‘OBU Marker-Speak’ – What the Marker Feedback really meant…

Hi Hassanhere,

Strictly speaking, according to the Harvard Referencing system, websites are referenced rather differently from what you’re doing. We have a video on our website that illustrates how you can take advantage of the in built referencing system on Microsoft Word to avoid issues with referencing. I agree that the infopack appears confusing over this, and should certainly be updated.

As for the top comment, we might need to look at your graphs to understand what the marker meant. As for SWOT, we usually advise students to separate each section into manageable subheadings like “Strong Brand Name” or “Poor Internal Controls” to ensure the message is made clearer.

Hi, I’m wondering whether the markers feedback is only given when you are unsuccessful or is it given regardless of what your outcome was?

hi i wanted help because i failed my Rap second time and i am literally in tears. my topic is 8 and i failed in two points , Evaluation of information, analysis and conclusions and Information gathering and Referencing ,following is my feedback

( Evaluation of information, analysis and conclusions)

You have addressed some of the points made by the last marker and moderator, however your analysis is still not in line with the required standard to pass. Your SWOT is unbalanced. There is no rule that says that all four elements of a SWOT must be of equal length, however there should be some symmetry or balance between the sections. You had no Weaknesses, one opportunity and two threats – ideally you should try to have say between 3 – 5 of each of the four elements of a SWOT, though this is just a guide, and not a rule, you can have more than 5. If readers see an unbalanced SWOT they will be believe that either you have not researched your topic, or that you are biased, and have chosen to overlook the elements that are omitted or shorter. Your ratio analysis also needs a lot of work to reach the required standard, currently it is very descriptive and contains very little analysis. By descriptive I mean that you often describe the changes in ratios of say which company has the better ratio but do not analyse the reasons for changing ratios or variances between both companies.

Continuing my comments from above, for the GPM on page 25 you said \”The above table and graph show the gross profit margin ratio of FCCL which has an increasing trend showing that the ability of FCCL to make profits is continuously increasing. After the production expansion in 2011 and 2012 the increased output of the manufacturing unit has substantially increased the profitability of FCCL.\” This is inadequate to explain the changes in ratios over three years – what are the reasons for the changing ratios? More details are required. For most of your ratios you described the changes but seldom analysed the underlying reasons. For operating margin you said \”The above graph and table clearly shows that Operating Profit Margin has an upward trend and FCCL is making adequate profits on sales. Therefore the management of FCCL is generating adequate profits from the operations of FCCL.\” We can see from the graph the trend, so you do not need to repeat this, you need to analyse WHY the ratios are changing. For the comparator analysis on page 32 you said \”The Gross Profit ratio provides that KOHC is the leader when profit on sales is concerned.\” To say which company is the \”leader\” or has the higher margin is not analysis, it is just description, you need to provide analysis – why is one company performing more effectively than the other? You are advised to reverse the order of your business and financial analysis as this will allow you to link the two together more effectively. In addition you need to concentrate on the two key indicators of revenue and profitability, if you analyse these effectively the reasons for changes in the other ratios will become more evident.

( Information gathering and Referencing)

Your referencing is still inadequate, though you reference the theoretical aspects – like the explanations of certain ratios, for example this “The profitability analysis also shows how effectively the managers are employing the corporate strategy of the firm (Wahlen, Baginski, and Bradshaw, 2011).”, however you do not provide sufficient references for the information you have used in the analysis section of your Research Report, you need to reference the source of the information you have used in your analysis, you also need to provide references for information presented in tables and graphs. Though you have gathered a significant amount of information in presenting this report, you need to obtain more information to enable you to provide more useful analysis.

plzzz help me on this ,there were no moderator comments

Hi Saad,

The moderator usually doesn’t comment. To help you:

1) A SWOT analysis must usually be somewhat balanced as the marker highlighted. Bear in mind that Strengths and Weaknesses are a critique of the company’s internal workings, while Opportunities and Threats are a critique of the external environment the company operates in. For each heading, I usually recommend students to list and explain a few factors. For example:

Strengths:
Strong Brand Name
Company XYZ has been vastly successful in crafting a strong presence on the global market. Forbes (2013) valued the brand at….

Streamlined Business Operations
Integral to Company XYZ’s operations is the removal of the ‘middle man’ (ACC, 2014). This substantially lowers the costs of operations which lends it a competitive edge compared to….

2) What the marker is looking for here is an in-depth explanation of the changes in the ratios, and the reasons for differences from its benchmark. Much of your current work describes the trend. A description is something that goes like this: “The current ratio has fallen over the last three years. This shows that Company XYZ is now less capable of repaying short-term liabilities.” This is a problem, as this comment can be very easily extracted from textbooks, and merely explains the implications of the ratios, rather than the CAUSE for their change.

