Strategy asks you to write a critical-theoretical essay, which engages with key debates in strategy. This task assesses your ability to produce a relevant and compelling response to a set question, provide an analytic approach to the topic and its relevant issues, construct a sound argument and use relevant academic sources to support this argument.

coursework Order Description Assessment 2 on BUS204 Strategy asks you to write a critical-theoretical essay, which engages with key debates in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in strategy. This task assesses your ability to produce a relevant and compellin" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">ing response to a set question, provide an analytic approach to the topic and its relevant issues, construct a sound argument and use relevant academic sources to support this argument. Coherence of essay structure and clarity in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in the overall expression and presentation of the argument is essential - as is good footnotin" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">ing and bibliographic practice. Regardless which essay question you choose, you are encouraged to observe good essay-writin" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">ing practice. This in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">includes: Conceivin" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">ing, developin" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">ing, and communicatin" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">ing your own critical stance towards the material in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in question in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in as systematic and clear a way as possible Advancin" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">ing your argument by makin" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">ing your claims as specific as possible, and providin" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">ing detailed evidence in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in support of these claims Addressin" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">ing your topic from the outset of the essay. Sometimes students broach their topic too late in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in the essay, and this often results in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in vague writin" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">ing, overly broad claims, and cursory use of evidence Incorporatin" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">ing secondary sources as appropriate, and demonstratin" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">ing their utility through their effective application within" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in your own in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">independently-formulated argument Your essay will be marked in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in terms of the success with which you follow the advice above and the QMUL assessment criteria (described grade band-by-grade band) below. You will be expected to draw on BOTH set books as well as the sources in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in the Themed Bibliography in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in completin" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">ing this piece of assessment ESSAY QUESTIONS Answer one of the followin" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">ing in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in 2000 words (+/- 10%) 2) Reflect on the relation of strategic ‘fixes’ (Beverley Silver) to downward pressures on profit and control in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in relation to the strategies of supply chain" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in security (Deborah Cowen). What are the strategic implications (a) for capital, (b) for labour and (c) for the in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">inter-relation between capital and labour? INSTRUCTIONS In developin" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">ing your argument, make sure you refer to both core books, in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in addition to other academic sources from the module and beyond. There is no hard and fast rule concernin" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">ing number of additional readin" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">ings but you will probably want to use a min" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">inimum of an additional 4 and probably no more 8 additional academic readin" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">ings (this excludes newspaper articles, company reports, NGO reports, and the like). You may use a number of non-module academic sources as long as these are closely relevant and demonstrate your ability to go beyond prescribed texts. Useful Advice In answerin" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">ing these questions, be specific! Whose strategy are you considerin" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">ing? Is it that of a firm, a state, a political party, an NGO, a Trade Union? What is the context? Is the strategy one that was developed and implemented durin" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">ing the Great Recession or in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in today’s times of widespread austerity, in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in a developin" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">ing nation in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in the hands of an IMF structural adjustment programme, by an NGO or Trade Union attemptin" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">ing to establish fair employment conditions for workers, or by large multi-national tryin" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">ing to open a new market? If you are considerin" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">ing a firm, what kin" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">ind of in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">industry are you considerin" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">ing and how does this differ from strategic thought and action in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in other in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">industries? You may fin" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">ind it useful to develop one or more case studies to make your argument. While you are strongly advised to focus your answer on the module readin" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">ings, you are also encouraged to carry out your own in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">independent research in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">into your chosen topic. You should make sure you use only academic sources (such as academic journal articles and recently-published, scholarly books) and quality newspapers and magazin" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">ines for contemporary examples (such as the Fin" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">inancial Times, the Guardian, the New York Times, The Economist and The New Statesman). You should not use onlin" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">ine sources unless they come from an unimpeachable source. Always provide evidence in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in support of your claims (e.g. examples, quotations and/or paraphrased ideas from your primary text and from the secondary sources you have consulted) - rememberin" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">ing to cite these correctly! You should use Harvard Referencin" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">ing system. For details, take a look here: https://onlin" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">inelibrary.london.ac.uk/support/in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">information-skills/organisin" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">ing-and-citin" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">ing-your-references/referencin" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">ing-styles-harvard Referencin" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">ing You should aim to use Harvard Referencin" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">ing. There are plenty of useful onlin" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">ine guides, but here is one useful detailed account: https://www.library.dmu.ac.uk/Images/Selfstudy/Harvard.pdf Please make sure you in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">insert page numbers (or a page range) where one is relevant, that too would be helpful. If you are referrin" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">ing to a book or article as a whole, it's not necessary, but on the whole when you are discussin" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">ing a source, you will be talkin" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">ing of specific pages. Please make sure you in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">insert those in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in the text. If you are unsure as to what constitutes an academic source, here is a useful guide: https://owll.massey.ac.nz/academic-writin" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">ing/identifyin" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">ing-academic-sources.php You will also get useful advice in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in the library and https://scholar.google.co.uk is also a good resource. Note that the model student essay posted below is excellent in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in many respects but 1) fails to provide a sufficiently extensive bibliography (last year students were not asked to use the two module books in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in their responses) and 2) the bibliography is not organised alphabetically as it should be. Otherwise it is a thoughtful essay that provides an example of the sort of thin" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">ing of what is required for Assessment 2 All coursework will be passed through the anti-plagiarism software Turnitin" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in. If you have any questions as to what constitutes plagiarism you should ask your school tutor or semin" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">inar tutor. Always keep a back-up copy of your work (in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in Dropbox and/or on a memory stick) in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in case the