Management Decisions and Control 22421/0

Management Decisions
and Control
Lecture 5

Research and Report Writing

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 Lecture Objectives
 Learning Objectives of the Assignment
 The Brief
 Framing the Problem
3. Research Literature
 Science Literature
 Practitioner Literature
4. Using the Databases
 What is Available
 How to Search
5. Writing the Report
 Format
 Essential features of a report
 Example of a Good Report
 Marking Template
 Team Member Participation

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 Learning Objectives
1. Understand, apply and critique the application of a range of
different decision models used to enable managers to solve
problems, control and evaluate performance within an
organisational context;

3. Within the social context of an organisation, evaluate the impact of

different decisions, control systems and performance evaluation
methods;

5. Critically understand the role of management accounting in

modern organisations;

7. Further develop a capacity for independent research and learning;

9. Further develop communication and teamwork skills.

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Management Decisions and Control 22421/0
 The Brief

Framing the Problem

A common problem in the manufacturing industry is the
logistics of supply chain management. More specifically,
the integration of all individual parts of the supply chain
and how it influences a firms pricing strategy.

You are asked to prepare a report that identifies the

specific problems with supply chain management in
the manufacturing industry and to provide a range
of possible solutions to the problems. You will need
to justify your stance with both academic as well as
practitioner based literature references. 4
Management Decisions and Control 22421/0
 Framing the Problem
“A common problem in the manufacturing industry is the
logistics of supply chain management. More specifically, the
integration of all individual parts of the supply chain and
how it influences a firms pricing strategy”

 What is ‘supply chain management’? What do we mean by

logistics?

 What are the constituents of a supply chain? Why are they

difficult to integrate?

 How does a supply chain influence pricing strategies?

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Management Decisions and Control 22421/0
 Framing the Problem
“A common problem in the manufacturing industry is the logistics of
supply chain management. More specifically, the integration of all
individual parts of the supply chain and how it influences a firms
pricing strategy”

“identify the specific problems with supply chain management in the

manufacturing industry”

 Identify problems from the literature (how many problems?)

 Why do these problems occur?
 What are the ramifications of these problems for organisations?
 How and why do they affect pricing strategies?

 These must relate to the management of the supply chain, not just
the supply chain itself
 This implies a focus on both technical and behavioural issues
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 Framing the Problem

Common
Problems
Problem 1

Problem 2

Problem 3

Problem 4

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 Identifying Solutions
“provide a range of possible solutions to the problems”

 It is not enough to just provide solutions! You need to make

a recommendation from your selection of solutions based on
criteria that you determine as success factors.
 What constitutes a ‘solution’?
 Success factors – ie ‘increased organisational performance’,
‘lower lead time’ etc
 These may be general (the same for each problem) or specific

 What implications does this ‘solution’ have in terms of the

social context of the organisation? Does this solution lead to
further problems?
 Remember the organisational ‘problem solving map’ from
Lecture 1?

 You might want to consider that what constitutes a ‘solution’

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may depend on the particular context of the organisation
Management Decisions and Control 22421/0
 Identifying Solutions

Common
Problems
Problem 1 Solution 1 Solution 2 Solution 3

Problem 2 Solution 1 Solution 2 Solution 3 Solution 4

Problem 3 Solution 1 Solution 2

Problem 4 Solution 1 Solution 2 Solution 3

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 The Organisation

Problems
&
Policies & Decisions
Guidelines

Solution 1
Assumption
1 Solution 2
Social Context
Assumption Solution 3
2
Standard Costing
Assumption
3 Cost Behaviour
CVP Analysis
Budgeting
Information
Relevant Costing
Pricing Decisions
Control Systems
Performance
Evaluation
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 Compare and Contrast Solutions

Common Solution 1 Solution 2 Solution 3

Problems
Problem 1 High Medium Low

 Will need to compare on a number of bases:

 Feasibility of solution
 Social impact within organisation
 What else needs to be considered?

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 Available Literature
“justify your stance with both academic as well as practitioner
based literature references”

 Science Literature (Peer-reviewed journals)

UTS Online: UTS Journal Rankings

 Practitioner Literature

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 Using Databases

UTS Library Website – Journal Databases

 Business Source Premier

 Science Direct
 Proquest Business Collection

http://www.lib.uts.edu.au

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 Writing a Report
Guide to Writing Assignments – page 31
Available online: http://www.business.uts.edu.au/resources/guide.pdf

4. Executive Summary
 Objectives
 Methods/Data sources
 Key findings which led to conclusion
 Conclusions; and
 Recommendations

5. Body of the Report – use descriptive headings

 Framing of the Problem
 Outlining the 4 problems and suggested solutions
 Tables and Flow-Charts

 Recommendation and Discussion

 References – use Footnotes

 Appendices
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 Essential Features of a Report
 It will display a good understanding of the problem;
 It will display evidence of original or creative thought in
dealing with the problem;
 It will clearly present information, ideas, recommendations;
 It will be concise, with little or no irrelevant material;
 It will be as precise and consistent as possible, rather than
vague, ambiguous and contradictory;
 It will be based on objective analysis and not on unsubstantiated
subjective judgement;
 It will be logically presented so that the reader can see the
reasoning behind decisions, conclusions and recommendations;
 It will explain the method of investigation and/or analysis
which has been employed;
 It will thoroughly and appropriately address all the
questions/problems posed in the instructions;
 It will properly reference all sources of information utilised in
compiling the report;
 It will have all tables and figures clearly numbered and 15
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 Report Examples

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 Other Issues

 Word limit of 2500

 Why a word limit?

 Marking Template
 This is a requirement – it is an individual assessment
 You will be given a mark out of five for this!
 Some examples

 Team Member Assessment

 10/10 for everyone in all areas???

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Management Decisions and Control 22421/0