BUS020C414S Introduction to Management (L4) Assessment Brief 2056-26

Published: 19 Dec, 2025

Category	Assignment	Subject	Management
University	University of Roehampton	Module Title	BUS020C414S Introduction to Management

Word Count	2,000 words
Assessment Type	individual report

BUS020C414S Introduction to Management 2025-26

Academic year and term:	Year 1, Autumn Term
Module title:	Introduction to Management (Level 4)
Module code:	BUS020C414S
Learning outcomes assessed within this piece of work as agreed at the programme level meeting	Knowledge outcome – On completion of this module you will be able to demonstrate an understanding of the theories, processes, procedures and practices for effective management in organisations. Intellectual /transferrable skill outcome – Students who successfully complete this module will be developing your competence in using a range of basic analytical and managerial techniques and processes including objective setting, monitoring and evaluation as well as interpersonal skills of successful managers.
Business Readiness outcomes assessed within this piece of work as agreed at the programme level meeting	Students will be developing an understanding of and using techniques to solve business problems with awareness of commercial acumen as well as developing your ability to write reports and have confidence in team working.
Type of assessment: (one summative assessment per module)	One summative assessment which is an individual report on a case study – Sports Direct. The report will be 2,000 words in total. · A 2,000 words individual report will address one specific problem topic within the case · Formative (unassessed) – In Week 5, Friday 31^st October 2025, 2pm Complete and submit the Sports Direct Study).
Support and guidance	Students will be supported and guided throughout the whole module. There are weekly seminars and office hours offered by all tutors – both group and individual support is available. In Weeks 13 and 14, there is a revision of the most important approaches presented during the course, together with one-to-one sessions available to all students.

Submission date and time

Students submit their final summative report through Turnitin by the 13^th of January 2026, 2pm

Marks and feedback date:

Within 15 working days of submission of the report

Formative Assessment

Detail:

Type

Dates as agreed at programme level meeting

How formative contributes to summative assessment

In Week 5 (Friday 31^st October 2025, 5pm) you will be asked to have completed and submitted on Moodle the Sports Direct Group Study Planning Sheet (see and complete Appendix 1 below). You should particularly consider how management theory will need to be applied to the problem and on the basis of your analysis, you propose some solutions to Sports Direct.

Students will be provided oral and written feedback on the quality and coherence of their ideas and planning in Week 7 seminars.

Assessment Case Study – Sports Direct

The assessment is based on a business and management case study which requires a critical approach to identifying and problem-solving a range of business and management challenges within the case. Throughout the term you will undertake research and analysis which will inform your individual report. Within the individual report you will include a summary and key justifications for the resolution of one of three problems in the case supported by management theories and principles.

The report will be an individual 2,000 words report which will address one of the three specific ‘problems’ identified in the case. You will receive a full briefing in Weeks 2 and 3.

Students will be expected to apply management theory to practice throughout the report.

Case Study – Sports Direct International (Part of the Frasers Group)

The Summative Assessment (by the 13th Jan 2026, 2pm)

The Sports Direct is experiencing a set of management and operational challenges as follows

Problem 1 – Staffing & HR – Recruitment, selection and retention of store managers and supervisors
Problem 2 – The work culture in the business
Problem 3 – Poor customer service quality in the stores

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Problem 1: Staffing & HR – Recruitment, selection and retention of store managers and supervisors

High street retailers experience many challenges in terms recruiting and retaining good quality store managers and supervisors especially in the difficult trading conditions, including those imposed by the Covid 19 crisis. With many of the stores being under financial pressure, attracting talented retail store managers and supervisors to work for the group is difficult. Equally the stores that remain open where they are trading reasonably well, they need to be run efficiently by well-motivated, well-trained, experienced managers and supervisors. Sports Direct, as part of the Frasers Group, have a ‘job search’ site[ Sports Direct (2023) Frasers Group (Accessed 5.1.23) ] which tries to attract new managers and supervisors to work in the stores. The site is failing to attract enough new managers and supervisors to staff the stores.

Propose and justify measures that would help resolve the following issues:

Managers and supervisors’ recruitment, selection and retention – The recruitment practices for the group are failing to attract and retain managers and supervisors with many leaving before 6 months into the job. Outline and justify three different human resources and recruitment practices (choose one for each of a, b & c) from a Human Resources Manager perspective, that could be suitable to a) attract new talented managers; b) offer suitable incentives and rewards; and c) retain managers for at least beyond one year of employment. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the three proposed practices in the context of the Sports Direct. (Notional weighting 70%)
Gender Pay Gap – In 2021, the Sports Direct Group published their Gender Pay Gap Report for 2020[ Sports Direct (2020) Frasers Group Pay Report (Accessed 5.1.23)], which highlighted that the mean gender pay gap for the business for hourly paid work is 8%. However, when comparing mean bonus pay, the bonus pay gap is 52%. Consider and justify ways of closing the gender pay gap particularly on the payment of bonuses. (Notional weighting 30%)

Support your answers with research, citations, reports and management theory from core textbooks and academic papers.

