ASSIGNMENT EMCM5203

MAY SEMESTER 2011 EMCM5203 INTERNATIONAL PROJECT MANAGEMENT ASSIGNMENT (50%)

OBJECTIVE: This assignment is intended to provide you the opportunity to apply your knowledge of International Project Management. You are required to CRITICALLY ANALYSE a project from the context of International Project Management only. The assignment is broken down into numerous tasks as detailed in the Mark Sheet. You are required to adhere to the mark sheet. The details are explained below: INSTRUCTIONS: Executive summary (250300 words, but this does not form part of the assignment word count)

Note this comes before the table of contents Read the guidelines and provide a formal Executive Summary with details of why the report was prepared, how it is structured, what the important findings and conclusions are, and what the major recommendations are. (NOTE: this should be written last after you have finished the report.) It should be a Stand Alone document.

Table of contents This should be a full comprehensive listing with respective page numbers of executive summary, introduction, main sections, references, individual appendices, and full listing of all figures and tables.

1. Introduction (150 words) Briefly state why the report has been prepared, what project is being analyzed, and how the report is structured. You can select a project of your choice, a project you have previously worked on or create a fictional project. The conforming criterion is that it should be international in nature. You do not need to provide explicit details of the project. The information provided should be sufficient to present your case and be attached as an appendix (The Appendix will not contribute to the assignment word count).

ASSIGNMENT EMCM5203

2. Project background (150 words) Provide a brief background of the project. Highlight the problems or successes of the project. Describe what went wrong or right in relation to the assignment requirements.

3. Critically analyse your project environment (1000 words) Discuss the projects environment from the PESTLE point of view. Was the PESTLE framework considered for the project? Draw conclusions based on the performance of the project and make recommendations.

4. Critically analyse the type of organisation applied in this project. (800 words) Identify the type of organisation structure that was applied. Use figures and tables if necessary. Appraise the success of what was applied and make recommendations if necessary.

5. Discuss the Communications Management of your project. (800 words) Was communications management planned? Discuss the effectiveness of what was carried out. Was stakeholder analysis conducted? Make recommendations if necessary.

6. Identify the critical success factors for your project. (800 words) Discuss the critical elements that would ensure the success of both project success and project management success from what was discussed in items 3, 4 and 5 above. Additional factors can be included as well.

7. Conclusion (150 words) Discuss the findings of the analysis carried out above in relation to your project in terms of significant lessons learned. What findings are important and likely to be useful for future project?

ASSIGNMENT EMCM5203

8. Recommendations (150 words) Provide recommendations in response to the specific conclusions and lessons learned.

List of references Provide a complete list of references providing full details of all citations used in the body of the assignment. For a postgraduate assignment, there should be a minimum of 15 references, many of which will be cited more than once.

Appendices

If you have any appendices, they should be attached to the report after the list of references. They should be numbered sequentially, e.g. Appendix 1, Appendix 2, etc.

Assignment Format: a. Use double space and 12-point Times New Roman font. b. This assignment should contain about 3000-5000 words (at 15-20 pages). c. Provide references. References should use the American Psychological Association (APA) format d. References should be latest (year 2005 and onwards) Notes:

Assignments should be submitted according to the fixed date. You are to submit a softcopy of your assignment online through myVLE and a hardcopy to your facilitator. Plagiarism is not acceptable. If you are not sure what is meant by plagiarism, refer to the various websites which discuss this matter, e.g. owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts.

ASSIGNMENT EMCM5203

MARK SHEET EMCM5203 ASSIGNMENT INTERNATIONAL PROJECT MANAGEMENT

PRESENTATION (out of 10)
Overall presentation the look and feel of the assignment, cover sheet, page set out, appropriate use of footers and headers, and appropriate use of sections and subsections Language skills, grammar, spelling, clear and concise writing style, correct punctuation Effective usage and adaptation of figures and tables in assignment to clearly illustrate theoretical principles and the analysis of the chosen project, and to reduce overall word count Page numbering pages numbered

0 to 4
Little or no effort evident in presentation

5
Limited effort evident in presentation

6
Adequate effort evident in presentation

7 to 8
Considerable effort evident in presentation

9 to 10
Excellent standard of presentation

/10

Low standard of language skills numerous mistakes Little or no effective usage of figures and tables

Basic standard of language skills numerous mistakes Limited or inappropriate usage of figures and tables

Adequate standard of language skills some mistakes Adequate and appropriate usage of figures and tables

Good standard of language skills - few mistakes Good usage of figures and tables

Excellent standard of language skills very few mistakes Excellent usage and adaptation of figures and tables

Limited or no page numbering

Basic page numbering

Section numbering for all sections and sub-sections of assignment to comply with normal conventions

Limited or no section numbering system used

Adequate section numbering system used

Comprehensive page numbering complying with normal conventions Comprehensive section and sub-section numbering used

RESEARCH & ACADEMIC APPROACH (out of 20)

Evidence of knowledge of study materials and general knowledge of the project management domain Assignment structure and argument Evidence of research to support the argument and the analysis in the assignment,

0 to 9
Little or no Indication of knowledge of study materials Poorly structured and no logical argument Little or no evidence of research

10 to 12
Indication of limited knowledge of study materials

13 to 14
Indication of adequate knowledge of study materials Appropriate structure and argument Adequate evidence of research beyond the study materials and set text

15 to 16
Evidence of considerable knowledge of study materials and of PM domain

17 to 20 /20
Evidence of extensive knowledge of study materials and of PM domain Well structured and logical argument

