Executive MSc in Strategic Marketing

The Work Based Strategic Business Project

1. Individual Project The Work based Strategic Business project is considered compulsory course work in the executive MSc. in Strategic Marketing and candidates are expected to submit the project paper through self-managed learning as well as supervised learning. Candidates will be able to add value to your organisation and/or business sector and develop your personal and professional skills, knowledge and behaviors at the completion of the Work based strategic Business project. You should submit a report of up to 12,000 words including the Project Proposal and the implementation of the project as well as your role within it. You are expected to design, implement and evaluate a strategic business project for an organization of your choice in either of the following scenarios; A project designed to respond to an increase in competitive pressures in the market for a product or service currently offered by your organization. A project designed to re-launch an existing product or service into a market currently served by the organization. A project designed to launch a new product or service into a market not currently served by the organisation. A project designed to exploit opportunities for a product or service currently offered by your organisation, as a result of changes in the external environment A project designed to mitigate threats to a product or service currently offered by your organisation, as a result of changes in the external environment.

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Part 1 Defining the Project 3000 words

There are three sections to this part of the assessment: Project Proposal, Literature Review and Self-evaluation. a) Project Proposal You are required to produce a project proposal that should be submitted and agreed with your project supervisor before progressing with the rest of the project. The project proposal should include: An overview of the department, organisation and/or business sector that will be the focus of the strategic business project Confirmation of employer/organisation agreement for your project and support for it Identification of the business mentor A description of the chosen scenario and why it is important/relevant to the organization and/or business sector An outline plan for the project including timelines, with a brief description of what will be covered at each stage of the project Communicate your ideas, arguments, conclusions and recommendations coherently Apply the Harvard Referencing System.

b) Literature Review You are required to review and critically assess current literature and conceptual frameworks you have learnt in the 6 modules of the Executive MSc in Strategic Marketing pertaining to the chosen scenario. Critical review of the exhaustive list of current knowledge, literature, conceptual frameworks, theories, speculations, propositions, ideas, hypothesises, philosophies, worldviews on the chosen scenario. The literature review may also identify gaps in knowledge, inconsistencies in studies or conflicting viewpoints Use a variety of resources to produce a comprehensive analysis, including books, journal articles, internet sites and blogs, conference papers and business data sources Produce reliable, valid and incisive conclusions and recommendations for both the chosen organisation/business sector and your personal development

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Apply the Harvard Referencing System.

c) Self-evaluation You should critically assess your leadership knowledge, skills and behaviors against those identified within your literature review. You are expected to assess your current strengths and weaknesses to determine any skills or knowledge gaps that you may have. Your assessment should demonstrate that you understand your competence. Marks will be awarded for the use of assessment tools and evidence of self-awareness. You should also produce personal development objectives that focus on the areas you intend to develop through leading and implementing this project. Critically assess your leadership knowledge, skills and behaviors Determine and use appropriate assessment tools, such as a 360o assessment, MBTI, Insights, SDI, etc to produce your critical assessment. Identify areas of strength, weakness and skills or knowledge gaps Produce objectives for personal development covering the knowledge, skills and behaviors you intend to develop through the implementation of the project Apply the Harvard Referencing System. Improve your effectiveness as a leader and marketer through critical self-awareness and reflection Select an appropriate leadership style to lead and implement a project.

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Part 2 A Project Report on Project Implementation and Assessment 6500 words

There are three sections to this part of the assessment: Project Plan, the Business Project and Project Evaluation. a) Project Plan You should produce a project plan using established project planning tools and approaches that you will follow when implementing your project. Your plan should include objectives, deliverables, stakeholder identification, the schedule, tasks, dependencies, resources, etc. Your project plan should be formulated through appropriate research into literature and business sources, to determine best practice in project planning. You should also specify the research methods, processes and techniques you will use to assess the outcomes of your project. You should provide detail on your research design, research methods, sample size and selection, analysis of data and the validity, reliability and limitations of the research. Use a variety of resources to produce and justify your approach to project planning and determine Key Performance Indicators and critical success factors Determine appropriate methods that may be used to assess the project, including (but not limited to) accounting, productivity, customer and internal measures Apply the Harvard Referencing System.