You’re required to go beyond that. That is what the marker meant by analysis. So something like this should work: “It is clear that Company XYZ’s current ratios have fallen, and pales in comparison to Company DEF. This is due to its increasing level of short term payables, which increased by 58% over the last three years. This is a result of a change in corporate strategy to take advantage of interest-free credit lines provided by suppliers as the cost of debt has increased for Company XYZ (News Network, 2014). In contrast, Company DEF has constantly maintained a healthy current ratio above 1. As Smith (2011), the CEO explains, this is a result of a consistent effort to generate goodwill with its suppliers…”
3) You’re required to show the sources for the reasons you have highlighted. This is particularly important for part 3. For example, if I say that Company ABC’s profit margins have fallen due to increasing costs of raw materials, I need a reference to support the reason I’m offering here.

What you’re facing is a common mistake many students attempting topic 8 commit. Hopefully this comment can help you!

Regards,
The Learning Luminarium

I understand what learning luminarium said to other students. It applies to me, so no need any reply for me now.

But last 2 questions for learning luminarium-
1) u said microsoft word 2007 onwards got harvard 2008 style, i using 2010 don’t have so i use chicago style instead for period 29 which i feel is similar, so maybe the feedback above means this issue.

2)How to gather information, really difficult…… I am not detective, auditor or police. i am doing Del Monte Inc. . i using mainly report from company, annual report (main source) ,bank analysis which i have already used but it still need more “external” information, i don’t have license to get more privacy from others other than published information.

Said easier than done.

@js072591:
1) You can follow this guide to add Harvard style back to your MS Word. It appears that it was removed in 2010, and reappeared in the latest MS Office.
https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/office/forum/office_2010-word/how-do-i-add-harvard-referencing-to-my-word-2010/193f8748-91e9-47c3-a034-a52ca67ad9c4

2) As a rule, companies should only be chosen where there is a huge amount of external information. That is a key factor for consideration. If you are unable to find the necessary information, you MIGHT want to rethink if Del Monte is the best company you want to work with. Usually though, whatever is produced in the Annual Reports is often reproduced on other channels (news networks, Forbes, Bloomberg etc). You could reference these instead of the annual report to explain your ratios.

@Allop:
Presentations must be submitted separate from your Report, and the submission website (if I am not mistaken) allows a separate upload slot for your presentation. A lack of a presentation is a ground for failure. The resubmission guide highlights that.

@Allop:

Therefore for the next submission, keep it in the PPT format. Also, the second concern the marker highlighted is the length of your slides. You’re only required to present your findings (i.e. focus on Part 3 and 4). Do bear in mind that your presentation is only 15 minutes long. The length of your slides should be appropriate for a 15-minute presentation.

@learningluminarium my RR was on topic 20. here is the marker’s feedback.

1. understanding of accountancy model……pass
2. application of accountancy/business model….fail

i used Gray, Owen & Adams seven position on CSR, and also used Johnson &Scholes ethical stance.

REASONS FOR FAIL AND ADVISE FOR IMPROVEMENT:

you hav focused too much on questionnaire (which is not very useful in this topic) and need to consider an analysis of the company’s actions in relation to appropriate models of ethical behaviour and CSR. you wud do well to use mendelow’s matrix and refer to Global Reporting Initiative as a framework to improve ur analysis of company actions and reporting.

3. Evaluation of information, analysis and conclusions……….fail

REASONS FOR FAIL

the views of variety of informant does not tell us the impact of company CSR activities. u shd gather much more information abt the company’s activities in relation to stakeholder groups. given the company sector, what are key ethical and social issues they shd pay attention to? who is affected by these? what are the companies stated policies, and do their actions seem to accord with these?

1. does this mean i shd discard the questionnaire and all the analysis i did on it?

2. should i continue to use Gray, Owen & Adams seven position on CSR, and Johnson &Scholes ethical stance. then add mendelow’s matrix to it? Or shd i use only mendelow’s matrix?

3. how will i use Global Reporting Initiative? is it as a guide to see if the company’s actions are right?

please give all the details here because i have no clue especially on number 3.

pls reply

Could you please help me understand what i should do to pass my RR and SLS!

Technical and Professional Skills
1. Understanding of accountancy/business models Pass

2. Application of accountancy/business models Pass

3. Evaluation of information, analysis and conclusions Fail

Reasons for fail and advice for improvement:
Even though you have put good effort in the project, there is still work to be done to achieve the pass standard in the following areas: Your profitability ratios are good enough to pass but other accounting ratios were often just largely descriptive, rather than analytical., by this I mean that you often described the changes without too much analysis to explain the changes. What is expected from the RAP for analysis is an exploration of the business decisions and strategies that have led to the change in ratios over the period under review and how these have been affected by competitors, the market, the economy and government policies. You need to focus on ratios that are specific to banking i.e. CAMELS.

