COURSEWORK BRIEF
Three friends who have recently graduated from the Computer Sciencedepartment of the Manchester Metropolitan University wish to run a business buying and selling computers and computer software and accessories. They have been advised by some people to form a general partnership. However, other peoplehave advised themto incorporate a company for their business. They now seek your advice. They wish to know which of the two business models would be better for them.
They are particularly interested in knowing:
(i) What type of company they should form, if they decide to form a company;
(ii) Whether and to what extent they would be liable for the business’s debts
(ii) Whether, and to what extent, they will have the right to be involved in the management of the business;
(iv) Whether they will be able to exercise control over the membership of the business;
(v) What would happen if any of them dies or becomes incapable of taking part in the affairs of the business.
Advise them.
Instructions
• This coursework is in the form of an essay; it accounts for 30% of the overall marks for the module.
• You should use appropriate case law and provisions of relevant legislations wherever applicable in your essay.
• The essay should be word-processed and should not exceed 1500 words.Hand-written essays will not be accepted
• You should conduct independent research and use academic sources in your essay.
• You must acknowledge and properly reference any sources you actually use in the essay. Use the Harvard System of referencing (see the accompanying university’s referencing guidelines). Plagiarism is strictly forbidden and would be punished in accordance with the university’s regulations.
• No extension of time for submitting the essay would be granted except in exceptional circumstances. Late submission of the essay attracts a penalty. Please read the university regulations for the penalties for late submission and non-submission of work.
• Submission is both manual (via the blue bins) and electronic via Moodle / Turnitin.
• The hand-in date is 26 February 2014.
Assessment Criteria:
Marks for the essay will be allocated on the basis of:
1. Analysis of the task (10 marks)
2. Knowledge and understanding of the subject matter (20%)
3. Discussion and evaluation (20%)
4. Application and handling of knowledge (20%)
5. Use and application of source materials, including statutes, decided cases and academic articles (10%)
6. Presentation, including grammar and referencing (10%)
7. Structure of the essay (10%)
TIPS FOR WRITING THE COURSEWORK
The essay, like all essays, should have three broad sections: the introduction, the body of the essay, and the conclusion.
The introduction
An introduction is a very important part of an essay. It should provide a succinct summary of all the issues you wish to discuss in the body of the essay. This is your roadmap to the essay and should attempt to capture the attention of the examiner. It should tell the examiner where you are going and how you plan to get there. An essay without an introduction is akin to sending somebody on a journey to an unknown destination without a road map or direction.
The body of essay
This is where you develop your thoughts in full. Discuss one after the other the issues you have already indicated in the introduction. You should discuss / analyse the issues in an orderly and sequential manner in order to engage and retain the interest of the reader. Critical evaluation of the issues and the authorities is also expected.
This is the section where academic and judicial authorities should be used in support of your discussion.
You should, as much as possible, sub-divide the body of the essay into sub-sections under sub-headings.
You should make your points in the form of discussion, arranged in paragraphs. Avoid the use of bullet points. Numbering should also be avoided unless absolutely necessary.
The conclusion
This should be a summary of the issues you have discussed in the body of the essay. It gives you the opportunity to neatly wrap up your thoughts and leave a positive and lasting impression on the mind of the reader.
An essay without a conclusion is like an unfinished painting. It leaves the examiner with a sour taste in the mouth and a bad impression of your essay.
The use of legal sources/authorities
One of the purposes of the course work is to determine how much you are able to undertake independent research/reading. Therefore, you areexpected to demonstrate that you have read and consulted relevant texts and authorities on the subject.
Accordingly, you should support your discussion/argument with:
• Decided cases (try to use additional cases and not only those mentioned in your lecture materials).
• Relevant sections of applicable legislations
• Academic authorities – i.e. textbooks, articles, etc. Do not cite your handouts as academic authorities.
An essay unsupported with relevant authorities is little more than a statement of your opinion. It is the hallmark of academic laziness and warns the examiner that you have not invested much effort in the writing of the essay. Conversely, failure to adequately reference any materials you discovered through independent reading is tantamount to academic theft. Plagiarism (copying other people’s work and passing them off as your own) will be detected and punished in accordance with the university’s regulations.
Academic discipline
• Do not exceed the word limit; writing a good essay involves knowing what to include and what to leave within the number of words allowed.
• A 10% excess words over the limit may be allowed; any words beyond this will not be marked.
Footnotes
• Footnotes may be used as appropriate
REFERENCING GUIDELINES
How do you reference properly?
There is a referencing standard at MMUBS to which you should adhere when:
• Citing (i.e. quoting from or referring to) the published (or sometimes unpublished) work of others within the text of your assignments.
• Compiling your references (i.e. a list of sources that you have referred to in the text of your assignment) and/or bibliography (i.e. a list of sources that you have read but have not referred to in the text of your assignment).
