Coursework: Group Presentation and Essay Assignment: 2010-2011

All students must participate in a group seminar presentation of one of 14 case studies with each case study group normally limited to 5 students. The group seminar presentation will account for 15% (including 5% for overall seminar attendance) of your final mark for this course.

Seminar groups will present on the chosen topic during the scheduled seminar sessions which will take place during teaching weeks 8-23.

Seminar topics will be made available to students in week 2, and allocated on a first come/first serve basis, as facilitated during the lectures in week 2 and 3.

In the process of preparing this group presentation, it is hoped that students will gain a wider understanding of the case and receive feedback on their initial ideas. Students will then be able to build upon this in their individual independently developed essays, which will account for 35% of your final mark.

The intended approach is for the group presentation and essay to cover:

• A summary of the important features of the case, including:
- The type of intervention
- The market definition
- The main players in the market – market shares etc
- The characteristics of the market

• The relevant economic theory for analysing the case.

• Arguments for and against the decision made. Then an overall conclusion on the decision should be provided.

• What happened/might happen next in the market/industry under consideration.

For each case study, some relevant references will be provided. However, students are also expected to search for other relevant material. Some of the case studies have received considerable media attention which may provide useful insights. For some topics the focus will be on a specific case however, there may be other interventions in the market and cases which will also be relevant, and students are expected to go beyond the individual case if appropriate.

Group Presentation and Participation in the Student Seminar Series during Weeks 8-23.

The group presentation, including a PowerPoint presentation submitted directly to the course tutor at the time of the scheduled presentation, is worth 10% of the final module mark. The topic of the group presentation will be chosen by students after consultation with the member of staff responsible for the module. The presentations will be scheduled during the seminar programme in weeks 8 to 23.

A further 5% of the final module mark will be based on the student’s attendance and participation at the 14 scheduled student seminar sessions, running between weeks 8 and 23.

The student’s total assessed mark for this element of the assessment will therefore be worth a total of 15% of the final mark, with 10% based on the group presentation mark, and 5% based on the individual student’s attendance record at the student seminar series.#p#分頁標題#e#

A combined mark for all students, combining the group presentation mark and the student attendance mark, will be submitted by the module tutor(s) to the coursework office after the completion of the student seminar series in week 23. Preliminary marks for the group presentation, subject to the ratification of the exam board, will be provided two students within approximately 2 weeks of the presentation, by email from the module tutor.

Failure to contribute satisfactorily to your allocated group seminar presentation at the scheduled time will result in a grade of zero for the entire group presentation assignment, including the attendance element.

The Presentation

A one hour session will be allocated to each group presentation, therefore presentations should last approximately 30 minutes with the remaining time to be used for questions and discussion.

Non-presenting students are required to come to each seminar, having reviewed the materials suggested by the module tutors, and prepared to ask questions and discuss the case. Moreover, as per above, attendance will be taken at each seminar, and will impact your overall grade on this component of the module assessment.

Good marks will be given for presentations which generate a debate over the merits of the case decision.

Each group is free to coordinate their presentation as they wish, for example one model could be to allocate one person to provide an initial summary of the case and chair the debate. Groups of two people could then present the arguments for and against the resulting case decision. Regardless of the approach taken, it is important that each team member contributes to the discussion and in order to receive good marks and team-work must be demonstrated.

 

Individual Essay Assignment

A printed copy of the individual essay, which is worth 35% of the total module mark, must be handed in to the coursework office by Friday May 6th 2011, and you must also submit your essay electronically, as per the standard coursework submission rules.

The essay should be no more than 3000 words in length. While the individual essay must be on a topic related to the group presentation topic originally chosen by the student, the essay must also be entirely your own work.

This essay does not need to comprehensively examine all aspects of the topic area, and can be focused on a single relevant sub-topic within the broader topic area. However, the essay must highlight contrasting arguments or approaches other than those that have been made in regulatory reports, and must also consider whether, under consideration of the issue(s) identified in the essay, observed outcomes in the relevant industry are consistent with the public interest being upheld. Also you should be sure that your essay is grounded in relevant economic arguments and refer to appropriate economic theory and articles as appropriate, and consider potential future developments in the industry.

Plagiarism and improper citation will not be tolerated. Poorly written and structured essays will be penalized as appropriate.

A failure to complete the individual coursework essay on time will render a student liable to the late submission penalty applied in the Business School.