M20440 Managerial and Decision Economics

Coursework Assignment 2 - Instructions
Issue Date Week commencing 25 April 2022
Submission deadline 23:55 on Friday 20 May 2022
Submit to Turnitin on Moodle
Return date Tuesday 21 June 2021
Weighting 60% of final module mark
Word limit 1500 words maximum
Learning Outcomes This assignment addresses the following outcomes:

LO 2. Review academic literature relating to managerial
and decision economics in order to make policy
recommendations;

LO 3. Compare and contrast different theories that
managers use when making decisions within the firm and
interpret their effectiveness in an international context.


Assignment Details
Context:
In this coursework assignment you are required to answer ALL three tasks listed below. They
are separate tasks with equal weight on your mark. Total word count must NOT exceed 1500,
and an equal split of about 500 words for each task seems appropriate. You are expected to
list all of the sources you use to complete these tasks in your reference list and provide credit
to the source properly.
Tasks:
1. This task has two parts with equal weights.
a. Using Google Patents database ( patents.google.com ) find a patent that has
been filed with the European Patent Office (EPO) after 2000. Show the first
page (also known as the cover page) where inventor, assignee, classification
etc. information are displayed. (You must add your patent’s cover page as PDF
or as screenshot to your coursework, and it MUST be clearly visible and
READABLE). Based on the information you see on the cover page, answer the
following: How many researchers were involved in the development of this
patent? What are their affiliations (which institute or university or firm etc.)? In
which countries exactly is this patent protected? What is this patent about (tell
me this based on classification codes, not based on what you understand of it).
Extra Credit: Is your patent an environment-related (also called green) patent?
Very briefly (in just one sentence) explain how to spot an environment-related
patent. (NOTE: There are millions of patents in the EPO register post 2000, so
the probability that any two of you picking the same patent by chance is almost
zero. You should do your best to avoid picking the same patent as your
classmates!).
b. Read the “Reading Material for CW2” that can be found under “Assessments
and Support Materials” on this module’s Moodle page. On what grounds was
Ed Sheeran taken to the court exactly? Explain this in relation to what we
covered about different types of intellectual property rights (IPRs). What is the
type of the IPR protection that enables such an action? What does the decision
of the court for Ed Sheeran make you think about the implementation of IPRs?
Related to this discussion, there are many other cases that are brought to court
within the frame of IPRs. In light of this, why is it, you think, that Seth Wheeler
(or his descendants) are not suing major toilet roll companies such as Andrex?
(Hint: Think of the context we learnt about Mr. Seth Wheeler)

2. This task has two parts with equal weights.
a. What is a “board interlock” among firms? Suppose you have a bipartite network
structure with 5 firms and 20 managers. Draw a network that does NOT give
way to a board interlock and briefly explain how it works.
b. In social media, users with a lot of followers are labeled as influencers and
many firms or interest groups aim to collaborate with these individuals to
influence large groups of people (this may be simple advertisement or pushing
some specific political or social agenda). Thinking of different ways to measure
the network centrality, carefully and critically explain why the number of
followers may be a misleading guide to identify influencers. Propose a centrality
measure (one of those we covered) and briefly -but carefully- explain why this
particular centrality measure will be a better one to identify influencers.

3. Mergers can be horizontal or vertical (also called vertical integration) or a mix of both.
Search for mergers and acquisitions (M&A) that can be classified as “vertical
integration” or a mix of horizontal merger and vertical integration and took place after
2015. Your task is to briefly present the details of ONE such M&A referring to specific
news or reports: Which firms were involved? Explain whether this M&A can be
categorized as a vertical or mixed integration. What markets or sectors were targeted
by participating firms? Which firm and sector is downstream, which is upstream? Be
sure to refer to reliable news sources (e.g., FT, the Economist) or online sources (firms’
websites or research reports) throughout your discussion so that the case that you
present can be checked and verified.
IMPORTANT: There is a submission box for this assignment on Moodle and it is YOUR
RESPONBILITY to submit the CORRECT assignment into the CORRECT submission box. If
you submit a wrong assignment (e.g., you accidently submit an essay that was meant for
another module) or into a wrong submission box there is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING that can
be done to correct this once the submission deadline has passed!!

Essays should be submitted electronically to the Dropbox facility on Moodle (which can be
found under the ‘Coursework’ section) as an MS Word document (.doc/.docx). File names
should include your student number, such as UP123456.docx.
Formatting: Use Arial size 12 font with 1.5 line spacing, include only page numbers in the
footer and your student number in the header. Your name should NOT appear in your
submission. Essays should be referenced according to the APA 7th edition. The word count
is a maximum of 1500 words (excluding the reference list and tables). Work that exceeds
the limit will not be read beyond the stated word count.

