CQUniversity Unit Profile.

In this unit, you are required to bring together many of the skills and knowledge you have been taught in previous units, by focusing on high-level, complex strategic issues related to sustainability in organisations. The unit contains content about business strategy, which is expected knowledge of a practicing manager, and it requires you to apply academic and research skills from earlier units, plus the knowledge developed in this unit, to choose and complete an individual project that brings together academic literature, as well as professional business information and publicly available secondary data. Please note: any form of primary data collection is NOT allowed in this unit; this includes, but is not limited to, asking people to complete questionnaire surveys, conducting interviews (informal conversations with company stakeholders count as interviews!), or observing people.

It is your responsibility to choose a suitable project to work on for the duration of the term – to be successful in this unit, you need to start working on your project throughout the entire term (i.e. starting to actively work on your project in week 1). The project needs to focus on one company of your choice AND one of the following three SDGs: 1) No Poverty; 7) Affordable Clean Energy, or; 16) Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions. The project then requires you to identify how your chosen SDG is (or will be in the near future) of strategic importance to your chosen company. You may choose any company as long as your chosen SDG is currently relevant to this company, or will most likely be relevant in future. You may choose a company based anywhere in the world, BUT it is important you choose a company that you can actually research – this means, you need to ensure that there is publicly available information (most of which needs to be in English) about your chosen company; thus, for example, it may be a good idea to choose a publicly listed firm (you can find annual reports, news items and other material online), as opposed to a small business that has no reporting requirements and may not be featured regularly in the news. It is recommended you choose an organisation that you might wish to work for in future – that way, you have an opportunity to study this organisation in detail even before you apply for a job there!

To develop your project, you need to:

• Conduct systematic strategic analysis of the chosen company to clearly establish why and how the chosen SDG is of strategic relevance to your company,
• Review the academic literature about the chosen SDG and the strategic issue you identified, and
• Identify clear, suitable and relevant strategic recommendations for your chosen company to better address the chosen SDG.

To help you choose and progress your project, you will complete three interlinked assessment tasks:

1. A regular learning log. This log requires you to complete tasks of relevance to your project on an ongoing basis, thus allowing you to continuously progress your project without falling behind.
2. A project proposal. The proposal allows you to plan your project and receive feed forward and feedback that helps you refine your project. You will plan the timeframe of your project (Gantt chart), the literature review of your project, the aims/research questions of your project, and the choice of professional industry information required for your project.
3. A final report. The report will present a literature review, an overview of your chosen company, a strategic analysis of the company, a description of what professional industry information you used, a response to your aims, and a conclusion with recommendations.

You should work on your project every week during the term to ensure a steady progression towards completion at the end of term. The learning log will help you to structure this progression, giving you the chance to focus on key learnings from each week and apply this knowledge to your project. To submit a learning log entry, you need to visit the Moodle blogging tool (details are available on the Moodle site and further information will be provided in classes) and post a blog entry. Five (5) of these learning log entries will be assessed throughout the term, and carry 4 marks each. These 5 learning log entries are to be posted before midnight (AEST) on the Sunday of Weeks 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11. Blog entries must NOT be edited after the submission date – if you wish to add information to an entry you have already posted, you need to ‘comment’ on your earlier entry, NOT edit. Entries are time stamped and any blog entries that are edited after the deadline will receive a late penalty*. Feedback and marking is provided on each of these 5 entries.

You are STRONGLY encouraged to also post learning log entries for every other week of the term (i.e. even during the weeks not specified above). However, entries from non-assessed weeks are optional entries, which do not carry any marks, and feedback will only be provided if students pro-actively seek it (e.g. during consultation times).

Each learning log entry must address these four items:

1. Describe the content of the unit and workshops this week.
2. Expand on YOUR key learning from the unit this week. This requires you to reflect on your PERSONAL EXPERIENCE (for example, relating the content to your experience in the workplace, or previous experience at university). General reflection on the weekly topic will not receive a mark for this question.
3. How does your learning apply to your project?
4. Present 1 academic, scholarly, peer-reviewed journal article (in APA style) of direct relevance to the unit content this week AND present 1 piece of professional industry information (also in APA style) of direct relevance to your project and the unit content of this week.

In total, it is expected that each log entry is between 400 and 600 words in length.

*Note: The option to edit entries and submit after the due date is only flexible for evidenced unforeseeable circumstances, where appropriate supporting documentation is provided. Otherwise, the time stamp of the learning log entry will be considered as date/time of submission.

