Managing Change and Innovation (Research Paper Sample)

Faculty of Business and Law
Assignment 1
Module Title Managing Change and
Innovation
Assignment
Number
Assessment 1
Module Code CORP3545 Assignment
Title
Essay
Module Leader Dr Sime Tchouaso Serge Assignment
Weighting
50%
Submission
Date/Time:
Monday 13 th December 2021,
12 pm (Midday). Submitted
via Turnitin.
Assignment
Release Date:
Tuesday 17 th of January 2022
(online)
Assessment Information – What you need to do
This assignment is an individual assignment. 
It requires you to critically discuss the below question.
Does firms’ innovation always improve firms’ performance?
Criteria for Assessment - How you will be marked
In addition to the De Montfort University Undergraduate Generic Mark Descriptors (the link
can be found here.  ) and marking scheme below will be utilised to grade your submission. The
marking scheme breaks down the requirements for each section across the various grade
boundaries available. Students should closely follow the sections and word count guidance
provided below as this will give them the best chance to perform well in the assessment.
This assignment is designed to assess the following learning outcomes: 1, 2, 3 and 5.
Faculty of
Business and Law
2
Assessment Details
The word count is 1,250 words
There will be a penalty of a deduction of 10% of the mark for work exceeding the word limit by
10% or more.
The word limit includes tables, figures, quotations and citations, but excludes the references list
and appendices.
Sections Section Guidance Word Count
Guidance
1. Introduction  Has the student provided adequate background
information on firm innovation (e.g., statistics on
the proportion of firms engaged in innovation?
See link for examples of businesses discussing
innovation as an important determinant for their
performance, et cetera)
 Has the student defined the key terms in their
essay (innovation, product innovation et cetera)?
150
2. Consideration and Critical
Evaluation of the
empirical evidence on the
relationship between firm
innovation and firm
performance.
 Has the student drawn on and discussed a range
of empirical studies from the academic (i.e.
journal articles and books) literature on the
relationship between firm innovation and firm
performance?
 Has the student engaged in critical evaluation and
discussion (e.g., by comparing and contrasting
studies that support and reject the relationship
between firm innovation and firm performance, by
considering the limitations of the studies
discussed, et cetera) of the relationship between
firms’ innovation and firms’ performance?
700
3. Consideration and
Evaluation of the nuances
of the relationship
between firm innovation
and firm performance.
 Has the student discussed, using evidence, how the
relationship between firm innovation and firm
performance may differ across different types of
innovation (e.g., product innovation, process
innovation, management innovation et cetera)
AND/OR different types of organisations (e.g.,
SMEs, micro and large firms; high-growth and
low-growth firms et cetera) AND/OR different
performance metrics (e.g., productivity, profit,
turnover et cetera)?
250
4. Quality of Conclusions
Drawn
 Does the conclusion provide a clear answer to the
essay question?
 Has the student drawn an appropriate conclusion
based on the evidence and arguments presented in
their essay?
 Does the student justify and explain their
conclusion (e.g., what evidence led to this
conclusion and why did the student find this
evidence more convincing than other evidence
discussed? Et cetera).
150
3
5. Structure and
Organisation of Essay.
Referencing Quality, and
Formatting/
 Is the essay well organised and structured?
 Are references cited appropriately?
 Does a significant proportion of the references
used come from academic (journal articles and
books) sources, rather than online sources?
N/A
Total 1250
4
DETAILED ESSAY MARKING SCHEME BY GRADE BAND
80-100%
Excellent-Outstanding
70-79%
Very Good-Excellent
60-69%
Good – Very Good
50-59%
Satisfactory – Good
40-49%
Poor – Satisfactory
<40%
Fail
Introduction Exceptional quality and use
of background information
on firm innovation in
contextualising the essay.
Defines key terms
exceptionally well using
accepted definitions, and
demonstrates excellent
critical engagement with the
definitions of innovation.
Very good quality and use
of background information
on firm innovation in
contextualising the essay.
Defines key terms very well
using accepted definitions,
and demonstrates a high
level of critical engagement
with the definitions of
innovation.
Good quality and use
of background
information on firm
innovation in
contextualising the
essay. Defines key
terms well using
accepted definitions,
and may demonstrate
some critical
engagement with the
definitions of
innovation.
Satisfactory quality and
use of background
information on firm
innovation in
contextualising the
essay. Defines some
key terms, potentially
using some accepted
definitions.
