Graduate Diploma in Applied Management
CX535003 Business Functions
Level 5
Assessment 2 – Case Study
PURPOSE
This is the Second of two assessments for this course.
The purpose of this assessment is to demonstrate the understanding and application of business operations, HR, marketing & sales along with accounting concepts covered in the course.
Learning outcomes being assessed
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LO1: Apply principles and practices of operations to support business performance.
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LO2: Examine the role of human resource management in supporting business performance.
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LO3: Explain the application of marketing and sales principles and practices that support business
performance.
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LO4: Explore accounting concepts and processes that support business performance.
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This is the second Assessment of the Two assessments for this course and overall mark of 50% is required to pass the course. All the assessment submissions are compulsory to meet the required learning outcomes to successfully complete this course.
This is an individual assignment and must be submitted on Moodle under the appropriate links. Plagiarism will be penalised as per the academic integrity policy of OPAIC.
INTEGRITY
The work that a student submits for assessment/grading must be the student’s own work, reflecting their learning.
Whenever you use ideas written by someone else in your assessments, you must acknowledge the source of this material. It is crucial that you understand the importance of respecting the intellectual property of other writers and researchers. All sources must be referenced using American Psychological Association (APA) format. If you do not acknowledge the material correctly, whether intentional or otherwise, you will be guilty of plagiarism which is considered a dishonest practice. Plagiarism will incur deductions depending on the severity of the ‘offence’ – these penalties range from original mark deductions to percentage mark deductions, to a zero mark for the assignment. Refer to Otago Polytechnic Assessment and Moderation Policy AP900, and Plagiarism Policy AP607.00. Repeat infringements of this nature may result in exclusion from Otago Polytechnic Auckland International Campus.
Assessment Task and Instructions
Zara is a Spanish fast fashion apparel retailer founded in 1974 by Amancio Ortega and Rosalía Mera. This case study goes over the challenges the company faced during a significant expansion phase in the early 2000s.
You are required to analyse the case study based on the impact of the business functions on the company performance, challenges and growth period. The analysis must be detailed, explained with the help of theoretical concepts and calculations (wherever necessary) and must be supported by the examples from the case study.
The recommended structure of your Case Study analysis report is as follows:
- OP Cover Page
- Table of Contents
- Introduction – Briefly explain what the assessment contents are and what should the reader expect from the forthcoming sections.
- Operations Management
o How has Operations and Warehouse Management helped Zara to manage their business and growth. What are the challenges and benefits stated in the case study? Support your narration with conceptual knowledge and examples from the case study.
- Human Resource
o How has Human Resource Management issues discussed in the case study impacted the organisation? Explain the challenges and the opportunities that you see for improving HRM. Support your analysis using conceptual knowledge and examples from the case study for justification.
- Sales and Marketing
o What is the role of marketing and sales in Zara and how does this role support the business in the organisation?
o Marketing Mix – Evaluate the marketing mix for Zara using examples from the case study to support your conceptual knowledge and narration.
o What is Value Proposition as a concept and how does Zara customer get the value from the retail store?
- Accounting
o Evaluate the accounting data from the case study – explain what the financial standing of Zara is relative to the competitors. Use the conceptual knowledge and the examples from the case study to justify your narration. You can use the latest annual report of Zara NZ to help support your analysis, which are available on the Zara NZ Website.
o Explain the concepts of accounting equation, budget, cash flow, accounting ratios and variance using conceptual knowledge and references.
o What was the contribution of accounting techniques discussed in the case study to the business performance of Zara and what accounting practices can support Zara for their future expansion.