Use of AI: As this assignment is reflective and based on personal experience, no AI assistance should be required for the completion of the task. Therefore, this assignment sits at Level 1 of the Artificial Intelligence Assessment Scale (AIAS); No AI. The assessment is completed entirely without AI assistance. This level ensures that students rely solely on their knowledge, understanding, and skills. AI must not be used at any point during the assessment.

As a Masters-level student, you are required to engage in research as per the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) guidelines. Two specific requirements need to be considered. Students need to demonstrate “a body of knowledge that includes the understanding of recent developments in a discipline and/or area of professional practice", and demonstrate "knowledge of research principles and methods applicable to a field of work and/or learning”. Each unit in your Masters program has a number of required weekly readings in terms of academic texts, journals and business publications that represent the appropriate body of knowledge and recent developments referred to by the AQF. In order to demonstrate the ability to engage in appropriate research, students should read and utilise these texts and journals and publications, and as a Masters student, demonstrate an ability to research beyond this minimum standard through additional texts, journals and studies that demonstrate an ability to engage in independent research. This is an advanced level course, and accrediting bodies are also looking for evidence of independent research, so the ability to conduct this project without continually relying on your tutors and lecturers is an important part of the learning process for this unit. You should ensure that you understand the specific research that is required for each assessment piece and recognise that if you merely meet this minimum requirement, you will receive the minimum grade for demonstrated research. Your attention is drawn to the University’s stated position on plagiarism. THE WORK OF OTHERS, WHICH IS INCLUDED IN THE ASSIGNMENT MUST BE ATTRIBUTED TO ITS SOURCE. A full list of references must be submitted as part of the assessment. Each blog entry will be marked on the following criteria; detailed marking rubrics are available in Moodle:

• Description of unit content (25%)
• Reflection on key learning and personal experience (25%)
• Application of learning to own project (25%)
• 1 scholarly reference and 1 industry reference in APA style (25%)

This is an individual, written proposal, submitted through Turnitin, in Week 6. For this assignment, you should use the feedback received from your learning log to date, and prepare a professionally written proposal in report format, which contains the following:

• Preliminaries: Title page (with a clear project title), executive summary, table of contents
• Introduction: Brief overview of your chosen organisation and your chosen SDG, and a brief overview of why this SDG is most likely of strategic relevance to your chosen company – the latter doubles up as your problem statement. A set of objectives OR research questions (no more than 3) for your project, which must clearly explain what you aim to achieve with this project.
• Literature review. A short, preliminary literature review that demonstrates your ability to critically review academic literature and theory relevant to your project.
• Methodology. A clear presentation of what you will do to complete your project. This should include an overview of the nature of the professional industry information you plan to use, clear presentation of publicly available secondary data (if applicable), and an indication of the types of strategic analyses you will complete. You need to explain not only what material you plan to use, but also how you choose and obtain this material (this is similar to ‘data collection’ you learnt about in BUSN20016) and how you make sense of it (this is similar to ‘data analysis’ you learnt about in BUSN20016). Remember that you are NOT allowed to use primary data collection mechanisms.
• Gantt Chart. A detailed Gantt chart that outlines your tasks for successful completion of this project before the end of term.
• Reference list. All academic AND industry/professional sources, which you have used in the text of your project proposal, need to be referenced correctly in the text AND within a reference list at the end of your proposal. You are required to use a MINIMUM of 8 suitable peer-reviewed scholarly journal articles.

Note: The required length for this report is 1,200 words (+/-10%), excluding preliminaries, reference list and appendices. Appendices are optional and should be used for supplementary material only. You must use common font (e.g. Arial, Calibri, Times New Roman, etc.) with font size 11 or 12, as well as appropriate margins and spacing.

Use of AI: As this assignment requires the demonstration of personal academic research and writing skills, no AI assistance should be required for the completion of the task. Therefore, this assignment sits at Level 1 of the Artificial Intelligence Assessment Scale (AIAS); No AI. The assessment is completed entirely without AI assistance. This level ensures that students rely solely on their knowledge, understanding, and skills. AI must not be used at any point during the assessment.

