Get Assignment Paper help-Distribution and Retail 2017/18

Distribution and Retail 2017/18

Assessment

The module is assessed by three assignments: one formative (not assessed) and two summative assignments. The first assignment gives students’ the opportunity to examine the whole distribution channel from an ethical and sustainability perspective, by investigating the journey to market of a specific product. To help students prepare for the assignment, and to benefit from a sharing of ideas, there will be an initial investigation of the topic as a formative (non-assessed) group exercise. This formative exercise must be completed: failure to do so is likely to impact on the students’ ability to complete the first assignment. This will be followed by an assessed individual report focusing on specific aspects. The second individual assignment will critically explore the marketing strategies of two selected retailers.

Assessment Types and Weighting

Assessment Name	Weighting %	Qualifying mark %	Qualifying set	LOs	Assessment Type
Supply Chain Investigation (Group)	0	n/a	n/a	1,4	Formative: Group presentation (15 minutes)
Supply Chain Evaluation (Individual) (CW1)	50%	30%	n/a	1,4	Individual essay (2000 words)
Retail Marketing (Individual) Report (CW2)	50%	50%	n/a	2,3	Individual report (2000 words)

Submission and Feedback Dates*

Assessment	Deadline for Submission	Feedback available:	Feedback available from:
Formative Group Presentation	Seminar on 12^th or 19^th March 2018	On day of presentation	Oral on day of presentation
Coursework 1	Monday 9^th April 2018	Monday 30^th April 2018	Blackboard
Coursework 2	Thursday 10th May 2018	Thursday 31^st May 2018	Blackboard

*The dates for the return of marks and/or feedback are determined by the University’s stated marking periods as given in the academic regulations.

Assignment 1: Ethics and Sustainability in Supply and Distribution Channels

Preparatory Part – Formative Group Presentation (15 minutes)

You will work in groups of 4 or 5, within your Seminar Class. You will select a specific physical product and study the product’s supply chain from sourcing raw material to selling to consumers. The choice of product must be different for each group within the Seminar Class, and must be agreed with the Seminar Tutor. Only physical products can be chosen – e.g. mobile phone, hair shampoo, coffee, clothing, etc). Your group will present:

A summary (and map) of the key stages, processes and organisations involved in sourcing, producing, distributing and retailing the product.

Recent examples of FIVE practices in the supply chain that are having negative social and/or environmental impacts. Explain who is affected, and how.

A critique of the credibility of the sources of information used in the investigation.

Your group will have 15 minutes to present your findings on 12^th or 19^th March. Your Seminar Tutor will provide oral formative feedback on the day of the presentation and this will include advice of value to your subsequent individual report (below).

Assessed Individual Report – 50% of Module Mark

(Deadline 1:00pm, 9^th April 2018)

Choose TWO of the practices your group identified in (b) above, and address the following questions:

Provide a detailed account, and examples, of the two practices and the extent of the problems.

Discuss the current (or potential) social or environmental impacts of these practices, and why they should be reduced or eliminated.

Critically review how organisations in your chosen supply chain are changing their practices or mitigating the impact of the ethical and sustainability issues raised.

Report Format

The main report should be around 2000 words, +/- 10%.

Additional appendices can be provided, but they should only be used for additional illustrative material such as data, charts, diagrams and photos and brief accompanying explanatory notes.

The report should be presented in Times New Roman, 12 pt font, single spaced, and in A4 format.

Marking Criteria

Extent of understanding the concept of ethical and/or sustainability issues in the context of supply chains and distribution systems.

Evidence of the ability to apply concepts in practice through choosing relevant examples and identifying the implications for, and practical responses from, managers and organisations.

The extent to which the content is clearly structured and follows a coherent style and argument for each part of the task (detail, discuss, reason and critically review).

Evidence of the use of a wide range of sources including use of theory and/or sources not explicitly covered in class.

Evidence of the use of a balanced range of perspectives including awareness of any potential bias in the information resources used.

The extent to which the report adheres to the formatting specified – font, spacing etc.

Appropriate use of references to ensure that the original source of any material, data or argument is fully acknowledged and attributed.

Assignment 2: Comparative Analysis in Retail Marketing

Assessed Individual Report – 50% of Module Mark

(Deadline 1:00pm, 10th May 2018)

Choose two retailers in the same product sector and compare and contrast their approach to retail marketing. You should choose two retailers that have a different market position and target consumer. Your report should address the following questions:

Briefly summarise the value proposition that each of the two retailers are offering to their specific target consumers.

Critically compare and contrast how the two retailers design their stores – in terms of layout, atmospherics and merchandising – in order to engage with consumers. Provide diagrams and photographic images to support points made.

Critically compare and contrast how these retailers use TWO of the following additional marketing elements to appeal to and convert target consumer – location, pricing, added value services, and/or marketing communications.

