Individual Essay Guidance
1. Essay Requirement
Write an essay addressing the key issues relevant to one of the four questions below and draw a suitable conclusion. The essay should be approximately 2,000 words excluding all appendix and references. Your work should appear professionally produced in terms of the quality and currency of the data, analysis and conclusions drawn.
2. Topic Selection
You are required to select and write about ONE of the four essay questions given below:
1) Critically evaluate the Resource Based View theory in terms of their usefulness in explaining firms’ strategies. Illustrate your answer with reference to at least one case
company of your own choice.
2) Critically evaluate the importance of the Porter’s Five Forces framework. To what extent are his ideas still relevant to modern day strategy making? Illustrate your answer with reference to at least one case company of your own choice.
3) Critically evaluate the relevance of strategic planning in today’s environments. Illustrate your answer with reference to at least one case company of your own choice.
4) Critically evaluate Porter’s ‘generic strategies.’ To what extent are his ideas still relevant to modern day strategy making. Illustrate your answer with reference to at least one case
company of your own choice.
MGT3122International Business Strategy – Individual essay (40%)
1. Essay Requirement
Write an essay addressing the key issues relevant to one of the four questions below and
draw a suitable conclusion. The essay should be approximately 2,000 words excluding all
appendix and references. Your work should appear professionally produced in terms of the
quality and currency of the data, analysis and conclusions drawn.
2. Topic Selection
You are required to select and write about ONE of the four essay questions given below:
1) Critically evaluate the Resource Based View theory in terms of their usefulness in
explaining firms’ strategies. Illustrate your answer with reference to at least one case
company of your own choice.
2) Critically evaluate the importance of the Porter’s Five Forces framework. To what extent
are his ideas still relevant to modern day strategy making? Illustrate your answer with
reference to at least one case company of your own choice.
3) Critically evaluate the relevance of strategic planning in today’s environments. Illustrate
your answer with reference to at least one case company of your own choice.
4) Critically evaluate Porter’s ‘generic strategies.’ To what extent are his ideas still relevant
to modern day strategy making. Illustrate your answer with reference to at least one case
company of your own choice.
3. Submission Requirement
You must submit your individual essay via Moodle only; No hardcopy should be submitted.
Only submission to Moodle on-time is accepted and marked.
When submitting the essay, you must make sure your essay cover page contains all relevant
information:
• The module title and code
• The essay title in full
You should present your essay professionally by following the instructions below:
1. word processed on A4 paper with a font size of 12
2. word document ONLY (no PDFs or other formats are allowed)
3. page margin of 2.5cm on both sides
4. use 2.0 line space
5. pages are numbered
6. label all charts, tables, graphs, diagrams, etc
7. use Harvard referencing style ONLY
8. meet the word count requirement of 2,000 (or, of no fewer than 1,600 words and no
more than 2,400 words)
Please note: it is your responsibility to make sure a backup copy is always made available in
case of PC or network failure.
4. University Policy
If you have extenuating circumstance and anticipate a late submission of coursework, you
need to submit relevant form to the Unihelp desk. If you miss the deadline without good
reasons, a grade 20 (failure) will be given, which means you have not completed all of the
assessment required for this module. The minimum pass grade (16) is the maximum that
may be gained if the module is subsequently passed.
You may also apply for a deferral through the Unihelp desk in the Library where you must
have documented good cause to defer, usually on medical grounds only. Please note that
deferral does not mean handing in the current work later on, but means taking another
assessment. Students must apply to the assessment manager in writing, submitting
supporting documentation. The application for deferral must be submitted without a delay.
The applications that have been unjustifiably delayed will not be processed. To help the
module team keep track of deferrals, the student should inform the module leader of
his/her intentions to apply for deferral before doing so. Deferral means that you have the
opportunity to undertake and submit your assessment (please note that this can be a
different assessment) at a later date, decided between the School and the Module Leader. If
a student receives a deferral, they should immediately forward the approval email to the
module leader to discuss the next possible date for the student to undertake the missed
assessment. This arrangement is intended to help students to complete the module within
the schedule. Please note that self-deferral is not allowed in the Business School.
5. Coursework Feedback
Informal feedback can be sought via email, office hours, and during teaching sessions.
Formal feedback and marks for individual coursework will be available within 15 working
days following submissions (Please note: this excludes public holidays and school holiday
periods).
Individual Essay (40% weighting of total grade) Assessment Criteria
Student ID and Name:
Criteria (weighting is
based on maximum
100%)
Excellent
(70% &
above)
Very good
(60% – 69%)
Good (50 –
59%)
Adequate
(40% – 49%)
Fail (40%)
1. Precise and concise
description of the
relevant theories
(including appropriate
refs from valid
sources)
(20%)
2. Application of the
theories to the
question asked;
Identification of
weaknesses of the
theory;
Well-justified
suggestion of
alternative
perspectives
(20%)
3. Detailed studies of
cases (reference to a
range of up-to- date
relevant data both on
the businesses and
their businesses
environments)
(20%)
4. A well-balanced
argument
substantiated with
relevant case details
(as above)
(20%)
5. Conclusion (to be
built upon the
argument and to be
logical and
appropriate to the
detail of theory and
case materials)
(10%)
6. Quality of
presentation (include
use of English and
overall formatting and
referencing)
(10%)
MARK (out of 100%):
MARK (out of 40% of the module):
First Marker Signature:
Second Marker Signature:
Date: