Management report assignment essay instructions

The assignment is a Management Report. This is not an academic paper but rather a professional business report of the type that you may be expected to be involved in preparing when you start your business career. You do not need to use academic references but you do need to quote your sources. This is useful training for you. Even if you never formally write a business report the discipline of being clear about what you want to say is a key business skill.

We will be studying the global automotive industry. Your management report should be an analysis of a segment of the sector or a firm within the sector with recommendations as to the future. The definition of the industry is also very broad and can include any type of good or service within the field of the automotive industry. The future is restricted to the next 5-10 years. You are advised to contact your tutor to ensure that your proposed study falls within that area

The broad aim of the paper is to synthesise all available information on a business issue and then  in a succinct and clear manner- brief senior executives on they should do. CEO's make decisions daily using such processes although it is usually presented verbally with back up papers. The ideal situation is for someone to trust you enough just to read the executive summary.

The format of the report follows clear guidelines. You will be marked against these guidelines

guidelines...---

Section B grade and above
Executive summary- 10% The summary contains all the information necessary for a senior manager to understand the key issues including any recommendations for future action. No more than one page. Not page numbered.
Table of contents Correctly set out
Introduction/ Background- 5%
Page numbers start here This clearly sets out the broad industry trends and the background to the case. It describes how the data is to be analysed.
External Analysis-20% This section sets out the strategic dynamics of the industry at both micro and macro level including likely future trends.
Internal Analaysis-20% This section analyses the strategic capabilities of the firm. This should included leadership, culture and management competences
Conclusions-15% The conclusions logically emerge from the facts.
Recommendations-15% The recommendations address the main strategic issues identified in the Introduction and meet the criteria of achievability, suitability and acceptability.
Appendices-5% They add value
Presentation-10% This is a report that is clearly written with good graphics. I would be proud to show it to a professional manager

There is no easy way of saying what does an A grade report cover. Obviously it will cover all the main points above but in addition there is a spark about the writing as well as evidence of genuine strategic insight. Also good reports are easy to mark.

The report is 3000 with a margin of error of 10% i.e. 2850-3150. The word count is the Executive Summary and Main Body including footnotes of the report- but not including the Table of Contents, References and Appendices. These are the penalties for being under or over the word count. 10% (2700 to 3330) lose one grade point i.e C is C-; above 10% but below 20% lose 3 grade points (2400-3600); above 20% fail. This must be submitted on Turnitin

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