Module Co-ordinator/Tutor: Gavin Butler and Philip Evans
Submission Instruction:
- This assignment must be submitted electronically using Blackboard by 2pm on the submission date
- To submit electronically you must upload your work to the e-submission area within the Blackboard module
concerned. Simple instructions are provided within the module. - Please do not attempt to submit assignments direct to lecturers or E2.08 as these methods are not permitted for this assessment and will result in a non-submission being officially recorded.
- You are reminded that it is your responsibility to keep an electronic copy of your assignment for future reference. You may be required to produce another copy of your assignment.
- You are reminded of the University’s regulations on cheating and plagiarism. In submitting your assignment you are acknowledging that you have read and understood these regulations.
- Late submission within 10 working days of the deadline will result in the mark for the assignment being capped
at 40%. Submissions beyond 10 working days of the due date will receive 0% but may be accepted, at the
discretion of the lecturer, to provide feedback only. Late submission does not apply to referral work or to
modules which are marked as Pass/Fail. - If you consider that you have personal circumstances which affect your ability to submit the assignment please
contact your School Registrar in E2.08 to discuss mitigating circumstances, including extensions.
Assignment format and other relevant instructions to students:
The format of your work should be to a professional standard, so a clear and standardised layout throughout, use of
appropriate clean and crisp styles for font (body text and headings) and well-proportioned page margins, including
appropriate footer and header detail and page numbering throughout.
You are expected to undertake sufficient and appropriate research into your work and use the official University
referencing guide correctly to implement the Harvard format of citation and reference. You can cite each source multiple times within your work, so citations will be more numerous. Please refer to http://citethemrightonline.com for guidance on how to reference and use citations within your work. Cite This For Me is also a useful tool to help manage your references http://www.citethisforme.com
The research sources used to complete your work will be varied, however, you are expected to primarily make use of the resources provided by the University Library, specifically using the following databases (these databases can be
accessed via the Resources section of the Blackboard module area):
- ABI/INFORM Collection
- DOAJ – Directory of Open Access Journals
- EBSCOhost databases
- Emerald Journals
- IEEE Xplore Digital Library
- Ingenta Connect
- Oxford Academic Journals
- ProQuest Database Platform
- Sage Journals Online
- Science Direct
- Springer Open
- The University Library Catalogue
Please make sure you pay special attention to the following points when completing this assignment, to ensure you are fully meeting our criteria for a research-based, business-style report:
- Make sure your work has a front cover sheet and is formatted and presented correctly.
- Make sure you are writing ONLY in the third person i.e. not using ‘I’, as this is expected in academic work at a
University level. - Your source references must always be of a high academic quality. This can only be achieved by using the
University library databases. Some sources can be found online, but these should only be used as ‘extra’
material in support of the high quality material from the University library. The University library materials can be accessed either via Blackboard or via the University website. The best databases for our subject area are ABI Inform; Ingenta; Proquest; Emerald Journals; and IEEE Digital Xplore, however, please seek guidance from a University librarian, as they are experts at guiding you to relevant research sources. - You will only get marks for a source reference if it is fully cited in Harvard format only and specifically discussed within your report (see https://www.citethemrightonline.com for help with this). You must include an in-text citation, as well as a reference citation in the references sections at the end of the report, so make sure you understand how to do this before starting your work on the report, as you need to fully reference as you write, do not try to do it afterwards.
- You need to make sure you embed your source references into your discussion, so rather than simply in-text
citing at the end of a sentence, try using more embedded approaches such as starting with ‘According to the
work of Smith et al (2020)…’ or ‘In a 2019 report for the FTSE100, Jones (2019) determined that the majority…’ or ‘Smith, Jones and Shaw (2020) state that…’ or ‘In a recent research paper by Jones and Shaw (2020) it suggests that..’. This type of embedding makes the reader feel that you have more of a grasp on what you have read and really understand it. - Make sure that your introduction appropriately introduces the topic area and outlines the areas to be discussed
i.e. don’t start the actual discussion within the introduction, make sure you distinguish between sections.
