MK7053 Global Strategy, Innovation and Operations Individual Assessment Brief | University of Leicester

MK7053 – Global Strategy, Innovation and Operations

Assessment Type: Individual Assessment

Weighting: 70%

Deadline: 11th December 2025 at 15:00 via Turnitin on Blackboard

Word count: [3000 words] (+/-10%) excluding references, appendices, charts, diagrams, etc.

Penalty There will be a penalty of a deduction of 10% of the total marks available for this assessment for work exceeding the word limit. Assessments which are significantly below the word count are unlikely to answer the assignment criteria fully.

Academic Year: 2025-26

Assignment Brief

For this assignment, you are required to select a multinational corporation (MNC) operating primarily within the pharmaceuticals industry. The chosen organisation must have a clearly defined international strategy, demonstrate a strong commitment to innovation (in products, processes, or business models), and manage a complex global supply chain spanning multiple countries.

You are required to individually assess the organisation as follows, ensuring that all parts of your analysis are underpinned by a critical review of relevant literature:

1. Explain and illustrate the supply chain of the chosen organisation by determining all players (e.g., supplier of suppliers, suppliers, manufacturer/service provider, distributor, wholesaler, retailer, etc.) involved (for a single product, a product family, or the entire organisation).  
2. Conduct a Supply Chain Operations Reference (SCOR model) analysis of the chosen organisation by first identifying and critically analysing the main supply chain processes and operations, including Plan, Source, Make, Deliver, Return, and Enable. Then select one Level 1 process and provide a detailed breakdown of its operations covering Levels 2 through 4 using the SCOR framework, explaining how these detailed processes and activities support and enable the successful execution of the high-level supply chain process defined at Level 1
3. Critically evaluate the organisation’s innovation strategy by applying relevant innovation models (e.g., Open innovation, disruptive innovation). Examine how the firm integrates innovation, R&D processes, emerging technologies (e.g., AI in drug discovery, digital health platforms, or biotechnology), and digital transformation into its global operations to enhance its strategic positioning, improve product development and operational effectiveness.

Critically assess strategic management frameworks (e.g., Porters, VRIN, McKinsey’s 7s) relevant to your chosen organisation. Explain how the selected framework(s) can help align the firm’s global strategy,4-innovation initiatives, and operational activities. Provide integrated recommendations that consider business policy, digital transformation, and management information systems (MIS) to help the organisation navigate complex international business environments and enhance global performance.

Transferable Skills

Transferable skills are skills that are developed in one scenario and can be transferred to another, such as communication, teamwork or analytical skills.
The main transferable skill covered in this assessment is Researching and Analysing
The following skills are also covered in this assignment

Communicating ☐

Team working ☐

Leadership & Supervising ☐

Researching & Analysing ☒

Problem solving & Decision making ☒

Planning & Organising ☒

Learning, Improving & Achieving ☒

Resilience, Adaptability & Drive ☐

Enterprising Skills☐

Generative Artificial Intelligence 

Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools have the capacity to support students in enhancing their own learning but should not be used to replace the learning, knowledge and understanding required to meet the learning outcomes of the module. 

The use of Generative AI is allowed within this assessment, but any use must be cited in your work where appropriate. This assessment tests your ability to critically reflect upon information, or to apply theory or knowledge to a range of situations. In this assessment Generative AI can be used as a tool to support the development and research phase of the assessment process but not the final submission. Remember there are limitations of AI generated content and therefore you need to use the skills developed through your degree programme to engage with the assessment.

Using AI tools when they are specifically not allowed is considered an academic offence in accordance with senate regulation 11. 

Further Guidance

How to use AI in this assignment
You may use Generative AI tools (such as ChatGPT or Grammarly) only to support your learning during the research and development phase of this assignment. For example, you can use these tools to:

• Clarify academic theories or frameworks
• Brainstorm ideas or structure your outline
  However, you must not:
• Submit AI-generated content as your own final written work
• Copy and paste AI outputs into your submission without adaptation, critique, or citation
• Rely on AI to replace your own analysis, evaluation, or application of theory
• This assignment is designed to assess your critical thinking, originality, and application of knowledge. Over-reliance on AI may result in superficial answers that do not meet the required academic standards or learning outcomes.
• If you do use AI in your preparation, you must:
• Clearly cite where and how it was used
• Guide to AI referencing: Link – AI referencing  
• For further guidance on using AI responsibly in academic work, visit: University of Leicester AI Guidance for Students

Suggested Essay Structure

Use of appendices 

You are advised to be cautious when including appendices in this assignment. There are no specific criteria for marking or mark allocation available for appendices, so the assessment process focuses on the appropriate use of appendices. When deciding whether or not to include other appendices, consider the following points:

• Appendices should add value or detail to the discussion and analysis undertaken in the main body of the assignment.
• They offer students the opportunity to give greater relevant and appropriate detail to support the main analysis and discussion. 
• Models, theory and discussion that demonstrate critical evaluation and analysis of issues related to the module being assessed should always be presented within the main body of the text. This discussion should make sense without referring to the appendices. 
• Using bullet points in the text (which does not constitute analysis) and putting the detailed analysis in the appendices is not acceptable practice and could result in failure.
• The inclusion of appendices should not be viewed as an opportunity to include anything that cannot fit in the word count.
• Assignments that make excessive use of appendices suggest inappropriate use. As a guide, we would not normally expect appendices to exceed one third of the length of the assignment.
• Appendices should always be referenced at the appropriate point within the discussion in the main body of the text.

MK7053 Marking criteria

This assignment will be step marked/ assessed based on the following criteria: