Assignment workshop: research, planning and referencing

This week’s topics

Assignment workshop: research, planning and referencing

1. Unpacking the assignment brief and criteria
2. Finding and evaluating sources
3. Planning and referencing
4. Planning your search strategy 2025
5. Things To Do Before You Hand In Your Assignment
6. Academic reading and writing in English Part 6: How to cite sources

What you will be able to do

• 1.1 Critically evaluate the external business environment of an organisation.
• 1.2 Identify key drivers and industry critical success factors.
• 2.1 Critically analyse the resources and capabilities of an organisation .
• 2.2 Distinguish between their threshold and distinctive resources and capabilities.
• 2.3 Evaluate their value chain and identify their core competence as a source of sustainable competitive advantage.
• 3.1 Critically explore the relationship between, corporate, business and operational strategies.
• 3.2 Apply strategic models and tools to develop strategic options for an organisation.
• 3.3 Evaluate strategic options for an organisation.
• 4.1 Critically evaluate internationalisation drivers and strategies.
• 4.2 Critically analyse corporate social responsibility strategies emphasizing the stakeholder theory.
• 4.3 Demonstrate the nexus between strategy and corporate social responsibility/sustainability and evaluate the concept of shared value.
• 5.1 Identify and assess different leadership styles as related to strategy change.
• 5.2 Evaluate how organisational context affects strategic change.
• 5.3 Evaluate how leadership influences strategic change.

Activity

Start with this week’s 3 videos, then: Plan the unit assignment against every criterion; source and reference the evidence.

Study materials

Videos

• Planning your search strategy 2025 · YouTube · University of Staffordshire Student Life · 24 min · for registered students
• Things To Do Before You Hand In Your Assignment · YouTube · University of Staffordshire Student Life · 22 min · for registered students
• Academic reading and writing in English Part 6: How to cite sources · YouTube · Leiden University - Faculty of Humanities · 17 min · for registered students

Further resources

• Harvard Referencing quick guide 2025 (York St John University) · PDF · Other, report · for registered students
• Writing for Success, ch. 8.1–8.3: Prewriting, outlining and drafting · PDF · Saylor Academy, textbook chapter; pp. 281–318 · for registered students
• Evaluating Information: Applying the CRAAP Test · PDF · Other, report · for registered students