Retailing Issues and Applications

Summative Assessment Brief
Academic year and term: 2021/22– Summer Semester
Module title: Retailing Issues and Applications

Learning outcomes assessed within this piece of work as agreed at the programme level meeting
1. Knowledge outcome –You will be able to develop in depth knowledge of key issues regarded as critical to the future success of the retail sector and be able to evaluate critically the tactical and strategic responses of retail organisations.
2. Intellectual /transferable skills outcome – You will be able to apply a wide range of frameworks and techniques to the analysis of complex business situations to inform a range of critical business decisions facing today’s retailers and demonstrate critical, and independent thinking in the evaluation and synthesis of information

Type of assessment: Formative Assessment – Feedback provided on one page (500 words) (0%).
Summative Assessment – An individual 3000 words report investigating the response of a number of retailers to a current issue in the retailing industry (100%)

Assessment deadline: Summative Assessment: 8th September 2022 by 2pm

Instructions for Summative Assessment
Your assessment for this module takes the form of a report:

You are required to prepare a report that critically evaluates one retailer’s responses to a current retail market issue in comparison with one or more retailers in the same retail sector as your chosen retailer. The focus of the report is an examination, in depth, of the relationships between theory and current retail activities.
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Note that the topic of your report must be based one of the topic areas discussed in the module, i.e. one of the issues below faced by retailers:

• Retail Branding
• Etailing, Omnichannel retailing, and E-loyalty
• Global Retailing
• Global sourcing
• Shopping Malls and the Future of the High Streets
• Customer Relationship Management and Loyalty
• Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Sustainability
• Social marketing, supply chain issues, and Fair Trade focusing on food

The grading criteria and their weighting for the Assignment are as follows:

1. Content, breadth and relevance of research 35%
2. Level of analysis/application of theory 35%
3. Conclusions/ discussion/ policy recommendations 20%
4. Presentation, clarity, structure, grammar, correct referencing 10%
You are advised to allocate your efforts accordingly. For more details see the grading criteria grid below.
The word limit for this assessment is 3,000 words

How will we support you with your assessment?
• There will be an assessment briefing in Week 2.
• A formative assessment of 500 words will allow you the opportunity to show your work to date on your essay and obtain formative feedback from your tutor.
• You will receive feedback on formative plans in week 8.This will take the form of written feedback on the formative report plan.
• A dedicated seminar in week 4 to remind students of the requirements of the assessment.
• Links to the assessment throughout your seminars
• Weekly advice on scholarly and context specific resources
• FAQs on Moodle

How will your work be assessed?
Your work will be assessed by a subject expert who will use the marking grid provided in this assessment brief. When you access your marked work it is important that you reflect on the feedback so that you can use it to improve future assignments.
Referencing
You MUST use the Harvard System. The Harvard system is very easy to use once you become familiar with it. Feedback from your presentation slide in week five will identify whether sources are being acknowledged properly.

Assignment submissions
The Business School requires a digital version of all assignment submissions. These must be submitted via Turnitin on the module’s Moodle site. They must be submitted as a Word file (not as a pdf) and must not include scanned in text or text boxes. They must be submitted by 2pm on the given date. For further general details on coursework preparation refer to the online information via StudentZone http://studentzone.roehampton.ac.uk/howtostudy/index.html.
Mitigating circumstances/what to do if you cannot submit a piece of work or attend your presentation
The University Mitigating Circumstances Policy can be found on the University website – it’s important you check the regulations on mitigating circumstances if you find that you cannot submit an essay: Mitigating Circumstances Policy
Marking and feedback process
Between you handing in your work and then receiving your feedback and marks within 20 days, there are a number of quality assurance processes that we go through to ensure that students receive marks which reflects their work. A brief summary is provided below.
• Step One – The module and marking team meet to agree standards, expectations and how feedback will be provided.
• Step Two – A subject expert will mark your work using the criteria provided in the assessment brief.
• Step Three – A moderation meeting takes place where all members of the teaching and marking team will review the marking of others to confirm whether they agree with the mark and feedback
• Step Four – Work at Levels 5 and 6 then goes to an external examiner who will review a sample of work to confirm that the marking between different staff is consistent and fair
• Stop Five – Your mark and feedback is processed by the Office and made available to you. 

