Fluent Essays

The a-s-s-e-s-s-m-e-n-t will be 1200words long. Please see the questions shown in the screenshot. I will send you all info after hired, eg PPTs, student access etc. Please send a draft in 12hrs-1 day time, day 2, and day 3 as well. + Will need to to draft some questions to ask the teacher and revise base on feedback (Send bk ard in 1 day max) © UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY SYDNEY 1 Individual report: Defining performance Introduction The aim of the individual assignment is to develop your skills in communicating how organisations can define performance. You will prepare a report explaining and justifying how you define ‘performance’ (or ‘success’) for one of the six organisations listed in this document. In completing this assignment, you will engage in analysis and self-evaluation exercise, which help you learn how to turn the rough ideas you have in your draft into a high-quality and professional final report. This assignment assesses both the quality of your final report and your process in producing it. What does ‘performance’ mean for… ? Prepare a report addressing this question, focusing on one of the following Australian organisations/subsidiary, or a business unit within that organisation (i.e., focus on the operations in Australia):  Bunnings  Nuheara Ltd.  Police Bank  The a2 Milk Co. Ltd.  The Reject Shop  Xero Ltd. Objectives: This task relates to the following subject objectives:  Critically analyse the institutional, organisational and individual influences on management accounting systems  Form professional judgments about the appropriateness of the design and operation of management accounting systems This assessment also enables the evaluation of the following program objectives:  Convey information clearly and fluently in high quality written form appropriate for their audience (3.1) Weighting and marks: 30\% (30 marks) of total result for the subject:  Draft report: 3 marks  Final report: 20 marks  Self-evaluation exercise: 7 marks © UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY SYDNEY 2 Individual assignment components This assignment contains three components: 1) Draft report: The draft report must have a minimum of two pages of writing and a minimum of three references, preferably peer reviewed journal articles. This is to ensure that you have a decent draft to work on for the self-evaluation exercise. Penalty applied to draft reports that are shorter than two pages. High similarity score will attract misconduct investigation conducted by the Academic Service Unit. 2) Final report (20 marks in total for substantive content and structure): Your report will be assessed against four (4) criteria, which are contained in the marking rubric. It is up to you how you structure your report. 1. Organisational analysis. Your report should briefly introduce the organisation and then provide a clear overview of the organisation’s objectives, strategies and key activities (i.e., corporate, competitive and operational strategies), and structure. Make sure you introduce your organisation in your own words – do not merely copy what the organisation says on its website. 2. Performance definition (i.e., key performance aspects). Your report should provide a clear recommendation explaining the most important aspects of performance for your chosen organisation or a business unit of the organisation. In other words, the report should provide readers a clear understanding of what ‘success’ means for this organization or the business unit. Keep in mind that the focus is to define performance, rather than measuring performance. Make sure you include both the obvious aspects of performance related to the key operations of the business as well as other aspects of performance that support these operations. For example, if you believe financial performance is a key aspect of the performance, you should also identify other key performance aspects leading to financial performance, such as innovation, production efficiency, etc. To identify the key performance aspects of the organisation, you need to interpret and critically evaluate the information you have, that is, you need to judge whether the information indicates the most important aspects of performance, or it is a marketing means to legitimise the organisation’s operations (do not include it in your report). In many cases, better assignments show in-depth analysis of the organisation and include aspects of performance that are not mentioned on the website (and justify why it is included – see next point). © UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY SYDNEY 3 3. Justification of performance aspects. You should persuade the readers that the performance aspects that you identified are appropriate for the organisation/business unit. In the justification you should refer to your organisational analysis, relevant academic literature or other materials that support your definition of performance. A good justification should show a strong connection with academic literature (i.e., journal articles). 