What is the referencing standard?
The MMUBS referencing standard is a style of Harvard referencing.
A document is available (electronically in your WebCT / Blackboard areas) providing instruction on applying the MMUBS Harvard referencing standard to your work – this includes detailed instruction on how to cite from and reference different sources.
In addition, a two pagehandout providing examples of how to reference different sources is available from the library (and electronically in your WebCT / Blackboard areas).
You must cite and reference all the information that you have used in the main text of your assignment to:
• Acknowledge the work of others if you have referred to it in your assignments; if you do not, you may be accused of plagiarism.
• Enable others to find the information that you have used in your assignment and read the work to which you have referred.
• Referencing properly will also improve your assignment marks as you will be penalised for improper referencing.
Examples of citing and referencing:
Below is a brief outline of the MMUBS Harvard referencing standard which instructs on citing from and referencing a book. Please refer to the Harvard referencing standard document (and/or handoutas outlined above for a full instruction on citing and referencing different kinds of sources (e.g. journals, chapters in edited books, internet sources, etc.) that you may need to use in your assignments.
Citations
When citing within the text, make your quote or reference and either:
• Refer to the name of the author and place the year of publication in brackets.
• Place both the author and year of publication in brackets
For example:
This can be explained by the drive to satisfy physiological and safety needs, as Maslow (1970) suggested in his famous hierarchy. He went on to show that once these needs were satisfied, higher-level needs would become prepotent, that is, they will come to the fore…
OR
As has been remarked, ultimate happiness will only be achieved when the musician is making music, the artist is painting and the poet is writing. (Maslow, 1970)
References
When referencing sources in your reference list or bibliography you must state the author, year of publication (in brackets), title (in italics), edition (if applicable), place of publication and publisher.
For example:
Maslow, A. H. (1970). Motivation and Personality. 2nd ed., New York: Harper & Row.
In your reference list or bibliography at the end of your assignment, put all sources in alphabetical order of author.
NB: Please refer to MMUBS’ referencing standard document and/or the accompanying ‘examples’ handout for full instructions on citing and referencing different kinds of sources.
Examples of references for different source materials using referencing standard (a style of the Harvard system of referencing)
Book
Huczynski, A. A. and Buchanan, D. A. (2007) Organizational behaviour: An introductory text. 6th ed.,Harlow: Financial Times Prentice Hall.
Book chapter
Gordon, R., Druckman, D., Rozelle, R. and Baxter, J. (2006) ‘Non-verbal behaviour as communication: Approaches, issues and research.’ In:O. Hargie. (Ed.) The handbook of communication skills. London: Routledge, pp. 73-119.
Journal article
Hass, M. (2006) ‘Knowledge Gathering, Team Capabilities, and Project Performance in Challenging Work Environments.’ Management science, Vol. 52, no. 8, pp. 1170-1184.
Internet source – author
Kennedy, J. (2008) Contract Killer. Directory of Social Change [Online] [Accessed on 6th August 2008] http://www.dsc.org.uk/NewsandInformation/News/Contractshindercharities
Internet source – organisation
Business in the Community. (2008) Skills boost for North West companies. [Online] [Accessed on 5th August 2008] http://www.bitc.org.uk/news_media/skills_boost_for.html
Newspaper article – paper copy
Milmo, D. (2008) ‘Ryanair launches price war as sales slump.’ The Guardian. 8th August. p25.
Newspaper article – Internet copy
Wray, R. (2008) ‘Sony buys Bertelsmann out of joint music business.’ The Guardian. [Online] 6th August. [Accessed on 11th August 2008] http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/aug/06/musicindustry.sony
Government command paper
Department of Trade and Industry. (2005) Our energy future: Creating a low carbon economy. Cmnd. 5761, London: TSO.
Act of Parliament
Companies Act 2006. (c.46) London: HMSO.
Dissertation
Paucar-Caceres, A. (2006) Business culture and management science methodologies in England and France. Ph.D. Manchester Metropolitan University.
Video
Team building. (1989) Directed by J. Rees. [Videocassette] Boulder: CareerTrack Productions.
DVD
How a business works. (2004) [DVD] Kent: TV Choice.
(When referencing a video or DVD and a director’s name has not been provided leave this field blank, as in the example above.)
Secondary source
Alderfer, C. (1972) Human needs in organizational settings. New York: Free Press. Citied by: Huczynski, A. A. and Buchanan, D. A. (2007) Organizational behaviour: An introductory text. Harlow: Financial Times Prentice Hall.
(For instruction on citing secondary sources, see the referencing standard document for MMUBS)
Report
ECOTEC. (2003) Guidance on Mapping Social Enterprise: Final Report to the DTI Social
Enterprise Unit. London: ECOTEC Research and Consulting Ltd. (C2453).
(When referencing a report, if there is no report code or number on the report that you have used, leave this field blank.)
