SEMESTER 2
2025/26
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INDIVIDUAL COURSEWORK BRIEF:
Module Code: MANG2069 Assessment: Individual Report Weighting: 100%
Module Title: Making Successful Decisions
Module Leader: Dr Ian Dawson
Submission Due Date: @ 16:00 UK Time 15th May 2026 Word Count: 2,500 words
Method of Submission: Electronic via Blackboard or eAssignments Turnitin ONLY
(Please ensure that your name does not appear on any part of your work)
Any submissions after 16:00 on the deadline date will be subject to the standard University late penalties (see
below), unless an extension has been granted.
Days Late: Mark:
1 (final agreed mark) * 0.9
2 (final agreed mark) * 0.8
3 (final agreed mark) * 0.7
4 (final agreed mark) * 0.6
5 (final agreed mark) * 0.5
More than 5 0
This assessment relates to the following module learning outcomes:
A. Knowledge and Understanding A1. The limitations and biases inherent in many judgment and decision
making processes;
A2. Decision analysis techniques and the circumstances under which each
technique is best applied;
A3. The relative strengths of various decision making processes and decision
analysis techniques.
B. Subject Specific Intellectual and
Research Skills
B1. Identify when and how cognitive limitations and biases can have a
detrimental influence on judgments and decisions;
B2. Use prescriptive and descriptive theories to understand and analyse
judgments and decisions;
B3. Apply and critically evaluate decision-making models and decision
analysis techniques.
C. Transferable and Generic Skills C1. Identify the limitations to and consequences of commonly used
approaches to decision making and problem solving;
C2. Use a range of approaches to critically analyse and evaluate theoretical
perspectives and research evidence;
C3. Use frameworks and analytical techniques to better understand simple
and complex problems and to identify effective solutions.
3
Coursework Brief:
The assessment for MANG2069 will be an individual assignment that consists of two parts. The
first part of the assignment will be an essay that relates to the material covered in ‘Part I: Decision
Processes’. The second part of the assignment will be a practice-based exercise and report that
relates to the material covered in ‘Part II: Decision Analysis’. Each part of the assignment is worth
50% of the overall module mark and, therefore, both parts of the assessment must be
completed.
Both parts of the assignment must be submitted together as a single document.
The submission deadline for the assignment is 4:00 pm on Friday 15th May 2026.
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Only an electronic version of the assignment needs to be submitted via Turnitin/Blackboard.
Assignment Part I (50% of module mark)
For Part I of the assignment, you must do the following:
Identify an important decision that you have made regarding your education, work, or career
development. Write an essay about your decision using the following structure:
a) Context (approximately 200 words): Summarise your decision. Describe the
circumstances, why the decision was important to you, the options, your choice, and the
outcomes.
b) Theoretical Analysis (approximately 800 words): With reference to at least two concepts
from Part I of the module, explain and analyse your decision process. Ensure that you
briefly explain why each concept is particularly relevant to your decision.
c) Critical Reflection (approximately 300 words): Critically evaluate your decision-making
process. Comment on the strengths and weaknesses. Explain what you could do
differently to improve the process when you make similar future decisions.
The word limit for Part I of the assignment is 1,300 words (excluding any citations, references,
tables, figures, and charts).
Assignment Part II (50% of module mark)
For Part II of the assignment, you must do the following:
Critically discuss the decision tree technique and provide an example of how the technique can
be applied to a decision-making scenario that you might experience in the future. You are
expected to (i) outline a scenario of your choice (ii) identify the alternative options within that
scenario and (iii) work out a number of possible outcomes/events and estimate their
probabilities. You must draw a complete decision tree and demonstrate the process of analysis
to show how you reached your decision.
The word limit for Part II of the assignment is 1,200 words (excluding any citations, references,
tables, figures and charts).
Hence, the total word limit for the assignment is 2,500 words (+/- 10%).
