COURSEWORK – GUIDANCE AND QUESTIONS
The submission date for the Coursework is Thursday 7th May 2020. The deadline is 23.55.
Work will be submitted electronically via Turnitin on Moodle.
Coursework Word Limit
The word limit for the coursework is 2,250 words excluding footnotes and bibliography.
The word count should be stated at the top of your work. Failure to state a word count
will result in a penalty of 5% of the original mark. A falsely stated word-count is an
assessment office which may result in a penalty, including the reduction of the mark
to 0%. Note, that footnotes should be used to reference sources only. Examiners are
free to disregard footnotes that contain inappropriate information or information that
should belong in the main text. Coursework that is over the stated word limit will result
in a penalty of 10% of the original mark. For the avoidance of doubt, the penalty
will be applied to any work that exceeds the stated word limit of 2,250 words
excluding footnotes and bibliography. Students are NOT permitted to exceed
the word limit by 10% or any other amount.
Business and Law Study Support
The Faculty of Business and Law Study Support Tutors offer confidential support with all
aspects of study skills.
You can send work (drafts or completed documents) to them electronically, or arrange a faceto-face appointment to help develop your skills and enhance your work.
They can provide guidance and feedback on things like academic writing, English language,
planning and producing assignments, research skills, working in groups, presentations and
exam/revision skills.
The tutors are available Monday-Friday throughout term time and most holiday periods. For
more information, email them ([email protected]) or visit their website
(www.port.ac.uk/studysupport).
Plagiarism
Students are reminded of the need to avoid plagiarism in all assessments. The
University Regulations describe plagiarism as:
the incorporation by a student in work for assessment of material which is not
their own, in the sense that all or a substantial part of the work has been copied
without any adequate attempt at attribution, or has been incorporated as if it
were the student’s own when in fact it is wholly or substantially the work of
another person or persons.
Any student suspected of plagiarising will be referred to the BaL Student Assessment
and Assessment Regulations Lead and an Academic Misconduct Hearing will be
arranged. Students should ensure that all sources are fully cited and in the
bibliography, in accordance with Oscola, and that indentation or quotation marks (as
appropriate) are used when quoting. Students who fail to include a bibliography will
be penalised.
Guidance may be found at: www.referencing.port.ac.uk
If any student has a query about any of the above matters and wishes to obtain
clarification or further information please contact the module co-ordinator or your
personal tutor.
Work that is not your own
As a student it is expected that you demonstrate the ability to select appropriate reading
material, think, analyse, synthesise, and then produce your own work to submit for
assessment. When you graduate you know that you earned your degree and that it is a
reflection of your personal effort. In future, you may look back with pride on the achievement.
Sadly, some students deliberately submit work for assessment that is not their own. Working
together with others to produce a piece of individual work is not your own work and is
plagiarism. Copying the work of others, including the work of current or past students, and
incorporating it as if it is your own work, is plagiarism. Work commissioned from contract
tutors or paying a friend/other person to write your assessment work means that this is not
your own work. Using on-line ghostwriters, private tutors, ‘contract cheating’, or any other
third party (i.e. having any third party produce an essay or assignment) and incorporating it as
if it is your own work, is plagiarism.
If you have any questions about what is meant by ‘your own work’ please contact the Module
Coordinator, any of your lecturers, or your Course Leader. BaL Study Skills and the University
ASK team will also be happy to offer advice about what ‘your own work’ means.
Do not devalue your, or others’ qualifications, by submitting work that is not your own.
Marks and Feedback
Marks for the coursework assignment will be available on 9th June 2020 (save in the case of
work submitted after the due date). Marks and feedback will be released via Moodle. You will
be emailed when the marks have been released, so please wait for that email before checking.
If there is any delay in the processing of marks, the module co-ordinator will communicate this
to you.
Individual feedback will be provided on your coursework submission through the Moodle site.
Please make sure that you view this on a compatible device as some tablets do not show the
feedback comments.
Please note that all coursework and exam marks remain provisional until they have been
confirmed by the Module Assessment Board.
Part 12 paragraph 1.4 of the Examination and Assessment Regulations September 2013
makes it clear that students may not question the academic judgement of the examiners and
states that any requests for a review of a mark based on such grounds alone will be dismissed.
Students can only request a re-mark under the following circumstances: there has been a
material and significant administrative error; or there has been a procedural irregularity in the
assessment process as defined in the Examination and Assessment Regulations. You can
obtain a full copy of the Regulations by following this link:
http://www.port.ac.uk/accesstoinformation/policies/academicregistry/filetodownload%2C1637
13%2Cen.pdf
Although you cannot question the academic judgement of a lecturer, we are happy to meet
with students to discuss their performance. Lecturer’s weekly office hours provide a good time
for this discussion and you should approach the module co-ordinator in the first instance.
However, you must make sure that you have read and reflected on your individual feedback
before you get in touch with a tutor to arrange a meeting to discuss your work.
Late Submission of Coursework
Coursework submitted after the published submission date without a valid Extenuating Circumstances
Form (ECF), but within ten working days of that date, will be marked. The mark awarded will be limited
to the module pass mark (40% unless otherwise specified in the module handbook).
