Pre-masters Business and Management 4 (Case Study)碩士預科商業和管理（案例分析）

Summary of key information:相關信息說明

字數上限為3000字（不包括參考書目和任何附錄）
Word Limit: 3,000 words (excluding the Bibliography and any appendices)

每個學生可以有二個小時的時間來完成這個項目的研究工作。
Each student has a maximum of 2 hours of supervision time available to support your independent study for this assignment.

研究報告的提交時間為第四周-12年4月30日（星期一）中午十二時之間，這個報告的成績占總成績的百分之十。
Submit proposal to Study Direct – Week 4 – Monday 30th April 12 noon
The proposal will be assessed and will represent 10% of your final grade.

下午4時（星期五）請提交您的研究草案及研究報告，其中文獻綜述和方法五月的第6周向主管提交。
Submit a draft of your introduction, literature review and methodology to supervisor by 4pm Friday 18th May –the end of Week 6

完成研究項目的時間截止到6月6日（星期三）中午12周，也就是學期的第九周。
Submission deadline for completed assignment – before 12noon, Wednesday 6th June (in Week 9)

該學習研究的最終目的是為了培養學生的內在潛力及發掘學術寫作的專長，并且可以發現學科中的問題所在，增強分析材料及理解概念的能力。
The main aim of this module is for students to develop the ability to write long pieces of academic work, displaying applied understanding of academic subject matter and an ability to critically analyse materials and concepts.

The work you do for this module will extend and build on the work you did in your academic proposal assignment last term.  However, this is not a proposal but a piece of actual original work using a case study methodology.  This takes your academic work a step further in that you will be doing an original piece of academic writing, but using only secondary data.  You can therefore use the same headings as in your proposal assignment for this assignment, (a reminder of these is below), with the addition of the case study section for your original work.  It is required that you produce a piece of original academic work in the form of a case study on a UK based organisation. 

You will need to demonstrate a good understanding of the application of a business model, basing your work in current academic thinking, and thus it is required that your assignment is clearly and appropriately referenced throughout. 

The literature review section of your work will be about the business model.  The source material about the organisation you choose will be secondary data only (no primary data collection is required or, indeed allowed to complete this assignment).  Therefore your methodology section will be about the use of case studies as a methodology in business research, and the use and selection of secondary data as data sources. The organisation you select must be a UK based business or ‘not for profit’ organisation.#p#分頁標題#e#

The academic basis of your work will be shown through:
A demonstration of your understanding and discussion of the business model; 
A demonstration of an understanding of the use of, and possible limits of case studies as an academic method;
A demonstration of your understanding of the use and selection of secondary data sources, their benefits and restrictions. 

Requirements:
You will produce a written assignment, using a business model you have studied as the academic basis for the analysis, in order to create a case study on a UK based business or not for profit organisation.   You need to select your business model and company and it needs to be agreed in advance as only one student is allowed to do each combination.

This assignment should be a critical application of the model to the organisation, and therefore there should not be just a description of the organisation.  You will be expected to demonstrate understanding of the model you have chosen through the use of academic journal articles about the model, this is your literature review.  You will have a research question where the way you will answer that question is the example of the case study you write.  So you will need to answer your question showing the outcome from what is written in your case study, and the case study is constructed by applying a business model to a company, (or ‘not for profit’ organisation). 

Therefore your assignment will include a literature review of the academic literature available that introduces the model you have selected.  Other elements of reviewing the literature that you will need will be in your methodology, so you will need to include comments on the use of secondary data and how case studies are used as an illustration in business and as a research method.  The main section of your work will be the case study that you write about the organisation of your choice.

Examples of models that may provide the academic basis of your work (you are only required to use one, or may select a different one to these if appropriate):
Handy’s ‘God’s of Management’ (structure and culture)
Schein’s ‘Onion’ (organisational culture)
Hofstede’s Cultural Dimension Theory (good for International Organisations)
Deal and Kennedy’s ‘Four Culture’s’ Model
Johnson and Scholes and ‘the Cultural Web’
SWOT
Porter’s 5 Forces
Market Segmentation
The ‘P’s of the Marketing Mix (appropriate to whether it is a product or service organisation)
Stakeholder analysis
Porter’s diamond
The Value Chain

Assessment Criteria:

The inclusion of a clear and appropriately constructed Literature Review based on academic sources, demonstrating a critical understanding of the subject area with reference to the leading developments in the field;#p#分頁標題#e#

A demonstration of an understanding of the case study methodology and the appropriate selection and use of secondary data sources, including an awareness of the limitations of any data sources used;

Analysis of the situation, circumstance or incident of the organisation selected using the appropriate application of the chosen model in the form of an original case study piece of work, including an awareness of any limitations of the study;

Clear and correct referencing of all sources throughout your assignment (not just in the literature review), using the Harvard method of referencing, including a correctly constructed bibliography.

Please note: If any of the above elements are missing this may result in a maximum mark of 50% being applied to your assignment.

Word Limit: 3,000 words (excluding the Bibliography and any appendices)

As an indication, the majority of your word count, for example up to 2,500 words should be divided between the case study write up, the literature review and the methodology sections, with the case study write up and the literature review being the largest sections of your writing.  It is likely that your case study section will be between 1,000 and 1,200 words, (any less and the content is likely to be judged as lacking).  The remaining word limit is likely to be used in an introduction of your question and the reason you selected the model and the organisation you have used; and a conclusion, with an acknowledgement of any limitations of your work and recommendations for any further work, if appropriate.
Required Stages of the Assignment assessment:
Assignment of Supervisor and first meeting – each student will be allocated a supervisor to support you with your work for this project in the early weeks of the term, and your supervisor will meet with all their students as a group.

Submit proposal to Study Direct – Week 4 – Submit your research question and a brief outline of your proposed case study process for the UK based organisation you have selected - in a maximum of 250 words.  This is to include reference to at least one academic journal article to support the relevance of the business model you have chosen. 
The proposal will be assessed and will represent 10% of your final grade.

Submit a draft of the required sections (minimum)  – Week 6 – Submit the draft sections of your assignment to your supervisor by 4pm Friday 18th May - the end of – Week 6 of the term.  Your supervisor may wish to give you feedback on this before the final submission.  However, you should continue to refine your work independently of this ready for final submission.  You should submit the draft sections of however much you have done by this time, even if incomplete, as this is the last opportunity to receive written comment on your work before the final submission.

Submission deadline for completed assignment – before 12noon Tuesday in Week 9 – All completed assignments should be submitted on Study Direct.  You will need to ensure that your supervisor has a printed Turnitin similarity report and a hard copy of your assignment by the end of the day, but the assignment must be submitted on Study Direct by the deadline. Please do not leave your submission to the last minute as this will create a queue and you may not be able to submit your assignment by the deadline, resulting in lost marks.  Any assignment submitted after this time will be subject to the rules for late entry.  If there is a medical or other reason for late submission you will need to submit a Mitigating Circumstances form to your Programme Manager with the appropriate supporting evidence. 

All assignments should be word processed, in a minimum of 11point Arial font, single sided and double spaced with a minimum of 2.25cm margins down the left and right of left justified text.  All pages should be numbered and please include your candidate number and name in the footer of each page. 
Assignments should be covered by a front sheet that should include:
your assignment title,
module name,
your name (including your English name) and candidate number (from your Uni ID card),
your Pre-masters AWA group, 
project supervisor name, the date of submission, and
word count.
Please secure your assignment pages together by staple or in a cover. http://ukthesis.org/jjxzy(Do not submit the hard copy as loose pages or in a plastic wallet).