BUS7076 The Integrated Business Assessment Brief 2025 | Birmingham City University

BUS7076 The Integrated Business Assessment Brief

Background

The aim of this module is to provide you with the key knowledge and understanding of the integrated nature of business functions focusing specifically on marketing and operations. The module explores in detail the strategic and tactical scope of Marketing and Operations management and the relationships between them. As you will discover there is little point selling a product a business does not have the capability to produce and distribute, similarly there is little profit in making a product that customers do not need or want.

The purpose of this assessment is to enable you to explore this relationship between demand generation and management and the impact on operations, production and supply chain management to ensure you will fully understand the complexity of matching supply-side to demand-side requirements to achieve strategic fit. 

As part of the module this assessment brief will help you explore these issues within a small group setting. You and your group will develop skills in managerial decision making and professional presentation whilst also developing data analysis skills using spreadsheets.  By working in a small group, you will improve and enhance your ability to communicate and collaborate effectively with others both within the context of an integrated business, but also within the context of your award of ‘MSc Management’, which ever pathway you have chosen. This approach aligns with the programme philosophy that ensures that as a future manager you will be able to make effective decisions that take account of the fast changing external and enterprise environments.

The assessment process incorporates a time-based assessment incorporating an integrated presentation process within a group situation comprising of the presentation within a given business context, as detailed below.

Assessed Group Presentation(15 minutes – Maximum 40 slides) – 50%

In the presentation as part of a group, you will provide a comprehensive situation analysis linked to the marketing management and operations management of the business context. Your presentation should cover a detailed exploration and analysis of the internal and external environment using the theory, concepts, frameworks, tools and techniques as taught on the module. The aim of the analysis is to ensure that you answer the following key questions:

1. What is your evaluation of the strategic and tactical fit of the organisation from a marketing and operations perspective?
2. What would you recommend that the organisation should do to improve its strategic and tactical fit in respect of marketing and operations?

Individual Report (Maximum 2,000 words) – 50%

Based on the new information (at the end of this file) about both the external and internal enterprise situation and you will be required to react by proposing recommendations to optimise the organisation appropriately to this changing situation in the Individual Report together with Group reflection.The Individual Report should therefore answer the following key questions:

1. How could the business optimise aspects of its digital marketing and operations to take advantage of this newsituation, through incorporating values of responsibility and sustainability in business?
2. What key reflections can you make about the efficiency and effectiveness of the group and its decision making during the assessment process? In your answer reflect on the group’s strengths and weaknesses, including an assessment of your skills, and develop an action plan to improve future group working.

Learning outcomes and assessment criteria specific to this assignment:

1. Critically review and analyse the situation of an integrated business using appropriate spreadsheet software, to interrogate contextual data from a marketing and operations perspective, within a globalised business environment.
2. Create a range viable marketing and operations management options and propose and present comprehensive recommendations for a given digital business scenario, whilst ensuring the effective integration and optimisation of marketing and operations.
3. Interpret and evaluate PRME (Principle of Responsible Management Education) to ensure an inclusive and sustainable global economy through incorporating values of responsibility and sustainability in business.
4. Develop excellence in leadership, communication and team collaboration and to reflect on their personal and professional skill development.

This module is 50% Group Presentation and 50% Individual Report assessed. You must achieve 50% or more to pass. Under the University’s Regulations you have one main attempt and one resit attempt opportunity to be assessed and to pass this module.  If you have not achieved a pass in this module after all main and resit attempt have been used, no further opportunities are available and you will be withdrawn from the course.

The marking scheme is provided at the end of this document.

Transferable skills

This assessment will assist in development of the following transferable skills:

Transferable Skill 1: Independence

• You will be engaging with independent learning throughout the module in organising your own work/learning schedule. For example, seminar prep., watching online lectures and taking notes, completing online tasks, readings and locating external information relating to the course content. In addition, your assessment requires independently researching, presenting and answering questions about your chosen business case study through Operations Management and Marketing theories.

Transferable Skill 2: Critical thinking and problem solving

• You will learn to think critically with the understanding and application of Operations Management and Marketing analysial tools in the case company. You will also learn how to think about resolutions to some of the issues identified in the module content, and in turn applied within your assessment.

Transferable Skill 3: Teamwork

• This module is 50% Group Presentation and 50% Individual Report assessed. You would be working in Groups of Maximum 6 students, and demonstrate your research skills and presentation skills as a group in the Operations Management and marketing management of the case company. 

Transferable Skill 4: Communication

• You will be involved in small group discussions and make independent contributions to in-class discussions. You will also have the opportunity to contribute to the Group Presentation discussion and research with your colleagues. In addition, the Group Presentation is in-person, and involves both written, pictorial and verbal communication so each of these skills will be developed and used in this module. 

Transferable Skill 5: Ability to work under pressure

• You will have deadlines for formative assessment, and you will need to work consistently throughout the module to do well. This will mean you having to set your own schedule of work and keep to your own deadlines to meet the objectives of the module. As this is an applied module, there is a pressure on you to develop a high standard of understanding as well as knowledge to meet the learning objectives of the module to a high standard. 

Transferable Skill 6: Planning and time management

• You will need to set your own schedule of independent and group work within your timetable to enable you to fully engage with all elements of this module. You will need to plan how best to complete your development of understanding and research on your case company as a group. You will do this via ensuring that you engage with the necessary readings, research and preparing for seminars, watching provided videos and external online resources, taking notes and organising your thoughts, and organising and scheduling your time to research, design and complete your group presentation for the assessment at the end of the module. 

Transferable Skill 7:  Leadership

• Members of each group will be offered the opportunity to take the lead in your group discussions, as well as being encouraged to make contributions to the group discussions. We will engage with topics that will challenge some views, and through your group work, you will learn to reflect on your own views and appreciate those of others, a key skill in good leadership.