BIRMINGHAM CITY BUSINESS SCHOOL UNDERGRADUATE DEGREES ASSIGNMENT BRIEF FIRST ATTEMPT Module Title:-Get Answer Now
BIRMINGHAM CITY BUSINESS SCHOOL UNDERGRADUATE DEGREES ASSIGNMENT BRIEF FIRST ATTEMPT
Module Title: An Introduction to Management and Leadership Module Code: MAN3001Module Leader: Zahra Shaygan (Zahra.Shaygan@bcu.ac.uk) Issue Date: W/C 24th January 2022
Submission Deadline: Tuesday 3rd May 2022, 12 pm (Midday) Marks Available: 1st Jun 2022
Learning outcomes and assignment criteria specific to this module
On completion of the assignment, students should be able to demonstrate their ability to:
To identify the key attributes of a leader and a manager and how these are utilised from day to day.
To apply management skills in the development of teams and individuals to manage performance.
To consider the role of a manager in ensuring the health and safety of employees and the delivery of quality standards in the workplace.
Plagiarism
Please read the plagiarism guidelines on your module page.
Late Submissions
Between 1 and 24 hours after the published submission deadline the original mark awarded will be reduced by 5%.
Between 24 hours and one week (5 working days) after the published submission deadline, the original mark awarded will be reduced by 10%.
Work will not be accepted more than one week (5 working days) after the original deadline and a mark of 0 and a non-submission will be recorded.
Assignment Brief: First Attempt
1. AssignmentOverview 1.1 Rationale
This module will help you to develop an elementary knowledge of leadership and management. This will allow you to understand how to apply these skills to be successful in a business context. Within a supportive class environment and your individual study, this module will help you to develop your knowledge and understanding of management processes and leadership.
In joining BCU, you’re stepping up to higher education. The management competencies you develop through this module mirror those you need to be an effective student. The learning you encounter in this module is a robust foundation for your development as a future manager or leader and as a lifelong learner.
This is a 100% weighted assignment and to pass this module, you must achieve a final overall mark of at least 40%. Failure to achieve a pass after the second attempt will result in the student being withdrawn from the course.
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2. AssignmentBrief
For the assignment of the MAN3001 module, you are required to provide 2500 words business report based on the attached case study to this assignment brief. This is individual coursework.
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Required tasks for the assignment
The report is 2500 words (+/- 10%).The structure of your report includes the introduction, main body and conclusion. In the introduction section, define the leadership and management issues within the scenario (i.e. what are the failings or poor practice witnessed). In the main body section which is the consideration of the impact, discuss the impact or risk to the business in the short term, medium-term and long term. If the issues highlighted are not addressed. In the conclusion section, provide a summary of your work and reach a set of conclusions and recommendations that will help the business recover from the current issue.The word limit is for your coursework assignment and does not cover material submitted as an appendix and table of content. Material submitted as an appendix provides background for your coursework, but it will not be marked unless specified in the brief. Also, it is important that you cross-refer between the main text of your assignment and any appendices, to demonstrate the linkage, and that the appendices do not constitute additional material unrelated to that included in the body of your assignment. If you do not refer to this work in the appendix, then this included work in the appendices are not marked.Your references page will not be included in the word count, but in-text citations used in the main body of the assignment (e.g., Smith and Jones (2010) identified that…) will be included in the word count. The word count starts at the first word under the introduction section and end at the last word of the conclusion section.Your report should be submitted online through Turnitin via the link provided in the assignment area of the module’s Moodle site to ensure you abide by the rules on plagiarism. Hard copy submissions will not be accepted.
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3. FormattingandPresentation
✓ Apply Calibri Body font with 1.5 line and paragraph spacing. Also, all the text should be fully justified.
✓ The assignment should have a table of content and all the headings need numbering.
✓ Presentation must be formal in language and style.
✓ Each page should be numbered.
✓ You are required to declare the number of words used in your both assignments. If you
produce less than or exceed the stipulated word count by more than 10%, a deduction of the mark awarded will be made to reflect that you have not met the assignment requirements.
✓ Provide an Assignment Feedback Coversheet and Feedback Form (ACFF) and clearly mention your name, student ID, personal tutor name and lecturer name. The assignment coversheet will be allocated on the module web in the assignment section.
4. Referencing
✓ All work should be referenced using BCU Harvard style format – there are handouts available online at the library website and this is also available on Moodle.
✓ Do not use popular websites such as Wikipedia, Google or Yahoo. The former is not peer-assessed, and the work is not always reliable, and the latter are search engines.
✓ Use textbooks and journal articles (newspaper articles may at times be acceptable). You should, however, make more reliance on academic journal articles as these are peer-reviewed and are often more recent than textbooks.
✓ Always use contemporary literature. It is suggested that textbooks should be dated 2010 or younger. If you are to use textbooks, these should be the latest, so it is important to check whether you have the latest edition.
