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In your own words, describe the specifics of what this study involved. What where the samples? How were they grouped? What analysis did they complete? Under what conditions? For how long? What was measured? What was being compared?

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Critical Reflection of a Journal Article (USE THIS AS A GUIDE –  REFERENCE THE SAME ARTICLE)

Summarizing research articles will help you to develop your critical thinking skills and your ability to express yourself in the written form. A research article is written to get across a lot of information quickly to a reader. Reading such articles can be tedious and sometimes frustrating unless you are familiar with scientific writing and the reasons for this style. Research articles are highly structured to make information easy to find. Unlike literary writing, scientific writing emphasizes quantifiable information; as a result, the writing is very lean and extra words are avoided.

A research article has the following major sections: Title Page, Abstract, Introductions, Method, Results, Discussion, References, Tables and Figures. An article summary highlights the information in the Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion. Before you can write such a summary, you need to read and understand the article.

Reading the Article

  • Allow enough time. Plan to spend at least one half of the time you devote to this assignment to reading and understanding the article. Before you can write about research, you have to evaluate it. Before you can evaluate it, you have to understand it. Before you can understand it, you have to digest it. Before you can digest, you have to read it, thoroughly. This takes more time than most students realize.
  • Scan the article first. You will get bogged down in detail if you try to read a new article from start to finish. Initially you should briefly look at each section to identify:
    • general information about the study (stated in the Abstract and Introduction)
    • the hypothesis (-es) or research questions (in the Introduction)
    • the test of the hypothesis, including the sample, variables and operational definitions, and the procedures used (in the Methods)
    • the findings (in the Results, including tables and figures)
    • how the findings were interpreted (in the Discussion).
  • Read for depth. After you have highlighted the question, hypothesis, findings, and interpretations, go back to the article to read about each area in more detail. Now you should expect to read each section more than once. Expect not to fully understand the article the first time. You will have to read it more than twice before you can talk about it in your own words.

Remember that you are digesting information, not swallowing it whole. If an idea is relevant to your topic, you should be able to summarize it in your own words. If you can’t, you probably don’t understand it.

Article Conditions:

  • Must be from a peer reviewed source
    • American Chemical Society and Royal Society of Chemistry are two of the biggest publishers
  • Cannot be more than 50 years old
  • Must be a chemistry research article (not a review article)
  • Must be related to your approved individual proposal topic

Article Critical Reflection Questions

Bibliographic Information:

Article Title: Spectrophotometric Determination of Vitamin C in Pharmaceutical Preparations using Ammonium Metavanadate.

Journal: Asian Journal of Research in Chemistry

Year: 2017   Volume: 10, Issue 3    Page Numbers: 341-344

Other Identifying information if not a journal:

How did you locate this article?

I found this article by logging onto the library database website. I clicked on “New search” and typed “Determination of vitamin C by titration” and I didn’t find anything I was interested in. So, I typed “Determination of vitamin C by spectrophotometry” and refined my search from newest to oldest, peer-reviewed, and articles only. This article was the third up out of 10,333 search results.

Summary:

  • In 100 to 150 words summarize the main idea of the paper in laymen terms (non-scientist). Include your word count at the end of the summary.

The aim of this experiment was to test the Spectrophotometric method for measuring the concentration of vitamin C in pharmaceutical products such as Orange peel, Alma squash and Astymin C in order to compare the values obtained to the values on the manufacturer’s label. A Spectrophotometer is an instrument that passes light through a solution and measures how much light it has absorbed (Absorbance, A), but there has to be a color gradient based on the concentration of vitamin C. To accomplish this, ammonium metavanadate was added to the vitamin C, forming a green color which was bolder with increased vitamin C concentration. Using portions of known vitamin C concentration and getting their absorbances, a Beer’s law plot of Absorbance vs Concentration (μg/cm3). Unknown concentrations can be found using the equation of the trendline, of this graph: Absorbance, y = Slope, m (Concentration, x) + y-intercept, C.

(147 words)

Procedures:

  • In your own words, describe the specifics of what this study involved. What where the samples? How were they grouped? What analysis did they complete? Under what conditions? For how long? What was measured? What was being compared?

In this experiment, each of the pharmaceutical products such as Orange peel, Alma squash and Astymin C were prepared differently based on their stock solution, to 1000ppm. For the Orange peel power, they weighed out 10 grams of the powder, diluted to 250 mL of distilled water, boiled for 5 hrs., filtered using Whatman 41 paper, and 5mL was used. For the Amla squash, 10 mL of stock was diluted to 100 mL and 10 mL was used. Lastly for the Astymin C drops, 0.1 mL of stock was diluted to 100 mL and 1 mL was used. Their recommended procedure was to use 1 mL of a solution of 1000 ppm vitamin C with 1 mL of a 0.5 % w/v ammonium metavanadate (prepared by dissolving 0.5g of ammonium metavanadate in 100 mL of distilled water) made to a 25 mL solution using distilled water. This solution was in the 5.0-6.0 pH range.

The maximum wavelength was 395 nm and this was gotten using an absorption spectra of the complex against a blank. It was found that the complex and color was unstable past four hours, however, the color showed instantly. A Beer’s law plot of Absorbance vs Concentration (μg/cm3) was done for known concentrations of vitamin C, and then used to find the concentration of the Unknowns using the equation of the trendline, of this graph: Absorbance, y = Slope, m (Concentration, x) + y-intercept, C. There was no table showing the data values for the known compounds. The results of this method was tested using the pH metric method to validate the results, but this was done only with the Orange squash sample.

