Order to have such an Assignment done

GSBS6200 – GROUP PROJECT (30 MARKS)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Feel free to form your own groups. However, if you are not in a group by the end of Week 4, the Course Coordinator will put you into a group.  After groups are confirmed by the Course Coordinator, group members are to select a group leader, discuss choice of companies and complete a Project Action Plan. The Project Action Plan must be submitted to the lecturer via email by the Group leader in Week 5 (by Sunday).
2. Group leader to inform lecturer in Week 4 (by Sunday) about the choice of companies selected by the group. No two groups will work on the same set of companies and groups will be permitted their choice of companies on a first-come-first-served basis.
3. Oral presentation – Week 11, in class/online. A copy of the presentation slides must be submitted through the submission link on the course Canvas site prior to the presentation. Refer course outline (pages 2 and 3). 
4. Written report – On Turnitin by Sunday (31^st July) of Week 11, 11:59 pm SGT (i.e., after the oral presentation on 29^th July) via Turnitin on Canvas.
5. The marking rubric for the oral and written work are given in this document.
6. Peer Evaluation through SPARK must be completed by within 24 hours after the oral presentation
7. Do read all pages in this document.

Details of group work procedures

Purpose and Function of Group Work

Group work facilitates peer learning and encourages students to develop collaborative skills. Studying collaboratively has shown to directly enhance student learning by:

• enhancing understanding;
• students learning from one another and benefiting from activities that require articulation and testing of their knowledge;
• providing an opportunity for students to clarify and refine their understanding of concepts via discussion and rehearsal with peers.

Group work can facilitate the development of generic skills valued by employers which include:

• teamwork skills (skills in working within team dynamics; leadership skills);
• analytical and cognitive skills (analysing task requirements; questioning; critically interpreting material; evaluating the work of others);
• collaborative skills (conflict management and resolution; accepting intellectual criticism; flexibility; negotiation and compromise); and
• organisational and time management skills.

 

Procedures for Selecting Groups, Roles and Responsibilities, and Conduct of meetings

Group members will exchange contact details and formulate and agree on a Project Action Plan. The Project Action Plan identifies member roles, group rules, allocated tasks and responsibilities, details problems and issues that may arise and how the group will manage them, and shows agreed project milestones. Students are to actively manage the conduct of meetings and record member contribution. Each group is responsible for keeping and submitting a Group Diary which records details of dates, participants and activities of each group meeting. The Group Diary will be used to assess processes of the project as well as the final report.

 

Conflict and Grievance Procedures

Group work functions best when everyone participates actively in the development of the project. However, sometimes you will need to address situations where one or more member(s) do not attend meeting(s) or did not complete the assigned work. In the first instance, such conflict and grievance issues should be handled within your group. The pre-submitted Project Action Plan will provide the details that you agreed at the outset. Should it be necessary, students are required to implement them. 

If the grievance issue cannot be resolved within the group, the next step is to discuss the situation with your lecturer/tutor. If the situation cannot be resolved, a meeting (via collaborate) will be organised with the course co-ordinator. All members of the group must attend these meetings.

 

Assessment

A group mark will be allocated to all members of the group. This group mark will be moderated according to individual group member's contribution based on evidence from the oral presentation. Peer Evaluation is used to peer moderate. Correspondence between group members and the Project Action Plan will also be used.

 

(This is to be kept for your reference only to assist you in keeping track of group members contribution when you submit your peer assessment through SPARK)

 

Yes/No

Discussion and agreement made of the grade expectations of all group members: 

Who will do what in this group work?

 

Date agreed for a mid-project check-up of progress of work against the agreed parts of this plan:

Signed (Must be signed by group leader and all members in the group – email acceptances that can be copy pasted in this document are accepted)                     

Date

You should provide this to the Lecturer when there is a conflict or dispute within the group

Reference:

Drucker, P. F. (1999) Managing oneself, In Management challenges for the 21st century, Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford, pp. 163-195.

 

Group Diary (this is only to assist in keeping track of the group work and you need to submit this to the course coordinator ONLY if there is a dispute/disagreement within the group). Peer assessment is done through SPARK.

 

 

 

Group project details (30 marks)

Financial Statement Analysis and Report

Objectives of the task

• Apply theory in practice
• Conduct analysis of financial statement – to look beyond the numbers
• Experience formal report writing and skills in interpreting financial statements.

