Project description
Please take proper precautions to safeguard your work and remember to make back-up copies of your data. The University provides all its students with storage space on the University server and you should save and back up any work in progress on this server on a regular basis. Computer failure and theft of your equipment or storage media are not considered mitigating circumstances and extensions cannot be granted for work lost for these reasons.
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MAN00015
C
THE YORK MANAGEMENT SCHOOL
Module:
Qualitative
Methods in Accounting
and Management
Module Co
–
ordinator:
Charlotte Smith
Assessment:
Open
Maximum word count:
3000
Release:
Noon, Thursday 6
th
February 2014
Submission:
Noon, Tuesday 29
th
April 2014
Important information
If you are unable to complete your open assessment by the submission date indicated
above because of Mitigating Circumstances you should apply for an extension using the
form available on Yorkshare. Any extension request must be
made
before
the scheduled
deadline indicated above. 10 marks are deducted for every 24 hours (or part thereof)
that the submission is late for a total of 5 days. After 7 days it is treated as a non
–
submission and given a mark of zero. The consequences of
non
–
submission are serious
and can include de
–
registration from the University.
If you submit your open assessment but feel that your performance has been affected by
Mitigating Circumstances you should submit a Mitigating Circumstances claim form,
availa
ble on Yorkshare
, by
Noon, Tuesday 6
th
May 2014
.
Claims submitted after the
deadline will not normally be considered. Further details on the remedies likely to be
offered to students with accepted Mitigating Circumstances can be found on Yorkshare.
Please take proper
precautions to safeguard your work and remember to
make back
–
up copies of your data. The University provides all its students
with storage space on the University server and you should save and back
up any work in progress on this server on a regular basis
. Computer failure
and theft of your equipment or storage media are not considered mitigating
circumstances and extensions cannot be granted for work lost for these
reasons.
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You are required to a
nswer the following question
:
Read
the news article “
London
Underground in 24 hour plans as ticket offices shut
”.
From reading this article you are required to write a research proposal of how you
would research
one of the issues in
this
article
adopting
qualitative
meth
ods
.
You
can choose the topic for your proposal but it
must
be related to the news article.
Topics might include
the effects of job losses on London Underground workers, or
an assessment of how consumers react to the 24
–
hour service or the closure of
ticket off
ices
.
You can choose what
business
perspective to
focus your proposal on
w
ith some examples
being
finance, marketing, operations management or
organisation behaviour
.
You can
also
use one or more methods and the use of
primary and secondary data are equall
y acceptable providing that they are suited to
your research questions
.
The assignment requires you to draw on concepts that have been introduced to you
throughout the course.
When writing your proposal you
should
include
the
following
:
1.
Introduction and
background to your study (150)
2.
A
review of the
literature
r
e
levant to your chosen topic
(750 words)
3.
Your research questions
(10
0 words)
4.
The methodological approach you will adopt
(e.g. survey/case study)
and an
evaluation of its strengths and weaknesses
(
750 words)
5.
The
methods of data collection and
data
analysis
that you will adopt
and an
evaluation of their strengths and weaknesses
(750 words)
6.
An evaluation of the usefulness
of the project
you have designed for
London
Underground as an organization
(500
words)
This assignment should not exceed 30
00 words, excluding references
and
appendices
. The number of words in bracketed alongside each part of the
assignment are
provided as a rough guide
. It is essential you draw on other
academic references beyond th
ose listed in the reading list.
You are also required to
adopt the Harvard system of referencing.
News article for assignment:
London Underground in 24
–
hour plans as ticket offices shut
London Underground will run weekend services 24 hours under plans
that also involve
ticket office closures and up to 750 job cuts.
The Night Tube will provide services on the Piccadilly, Victoria, Central, Jubilee and
Northern lines.
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But Transport for London (TfL) said every ticket office would close by 2015, resulting i
n
the job cuts.
The RMT union said it had “not ruled out” strike action in the run
–
up to Christmas over
the “lethal” cuts.