For the tools, a. Boush and Lomb spectronic-20 was used with 1cm matched glass cell. Potassium chromate in KOH solution and potassium permanganate in sulphuric acid solution was used to calibrate the spectrophotometer, using an absorption spectra. This was not explained in detail. The pH meter was also calibrated, done pH 4.0, 7.0 and 9.2 buffer solutions.

Findings:

  • In your own words discuss the major findings and results. How useful or significant is this (what did the author(s) say about it?)

For the calibration curve the line was y= 0.009x + 0.014 with an R2 value of 0.9951. Because the R2 value is strong, the correlation is also strong.

For the Orange peel powder, the Spectrophotometric method gave 52.00 ± 4.62 μg/cm3 and the pH metric method 49.00 ± 3.35 μg/cm3 which is very close. There was no data on the manufacturer’s concentration.

For the Amlasquash (Nutri value) the Spectrophotometric method gave 63.33 ±5.76 μg/cm3 with a factory value of 65 μg/cm3, which is also close.

For Astymin C drops the Spectrophotometric value was 66.66 ± 5.77 μg/cm3 and the factory value was 70 μg/cm3 . No data for pH method.

The precision and accuracy of the method was tested by doing 8 replicate sampeles of each solution of 200.0 μg of vitamin C. The average was .94±0.028 at 95% confidence level. The standard deviation was 0.0394 and the variance was 0.0016.

Personal comments:

  • Give your reaction to the study? Such as: What did you learn from the study? How might you apply the results in a future application? Explain how this study might relate to the lab, lab topic, and/or your project. Do you think this is scientifically valid? You must defend your answer.

This was an adaptation of what was learned in class. I believe it was necessary to do both pH metric and spectrophotometric methods to test the result.

Critical Reflection of a Journal Article (USE THIS AS A GUIDE –  REFERENCE THE SAME ARTICLE)

Summarizing research articles will help you to develop your critical thinking skills and your ability to express yourself in the written form. A research article is written to get across a lot of information quickly to a reader. Reading such articles can be tedious and sometimes frustrating unless you are familiar with scientific writing and the reasons for this style. Research articles are highly structured to make information easy to find. Unlike literary writing, scientific writing emphasizes quantifiable information; as a result, the writing is very lean and extra words are avoided.

A research article has the following major sections: Title Page, Abstract, Introductions, Method, Results, Discussion, References, Tables and Figures. An article summary highlights the information in the Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion. Before you can write such a summary, you need to read and understand the article.

Reading the Article

  • Allow enough time. Plan to spend at least one half of the time you devote to this assignment to reading and understanding the article. Before you can write about research, you have to evaluate it. Before you can evaluate it, you have to understand it. Before you can understand it, you have to digest it. Before you can digest, you have to read it, thoroughly. This takes more time than most students realize.
  • Scan the article first. You will get bogged down in detail if you try to read a new article from start to finish. Initially you should briefly look at each section to identify:
    • general information about the study (stated in the Abstract and Introduction)
    • the hypothesis (-es) or research questions (in the Introduction)
    • the test of the hypothesis, including the sample, variables and operational definitions, and the procedures used (in the Methods)
    • the findings (in the Results, including tables and figures)
    • how the findings were interpreted (in the Discussion).
  • Read for depth. After you have highlighted the question, hypothesis, findings, and interpretations, go back to the article to read about each area in more detail. Now you should expect to read each section more than once. Expect not to fully understand the article the first time. You will have to read it more than twice before you can talk about it in your own words.

Remember that you are digesting information, not swallowing it whole. If an idea is relevant to your topic, you should be able to summarize it in your own words. If you can’t, you probably don’t understand it.

Article Conditions:

  • Must be from a peer reviewed source
    • American Chemical Society and Royal Society of Chemistry are two of the biggest publishers
  • Cannot be more than 50 years old
  • Must be a chemistry research article (not a review article)
  • Must be related to your approved individual proposal topic

Article Critical Reflection Questions

Bibliographic Information:

Article Title: Spectrophotometric Determination of Vitamin C in Pharmaceutical Preparations using Ammonium Metavanadate.

Journal: Asian Journal of Research in Chemistry

Year: 2017   Volume: 10, Issue 3    Page Numbers: 341-344

Other Identifying information if not a journal:

How did you locate this article?

I found this article by logging onto the library database website. I clicked on “New search” and typed “Determination of vitamin C by titration” and I didn’t find anything I was interested in. So, I typed “Determination of vitamin C by spectrophotometry” and refined my search from newest to oldest, peer-reviewed, and articles only. This article was the third up out of 10,333 search results.

Summary:

  • In 100 to 150 words summarize the main idea of the paper in laymen terms (non-scientist). Include your word count at the end of the summary.

The aim of this experiment was to test the Spectrophotometric method for measuring the concentration of vitamin C in pharmaceutical products such as Orange peel, Alma squash and Astymin C in order to compare the values obtained to the values on the manufacturer’s label. A Spectrophotometer is an instrument that passes light through a solution and measures how much light it has absorbed (Absorbance, A), but there has to be a color gradient based on the concentration of vitamin C. To accomplish this, ammonium metavanadate was added to the vitamin C, forming a green color which was bolder with increased vitamin C concentration. Using portions of known vitamin C concentration and getting their absorbances, a Beer’s law plot of Absorbance vs Concentration (μg/cm3). Unknown concentrations can be found using the equation of the trendline, of this graph: Absorbance, y = Slope, m (Concentration, x) + y-intercept, C.

(147 words)

Procedures:

  • In your own words, describe the specifics of what this study involved. What where the samples? How were they grouped? What analysis did they complete? Under what conditions? For how long? What was measured? What was being compared?