Grading Criteria
100
Outstanding 80-89
Excellent 70-79
Very Good 60-69
Good 50-59
Satisfactory 40-49
Adequate 30-39
Marginal Fail 20-29
Fail 0-19
Not Done
Content, breadth and relevance of research 35% Exemplary in all aspects. Excellent… Exploration of topic showing excellent knowledge & understanding through thorough & appropriate research. Impressive choice and range of appropriate content Very good … Level of knowledge & understanding demonstrated.
Evidence of appropriate reading. Covers all relevant points & issues. Good… Level of knowledge & understanding demonstrated.
Covers most relevant points & issues.
Few errors / omissions in content. Satisfactory… Grasp of the topic & some of its implications presented.
Knowledge & understanding is demonstrated. Minor errors / omissions in content Incomplete content / level of knowledge of the topic. Addresses part of the task. Some errors / omissions in content. May benefit from further research Some basic knowledge of topic evident. Limited content. Limited/ dated range of sources
Very Weak… Limited content / knowledge. Limited or muddled understanding of the topic/question.
limited/ dated range of sources
Missing. Wholly incorrect or not attempted.

Level of analysis/application of theory 35%
Exemplary in all aspects. Excellent… Level of discussion/analysis/ critical evaluation &/or reflection.
Highly developed/ focused work Very good level of discussion/analysis/ critical evaluation &/or reflection clearly developing points in the appropriate way with thorough consideration of all possibilities. Good… Level of discussion/analysis/ critical evaluation &/or reflection & a few ideas/points could benefit from further development &/or evaluation/comparison. Satisfactory… Level of discussion/analysis/ critical evaluation &/or reflection but more ideas/points could be addressed /developed further Basic evidence of analysis/ critical evaluation &/or reflection but some points superficially made so need further development. Relevant issues poorly identified, little use of theory Very poor analysis. Little or no use of theory Missing. Wholly incorrect or not attempted.

Conclusion/ Discussion/ policy recommendations 20%
Exemplary in all aspects. Excellent… Business/policy insight & application.
Breadth, depth & integration of literature into work.
Very good … Level of knowledge & understanding demonstrated.
Evidence of appropriate reading.
Covers all relevant points & issues. Good… Level of knowledge & understanding demonstrated.
Covers most relevant points & issues.
Few errors / omissions in content/calculations. Satisfactory… Grasp of the topic & some of its implications presented.
Knowledge & understanding is demonstrated. Minor errors / omissions in content Limited business/policy insight & application. Limited integration with theory/ data.
Displays some weak evidence of business/policy application & insight
Work needs to show better links between practical application & theory. Little evidence of business/policy application & insight
Work needs to show better links between practical application & theory. Missing. Wholly incorrect or not attempted.

Presentation-Clarity, structure, grammar, correct referencing 10%
Exemplary in all aspects. Excellent presentation throughout
Excellent spelling and grammar

Faultless referencing throughout the assignment Very good presentation throughout
High standard of spelling & grammar

Very good referencing throughout the assignment Good presentation throughout
Good standard of spelling & grammar

Minor errors in the referencing of others Satisfactory presentation throughout
Few errors in spelling & grammar

Few errors in the referencing of others Adequate presentation & formatting throughout
Few spelling & grammatical errors

Most references are presented appropriately in the main text
List of references is correct Inadequate presentation & formatting throughout
A number of spelling and grammatical inaccuracies. Failure to cite all references in the main text. Incomplete reference list Poor presentation & formatting in most areas
Many spelling & grammatical errors
Poor structure
Inconsistent use of referencing in the main text
Incorrect reference list Missing. Wholly incorrect or not attempted.