4. Written communication. Your report should be well written so that it is easy to read and understand, well structured so that it is coherent, logical and well sequenced, and well presented so that it is professional, polished and appropriate for its audience. It should conform to the specified formatting requirements and the UTS Business referencing conventions. Remember, performance is shaped by what you define as an organisational unit. The performance of a whole organisation is very different from the performance of a business unit, an operational department, or a project team. Therefore, be sure to specify the level of the organisation for which you define the performance, and ensure that the performance is relevant to it. Word limit: The report is to be no more than 1200 words in length. Following the formatting requirements below means you should carefully check the word limit if your report exceeds 3 pages. See the table below for what is included in the word limit. Report Structure: Your report must be structured as a brief report. For instructions about writing reports, please see The UTS Business School Writing Guide available in the assessment folder on Canvas. Your report should include (or omit) the following sections: Section Required? Included in word limit? Title Page Not required. Your report should have the ‘MDC Individual report final submission cover sheet’ attached at the end of this document. No Short Executive Summary Given the short length of the report we expect this section to be a few sentences. Remember an Executive Summary is written in past tense and summarises the findings of a report (which is different to an essay introduction which introduces what the essay will cover). Yes Table of contents Not required. Don’t include in report Introduction One short paragraph where you introduce your organization. If you choose to focus on a business unit of the organisation, then you should also provide information on the business unit. Yes © UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY SYDNEY 4 Body of the report The body of the report should include sections with headings, that is, use headings to structure your report so that the main points covered in each section is clear to the audience. The quantity of the headings is up to you. Use the key point of each section to name your headings. There is no requirement to have a Discussion and/or Recommendations sections. Yes Conclusion Not required. Given the report is only 1200 words, no conclusion paragraph is necessary. Your executive summary will incorporate your conclusion. Don’t include conclusion paragraph References All information sources must be acknowledged using the APA 7th referencing style for both in-text citations and the reference list at the end of the report. The reference list at the end of the report should only include all in-text citations in your report. Please refer to the library website to ensure you reference correctly: https://www.lib.uts.edu.au/help/referencing/apa-referencing-guide An excellent quick tutorial with examples of referencing can be found here: https://avoidingplagiarism.uts.edu.au/ Submissions that contravene the referencing policy may draw severe penalties or be referred to the Student Misconduct Committee. Reference list not included in word limit Appendices Not required. All content must be in the body of the report. Don’t include in report Formatting of report body:  Font: Times New Roman, 12pt  Line spacing: 1.5 line spacing  Margins: At least 2cm for top, bottom, left and right margins  Include page numbers in your report Research You are expected to undertake independent research, reading a variety of sources to learn about your chosen organisation/business unit as well as techniques for how we could define performance. The materials we cover in lectures are a useful starting point; however, you are expected to find other sources relevant to your report. Think carefully about what sources you would like to use in your report. We prefer that you engage with a smaller set of relevant peer- reviewed academic sources in a meaningful way, rather than superficially referring to a larger group of sources. The following website has some great information about the types of academic sources of information that you are expected to use in your report: https://www.uts.edu.au/current-students/current-students-information-uts-business- school/study-and-assessment-resources-1 3) Self-evaluation exercise report (7 marks): The self-evaluation exercise (SEE) is designed to help you think about ways in which you can improve your report so that you produce a polished, professional, persuasive final report. You will focus mainly on your written communication. Through improving how you communicate https://www.lib.uts.edu.au/help/referencing/apa-referencing-guide https://avoidingplagiarism.uts.edu.au/ https://www.uts.edu.au/current-students/current-students-information-uts-business-school/study-and-assessment-resources-1 https://www.uts.edu.au/current-students/current-students-information-uts-business-school/study-and-assessment-resources-1 © UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY SYDNEY 5 your ideas, you will also improve, refine and develop the ideas. Between the submission of your draft report in Week 4 and the submission of the final report in Week 6, we expect you to conduct a self-evaluation of your draft report. We encourage you to perform the following steps multiple times during the writing process so to improve the quality of your report. Additional to the three steps, we also encourage you to utilize a writing tool to assist you, such as AcaWriter (developed by UTS Connected Intelligence Centre), Grammarly, and the like. 1. Referencing review 2. Formatting checklist 3. Peer feedback In Week 6 you will need to submit the filled SEE report together with the relevant supporting materials attached, including the annotated similarity report, the draft report with peer’s comments. The template for the SEE report is available on Canvas. Due dates and submission timetable: What Where When 1) Draft report submission Complete a 2-page draft report and a reference list (cover sheet not required) Online (Turnitin) “Individual report draft” on Canvas By 5:00pm Thursday 26 August 2021 (week 4) 2) Final report submission Complete final report (with cover sheet) Online (Turnitin) “Individual report final” on Canvas By 5:00pm Thursday 9 September 2021 (week 6) 3) SEE report submission Self-evaluation exercise report (with supporting documents) Online “Self-evaluation exercise report” on Canvas By 5:00pm Thursday 9 September 2021 (week 6) Further instructions:  The assignment submission is Turnitin-enabled. Similarity check will be conducted for both your draft report and final report.  