In this experiment, each of the pharmaceutical products such as Orange peel, Alma squash and Astymin C were prepared differently based on their stock solution, to 1000ppm. For the Orange peel power, they weighed out 10 grams of the powder, diluted to 250 mL of distilled water, boiled for 5 hrs., filtered using Whatman 41 paper, and 5mL was used. For the Amla squash, 10 mL of stock was diluted to 100 mL and 10 mL was used. Lastly for the Astymin C drops, 0.1 mL of stock was diluted to 100 mL and 1 mL was used. Their recommended procedure was to use 1 mL of a solution of 1000 ppm vitamin C with 1 mL of a 0.5 % w/v ammonium metavanadate (prepared by dissolving 0.5g of ammonium metavanadate in 100 mL of distilled water) made to a 25 mL solution using distilled water. This solution was in the 5.0-6.0 pH range.

The maximum wavelength was 395 nm and this was gotten using an absorption spectra of the complex against a blank. It was found that the complex and color was unstable past four hours, however, the color showed instantly. A Beer’s law plot of Absorbance vs Concentration (μg/cm3) was done for known concentrations of vitamin C, and then used to find the concentration of the Unknowns using the equation of the trendline, of this graph: Absorbance, y = Slope, m (Concentration, x) + y-intercept, C. There was no table showing the data values for the known compounds. The results of this method was tested using the pH metric method to validate the results, but this was done only with the Orange squash sample.

For the tools, a. Boush and Lomb spectronic-20 was used with 1cm matched glass cell. Potassium chromate in KOH solution and potassium permanganate in sulphuric acid solution was used to calibrate the spectrophotometer, using an absorption spectra. This was not explained in detail. The pH meter was also calibrated, done pH 4.0, 7.0 and 9.2 buffer solutions.

Findings:

  • In your own words discuss the major findings and results. How useful or significant is this (what did the author(s) say about it?)

For the calibration curve the line was y= 0.009x + 0.014 with an R2 value of 0.9951. Because the R2 value is strong, the correlation is also strong.

For the Orange peel powder, the Spectrophotometric method gave 52.00 ± 4.62 μg/cm3 and the pH metric method 49.00 ± 3.35 μg/cm3 which is very close. There was no data on the manufacturer’s concentration.

For the Amlasquash (Nutri value) the Spectrophotometric method gave 63.33 ±5.76 μg/cm3 with a factory value of 65 μg/cm3, which is also close.

For Astymin C drops the Spectrophotometric value was 66.66 ± 5.77 μg/cm3 and the factory value was 70 μg/cm3 . No data for pH method.

The precision and accuracy of the method was tested by doing 8 replicate sampeles of each solution of 200.0 μg of vitamin C. The average was .94±0.028 at 95% confidence level. The standard deviation was 0.0394 and the variance was 0.0016.

Personal comments:

  • Give your reaction to the study? Such as: What did you learn from the study? How might you apply the results in a future application? Explain how this study might relate to the lab, lab topic, and/or your project. Do you think this is scientifically valid? You must defend your answer.

This was an adaptation of what was learned in class. I believe it was necessary to do both pH metric and spectrophotometric methods to test the result.

Can different training approaches in non business sectors be applied in business sectors? Do authors highlight problems in introducing and developing different training approaches?

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Literature Review
Literature review sources examples;
Relevant – Academic books, articles, journals, institutes, expert unbiased statements etc
Linked to your research project, undertake a wide literature review to identify;
Expert opinions – Proven facts – data – evidence
Qualitative and quantitative secondary information and data.

DO NOT SIMPLY REPORT WHAT AUTHORS SAY!
Analyse and critically compare (eg agreements / disagreements)
Form arguments and conclusions.
Analyse quantitative research (Form conclusions, do not simply state facts)
Project:- How can training and development positively impact on employee performance and productivity.

Hypothesis:- Continuous training and development contributes towards achieving organization aims and objectives.
You are researching into different forms of training and development approaches which contribute to achieving organization objectives.

DO NOT SIMPLY REPORT WHAT AUTHORS SAY!
Example approaches, you could;
Different authors views on different training approaches – agreements/disagreements
Is there evidence that certain training approaches work in certain circumstances.
Do authors promote deploying certain training and development approaches.
Can different training approaches in non business sectors be applied in business sectors?
Do authors highlight problems in introducing and developing different training approaches?
Are there errors in authors methods, perspectives and conclusions?
Are authors past perspectives no longer relevant.
Are sources valid/invalid? Biased/unbiased?
Are there gaps in authors research which questions validity of their views?

Discuss various methods healthcare organizations may use to allocate costs. Make recommendations to your client on the cost-allocation method(s) appropriate for its operations.

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Assume the role of a healthcare financial management consultant (choose a place or hospital or insurance in state of New Jersey) for a healthcare organization striving to manage its costs more efficiently. In a five-page paper, address the following:
Complete an introductory discussion related to the importance of effectively managing costs of healthcare organizations in the context of reducing cost of care while improving quality of care.
Discuss various methods healthcare organizations may use to allocate costs. Make recommendations to your client on the cost-allocation method(s) appropriate for its operations.
Discuss how the cost-allocation method and and cost-assembling method you have recommended may help the organization identify wastes in resources and manage costs more efficiently.
Discuss how effective cost management may have far-reaching impact, such as on organizational bond ratings.
Your paper must also include a title page, abstract, and references; these are not included in the five-page count. . Your paper should be written following current APA style guidelines. Use up to date references Journal USA sources.

Why was Rome so successful in expanding its power and influence throughout Italy, other parts of Europe, and around the Mediterranean?

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Select any three (3) questions below answer 2 pages per question:

The text of your answers must be double- spaced and typed using Times New Roman font (12-point size) with one-inch (2.54 cm) page margins. Number your answers with the corresponding numbers of the questions as they appear above. Footnote citations for each answer should be single-spaced and typed in Times New Roman font at 10-point size.