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2025/26
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Advice for Part I of the assignment
• The essay requires you to focus on an important decision that you have made regarding
your education, work, or career development. Hence, you must first identify the
“important decision”. Here are some examples:
o Choosing which university to attend
o Choosing which A-levels or degree programme to study
o Choosing an optional module on your degree programme
o Deciding whether to apply for a particular job
o Deciding whether to accept a job offer
o Deciding whether to accept new responsibilities in the workplace
o Deciding whether to join a university society
o Deciding whether to take on a leadership role at work or in a club/society
• In the ‘Context’ section of your essay, provide enough detail so that the reader can fully
understand your decision process and appreciate why the outcome was important to
you. Ensure that you describe key components in the process (e.g., establishing
objectives, information gathering, subjective probability judgments, emotions, etc.)
• In the ‘Theoretical Analysis’ section, you should consider doing at least one of the
following:
o Discuss the extent to which aspects of your decision-making process were
consistent with any prescriptive models of decision making (e.g., Classical
Decision Making Model, Probability Theory)
o Discuss the extent to which aspects of your decision-making process were
consistent with descriptive models of decision making (e.g., Prospect Theory,
Heuristics and Biases, Bounded Rationality, Mental Accounting)
o Explaining what factors (e.g., amount of available information, ethical dilemmas,
time pressure) made the decision straightforward or complex
• In the ‘Critical Reflection’ section, you should consider doing the following:
o Explain whether, upon reflection, you are satisfied with the outcome of your
important decision and what factor(s) you have used to evaluate your satisfaction
o Critically evaluate the relative merits of your whole decision process
o Discuss what you could do differently if you had to make the same/a similar
decision again and explaining how this could improve your decision process
• There will be much more material covered in Part I of the module than you can write about
in this essay. Hence, in the ‘Theoretical Analysis’ section, you will need to be selective
about which concepts you focus on - two or three concepts is probably a sensible
number. Clearly, you should aim to select only the concepts that are of specific relevance
to your important decision
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• It is advised that you write your essay using a first-person narrative (e.g., The decision I
made ...). Writing an essay of this nature using a third-person narrative (e.g., The decision
made by the author ...) would probably be quite tricky and complicated.
• Please ensure that:
o Your essay follows the required section structure (i.e., Context; Theoretical
Analysis; Critical Reflection) and that each section roughly follows the suggested
word limits
o Your narrative continuously and directly addresses the set question
o You demonstrate that your understanding of the topic has developed beyond the
information contained in the lectures. That is, show that you have engaged in
independent study
o When making an argument or arriving at any conclusions, make it clear how your
arguments/conclusions have been informed by the literature that you have read
(e.g., provide citations to demonstrate where your knowledge has come from
and/or to support your arguments)
Advice for Part II of the assignment
• There will be much more material covered in Part II of the module than you can write
about in 1,200 words. Hence, you will need to be selective
• You can decide how best to structure your essay. For example, you may wish to create
separate sections that each explain your scenario, analysis, decision, and critical
discussion
• Whatever approach and structure you choose, you must ensure that:
o You directly answer the set question
o The first/introductory paragraph of your essay briefly explains the structure and
focus of your essay
o You demonstrate the process of analysis by using appropriate diagrams and
tables with supporting narratives
o The last paragraph summarises your conclusion(s)
• This part of the assignment specifically requires you to ‘critically discuss’ the decision tree
technique. Hence, you should avoid providing a narrative that only describes the technique.
To provide a critical discussion, your narrative ought to include one or more of the following:
o Some evaluation of the relative strengths and weaknesses of the decision tree
technique
o Comparisons of the rationale behind the technique and alternative analytical
methods
o An example(s) from your own experience
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2025/26
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• Ensure you demonstrate that your understanding of the topic has developed beyond the
information contained in the lecture slides. That is, show that you have engaged in
independent study and consulted relevant information sources
• When making an argument or arriving at any conclusions, make sure that it is clear how your
arguments/conclusions have been informed by the analytical process(es) that you present
University of Southampton Business School Coursework Policy
1. Nature of Assessment: This is a SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT. See ‘Weighting’ section above for the
percentage that this assignment counts towards your final module mark.
2. Word Limit: +/-10% either side of the word count is deemed to be acceptable. Any text that exceeds
an additional 10% will not attract any marks. The relevant word count excludes items such as cover
page, title page, table of contents, tables, figures, in-text citations, section headings, list of
references, and any appendices at the end of your coursework.
You should always include the word count (from Microsoft Word, not Turnitin), at the end of your
coursework submission, before your list of references.
