Professional Diploma in Marketing 543 Project Management in Marketing Work-Based Project Brief and Mark Scheme September 2013 Candidates are required to choose ONE out of the following TWO project briefs: Option One The Marketing Mix Option Two The Digital Marketing Information System (detailed separately) CIM Regulations Candidates must ensure that they are CIM studying members and have registered for this assessment by the required CIM deadline (printed on page five of the guidance notes). Once booked, if candidates later find that they are unable to submit to the September 2013 session they will need to book and pay again to submit to the December 2013 session using the December 2013 brief. Fees are not transferable between sessions and extensions to the published deadline dates will only be considered on medical grounds. If an assessment is received from a candidate who has not booked by the above closing date, the relevant assessment entry fee will be raised along with a 100.00 late entry fee. Candidate Declaration Candidates must adhere to the CIM policies and guidance notes relating to word count, plagiarism and collusion when compiling this assessment and include the following declaration statement on the front cover of the assessment: I confirm that in forwarding this assessment for marking, I understand and have applied the CIM policies relating to word count, plagiarism and collusion for all tasks. This assessment is the result of my own independent work except where otherwise stated. Other sources are acknowledged in the body of the text, a bibliography has been appended and Harvard referencing has been used. I have not shared my work with other candidates. I further confirm that I have submitted an electronic copy of this assessment to CIM in accordance with the regulations. The Chartered Institute of Marketing 2013
Project Management in Marketing Assignment Brief September 2013 Option One Professional Diploma in Marketing Guidance Notes Assessment Regulations Candidates have to complete the assessment brief published by The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) for the relevant academic session. Tutors should be prepared to offer advice to candidates regarding the brief, the mark scheme and the grade descriptors. Tutors and candidates should also understand and apply the CIM policies relating to assessments including word count, plagiarism and collusion. These are available on the CIM Tutor Zone www.cimtutors.com and CIM Learning Zone www.cimlearningzone.co.uk websites. Each assessment must be completed individually, not as part of a group. Context Where a task requires the candidate to select an organisation, the assessment should be based on the candidate s organisation, or an organisation of their choice, selected with tutor advice. A brief overview of the organisation chosen, including product or service offered, target market and structure, should be included in the appendix. This information should not be included as part of the word count and no marks will be allocated to this section. Confidentiality Where candidates are using organisational information that deals with sensitive material or issues, they must seek advice and permission from that organisation about its inclusion in an assessment. Where confidentiality is an issue, studying members are advised to anonymise their assessment so that it cannot be attributed to that particular organisation. When submitting assignments to CIM, candidates are reminded to tick the opt out box on the Assignment/project front sheet form, indicating they have not given CIM permission to use the work for any other purposes. The Chartered Institute of Marketing for its part accepts responsibility for marking the assessment following the confidentiality procedures it has laid down. All CIM examiners have to sign a Confidentiality Agreement and cannot mark any assessment where there is a conflict of interest. In addition, no work is published without the prior agreement of a studying member and the organisation. All assessments are stored securely and after 12 months, are shredded confidentially. Assessment Criteria The assessment briefing documents include the marking scheme and guidance notes, which are designed to indicate to the candidate the types of information and format that are required. The marking scheme should not replace any briefing that is usually undertaken by the unit tutor. It is important that, when assessments are issued, discussions take place between the group and tutor to clarify their understanding of the assessment brief and what is required. Mark Schemes Mark schemes are included so that candidates are aware where the majority of the marks will be allocated and are therefore able to structure their work accordingly. However, CIM reserves the right to amend the mark scheme if appropriate. Grade Descriptors There is a grade descriptor document attached to this assessment, which is used by examiners as part of the marking process. The grade descriptors comprise: Concept Application Evaluation, and Presentation. The relative weightings of these elements are used to inform grades within a level and differentiate Page 2
