VIA VERITAS VITA University of Glasgow Assessment Brief 2023/24 Adam Smith Business School Please make sure you carefully read and understand the question or task. If you have unanswered questions, please post these on the course Moodle Discussion Forum, and we'll respond. Word limit Action to be taken if word limit is exceeded 2,500 (+/- 10%) Any words outside of the 2500 +10% will not be considered. 1. Question Understanding business and entrepreneurship to make better career or investment decisions through knowing when to commit, when to investigate further and when to walk away. This assignment asks you to create a practical document that can be used to assess both employment and business opportunities that present themselves in the course of your career. The document should draw from the ideas, models and frameworks introduced in the PP5 lectures. Using the course material, including the sections on know yourself, understanding business and business models, recognising favourable industry and market conditions, and insights on what investors look for to determine an opportunity's potential, prepare a guide on how to decide whether you should pursue a specific opportunity, or let it go. Remember, in life it is just as important to know when to say 'no' as it is to say 'yes". 2. Further Details Your guide should include: A list of the business and organisational frameworks models that you have selected. This must include sustainability factors such as the UN's Sustainability Development Goals or the ESG framework. ● ● ● Your reasons for their selection, including why you believe that they are the best models to choose. There is no one right reason for selecting a model e.g. you might choose one because it is easy to use or because enough information is always available in the public domain, and select another model for the detailed insights it gives if the information is available. These are your choices based on your rationale. If you have several reasons for selecting a specific model you should clearly state which factors you believe to be most important and why. The sequence in which you would use the models and frameworks to evaluate an opportunity. Are there some that you would use to make an initial quick assessment? Are there some that you would only consider using if your initial evaluation was positive? Are there some that you would use because they are particularly relevant to your own interests or values? (The business angel literature provides insights into how angel investors screen opportunities.) ● How you see the frameworks that you have selected working together. Are they complementary, or do they act to cross-check results between different frameworks i.e. looking at the same core issue but from a different perspective? A summary of the key indicators that would lead you to invest, to walk away or to proceed with caution. A bit like a traffic light system of green, red or amber. This assignment is a design exercise, you are designing a practical, useful document that can be used by yourself or one of your peers. You have to decide on and pay attention to layout and presentation. You have to decide how many frameworks to select, and what depth of detail needs to be covered. You need to decide whether to include instructions on use or whether it is better to demonstrate how your evaluation document works by applying it to a live situation. Intended Learning Outcomes being assessed 1. Analyse new venture information to identify the viability or otherwise of a proposal, including: presenting new venture ideas; its relationship to a defined market; describing the relationships between the various business functions; 2. Show evidence of skills and capability in: ● critically engaging with and evaluating texts and journal articles; independent analysis of management problems; communicating conclusions effectively; identifying and addressing relevant aspects of sustainability and environmental impact; practising project planning techniques; carrying out personal and profession planning 3. Assessment Rubric/Criteria 4. Intended Learning Outcome 1. Analyse new venture information to identify the viability or otherwise of a proposal. 2. Identify and address relevant aspects of sustainability and environmental impact. 3. Show evidence of skills and capability in relevant areas. Assignment component Create a guide to support decision- making about employment and business opportunities, incorporating all five of the assignment requirements with relevant and suitably organised content. Articulation of sustainability and environmental impact Demonstrating of critical engagement with relevant material. Below expectation Minimum use of business and organisational frameworks, with unclear rationale for their selection, and minimal guidance for their use. Lack of coherent structure, minimal use of headings and subheadings, no sign-posting and no clear logical progression of a narrative clearly related to the assignment questions. Limited or no acknowledgement of sustainability and environmental impact in guidelines. There is insufficient use of course material and supporting evidence. To expectation Good selection of business and organisational frameworks, clear rationale for their selection, and relevant guidance for their use. Most elements of the assignment are clearly aligned to the assignment question. The purpose of the sections is clarified through sign-posting, sub- headings and contextualisation. Clear evidence that consideration has been given to sustainability and environmental impact. The guide is supported with relevant course- related material and evidence. Above expectation Excellent selection of business and organisational frameworks with very clear rationale for their selection and guidance for their use. All elements of the text are clearly and logically related to the overall assignment question. Excellent use of sub-headings and signposting to organise content and support the overall narrative. Clear evidence that sustainability and environmental impact has been considered, supported with evident rationale for decisions made. Excellent use of course material with evident supporting evidence. Carrying out personal and professional planning Effective communication and presentation of conclusions, Minimal or no evidence of a planned approach, demonstrated by a poorly structured guide that lacks guidance and a logical flow. A poorly presented guide that omits or provides minimal guidance to users. Unclear or missing sections. Signposting poor with limited flow between sections. Unprofessional design and layout. A well-structured guide that evidences a planned approach, providing users with a clearly structured and logical guide. A well-presented guide that provides clear guidance to users. Addresses all aspects of the assignment. Incorporates relevant signposting and a good narrative across sections. Professional design and layout. 5. Feedback For this assignment, individual feedback will be provided via Moodle. Generic (class-level) feedback and grade profiles will be posted on Moodle. Students can use academic staff office hours for additional feedback on your work. 6. Submitting Submit your coursework using the named submission link in the Assessment Section of your Course Moodle page. Take care to submit by the deadline or you may face lateness penalties. Clear evidence of an excellent approach to planning, evidenced by a very well-structured guide, excellent logic and clear narrative. First class guide that communicates guidance clearly to users. Addresses all aspects of the assignment to a high standard. Incorporates a very clear and logical information flow, with relevant sections. Excellent professional design and layout Document creation- Individual Written 1. Please name files in the following way: StudentID_CourseCode_QuestionNo. e.g. 7299019_ACCFIN4029_1. If there is no question choice, use 1 as the default. 6. Student conduct 2. The file type must be saved as .doc, .doxc, .xls, .xlsx or .pdf. 3. Include your student ID in your document, ideally in the header on each page with the course code and title, e.g. 2489545_ACCFIN1003_Finance1. 4. The maximum file size limit on Moodle is 230MB Referencing and bibliography For information, please go to the University Library webpage. Plagiarism For advice and more information, please go to: Student Learning Development web pages University Plagiarism Statement If you make use of Al at any point in your research or writing process, no matter at what stage, you must acknowledge the use of that source/platform as you would any other piece of evidence/material in your submission. Turnitin Your coursework will be processed through Turnitin for similarity checking. You can submit a draft of your coursework to Turnitin before submitting your final copy. You will find information about using Turnitin in the Student Information Point Moodle [USIP/PSIP] 1. Generative Al Generative Al offers many new opportunities for learning and the development of academic skill although, like any technology, it must be used judiciously. Students should consider the data protection and privacy issues that can be caused by using Al. Consider how your personal information will be used before signing up to Al tools and ensure you read any data protection policies before interacting with Al. You should not feel pressured into using Al tools if you are uncomfortable with the data protection or privacy issues. Bear in mind that responses to Al queries can be biased due to the inherent biases present in their training data. This can lead to unfair and discriminatory responses. Copying (including paraphrasing) Al responses to queries would be considered as plagiarism, as it would for copying the response from any internet search. Further information can be found here. 2. Extensions and non-submission with good cause Extension of up to 5 days If you experience extenuating circumstances which prevent you from completing your assessment by the deadline, you can request an extension of up to 5 days via Moodle. 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