Coursework submitted more than ten working days after the published submission date will not be
marked, and a mark of zero will be recorded on the student’s record. It will be recorded as a nonsubmission.
Referral Assessment Arrangements
General Information
You will have to complete the second attempt assessment for this module if you achieve less
than 40% in the module overall
Students should note that the decisions of Module Assessment Boards and Boards of
Examiners may mean that any work undertaken before the referral assessment period proves
to be redundant because the volume of individual second attempt assessment necessary may
mean that the student has the opportunity for a referral is assessment withdrawn.
It is your responsibility to check the Student Portal and make sure that you are
registered for the referral assessment.
Referral Assessment for this module
The referral attempt assessment for this module is a like for like.
The second attempt assessment period will commence on Monday 6 July 2020 and will end
on Friday 27 July 2020.
The mark for the referral attempt artefact will be capped at 40% but it will be combined
with the mark(s) for any artefacts that were passed at the first attempt in order to
calculate the overall module mark i.e. the final module mark will not be capped
automatically at 40%, although the second attempt assessment mark will be so capped.
Implications of failing the module after the referral attempt
If you fail any or all of your referral assessments, the Board of Examiners may offer you the
opportunity of repeat assessment in the next academic year. This means that you must repeat
the module(s) that you have failed (with the full range of marks available). Attendance of
students on repeat assessment will be monitored very closely.
You must have passed all your modules before you can continue your studies.
Students who miss a referral attempt assessment date will be deemed to have failed.
ECF Advice
http://www.port.ac.uk/accesstoinformation/policies/academicregistry/filetodownload,10380,e
n.pdf
If you are unable to submit coursework on the due date as a result of circumstances relating
to your health and/or other personal matters, which are sufficiently serious to have prevented
you from completing or submitting the assessment artefact, you should submit an ECF within
ten working days of the submission date.
You are strongly advised to speak to your personal tutor as soon as possible after the
circumstances arise/you realise that you will not be able to sit/submit the assessment.
Deferral Arrangements
If you have been unable to submit your coursework by the due date and have a valid ECF
which applies to the coursework, then you will be able to submit the coursework up to ten
working days late without penalty. Do not wait to be told whether or not your ECF was
successful. It is important to discuss potential ECF claims with your personal tutor to make
sure you understand the implications of late submission if the ECF is not upheld by the ECF
panel.
Support for Referred/Deferred Students
Students can arrange to meet with the module co-ordinator (Helen Burton) with any specific
queries they may have.
Please read the case study below and answer Q.1 + 2 at the
end
Case Study – Issues at Myconos Restaurant
Myconos is a Greek restaurant in Southsea. Many years ago it adopted non-contractual
grievance and disciplinary and dismissal procedures based on the then statutory model. It
claims to be “an equal opportunities employer” and has a harassment policy. This lists
examples of behaviour that could amount to harassment and details the action that will be
taken against staff.
Jason has been employed as the manager at the restaurant for 3 months and has promised
to give bonuses to staff considered to be high performers. Helena has exceeded her weekly
target for main meals ordered for the last 3 weeks in a row, whereas Stavros who is also a
waiter, has consistently fallen short of his. Helena has just found out that Stavros, the only
male waiter, has been given a bonus, as in Jason’s words, he ‘shows potential’.
Eddie has been employed at Myconos for 5 years, works behind the bar and has sole
responsibility for taking payments for drinks and food. Jason has recently noticed that
despite the restaurant being full most evenings, takings are down. Jason decides to
undertake some spot checks and it becomes obvious to him that only Eddie could be
responsible for the shortfall. The CCTV installed many years ago and of which all staff are
aware, clearly shows Eddie putting something in his pocket on several occasions during his
shift.
Andreas has been employed as head chef at the restaurant for a year and is under a great
deal of pressure to offer a more extensive menu. Jason has just been in the kitchen for the
third time this week complaining to Andreas that some of his food looked like ‘pig swill’ and
should not be served to customers. Andreas was very upset by these comments especially as
everyone else in the kitchen heard Jason and turned round and sniggered.
On his way out of the kitchen, Jason commented to Janice, a new female member of staff,
that her skirt was too short and that she was ‘showing too much leg’. Over the last few
weeks, both Jason and the other senior male manager, Draco, have made a number of
similar comments to her so much so that she now feels that she is working in a hostile
environment. At her interview, Janice states she was told by Jason and Draco that at the end
of her 6 month probation period, she would be given a pay increase. She knows that Simon
and John, two other members of staff received one at the end of their probationary periods
but Jason and Draco now deny having said this to her. When Janice spoke to the person
responsible for HR issues (Jason’s wife) about this pay increase, she was told that she must
have been mistaken, as no such offer was made to her.
Q1 After a brief meeting attended by Jason, Draco and Eddie, Eddie was summarily
dismissed for gross misconduct. Advise Eddie of any claims he may have. (50 marks)
Q2 Helena is very happy working at the restaurant but is very angry that Jason seems to be
favouring Stavros. Advise Helena of any claims she may have. (50 marks)
Questions regarding Andreas and Janice will be asked in a referral assessment. You
are not required to answer them here.