1.1 Assessment 1: Individual report (50%)
General Guidance on Assessment 1
STEP 1: CHOOSE A SERVICE ORGANISATION
This assignment will take the form of a report detailing the main areas of investigation. Select a service organisation of your own choice, or a part of such an organisation if this is more appropriate, from the UK. Preferably, your research will be based on any service providers on the DMU campus, such as:
- Kimberlin Library
- The food village
- The SPAR shop
- Newarke café
- Riverside Café
- QEII Leisure centre
Other examples you can choose from:
• A supermarket
• A fast-food outlet
• An educational service
• A tourist attraction
• A bank or building society
STEP 2: UNDERSTANDING THE KEY POINTS TO ADDRESS
For your chosen organisation produce a report, which should address the following tasks:
1. Describe the service concept of the organisation.
2. Explain how the operations of the organisation contribute to the functioning of the service concept.
3. Assess how well the operations implement the service concept (a diagram may be needed).
4. Suggest how both the concept and the delivery system might be improved. If you do not see any areas for improvement in these areas, argue a convincing case from an operations management point of view for maintaining the status quo (a diagram may be needed).
- STEP 3: IMPROVING YOUR WORK
Apply the concepts, theories and diagrams covered in the module. It means incorporating the topics in operations management that are relevant to the situation under discussion. - Demonstrate originality, novelty, critical thinking and the depth of analysis. It means providing thought-out analysis of the operations and showing evidence of personal features such as wider reading, research, original thinking and an organised approach.
- Provide at least ten academic references and use the correct referencing format. The correct referencing system (see Appendix5) can be found in the following link and also on Blackboard:http://www.library.dmu.ac.uk/Images/Self study/Harvard.pdf
- Use the correct report format, see Report Structure and Report Guide below.
More guidance and support for assessment 1 will be given during the tutorials (week 8&11). Please make every effort to attend.
Note: All the research activity conducted by students within the Faculty of Business and Law requires ethics approval. Please complete the form (see Appendix3 Ethics form) and hand it to your tutor BEFORE starting this assessment. The ethics form can also be found on Blackboard.
Summary of report structure
Unless you have been given specific instructions, it’s a good idea to follow the generally accepted standard structure. The standard structure has these sections, in this order:
• Title page
• Executive Summary
• Table of Contents page
• Introduction
• The main body of text (with sections/chapters to suit your material)
• Conclusion & Recommendations
• References & Bibliography
• Appendix / Appendices (all must be referenced)
Details of report guide
Title page Show report title, author’s name, date, the person/organisation for whom the report has been written. If the title is not set, create one which is brief, straightforward and factual.
Executive Summary Put the summary at the beginning of the report, to be easily accessible. Ensure that it makes sense on its own, and gives a brief but accurate account of what the report contains.
Introduction Keep it as brief as possible
• Terms of reference
• Aims and objectives
• Methods used in the investigation
• Necessary background information
• Definitions of any abbreviations used throughout the report
Acknowledgements.
Main body of the presentation The substance of the presentation: investigation or research, and its findings. Organise your material logically into sections, sub-dividing as necessary.
Conclusion Draw together your findings. Avoid introducing new material here – add it to the main text instead. If your conclusion is too long, make sure the material is appropriate.
Bibliography and references The faculty standard form of citation is the Harvard system and you should use this. List all sources used: for quotations, ideas, or background reading.
Appendices Include any documents or information which add to the reader’s understanding of the report. They should be given numbers and titles and listed in the contents. Refer to them in the appropriate places in the report, otherwise, their relevance will not be clear.
Report Style
• All written work must be typed
• Font Arial size 12 pt
• Line spacing 1.5
Attention: headings/sub-headings, margins and the spacing of sections.