Professional Diploma in Marketing between levels. At Professional Diploma level, the relative weightings are 30%, 30%, 30% and 10% respectively. To maximise marks, candidates need to understand the principles of the grading criteria to ensure that work submitted reflects the right balance. Tutor Guidance to Candidates Tutors should be prepared to offer advice to candidates regarding the tasks, particularly in relation to the organisation they choose to use. Tutors can give feedback on one draft of an assessment and/or answer specific subject-related questions from a candidate related to their assessment. The feedback given by a tutor will be of a general nature, as the tutor will not be part of the official CIM marking process, and will not be able to inform you of possible grades. Tutors should not return a completed assessment to the candidate for improvement. Evidence of a centre doing this will result in the assessment being sent back unmarked. Word Count Policy The total number of words used for the whole assessment must be indicated on the front cover of the assessment. Pages must be numbered for ease of reference. Any assessments that exceed the specified word count (or number of pages) will be penalised by candidates forfeiting the marks for presentation for each individual task. Work that grossly exceeds the recommended word count or number of pages will be declared null and void and candidates will be asked to complete and submit a new assessment. Candidates must comply with the recommended word count, within a margin of +10%. For some tasks a specified number of pages is given as an alternative to the word count. Areas not included in the word count are: the index (if used), headings, executive summary, information contained within references, bibliography and appendices. If candidates use tables to present their answer in the main body of the text, the words used (or where appropriate, the number of pages) will be counted and the rules relating to word count or number of pages will apply. When a task requires candidates to produce presentation slides with supporting notes, the word count applies to the supporting notes only. The maximum number of slides indicated on the assessment brief excludes the title page slide and the contents page slide. Where a candidate s work has contravened the word count policy it will be reviewed by the Senior Examiner and the CIM Reasonable Adjustment, Misconduct and Irregularities Committee before a final decision is made. Presentation Candidates should present their work professionally, using tables and diagrams to support and/or illustrate the text. Unless tables and diagrams are specified as a requirement of a task, they can be included in either the appendix or the main body of the text. If tables are included as appendices the findings must be summarised or referenced within the main body of the text for marks to be awarded. Text must be no smaller than font size 11, and tables, diagrams, schedules and charts must be no smaller than font size 8. The font size must not be compressed and easy to read, using, for example, Arial, Calibri or Times Roman. At the top of each page (header) candidates must insert the unit name and membership number (font size 8) and at the bottom of each page (footer) insert page numbers (font size 8). Candidates must not include their name on any part of the assessment. Guidance relating to inserting PowerPoint presentations into Word documents is available on the CIM Tutor Zone and the Learning Zone websites. Page 3
Project Management in Marketing Assignment Brief September 2013 Option One Appendices Appendices should only be included where necessary and should be used to accommodate tables and diagrams to support/illustrate the main body of the text. No marks are awarded for work included in the appendices, and these should not be used as an alternative location for work that should appear in the main text. Appendices should not include published secondary information such as annual reports and company literature, etc. Referencing and Professionalism A professional approach to work is expected from all candidates. Candidates must therefore: identify and acknowledge ALL sources/methodologies/applications used. The candidate must use a Harvard referencing system to achieve this (notes on Harvard are on the CIM Tutor Zone and Learning Zone websites). express their work in plain business English. Marks are not awarded for use of English, but a good standard of English will help candidates to express their understanding more effectively. All work that candidates submit as part of the CIM requirements must be expressed in their own words and incorporate their own judgements. Direct quotations from the published or unpublished work of others, including that of tutors or employers, must be appropriately referenced. Authors of images used in reports and audio-visual presentations must be acknowledged. Plagiarism and Collusion Academic offences, including plagiarism and collusion, are treated very seriously. Plagiarism involves presenting work, excerpts, ideas or passages of another author without appropriate referencing and attribution. Collusion occurs when two or more candidates submit work which is so alike in ideas, content, wording and/or structure that the similarity goes beyond what might have been mere coincidence. Plagiarism and collusion are very serious offences and any candidate found to be sharing their own work, copying another candidate s work or quoting work from another source without recognising and disclosing that source, will be penalised. It is the candidate s responsibility to make sure that he or she understands what constitutes an academic offence, and, in particular, what plagiarism and collusion are and how to avoid them. Useful guidance materials and supporting policies are available on the