Overview

The purpose of this assessment is to develop your capability to analyse and present a case or reading. You will be assigned a reading or a case. You are expected to produce a written analysis addressing the following points:

• The supply chain theme addressed in the reading/case.
• A summary/overview of the reading/case.
• Discuss and highlight the main issue(s)/findings and the solution/practice described in the case/reading.
• Evaluate/critique the findings and offer alternative thinking/analysis/solutions if applicable.

After completion of this assessment, you should be able to:

• Understand the circular economy practices of a given organisation.
• Comprehend the importance of the alignment of sustainability aspects and business strategies.
• Design and develop environmental management systems.
• Develop and evaluate sustainable supply chain performance measures.

Learning Outcomes

The targeted Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs) for this assessment are:

• CLO1: Discuss the concepts, and principles that underlie sustainability in supply chains, reverse logistics and the environment, especially with regard to the management of recycling and closed-loop-manufacturing, and logistics systems.
• CLO3: Determine the performance measures necessary to capture sustainable supply chain practices.
• CLO4: Explain and apply the environmental assessment methods and tools and international environmental standards such as ISO 14001, ISO 26000 in supply chains.
• CLO5: Interrelate the life cycle assessment methods and tools with strategic decision making regarding environment.

Marking Criteria

This assessment will measure your ability to:

• Introduction: How the critique is set up (10%)
• Summary: Summary of the case/reading assigned (25%)
• Discussion/critique: Are the interpretations of the findings reasonable? Are there any alternative solutions available to the problems discussed? Are the findings generalisable to other industries? (50%)
• Clarity/style: Demonstration of using appropriate formats of language. Proper sentence construction with correct grammar and vocabulary (10%)
• Referencing: Demonstration of proper citing and referencing in Harvard style (5%)

Assessment Details

Format/ Structure

Introduction - It is a short section (less than 10% of the word length) and should cover:

• Details of the reading being reviewed.
• Describe the objective and purpose of the reading.
• Explain the context in which the case/ reading was developed.
• Thesis statement that provides what your evaluation of the work will be.

Summary - This section should not be the focus of the assignment and is usually shorter than the critical evaluation. Should clearly present key aspects of the situation from a supply chain perspective.  Summary should cover:

• The main points of the reading/case.
• The arguments presented in the reading/case.
• The findings of the reading.

Discussion - Critique the reading by using the supporting literature. Discussion should include the following:

• Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the reading/case.
• Discuss and highlight the main issue(s)/findings and the solution/practice described in the case/reading.
• Are the interpretations of the findings reasonable?
• Are the findings generalisable to other industries?
• Are there any alternative solutions or improvements available to the problems analysed in the reading?
• Articulate the preferred solution in a clear and concise manner with a justification of its choice.

Conclusion - End the assignment with a conclusion that does the following:

• Key points from the article and analysis presented in earlier sections.
• A summary of the alternative preferred solutions to the findings presented in the reading/case.

Submission

You need to submit only a soft copy (via Canvas) to the course coordinator.

Note: Lecturer will provide marks (Grades) with comments and suggestions.