mintel, MarketLine Advantage, ABI Global,

newspapers, journals, company websites etc.

This Marketing Audit is limited in scope and should contain the following areas:

(A full Audit, based on Kotler’s format, can be seen under Assessment Information)

• Macro analysis (PEEST)

• Micro analysis (market, customers and competitors)

• Internal analysis (strategy, functions, productivity)

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• One-page TOWS matrix and key strategic challenges summary

• Appendices (supporting information/model analysis, not included in the word count –

two sides maximum for each appendix)

Appendix 1: Company Overview to include; name, type, size, key competitors,

customers, products/services, specific area of focus for your audit – company or

business unit and country.

Appendix 2: supporting Macro model/framework application

Appendix 3: supporting Micro model/framework application

Appendix 4: supporting Internal model/framework application

This should be in report format. Your discussion in the main body should be succinct,

referring to the information/model analysis in your appendices. This should be addressed in a level 7 (MBA) academic style. It should show:

• critical awareness in relation to the identification and application of relevant

models/frameworks, analysis, evaluation, synthesis and original insights

• appropriate academic English for level 7 work

• appropriate support from secondary literature supported by appropriate UoN Harvard

referencing.

Word Limits

The word limit for this assessment is 1600 words. This relates to your discussion in the main

body. This should be succinct, referring to the information/model analysis in your appendices.

Cover, contents, abstracts, reference lists, appendices and footnotes are excluded from any

word limit requirements.

In accordance with the Assessment and feedback policy, where a 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. Where a submission is notably under the word limit, the full submission will be

marked on the extent to which the learning objectives have been met.

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this assessment, you will be able to:

a) Identify, analyse and integrate information from a range of sources,

drawing heavily on current research, academic publications and

appropriate primary sources.

d) Devise and sustain an argument, supported by valid and evaluated

evidence, including some elements which offer new insights.

e) Identify and analyse complex strategic marketing tasks.

Your grade will depend on the extent to which you meet these learning outcomes in the way

relevant for this assignment. Please see the grading rubric at the end of this assessment brief

for further details of the criteria against which you will be assessed.

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Your grade will depend on the extent to which you meet these learning outcomes in the way

relevant for this assessment. Please see the grading rubric on NILE for further details of

the criteria against which you will be assessed.

Assessment Support

Specific support sessions for this assessment will be provided by the module team and

notified through NILE. You can also access individual support and guidance for your

assessments from Library and Learning Services. Visit the Skills Hub to access this support

and to discover the online support also available for assessments and academic skills.

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.

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. Also useful resources to help with understanding academic integrity are

available from UNPAC .

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 ‘Submit your work’ area on the NILE site and use the

relevant submission point to upload your report. The deadline for this is 11.59pm (UK local

time) on the date of submission. Please note that essays and text based reports should be

submitted as word documents and not PDFs or Mac files.

Written work submitted to TURNITIN 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. Work

When you upload your work correctly to TURNITIN you will receive a receipt which is your

record and proof of submission. If your assessment is not submitted to TURNITIN, rather

than a receipt, you will see a green banner at the top of the screen that denotes successful

submission.

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:

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• Within one week of the original deadline – work will be marked and returned with full

feedback, and awarded a maximum bare pass grade.

• More than one week from original deadline – grade achievable LG (L indicating late).

For resits there are no allowances for work submitted late and it will be treated as a non-

submission.

Please see the Assessment and Feedback Policy for full information on the processes related

to assessment, grading and feedback, including anonymous grading. You will also find the

generic grading criteria for achievement at University Grading Criteria. Also explained there

are the meanings of the various G grades at the bottom of the grading scale including LG

mentioned above.

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.

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.

Feedback and Grades

These can be accessed through clicking on the Feedback and Grades tab on NILE. Feedback

will be provided by a rubric with summary comments.