MA618 T2 2021 Industry Based Capstone Project

MA618 T2 2021 Industry Based Capstone Project

Assessment Details and Submission Guidelines
School	School of Business
Course Name	Master of Professional Accounting
Unit Code	MA618
Unit Title	Industry Based Capstone Project
Trimester	Trimester 2, 2021
Assessment Author	A/Prof Monica Jurin
Assessment Type	Individual
Assessment Title	Progressive Project Report
Unit Learning Outcomes Addressed:	With creativity and initiative, demonstrate industry research skills in delivering feasible work-based projects.Work with a high level of personal autonomy and accountability to efficiently and effectively to complete project-based work integrated learning.Critically apply cognitive, technical and creative skills relevant to working in the professional planning environment, including team work, to generate and evaluate complex ideas and concepts at an abstract level.Understand and critically reflect on recent developments, contemporary practice and trends in a course-related industry to inform future practice.
Weighting	30%
Total Marks	100 marks
Word Limit	1500 words
Release Date	Week 1
Due Date	Week 6 (24 August 2021, 9 am)
Submission Guidelines	All work must be submitted on Moodle by the due date (as above) along with a completed Assignment Cover Page. The assignment must be in MS Word format, 1.5 spacing, 11-pt Calibri (Body) font and 2 cm margins on all four sides of your page with appropriate section headings.  Reference sources must be cited in the text of the Assessment Task, and listed appropriately at the end in a Reference List using APA 6th edition for the School of Business.  https://library.mit.edu.au/referencing/APA
Extension / Special Consideration	If an extension of time to submit work is required, an Application for Special Consideration and supporting documentation must be submitted online via your Academic Management System (AMS) login: https://online.mit.edu.au/ams.  The Application for Special consideration must be submitted no later than three (3) working days after the due date of the specific piece of assessment or the examination for which you are seeking Special Consideration.  In the case of serious illness, loss or bereavement, hardship or trauma students may be granted special consideration.
Academic Misconduct	Academic Misconduct is a serious offence. Depending on the seriousness of the case, penalties can vary from a written warning or zero marks to exclusion from the course or rescinding the degree. Students should make themselves familiar with the full policy and procedure available at:https://www.mit.edu.au/about-mit/institute-publications/policies-procedures-and-guidelines/AcademicIntegrityPolicyAndProcedure. For further information, please refer to the Academic Integrity Section in your Unit Description.

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Student Declaration I/We declare and certify that: the work contained in this assessment is my/our own work/group work, except where acknowledgement of sources is made;this assessment has not been submitted previously for academic credit in this or any other course;I/we have read MIT’s Plagiarism and Academic Misconduct Policy and Procedure, and I/we understand the consequences of engaging in plagiarism, collusion and contract cheating; a copy of the original assignment is retained by me/us and that I/we may be required to submit the original assignment to the Lecturer and/or Unit Co-ordinator upon request;   I/we have not plagiarised the work of others or participated in unauthorised collaboration or contract cheating when preparing this assessment.
MIT ID	Signature	Date

For Assessor Use Only (if not marked on Moodle)

Name:
Position
Date:
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Marks/Grades:

Assessment Task Description

You are required to complete the following assessment

The assessment is designed to develop student’s knowledge, generic skills and graduate attributes that enhance job-readiness.

The Progressive Project Report needs to demonstrate the development of the following stages for your project:

• Discuss the team formation, [storming, norming] for the project. Teams should have a maximum of four and a minimum two team members];
• Demonstrate your project research and analysis;
• Discuss your research to date and justify your progress (you need to provide supporting evidence with references to justify your progress);
• Analyse current and future practices; and
• Project planning.

Format of Progressive Project Report

Your report is to be written to persuade the reader of the key message. The key message should address the five marking criteria in the table stated below. Additionally the structure may be determined by the individual lecturer and may vary considerably according to the task’s purpose and audience. Below is some guidance on the structure of a report.

Executive Summary

An executive summary is a succinct summary of a project’s why, what, who, how and when, presented in the beginning of a report. By reading the executive summary, a reader should have a good grasp of the purpose of the project, the key stakeholders, the criteria that is addressed, methods and data sources that are used, the key challenges, solutions and recommendations, and proposed milestones or timeline of key deliverables.

Introduction

Business report introductions typically contain the following:

• Aim, scope and limitations
• Background or context (details of problem addressed)
• Overview of the project brief
• May include the overall answer (suggested solution)
• The report structure

Body section

This is usually the longest section of the report and presents your findings based on the criteria that you address, your analysis and the evidence you have gathered. These findings provide the justification for your recommendation(s). This section needs to develop the material in a clear, logical and coherent manner. Relevant subheadings make it easier for the reader to follow the structure. This structure should reflect the structure outlined in the introduction.