Late Submission of Assignment
Assignments submitted after the published submission date without a valid Extenuating
Circumstances Form (ECF), but within ten working days of that date, will be marked. The mark
awarded will be limited to the unit pass mark (40% unless otherwise specified in the unit
handbook). Assignments submitted more than ten working days after the published
submission date will not be marked, and a mark of zero will be recorded on the student's
record. It will be recorded as a non-submission. Students are strongly advised to keep a copy
of their work. Corruption of computer disks is not an adequate excuse for late hand in, as work
should be adequately backed up.

Marking criteria and Feedback
To satisfy the above learning objectives, your assignment submission will be graded against
the following criteria: (see the next page for more details on grade criteria)
 Analysis of theory – Choice and discussion of relevant theory/ theories.
 Application of theory – Appraise the actions taken by management in the firms and
evaluate the applicability of relevant theory to the firm in question.
 Communication – Essays will be assessed on the quality of language, structure,
presentation of diagram(s), construction of well-reasoned arguments.
 Academic scholarship – Quality of chosen sources and use of citations and references.
Originality of the essay.
Marks and feedback will be available on or before 21 June 2022. Marks will be posted on the
Student Portal, and your marked coursework and tutor’s feedback will be available on Moodle
once it has been marked and processed.

Referencing requirements
Please include a Reference List of all items cited in your work and follow this with a
Bibliography to show your wider background reading. All sources should be acknowledged
and appropriately cited within your work, following the University's approved referencing
conventions [APA 7th ed.]. Students who fail to include a reference list will be penalised. If any
student has a query about any of the above matters and wishes to obtain clarification or further
information please contact the unit co-ordinator or your personal tutor. Referencing is required
to give intellectual credit to your source, help your reader recover your source easily and to
avoid being accused of plagiarism.
For further guidance see: http://referencing.port.ac.uk/
Grade Criteria
A first class answer (70%+) is one that demonstrates evidence of in-depth study, including the
consultation and effective use of a range of quality references relating to the question under
scrutiny. The answer should demonstrate knowledge of the area (contained in the question) and
key debates of relevance, which are compared and contrasted. It should go beyond descriptive
content and be analytical in its approach; first class answers will provide a successful critique.
Evidence of clear understanding, evaluation and interpretation is necessary to achieve this grade
and this is often demonstrated through original contribution. The answer will be clearly focused
upon the question and will also include relevant diagrams that will be labelled and used to explain
the key points in the argument. A first class answer will be well written, clearly referenced and will
cite evidence in support of the arguments.
An upper second class grade (60–69%) should demonstrate many – but not all – of the features
listed above for a first class answer. Crucially, it should show evidence of reading, understanding
and interpretation and must go beyond descriptive content. The answer must address the question
and will include appropriate diagrams. Once again the answer must be well written and referenced.
The extent to which the student has analysed and interpreted relevant material will be the boundary
between this grade and a first class answer and the balance of description to analysis is the
difference between a 2:1 and 2:2.
A lower second class answer (50–59%) will show understanding of the topic under scrutiny and
some broadly based reading. The answer will be weighted more towards description than analysis
and the answer might not go beyond the material delivered in lectures. Factual information will be
correct and properly utilised but might not have been shaped to address the question. The answer
will usually be clearly written but the use of vocabulary and the grammatical structure will not reach
the standard of a first class or upper second class answer. Diagrams will be more basic or not
clearly explained or applied to the question.
A third class answer (40–49%) is often very ‘common-sense’ in its approach and is lacking in
analytical content. Use of sources is quite basic and all relevant literature has not been covered.
Awareness of debates/ disputes outside this common-sense answer is poor. There is, however,
evidence of some understanding of the topic, but this may be accompanied by some factual or
analytical misunderstandings. There might be some errors in the grammar or punctuation whilst
diagrams will either be lacking or will not have been used fully to explain the key concepts.
A fail (under 40%) is usually an answer that has either not addressed the topic under scrutiny
sufficiently or has misunderstood what was required from the question. Little evidence of reading,
poor understanding of key concepts and even mainstream debates. An answer that fails will often
be poorly written and the poor communication skills will impede the understanding of the content.
Diagrams will either be lacking or will be wrongly used.