 

The task

• Select two companies in the same industry listed on the Australian Stock Market.
• Your analysis will be based on the latest available three years annual reports (full year’s report) which include the financial statements (Balance sheet, Income statement, and Statement of cash flows) and explanatory notes of your selected companies.  
• You must inform your lecturer the names of the two companies and the industry. 
• No two groups can work on the same two companies (if two groups pick the same two companies the lecturer will use a first come first served basis only to permit one group to work on the two companies)

 

You will need to collect data for the latest available three years for the selected companies from the financial statements and other relevant information and conduct:

1. 1. 1. 1. Horizontal analysis of the Income Statement and Cash Flow Statement
         2. Vertical analysis of the Income Statement and Balance Sheet
         3. Ratio analysis (using two ratios for each of the five ratio categories:- i.e., two ratios for profitability; two ratios for efficiency, two ratios for liquidity, two ratios for capital structure analysis and two ratios for market performance)
         4. A fundamental analysis of the companies based on your calculations in (a), (b) and (c) above to help a prospective investor decide in which of the two companies to invest all his/her life-time savings.
         5. An in-depth evaluation of the company’s overall outlook for the future taking into consideration relevant factors including those of the industry.

 

Written Report (20 marks)

• Your written presentation should take the form of a formal report. 

• Your written report must be printed and your discussion should be 3000 words (maximum limit).
• Your calculations must be included in an appendix and properly quoted/referenced in your report
• Whenever necessary your report must be properly referenced (you can use any style of referencing but must be aware of plagiarism).
• Your report should be structured along the following lines:
  • executive summary
  • Introduction
  • analysis of the two companies (horizontal analysis, vertical analysis, ratio analysis, fundamental analysis and overall outlook for the future)
  • conclusion and recommendation
  • appendices (calculations showing formulas used and the company’s financial data that has been used in the analysis of the two companies)
  • bibliography
• Group leader to submit the group report via Turnitin on Canvas on or before the due date. ONLY ONE report must be submitted on behalf of the group.
• Refer marking rubric in this document.

 

Oral Presentation (10 marks)

The key objective of the oral presentation is to enable you to demonstrate your work to the class. Each participant can speak for a maximum of three minutes and explain his/her part of the project and the key findings that related to his/her part of the work. The entire oral presentation should NOT exceed 15 minutes (may change depending on the class size).

PEER EVALUATION

Sometimes problems related to team work arise from differing perceptions among team members as to the worth of different types and level of contributions. The same mark for all members is not always fair as each individual brings different skills and different commitments to the task

(see http://e-learning- ngagement.blogspot.com/2004/10/whatswrong-with-group-work.html).

To address these issues, this class will use the Peer Evaluation that allows you to engage in peer assessment to provide formative feedback in terms of your team performance and is used to moderate your individual mark in the group assignment.

NO SPARK NO MARK

Participation in Peer evaluation is MANDATORY and students who do not undertake the Peer Evaluation will be given a mark of zero for this assessment item. The Peer Evaluation must be completed within 24 hours after the presentation.

Assessment Criteria for Group Case Study Written Report (20%)

Criteria	Marks	Excellent	Satisfactory	Poor
		100%-75%	74%-50%	49%-0%
Presentation of the written report	0.5	The report is well presented with consistent use of formatting, headings and supporting tables/graphics.	The formatting and layout of the report is inconsistently presented. Inconsistent use of formatting, headings and supporting tables/graphics	The formatting and layout is poor indicating a lack of professionalism. Either appropriate headings are not used and/or there is a lack of formatting and/or there is a lack of supporting tables/graphics
Referencing	2	Referencing appropriate with no errors or omissions.	An adequate attempt at referencing was made with minor errors or omissions in the style of referencing.	Lack of proper referencing. Either references are missing or the referencing style has not been applied accurately
Quality of writing	1.5	Professional language is used which communicates meaning with clarity and fluency. No errors in spelling, grammar and punctuation, or sentence structure.	Adequate language which conveys meaning with some clarity, however there the report is inconsistent in its flow from one idea to the next and there are errors in expression. Errors in spelling, grammar, punctuation, sentence structure, and/or organisation	Poor language impedes meaning because of errors in usage and disorganisation of information. Consistent errors in spelling, grammar, punctuation, sentence structure and/or organisation.
Application of analysis models	3	Analysis models are accurately and appropriately applied with respect to: -horizontal analysis                     -vertical analysis                     -ratio analysis Calculations are accurate and without errors.	Analysis models are appropriately applied with respect to: -horizontal analysis                     -vertical analysis                      -ratio analysis However, minor errors are shown in calculation.	Little or no attempt is shown to apply analysis models to given business situation with respect to: -horizontal analysis                     -vertical analysis                      -ratio analysis Many errors are shown in calculation.
Interpretation / Recommendation based on analysis of the results	8	Analysis and interpretation of the results is comprehensive and thorough. All issues are adequately addressed. Interpretation and recommendations are accurate, logically linked to the results and supported by judgement. Analysis is specifically addressed at the company chosen.	Analysis and interpretation of the results is present, however it lacks depth. Majority of the issues are addressed. Interpretation and recommendations are mostly correct, somewhat relevant to the results and mostly supported by accurate judgement.