You may support the body section with the following depending on the purpose of your report:

• provide a critical analysis of the existing knowledge and current practices in published materials, including scholarly papers, business and industry reports, news articles, statistical analysis, opinion pieces, etc. This section provides the important backdrop that analyses your issues or problem(s) and supports your approach to finding your solution(s).
• outline how you went about collecting your information, why you chose this method and a justification as to why it was the most appropriate method for your project.
• discusse and demonstrates your contribution in developing original ideas and a novel approach that addresses customer needs and the evolving business sector, industry or community environment. Shows how you would implement your ideas for solving your project team issues, proposing a real potential product or service and how these could benefit other customers, stakeholders, communities or industries.
• convey the results in a clear and concise manner, often using tables, graphs, charts and other visual representation to summarise your findings and solutions. Detailed results and calculations are placed in appendices at the end of the report. All tables, graphs, charts and other visual representation must be contextualised and explained in the body text.
• analyse and evaluate the results and leads toward the conclusion and recommendation/s. This section may outline any unexpected or new issues that need to be considered and require further research or work in the future. Also, you may identify and discuss any potential opportunities that your team uncovers in the project that could lead to potential new business offerings in the future.

Conclusion

The conclusion states what has been found based on the evidence, analysis and evaluation that was presented in the discussion. The conclusion should outline the key points/findings and state the recommendations that follow from the analysis. In some reports it may be necessary to state any limitations to the research that might affect the interpretation of the results. Most importantly the conclusion refers back to the overall purpose of the report and emphasises the key message.

Please submit your report using the Turnitin submission link on Moodle.

Marking criteria:

Progressive Project Report

Assessment criteria are shown in the following table. Marks are allocated as follows:

Assessment criteria to be met and assessed	Detailed Description of the Assessment Criteria	Breakdown Marks
Criteria 1	Team Formation	10
Criteria 2	Team Cohesion	10
Criteria 3	Project research and analysis	20
Criteria 4	Progress of project	30
Criteria 5	Critical assessment of current and future practices	30
Criteria 6	Referencing	0
Total		100

Note: To be marked by the project supervisor and moderated by the unit coordinator.

Using Technology for Assessment

Rationale	Activities	Technological tools selected
Research SkillsCritical AnalysisPractice Or Project Management SkillsFeedback On PerformancePractice Of Critical ThinkingTeam WorkInterpersonal CommunicationEthical PracticesAnalytical And Problem SolvingClient ManagementCultural And Global Awareness	Check For PlagiarismProblem-Based LearningAssessment Of Team WorkCollaborative WritingReflective WritingProfessional Business Report WritingCreative And Practical SolutionsPresentationsGroup DiscussionsFacilitated LearningIndependent Learning And DevelopmentAccess To TechnologyAgreed Code Of Conduct In Team WorkGroup Communication And NegotiationGive And Receive FeedbackIndustry-Based ProjectIndustry And Global Analysis	Online Forum, Wiki And Chats On MoodleTurnitinProject Management Tools Such As TrelloCollaborative Writing Tools Such As GoogledocGroup Presentation On ZOOMWeekly Sprint Presentation Using Recorded MediaSparkplusGroup Discussion In ZOOM Breakout RoomsOnline Clientele Meetings

Marking Rubric for Individual Progressive Project Report:                  Marks (30%)

