Assignment Brief As part of the formal assessment for the programme you are required to submit a Using Information assessment. Please refer to your Student Handbook for full details of the programme...

Assignment Brief As part of the formal assessment for the programme you are required to submit a Using Information assessment. Please refer to your Student Handbook for full details of the programme assessment scheme and general information on preparing and submitting assignments. Learning Outcomes: 1) Investigate data types and discuss their worth to an organisation 2) Understand the principles behind the construction of published financial statements. 3) Gain an appreciation of how data analytics can inform decision making within an organisation. 4) Use published data to inform a marketing decision 5) Calculate and comment on standard deviation 6) Explain how organisations can use data to improve quality. Maximum word count for the module: 1,000 words Please note that exceeding the word count by over 10% will result in a reduction in grade by the same percentage that the word count is exceeded. You must not include your name in your submission because Arden University operates anonymous marking, which means that markers should not be aware of the identity of the student. However, please do not forget to include your STU number. Page 3 of 6 BL0518 Assignment Task – Assessment Part 2 This assessment covers Learning Outcomes 3 and 4 and is worth 30% of the total marks for the module. This report refers to the dataset provided in the Using Information.xlsx spreadsheet. The file contains the monthly sales made by Arden Sunglasses Ltd. The company has 20 stalls in shopping centres across the UK with 100 sales staff. The file also contains the estimated monthly demand for sunglasses across all of the shopping centres giving a limit of possible sales and market share. Your task is to generate a report for the February 2018 meeting between the business analyst, chief financial officer and head of sales. In particular the following pieces of information are required: 1) Plot the monthly demand and sales figures with a description of the general trends in the data. (10 Marks) 2) Calculate the average monthly market share. (10 Marks) 3) The business analyst claims that currently promotions are started two months late. Show that the average market share would increase if the sales from each month happened two months earlier (i.e. March sales aligned to January demand, April sales aligned to February demand etc.) (15 marks) 4) The head of sales has proposed the following five new strategies with costs and expected sales increases. Evaluate the potential market shares if each of the new strategies were implemented. (15 marks) Marketing Scheme Cost Increased Sales % Customer Competition £10,000 8% Customer Promotions £20,000 10% 2 New Branches £100,000 35% Merge with Competitors £200,000 90% 10 New Branches £400,000 300% Page 4 of 6 5) Explain why the final strategy, building 10 new branches, will not result in the proposed sales increases. (10 marks) 6) Evaluate which quarter (Jan-Mar, Apr-Jun, Jul-Sep, Oct-Dec) is the most profitable where the quarterly profit margins are 50%, 30%, 25% and 40%. (20 marks) 7) The HR and sales departments have proposed to offer a bonus of £4,000 to each of the sales staff if profits increase by 8%. Check if this will result in higher profits in each quarter or if this should only be offered in a single quarter. (20 marks) Please note that exceeding the word count by over 10% will result in a reduction in grade by the same percentage that the word count is exceeded. Page 5 of 6 Student Guidelines Development of academic skills: You MUST underpin your analysis and evaluation of the key issues with appropriate and wide ranging academic research and ensure this is referenced using the AU Harvard system. The My Study Skills Area contains the following useful resources: Guide to Harvard Referencing http://moodle.bl.rdi.co.uk/guides/HarvardRef/AU_Harvard_Quick_Ref_Guide.pdf Guide to Harvard Citation http://moodle.bl.rdi.co.uk/guides/HarvardRef/AU_Guide_to_Harvard_Citation.pdf You must use the AU Harvard Referencing method in your assignment. Word Count: Students are required to indicate the exact word count on the title page of the assessment. The word count excludes the title page, executive summary, reference list and appendices. Where assessment questions have been reprinted from the assessment brief these will also be excluded from the word count. ALL other printed words ARE included in the word count. Printed words include those contained within charts and tables. See ‘Word Count Policy’ on the homepage of this module for more information. Submission Guidance: Assignments submitted late will not be accepted and will be marked as a 0% fail. Your assessment should be submitted as a single Word (MS Word) or PDF file. For more information please see the “Guide to Submitting an Assignment” document available on the module page on iLearn. You must ensure that the submitted assignment is all your own work and that all sources used are correctly attributed. Penalties apply to assignments which show evidence of academic unfair practice. (See the Student Handbook which is on the homepage of your module and also in the Induction Area). Page 6 of 6 Assessment Criteria (Learning objectives covered - all) Level 0 prepares students to function effectively at Level 4. Criteria for assessment at Level 0 reflect the preparatory nature of these modules. Students are expected to demonstrate the acquisition of generic learning skills appropriate for self-managed learning in an HE context. Students are expected to demonstrate that they have acquired the underpinning discipline-specific skills, knowledge and understanding necessary to undertake a programme of higher education Grade Mark Bands Generic Assessment Criteria First (1) 80%+ Outstanding performance which demonstrates an outstanding knowledge base, supported with wider reading and the ability to begin to analyse the subject area. The work draws widely on relevant theory and shows awareness of any relevant ethical considerations. The work shows an excellent level of competence and confidence in managing appropriate sources and materials, initiative and excellent academic writing skills and professional skills (where appropriate). The work is accurately and consistently referenced throughout. 70-79% Excellent performance which demonstrates an excellent knowledge base the ability to begin to analyse the subject. The work draws on relevant theory whilst showing some awareness of any relevant ethical considerations. The work shows a high level of competence in managing sources and materials, initiative and very good academic writing skills and professional skills (where appropriate). The work is consistently referenced throughout. Upper second (2: XXXXXXXXXX% Very good performance which demonstrates a sound understanding of the content and some ability to analyse the issues with reference to theory. The work shows a good level of competence in managing sources and materials and some initiative. Academic writing skills are good and expression remains accurate overall. Good professional skills (where appropriate). The work is referenced throughout. Lower second (2: XXXXXXXXXX% A satisfactory to good performance which shows a decent understanding of the content and makes some reference to theory. The work shows a sound level of competence in managing basic sources and materials. Academic writing skills are satisfactory and expression remains accurate overall although the piece may lack structure. Satisfactory professional skills (where appropriate). There is some attempt to reference the work. Third XXXXXXXXXX% A basic level of understanding in which there are some gaps in knowledge of the subject, its underpinning theory and ethical considerations. The work shows a basic use of sources and materials. Academic writing skills are limited and there are some errors in expression and the work may lack structure overall. There are some difficulties in developing professional skills (where appropriate). Marginal Fail 30-39% A limited level of knowledge in which there are clear omissions in understanding the subject, its underpinning theory and ethical considerations. The work shows a limited use of sources and materials. Academic writing skills are weak and there are errors in expression and the work may lack structure overall. There are difficulties in developing professional skills (where appropriate). 29% and below A poor performance in which there are substantial gaps in knowledge and understanding. The work shows little evidence in the use of appropriate sources and materials. Academic writing skills are very weak and there are numerous errors in expression. The work lack