Applied Business Research and Analysis.

Assignment Brief
Module Title:
Applied Business Research and Analysis
Level 6 Module Leader:
Christos Papanagnou Assessment Type:
Oral Presentation (Video) Assessment Title:
Presentation of an applied business research problem or opportunity Weighting:
20% Date of Issue:
09/10/2015 Submission Date:
11/11/2015 (Before 16:00)
A copy of your assignment must be submitted to a specified platform. More details will be advised at an appropriate time. Assignments must be submitted by the due date. The only circumstance in which assignments can be submitted late is due to personal mitigating circumstances. These can be accessed via your Programme Handbook and the Student Channel.
Video specification:
Please refer to the following Table about video specification.
Formats
Depending on which platform you have to upload your video this typically can be mpg, mpeg, mov, avi, or mp4 file.
Compression & Settings
Instructions will be disseminated to students
Length
The total length of your video should be at least four minutes and thirty seconds but should not exceed five minutes. Penalties will apply if you don’t reach or exceed this time length range. To get the best footage and to avoid excessive video sizes, it is highly recommended to produce a video with 360p (p stands for pixels quality in terms of vertical resolution).
Recording
You must provide a five-minute recording consisting of at least ninety seconds of your appearance. In other words, you must be shown in the video for at least ninety seconds.
Make sure that sound quality is good enough and the assessor can understand what you say or what is said.
Language
English
Support
Many of you have smart phones or iPad/tablets, which provide a simple way of making a short video. You may wish to partner with another student so that you can video each other’s presentations and provide friendly support. If you do not have access to any technology, which allows the recording of a short video, you will have the chance to produce your videos with the aid of Media Production Technicians at School of Arts and Media. Please ask your module leader for further support.
P a g e | 2 Applied Business Research & Analysis
The Task:
You are required to produce a video of no more than 5 minutes that demonstrates an applied business research problem or opportunity.
Make sure that your video includes the following elements:
1) A very brief introduction about yourself (name, field of study, some background information) ˜ 30 seconds
2) Area of interest and choice of research topic and what research methods (based on secondary data and published business research) have been adopted ˜ 60 seconds
3) Explain how this topic is linked with aforementioned interests including a brief description of the organisation you chose ˜ 60 seconds
4) Set formally why this is an interesting topic and argue why you have chosen this topic by providing a strong rationale and justification ˜ 60 seconds
5) Discuss briefly the aims and SMART (Specific, Measurable, Assignable, Realistic, Time-related) objectives ˜ 60 seconds
6) Conclusions ˜ 30 seconds
Assessment criteria:
? Introduction (10%)
? Area of interests and choice of research topic (20%)
? Presentation of applied business research problem/opportunity/application or challenge including rationale (20%)
? Demonstration of aims and objectives (20%)
? Conclusions (10%)
? Presentation skills (professionalism, personal creativity, timing, effective use of eyes/face/gestures/body language) (20%)
Learning Outcomes:
? Appreciate the nature of business research and the research process.
? Critically evaluate the quality of secondary data and published business research.
P a g e | 3 Applied Business Research & Analysis
MARKING CRITERIA for Applied Business Research and Analysis – Assessment 1 (Presentation)
0-9% extremely poor
10-19% very poor
20-29% poor
30-39% unsatisfactory
40-49% satisfactory
50-59% Fair
60-69% good
70-79% very good
80-89% excellent
90-100% outstanding
Video Content
Very general video, which is not well prepared and does not represent the project work.
Non-specific, some minor details, which are particular to the business research. Not well-designed.
Basic introductory information about the business research problem or opportunity. Basic design.
Limited evidence of a creative approach to representing the problem/opportunity in a video format. Some minor elements highlighted.
Rather general, lacks the required level of information and illustrations.
Some effort to be creative.
Evidence of consideration of the project in video form, but lacks sufficient focus.
Reasonable attempt at creative video creation.
Good, clear information presented in video
Some creative flair.
