Instructions on Assessment:
The assessment will feature two components (each completed individually) in which you will identify an
organisation and prepare a plan for it to expand its operations to a new country.
Instructions for each of these two components begin on the next page.

Page 1 of 9

Assessment Brief – Newcastle Business School
Assessment Component One:
Infographic Poster (Individual Work, 30% of module weighting):
You are required to produce a narrated infographic poster providing key information on the national
market you have chosen, and the organisation chosen to enter that market for the first time. (NB: for the
purposes of this task, you are permitted to pretend that the organisation is not already present in a specific
country, even if this is not the case in real life.)
Please create the poster on one single Powerpoint slide (or create it in another file format before pasting it
onto one single Powerpoint slide).
Include a commentary of no more than five minutes. Please embed this within the Powerpoint file. This
may be done by selecting ‘Slide Show’ and ‘Record Slide Show’. Please disable the video option by clicking
the camera icon (in the bottom right-hand side of the screen), so that your commentary is audio only.
Please submit your narrated infographic poster electronically to the relevantly labelled submission folder
on the module Blackboard site. Deadlines will be communicated via Blackboard announcement.
Marking Criteria for Infographic Poster
Criteria Mark
awarded

Marked out
of…

POSTER INFO:
Key information on the chosen national market is relevant to the
organisation wishing to expand into it.

20

POSTER PERSPECTIVE:
Content focuses on consumers and customers in the new target
market, their needs and characteristics.

10

POSTER SOURCES:
Content is underpinned / substantiated by theoretical and commercial
sources, which are acknowledged through citations.

10

POSTER DESIGN / PRESENTATION:
Presentation is professional. There is sufficient use of colour and
graphics. Information is conveyed concisely, with a logical flow of
information. Any graphs, figures and charts are properly labelled and
adhere to data presentation best practice. There are no / very few
spelling, grammatical or typographical errors.

10

COMMENTARY COMMERCIAL RATIONALE:
A clear verbal explanation is provided for the proposed market entry
strategy.

20

COMMENTARY CRITICALITY:
Alternative strategies are appraised in a balanced, critical manner
during narration.

20

COMMENTARY SOURCES:
Narration is underpinned and substantiated by academic and
commercial sources.

10

TOTAL 100

Page 2 of 9

Assessment Brief – Newcastle Business School
Choice of brand
You may choose any organisation but NOT any of the following ones, which will be used by lecturers
throughout the module to contextualise theory, or are included in the exemplars of previous students’
strong work in the Blackboard resources:
 Fjällräven
 Brewdog
 Fiat
 Ford
 Northumbria University
 Apple
 Coca-Cola
 Nike
 McDonald’s
 Quorn
 Lush
 Yorkshire Tea
 Ben & Jerry’s
 Caudalie
 Hamley’s

Information on assessed component two begins on the next page.

Assessment Component Two:

Page 3 of 9

Assessment Brief – Newcastle Business School
Market Plan Business Report (Individual Work, 70% of module weighting):
You are required to undertake a 2,000-word Market Plan Business Report, using the same organisation and
proposed market/s which you used for the Infographic Poster.
Please submit your business report electronically to the relevantly labelled submission folder on the
module Blackboard site. Deadlines will be communicated via Blackboard announcement.

Section 1 (40% of the Market Plan Business Report marks): Critical evaluation of an organisation in one or
more established markets
Section 1 accounts for 40% of the Market Plan Business Report marks, and therefore the recommended
word count is around 800 words, but at your discretion as long as the total word count for the report is
observed.
 Identify an organisation which is strong and established in one or more markets.
 Analyse why it is currently strong in its home market / country of origin, referring to its brand,
products and/or services, marketing communications mix, use of media, Relationship Marketing
strategies, and any other elements of its identity or operations which you feel relevant to its
success.
 In particular, refer to its meaning towards, and relationships with, its customers.
 When analysing the organisation, use theories and academic sources critically.
 Provide commercial context underpinned by industrial sources (i.e. – information which is already
in the public domain).
 Do not undertake any primary research (i.e. – do not contact the organisation or its stakeholders).

Section 2 (60% of the Business Report marks): Proposal of strategies to enter a new market
Section 2 accounts for 60% of the Market Plan Business Report marks, and therefore the recommended
word count is around 1,200 words, but at your discretion as long as the total word count for the report is
observed.
 Propose strategies for your chosen organisation to use when entering one specific country for the
first time. (NB: for the purposes of this task, you are permitted to pretend that the organisation is
not already present in a specific country, even if this is not the case in real life.)
 Consider the needs and characteristics of this target market – in particular its consumers.
 Explain how these might differ from the needs and characteristics of the consumers it is currently
selling to in its home market / country of origin.
 Use theory and academic sources critically to underpin your recommendations.
 Wherever possible, compare alternative strategies which you chose to discard with those which
you chose to adopt, explaining their relative merits in the context of your organisation.
 When explaining your rationale, say what effects the recommended strategies might have upon the
organisation, its brand, its performance, and its commercial sustainability – but also the effects
upon the targeted consumers in the new market.