  1. Because of the strong patriarchal elements of Roman society, does this mean that Roman women had no influence or power at all? Justify your position by examining the roles and rights of women within the contexts of both household and community life.
  2. In surveying Rome’s history, from the monarchy, through the Republic, to the Principate, and the Dominate, one might be justified in describing the Roman state as an oligarchy. Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Justify your position by outlining the main institutions and offices of Rome’s government at each of the major stages of political development noted above.
  3. Why did Rome’s Republican system of government become increasingly unstable during the second and first centuries BC, and how was this instability resolved? In answering this question, describe various social, political, and military factors that contributed to growing turmoil from the time of Tiberius Gracchus onward, and explain how Augustus restored political stability to Rome.
  4. Explain why Rome became such a formidable military power during the Republic. In doing so, be sure to address key forms (and changes) of organization within Rome’s armies as well as technological, demographic, and cultural considerations.
  5. Why was Rome so successful in expanding its power and influence throughout Italy, other parts of Europe, and around the Mediterranean? Can Rome’s imperial expansion be explained in strictly military terms, or were there important political, demographic, cultural, and geographic influences?
  6. Would you describe Roman culture as inclusive or exclusive when it came to matters of religion? Provide evidence to support your stance and in doing so account for the development of Christianity within the Roman Empire.
  7. Consider the roles and relative influence of the lower classes of the Roman population in such developments and processes as the Struggle of the Orders, movements for land reform, expansion of citizenship, and recruitment for Rome’s armies. Would you say that the lower classes were relatively powerless, or did they exert some degree of influence?

How does the state, law and policy (state institutions and policies: federal, local, agency, institutional, etc.) impact racial and gender hierarchies in the United States, from the colonial period through the 1990s?

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Put together a guide for the paper to go based off of. 3 big points should be hit. No citations needed. Here’s the prompt:

How does the state, law and policy (state institutions and policies: federal, local, agency, institutional, etc.) impact racial and gender hierarchies in the United States, from the colonial period through the 1990s? What are some of the lasting legacies and consequences of the state’s role, law, and policy in constructing and perpetuating inequity?

How has “Social Media” and its platforms helped women of colour to pressurize the beauty industry to become more inclusive?

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Dissertation Proposal Draft 2

“An exploration on how social media is changing the beauty industry in regards to the lack of representation of black women shown in advertising ”

The cosmetic industry is mainly known for setting the standard of beauty for our society. In spite of this ,the very definition of beauty has remained narrow and discriminatory, a fault for which the industry has been criticized for over the years.

Historically, the beauty community has not had a platform where women of colour could vocalize their beauty frustrations, now, through the use of social media, they can. Social media and online platforms make it easier to create outlets for black women to see themselves in different areas and celebrate their beauty. Instagram, a social media platform, showcases an array of black beauty and positive engagements between account holders.

The awareness created by social media about issues surrounding representations forces beauty brands to change their tactics and make strides towards change. Lancome, signed Lupita Nyongo as the brand beauty ambassador, a women who is very vocal about her African heritage and fully embraces her natural beauty. Rihanna released a cosmetics line called “Fenty beauty” in 2017, which was an instant success and resonated so much with women of colour, as it shade range included 40 shades of foundation.

Brand are now beginning to extend and embrace other shades.  Now, any brand that seems to be launching anything less than Fenty is considered to be “slacking”. With that being said, the issue is really not about foundations but about representation and equality in the media and in products, which the industry still hasn’t grasp.

A recent study by the Institute of the practitioners in advertising, estimate that black British women spend up to £4.8 billion on beauty products and hair treatments, that is almost six times more than their white counterparts. However, even with such an impressive spend, black women remain drastically under-represented in the beauty industry. In 2016,Superdrug, a highstreet cosmetic and drug store, reported that 70% of black and asian women in the UK feel that high street stores do not portray or cater to their beauty needs.

My dissertation will be exploring the lack of representation in media for women of colour when it comes to the beauty industry and how social media has helped in make changes for the future.  I will be investigating various research questions(below) and weighing up the impact it has on black women.

Research Questions:

How has “Social Media” and its platforms helped women of colour to pressurize the beauty industry to become more inclusive ?

What is the current standard of beauty and how does this standard impact black women?

Do cosmetic brands really care about representation/equality for black British women or is it all for financial gain ?

Research paper/journals/articles:

  • Fetto, F. (2019). The beauty industry is still failing black women | Funmi Fetto. [online] the Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/global/2019/sep/29/funmi-fetto-happy-in-my-skin-beauty-industry-diversity [Accessed 13 Oct. 2019]
  • Banks, I. (2000). Hair matters : beauty, power, and Black women’s consciousness. New York : New York University Press.
  • Evans, P. C., & McConnell, A. R. (2003). Do racial minorities respond in the same way to mainstream beauty standards? Social comparison processes in Asian, Black, and White women. Self & Identity, 2(2), 153-167.
  • Gleason-Allured, J. (2016). Is the beauty industry listening to multicultural consumers? People of color face difficulties in finding the right products, creating both frustration and new innovation. Global Cosmetic Industry, 184(4), 42-46.
  • Muller, M.G. (2017, September 19). How Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty Is Ushering in a New Era of Inclusivity in the Beauty Industry. W Magazine. Retrieved from https://www.wmagazine.com/story/how-rihanna-fenty-beauty-changing-beauty-industry.

– Wilson, C.C. & Gutierrez, F. (1995). Advertising and people of color. In Dines G. & Humez, J. (Ed.), Gender, Race, Class in Media: A text-reader (pp. 283-292). Sage: Thousand Oaks, CA.