CIM Tutor Zone and Learning Zone websites. In submitting their assessment for this unit, and completing the relevant declaration statement, candidates are confirming that the work submitted for all tasks is their own and does not contravene the CIM policies including word count, plagiarism and collusion. Tutors must sign the assessment candidate listing, confirming that to the best of their knowledge the work submitted is the candidate s own. Where a tutor has concerns about the authenticity of a candidate s submission, this should be referred to in the comment box on the assessment candidate listing. CIM reserves the right to return assessments if the necessary declaration statements have not been completed. Candidates believed to be involved in plagiarism and/or collusion for one or more tasks will have their work looked at separately by the Senior Examiner and/or another senior academic and plagiarism detection software will be used. Candidates found to be in breach of these regulations may be subject to one or more of the following: disqualification from membership; refused award of unit or qualification; disqualification from other CIM assessments/qualifications; refused the right to retake units/qualifications. Where a candidate has been found to have breached CIM regulations, both the candidate and Accredited Study Centre will be informed of the outcome. Submission of Assessments Candidates are responsible for submitting a hard copy AND an electronic copy of their assessment to their Accredited Study Centre by the appropriate CIM Accredited Study Centre deadline. Candidates Page 4
Professional Diploma in Marketing must complete all CIM paperwork to accompany the assessment. CIM will not accept or mark any assessments that are sent to CIM by individual candidates. Accredited Study Centres are responsible for ensuring that assessments are submitted to CIM by the required CIM deadline on the front of the assessment brief. Please note it is CIM s policy to mark the hard copy assessments only. The electronic copy is required for validity checks and will not be accepted by CIM as a substitute for the hard copy assessment. Hard Copy Instructions for Candidates Assessments must be held together by a treasury tag in the left hand corner, but not bound or put in wallets of any kind. Candidates must remember to hand in their assessment to their Accredited Study Centre when required to do so by their tutor. Electronic Copy Instructions for Candidates Candidates must submit an electronic copy of the appropriate assessment to their Accredited Study Centre, according to the following guidelines: The maximum number of files that a candidate can submit to their Accredited Study Centre is restricted to ONE file per unit. File types that are acceptable are:.doc.docm.docx.rtf.pdf Maximum file size per submission is limited to a maximum of 4mb. Candidates should make every effort to reduce the size of the file submitted. Electronic Copy Instructions for Accredited Study Centres As well as hard copies of assessments, CIM Accredited Study Centres must also send in an electronic copy of each candidate s work to the CIM email account at senditin@cim.co.uk. A sample of submissions by centres will be put through plagiarism software. Final Grades Final grades will be sent to the candidates from the CIM in February, May, August or November, depending on when assessments were submitted for marking. Assessment Deadline Dates The Chartered Institute of Marketing has strict deadline dates to which Accredited Study Centres must adhere. September 2013 Assessment Session CIM Membership registration deadline: 28 June 2013 (online: 5 July 2013) All assessments and accompanying paperwork to be received by CIM no later than: CIM Deadline Date: 6 September 2013 The assessment must be submitted to the Accredited Study Centre well before this date to allow time for administration and postage. Candidates must contact their tutor for the Accredited Study Centre submission deadline. Results released: November 2013 Page 5
Project Management in Marketing Assignment Brief September 2013 Option One PROFESSIONAL DIPLOMA IN MARKETING PROJECT MANAGEMENT IN MARKETING ALL TASKS ARE COMPULSORY Option One The Marketing Mix Project Brief This option has been designed to enable you to develop a marketing project around a specific business problem for your chosen organisation in the broad context of an individual element of the marketing mix or the marketing mix in its totality. For your own organisation, or one of your choice, you are required to collect, manipulate and interpret commercial data in order to support a relevant business need for a short-term project involving the marketing mix. Based on your findings you will then develop an effective business case for presentation, which needs to be justified in terms of its fit with marketing operations, evaluation of risk and the effective use of organisational capability and capacity. The business case and subsequent action will be defined by a project plan with all the necessary component stages outlined and developed. A formal report should be written in a professional style, suitable for presenting at a senior management meeting, with references to conceptual material included as appropriate. It should include an executive summary (500 words maximum), which is excluded from the word count and supporting appendices. You are asked to submit a project proposal outline to your tutor that needs to be signed off before starting the project. There are no marks for this proposal and it must be included within your appendices. You are required to produce a brief two-page background to your chosen organisation that is included within the appendix section. This is excluded from the word count and has no marks allocated. In preparation for the senior management meeting you will need to produce a project report that addresses the following tasks. Task One Identify the information needs, requirements and sources relative to the business problem in the context of the brief. Collect and present all relevant data that will form the foundation of the business case. Summarise the key issues relative to an identified explicit or underlying business problem or need. Identify the current information gaps relative to the business problem. Page 6