3. Title/Cover Page: You must include a title/cover page that includes: your Student ID, Module Code,
Assignment Title, Word Count. This assignment will be marked anonymously; please ensure that
your name does not appear on any part of your assignment.
4. References: You should use the Harvard style to reference your assignment. The library provides
guidance on how to reference in the Harvard style here .
5. Submissions and Late Penalties: The assignment MUST be submitted electronically via Turnitin,
which is accessed via the individual module on Blackboard. Further guidance on submitting
assignments is available on the Blackboard support pages.
Please note that the submission deadline for the University of Southampton Business School is
16.00 UK time for all coursework-based assessments.
Further information on penalties for work submitted after the deadline can be found here.
Remember to allow enough time prior to the submission deadline to ensure your submission is
processed on time as all late coursework submissions are subject to the late penalty policy.
We
would recommend you allocate 30 minutes to upload your work and check the submission has been
processed and is correct. Please make sure you submit to the correct assignment link.
The last submission prior to the deadline will be treated as the final submission and will be the copy
that is assessed by the marker.
It is your responsibility to ensure that the version received by the
deadline is the final version; resubmissions after the deadline will not be accepted under any
circumstances.
You can access your assignment dashboard at any time to download a copy of the submission
receipt using the receipt icon. It is vital that you make a note of your Submission ID (Digital Receipt
Number). This is a unique receipt number and is proof of successful submission. You may be
required to provide this number at a later date.
We recommend that you take a screenshot of this
page or note the number down on a piece of paper.
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If you have any problems during the submission process you should contact ServiceLine
immediately by email at [email protected] or by phone on +44 (0)23 8059 5656.
6. Special Considerations: If you believe that extenuating circumstances have adversely affected your
academic performance, you may be eligible for Special Considerations. Information regarding the
regulations governing Special Considerations can be accessed via the University Regulations, and
the link to Special Considerations application form, can be found here.
7. Extension Requests:
If you require additional time to complete your assessment due to
circumstances beyond your control, you can request a deadline extension. Supporting information is
required for extension requests longer than 5 days. You can find more information, including a link to
the extension request form, here.
8. Academic Responsibility & Conduct: Please note that you can access Academic Responsibility &
Conduct Guidance for Students via the Quality Handbook: here. Please note any suspected cases of
Academic Responsibility & Conduct will be escalated to the Academic Respo0nsibility & Conduct
Officer.
Over recent years, the most common reasons for a breach of the regulations governing Academic
Responsibility & Conduct were:
Breach How to avoid
Plagiarism – using the work,
words, or ideas of another
without proper
acknowledgement. This
includes citing work that you
haven’t read.
• Always cite your sources.
• Only cite what you have read and used.
• “Direct quotes must be in quotation marks” with a page
number if applicable.
• If you read about the work of another in a source, say
‘cited in’ and cite where you read it (see here for more
info).
Collusion – Collaborating with
others in an unauthorized way
to produce academic work
meant to be done
independently.
• Unless permitted in a group assignment, don’t work
with/alongside others.
• Don’t share your work with others.
• Ensure you are clear on where the line is. If in doubt,
don’t do it.
•
External authorship –
Obtaining or attempting to
obtain unauthorized input from
another person or service for
academic work, e.g GenAI
• Ensure you are clear on if you are permitted to use
GenAI.
• Ensure your work is always your own.
• Never send your work to others or upload it to a website.
• Keep records of your work including notes, drafts, and
reading.
Penalties for the above include mark reduction, resubmitting for a capped mark, or a ‘0’ for the
module.
If you are in any doubt, please ask.
Further learning and advice can be found in the Academic Responsibility & Conduct Toolkit, and the
Library Website.
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2025/26
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9. Feedback: The University of Southampton Business School is committed to providing feedback
within 20 working days, where possible. Once marks are released and you have received your
feedback, you can meet with your Module Leader / Module Lecturer / Personal Academic Tutor to
discuss your feedback. Any additional arrangements for feedback may be listed in the Module
Profile. Please note, all marks are considered provisional until ratified by the Board of Examiners.
10. Student Support: Study skills and language support for Southampton Business School students is
available at: http://www.sbsaob.soton.ac.uk/study-skills-and-language-support/.
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