Description

This assignment examines the management of an individual project and as such will draw upon the skills, concepts and models we have discussed in the course to apply them in a real-world setting. The exercise is designed to illustrate the practical challenges involved in managing the project, including the evaluation of good practice and/or problem areas for the project. Analysis of the project should make use of models, concepts and frameworks from the course lectures and your wider reading.

Select a project where you can collect and analyze sufficient secondary (and/or primary) data to derive meaningful and strong insights. The project may be in the public, private or third sector.  This is not a typical ‘research project’, so sources may be from your selected organization’s website, your knowledge of the project, government and consultancy reports as well as journal articles.

You should include an overall introduction and conclusion. The report should focus on 1-2 key project management issue(s) (e.g. project scoping, risk management, stakeholder management, project learning, project delivery, project planning, etc) which you should select after careful investigation (Remember, focusing down on topics will allow for greater depth in your analysis and recommendations). Please underline your investigation of project data (e.g. company reports, government reports, project case studies, interviews, etc.) with appropriate academic references to strengthen your argument. An essential feature of the report is to illustrate how theoretical constructs or models can help to explain the actions of organisations, project managers, or key stakeholders in practice. You are therefore advised to read widely. In fact, unless you have read and referenced at least 10 discrete references, it is unlikely that you have done sufficient reading.

§  The assignment should be written in Arial, 12pt, left-justified, 1½ spacing.

§  All academic and other sources must be cited and included in a reference list which should be complied at the end of the workbook but before any appendices (if at all) that you use. 

§  All cited sources should be listed in APA format in the references section at the end of your assignment.

§  Please note, in text citations [e.g. (Smith, 2011)] and direct secondary quotations [e.g. “dib-dab nonsense analysis” [(Smith, 2011 p.123)] are INCLUDED in the word count.

§  If the assignment is over by 5% or less of the word limit (maximum stated) no penalty will apply. If the word limit of the full assignment exceeds the +5% limit, up-to +25%, 10% of the mark provisionally awarded to the assignment will be deducted. For example: if the assignment is worth 70 marks but is above the word limit by more than 5%, a penalty of 7 marks will be imposed, giving a final mark of 63. If the word limit is exceeded by over 25% then the assignment will be referred to the academic board/ programme director without marking. It is not a requirement to state the word count, however, if it is stated and is falsified, this will be regarded as academic misconduct.

§  Students that submit up to 24 hours late (and do not have an approved extension to deadline) will be penalised by a deduction of 10% of available marks. Assignments later than this and without approval will be referred and processed as per decisions by the academic board/ programme director.