Portfolios and Essay

Portfolios

What is a portfolio?

For this module, the expected portfolio is all about active learning. You will receive

some broad ideas about the current week’s topic in the plenary/lecture sessions.

The seminar table below lists the requirements for each week’s portfolio entry. You

will discuss these requirements within your learning set, in the seminar. You will

also receive detailed instructions from the tutor about what is expected and potential

sources of information. You will then (after the seminar) actively go out and find out

about your company – allocation of companies is described below – and write your

portfolio entry, in the context of the week’s topic. For example, if part of the plenary

lecture was about Bowman’s Strategy Clock, which identifies generic strategies for

companies, you might be asked to show where your company and its competitors fit

within the available options, with evidence and illustrations of why you decided this.

A portfolio can contain text, diagrams, pictures, tables, in fact anything which

explains and supports your views and what you have found out. Your sources of

information may be information databases, journals or newspapers, as well as the

Internet. You may copy-and-paste some materials from these sources, but you

must identify the source of all information of this kind, and ensure any quotes are in

“inverted commas”, to avoid the risk of plagiarism. However, you are expected to

produce a large part of the text in your own words.

As guidance, the recommended minimum word-count for any one portfolio entry is

500 words; maximum permitted word-count for any one entry is 1000 words,

excluding diagrams, tables, and references*. For each of the assignments Ass001

and Ass002, you will be required to submit a summary in essay form, offering a

critical analysis and evaluation of your designated company which draws on, and is

supported by, the material in your portfolio. Please note:

(i) word-count for the assessment essay is 1600 words for Ass001 and is 2400

words for Ass002. Detailed requirements are given in the Assessment Briefs,

posted here on Moodle.

(ii) When submitting your Ass001 and Ass002 you must include the portfolio to

which it relates [you will be penalised if you fail to do that].

(iii) * Harvard system referencing is required for your Assignment essays and in

your portfolio entries.

10. The requirements for the assessment

You will write a 1600 word (+/- 10%) paper entitled:

A Strategic Analysis of XX in 2014.

(XX is your designated portfolio company)

See Special Instructions, Section 12 for more details on this assignment.

11. Assessment criteria

The assignment will be marked in line with the attached undergraduate grade descriptors for level II/III. A

copy of this is attached.

Markers will be looking for the following of evidence for a PASS:

The ability to:

• Produce a reasoned well written paper which addresses the topics of the module so far (see

special instructions).

• Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the strategic issues facing their chosen company

and its environment

• Produce a paper which includes the use of appropriate models and theories and includes a range

of academic references.

Pieces of work that are merely descriptive and make no use of strategic theory and frameworks will be

awarded low marks.

Higher marks will be awarded as per the grade descriptor grid to students who:

• Demonstrate greater understanding and insight into the strategy of their company

• Display skills of analysis and critical evaluation

• Demonstrate an ability to integrate theory and practice by applying strategic principles to their

company and the industry of which it is a part.

12. Special instructions

1 You MUST attach, as appendices, all your portfolio entries for the learning set topics you have

been working on each week covering:

• your company’s mission, vision, goals, and objectives

• how your chosen company balances the needs of its stakeholders

• PESTEL analysis for the industry your company is in

• Five Forces analysis for the industry your company is in

• your company’s strategic capabilities and core competencies

• compare and contrast your company’s strategic capabilities and core competencies against other

competitors

• the VRIN framework, identifying sources of sustainable competitive advantage of your chosen company;

• a value chain analysis, including a diagram, for your chosen company.

2 Failure to attach these portfolio entries as appendices will result in an automatic deduction of 10 marks for

your paper because this is the evidence base which supports your arguments.

3 You are also required to submit a copy of your work through the Turnitin system by 11:59pm on the date of

submission. See module guide for details.

4 Given the likely file size, this paper is to be handed in to the Assignment Office with a cover sheet rather

than sent electronically.

5 Treat your paper like any other in terms of how it is structured (Introduction, Main Body, Conclusion) and

reference properly with an accurate bibliography citing the sources used.

All assessments are subject to the Academic

Regulations for Taught Provision. These include

regulations relating to Errors of Attribution and

Assessment Offences. In exercising their judgement,

Examiners may penalise any work where the standard

of English, numeracy or presentation adversely affects

the quality of the work, or where the work submitted

exceeds the published size or time limits, or where the

work fails to follow normal academic conventions for

acknowledging sources.