You must complete this assessment independently. Students who are found copying or submitting work that is not their original work will be referred to the student misconduct committee and subject to harsh penalties.  You should avoid sharing your draft and final report with other students to minimise the risk of engaging illegitimate cooperation. © UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY SYDNEY 6  For more information on academic misconducts, please visit Rule 16.2 via https://www.gsu.uts.edu.au/rules/student/section-16. Late submission penalties: The Accounting Discipline Group enforces the following assignment late submission policy: Take-home assignments submitted after the due date without approval from the subject coordinator or an approved special consideration application will be penalised 10\% of the total assignment mark for each calendar day in which the assignment is late. A calendar day is defined as 24-hour period or part thereof following the published due date and time of the assignment. This rule applies until the 5th calendar day in which the assignment is awarded a zero mark (to a minimum mark of zero). For example, if the assignment is worth 30 marks and it is submitted 2 days late without an approved special consideration. The student will have 6 marks deducted from their assignment score. If they score 26/30, then their adjusted mark will be 20/30. Specifically, students who do not conform to the submission timeline will incur the following penalties: 1) Draft report submission in Week 4: Zero will be awarded to late submission (after 5pm 26 August). The submission time is the time Turnitin records once the document has uploaded. During peak assessment periods, upload time can take a while. You are therefore advised to submit your assignment well in advance of the time due. 2) Final report submission in Week 6: 3-mark (10\%) penalty for every day late will be applied to final report mark. 3) SEE report submission in Week 6: 3-mark (10\%) penalty for every day late will be applied to self-evaluation exercise mark with a maximum of 7 marks. Feedback and Marking You will receive different types of feedback relating to your report, including Turnitin reports (about similarities), peer feedback, completed marking rubrics and grades from your tutor. Pre-submission The self-evaluation exercise encourages you to make use of other sources of feedback on your earlier drafts (e.g., peers and self-review, writing tools). Since this process is central to the assessment exercise (you will be receiving marks for doing this), you are expected to complete your report without substantive input from MDC teaching staff before the final submission. If you have general questions about the assessment requirements, please ask your subject coordinator at weekly lectures or on the dedicated forum - Discussion Board on Canvas. https://www.gsu.uts.edu.au/rules/student/section-16 © UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY SYDNEY 7 Final submission marking Your tutor will mark both your final report and SEE report according to the criteria specified in the marking rubric. We strongly recommend that you familiarise yourself with the marking rubric well in advance, and develop your report to address the criteria. The teaching staff will moderate the marking in an effort to ensure consistency in marking across the classes. Final submission feedback You will receive feedback on your report in Week 8, which includes a grade, as well as a completed rubric showing how your submission is assessed according to the marking criteria. Marking queries, reviews and appeal process If you have any questions concerning the feedback or marking, you need to discuss this with your tutor within 2 weeks after receiving the feedback. Your tutor will advise you of the next steps in the review process. The two-week timeframe applies to the entire MDC cohort. NOTE: one of the requirements of the review process is that students review and reflect on the feedback provided (i.e., highlight how your self-assessment differs from your tutor’s assessment using a separate marking rubric). Exemplar assignments To give you a sense of what makes a ‘good’ assignment, we provide examples of past students’ work on Canvas under the Assignments tab. Please note that assignment requirements, the list of organisations, and components do change over time. The examples show how previous students had done well in meeting the previous requirements but may not be equally relevant to the current assignment. Specifically, this semester’s assignment is structured as a report, whereas some of the exemplar assignments were required to be structured as an essay. While the exemplars are not perfect, they have demonstrated convincing justification of their arguments, which is one of the main criteria of a good quality