– Nast, C. (2016). Social Media Is Taking the Beauty Industry By Storm. [online] Allure. Available at: https://www.allure.com/story/social-media-impact-on-beauty-industry# [Accessed 31 Oct. 2019].

Write the essay of a maximum 500 words, accordingly to your plan. In addition, cite and reference the given articles in Harvard style.

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Brief:

Task 1 : Read the provided articles, expressing the opinions of the two authors on a topic of the futuristic industries.

Links to articles

1.The new water technologies that could save the planet What are the new and emerging technologies that will help business overcome the scarcity of clean, fresh water https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/new-water-technologies-save-planet.

2 .  Rare earth elements: Development sustainability and policy issues https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214790X17302472?casa_token=LDHXH RWyJMAAAAA:cG7bqTFNULlhGMUv5j1q5yVVlxDPSpkhguue1UEHW1J0bcVDFIFS4QBgk42W5tJtSmN R9qg

Task 3 : Design a plan or concept map, to plan a discursive essay on the same topic.

Task 4 : Write the essay of a maximum 500 words, accordingly to your plan. In addition, cite and reference the given articles in Harvard style.

ESSAY TITLE

The three most important advances in society in the past 20

years that will shape our future after the Covid-19.

Critically analyze the impact of relationship marketing in developing a cohesive and effective strategy to create an effective service.

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Assessment Information/Brief

To be used for all types of assessment and provided to students at the start of the module.

Information provided should be compatible with the detail contained in the approved module specification although may contain more information for clarity.

Module title Services and Relationship Marketing
Level 6
Assessment title Assignment 2: Case Study: Customer Loyalty and Relationship Marketing in Franchises
Weighting within module This assessment is worth 50% of the overall module mark.
Submission deadline date and time

How to submit

You should submit your assessment electronically via Turnitin on the module’ blackboard
Assessment task details and instructions

Targeting, acquiring, and retaining the “right” customers is at the core of many successful service firms. It is important that firms carefully choose desirable, loyal customers within the chosen segments and then take pains to build and maintain their loyalty through well-conceived relationship marketing strategies. The objective is to build relationships and to develop loyal customers (whether B2B or B2C) who continue to do a growing volume of business with the firm in the future.

From the above brief on service delivery, you are asked to:

Read the attached case- CRM at C. Fun Parks and produce a well-researched report supported by the relevant academic literature, models/frameworks. You are the CRM consultant, address the following:

1. Critically examine the existing literature on franchisor-franchisee relationships, its merits and demerits for each party to the relationship with application to the case and discuss ways in which franchisee satisfaction and loyalty can be improved. (50 marks).

 

2. Ultimately, the objective of the franchise is to improve customer satisfaction and loyalty of the final consumer. Taking into consideration the issues presented in the case, discuss and make recommendations regarding key strategies the franchise can employ to build long term relationships and improve customer bonds with the organization. (50 marks).

· You are required to produce a written report to include the following: Arial 12 font size, front sheet, abstract, contents page, introduction, main findings, conclusion, recommendations, and bibliography (Harvard format in line with School policy).

· You may include an appendix section if required.  Please print your word count at the end of your report.

· Refer to the guidance on report writing by visiting the University’s Study Skills general URL at www.edu.salford.ac.uk/studyskills. 2
Assessed intended learning outcomes

On successful completion of this assessment, you will be able to:

Knowledge and Understanding

1. Appraise the marketing process in services

2. Critically evaluate and analyze the relationship between marketing management and strategic management.

3. Critically evaluate and analyze the application of theories and concepts of services marketing in a range of different situations.

4. Critically analyze the impact of relationship marketing in developing a cohesive and effective strategy to create an effective service.

Practical, Professional or Subject Specific Skills

1. Demonstrate conceptual and critical thinking, analysis, synthesis and evaluation.

2. Exhibit relevant personal and interpersonal skills.

3. Have a wide knowledge and understanding of the broad range of areas of service marketing and management and the detailed relationships between these and their application

4. Practice consistently demonstrate a command of subject-specific skills as well as proficiency in generic skills and attributes

Transferable Skills and other Attributes

1. Acquire and develop a range of cognitive and intellectual skills relevant to the management of the service relationship in different organizational and work contexts and within different national settings

2. Locate, analyze and synthesize information from a range of published literature and electronic sources, with acknowledgement and referencing of sources

3. Capacity for independent and self-managed learning, as well as working in small groups, to clarify objectives, exchange ideas and knowledge, and evaluate data in terms of problems presented

4. Relate skills to future learning needs and employment requiring the exercise of personal responsibility and decision-making
Module Aims

1. To enable students to understand the nature of services within the business environment.

2. To develop a detailed understanding of the marketing process adopted by a range of public and private sector service organisations.

3. To develop an understanding of relationship marketing and how it contributes to the effectiveness of service organisations whether it be Business to Customer or Business to Business

4. To explore the current issues which impact (or have the potential to impact) on the practice of  marketing in Services
Word count/ duration (if applicable)

· Your assessment should be 2,500 words with +/- 10% tolerance. This is between (2,250 and 2,750).

· Front sheet, Abstract, Contents page, Figures, References/Bibliography and Appendices are not part of the word count.

· Students to decide for themselves the appropriate word length for each part of the task.
Penalties for exceeding word count/duration

Markers will cease considering content for the purpose of grading and feedback once the stated maximum length has been exceeded. Content beyond this point will not contribute to the determination of the awarded mark and will not be commented upon in feedback.
Feedback arrangements

You can expect to receive feedback

· Marks will be available on Blackboard. You will need to log into the full site to access the written feedback. The mark and feedback will be released at 16:00hours.