Very good well-detailed video, which provides focused speech and elements
Well- structured, clearly designed video. Good level of focused information and apparent business skills.
Professionally presented context specific well designed content.
Creative and innovative approach.
Video Presentation
No obvious effort. No attempt to structure the presentation to incorporate the video.
Did not answer questions.
Non-specific. No effort to produce a video
Gave general answers to questions.
Presented a description of the problem or opportunity. Some links to the video and general answers to the questions.
Some evidence of appropriate but basic video.
Gave general answers to questions.
Limited, but appropriate links made to the video content.
Not a creative design.
Some specific answers to questions.
Well considered video presentation, which related the main points of the elements
Clear answers to specific questions.
Well-designed video presentation
Detailed answers given to questions.
Good level of commitment to the business problem/opportunity
Very well-structured presentation
Interesting points. Makes very good use of context specific information on the video.
Very good commitment is evident.
Very well-structured and interesting video presentation,.
All questions/elements covered excellent use of context specific project information.
Professionally designed presentation. Extensive use of project specific information. Detailed answers given to project questions. Answers were appropriately detailed and concise.
High level of commitment is evident.
P a g e | 4 Applied Business Research & Analysis
SALFORD BUSINESS SCHOOL:
Grading Criteria (LEVEL 6)
LEVEL OF PERFORMANCE
Level of knowledge
Extent of understanding
Extent and depth of reading
Structure and written style
Outstanding
A mastery of a complex body of knowledge which is extends far beyond material covered in the module.
An ability to critique knowledge and an ability to apply knowledge in an innovative and creative manner
Makes extensive use of the literature to support and justify views expressed, with particular focus on emerging theory and its applications
Excellent structure, entirely relevant content which is very interesting to read and easy to understand.
Excellent
An excellent understanding of a complex body of knowledge which extends beyond material covered in the module.
An ability to analyse, synthesise and evaluate knowledge and to apply theory in a practical context
Makes excellent use of the literature to support and justify views expressed. Good use made of journal articles where appropriate.
A well-structured argument which is clearly justified and relevant to the particular circumstances of the situation under consideration.
Very good
A very good understanding of a complex body of knowledge which includes some aspects which have not been covered in the module.
An ability to analyse and synthesise knowledge from a wide range of appropriate sources
Makes very good use of the literature to support and justify views expressed in the assignment.
Develops an argument which is clearly justified, justifiable and relevant to the particular circumstances of the situation or task in hand.
Good
A good understanding of relevant material presented in the module
An ability to compare and contrast information and to apply knowledge to specific scenarios in an appropriate manner
Makes effective use of the literature from appropriate sources to support views expressed
Develops an argument which is clearly justified and relevant to the task in hand.
Fair
A reasonable understanding of material presented in the module.
Some attempt to analyse and evaluate. Makes an attempt to apply knowledge to practice
Evidence of reading from a range of appropriate sources
May find it difficult to develop a well- structured argument which is sufficiently focused on the task in hand
Satisfactory
An understanding of key themes/principles outlined in the module.
Descriptive. Little evidence of analysis and evaluation. Limited ability to apply knowledge to practice.
Evidence of some reading from appropriate sources
May be rather general in scope. Lacks the ability to develop a logical argument focused on the assignment task.
Unsatisfactory
Only a partial understanding of basic knowledge presented during the module.
Work addresses only some of the obvious features of the task.
Little evidence of appropriate reading.
Limited evidence of planning. Lacks focus on the assignment task.
Poor
Displays inadequate and inaccurate knowledge of basic aspects of the module.
Work fails to address the assignment task. Some important gaps in understanding evident.
Limited effort evident to develop personal knowledge and understanding
Little evidence of effort to understand and complete the assignment task.
Very poor
Virtually no relevant knowledge displayed
Major gaps in understanding evident
No effort to develop personal knowledge and understanding
No apparent structure or understanding of the assignment task.
Extremely poor
Virtually nothing of relevance to the question
Major errors in understanding evident,
No effort made to learn
Meaningless
No attempt