b) Business Project You should now implement your project plan and keep a record of the implementation and your role within it. Within the report, you should provide a descriptive overview of the project and its implementation. The description should include actual events, as well as your role within the project. Compare actual events with your project plan, highlighting both where they correspond and where they differ.

c) Project Evaluation You should critically assess the outcomes of the project, using the methods you identified within your Project Plan. Following this assessment, you should make recommendations to your organisation and/or business sector in relation to the project outcomes and processes, which will improve the success of future projects within your organisation or business sector. |Page 4

Your recommendations should follow logically from your critical assessment of the project. Perform secondary and primary research to measure the success of the project Evaluate successes and failures and investigate their causes Draw conclusions and make valid, logical recommendations in relation to the project for the improvement of future strategic business projects within your organisation or business sector. Evaluate the rigor and validity of published research to determine a viable approach to project planning Make decisions, establish criteria and use appropriate decision making techniques to formulate and evaluate plans Demonstrate the ability to acquire and analyze data and information to draw conclusions and make recommendations

Part 3 Self-Review and Continuing Developments 2500 words

There are two sections to this part of the assessment: Self-evaluation and Future Plans. a) Self-evaluation You should critically assess the leadership skills, knowledge, behaviors and competences that you used in the implementation of the project plan. You should assess your progress by identifying areas where you have developed and improved, areas where you consider yourself to be an expert, and areas that you intend to develop further in the future. You should also assess your achievement against the personal developmental objectives you identified in Part One of the project. Determine and use appropriate assessment tools, such as a 360o assessment, Insights, SDI etc. MBTI,

You will gain marks for your use of assessment tools and your self-awareness. You are not being marked on your strengths and weaknesses. Demonstrate as to how you can improve your effectiveness as a leader and marketer through critical self- awareness and reflection

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 b)

Apply the Harvard Referencing System. Future Plans You should produce a personal development plan for the coming year. Your plan should include both developmental goals and the activities you intend to complete in order to achieve your goals. Produce objectives for personal development covering the knowledge, skills and behaviors you intend to develop. You may use your organisational approach to development planning. Identify a range of activities that you will complete to achieve your personal developmental objectives Apply the Harvard Referencing System. Take responsibility for continuing to develop your personal and professional knowledge, skills and behaviors.

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Assessment Rules for Candidates

2. Page layout The document must be word processed and must be printed on one side of only white paper. Margins: 1 from each side (Left/Right/Top/Bottom) Paper size: A4 Orientation: Portrait Decorative borders, shading and other effects (including decorative clip art) should not be used anywhere in an assignment including the cover page. The typeface (font) used in the text should be 12 point Times New Roman and for headings 14 point Times New Roman. Lines spacing should be 1.15 spaced Use footer on every page including the title page and contents page (if used). The footer should contain the following information only: Student ID (left justified; i.e. aligned to the left margin) and page number (right justified; i.e. aligned to the right margin). Submit the Complete Assignment & CD (Please refer to the Binding Rules & Regulations) 3. Cover Page Include only the following information: Program Name, Title, Student Name, Study Center, Student No & Month and Year of Submission, University 4. Softcopy of the Assignment Soft copy of the Assignment in a CD in PDF format only. One File per Assignment (Zip all the Tasks into one file) Name the file Eg. STRATEGY-Student No Write the Student No /your name & contact number on the CD. 5. General Requirements Students who registered for the module can submitted the assignment on the given deadline. Students should follow lectures for at least four classes to be eligible to carry out the project. Any projects which do not fulfill the above criteria will be rejected in project marking process. Students receive a submission period of 3 months. Thereafter, a late submission deadline of an additional month will be granted up on a penalty payment. Please note that your deadline for this module is the 31st of May and 30th of June consecutively. |Page 7