Page 4 of 9

Assessment Brief – Newcastle Business School
Module Specific Assessment/Marking Criteria for the Market Plan Business Report

Criteria Mark Awarded Marked out of…

Section 1:
Critical analysis of the organisation’s strengths 10
Analysis of the organisation’s meaning towards, and relationships
with, its customers

10

Use of theory to underpin answer 10
Analysis of the organisation’s commercial context using publicly
available sources

10

Section 2:
Analysis of the needs and characteristics of the target market 15
Analysis of how these needs and characteristics differ from those
in the organisation’s existing markets

15

Critical use of theory and sources to underpin recommended
strategies

15

Explanation of the likely impact of the recommended strategies
upon the targeted consumers in the new market

15

TOTAL 100

Advice on undertaking the Market Plan Business Report
As this is a report, it should not be presented in essay format.
You should use full sentences and paragraphs, and be fluent, grammatically correct, balanced and critical.
In-text citations should be used to substantiate ideas and show sources, and a reference list should be
provided at the end of the document.
Include relevant tables, graphs, diagrams, photos and screenshots to illustrate what you are writing, and to
evidence what the brand is doing – please place these in the main body of the report, not as an appendix.
To undertake a critical evaluation, it is advisable to do the following:
Page 5 of 9

Assessment Brief – Newcastle Business School
 Say what the organisation does
 But do not just describe
 Analyse, compare and contrast
 Say why it does those things
 Say what works well and what works less well – judge quality
 Say why – give commercial and especially theoretical reasons for your judgments
 Be balanced. Criticise gently and tentatively. Few things are black and white – most are shades of
grey
 Suggest possible organisational solutions and responses
 Explore relationships between themes, actions and strategies
 Try to assess situations / problems / the brand from multiple standpoints
 Assess the organisation and its actions in the context of its customers and stakeholders – how do
the organisation’s choices / strategies / actions affect those entities?
 Consider how the strategy is contributing to the organisation through its performance
 How does the organisation fare in an ethical and societal context?
 Consider the sustainability of the organisation – not just how it competes now, but how it will
survive and prosper in the future
 Draw conclusions and make recommendations

Sources should be used to substantiate statements, underpin rationale or analysis, and demonstrate
commercial or theoretical awareness, rather than being added arbitrarily.
A strong report might typically use 20-25 sources, although no exact minimum or maximum is stipulated.
The following would be considered credible sources:
 Peer-reviewed academic journals
 Academic textbooks – but very sparingly, and not “Marketing for Dummies”, etc.
 The brand’s website
 Industry-specific organisations (e.g. – SMMT for the UK motor industry)
 ‘Prestigious’ industry-specific publications (e.g. – The Grocer for FMCG)
 Central government / civil service reports (e.g. – www.gov.uk) / Office for National Statistics
 MINTEL – recognised statistical sources
 The BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Al-Jazeera
 The Financial Times
However, the following would not be considered credible sources:
 Other newspapers (e.g. – The Sun, The Daily Mail)
 Sky, MSN
 Non-academic textbooks – especially the “Market your Business in 30 Days” variety
 Blogs and posts such as “Build an International Business in 30 Days”
 Consultant websites (e.g. – www.brand-doctor.com)
 Slideshare
 Online tutorial sites (e.g. – www.quickmba.com, www.marketingteacher.co.uk, etc.)
 Also: lecturers’ materials are credible, but not acceptable as sources – use original sources instead
Detail on requirements for Market Plan Business Report:
Page 6 of 9

Assessment Brief – Newcastle Business School
 Individual task
 No collusion or plagiarism – please refer to ARTA regulations on the Northumbria University
website if unsure
 May be submitted on Word or pdf file
 2,000 word limit (+ 10%)
 Please use 11 point Times New Roman, 1.5 line spaced, standard margin width, with both margins
justified (i.e. – squared off)
 Be creative and critical. Be original in your brand choice
 Deadlines and submission process will be communicated by Blackboard announcement, which will
generate an email to you.