· Email: Dr Sean Chung s. uk or Dr  Michael Evans one-to-one feedback if you want tutorial support following results.
Support arrangements

You can obtain support for this assessment:

Formative Feedback:

NB: Students can discuss their assignment with Sean or Michael before the submission date. Should note that, we will be able to look at your draft in person and NOT via email.

· Support for this assignment is available during the weekly timetabled drop in sessions.

· Additionally, you can come to our respective offices during office hours.

· Further information is available under Assessment on Blackboard.

· Contact Michael Evans by email on mea.uk  or Sean Chung s.uk if guidance is needed to complete the assignment.

· A reply can be expected within 24 hours if you do not receive a reply please email again stating that the email is a second request for support

askUS

The University offers a range of support services for students through askUS.

Good Academic Conduct and Academic Misconduct

Students are expected to learn and demonstrate skills associated with good academic conduct (academic integrity). Good academic conduct includes the use of clear and correct referencing of source materials. Here is a link to where you can find out more about the skills which students require https://www.salford.ac.uk/skills-for-learning/home/using-and-referencing-information

Academic Misconduct is an action which may give you an unfair advantage in your academic work. This includes plagiarism, asking someone else to write your assessment for you or taking notes into an exam. The University takes all forms of academic misconduct seriously.  You can find out how to avoid academic misconduct here https://www.salford.ac.uk/skills-for-learning/home/using-and-referencing-information

Assessment Information

If you have any questions about assessment rules, you can find out more here.

Disability and learning support: https://www.salford.ac.uk/askus/our-services/disability-and-learner-support

Late submission: https://www.salford.ac.uk/askus/academic-support/student-handbook/your-studies/course-support/assessment-and-feedback

Personal Mitigating Circumstances

If personal mitigating circumstances may have affected your ability to complete this assessment, you can find more information about personal mitigating circumstances procedure https://www.salford.ac.uk/askus/academic-support/pmc

Personal Tutor/Student Progression Administrator

If you have any concerns about your studies, contact your Personal Tutor or your Student Progression Administrator.

 

 

Assessment Criteria

You should look at the assessment criteria to find out what we are specifically looking at during the assessment.

See attached assessment Criteria.

The guidance provided here is in addition to general assessment criteria guidelines for degrees contained in your level handbook. Your attention is also drawn to the School policies on plagiarism and referencing.

70% > Very good to excellent use of lecture material, presented to a very high standard, and incorporating both wider, directed reading and other published material. Additionally, very good evidence of original thought on and around the topic.  Definitions of the main subject areas provided with references. Clear indication of the importance of customer loyalty in driving profitability and business growth in service firms. Very sound analysis of the nature of the franchisor and franchisee relationship in services operation with appropriate examples and a very good understanding of the links between the academic literature and firm practice. Demonstration of very good understanding of loyalty building strategies and practices such as tiering to enhance business-to-business- relationships and business-to customer relationships in service franchises. Very good integration of contemporary marketing strategies to build closer relationships with relevant market segments. Clear introduction and justification of conclusions and recommendations drawn. Accurately referenced with a complete bibliography.

60 – 69% Good to very good use of lecture material, presented to a good standard, and incorporating both wider, directed reading and other published material. Additionally, good evidence of original thought on and around the topic.  Definitions of the main subject areas provided with references. Good indication of the importance of customer loyalty in driving profitability and business growth in service firms.   Good analysis of the nature of the franchisor and franchisee relationship in services operation with appropriate examples and a good understanding of the links between the academic literature and firm practice. Demonstration of good understanding of loyalty building strategies and practices such as tiering to enhance business-to-business- relationships and business-to customer relationships in service franchises. Good integration of contemporary marketing strategies to build closer relationships with relevant market segments. Good introduction and justifiable conclusions drawn. Good text referencing and bibliography.

50-59% Fair to good use of lecture material, presented to a fair standard, and incorporating both wider, directed reading and other published material. Additionally, some evidence of original thought on and around the topic.  Some definitions of the main subject areas provided with references. Fair indication of the importance of customer loyalty in driving profitability and business growth in service firms.  Fair analysis of the nature of the franchisor and franchisee relationship in services operation with appropriate examples and a fair understanding of the links between the academic literature and firm practice. Demonstration of fair understanding of loyalty building strategies and practices such as tiering to enhance business-to-business- relationships and business-to customer relationships in service franchises. Fair integration of contemporary marketing strategies to build closer relationships with relevant market segments. Fair introduction and justifiable conclusions drawn.  Satisfactory text referencing and bibliography.

40-49% Basic use of lecture material, presented to a reasonable standard, and incorporating both wider, directed reading and other published material. Some basic definitions of the main subject areas provided with references. Reasonable indication of the importance of customer loyalty in driving profitability and business growth in service firms.  Basic analysis of the nature of the franchisor and franchisee relationship in services operation with appropriate examples and a basic understanding of the links between the academic literature and firm practice. Demonstration of reasonable understanding of loyalty building strategies and practices such as tiering to enhance business-to-business- relationships and business-to customer relationships in service franchises. Reasonable integration of contemporary marketing strategies to build closer relationships with relevant market segments. Basic introduction and justifiable conclusions drawn. Adequate text referencing and bibliography.

30-39% An unsatisfactory piece of work which demonstrates lack of understanding of the concepts and models of customer loyalty and relations marketing. A weak understanding of the nature of the franchisor and franchisee relationship in services operation with little or no examples provided, or efforts made to make a link between the academic literature and firm practice. No valid definitions of the main subject areas provided with no references. Little or no indication of the importance of customer loyalty in driving profitability and business growth in service firms. A weak understanding of loyalty building strategies and practices such as tiering to enhance business-to-business- relationships and business-to customer relationships in service franchises. Limited or poor attempt of integrating contemporary marketing strategies to build closer relationships with relevant market segments. Poor introduction and weak justification of conclusions and recommendations drawn. Poor structure and bibliography format.