Understand that each section has its own job to do and make sure you respect that in your development of them. - Make sure that the introduction contains a number of full source citations to more general sources to support the topic area being introduced i.e. all sections need to demonstrate research support via references to the sources used.
- You can use subsection titles to help structure your report.
- Make sure that in your discussion you are focusing on specific and relevant points within the topic area and that you are doing them justice, by ensuring that each point is discussed in relation a minimum of three fully cited sources. You can never cover a whole topic area and this is not what you should be trying to do, you are trying to highlight significant points of discussion common to the sources you have selected i.e. you can develop a depth of relevant discussion if you select points that are already well discussed within the sources you have researched.
- Avoid using numerous, direct quotations, instead paraphrase the sources you have been using with a full citation to prevent plagiarism.
- Make sure any diagrams, tables or images used in your report are also fully cited and labelled. If you use any
diagrams, tables or images they must also be fully discussed, so that it is clear that you understand what they
represent and are using them appropriately in your report i.e. they have a specific purpose.
To fulfil this assignment, you will need to produce and submit the following via the Submit Your Work section of the
Blackboard module area as a Turnitin upload:
- One Business Style OR Report (Microsoft Word .docx or Adobe PDF .pdf) with a BCP embedded as an Appendix based on the assignment detail below.
This assignment tests the following Learning Outcomes for the module:
- Critically analyse and evaluate theories, methodologies and approaches to risks and threats which can
substantially impact an organisation’s resilience. - Review and evaluate the holistic management and governance of organisational resilience from the perspective
of an Executive Board and C-suite function. - Identify and specify the core components and competencies of front-line teams which contribute most fully to risk management and organisational resilience within larger international organisation.
- Examine and effectively critique leadership roles in relation to handling major incidents and crises, both from
internal employee management, and external stakeholder perspectives. - Identify, evaluate and address emerging challenges and future direction of business risks and threats that
emanate from substantial manmade and natural hazards.
The Assignment Task:
Produce a 3,500-word report based on the organisational resilience related HYPOTHETICAL scenario that is provided below.
Imagine you are an independent, security and organisational resilience consultant.
The University of the Channel Islands has been given its Royal Charter and intends to provide a select number of
postgraduate and undergraduate courses from October 2025. The Board of Governors for the University of the Channel Islands commissions you to provide a security analysis report for a new 21st century Marine Biology Research Centre located on the Island of Herm. They would like you to concentrate on the information technology security issues, but this should also include physical and logical security systems for use within the Centre. The University intends to accommodate its main Computer Centre and IT Support Services at the Guernsey Campus, which will provide technical services for the main campus and a sister campus on Jersey and service Herm when required. It is envisaged that the two main campuses will provide courses including E-Commerce, Finance, Maritime Studies, Horticulture and French. The Marine Biology Research Centre will provide a part-time postgraduate course leading to an MSc in Marine Biology for 12 full-cost students per annum and facilities (including accommodation) for 12 full-time MPhil/PhD students and staff. A petrol/diesel driven generator provides the main electrical power for the Island of Herm. Some solar energy is captured for battery power. Physical access to the Island of Herm is normally by boat or ferry from Guernsey. Based on an initial feasibility report for the Board on general security issues that needed to be considered for the development of a new Marine Biology Research Centre post the lock-downs during the Covid-19 pandemic, and through further feedback and discussions, the Board would now like you to scope out and actually design the Marine Biology Research Centre to be located on Herm, with specific focus on how organisational resilience and security can be embedded into your designs. In an appendix you should include
a draft but workable business continuity plan for the Marine Biology Research Centre that could be invoked should any specific risks that you identify actually materialise.
- Research and provide a business-style report of your overall security analysis and design recommendations to the Board based on your assessment of security vulnerabilities, threats and their impact (risks) and the application of organisational models and principles to mitigate such risks.
- All other details are left to your imagination, but realism should be maintained. Assume all planning permission has been (will be) granted and ‘value-for money’ (realistic) finance will be obtained, but any other assumptions need to be presented in the report. The presentation format of the assignment is a business-style report.