As a Masters-level student, you are required to engage in research as per the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) guidelines. Two specific requirements need to be considered. Students need to demonstrate “a body of knowledge that includes the understanding of recent developments in a discipline and/or area of professional practice", and demonstrate "knowledge of research principles and methods applicable to a field of work and/or learning”. Each unit in your Masters program has a number of required weekly readings in terms of academic texts, journals and business publications that represent the appropriate body of knowledge and recent developments referred to by the AQF. In order to demonstrate the ability to engage in appropriate research, students should read and utilise these texts and journals and publications, and as a Masters student, demonstrate an ability to research beyond this minimum standard through additional texts, journals and studies that demonstrate an ability to engage in independent research. This is an advanced level course, and accrediting bodies are also looking for evidence of independent research, so the ability to conduct this project without continually relying on your tutors and lecturers is an important part of the learning process for this unit. You should ensure that you understand the specific research that is required for each assessment piece and recognise that if you merely meet this minimum requirement, you will receive the minimum grade for demonstrated research. Your attention is drawn to the University’s stated position on plagiarism. THE WORK OF OTHERS, WHICH IS INCLUDED IN THE ASSIGNMENT MUST BE ATTRIBUTED TO ITS SOURCE. A full list of references must be submitted as part of the assessment. Your assignment will be marked on the following criteria; detailed marking rubrics are available in Moodle:

• Background, problem statement and research question(s) (25%)
• Preliminary critical literature review (25%)
• Proposed research methodology (25%)
• Quality and appropriateness of references, and accuracy of referencing (10%)
• Professional written communication (15%)

This is an individual, written assessment, to be completed in professional report format. You are required to write around 3,000 words (+/- 10%), excluding preliminaries, tables, figures, reference list and appendices. The report requires in-text referencing and a full reference list in APA style, with evidence that you have critically read and integrated a minimum of 18 suitable scholarly references. The purpose of this assessment is to present the final report of the project you proposed in Assessment 2. This report should build on your learning log entries, your proposal submitted for Assessment 2, and the feedback from the tutor/coordinator.

In order to successfully complete Assessment 3, you are required to complete the project you have proposed in Assessment 2 and produce a professional report that shows that you have followed through from finding your research questions/objectives, to completing strategic analysis, and ultimately to answering your research questions and developing recommendations that arise from your findings. The report structure will depend upon your chosen project but it will typically include the following:

• Preliminaries: Title page (with a clear project title), executive summary, table of contents
• Introduction, including: Background, problem statement, and research question(s)/objective(s)
• Literature review: Logically structured and critical review of academic, scholarly, peer-reviewed literature
• Methodology, including: Transparent presentation of what professional industry information you have used, how you chose it, and how you analysed it
• Findings from your analysis: This should include the outcomes of any strategic analyses you completed, as well as any other findings you may have uncovered
• Discussion of findings in comparison to your previously reviewed literature
• Conclusion, including: answering your research question(s) AND strategic recommendations
• Reference list
• Appendices

Note: Appendices are optional and should be used for supplementary material only. You must use common font (e.g. Arial, Calibri, Times New Roman, etc.) with font size 11 or 12, as well as appropriate margins and spacing.

Use of AI: As this assignment requires the demonstration of personal academic research and writing skills, no AI assistance should be required for the completion of the task. Therefore, this assignment sits at Level 1 of the Artificial Intelligence Assessment Scale (AIAS); No AI. The assessment is completed entirely without AI assistance. This level ensures that students rely solely on their knowledge, understanding, and skills. AI must not be used at any point during the assessment.

As a Masters-level student, you are required to engage in research as per the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) guidelines. Two specific requirements need to be considered. Students need to demonstrate “a body of knowledge that includes the understanding of recent developments in a discipline and/or area of professional practice", and demonstrate "knowledge of research principles and methods applicable to a field of work and/or learning”. Each unit in your Masters program has a number of required weekly readings in terms of academic texts, journals and business publications that represent the appropriate body of knowledge and recent developments referred to by the AQF. In order to demonstrate the ability to engage in appropriate research, students should read and utilise these texts and journals and publications, and as a Masters student, demonstrate an ability to research beyond this minimum standard through additional texts, journals and studies that demonstrate an ability to engage in independent research. This is an advanced level course, and accrediting bodies are also looking for evidence of independent research, so the ability to conduct this project without continually relying on your tutors and lecturers is an important part of the learning process for this unit. You should ensure that you understand the specific research that is required for each assessment piece and recognise that if you merely meet this minimum requirement, you will receive the minimum grade for demonstrated research. Your attention is drawn to the University’s stated position on plagiarism. THE WORK OF OTHERS, WHICH IS INCLUDED IN THE ASSIGNMENT MUST BE ATTRIBUTED TO ITS SOURCE. A full list of references must be submitted as part of the assessment. Your assignment will be marked on the following criteria; detailed marking rubrics are available in Moodle (note that these are NOT suggested headings for your report, these are broader areas that you will be assessed on):

• Critical literature review (15%)
• Methodology (15%)
• Findings from your analysis (20%)
• Discussion of findings in light of previously reviewed literature (15%)
• Conclusion, related to introduction, with recommendations (15%)
• Professional written communication (10%)
• Quality and appropriateness of references, and accuracy of referencing (10%)