ASSESSMENT 4 GUIDELINES

MN5006 Serving Customers in Global Markets

Group Presentation:
This is a group assignment in which students will be required to demonstrate their
understanding of how effective business decisions can be made, using a variety of
appropriate analytic tools.
There are three requirements for this assignment. One is in the form of a group Video
presentation (40%) and a group Weekly Meeting log (40%) the third requirement is in the
form of an Individual Written Reflection (20%).
Please note that all material is to be provided on the day of the presentation (13th of May).
Group Video presentation (40%)
Each group is required to
1) Produce a short Video Presentation - no longer than 10 minutes which should
analyse and reflect on your business decisions, and the consequences. The video
presentation must involve all group members. You will not be permitted to exceed the
time limit and the presentation will be stopped after 10 minutes.
2) Each group must provide a Meeting Log summarising the decisions made for each
round, including the rationale for these decisions and the implications of the results
obtained in the previous round.

3) You need to complete a Contribution Log and action plan and there should be a fair
balance of work among all team members.
Group Weekly Meeting log (40%)
As a group, you need to provide a summary of the decisions you made and why you made
them for each of the 5 weeks (see Further Guidelines section for details). Your total wordcount for all 5 weeks should be no more than 800 words (conciseness is encouraged).
On the submission day you will provide a contribution log for each round. See attached
format of the contribution log.
Individual Written Reflection (20%)
In addition to the video, each student is also required to write an individual personal
reflection on their experiences in participating in the simulation. This reflection should be no
more than 300 words.

Assessment preparations

All group members should be involved in all rounds of the business simulation
You should keep notes of all of your group discussions and decisions, so you can
complete your meeting log. Therefore please ensure that one team member is appointed
to take notes at each meeting.
Undertake analyses that you see as supportive to the development of your virtual
business

Video Presentation Guidelines

This should be a professional presentation that reflects on and analyses your business
decisions. You need to identify what decisions you made with clear explanations of why and
how you made them. You should be able to discuss how the use of appropriate theoretical
models has informed your business decision-making and enabled you to make more
effective decisions. Remember to cite all academic references.
A presentation has to mean direct facing of the camera and natural/confident talk, with
minimal reading. However you are encouraged to present supporting material, such as
diagrams or models (e.g. in the form of power point slides) to back up your arguments. Both
picture and voice should be clear and tested on a university PC before the presentation.
The video presentation will be followed by a short Q&A session in which your tutor will ask
you questions about your presentation.
Some questions that may help you develop your presentation are listed below. These are
possible areas to consider and you should not mechanically use them to structure your
presentation. They are merely to assist you to understand how to be self-analytical and
reflective:

What decisions did we make?

Did we make effective decisions based on our results? How did we know? What
informed us?
What did we understand and what did we not understand? What was easy / complex?
Why?
What did we take into consideration each time we undertook a new set of decisions? And
how did this impact our decision making?
What went well? What did not? Why?
How could we have improved? With hindsight would we do the same/differently?
What theory or theoretical models would have assisted us?

Assessment 4 Submission:
Presentations will be delivered during the normal lectures in week 28 (13th of May). ALL
group members must attend. Failure to attend will result in a fail. Failure to complete and
submit the Group Weekly Meeting log and/or Contribution Log may prevent the mark from
being entered on Evision.

Some Further Guidelines for Your Video Submission

While you are encouraged to be creative in your video presentation, nevertheless below are
some key topics that you will need to cover in your video.
1. How did you position your company in the market - what did your mission statement
indicate?
2. What was your initial strategy for each product area? Did it differ between products?
If so why?
3. How did this strategy influence the decisions you made in relation to prices, stock,
supplier selection, quality control, total marketing spend, marketing communications
and market research?
4. Did these decisions get the results you expected?
5. If not, why do you think that was? And what changes did you make because of this?
6. Did the results in the Balance Sheet/Income Statement/Cash Flow Statement
influence your decisions? If so which one(s) and how?
7. Where can you show that your understanding of the theory discussed in class has
influenced any decisions you made? Remember to cite academic references here.
Guidelines for your Weekly Meeting Log
As a group, you need to provide a summary of the decisions you made and why you made
them for each of the 5 weeks.
Specifically for each week you will need to consider the following questions and provide a
short summary
-

What decisions did the team make? (e.g. Pricing strategy, Stock ordered? Other
strategies?)
How did the team reach these decisions?
What theories did you apply in reaching these decisions?
Have you purchased any market research? Any campaign?
What results did you get this week? (You should show the most relevant data)
What did you forecast compared to what you got? Why is it different?
What happened to your profit/loss and your cash? What were the reasons (lack of
sales, too high costs? Why?)
What are the implications of your decisions on your business strategy and the next
set of decisions.
Are you keeping minutes/meeting log?
Any other comments

Your total word count for all 5 weeks should be no more than 800 words.

Guidelines for your Individual Reflective piece

Please refer to your experience in participating in the simulation considering the

following:
a) How did the group organise itself and come to its decisions? Did you appoint a
managing director who chaired all your meetings? Or did you take turns to chair
meetings? Or was it a free-for-all? And was this successful?
b) What did you learn as a result of participating in the simulation (if little or nothing
say so)
c) What did you understand and what did you not understand? What was easy /
complex?
d) If you had to give one reason why you ended up in your final position in the league
table what would that reason be?
e) If you were starting again what would you do differently in relation to your business
decisions or the way you made them? Why?
f) Should we continue to use the simulation next year or not? Why/why not?
This reflection should be no more than 300 words.

Marking Criteria
1 For Video and Summary of weekly decisions
The following are the criteria that will be considered for marking your video and
Summary of weekly decisions.

Effective and logical analysis of business decisions made and the reasons for
making them

Clear demonstration of use of marketing research to inform decision making

Demonstration of application of appropriate theoretical models to inform business

decisions
In addition, the video presentation will provide:

Evidence of good teamwork e.g. participation, organisation, role distribution,

balance of input

Effectiveness of video presentation in meeting assignment instructions, including

use of academic references

2 For Individual Reflective Piece

Please address points a to f of the Guidelines for your Individual Reflective piece
stated above demonstrating clarity of structure, critical arguments and, where needed,
supported by evidence.