Reference no: EM132981010 , Length: word count:1500

Assignment: Article Review

The individual essay should be 1,500 words maximum (+/- 10%) in length. If you feel your review warrants additional length, feel free to report information into Tables. Tables can be used to present analytical frameworks in order to save space for written discussion and evaluation. Note that Reference Lists and Tables are excluded from word count. This is an individual submission, hence it is expected that each student will develop his/her own review. If you are unable to submit by the deadline, you are still given the option to submit under Extenuating Circumstances (i.e., by using the EC link), however without a valid claim the grade will be capped at 40%. Failure to upload the group report altogether will result in you receiving no marks for this assignment. If you have any problems with how to upload or the uploading process, contact the Business School Office (second floor, Queen Mary Building). You are advised to start looking for an article and writing the review sooner rather than later.

Students are expected to submit a review of a journal article of their choice that must be related to topics discussed in class during the first half of the module (i.e., in Module 1 and 2). More specifically, students are expected:

a. To FIND an article in the popular business press (examples include Financial Times, Business Week, Wall Street Journal, the Economist, Fortune) that illustrates one or more of the topics discussed in class during the FIRST HALF of the module. The topics are the following (see also the Table reported in Section 7 for a full list of topics):
• Basic Economic Principles
• Economies of Scale and Scope
• Agency and Coordination
• Markets and Competitors
• Industry Analysis
• Sources of competitive advantage: Strategic positioning

b. To provide a SUMMARY of the article;
c. To DISCUSS how the article illustrates the topic(s) it relates to, and discuss the topics.

You may want to follow the indications below when developing the article review:
• Section 1 must contain the name of the Author, the title of the selected article, and a url link to the original source of the article;

• Section 2 provide some background information about the company being discussed in the article (approximately 100-200 words);

• Section 3 must contain a summary of the business case discussed in the article (approximately 100-200 words);

• Section 4 should be used to link the case to any of the topics discussed in class in weeks 1 to 6. You are expected here to make explicit and appropriate use of the theory, models, concepts covered in class (approximately 900-1000 words);

• Section 5 should be used to provide a summary of the major findings arising out of your discussion. You can include in this section your own views and ideas about how the company is, or will be performing in the future; or your opinion about any problems the company may face in order to sustain its competitive advantage over rivals; or any other conclusions in relation to the selected article (approximately 100-200 words).

Don't forget to include the Reference List at the end of the review (please follow Alphabetical order and Harvard style). Include also any Appendices with Tables and/or Figures which should be drawn by the students (do not copy and paste from other sources!). All Tables and Figures must be appropriately titled, numbered, and discussed in the text.

The review should demonstrate your understanding of the key issues discussed in the article and your engagement with the course material (i.e., slides, textbook, examples, videos, and journal articles). There must be evidence that class material is used appropriately to develop the assignment. This means that students must provide evidence that they have read and understood the textbook, the slides, and any other material used in class (academic articles, examples, videos, etc). Students should refer explicitly to these sources in developing their discussion.