Three
–
week process
For action to take place the RMT (Rail, Maritime and Transport Union) would have to
hold a two
–
week ballot and
give TfL seven days notice.
In a
tweet,
the BBC’s transport correspondent Richard Westcott said: “RMT just told me
they haven’t ruled out calling for strikes b4 Christmas on the #londonunderground”
The transport authority is facing a budget reduction of ab
out £78m in the financial years
of 2013 and 2014 and said the plans would help it save more than £40m a year.
TfL says six major central London stations will have special customer points to help
tourists and that every station will be staffed while the tub
e is running, with workers
moved out of ticket offices into station booking areas.
Closing all ticket offices is one of the most radical changes to the Tube in its history
–
it’s
up there with electrification and the Oyster card.
And it will be a huge se
ll for London Underground and the Mayor.
We knew cuts were looming but what they have done is bundle 24hr weekend running of
the Tube into the same plan.
Cynics would say London Underground are trying to undermine the unions position by
sweetening the pil
l for the travelling public. A later running tube will be very popular.
They’ve also said there will be no compulsory redundancies.
The unions have already said they’ll use everything at their disposal to head this off. They
would not want their members at
stations in outer London on their own at 3am with just
an iPad for company.
They will not want job losses even if the promise is all stations will be staffed. It’s
difficult to not see the first tube
–
wide strikes in four years.
Ultimately, you suspect t
his will be decided in the court of public opinion of the Tube’s
passengers.
?
Wi
–
fi coverage across all below
–
ground stations
?
Disabled access at a further 27 stations
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?
Contactless bank card payment to make it easier to pay for tickets
?
More new trains and upd
ates for stations
The initial plans for the
24
–
hour Night Tube include
overnight trains on Friday and
Saturday, with plans for it to expand over subsequent years.
Mayor of London Boris Johnson, said: “This is just the first stage in an opening up of the
tu
be network to become 24 hours.
“For 150 years the Tube has been the beating heart of London, its tunnels and tracks
providing the arteries that have transported millions of people and helped to drive the
development and economic growth of our great city.”
London Underground will now go into a 90
–
day consultation on its proposals but says
there will be no compulsory redundancies and has promised that every member of staff
who wants a job and who is “ready to be flexible” will have one.
The managing director
of London Underground Mike Brown, said: “All Tube stations
will continue to be staffed and controlled in future, with more staff visible and available
to customers.”
But the RMT, which represents most of the station staff who would be affected, has said
i
t would “fight these plans with every tool at our disposal and that includes political,
public and industrial campaigning on an unprecedented scale”.
RMT General Secretary Bob Crow said the “proposed cuts will decimate staffing levels
and hit the most vul
nerable users” of Tube services.
He said: “The mayor must believe he is some sort of magician if he thinks he can slash a
thousand jobs and still run safe services when everyone knows that staffing has already
been cut to the bone while passenger demand co
ntinues to rise.
“Throwing in the plan for night time operation at the weekends is just a smokescreen to
try and camouflage the real issue which is a savage cuts to jobs, access and safety.”
Manuel Cortes, leader of the Transport Salaried Staffs’ Associati
on rail union, accused
the mayor of being the “hypocrite of the decade”.
He said: “It beggars belief that the mayor, who was elected in 2008 on a pledge to keep
open every ticket office, is now planning to close every single one, with all that means for
sa
fety and jobs.
“We shall be launching a joint campaign with Labour to reverse this decision.”
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Customers have expressed concern over the ticket office closures but
broadly welcomed
the 24
–
hour service.
Garvie Gay, 36, from Bedford said he regularly needed h
elp from counter staff.
He said: “It’s not good because I don’t know where I’m going half the time. I’ve not really
got a clue but for regulars I suppose it wouldn’t be a problem.”
In March, BBC London reported
TfL is facing a 1% cut in its government gra
nt this year,
and 2% the following year.
In cash terms, it means a loss of £33m for 2013
–
14, and £45m for 2014
–
15. In January,
passengers saw a 4.2% increase on average in fares across the Tube, buses and trams.
