1
The outline of Assessment 1
Title page
Executive summary
A good executive summary summarises a longer report or proposal or a group of related reports
in such a way that readers can rapidly become acquainted with a large body of material without
having to read it all. It should restate the purpose of the report, highlight the major points of the
report, and describe any results, conclusions, or recommendations from the report.
Table of content
Insert a table of content including headings, subheadings, and page number
Introduction
The introduction to a research report is where you set up your topic and approach for the reader. It
has several key goals: provide good background information on the selected organisation, the
significance/need of the theoretical concept (e.g., value chain) to be studied, and the clearly stated
purpose of the report.
Analysis and Discussion
Understanding the Key Concept of Value Chain or What is Value Chain (you can tweak the
title)
In this section, you are required to elaborate on the key concept of the value chain, including its
key components/activities such as primary activities (inbound logistics, operations, outbound
logistics, marketing, and sales) and support activities (firm infrastructure, human resource
management technology development and procurement). Please use the relevant literature to
support your discussion.
Analysing the Value Chain of an Organization (e.g., Toyota, Zara)
In this section, you need to analyse the value chain of your selected organisation. Please discuss
all components/activities of the value chain (primary and support activities) in the context of the
selected organisation and integrate related literature.
2
Improvements in the Current Value Chain
In this section, drawing upon the analysis in the previous section, you need to suggest
improvements in different components/activities in the value chain. For example, you may find
that there is a need for modern technologies such as blockchain, internet-of-things, cloud ERP etc
to improve inbound logistics, operations, procurement, etc. This is an example of a single
suggestion/improvement; I hope you will find multiple suggestions for improvement. While
suggesting an improvement, please discuss the practical implications because of the proposed
improvement, feasibility (the state or degree of being easily or conveniently done) and any
expected limitations/constraints (e.g., high cost, risks, lack of skills, knowledge etc).
Conclusion
A good conclusion is where you wrap up your ideas and leave the reader with a strong final
impression. It has several key goals: Restate the research problem addressed in the paper;
summarise your overall arguments or findings; suggest the key takeaways from your report, etc.
References
Please follow APA 7th Style Guide
Appendices
Attach all appendices
All the best with your assessment 1!
Dr Imran Ali