Professional Diploma in Marketing Task Two Present a business case for a marketing project that will solve the underlying business problem in the context of the brief. Critically analyse the research findings. Identify the associated organisational risks in the context of the brief. Assess all resource capacity, capability and necessity relative to the proposed project. Justify proposals via a robust cost benefit analysis, and demonstrate how the proposals will support and enhance current marketing operations. Task Three Propose a risk control programme for the identified organisational risks highlighted in the business case. Assess the potential impact of these risks and the organisational implications if the risks are not treated. Present the benefits of introducing a culture of risk management to the organisation. Task Four Develop a complete project plan to effectively implement your proposals. Utilise a range of tools and techniques for project planning, scheduling, resourcing and control. Recommend and justify project methodology. Define and itemise work breakdown, timelines, deliverables and milestones. Quantify resource budgets. Assess the main evaluation techniques for determining success or failure. Word count 6,000 words maximum, excluding relevant appendices Appendix Provide a brief background to your organisation, its customer base, position in the market and product/service range (up to a maximum of two sides of A4, no marks allocated). Provide a project proposal (up to a maximum of three sides of A4, no marks allocated). Page 7
Project Management in Marketing Assignment Brief September 2013 Option One Option One The Marketing Mix ASSESSMENT CRITERIA AND MARK SCHEME Assessment Criteria Task One Identification of the information needs, requirements and sources relative to the business problem in the context of the brief Marks Available CIM Examiner s Mark CIM Moderated Mark Collection and presentation of all relevant data that will form the foundation of the business case 12 Summary of the key issues relative to an identified explicit or underlying business problem or need Identification of the current information gaps relative to the business problem Task Two Presentation of a business case for a marketing project that will solve the underlying business problem in the context of the brief Critical analysis of the research findings Identification of the associated organisational risks in the context of the brief 18 Assessment of all resource capacity, capability and necessity relative to the proposed project Justification of proposals via a robust cost benefit analysis and demonstration of how the proposals will support and enhance current marketing operations Task Three Proposal of a risk control programme for the identified organisational risks highlighted in the business case Assessment of the potential impact of these risks and the organisational implications if the risks are not treated 22 Presentation of the benefits of introducing a culture of risk management to the organisation Page 8
Professional Diploma in Marketing Option One The Marketing Mix ASSESSMENT CRITERIA AND MARK SCHEME CONTINUED Assessment Criteria Task Four Development of a complete project plan to effectively implement your proposals Marks Available CIM Examiner s Mark CIM Moderated Mark Utilisation of a range of tools and techniques for project planning, scheduling, resourcing and control Recommendation and justification of project methodology 38 Definition and itemisation of work breakdown, timelines, deliverables and milestones Quantification of resource budgets Assessment of the main evaluation techniques for determining success or failure Format and presentation Executive summary Relevance to the tasks 10 Use of supporting concepts and frameworks Professional tone and required format Harvard referencing Total Mark 100 CIM use only Marked by PRINT NAME Senior Examiner PRINT NAME Date Date Page 9
