Marketing and Globalization Man-30060
Second Semester 3rd Year –2016/2017 – Assignment
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Please read the following
‘Great Britain has the world’s sixth largest economy, but as far as I can see it doesn’t make much of anything any more. Whitbread doesn’t brew beer. Tate & Lyle no longer refines sugar. Only five of Britain’s largest companies manufacture any products at all in the UK now. So few industrial companies are left that the Financial Times had to take the word ‘industrial’ out of the Financial Times Industrial Average, its principal measure of corporate well-being. When I was a child, Britain made a quarter of all that was produced in the world (though to be fair, my being a child had very little to do with it); now the figure is 2.9 per cent and falling. These days, Britain makes Rolls-Royce jet engines and all the little pots of marmalade in the world, but that’s about it, as far as I can tell. Nearly everything that’s left seems to be owned by foreigners. French companies own Hamley’s toy store, Glenmorangie whisky, Orange mobile phones, Fisons pharmaceuticals and EDF, the power company. E.ON and Npower are German. Scottish Power is Spanish. United Biscuits, which makes McVitie’s Digestives, Jaffa Cakes and Hula Hoops, is owned by Yildiz, a Turkish company. Jaguar, Blue Circle Cement, British Steel, Harrods, Bass breweries, most of the main airports, several of the most important football teams, and the company that brought you this book are all foreign owned. Fewer than half of Britain’s largest companies even have a British-born Chairman.
HP and Daddies sauces are made in Holland. Smarties are made in Germany. Raleigh bicycles are made in Denmark. In 2010, RBS, a failed Scottish bank owned by the British government, lent the money to the American food conglomerate Kraft to buy Cadbury’s, Britain’s most venerable chocolate maker. As part of the deal Kraft promised to keep open a Cadbury factory near Bristol, but it was just fooling. As soon as the deal was complete, Kraft closed the factory and shipped its machinery to Poland.
I think these things matter. People used to be proud of what Britain gave the world, but now they can’t even be sure of what it gives itself.’
Extract from Bryson, B. (2015) The Road to Little Dribbling, London: Penguin Random House (pp 310-311)
Assignment Question
Having read the above and with reference to the observations highlighted in Bryson’s text, critically discuss the importance and role of brands in today’s globalised market place
Requirements
1) Bryson’s piece is a polemic, it his own opinion. You should not seek to replicate this in your assignment. I do not want to see any long opinion pieces or rants. You should produce an academic piece of work which identifies key points in Bryson’s text and explores these with reference to the themes and academic material covered on the module.
2) As this is an academic piece of work you are required to read widely in respect of the course topics in order to support your arguments with reference to academic texts and journal articles. All material should be properly referenced using the Harvard system. As part of your assignment you should also include at least six academic references from the module reading list. If you do not meet this requirement your assignment will FAIL. You should also seek additional references of your own.
Note this piece of work accounts for 50% of your module grade.
Submission Deadline: Thursday 23rd March 2017
Word limit 2,000 words (+/- 5%). The reference list at the end is excluded from this word count.
Guidelines for Submission
Coursework must be submitted to the school office between the hours of 10am–1pm on the date specified. Work which is submitted within seven days of the deadline ‘without good cause’, will only be marked to a maximum of 40%. Work submitted more than seven days after the deadline ‘without good cause’ will signify failure of the module. Students should hand in one copy of their work which should be anonymous. This document therefore should only include registration number, module title/code, title of assignment and the coursework cover sheet NOT YOUR NAME. Students should also keep one copy. Work should be word processed on A4 paper and should include a word count. Harvard referencing is to be used in your work. In addition students should also submit a copy of their work electronically via the KLE and this must be done by the end of the assignment due date. Failure to do so will be treated as non-submission and the student will automatically be awarded a mark of 0%. The electronic submission will automatically be checked for plagiarism using Turnitin. All work submitted must be your own and not copied or plagiarised in any way whatsoever. Plagiarism will be dealt with severely and can lead to penalties ranging from failure of the module to expulsion from the university. To view the University Student guide to the plagiarism regulations please see: http://www.keele.ac.uk/depts/aa/landt/guidetoregs.pdf
Assessment criteria: what we are testing in this assignment?
1) Literature search. Your ability to conduct literature search and draw on relevant materials to address the assignment question. Relevant material is considered to be academic peer reviewed journals, text books, edited or sole authored books. Material from Wikipedia (or similar websites) or essay writing sites, essay mills, swap sites, slide sharing sites etc is not appropriate and should not be used.
2) Essay writing. Your ability to summarise arguments/findings from journal articles and other academic literature in a coherent and structured manner.