Problem 2: The work culture at the Sports Direct

Sports Direct has been experiencing difficult trading conditions. The group is continually under pressure to reduce costs. With aggressive management style within the business the company has come under criticisms for the poor work culture[ Dispatches (Channel 4) (2015) Sports Direct - investigation reveals harsh working conditions (Accessed 08/01/2025)]. Retail is traditionally a sales-orientated operation, relying on good supply chains and efficient operations systems.

Propose and justify measures that would help resolve the following issues:

From an operations manager’s perspective, consider three ways of enhancing the company culture to meet the stated values of the company:

We aspire to be an international leader in sports, lifestyle, and luxury apparel retail, by offering our customers a dynamic range of iconic brands.

We value our people, our customers, our shareholders and our third-party brand partners – and we strive to adopt good practices in all our corporate dealings.

We are committed to treating all people with dignity and respect. We endeavour to offer customers an innovative and unrivalled retail experience. We aim to deliver shareholder value over the medium to long term, whilst adopting accounting principles that are conservative, consistent and simple. Sports Direct (2020)[ Sports Direct (2020) (Accessed 5.1.23)]

Using Quinn’s Competing Values Framework (Boddy 2020: 38)[ Boddy, D. (2017) Management: An Introduction (5th Ed). Harlow: Pearson Education.] and/or other theoretical frameworks evaluate which values that the company adopts and justify which ‘model’ could be more appropriate to for the future success of the business. (Notional weighting 70%)
Review and assess the mixed staff views expressed in the quotes[ Indeed (2023) Sports Direct Employee Reviews (Accessed 5.1.23)] in the Indeed website (employment website). What management practices and approaches could be put into place to resolve two issues raised by the negative comments from staff? (Notional weighting 30%)
Support your answers with research, citations, reports and management theory from core textbooks.

Problem 3: Poor customer service quality in the stores in the South East Region

The retail stores for the group operate on a regional basis. The South East Region, which includes London, is overseen by a Regional Manager. Each store is assessed for quality service and operation in a number of ways. The stores get a monthly benchmark score based on feedback from customers who complete a customer service survey, as well as with assessment from a Mystery Shopper research. The key complaints are in the following areas: Poor customers service with staff being sometimes rude or abrupt; Messy stores with poor presentation of clothes and products; Errors made in billing; & clothing being unavailable in a suitable range of sizes, especially those on special promotions and online orders. The stores in this region consistently score 10% lower than the other stores in the group achieving an average quality score of 66%. The Regional Manager needs help to raise the standards of service in the stores in the region. Sports Direct have also been rated low for service 1.2 on the Trust Pilot rating[ Trust Pilot (2023) Sports Direct Review(Accessed 08/01/2025)] .

Propose and justify measures that would help resolve the following issues:

Poor customer service – Discuss the options available to the Regional Manager to improve the performance of the individual stores and their staff members. Review and assess different methods of benchmarking, measuring and testing the service quality that could be offered in the stores to be responsive to customer needs. (Notional weighting 70%)

Tasks

As an independent consultant, you have been asked by the Operations Director to take responsibility for analysing one of the three problems, putting forward and prioritise the problem.

Tasks for the report:

Write a formal report to the Operations Director.
Address the two tasks within one of the three problems listed above.
Put forward a 3-point plan for resolving the problem.
Support your answer with academic research, sector and industry reports as well as management and operations theories and principles

The expectation is that within 12 months there should be dramatic improvement and change in performance in all three areas. You have asked to write a 2,000-word report addressing your single problem topic to attempt to resolve that problem at Sports Direct.

BUS-C414-0 Marking criteria:

Individual report element: 2,000 words (100% weighting for the module)

A review of management theory to one specific problem in the case with appropriate use of essential texts and academic reading (Support your answer with management theories presented during the module) 30%
An analysis of one specific problem within the case demonstrating an understanding of the processes and procedures for effective management 40%
A summary and justification of key proposals for the resolution of the problem in the Organisation (A 3 point plan for resolving the problem) 20%
Report presentation, format etc 10%

Suggested report format:

Title Page
Introduction – Explain the background to your individual problem in the context of the case (250 words approx).
Analysis of the individual problem – Summarise and interpret the data from your secondary research into published literature and management theory. Describe and present your results for effective management of the problem. A summary and justification of key proposals for the resolution of the problem in the organisation (1500 words approx.)
Conclusion – This should be a summary of findings of the analysis of the individual problem. (250 words)
Bibliography

Support and feedback on assessment

Assessment briefing - in week 3 with the seminar tutor in the Share and Apply seminar.
Formative feedback – You will be provided with regular feedback on your work. In week 3 you will be provided with guidance and full assessment briefing from your tutor on your planning of the analysis of your specific problem within the case. In week 7 you will be given specific feedback from your tutor on your Sports Direct Group Planning Sheet (submitted in week 5, Friday 31st Oct 2025, 2pm).

Referencing - You MUST use the Harvard System. The Harvard system is very easy to use once you become familiar with it.