Report Format

The main report should be around 2000 words, +/- 10%.

Additional appendices can be provided, but they should only be used for additional illustrative material such as data, charts and photos and brief accompanying explanatory notes.

The report should be presented in Times New Roman, 12 pt font, single spaced, and in A4 format.

Marking Criteria

Evidence of use of the concepts and principles behind value propositions, store design and retail marketing issues.

Evidence of the ability to apply concepts in practice through choosing relevant examples and identifying differences in strategic and tactical marketing approaches by managers and organisations.

The extent to which the text is clearly structured and follows a coherent style and argument for each part of the task – particularly the requirement to ‘critically’ compare and contrast.

Evidence of the use of a wide range of sources including use of theory and/or sources not explicitly covered in class.

The extent to which the report adheres to the format specified (font, spacing etc) and the quality of supporting store design illustrations.

Appropriate use of references to ensure that the original source of any material, data or argument is fully acknowledged and attributed.

Pass Mark

The pass mark for the module is 40%. To pass overall, the minimum mark for each assessment is 30%. If your mark for an assessment is under 30%, you will be required to complete a referral assessment and your mark for that will be capped at 40%.

Submitting on Time

All coursework must be submitted by 13.00 (1.00 p.m.) UK time on the due date.

If you submit your coursework late, but within 24 hours or one ‘working’ day of the specified deadline, 10% of the overall marks available for that assessment will be deducted. This is except for work which is marked in the range 40 – 49%, in which case the mark will be capped at the pass mark (40%).

If you submit your coursework more than 24 hours, or more than one ‘working’ day, after the specified deadline, you will be given a mark of zero for the work in question.

At busy times the coursework submission process may run slowly. To ensure that your submission is not recorded as a late submission, avoid submitting very close to the deadline.

Mitigating Circumstances

If you have difficulties for reasons beyond your control that prevent you from submitting the assignment on time (e.g. serious illness, family problems etc.), make sure you apply to the Mitigating Circumstances Board with evidence to support your claim as soon as possible. The WBS Registry or your personal tutor can advise on this.

The University’s mitigating circumstances procedures relating to the non-submission or late submission of coursework apply to all coursework. If you are unclear about this, speak to your class leader or module leader.

Submitting Your Assignments

Unless explicitly indicated otherwise, all coursework must be submitted electronically via Blackboard. In addition to the detail given below, further information may be posted onto the Blackboard site for the module.

You must include your name, student ID and word count on the first page of your assignment. On the Blackboard home page for the module you will find a button on the menu called ‘Submit Coursework’. Clicking this will take you to the submission link.

To submit your assignment:

Log on to Blackboard at http://learning.westminster.ac.uk;

Go to the Blackboard site for this module;

Click on the ‘Submit Coursework’ link in the navigation menu on the left-hand side;

Click on the link for the assignment;

Follow the instructions.

Academic Integrity and Referencing

What you submit for assessment must be your own current work. It will automatically be scanned through a text matching system to check for possible plagiarism.

Statements, assertions and ideas made in coursework should be supported by citing relevant sources. Sources cited in the text should be listed at the end of the assignment in a reference list. Any material that you read but do not cite in the report should go into a separate bibliography. All referencing should be in the Westminster Harvard format. If you are not sure about this, the library provides guidance on their web pages.

Do not reuse material from other assessments that you may have completed on other modules. Collusion with other students (except when working in groups), recycling previous assignments (unless this is explicitly allowed by the module leader) and/or plagiarism (copying) of other sources are all offences and are dealt with accordingly. If you are not sure about this, then speak to your class leader.

University of Westminster Quality & Standards Statement:

Plagiarism is a particular form of cheating. Plagiarism must be avoided at all costs and students who break the rules, however innocently, will be penalised. It is your responsibility to ensure that you understand correct referencing practices. As a University level student, you are expected to use appropriate references and keep carefully detailed notes of all your sources of material, including any material downloaded from the internet.

Plagiarism is defined as submission for assessment of material (written, visual or oral) originally produced by another person or persons, without acknowledgement, in such a way that the work could be assumed to be your own. Plagiarism may involve the unattributed use of another person’s work, ideas, opinions, theory, facts, statistics, graphs, models, paintings, performance, computer code, drawings, quotations of another person’s actual spoken or written words, or paraphrases of another person’s spoken or written words.

Plagiarism covers both direct copying and copying or paraphrasing with only minor adjustments:

a direct quotation from a text must be indicated by the use of quotation marks (or an indented paragraph in italics for a substantive section) and the source of the quote (title, author, page number and date of publication) provided;

a paraphrased summary must be indicated by attribution of the author, date and source of the material including page numbers for the section(s) which have been summarised.

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