Poor quality and/or
little use of background
information on firm
innovation in
contextualising the
essay. May define some
key terms, but with
limited use of accepted
definitions.
Unsatisfactory
background
information on
firm innovation in
contextualising the
essay. Failure to
satisfactorily
define key terms.
Consideration
and Critical
Evaluation of
the empirical
evidence on
the
relationship
between firm
innovation
and firm
performance.
Demonstrates outstanding
knowledge/understanding
AND critical analysis of the
empirical evidence on the
relationship between firm
innovation and firm
performance. Draws on an
exceptional range of high-
quality sources of evidence
to build their arguments.
Demonstrates very good
knowledge/understanding
AND critical analysis of the
empirical evidence on the
relationship between firm
innovation and firm
performance. Draws on a
wide range of high-quality
sources of evidence to
build their arguments.
Demonstrates good
knowledge/understand
ing AND some critical
analysis of the
empirical evidence on
the relationship
between firm
innovation and firm
performance. Draws
on a range of high-
quality sources of
evidence to build their
arguments.
Demonstrates a
reasonable level of
knowledge/understand
ing of the empirical
evidence on the
relationship between
firm innovation and
firm performance.
Draws on a reasonable
range of sources of
evidence to build their
arguments, some of
which may be of high-
quality.
Demonstrates a poor
level of
knowledge/understand
ing of the empirical
evidence on the
relationship between
firm innovation and
firm performance. May
draw on some sources
of evidence to build
their arguments, but
this is generally to a
poor standard.
Demonstrates an
unsatisfactory level
of
knowledge/unders
tanding of the
empirical evidence
on the relationship
between firm
innovation and
firm performance.
Fails to draw on a
sufficient level of
evidence in their
arguments.
Consideration
and
Demonstrates outstanding
knowledge/understanding
Demonstrates very good
knowledge/understanding
Demonstrates good
knowledge/understand
Demonstrates a
reasonable level of
Demonstrates a poor
level of
Demonstrates an
unsatisfactory level
5
Evaluation of
the nuances of
the
relationship
between firm
innovation
and firm
performance.
AND critical analysis of the
boundary conditions of the
relationship between firm
innovation and firm
performance. Uses
examples exceptionally well
in supporting their
arguments. Draws on an
exceptional range of high-
quality sources of evidence
to build their arguments.
AND critical analysis of the
boundary conditions of the
relationship between firm
innovation and firm
performance. Uses
examples very well in
supporting their arguments.
Draws on a wide range of
high-quality sources of
evidence to build their
arguments.
ing AND may show
some critical analysis of
the boundary
conditions of the
relationship between
firm innovation and
firm performance. Uses
examples well in
supporting their
arguments. Draws on a
range of high-quality
sources of evidence to
build their arguments.
knowledge/understand
ing of the boundary
conditions of the
relationship between
firm innovation and
firm performance.
Uses examples
satisfactorily in
supporting their
arguments. Draws on a
reasonable range of
sources of evidence to
build their arguments,
some of which may be
of high-quality.
knowledge/understand
ing of the boundary
conditions of the
relationship between
firm innovation and
firm performance. May
draw on some sources
of evidence and/or
examples to
build/support their
arguments, but this is
generally to a poor
standard.
of
knowledge/unders
tanding of the
boundary
conditions of the
relationship
between firm
innovation and
firm performance.
Fails to draw on a
sufficient level of
evidence and/or
examples in their
arguments.
Conclusions Conclusion provides an
exceptionally clear and
convincing answer to the
question, which is
consistent with the
arguments presented in the
essay. Conclusions are
exceptionally well justified
and supported.
Conclusion provides a clear
and convincing answer to
the question, which is
consistent with the
arguments presented in the
essay. Conclusions are well
justified and supported.
Conclusion provides a
mostly clear and
convincing answer to
the question, which is
consistent with the
arguments presented in
the essay. Conclusions
are mostly justified and
supported.
Conclusion provides a
reasonably clear and
convincing answer to
the question, which
mostly is consistent
with the arguments
presented in the essay.
Conclusions are
reasonably justified and
supported.
Conclusions provide a
mostly unclear and
unconvincing answer
to the question, which
is not overly consistent
with the arguments
presented in the essay.
Conclusions are mostly
unjustified, tangential
and unsupported.