Assignment submissions – The Business School requires a digital version of all assignment submissions. These must be submitted via Turnitin on the module’s Moodle site. They must be submitted as a Word file (not as a pdf) and must not include scanned in text or text boxes. They must be submitted by students through Turnitin by the 13th of Jan, 2026, 2pm.

Mitigating circumstances/what to do if you cannot submit a piece of work or attend your presentation

The University Mitigating Circumstances Policy can be found on the University website: Mitigating Circumstances Policy
Marking and feedback process (for Year 1 modules) - Between you handing in your final report and then receiving your feedback and marks within 20 days, there are a number of quality assurance processes that we go through to ensure that you receive marks which reflects their work. A summary is provided below:

Step One – The module and marking team meet to agree standards, expectations and how feedback will be provided.
Step Two – A subject expert will mark your work using the criteria provided in the assessment brief above.
Step Three – A moderation meeting takes place where all members of the teaching and marking team will review the marking of others to confirm whether they agree with the mark and the feedback that has been provided.
Step Four – Your mark and feedback is processed by the Office and made available to you.

BUS020C414S Assessment Rubric – Introduction to Management

Report 2,000 words	100 Exemplary	85 92 Upper First / Outstanding	72 75 78 First / Very good	62 65 68 2:1 / Good	52 55 58 2:2 / Acceptable	42 45 48 3^rd / Bare pass	32 35 38 Condonable fail	25 Fail
A review of management theory to one specific problem in the case with appropriate use of essential texts and academic reading *30% weighting*	Exceptional ability to examine complex issues in a way that potentially challenges existing theories. The quality of the examination demonstrates a potential to add value and novelty to the concepts studied. Excellent reference to the course material.	Excellent application of management theories, supported by excellent interpretation skills of the topic and effective and review and analysis of the existing theories. Excellent reference to the course material.	Clear ability of identifying the most relevant theories, and reasonable application of basic concepts to the problem, with predominance of analysis over description. Only minor gaps. Very good reference to the course material.	Displays and understanding of the problem but requires more systematic, critical analysis of the topic supported by a theoretical discussion. Good reference to the course material.	Some application of basic management concepts and theories to the question involving an analytical approach, limited by description. Sufficient reference to the course material.	Very limited use of basic concepts and management theories in relation to the problem and work is largely descriptive. Sufficient reference to the course material.	Irrelevant and superficial application of any management theory and concepts to the examination of the problem. No reference to the course material.	Little or no analysis of management theory, even at a superficial level. No reference to the course material.
An analysis of one specific problem within the case demonstrating an understanding of the processes and procedures for effective management *40% weighting*	Student has gone beyond what is expected to analyse the problem. Exceptional understanding of the subject area, with unique and additional contribution to existing knowledge.	Excellent understanding of the subject area with very good analysis of the problem. Form grasp of knowledge. Demonstrates evidence of assessing sources beyond minimum.	Reflects understanding of the problem in question through the analysis. Relevant knowledge is presented accurately with only minor gaps.	Clear demonstration of knowledge but some gaps or lack of focus in the analysis.	Analysis demonstrated at a fairly basic level. Some attempt to demonstrate an understanding of processes and procedures for effective management.	Analysis demonstrated at a very basic level. Information briefly summarised and incomplete in parts. Limited understanding of effective management.	Very little attempt or effort to coherently analyse the problem in relation to effective management. Clear confusion of knowledge with obvious errors. Lack of understanding.	No real work done. The majority of information included is irrelevant to the problem in question
A summary and justification of key proposals for the resolution of the problem in the organisation 20% weighting	An excellent summary with an outstanding, coherent justification for the proposals.	A very well considered and convincing justification for the proposals to the resolution of the problems.	The summary offers a reasonably convincing justification for the proposals.	A competent justification for the key proposals for the resolution of the problem.	The summary offers an adequate justification for the proposals but lack rigour	The summary and justification of the key proposals are at a very basic level and offer only limited coherence in the context.	The summary of proposals makes little sense in the context of the problem and would clearly fail to resolve the problem.	Summary offers little or no coherent justification for the proposals.
Clarity, structure, grammar, correct referencing 10% weighting	An outstanding report which would be considered excellent in a business context. The structure and use of language and report writing skills are exceptional. Faultless use of the Harvard system.	An extremely good, coherent report demonstrating a very convincing set of writing skills in terms of use of language and in the structuring of the report. Excellent use of the Harvard system.	A good report, clearly written and well communicated in terms of language and use of grammar. Sources and citations are well presented using the Harvard system.	A competent report demonstrating adequate report writing skills. Reasonably coherent use of language and grammar. Appropriate use of Harvard referencing.	Adequate report writing skills in evidence. Some minor errors in spelling, the use of appropriate language as well as in the application of the Harvard referencing system.	Weak report writing skills and poor structuring of the report. Some spelling errors and poor use of language. Some errors evident in the use of the Harvard referencing.	Very poor structure for the report which only partially meets the guidance on report structure. Numerous spelling and grammatical errors. Numerous errors in the use of Harvard referencing system.	No attempt to structure a coherent report in line with the guidance. No or limited referencing of sources with inappropriate use of the Harvard system. Extremely poor writing skills in evidence making the report largely incoherent.

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