Part 1: THEORY SECTION ( minimum 1,500 words in total, i.e 500 words for each concept)
For the following pricing/costing concepts provide a critical discussion which provides a clear definition of the concept, it benefits and limitations. Support your discussion with relevant academic articles, books, business reports and any other sources (between 6-8 academic and business sources for each method). You should discuss three concepts below:
– Balanced scorecard, Benchmarking, and Target Costing,
Part 2: APPLICATION SECTION ( minimum 1,800 words in total)
*For both parts, you are expected to use 8-10 sources (mostly business sources such as annual report, company website, market data etc)
– Select a company of your choice and address the following points ( around 600 words):
Conduct the overview of this business in general ( product ranges sold, financial summary, industry overview and nature of the competition) using Porter’s Five Forces Model. Use relevant visuals (graphs, tables etc) to demonstrate the relevant data.
– Kindly advise how senior management of your company can use the following concepts in order to improve the performance. Your suggestions should be specific and practical in nature. You should discuss three concepts below ( around 1,200 words):
Balanced scorecard: Identify three goals and initiatives under the four main categories (financial, customer, internal business process and organisational learning). Explain why these goals are important for a company performance.
Benchmarking: Explain how the company can benefit from using benchmarking providing practical and relevant suggestions.
Target Costing: Explain how the company can benefit from using target costing providing practical and relevant suggestions.
Grading Criteria (What constitutes a good assignment?):
PARTS % Grading Criteria
Part 1 40%
Each concept is covered in detail (3 chosen costing/pricing concepts to the chosen):
– Understanding of the Topic: Demonstrates a clear understanding of the issues and complexities related to the topic.
– A well-constructed arguments considering opposing views. It is also expected that you can demonstrate an independent thinking and a critical assessment.
– Use of a wide range of literature (especially latest academic articles, books, reports etc) to support arguments and points made in the essay. Each source should be clearly cited within the essay with a full referent list at the end.
(Between 6- 8 sources for each method)
Part 2 50%
– A detailed analysis of a business chosen using Porter’s 5 forces model. All external sources (academic and business articles, company website, annual report etc) should be properly referenced.
– A complete answer which provides detail on application of 3 chosen costing/pricing concepts to the chosen company and provide relevant recommendation accordingly.
Structure and Organisation 10% An essay should have a clear structure including introduction, main section and conclusion/recommendation. In addition, there should a logical order of discussion among different sections.
100%