Project Management in Marketing Assignment Brief September 2013 Option One Option One The Marketing Mix Guidance Notes The project should ideally be based on the candidate s own organisation or one that the candidate knows well and where permission from the appropriate authority within that organisation has been gained. Although candidates do not have to be junior or senior marketing managers to undertake this project, ideally they should have the opportunity to be involved in some aspects of managerial activities and/or be allowed (as part of their progression and development) to interview or work with managerial personnel. The size of the organisation affects the cross-functional organisational possibilities. In smaller organisations, it may be easier for candidates to undertake a cross-functional organisation project of this kind. In larger organisations, candidates may have to focus on a department or section of the business. In these circumstances, the department and/or section can be bigger than a smaller organisation. As long as the project incorporates opportunities for candidates to meet the requirements for the tasks, it meets the criteria. The advised prerequisite for Project Management in Marketing is that the following units should be completed first: The Marketing Planning Process Delivering Customer Value through Marketing. In addition, the Managing Marketing Unit should, ideally, either be completed or be studied alongside Project Management in Marketing. Project Management in Marketing will draw on knowledge and skills from previous units and build on this by developing the candidates understanding of marketing management. Guidance on tackling the project The assignment is an opportunity to establish how the marketing mix is, or could be, managed within the organisation. In order to establish the organisational context for the project it will be necessary to evaluate the current marketing mix activities and operations in the chosen organisation. For example, consideration could be given to the traditional mix, the extended mix or the contemporary mix including the digital marketing mix. Consequently, the concepts of a marketing mix are key. Namely, organisations must identify and assess the factors influencing the overall marketing mix, must fully analyse the performance of the marketing mix and must formulate a compatible mix that fits with the organisational specific and dynamic. If a formal and systematic framework for the management of the marketing mix is in place for the chosen organisation, this should be used as the basis for the investigation and subsequent proposals. For a project of this nature, a combination of elements from the following could be tackled: shortcomings in the marketing mix, including rationale, objectives, implementation, budgets and control implications, challenges and constraints arising from the marketing environment various customer/segment characteristics and behaviour Page 10
Professional Diploma in Marketing the role and importance of managing the marketing mix the extent to which marketing mix objectives are met the impact upon areas such as finance, IT and HR the structure, culture and style of management in terms of, and aversion to, resource allocation and expenditure. Other marketing mix issues could include areas such as integrated marketing communications within the mix, differentiated or undifferentiated targeting or marketing mix metrics. However, these indications are not definitive and each organisational context will display different variables. It is important to appreciate and understand that the issues will have an impact on both operational efficiency and long term profitability. Candidates should study and critically appraise relevant concepts, models and theories, and make relevant comparisons and recommendations with reference to this material. The analysis should be undertaken from operational and management perspectives. Project Preparation An important requirement for a successful work-based project is effective cooperation with the relevant business managers. In order to conduct research, candidates should ideally agree the terms of reference with their line manager, and heads of those departments or relevant personnel being investigated. There should be a clear set of objectives and an implementation plan with identified timescales. Before starting any detailed work on their projects, all candidates need to submit a project proposal to their tutor that identifies the following: which organisation (or part of an organisation) they wish to use for the project assurance of access to information from the line/departmental managers that may be affected by the research for the situational analysis, and an outline plan for how they will undertake and complete the project a brief description of what they intend to do for each aspect of the project brief which literature sources/web links have been identified that may be helpful in supporting their work. Once this proforma has been signed by the Project Management in Marketing tutor, candidates need to start on their research and data collection, as all else depends on this being done well. We suggest that it would be helpful to include within the scheme of work a deadline for submitting the project proposal. The proposal needs to be appended to the candidate s final submission. Task One Candidates should design and implement organisational research and data collection in the context of the brief (using business and marketing techniques). The findings will help to form the basis for appropriate recommendations for improving the performance of marketing operations, thus enhancing the competitive position of the organisation in the market. Page 11