4. Presentation of project findings Pass

Overall Technical and Professional Skills Fail

Graduate Skills
5. Communication Pass

6. Information gathering and Referencing Fail

Reasons for fail and advice for improvement:
You have made a good start but you are let down somewhat by the tendency to patch together materials from other sources – when resubmitting make sure that you write the project in your own words rather than relying on cutting and pasting text from the internet: whilst I have interpreted this as very poor referencing in the current submission please be mindful that it could be likened to plagiarism which is a serious academic conduct issue. You must also make sure that the most up to date financial statements are used when resubmitting your work. You will need to undertake more information research in order to be in a position to undertake more in-depth analysis of the company. You need to expand your information sources and make sure that you reference these sources.

7. Information Technology Pass

Overall Graduate Skills Fail

Overall
Research Report Assessment F

Skills & Learning Statement
Graduate Skills

8. Self Reflection Fail

Reasons for fail and advice for improvement:
Q3 is particularly weak on self-reflection: consider all the types of communication used- verbal, written, non-verbal and the different media, interpersonal opportunities and any setbacks.

9. Communication Skills (inc Presentation) Fail

Reasons for fail and advice for improvement:
I really need to see more information in the presentation that clearly illustrates the key issues that you are going to address in the RAP. The presentation should provide the audience with an understanding of the outcomes and key findings of the investigation, it is not sufficient to merely present the graphs and charts with no commentary. On the slides for the SWOT you have too much information for the audience to digest effectively. You need to find a balance with graphs and bullet points to convey the main points and then you can expand on this verbally when you deliver the presentation.

Skills and Learning Statement assessment Fail

Would appreciate your help on this. I’m planning on resubmitting for the May 2015 session.

@LearningLuminarium ur response is very helpful. thanks

The comments from the marker are as follows:

Research Report

Technical and Professional Skills

1. Understanding of accountancy/business models (Fail)
Reasons for fail and advice for improvement:
Your project is of an extremely good standard. It is interesting and very professionally written and presented. Well done. However, there is an absence of referencing within your financial and business analysis. As a result, I am unable to tell where your information has come from, and as such establish whether you have provided an unbiased piece of work using a well balanced range of sources. This is a real shame, but I cannot establish whether your project is heavily dependent on the annual report of the company as you simply have not provided enough company specific references within your report. Without referencing there is no evidence of research which has been conducted, and as such you cannot get credit for that research.

2. Application of accountancy/business models (Pass)

3. Evaluation of information, analysis and conclusions (Fail)
Reasons for fail and advice for improvement:
As above, without referencing it is not possible to verify the standard of your research, and therefore evaluation. Please note that if your project is heavily reliant on the annual report of the company, it will fail again on this basis. You need to ensure that you have used other sources external to company produced documentation.

4. Presentation of project findings (Pass)

Overall Technical and Professional Skills(Fail)

——————————————————————————————————————–

Graduate Skills

5. Communication (Pass)

6. Information gathering and Referencing (Fail)
Reasons for fail and advice for improvement:
As above, referencing is an issue. There are a huge number of examples I could give, but I will name a few in order to hopefully set you on the right track. On page 11, you show various sources of revenue. Where have these figures come from? Page 12, you state; “Because the company seized the full-services development opportunities through adopting the 3G smart-phone-led strategy, placing equal emphasis on core single products and integrated products, and accelerating the promotion of emerging businesses and applications.” Where does this information come from? Page 13, you state; “The increase in 2012 was mainly attributable to the corresponding increase in CDMA network capacity lease fee and operating and maintenance expenses along with the business development, while the decrease in 2013 was resulting from the CDMA network acquisition took place in 2012.” Again, what information source have you used here?

7. Information Technology (Pass)

Overall Graduate Skills (Fail)

——————————————————————————————————————–

Overall

Research Report Assessment (F)
Reasons for fail and advice for improvement:
Please do not feel too disheartened. Other than referencing, your project is of a passable standard (assuming you have used a reasonable range of sources for your analysis). Please follow the guidance as above and I am confident that resubmission will be successful.

——————————————————————————————————————–
Questions:

1. I wonder whether I have to update the financial statements within my paper (I used 2011, 2012, 2013 annual financial reports)? or what I have to do now is only to give more specific referencing?

2. If I have to update the financial statements and 2014 annual financial report has not been released except 2014 interim report, what are the most recent financial statements that can be used in re-submission? (201206, 201306, 201406)???

Thanks a lot for your help!

Will