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5. Thecasestudy
Digbeth Paper Products
Digbeth Paper Products is a manufacturer of household paper goods (such as kitchen roll and 2 ply and 3 ply napkins). The business, which was established in 1987, was recently bought over by the Newall Group. The previous owner Mr Smith was a very kind man who looked after his team very well, however, his approach was perhaps a little outmoded and as a result, some business practices are seen as a little “old school”. The new Managing Director Ms Zarana has been brought in to modernise and update the business processes.
In January 2022, the new board of directors were announced. They were made up of:
Ms Zarana, Managing Director,
Ms Petrov, Financial Director,
Mr Akhtar, Operations Director,
Mr Ruddock, Sales and Marketing Director.
Since January 2022, Ms Zarana and her board have introduced a series of changes aimed at making the business more competitive. As much as they liked and respected Mr Smith there is clear evidence to suggest that Mr Smith was not as on top of things as he had once been.
In particular, a recent audit, by external consultants, have highlighted the following problems:
A problem with the Management of Health and Safety
Concern over current levels of Customer Service
Problems with the Operations Department
The Board would like you to select ONE of the problems detailed below and answer the specific questions asked. Your answer should be in report format.
1. HealthandSafetyIssue
Health and Safety is a concern as there have been several issues recently that are potentially serious, including:
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Two very serious accidents in recent weeks:
✓ One involved a man sustaining a third-degree stream burn which he is also likely to
claim for damages (the rumour is he may need a skin graft).
✓ The other involved a cleaner getting cleaning fluid in her eyes. It is likely to be several
months before she will know if she will regain the sight in left her eye.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) was brought into investigation and are not happy with the way both accidents have been managed.
Both accidents were reported to them by the injured parties themselves, not the Company.
They could not find a record of any first aiders or indeed first aid boxes on site. The report from the Hospital in both cases mentions lack of immediate First Aid treatment as a contributory factor to the severity of the injuries.
Whilst it is known that the accidents took place on the premises, there are no records of what happened or what caused it.
No one from the Companies management has been in touch with either of the injured parties.
Ordinarily, the HSE would be opting to prosecute the business for these failures but given that the Board are new they have decided to give them 14 days to put things right. They have stressed to the Board how serious they consider this issue to be.
The Board would like you to investigate the following:
Identify the key Management failings for the Company by what has been highlighted by the HSE.
Define the risk that these issues pose to the business in the short, medium and long terms.
What recommendations would you suggest to the board to improve this area?
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2. CustomerServiceIssue
In his prime, Mr Smith prided himself on his relationship with his customers. Many of whom he came to consider as friends. In recent years the business place has changed, things move faster and customers want an online order process that streamlines ordering and greatly speeds up the time from ordering to receiving goods. Mr Smith was a big believer in speaking directly to the customer on the phone and taking the order manually.
The sales team were always expected to take time with the client and not to let them feel it was just about the order. This more or less worked when Mr Smith was at the heart of the business. In recent years he felt differently, that people no longer had the time of day. They had grown impatient and were unforgiving when mistakes inevitably happened. Rather than evolve the businesses practices Mr Smith simply stopped taking an interest in the sales and customer service side of the business.
This has left the Company with a problem. The auditors have informed the board of the following concerns.
The turnaround time on orders has gone from four days to eleven days currently. This is at a time when the main competitors have reduced turnaround time from five days to two days.
Complaints from customers regarding incomplete orders, wrong orders and quality issues has increased from 0.3% of orders ten years ago to 14% of orders currently.
Several clients that the auditor contacted said that when they complained they were met with the response that it was the fault of the logistics team and there was nothing they (the sales team) could do about it. In some cases, there is reported rudeness from the sales team.
There is currently close to £70,000 in unpaid for goods in the system where the client is withholding payment or someone in the Company has waved the cost without going through the formal process of raising a refund order with the Accounts team.
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The Board would like you to investigate the following:
Identify the key Management failings for the Company by what the Auditor has highlighted.
Define the risk that these issues pose to the business in the short, medium and long terms.
Whatrecommendationswouldyousuggesttotheboardtoimprovethisarea?
3. TheOperationsIssue
Mr Akhtar, Operations Director was very concerned to learn of several concerns the auditors had with the operations area of the business. Operations at Digbeth Paper covers the procurement of raw materials, warehousing of those raw materials, production of paper goods, picking and packing of customer orders, warehousing of orders and finally transportation. The concerns raised by the auditors were as follows:
The Operations Department is the largest in the company and yet it does not have an Assistant Director.
The Logistics Manager, in reality, tries to fulfil this role whilst also his full-time role of Logistics Manager (no one asked him to do this formally, the other managers just tend to look to him for guidance).
The team appear short-staffed and are just trying to “get through the day”. It appears quite chaotic with the delivery of raw materials is inconsistent due to suppliers refusing to deliver until they get paid for the previous months’ orders.
The level of absence and sickness in this area are very high and people are constantly leaving
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The Board would like you to investigate the following:
Identify the key management failings for the company by what the auditor has highlighted.
Define the risk that these issues pose to the business in the short, medium and long terms.
What recommendations would you suggest to the board to improve this area?
