EMA
Cut-off date: The end-of-module assessment (EMA) must be submitted by 12 noon (UK local time) on the date shown on the study planner on the module website.
Word count: The total word limit for the EMA is 3500 words.
The EMA accounts for 40% of your total assessment for the module.
Your EMA will be independently marked.
Learning outcomes
The module learning outcomes that will be assessed in the EMA are:
• 1.1 Develop knowledge and critical understanding of the theories and frameworks underpinning the strategy process at the different levels where strategies are developed in organizations, including the international context.
• 1.3 Develop knowledge and understanding of the challenges, risks and ambiguities of the implementation of strategic choices.
• 2.1 Work with the appropriate data to generate information relevant to the development of strategy.
• 2.3 Critically apply conceptual knowledge to the development of strategy in different situations and contexts.
• 2.4 Argue coherently and justify a point of view using appropriate information and theoretical concepts.
• 3.2 Communicate effectively during strategy development using a wide range of media.
• 3.3 Engage in collaborative strategic decision making.
• 4.1 Learn from the feedback provided in order to become an independent learner.
• 4.2 Provide constructive feedback to others.
• 4.3 Identify the ethical aspects involved in the strategy process and their practical implications.
• 4.4 Reflect on how strategic management can inform practice and next steps of career progression and development.
Assignment tasks
The EMA is made up of four parts. You must complete all parts.
Part 1
Prepare a management report outlining first your strategic recommendations for Ooni. You should structure this part of the report using appropriate theoretical models and/or frameworks from the module and use data and evidence to support your recommendations.
Your answer to this part should be no more than 1200 words. (30 marks)
Part 2
Read the material and watch the video provided in Part 3 of the Collaborative activity and its subsection 3.1.
Prepare a second part to the management report identifying three implementation issues that Ooni will need to consider when implementing your strategic recommendations. You should structure this part of the report using appropriate theoretical models and/or frameworks from the module and use data and evidence to support your recommendations.
Your answer to this part should be no more than 1200 words. (30 marks)
Part 3
Reflect on and evaluate the strategy process that led to the development of the strategic recommendations reported in Part 1. Write an account of your experience of this process.
Your answer to this part should be no more than 700 words. (25 marks)
Part 4
Prepare a short piece of reflective writing outlining the skills and competencies that you have developed while working through this module and the collaborative activity in particular.
Your answer to this part should be no more than 400 words. (15 marks)
Guidance notes
Part 1
In this part, you are being asked to produce a management-style report that outlines first the strategic recommendations that you would like to give to Ooni’s management team. You should prepare this part of the report as if in the role of a consultant submitting their recommendations to the case company. As such, you need to think about your target audience and what they will be interested in and adopt a form of communication appropriate to that audience (for example, will they be interested in lengthy descriptions of academic theory?).
The recommendations can derive from what you developed in the collaborative activity, but you can also decide to make changes according to what you think is best.
You should also think about the style and structure of your report. It should include an executive summary of around 150 words, clearly defined subsections and accurate referencing in the use of data and sources.
Your recommendations need to be clearly described and unambiguous. You should draw on models and framework from relevant blocks and weeks to clearly articulate your recommendations. Here you are being assessed on your ability to link theory and practice.
At the same time, you need to balance depth with breadth. If you make too many recommendations, you will have an insufficient amount of words available to discuss each in sufficient depth. Too few, or a failure to attend to important areas of the case company’s business, mean that your recommendations will not be sufficient to meet their needs.
Part 2
For Part 2 of the management-style report the above guidance applies and in addition, you need to think about the following points.
First, you need to ensure that the implementation issues you identify flow from the recommendations made in Part 1. One of the key marking criteria here is an ability to understand the relationship between strategy formulation and strategy implementation.
The type of implementation issues you discuss will vary depending on the recommendations provided but could include any of the themes discussed in Weeks 23, 24 or 25, such as structural, cultural, monitoring and change issues and also implementation barriers.
It is not necessary to provide one implementation issue for each recommendation. Rather, you should consider implementation more broadly to capture the general issues that the case company needs to consider in successfully implementing your strategic recommendations.
Part 3
In Part 3 you are required to produce a piece of reflective writing rather than a report. As such, the style can be more personal but should still be academic in tone.
There are a wide range of ways of approaching this task. For example, you might want to reflect on how your team approached the collaborative activity, how roles were assigned to individual members, how activities were distributed and the process of analysis and decision making that led to the recommendations offered in
Part 1.
You might also want to reflect on the team’s organisation and forms of communication, on the team dynamics, and you may even want to discuss any recommendations not pursued and the reasoning behind them.
In short, what you are being assessed on here is your ability to reflect on the process of undertaking a strategic analysis in a group setting. As such, there are no correct answers. Rather, marks will be awarded for the quality and depth of your reflections. It is important that your considerations are based on clear examples, which are followed by a reflection on their implications for your team.
Part 4
In Part 4 you are again required to produce a short piece of self-reflexive writing. As such, much of the guidance for Part 3 is equally applicable here. However, this time, you are being asked to reflect on the skills and competencies that you have personally developed during the collaborative activity and the whole module.
In addition to the above guidance in Part 3, you are encouraged to reflect on the collaborative activity, on Block 5 activities and on the ‘EMA preparation’ tutorial. They probably helped you enhance your skills and competencies and you can explain how. Some of the sorts of issues you might like to reflect on could include the following:
• What skills were necessary to participate in the collaborative activity?
• What have you learnt about strategy and the skills necessary to be a strategist in an organization?
• What academic skills have you developed or refined during the Block 5 weeks?
• What academic skills have you developed or refined across the module as a whole?
Again, there are no correct answers. Rather, marks will be awarded for the quality and depth of your reflections.
“””EMA 20J Parts 1 & 2
The EMA for 20J is structured as a ONE REPORT WITH TWO PARTS rather than two separate reports. However, if students want to submit Parts 1 and 2 in TWO separate reports, that will also be acceptable without any implications for marks
