The formative assessment is an opportunity for you to gain experience of submitting a formal piece of written work, which demonstrates, firstly, a capacity for meaningful engagement with the Module material and the literature on strategic management; secondly, some understanding of the theory, models and Schools of strategic management; and thirdly, a developing ability to write critically, succinctly and effectively at Masters degree level.
Whilst the essay is not awarded a mark, you will receive written feedback on your formative assessment from your module tutor. The feedback you receive will consider your ability to demonstrate the above skills and abilities, as well as offer advice and guidance in terms of addressing the module aims and learning objectives and preparing for your summative assessment at the end of the module.
For your formative assessment, you are asked to submit an essay of up to 750 words, as follows:
Critically compare, contrast and assess the merits and limitations of any two strategic management models or theories. Each strategic management model or theory should be representative of or categorized within different Schools of strategic management, as portrayed within the module. You might wish to situate your analysis within the context of a case study or worked example (in accordance with Part 1 of the summative assessment), although this is not essential for your formative assessment.
In terms of the content of the formative essay, it is designed to provide you with opportunities for reading, critical appraisal of literature and theory and writing, in support of your ultimate completion of your summative assessment. As such, you are recommended to familiarise yourself with the summative assessment brief and the assessment criteria before completion of your formative assessment. The tutors will also offer constructive feedback and comment on other significant issues, such as presentation of your work and correct citation and referencing techniques, where appropriate.
Submission of a formative essay is not compulsory, but offers a unique opportunity within this module to receive focused personalised feedback from your tutor on your level of progress and achievement so far. Consequently, you are strongly advised to take some time to produce your best possible piece of work for your formative essay: you will not find it beneficial to receive feedback on work you knew you could do better with.
The word count for this piece is 750 words maximum, although you can submit less than this if you like.
