Topic:Retail Issues and Applications
Subject:Business
Volume: 11 pages
Type: Report
Format: Harvard
Description
You are required to prepare a report that critically evaluates retailers’ responses to a current retail market issue. The focus of the report is an examination, in depth, of the relationships between theory and current retail activities. . Note that the topic of your report must be based one of the topic areas discussed in the module, i.e. one of the issues below faced by retailers: • Retail Branding • E-loyalty • Global Retailing • Global sourcing • Shopping Malls and the Future of the High Streets • Customer Relationship Management and Loyalty • Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Ethical Issues • Social marketing, supply chain issues, and Fair Trade focusing on food
Instructions for Summative Assessment
Your assessment for this module takes the form of a report:
You are required to prepare a report that critically evaluates retailers’ responses to a current retail market issue. The focus of the report is an examination, in depth, of the relationships between theory and current retail activities.
.
Note that the topic of your report must be based one of the topic areas discussed in the module, i.e. one of the issues below faced by retailers:
• Retail Branding
• E-loyalty
• Global Retailing
• Global sourcing
• Shopping Malls and the Future of the High Streets
• Customer Relationship Management and Loyalty
• Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Ethical Issues
• Social marketing, supply chain issues, and Fair Trade focusing on food
The word limit for this assessment is 3,000 words
How will we support you with your assessment?
• There will be an assessment briefing in Week 2.
• A formative assessment of 500 words will allow you the opportunity to show your work to date on your essay and obtain formative feedback from your tutor.
• You will receive feedback on formative plans in week 9. This will take the form of written feedback on the formative report plan.
• A dedicated seminar in week 4 to remind students of the requirements of the assessment.
• Links to the assessment throughout your seminars
• Weekly advice on scholarly and context specific resources
• FAQs on Moodle
How will your work be assessed?
Your work will be assessed by a subject expert who will use the marking grid provided in this assessment brief. When you access your marked work it is important that you reflect on the feedback so that you can use it to improve future assignments.
Referencing
You MUST use the Harvard System. The Harvard system is very easy to use once you become familiar with it. Feedback from your presentation slide in week five will identify whether sources are being acknowledged properly.
Marking and feedback process
Between you handing in your work 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 students receive marks which reflects their work. A brief 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.
• 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 feedback
• Step Four – Work at Levels 5 and 6 then goes to an external examiner who will review a sample of work to confirm that the marking between different staff is consistent and fair
• Stop Five – Your mark and feedback is processed by the Office and made available to you.
GUIDE
The assignment asks you to prepare a report that critically evaluates retailers’ responses to a current market issue
i) Firstly, the current issue must be on of the issues discussed in the module, i.e one of the issues below faced by retailers:
• Retail Branding
• E-tailing and Multichannel retailing
• Internationalisation of retailers
• Global sourcing
• Shopping Malls and the Future of the High Streets
• Customer Relationship Management and Loyalty
• Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Ethical Issues
• Social marketing, supply chain issues, and Fair Trade focusing on food
ii) ‘retailers’ resonses’ This means that the report can examine the responses of a number of retailers to the issue. However, the report could look at the responses of one retailer in particular. In this case it would make sense to compare its responses to other retailers.
iii) ‘Critically evaluates’. This means that the report must be more than just a description of activities of retailers and must evaluate how effective the retailers’ responses are to the problem/ issues of concern.
iv) ‘examination, in depth, of the relationships between theory and current retail activities’. This means that there should a good discussion of the relevant theory/ academic research about the topic and how useful or relevant it is to retailers as well as examining the different ways in which retailers ar responding to the issue.
Structure of the Report
Introduction
The introduction should provide a brief discussion of the reason why the chosen issues is currently important to retailers. If you choose to focus on a particular retailer, it would be a good idea to also briefly indicate why the particular issue is important for the retailer. For instance, if you choose corporate social responsibility as an issue for your report the introduction should provide a brief discussion as to why the issue has become increasingly important for retailers. And if, for instance, you wish to focus say on Sports Direct, then a brief discussion on why CSR is important for the retailer should also be provided to set the scene.
Main Body of the Report
The main body of the report should discuss the main/important aspect of the chosen issue for retailers. There should also be some discussion of the relevant theory/ research findings relating to the issue. There should also be in depth discussion of how retailers are tackling the issue and with what results.
For instance, if you are looking at e-loyalty, then your report should provide some discussion of the different aspects of loyalty building e.g. trust, relationship satisfaction, commitment etc. and what some of the current findings of research in the area are. You should also discuss how different retailers are attempting to develop e-loyalty and evaluate how effective the various approaches are.
Conclusions section
The conclusion section should draw out the key lessons that can be learnt regarding what is effective for tackling the chosen issue and how theory might be usefully employed to assist in tackling the issue.
Finally
Although you are asked for a report, it does not need a contents page or an executive summary. However, it should be make appropriate use of sections and headings to guide the discussion.
Remember to support everything with evidence. Where possible your evidence should be from articles (use Journal of Retailing, International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, Journal of Retail & Consumer Research – Business Source Premier as well as Emerald) and from the quality press and trade press (Retail Week, The Grocer etc.)
Use your conclusion to summarise your findings and extend your work.