20-29% Poor work and failing to pay attention to detail. Inadequate and inaccurate knowledge displayed with a poor ability to interpret the task in hand. Limited effort and planning evident.

10-19% Virtually no relevant knowledge displayed. No apparent structure or meaningful discussion of the task at hand.

The pass mark for this module is 40%

You should consult your Blackboard Module site for detailed grade or mark descriptors.
In Year Retrieval Scheme

Your assessment is not eligible for in year retrieval. If you are eligible for this scheme, you will be contacted shortly after the feedback deadline.
Reassessment

If you fail your assessment, and are eligible for reassessment, you will need to resubmit on or before x August 2020. For students with accepted personal mitigating circumstances, this will be your replacement assessment attempt.  Students should be aware that there is no late submission period at reassessment (this includes those students who have an accepted PMC request from a previous attempt).

· Be able to take the assignment following the next exam board.

· The re-take assignment will be the same as the main assignment brief.

· Submission period will be in August 2020 (Specific date to be confirmed by the examination office)

 

SRM: Assignment 2 – Case Study – CRM at C. Fun Parks

Background

  1. Fun Parks is a concept that was developed by Theodore Brook in 1985. The aim was to give people a short break, to take away their worries and give them a safe place to visit, where everything is provided for their comfort and entertainment, and also their family and/or friends, and all close to home!

From 1985 onwards Brook experienced a great demand for his service proposition.  In only a few years he was able to open more than thirty of these resorts in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and France.

The first resorts were company owned, managed and operated.  But soon Brook found that his resources were limited, and this hindered a rapid expansion; the launch of a franchising concept provided a solution.  At present, 85 per cent of the resorts are owned and managed by franchisees.  Twice a year there is a meeting between the franchisees and the franchise organisation.  During the last franchisee meeting, Brook was asked to develop and present a CRM plan.  The franchise organisation was, in the franchisees’ opinion, lacking a clear CRM vision and strategy, and invested in a rather ad hoc way in CRM systems.

The franchising concept

Characteristic of C. Fun Parks is the resort’s main building that houses the reception, a restaurant, a (tropical) swimming pool, a bar, a terrace, a game hall and a convenience store.  Apart from the central building, the resorts contain several bungalows, with accommodation available for four to sixteen people.

Guests can choose between several service packages.  The budget pack does not include bed sheets, towels, cleaning, welcome food and beverage package, etc., whereas the premium pack will provide these services.

Also, in the park several activities are organized for guests, ranging from horse riding, bingo and soccer games to nature walks.  Outside the park, there are ample opportunities for enjoying a short holiday.  The park provides guests with information so that they can enjoy and explore the local environment.

Franchisees have little decision-making freedom over the park.  The park’s general manager also must follow and pass a professional hospitality management programme and a special quality management system has to be implemented in his/her organization.  Furthermore, s/he will have to participate in the joint marketing programme.

Franchisee performance

About 70 per cent of the franchisees have been able to increase the customer satisfaction rates over the past five years.  However, the improvements in profitability and sales show a less satisfying trend over the past three years.

Of course, the market has changed, but even if the franchisees take account of external events, they state they ‘need more’.  Occupancy rates have dropped to 85 per cent; this, although still acceptable, has been higher in the past.  Furthermore, guests often delay their choice of a short beak, leaving the decision as to whether to book a holiday until the last minute.  French guests are known for their impulsive behaviour; a substantial percentage does not reserve a bungalow and arrive at reception asking for a place to sleep.  During guests’ stay, the spending pattern has also shown a negative trend: they spend less during their stay in the restaurant, in the convenience store, on organized activities, on services, etc.  Not all the facilities are particularly profitable either.  Although it might not be desirable to hold each facility accountable, there is a need to exploit the tropical swimming pool, for instance, in a more economic way.

Does your paper have an overarching argument? Do your observations flow smoothly?Did you use in-text citations where appropriate, and were they formatted according to MLA style rules?

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I will be providing the Bibliography and the paper outline, so please write the paper according to those documents. Also the grading criteria of the paper is as follows:

REQUIREMENTS
Your paper must be at least 2000 words.
Your paper must be accompanied by an MLA-style bibliography of at least 10 sources. Refer to the section below for more information about the bibliography.
All quotations, paraphrases, and factual citations must be accompanied by an MLA-style in-text citation.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Your bibliography must list at least 10 sources, two of which must be books and two of which must be scholarly articles. You will be graded on the quality of the sources consulted, and on the consistency and accuracy of your MLA formatting.

You will be evaluated on the following:
Evidence of research: Does your paper demonstrate a good knowledge of the topic? Do you describe events, products, and companies with specificity (e.g. dates, monetary values, Billboard chart positions)?
Organization: Does your paper have an overarching argument? Do your observations flow smoothly?
Clarity of expression: Are your ideas expressed in clear, direct prose? Is your writing largely free of grammatical errors and typos? Does your paper contain repetitive statements?
Citations: Did you use in-text citations where appropriate, and were they formatted according to MLA style rules?

Bibliography: Does your bibliography meet the requirements stated in the assignment guidelines, and is it formatted according to MLA style rules?

Critically examine a range of theoretical approaches to the evaluation of an organization’s strategic position.

/in /by
Assessment Criteria
Learning Outcomes: Knowledge and Understanding tested in this assignment:
· Explore the risks and opportunities confronting strategic leaders in a changing world.

· Assess the challenges facing organisations in times of economic growth and recession.

· Critically examine a range of theoretical approaches to the evaluation of an organization’s strategic position.
Learning Outcomes: Skills and Attributes tested in this assignment:
· Research, diagnose and analyze a complex range of strategic problems.