Important note on staff guidance for both assessed elements:
Any academic judgments not stipulated in the brief, the ARTA regulations, or the mark scheme are at your
discretion, therefore you should not need to seek clarification of any such points.
If we have not expressly stated in the brief that you must, or must not, do something, we have
deliberately chosen not to guide you in that choice – we would like to see what you do independently,
rather than us providing a suggestion, to ensure the integrity and fairness of the assessment.
All necessary advice is provided in this document, and discussed at length in specific lectures and seminars.
To ensure fairness and consistency of advice across the cohort, please bring any queries to the above
sessions so that all students can benefit equally from any advice given, rather than sending emails.
If you feel unable to raise your query in class, please attend one of the Module Leader drop-in guidance
sessions, the schedule for which will be announced on Blackboard.

After submission:
After submission, the university targets 20 working days for the work to be marked, internally and
externally moderated, and the provisional marks communicated to students.
The module marking team will record marks and feedback on Blackboard. (NB: staff sickness or other
unforeseeable events may delay this in an extremely small number of cases.
Work submitted late with authorisation due to a PEC or DSSR are also subject to the 20 working day target,
and may therefore be marked later than other work.)
These marks are provisional until they have been taken through the academic boards to be
confirmed/changed, after which point the university will communicate mark profiles to students via
MyNorthumbria.
If at that point you have failed the module, you should refer to the university’s written instructions to
ascertain whether or not you are permitted/required to resit the assessment or part thereof.
If in any doubt on this, you should discuss with your Programme Leader. If you need reassessment, this is
non-synoptic (i.e. – you can resubmit one of the assessed components rather than both if required).

Page 7 of 9

Assessment Brief – Newcastle Business School

ASSESSMENT REGULATIONS
You are advised to read the guidance for students regarding assessment policies. They are available online
here.
Late submission of work
Where coursework is submitted without approval, after the published hand-in deadline, the following
penalties will apply:
For coursework submitted up to 1 working day (24 hours) after the published hand-in deadline without
approval, 10% of the total marks available for the assessment (i.e. – 100%) shall be deducted from the
assessment mark.
For clarity: a late piece of work that would have scored 65%, 55% or 45% had it been handed in on time will
be awarded 55%, 45% or 35% respectively as 10% of the total available marks will have been deducted.
Coursework submitted more than 1 working day (24 hours) after the published hand-in deadline without
approval will be regarded as not having been completed and a mark of zero will be awarded for that
assessment task.
For clarity: if the original hand-in time on working day A is Midday/Noon (12pm), the 24 hour late submission
allowance will end at Midday/Noon (12pm) on working day B.
These provisions apply to all assessments, including those assessed on a Pass/Fail basis.

Word limits and penalties
If the assignment is within +10% of the stated word limit no penalty will apply.
The word count is to be declared on the front page of your assignment and the assignment cover sheet. The
word count does not include:

 Title and
Contents page  Reference list  Appendices

 Appropriate tables,
figures and
 Glossary  Bibliography illustrations

 Quotes from
interviews and
focus groups.

Please note, in text citations [e.g. (Smith, 2011)] and direct secondary quotations [e.g. “dib-dab nonsense
analysis” (Smith, 2011 p.123)] are INCLUDED in the word count.
If this word count is falsified, students are reminded that under ARTA this will be regarded as academic
misconduct.
If the word limit of the full assignment exceeds the +10% limit, 10% of the mark provisionally awarded to the
assignment will be deducted.
For example: if the assignment is worth 70 marks but is above the word limit by more than 10%, a penalty of
7 marks will be imposed, giving a final mark of 63.
Page 8 of 9

Assessment Brief – Newcastle Business School
Students must retain an electronic copy of this assignment (including ALL appendices) and it must
be made available within 24hours of them requesting it be submitted.
Academic Misconduct
The Assessment Regulations for Taught Awards (ARTA) contain the Regulations and procedures
applying to cheating, plagiarism and other forms of academic misconduct.
The full policy is available at: http://www.northumbria.ac.uk/sd/central/ar/qualitysupport/asspolicies/
You are reminded that plagiarism, collusion and other forms of academic misconduct as referred to in the
Academic Misconduct procedure of the assessment regulations are taken very seriously by Newcastle
Business School.
Assignments in which evidence of plagiarism or other forms of academic misconduct is found may receive a
mark of zero.
Final advice and encouragement:
There are no hidden traps or trick questions in this assessment brief.
We are not trying to trip you up or lead you astray.
We want you to feel confident so that you can be bold, inventive and individual in your work.
Remember: if something is not stipulated in the assessment brief or in the university regulations, it
is open to your interpretation and discretion – this work is about your ideas and your knowledge.
Enjoy it and express yourself.