assignment. Each semester we try to update this collection by including new examples of students’ work. We do this by reviewing and selecting outstanding, creative or innovative examples from the most recent submissions, de-identifying and making minor changes to the work (if necessary), then publishing it online. We will contact the author of the work to ask their permission for use before making it available online. © UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY SYDNEY 8 MDC Individual Report Cover Sheet Student name: Student number: Student email: Tutor name: Tutorial time: Date submitted: Report word count: Report organisation: SUBMISSION CHECKLIST (please read, tick and sign) Final report structure and content  Report has short Executive Summary, introduction and body paragraphs with headings  Large blocks of text have been broken up into paragraphs  All statements of fact have been referenced  Minimal use of direct quotes – ideas should be paraphrased in your own words Format  Times new roman 12 pt font, Line spacing 1.5, Margins: at least 2 cm for top, bottom, left and right margins, page numbers. Referencing – APA 7th  Number of academic journal articles in reference list  Number of other sources in reference list  All direct quotes have page or paragraph numbers in their in-text citations  All and only in-text citations have been included in the final reference list  Final reference list is in alphabetical order by author/year/2020a, 2020b etc SEE report  SEE report is submitted to Canvas  Supporting evidence for SEE is attached to the SEE report I hereby certify that this assignment is my own work, based on my personal study and/or research and that I have acknowledged all material and sources used in the preparation of this assignment. I also certify that the assignment has not previously been submitted for assessment and that I have not copied in part or whole or otherwise plagiarised the work of other students or authors Signed: © University of Technology Sydney 22421 Management Decisions and Control – Spring 2021 Student Name: Marking Rubric – Individual Report Grade: /20 Marking component Exceeds criteria Meets criteria Criteria not yet met Organisational analysis Report provides a clear, comprehensive, succinct analysis of the organisation’s/business unit’s objectives, strategies, structure and activities. Report provides an overview but needs a clearer analysis of the organisation’s/business unit’s objectives, strategies, structure and activities. Report does not provide a clear analysis of the organisation’s/business unit’s objectives, strategy, structure and activities. This may be because the objectives/strategies have been copied from the organisation without critical analysis. Defining performance for your organisation Provides a valid, clear, insightful explanation of the most important aspects of performance that have been tailored specifically for the organisation. Provides a valid general explanation of some aspects of performance that are relevant to the organisation. Does not provide a convincing explanation of aspects of performance, and/or the aspects of performance are vague, unclear, generic or irrelevant to the organisation. Justification of your definition of performance Provides a clear, persuasive justification of each aspect of performance that is appropriate for the chosen organisation. Convincingly links the justification of each performance aspect to the organisational analysis. Demonstrates deep engagement with relevant academic sources to support discussion. Provides a justification for most aspects of performance that is appropriate for the organisation. Provides some link between the justification of performance and the organisational analysis. Uses relevant academic sources to support main points of discussion. Does not provide a clear, persuasive justification of each aspect of performance that is appropriate for the chosen organisation. Does not convincingly link the justification of each performance aspect to the organisational analysis. Does not use or uses minimal relevant academic sources, or engages with them superficially. Written communication Communication is concise and precise. Report is very well written, structured, and presented in a professional and coherent manner. Minimal grammatical/ spelling/ punctuation errors. Rich and reliable sources are used to inform the analysis. The APA 7th referencing style is applied consistently with no errors. The formatting and word count are strictly adhered to (does not exceed the word limit). Communication is generally clear, making it easy for the reader to understand. Report is written, structured, and presented in a neat and appropriate manner. Some grammatical/ spelling/ punctuation errors. A few reliable sources are used to inform the analysis. The APA 7th referencing style is applied consistently, with a few errors. The formatting and word count is mostly adhered to (up to 10\% over the word limit). Communication of report is unclear making it difficult for the reader to understand the ideas being presented. This may be the result of errors in written communication, imprecise language, and/or poor structure. Many grammatical/ spelling/ punctuation errors. Minimal or no reliable sources are used to inform the analysis. The APA 7th referencing style is applied incorrectly (with many errors). The formatting or word count is not adhered to (more than 10\% over the word limit). Self-evaluation Exercise Report Grade: /7 1. Referencing review /2 2. Formatting and structuring /2 3. Peer feedback /3 9