Source:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk
–
englan
d
–
london
–
25025888
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THE YORK MANAGEMENT SCHOOL
Student number:
Module title:
Qualitative Methods in Accounting
and Management
Generic criteria
Module specific learning outcomes
G1
Presentation
S1
Understand the
nature and role of the literature review
G2
Theory and literature
review
S2
Apply associated methods for literature retrieval, analysis and referencing
G3
Analysis and problem
solving
S3
Appreciate a range of approaches to qualitative research
G4
Structure and argument
S4
Analyse the role of different qualitative research methods in knowledge
production
G5
Conclusions
S5
Appreciate the processes used in the analysis and interpretation of
different qualitative data types
G6
Correctness of
referencing
S6
Comments on assessment criteria
Suggestions for improvement
Date:
Signature 1
st
marker
Initials 2
nd
marker
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Generic Assessment Marking Criteria
You will be marked according to five criteria:
?
Quality
of Presentation
?
Understanding and use of Theory
?
Quality of Analysis
?
Structure and Argument
?
Conclusions
The examiners will be looking for the following elements for each of these criteria.
Presentation
?
All material is thoroughly and correctly referenced
.
?
Citations are given in the Harvard format, unless specifically specified
otherwise in the assignment brief.
?
Direct quotations from sources are referenced with page numbers.
?
Appropriate use has been made of tables, diagrams, graphs and pictures.
?
The use o
f formatting (line spacing, font, justified margins etc) is consistent
throughout.
?
The text is clear and readable, without typographic errors and spelling
mistakes.
?
The assignment is within the maximum word length suggested.
?
The bibliography contains o
nly the works cited in the assignment, is
presented in author alphabetical order and is complete, accurate, and
consistently formatted.
Theory
?
Evidence of wider reading i.e. not relying on a textbook or single text source,
but engaging with specialist
texts, journal articles and reports.
?
A demonstration of an understanding and awareness of a range of theoretical
positions or technical options.
?
The ability to place a particular text’s argument within a range of positions
evident in the literature and to
recognise its strengths and limitations as an
explanatory framework.
?
Direct quotes, paraphrasing or other evidence of active engagement with
theory and/or technique is apparent throughout the assignment.
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Analysis
?
The assignment demonstrates an ability t
o understand different perspectives
i.e. the student can evaluate different options, engage critically with theory
and practice and can justify their analysis above other available solutions or
viewpoints.
?
The analysis results from the use of judgement and
discernment in selecting
theory and applying it to the situation or problem.
?
The selection of techniques and viewpoints are justified by the problem or
issue outlined.
?
Reflection and observation are integrated in the analysis in an appropriate
way i.e. a
supported argument illustrated with observation rather than a
statement of opinion.
Structure and Argument
?
An essay assignment will normally include an introduction, several sub
–
titled
sections in the main body, a conclusion and a bibliography. Alternat
ive
formats may be specified by the assignment brief and, if so, have been used.
?
A coherent argument is evident, which clearly links the different elements of
the assignment together and leads the reader through to a justifiable
conclusion.
?
The argument is
logically constructed with each section building on the
insights of preceding sections i.e. different perspectives are not simply thrown
together without an understanding of how they contribute to the overall
argument presented.
?
Theory is integrated into
the analytical and/or practical elements of the
assignment where appropriate
?
Meaning is not obscured by poor grammar, paragraph or sentence
construction.
Conclusions
?
The conclusion summarises the whole of the assignment and not just the
analysis i.e.
conclusions relate questions posed, adequacy of the theory,
empirical issues explored and reflect on the student’s approach to the work.
?
The conclusions refer to the argument presented to that point and do not
introduce new ideas or arguments “at the last
moment”.
?
The conclusion demonstrates the ability of the student to justify their
theoretical and analytical approach.
?
Conclusions have been drawn and follow, and are justified by, the analysis in
the main body of the assignment. Where required, practical
recommendations are feasible and follow on from the conclusions, addressing
the issues identified.
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