· Critically evaluate strategic concepts and theory.

· Reflect on the experience of working as part of a team on a group project.
· Feedback /Marking criteria for this Assignment
Performance will be assessed using HBS Grading Criteria and Mark scheme.
Guidance for improvement will be given in writing on the Assessment Feedback Form or on the StudyNet Feedback Form within 4 weeks of submission.For each day or part day up to five days after the published deadline, coursework relating to modules submitted late will have the numeric grade reduced by 10 grade points until or unless the numeric grade reaches 40 for levels 4, 5 and 6 or 50 for level 7 (PG).  If a submission is more than 5 working days after the published deadline, a grade of zero will be awarded.

Where the numeric grade awarded for the assessment is less than 40 for level 4, 5 and 6, or 50 for level 7, no lateness penalty will be applied;

 

Detailed Brief for Individual/Group Assessment
Assignment Title: Individual Academic Reflective Report

 

Description of the assignment:

The sole aim of this assignment is to enable students to critically reflect on their academic experience of the module, including the evaluative, research and analytical skills gained throughout the module journey. It is also intended to enable the students to articulate their self-awareness, especially after working with colleagues in their assigned learning set during tutorials. Therefore, it is vital to follow the structure as laid out below to reflect on your experience of the module.

  1. Introduction:

· Briefly introduce your report to the reader – what is your report about?

· Discuss the specific issues that will be covered in the report

· Briefly discuss the company selected by your learning set: How and why the learning set settled for the selected company?

· Specify the models/frameworks that were used in analysing the issues in Assignment 1

· Discuss the rationale for writing the reflective report

  1. Description:

· Describe the aspects of the module that have significantly enhanced your knowledge and skills: Ensure you are specific and clear about the areas of the module you find most productive to your future career.

· Describe and justify how the module has developed your research, evaluative and analytical skills

· Describe the opportunities and challenges of writing an academic report with colleagues of differing backgrounds

· Describe how you applied the theories and theoretical concepts in your learning set to critically analyze the issues faced by your selected organization

  1. Feelings:

· Discuss your feelings about your selected company, including the strategic issues they faced and what they did to address them?

· Demonstrate how it has helped transform your thinking about Business Strategy generally.

· What new perspective(s) of Business Strategy have you captured during the module delivery? You can focus your discussion on any specific strategic theories/concepts/frameworks/models you have either learnt during the lectures and/or tutorials or within your learning set and show how they are applicable in practice? It is vital to ensure that, your arguments are specific and appropriately tailored to a key issue(s).

·Ensure you complement your discussions above with appropriate and specific examples

  1. Evaluation:

· Highlight the areas of the learning set discussions during the tutorials you considered invaluable/good, and the aspects that are inappropriate/bad. How did it affect your perception of working with others?

· What did you discover about yourself working with others? How do you intend to earnest the skills gained and/or address the weaknesses identified? How will they be useful/beneficial to your career in the future?

· Were there any cultural challenges within the learning set? How did you overcome these challenges? What lessons did you learn?

· How did the learning set communicate? Note: Think about: how meetings were held, email communication, specific social media interactions and tools used, etc.

· Ensure that you present appropriate justification for each argument.

  1.  Analysis:

· Analyse your perspective of the learning set discussions and the module. Discuss the sense you make of the situation.

· Articulate what lessons you have learnt and how that will improve and/or enhance your ability of working with others in the future?

· Specify how the knowledge gained from the learning set discussions has improved your understanding of strategic concepts/theories and your understanding of their applications in contemporary management practice.

  1. Conclusion:

Summarize your key points and indicate their implications on your future practice.

Note: your conclusion should come from the various sections discussed above.

Any specific instructions:

Reflective writing is personal, and therefore you are free to use first person (I, me, we) and emphasise the use of vocabulary, which relates to personal feelings and emotions. Be frank and specific in the way that you describe the research and analytical skills gained and use specific examples to illustrate how studying on this module have improved your level of application of these skills. The examples highlighted might relate to how you worked with colleagues in your learning set, and/or relevant real-life Business Strategy issues. You are also encouraged to consider how studying on this module might have developed your skills, knowledge and other attributes associated with enhancing your future career development. In summary, try to reflect on your overall experience of the module, your selected company and consider whether you have developed any new perspectives on Business Strategy and how this, together with changes in your skill set, might assist you in future.

· You are encouraged to include headings and subheadings to improve the clarity of your work

· You can include theories and/or concepts where appropriate, but must be directly linked with your arguments

· Ensure you include page numbers

· You are expected to use in-text referencing where appropriate and the use of Harvard Referencing style is essential (please check the Harvard Reference guide on Studynet if you need further information).

·         Word count limit must be adhered to with an allowance of +/- 10%

Mark scheme:

e.g. Weighting
Presentation and Structure 15
Harvard Referencing 5
Content and findings 25
Business Application 25
Analysis 30
Total 100
Student Support and Guidance

·         For further help, contact your module leader in their drop-in hours or by email.

·         Use the Grading Criteria and Mark Scheme to help improve your work.

·         Go to CASE workshops, use the CASE website and drop-in hours www.studynet.herts.ac.uk/go/CASE/

·         Academic English for Business support is available through daily drop-ins from the CASE office.  See the CASE workshop timetable on the CASE main website page for details.

·         Some tutors allow students to test their work using Turnitin.  Guidance on submission to Turnitin via StudyNet can be found by using the following link. http://www.studynet1.herts.ac.uk/ptl/common/asu.nsf/resource+library/TURNITIN+FOR+STUDENTS+2016+USER+GUIDE.pdf/$FILE/TURNITIN+FOR+STUDENTS+2016+USER+GUIDE.pdf