Little or no evidence of research beyond the study materials and set text

Considerable evidence of research beyond the study materials and set text

Evidence of extensive research beyond the study materials and set text to support the analysis and argument

Quality of resources use of research resources from quality sources (e.g. journal articles, texts, conference papers, etc) Use of appropriate theoretical principles as a framework to justify analysis, discussion and argument, and integrated into the analytical discussion on the project Effective and appropriate usage of citations using Harvard or APA style List of references

Poor quality sources of reference materials (e.g. websites, Wikipedia, etc) Little or no use of theoretical principles

Adequate quality of sources of research

Limited use of theoretical principles

Adequate use of theoretical principles

Good use of theoretical principles

Little or poor use of citations

Limited use of citations

Adequate use of citations

Inadequate or no list of references reflecting poor range of research materials

List of references reflects limited range of research materials

List of references reflects acceptable range of research materials

Good use of citations to indicate use of theory in discussion and argument List of references reflects good range of research materials

ASSIGNMENT EMCM5203 Excellent sources of research resources, including journals, texts, conference papers, etc. Extensive use of theoretical principles and appropriate application to the project and its environment Extensive and appropriate use of citations to reflect use of theory in discussion and argument Comprehensive list of references reflecting wide range of quality research resources

ASSIGNMENT REQUIREMENTS (out of 70)

Executive summary (ES) to indicate the nature of the assignment, background details, research findings and recommendations where appropriate, and to function as a stand-alone document Table of contents to include all sections and subsections of assignment, list of references, list of appendices, list of figures and list of tables, all with page numbering 1. Introduction to provide an explanation of the reason for preparing the document and a brief summary of the contents

0 to 34
No ES provided, or poor quality ES that does not provide the required information

35 to 44
Basic ES that provides limited information, or does not provide information in a clear and concise manner

45 to 52
Adequate ES that provides sufficient information

53 to 59
Good ES providing the required information in a clear and concise manner

60 to 70
Comprehensive ES providing the required information in a clear and concise manner

/70

No table of contents provided

Basic table of contents with most details provided

Comprehensive table of contents with all details provided, and set out to a professional standard

No introduction provided, or irrelevant information

Basic introduction provided

Appropriate introduction provided

Good clear introduction provided

Clear, concise and comprehensive introduction providing essential details

2. Project background to provide details of the nature of the project 3.Critically analyze your project environment Analysis of project environment using the PESTLE framework

No background provided, or inadequate information provided

Basic or limited background information provided

Appropriate level of detail provided

Good level of detail provided

ASSIGNMENT EMCM5203 Clear, concise and comprehensive background providing essential details

Little or no discussion on topic

Basic discussion on topic and little use of theory

Adequate discussion on topic using appropriate theory

Good discussion on topic using appropriate theory

Clear, concise and comprehensive discussion on the topic, supported by appropriate theory, figures and tables.

4.Critically analyze the organization of the project Critical analysis of the type of organization applied to the project

Little or no discussion on topic

Basic discussion on topic and little use of theory

Adequate discussion on topic using appropriate theory

Good discussion on topic using appropriate theory

Clear, concise and comprehensive discussion on the topic, supported by appropriate theory, figures and tables.

5.Critically analyze the communications management of the project Analysis of the communications management of the project

Little or no discussion on topic

Basic discussion on topic and little use of theory

Adequate discussion on topic using appropriate theory

Good discussion on topic using appropriate theory

Stakeholder analysis

Little or no discussion on topic

Basic discussion on topic and little use of theory

Adequate discussion on topic using appropriate theory

Good discussion on topic using appropriate theory

Clear, concise and comprehensive discussion on the topic, supported by appropriate theory, figures and tables. Clear, concise and comprehensive discussion on the topic, supported by appropriate theory, figures and tables. Clear, concise and comprehensive discussion on the topic, supported by appropriate theory, figures and tables.

6.Critical Success Factors Critical success factors of the project

Little or no discussion on topic

Basic discussion on topic and little use of theory

Adequate discussion on topic using appropriate theory

Good discussion on topic using appropriate theory

Critical success factors of the project management

Little or no discussion on topic

Basic discussion on topic and little use of theory

Adequate discussion on topic using appropriate theory

Good discussion on topic using appropriate theory

7. Conclusions to provide a summary of the findings and lessons learned from the analysis of the selected project, including any threats to the selected, or similar, projects 8. Recommendations to provide recommendations in response to the specific conclusions and lessons learned Appendices (where applicable) to provide appropriate additional and relevant information and/or documents to support the discussions and arguments in the body of the text

Limited or no conclusions provided

Basic conclusions provided

Appropriate conclusions derived from the preceding analysis

Good conclusions derived from the preceding analysis

Limited or no recommendations provided

Basic recommendations provided

Appropriate recommendations provided

Good recommendations provided

Inappropriate use, or lack, of appendices

Appropriate use of appendices

ASSIGNMENT EMCM5203 Clear, concise and comprehensive discussion on the topic, supported by appropriate theory, figures and tables. Clear, concise and comprehensive conclusions derived from, and justifiably supported by, the preceding analysis Clear, concise and comprehensive recommendations, addressing the conclusions. Good use of appropriate appendices, and correctly titled and numbered

TOTAL MARK (Out of 100)

Marker to summarize strengths and weaknesses: Presentation skills Research skills Analytical skills Major strengths Major weaknesses

/100