- Note: Students are not expected to conduct any primary research. Secondary data sources (i.e. published
sources) should be used. - Word count: 3,500 words – you have 10% allowance above or below this. This means that your submission (minus cover sheets, executive summary, contents page, glossary, reference lists, appendices, charts and tables) should be at least 3,150 words and at most 3,850 words. Please note that submissions under 3,150 words will not meet the assignment requirement; those over 3,850 words will not have any sentences or paragraphs over that limit included in the marking.
- NOTE: The business continuity plan (BCP) for the Marine Biology Research Centre is NOT included in the
overall word count. Please put the business continuity plan for the Marine Biology Research Centre in an
appendix.
Note on References:
This section should contain all the references cited in the text, and only those references. You are required to use the
Harvard method of referencing. Using this system, references are listed in alphabetical order of author, then order of
publication (oldest first) where several papers by the same author are cited.
This section provides a list of sources that have been consulted and used in the production of the proposal. Make sure that you use the appropriate format for your references, as you will be severely penalised in the marking if you do not adhere to University regulations. Ideally use the Microsoft Word plugin developed by our Learning Development Unit to ensure compliance with the University regulations for reference and citation format (see Learning Development Unit organisation on Blackboard).
This section should contain all the references cited in the text, and only those references.
Plagiarism is an extremely serious offence and can lead to you not receiving your final degree award. Therefore, this is one of the MOST IMPORTANT sections within your final report, so it MUST BE 100 percent correct and in the Harvard format.
Example reference in the Harvard format:
Dennis, A. and Wixom, B.H. (2012) Systems Analysis and Design, UML Version 2.0: An Object-Oriented Approach. 4th ed. San Francisco: John Wiley & Sons.
The References section will NOT be included within the Word Count.
Appendix A: Business Continuity Plan
This section should contain a draft but workable BCP and will NOT be included within the Word Count.
If you think you have a case for Mitigating Circumstances and a possible extension to the deadline please contact and
inform the Course Registrar in the first instance. All Mitigating Circumstances Requests should be made as soon as
possible (at least 48hrs before the deadline) to the Course Registrar in the E2.08 office. Evidence will need to be
provided to support any requests and no claim will be upheld without it.
Assessment Criteria
The work produced will be assessed in-line with the following criteria:
Grade A 70% to 100%:
The submitted work has reached an excellent standard exceeding that of the previous grade. The submitted work fully specifies a business analysis report that addresses a stated problem on the basis of a critical evaluation of organisational resilience requirements. The student has produced an excellent piece of work that is well-structured, cohesive and suitably referenced, that is appropriate to the subject area and meeting the requirements of this level of study.
Grade B 60 to 69%:
The submitted work has reached a very good standard exceeding that of the previous grade. The submitted work
specifies a very good business analysis report that addresses a stated problem on the basis of a critical evaluation of
organisational resilience requirements. The student has produced a very good piece of work that is well-structured,
cohesive and suitably referenced, that is appropriate to the subject area and meeting the requirements of this level of
study.
Grade C 50 to 59%:
The submitted work has reached a good standard exceeding that of the previous grade. The submitted work specifies a good business analysis report that addresses a stated problem on the basis of a critical evaluation of organisational
resilience requirements. The student has produced a good piece of work that is well-structured, cohesive and suitably
referenced, that is appropriate to the subject area and meeting the requirements of this level of study.
Grade D 40 to 49%:
The submitted work has reached a satisfactory standard exceeding that of the previous grade. The submitted work
specifies a satisfactory business analysis report that addresses a stated problem on the basis of a critical evaluation of
organisational resilience requirements. The student has produced a satisfactory piece of work that is well-structured,
cohesive and suitably referenced, that is appropriate to the subject area and meeting the requirements of this level of
study.
Unsatisfactory Less than 40%:
The submitted work has not reached a passable standard. The submitted work does not specify a suitable business
analysis report that addresses a stated problem on the basis of a critical evaluation of organisational resilience
requirements. The student has produced a poor piece of work that is not well-structured, cohesive and/or suitably
referenced. The work presented is not appropriate to the subject area and/or meeting the requirements of this level of study.
