With reference to a particular industry sector, critically investigate evidence that procurement plays a key role in supporting both an organisation’s commercial and corporate social responsibility objectives. The report should be evidenced by both academic research/literature and examples from procurement practice relating to an industry sector.
The report is required to demonstrate satisfactory coverage of all module learning outcomes and hence should reflect on:
1. How the procurement function supports business needs in the sector (LO1);
2. How the development of specifications, approaches to supplier sourcing and selection, and the negotiation of contractual terms and conditions supports business needs in the sector (LO2 & 4); and
3. Best practice in the management of supplier relationships, quality and risk in the sector (LO 3 & 5).
These topics are covered in Weeks 1- 10 of the module.
The report should consider how procurement processes add value by supporting organisations to meet both their commercial business goals (i.e., cost and quality) as well as the power of procurement in delivering strategic goals relating to corporate social responsibility including ethical and environmental objectives.
Choice of Sector: Students should define the sector they are focusing on in their introduction and reflect the sector in the title of their report. The sector may be defined very generally (e.g. public sector, not-for-profit sector, private sector), as a broad industry sector (e.g., construction, education, energy, healthcare, hospitality, manufacturing, retailing, transport sector), or as a narrow industry sector (e.g., airline, aerospace, automobile manufacturing, IT/computing, fashion retailing, food retailing, hotel, pharmaceutical sector).
Report Presentation Guidelines:
• Use the front cover sheet and ensure you sign the “Statement of Originality” as required by University assessment regulations. Your work cannot be graded until a signed copy of this statement is provided (see Appendix C).
• Include an executive summary of 200-300 words inserted before the contents page. This is included in the word count.
• Insert a contents list on a separate page, with numbered section headings/sub-headings and page numbers. This is excluded from the word count. Appendix E provides a template to guide you.
• Provide a short introduction which outlines the sector you are researching and how the report has been structured, i.e., what is discussed first, second, etc.
• Provide a “Conclusions and Recommendations” section which summarises your key research findings and any recommendations to improve procurement practice in the sector.
• Write the report in a formal academic writing style (i. e., in the third person), free from any spelling or grammatical errors. To achieve this, use a spelling & grammar check prior to submission - accessible via the Review tab on Microsoft Word.