Project Management in Marketing Assignment Brief September 2013 Option One Approaches to the marketing mix should be investigated and impacts upon marketing operations examined. The research could concentrate on, but not be limited to, the marketing mix management process, current marketing mixes for current customer bases, marketing mix analysis, and/or current marketing mix performance. This data and information must be presented using professional formats, must identify an explicit or underlying business problem, and will lay the foundation for a business case. It is also a requirement to identify any gaps that exist within the current available data and how these gaps may be filled. Task Two Candidates must present a business case for a project that will solve the identified business problem. This needs to be grounded and justified from a critical analysis of the findings in Task One and must include a qualified and quantified cost benefit analysis. As a minimum, the business case must be convincing in terms of operational fit and must include additional elements of resource capacity, capability and requirement, associated organisational risks and explanation as to how the project will support and enhance current marketing operations. Task Three Risk management, control and mitigation are imperative for the modern marketing organisation. In the context of the brief here, candidates need to critically analyse and assess all of the identified organisational risks from internal and external perspectives. The overall assessment will be via organisational impact, and the candidate must go on to discuss the further implications if these risks are not treated. In addition, the candidate must recommend how a culture of risk management could be introduced within the organisation and how the organisation should incorporate risk control mechanisms through methods and/or systems. Task Four Finally, a fully outlined project management plan must be presented, covering all stages of the marketing project. Additional guidance is given below. Formal Report Information gathered from Task One should be analysed and synthesised in a manner which is innovative and original. Marketing theories and concepts should be appropriately applied, resulting in findings and recommendations that demonstrate mature and analytical understanding. Utilising and incorporating this information, a formal report should be produced, including an executive summary which is excluded from the word count and illustrated with relevant diagrams and appropriate models. The report should include the presentation of the research findings and a summary of the key issues that have been identified. The presentation of a business case will be drawn from a critical analysis of the findings. Page 12
Professional Diploma in Marketing An important aspect of this is the evaluation of the performance of marketing operations. This section should be influenced by the findings and data analysis. Areas of strength and weakness should be identified and, where improvements are required, these proposals should be justified with relevant evidence and supporting data. Based on this evaluation, further recommendations should be made for how the marketing function can improve the performance of its operations and what additional measures (if any) need to be put in place. Again, the recommendations should be supported by the evaluation of the findings. In making recommendations, it is important that consideration is given to the role of the marketing department and how it serves the needs of the organisation, the market and the customers. It is also important to appreciate that in an economic downturn or upturn, as the case may be, the criteria by which marketing operations are evaluated may be subject to review and change. Having identified the actions required, it will be necessary to prioritise them and focus on the most important ones in the project plan. The priority list may be influenced to some extent by the resourcing needed to deliver the recommendations, relative to available resources and the analysis and assessment of identified organisational risk. The report must include the design and development of a plan based on the stated business case. The plan should effectively implement the proposals, identifying the activities, estimating time and cost, sequencing activities, and assessing the competency and skills required of the people needed to deliver the project. In particular the project plan should include as a minimum: project initiation scope and objectives beginning and end dates key/core deliverables methodology adaptation project limitations risk management outline budget project implementation schedules resource reviews personnel requirements project termination project evaluation. Tables and Gantt charts should be used to present key information within the project plan where appropriate and should not be included as appendices. In producing the report and the plan, it is important that candidates adopt a structure and style of approach that naturally lend themselves to reporting on the outcomes of their study. The format and approach used will be driven by the relevant themes and issues arising from the research. A formulaic, study centre template approach should therefore be avoided. Instead the examiners will be looking for a holistic approach where there is clear evidence that information has been synthesised and applied with originality of thought and clarity of expression. At the same time, it is important that a comprehensive plan is systematically developed in the context of the organisation and scenario. It is particularly important that due regard is given to the conceptual underpinning of the way in which some of the key aspects of the project planning process have been undertaken, and a critical perspective is provided on how this has been applied in the setting of the chosen organisation. The report should be written in a Page 13