Marking Rubric Criteria/ Grades	High Distinction  (HD) [Excellent] 80-100%	Distinction (D) [Very Good] 70%-79%	Credit (C) [Good] 60%-69%	Pass (P) [Satisfactory] 50%-59%	Fail (N) [Unsatisfactory] <50%
Criteria 1: Team Formation	Critically assess individual member’s profile, background, strength and skills set in the group formation process. Upload your Group Commitment Declaration with your report.	Comprehensively discuss individual member’s profile, background, strength and skills set but did not address the group formation process. Upload your Group Commitment Declaration with your report.	Generally discuss some aspects of individual member’s profile, background, strength and skills set. Upload your Group Commitment Declaration with your report.	Generally describe each member’s names and profiles without addressing the group formation process. Upload your Group Commitment Declaration with your report.	Did not discuss any information about group members and the group formation process. Upload your Group Commitment Declaration with your report.
Criteria 2: Team Cohesion	Clearly articulate shared belief specific to the group and projectDemonstrate strong commitment to achieving group objectives and tasksDemonstrate proactive actions and steps taken to engage with group members and working together	Discuss general group work principles and commitment to achieving group objectives and tasksDemonstrate some actions and steps taken to engage with group members and working together	Discuss some commitments to achieving group objectives and tasksDemonstrate some willingness or  actions to engage with group members and working together	Discuss group objectives and tasks in general without any demonstration of commitment to achieving themAware of all/some group members’ names but fail to show any engagement with them	Fail to understand group objectives and tasks and show any commitment to achieving themFail to be aware of group members’ names and show any engagement with them
Criteria 3: Project research and analysis	Present preliminary project findings using data, evidence, independent ideas/concepts and clear rationaleClearly identify and explain the use of data and methods in relation to the projectDesign and undertake proper research method(s) and statistical analysisCritically analyse results and develop insightful implications for the project, company and industry	Present preliminary project findings using data, evidence and independent ideas/conceptsIdentify the use of data and methods in relation to the projectUndertake proper research method(s) and statistical analysis using existing templatesCritically analyse results and develop insightful implications for the project, company and industry	Discuss some project tasks with some referencesIdentify the use of data and methods in relation to the projectAttempt to undertake research method(s) and statistical analysis using existing templatesAnalyse results provide a broad discussion about the project, company or industry	Describe general ideas/concepts that are broadly relevant to the discipline with referencesUse general data and methods that shows no specific relation to the projectAttempt to undertake research method(s) using existing templatesDiscuss results in a general manner without any specific implications for the project, company or industry	Fail to perform any data analysis or independent research relevant to the project
Criteria 4: Progress of Project	Demonstrate specific preliminary project outcomes with substantial evidence and information against a project plan and timeline in the form of a Kanban Board or Gantt Chart that shows incremental progressCritically assess key issues and challenges against the project scope and planMeasure the success of project implementation against the project requirements and needsAnalyse the project progress against the expectations of the key stakeholders and project timelines and milestonesDiscuss the limitations and propose any future research direction or work	Demonstrate specific preliminary project outcomes with some evidence and information against a broad project plan without any specific format or incremental progressIdentify some key issues or challenges against the project scope or planIdentify the key factors and measurement for the project successAnalyse the project progress against the initial project objectives and goalsAcknowledge the limitations and discuss their impact on the project	Discuss broad preliminary project outcomes without any reference to a project planDiscuss some emerging issues or challenges in a general senseDescribe some key factors for the project success without providing any specific measuresDiscuss the project progress in a general way without referring to any specific goals or objectivesBriefly describe some limitations	Present a broad discussion without any clear expected outcomes or reference to a project planDescribe some general issues or challenges in project management but not specific to the project being undertakenDescribe some general key success factors in project managementDescribe the project progress without any specific measures Fail to describe any limitations	Fail to discuss any project progress and key success factorsFail to describe any limitations
Criteria 5: Critical assessment of current and future practices	Critically analyse the research and project progress undertaken to develop insightful implications for the project, company and industryCritique current practices and identify original and novel approach/method for future practicesUndertake an innovative and entrepreneurial approach in managing the project, solving problems and disseminating outcomes and knowledge	Discuss the research and project progress undertaken and some general implications for the project, company or industryAssess current practices and identify new way to improve an existing approach/method Promote an innovative and entrepreneurial approach in the project without any evidence of  implementation/demonstration	Describe the research and project progress without any implications for the project, company or industryDiscuss current practices and some potential future practices as informed by othersAttempt to undertake or discuss in general some innovation and entrepreneurial activities	Describe some general concepts about research and project managementDescribe some general innovation and entrepreneurship concepts	Fail to demonstrate any understanding of current practices and research related to the projectFail to demonstrate any understanding of innovation, original ideas or entrepreneurship concepts
Criteria 6: Referencing	Free of any types of plagiarism or academic misconduct*.	Free of any types of plagiarism or academic misconduct*.	Free of any types of plagiarism or academic misconduct*.	Free of any types of plagiarism or academic misconduct*.	Commit one or more types of plagiarism or academic misconduct*.

*Types of plagiarism or academic misconduct:

Sham Paraphrasing	Material has been copied exactly from the source and has been acknowledged with an in-text citation but has not been quoted; There is a reference list.
Illicit Paraphrasing	Material has been paraphrased from the source without any in-text citation; There is a reference list.
Exact Copying	Material has been copied exactly from the source without any in-text citation; There is a reference list.
No Referencing	There is no in-text citations nor a reference list.
Collusion	Material has been copied from another student’s work;
Recycling	The same assignment submitted in more than one unit;
Contract Cheating	The assignment has been written by a third party and the students is claiming it as their own work.

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