origin" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">inal is misplaced! ASSESSMENT CRITERIA When your assessment is marked, it will be marked usin" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">ing the followin" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">ing grade bands. Grade A (70-100) Work graded at ‘A’ signifies outstandin" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">ing work. To earn an A, a piece of written work must be in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">independent, searchin" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">ing and detailed in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in its handlin" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">ing of material. It must show mastery of the medium of expression, whether essay, project or audio or visual production. Written work must observe the specified word limit and its use of academic conventions (e.g. footnotin" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">ing and bibliographic practice) should be impeccable. Fluent and clear expression must enhance an argument that is origin" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">inal, stimulatin" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">ing, well-structured, coherent and that develops the topic relevantly. At Level 5, written work should demonstrate mastery of research skills, in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">includin" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">ing the ability to evaluate critically the in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">information used. It should demonstrate mastery of a range of prin" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">inciples, concepts, contexts and termin" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">inologies associated with the selected area of study. It should show an ability to make searchin" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">ing critical evaluations of different methodological and/or theoretical approaches and, where appropriate, to relate issues with sophistication to wider social, cultural, historical or ethical perspectives. Grade B (60-69) Work graded at ‘B’ signifies a substantial and in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">interestin" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">ing piece of work. To earn a B, a piece of written work must show careful study, in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">independent thought, good organisation and fluent, accurate expression. Written work must observe the specified word limit and its use of academic conventions (e.g. footnotin" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">ing and bibliographic practice) should be correct. It must make detailed use of primary and/or secondary source material, show enquirin" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">ing thought, and make an articulate and in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">informative, clear and relevant argument. This is a high mark and requires work that engages in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">intellectually and productively with material and with the task assigned. At Level 5, written work should demonstrate good research skills, in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">includin" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">ing the ability to evaluate critically the in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">information used. It should demonstrate good understandin" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">ing of a range of prin" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">inciples, concepts, contexts and termin" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">inologies associated with the selected area of study. It should show an ability to make effective critical evaluations of different methodological and/or theoretical approaches and, where appropriate, to relate issues effectively to wider social, cultural, historical or ethical perspectives. Grade C (50-59) Work graded at ‘C’ in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">indicates a sound piece of work. To earn a C a piece of written work must develop an argument that is organised and coherent in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in itself and responds relevantly to the topic. Poin" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">ints made in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in the argument must be backed up or illustrated by examples or evidence from the texts discussed. The piece of work must handle the material competently. If the material could be handled in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in greater depth or detail this will be poin" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">inted out and exemplified. Written work must observe the specified word limit and attempt proper use of academic conventions (e.g. footnotin" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">ing and good bibliographic practice). If problems of expression or presentation hin" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">inder the clarity or effectiveness of the argument, these will be noted. At Level 5, written work should demonstrate research skills, in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">includin" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">ing the ability to evaluate critically the in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">information used. It should demonstrate an understandin" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">ing of a range of prin" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">inciples, concepts, contexts and termin" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">inologies associated with the selected area of study. It should show some ability to make critical evaluations of different methodological and/or theoretical approaches and, where appropriate, to relate issues to wider social, cultural, historical or ethical perspectives. Grade D (45-49) Work graded at ‘D’ in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">indicates weakness in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in the standard of work. If the weakness is in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in the way the subject is addressed or handled critically the course leader will explain" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in the deficiency. If it is in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in presentation clear guidelin" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">ines or corrections will be offered. If the piece is too slight the student’s attention will be drawn to the specified word limit and suggestions made as to how the work might have been developed. If spellin" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">ing is at fault the proper in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">instruments of old and new technology will be recommended. Other deficiencies in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in writin" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">ing skills will be explain" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">ined by advisers and/or semin" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">inar leaders. At Level 5, written work should demonstrate some research skills, in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">includin" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">ing some ability to evaluate critically the in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">information used. It should demonstrate familiarity with a range of prin" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">inciples, concepts, contexts and termin" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">inologies associated with the selected area of study. It should show some ability to make critical evaluations of different methodological and/or theoretical approaches and, where appropriate, to relate issues to wider social, cultural, historical or ethical perspectives. Grade E (40-44) For a very unsound performance with acceptable presentation, or acceptable content with poor presentation, an E might be given. An E might be given where an earnest attempt has been made to perform the exercise as directed, but the work is too slight, does not address the subject adequately, is unsupported by any or sufficient research, or where severe deficiencies in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in expression are identified. As with a mark of D, if the piece is too slight the student’s attention will be drawn to the specified word limit and suggestions made as to how the work might have been developed; similarly, if the weakness is in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in the way the subject is addressed or in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in the way that the work constructs an argument, the course leader or semin" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">inar leader will explain" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in the deficiencies. If spellin" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">ing is at fault the proper in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">instruments of old and new technology will be recommended. Other deficiencies in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in writin" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">ing skills will be explain" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">ined by advisers and/or semin" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">inar leaders. Grade F (0-39) Work graded at ‘F’ in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">indicates an unsatisfactory piece of work. Work not handed in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in or work not the student’s own automatically fails (the penalties for the latter are severe). An F may be given for a piece of work far too slight, far too careless in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in presentation or expression or completely failin" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">ing to address the assigned topic or task. It would never be given for an earnest attempt to perform the exercise as directed. The two books are: Cowen, D., (2014) The Deadly Life of Logistics: Mappin" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">ing Violence in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in Global Trade. Min" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">inneapolis: Min" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">innesota University Press Silver, B. J., (2003) Forces of Labor: Worker's Movements and Globalization sin" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">in" rel="nofollow">ince 1870. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press