3) Knowledge and Understanding. Your ability to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the theories, concepts and debates covered in the module.
4) Argument and evidence. Your ability to construct an argument that addresses the question and evidence the claims you make.
5) Critical evaluation. Your ability to critically evaluate the themes from academic literature and the concepts and theories covered in the module in the light of the evidence and discussions contained in the identified podcast in other materials.
6) Referencing. Your ability to reference correctly, both accurately citing authors within your discussion and constructing a detailed reference list at the end of your essay.
7) Written communication skills. Your ability to communicate your ideas.
Assignment format
Please write your answer in the format of academic essay. It must meet the 2000 word limit and you need to address the assessment criteria.
Guidance – essay writing
I am sure that now you are in your final year you are all very proficient at essay writing. However, here are some tips that will help you improve the standard of your work.
1) The material that we cover in class: the lecture slides/notes etc will only provide an introduction to the ideas/theories and concepts you will need to address the assignment question. They will not be sufficient on their own and you will be expected to do further reading. Suggestions for further material are provided on the reading list but you can also use the databases on the library website to find your own material.
2) Make notes from as wide a range of sources as possible. Compare what different people are saying while you are reading. Identify different perspectives on the subject you are researching.
3) Make notes while you are reading but don’t just copy down what the author says, establish the points that are relevant to your essay and understand why are they relevant? How can you use this material to answer the question?
4) Keep details of the material you read to ensure you can reference it correctly.
5) Ensure you understand the essay question and what you are being asked to do. Then make sure you draw up a plan that specifically answers the question set rather then just writes down everything you have found out about the subject.
6) Ensure your essay has a clear and coherent structure. This includes having an introduction that outlines your argument and how you are going to structure it. You should also have a conclusion that summarises your discussions and offers a conclusion that is relevant to the question that has been set.
7) When writing make sure that one point links to the next. When you change topic or move onto a new one, tell the reader you are doing this. You can do this by using specific phrases to signal the change. For example; ‘The next issue… ‘ or ‘ A further concern that…’ or ‘More recent concerns …’ etc. There are many ways of doing this, the specific words don’t matter, you just need to indicate to the reader what you are doing. You also need to make sure all the separate sections of your essay link together. This improves the flow of your work. If you don’t do this your essay just comes across as a series of points as opposed to a coherent discussion
8) Make sure that you provide support for the claims you make in your essay. This can be done by reference to ideas, theories, concepts or empirical research that back up the claims you make.
9) Make sure the points you make are clear. The reader should not be in any doubt as to what you are trying to say. Don’t assume that it will be obvious or leave the reader to work it out themselves. Linking back to the assignment title or the structure outlined in your introduction can assist with this.
10. Finally, give yourself plenty of time to work on and improve your essay. Also don’t be afraid to ask for help if you don’t understand or are struggling. There are lots of places around the university that can help with essay writing including student support and the language Learning Unit.
Marking guidelines
Fail: An assignment will fail if it does not contain the required number of references from the module reading list as specified in the assignment briefing. There will be limited evidence of knowledge and understanding of the concepts and theories covered on the module. It will be poorly written with a weak structure and not address the question set. The referencing will be absent/incomplete and there will be no evidence of reading of the relevant literature to inform the answer. The essay may fall well short of or massively exceed the word limit.
Pass: In places a pass essay may attempt to address the question set and show evidence of drawing the literature to develop arguments. It will tend to be descriptive rather than provide critical evaluation but show some evidence of knowledge and understanding of the theories and concepts covered on the module. There may be limited attempt to engage with the issues identified in the question but this will not be done in a meaningful or convincing way. It will contain the required number of references from the module reading list but these may be mentioned rather than discussed and may not be well used/integrated into the overall discussion. The assignment will have a reasonably clear structure and show reasonable adherence to the word limit requirements.
Good: A good assignment will answer the question set with some good attempts at a critical evaluation. There will be a clear engagement with the issues identified in the question and through this there will be evidence of knowledge and understanding of the theories and concepts covered on the module. The assignment will be clearly written and well structured. There will be evidence of a wide reading of the literature and the correct number of readings from the module list will be included and convincingly incorporated into the arguments made. The assignment will meet the word count requirements.
Excellent: An excellent assignment will answer the set question in a clear, informed, well argued and interesting way. There will be strong evidence of an ability to synthesise and challenge ideas and clear demonstration of an ability to critically evaluate and apply theory. It will work with the specified material in an interesting, convincing and possibly creative way. It will have a clear and well thought out structure and show high levels of knowledge and understanding of the theories and concepts covered on the module. The assignment will meet the word count requirements and well and widely referenced.
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