Conclusions are
unclear,
unconvincing and
tangential, and fail
to satisfactorily
answer the
question.
Structure and
Organisation
of Essay.
Referencing
Quality, and
Formatting
Outstanding structure,
coherence, clarity and
presentation, with an
exceptionally high-quality
use of sources.
Very good structure,
coherence, clarity and
presentation, with a very
high-quality use of sources.
Good structure,
coherence, clarity and
presentation, with a
high-quality use of
sources.
Reasonable structure,
coherence, clarity and
presentation, with a
reasonable quality of
sources used.
Poor structure,
coherence, clarity and
presentation, with a
poor quality of sources
used.
Unsatisfactory
structure,
coherence, clarity
and presentation,
with very few and
very poor quality
of sources used.
6
How to Submit your Assessment
The assessment must be submitted by 12:00 noon (GMT/BST) on 13/12/2021
No paper copies are required. You can access the submission link through the module
page.
 Your coursework will be given a zero mark if you do not submit a copy through
Turnitin. Please take care to ensure that you have fully submitted your work.
 Please ensure that you have submitted your work using the correct file format,
unreadable files will receive a mark of zero. The Faculty accepts Microsoft Office and
PDF documents, unless otherwise advised by the module leader.
 All work submitted after the submission deadline without a valid and approved reason
will be subject to the University regulations on late submissions.
o If an assessment is submitted up to 14 days late the mark for the work will be
capped at the pass mark of 40 per cent for undergraduate modules or 50 per cent
for postgraduate modules
o If an assessment is submitted beyond 14 calendar days late the work will receive
a mark of zero per cent
o The above applies to a student’s first attempt at the assessment. If work
submitted as a reassessment of a previously failed assessment task is submitted
later than the deadline the work will immediately be given a mark of zero per
cent
o If an assessment which is marked as pass/fail rather than given a percentage
mark is submitted later than the deadline, the work will immediately be marked
as a fail
 The University wants you to do your best. However, we know that sometimes events
happen which mean that you can’t submit your coursework by the deadline – these
events should be beyond your control and not easy to predict.  If this happens, you can
apply for an extension to your deadline for up to two weeks, or if you need longer, you
can apply for a deferral, which takes you to the next assessment period (for example, to
the re-sit period following the main Assessment Boards). You must apply before the
deadline. You will find information about applying for extensions and deferrals here.
 Students MUST keep a copy and/or an electronic file of their assignment.
 Checks will be made on your work using anti-plagiarism software and approved
plagiarism checking websites.
Return of Marked Work
You can expect to have feedback returned to you on 17/01/2022 (20 working days). If for
any reason, there is a delay you will be kept informed. Marks and feedback will be provided
online. It is important that you access the feedback you receive as this will help to make
improvements to your later work, you can request a meeting with your Module Leader or
Personal Tutor to discuss your feedback in more detail.
Marks will have been internally moderated only and will therefore be provisional; your
mark will be formally agreed later in the year once the external examiner has completed
their review. More information on assessment and feedback can be found here .
7
Academic Integrity
In submitting a piece of work for assessment it is essential that you understand the
University's requirements for maintaining academic integrity and ensure that the work
does not contravene University regulations. Some examples of behaviour that would not be
considered acceptable include plagiarism, re-use of previously assessed work, collusion
with others and purchasing your assignment from a third party. For more information on
academic offences, bad academic practice, and academic penalties, please read chapter
four of our academic regulations .
Academic Support and Your Well-being
1. Referencing is the process of acknowledging other people’s work when you have
used it in your assignment or research. It allows the reader to locate your source
material as quickly and easily as possible so that they can read these sources
themselves and verify the validity of your arguments. Referencing provides the link
between what you write and the evidence on which it is based.
2. You identify the sources that you have used by citing them in the text of your
assignment (called citations or in-text citations) and referencing them at the end of
your assignment (called the reference list or end-text citations). The reference list
only includes the sources cited in your text. The main referencing guide can be
found here and includes information on the basics of referencing and achieving
good academic practice . It also has tabs for the specific referencing styles
depending on whether you require Harvard style used in business or OSCOLA style
used by the Law school.
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can be obtained from Student Gateway , the Student Advice Centre , Library and Learning
Services and, most importantly, your Personal Tutor. If you are struggling with your
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found on the  Healthy DMU pages .