Faculty of Business and Law
Assignment Brief – 2023/2024
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Module Title |
Governance and Sustainability |
Assignment Number |
2 |
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Module Code |
ACFI3423 |
Assignment Title |
Academic Essay |
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Module Leader |
Samuel Komakech |
Assignment Weighting |
50% |
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Assignment Release Date: |
25th October 2023 |
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Submission Date/Time: |
26thApril 2024; 12:00 Noon |
Assessment Information – What you need to do
This assignment is an individual assignment.
In the Executive Summary of the Annual Review of the UK Corporate Governance Code, the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) noted their “… lingering concerns that companies gave little thought to long-term sustainability …” (FRC, 2020:1). The FRC (2020:1) also noted that “Continued corporate failures also raise concerns around board effectiveness in considering and reporting on risks to their long-term sustainability.” These statements indicate that long-term sustainability is crucial for the survival of corporations.
Over the years, sustainability has attracted the attention of managers, leaders, academics, CSOs, etc., as it affects all aspects of life. Scholars have researched the importance of sustainability in various areas, e.g. Clift (2007) looked at the importance sustainability in relation to climate change and energy policy; Rodale (2008) looked at the importance of sustainability in relations to agricultural systems; Reed and Wilkinson (2005) looked at the increasing importance of sustainability for building ownership; Verbeke, Vanhonacker and Sioen (2007) looked at the perceived importance of sustainability and ethics related to fish; etc. Whilst, various scholars (e.g., Simnett and Vanstraelen (2009); Roca and Searcy (2012); Leszczynska (2012); Betherlot, Coulmont and Serret (2012); Stubbs, Higgins and Milne (2013); Searcy and Bulsovich (2014); etc.) have looked at various aspects of sustainability reporting. Recently, the UN’s 2030 agenda for sustainable development and the sustainable development goals has brought new challenges for corporate sustainable reporting (Tsalis, et al., 2020).
This assignment requires you to write an essay that:
1. discusses the importance of corporate sustainability and sustainability reporting; and
2. critically evaluates the importance of stakeholder-partnerships in achieving sustainability.
Note:
1. The Academic Essay is the second element of assessment for this module, which is 100% coursework-based.
2. The essay is designed to enable you to demonstrate your understanding of the basic Governance and Sustainability concepts and materials, the extra work you have put into researching the essay topic(s) and how analytical you have been in selecting and commenting on the materials you have used in the essay.
3. The submission should demonstrate that you have immersed yourself in the course material, that you have carried out wider reading and that you have done some thinking on your own. The essay questions have not been treated at length in class to allow you to develop and demonstrate these skills.
4. You will be expected to mainly use relevant academic literature and advance textbooks for the module as sources, and to carry out wider reading. You should complete the assignment based on your own research of the essay topic(s).
An effective structure helps your argument to unfold clearly to the reader, and as noted by Abrams (2000): “Writing an academic essay means fashioning a coherent set of ideas into an argument.
Because essays are essentially linear—they offer one idea at a time—they must present their ideas in the order that makes most sense to a reader. Successfully structuring an essay means attending to a reader's logic.”
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Criteria for Assessment - How you will be marked |
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Marks will be awarded appropriately for:
. Introduction to the essay that fully explains the central issues of the essay, gives an overview of the key issues addressed within the essay, shows an understanding of the assignment requirements, indicates the direction of arguments contained in the essay, and links appropriately to the main content – maximum 5 marks. . Essay that is well-structured with logical flow of arguments; professional layout and presentation; appropriate language, spelling and grammar – maximum 5 marks. . Relevant definition of corporate sustainability that provides context for the discussion of the importance of corporate sustainability – maximum 5 marks. . Relevant discussion of previous studies on the importance of corporate sustainability (up to 10 marks); summarisation and synthesis of arguments of others on the importance of corporate sustainability (up to 5 marks); and interpretation of and conclusion on the key issues and arguments (up to 5 marks) – maximum 20 marks. . Critical and evaluative discussion of relevant previous studies on the importance of sustainability reporting that links to the need for quality standards to guide preparation of such reports (up to 15 marks); summarisation and synthesis of arguments of others on the importance of sustainability reporting (up to 5 marks); and interpretation and conclusion of the key issues and arguments (up to 5 marks) – maximum 25 marks.
. Relevant definition of stakeholder partnerships that provides context for the discussion of the importance of stakeholder partnerships in achieving sustainability – maximum 5 marks. . Critical and evaluative discussion of relevant previous studies on the importance of stakeholder partnerships in achieving sustainability (up to 10 marks); summarisation and synthesis of arguments of others on the importance of sustainability (up to 5 marks); and interpretation and conclusion of the key issues and arguments (up to 5 marks) – maximum 20 marks. . Conclusion to the essay that is stated clearly, remind the reader of points covered in the essay, and show how the academic essay assignment brief was executed – maximum 5 marks. . Essays that are correctly and consistently referenced using Harvard Cite Them Right referencing style. for intext citations and citations in the list of references – maximum 10 marks. Total marks available – 100. Further information on university mark descriptorscan be found here. This assignment is designed to assess the following learning outcomes: . Be able to understand the aspects and theories that apply to corporate governance, and corporate sustainability. . Be able to discuss and appraise the multiple roles of multi-national businesses in sustainable development and the socio-political environment including the ethical issues involved. . Demonstrate the capacity to conduct logical and critical analysis and draw reasoned conclusions. . Demonstrate the capacity for independent and self-managed learning. Use of a range of published academic material for a given purpose.
Assessment Details
The word count for the case study is 2,250 words +/- 10%. There will be a penalty of a deduction of 10% of the mark for work exceeding the word limit by 10% or more. The word limit includes tables, figures, quotations and citations, but excludes the references list and appendices.
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