Project Management in Marketing Assignment Brief September 2013 Option One professional style, suitable for presenting at a senior management meeting, with references to conceptual material included as appropriate. Furthermore, the analysis and evaluation of risk is an important part of the assignment brief, and candidates should emphasise its importance by: addressing the tasks relating to the various aspects of risk as a separate section of the report making brief references to risk assessment, management and mitigation in the appropriate sections in the project plan. Page 14
Concept 30% Application 30% Evaluation 30% CIM Professional Diploma Grade Descriptors Level 6 Grade A Grade B Grade C Grade D This grade is given for work that meets all of the assessment criteria at Diploma level to secure at least 70% and demonstrates a candidate s ability to: This grade is given for work that meets all of the assessment criteria at Diploma level to secure at least 60% and demonstrates a candidate s ability to: This grade is given for work that meets enough of the assessment criteria at Diploma level to secure at least 50% and demonstrates a candidate s ability to: This grade is given for border line work that does not meet enough of the assessment criteria at Diploma level to secure a pass and is within the band 45-49%. This may be Time Management, & Presentation 10% develop appropriate research strategies for both primary and secondary research selectively identify valid and relevant information from a wide range of sources for the discipline manage own learning independently evidence comprehensive knowledge and understanding of the marketing discipline at Diploma level synthesise and analyse new and/or abstract information and data in the context of wide ranging problems, using a range of appropriate techniques engage in effective debate in a professional manner evidencing a comprehensive understanding and application of key principles produce detailed and coherent arguments in response to well defined and abstract problems using relevant vocational language express ideas persuasively and with originality, applying appropriate marketing terminology and concepts accurately apply a wide variety of illustrative examples to underpin findings supported by references to wider reading and learning resources to exemplify points evaluate findings leading to incisive conclusions and recommendations produce reliable, valid and incisive conclusions and recommendations, based on research findings and analysis plan, review and complete work within the specified deadlines/time allocated an exceptional and professional standard of presentation, format and tone develop appropriate research strategies for both primary and secondary research identify and select valid information from a suitable range of relevant sources for the discipline manage own learning with minimal guidance evidence detailed knowledge and understanding of the marketing discipline at Diploma level analyse new and/or abstract information and data in the context of broadly defined problems, using appropriate techniques evidence a sound understanding and application of key principles produce logical arguments in response to a given brief using vocational language correctly express ideas clearly, applying appropriate marketing terminology and concepts accurately apply a variety of illustrative examples to underpin findings supported by some references to wider reading and learning resources to exemplify points evaluate findings leading to informative and reliable conclusions and recommendations produce reliable and informative conclusions and recommendations, based on research findings and analysis plan, review and complete work within the specified deadlines/time allocated a high standard of presentation, format and tone develop an appropriate research strategy for both primary and secondary research identify and select information using a minimum number of resources for the discipline manage own learning with support and guidance evidence a satisfactory level of knowledge and understanding of the marketing discipline at Diploma level analyse information and data in the context of explicitly defined problems evidence a basic understanding and application of key principles produce arguments in response to a given brief using sufficient vocational language outline ideas and concepts using appropriate marketing terminology include some illustrative examples to support findings including minimum references to wider reading and learning resources to exemplify points evaluate findings leading to reliable but limited conclusions produce reliable but limited conclusions and recommendations based on findings complete work within the specified deadlines/time allocated acceptable presentation, format and tone due to: an inability to develop an appropriate research strategy for both primary and secondary research insufficient sources of information being used to underpin research an inability to manage own learning effectively repeating case material rather than evidencing knowledge of the marketing discipline at Diploma level a lack of detail and argument when analysing information for a specified task a lack of basic understanding of key principles and limited application insufficient and/or inappropriate use of marketing terminology to explain ideas limited development of ideas or concepts few or no examples to support findings little or no attempt to evaluate findings superficial conclusions and recommendations which lack depth work not being completed within the specified deadlines/time allowed errors in presentation, format and tone