Assignment description

Governance, Compliance and Risk

Management (GCR)
2017-2018

Table of Contents
1. Introduction .................................................................................................................................................... 2
2. Presentation - Group Assignment (1EC) ......................................................................................................... 2
2.1 General guidelines ...................................................................................................................................... 2
2.2 Specific presentation guidelines ................................................................................................................ 2
3. Report - Individual Assignment (3EC) ............................................................................................................. 3
3.1 Main research question and Secondary Research ..................................................................................... 3
3.2 Content ....................................................................................................................................................... 3
3.3 Academic Report Writing ........................................................................................................................... 4
3.4 Individual Report Deadline ......................................................................................................................... 5
4. Resit Procedure ............................................................................................................................................... 5
4.1 GCR in period 1 - Resit in period 3 ............................................................................................................. 6
4.2 GCR in period 3 - Resit in period 4 ............................................................................................................. 6

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1. Introduction

GCR will be taught by two teachers during 7 weeks, for 4 hours per week. The teachers involved in GCR are Mr.
Arnd Mehrtens, Mr. Eric Voerman and Ms. Sanne Bosma.

In order to obtain 4 EC for this course two assignments must be completed successfully:

1. IBVB17GCR1D (1EC) Presentation (Group Assignment); and

2. IBVB17GCR1C (3EC) Report (Individual Assignment).

2. Presentation - Group Assignment (1EC)

2.1 General guidelines

1. Student groups (max. 6 members) for GCR are created by the lecturer and are published on blackboard;

2. Students are challenged to deal with incidents (so called New Incidents) based on real life situations
that companies face nowadays. In response to the assigned New Incident students will develop a
strategy for a multinational company assigned to them, such as:

AB INBEV Exxon Mobil Samsung Electronics

Airbus General Dynamics Siemens
Allianz General Electric Sony
Amazon Glencore Toyota
AT&T Lockheed Martin United Technologies
Coca cola Lufthansa Walmart
Deutsche Bank McDonald's

The actual New Incident given to a specific group can very well be a fictitious situation and not
something that happened at the appointed company. Every group will be assigned a New Incident and
company in week 2/3.

3. In week 7 the groups will have to present their strategy for the teachers to assess. All groups will have to
attend all presentations as asking relevant questions to other groups is part of the assessment. The
presentation schedule will be published on blackboard in due time;

2.2 Specific presentation guidelines

1. The presentation must have the following structure and content:

A. Description of the issue and its possible consequences;

B. Benchmarking the New Incident with a minimum of 2 similar incidents which happened in the
past at other companies;

C. Proposed detailed actions (i.e. the strategy) which consider relevant interests of stakeholders
(applying relevant literature). Make your recommendations SMART;

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 D. Mind map summarizing the developed strategy.

2. The presentation will take approximately 10-15 minutes;

A. During the presentation every group prepares 2 questions regarding the usefulness/correctness of
the strategy as proposed by the presenting group;

B. Subsequently the presenting group answers the questions of the teachers/assessors and of the
groups.

For assessment of the group assignment, please find the assessment rubric published on blackboard.

3. Report - Individual Assignment (3EC)

The Individual GCR Report has to include SMART recommendations for a specific company based on sound
secondary research. The report should be a concise, comprehensive document written in English, which may
serve as preparation for GPJ (Graduation Project).

3.1 Main research question and Secondary Research

Every student may determine his/her own topic concerning a specific company, provided it is related to either
Governance, Compliance or Risk Management. The secondary research should lead to recommendations on
improvements the chosen company could implement.

After determining the company and a possible topic of research, the student has to define a proper and specific
main research question which allows for recommendations. Students are strongly recommended to approach
the lecturer to receive feedback on their main research question.

The research question will be answered and result in SMART recommendations by conducting thorough
secondary research and analysing the data gathered. The quality of secondary research is strongly determined
by using relevant and up to date sources of high quality. Students are required to also make use of peer
reviewed articles (using Hanze Librarys databases).

3.2 Content

The Individual GCR Report must contain the following sections in the order provided (please also see paragraph
3.3. Academic Writing below).

A. COVER PAGE including student name & number, Lecturer(s) name(s), date, report title, word count of
the main body.

B. Following that, an ABSTRACT of 250 words maximum;

C. A TABLE OF CONTENTS;

D. An EXECUTIVE SUMMARY of 1 page (A4) maximum;

E. The MAIN BODY of the report, including the following parts in the exact same order:

1) Introduction/Background;
2) Methodology including the research question(s);

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 3) Data collection (limited to secondary research including a general part on Governance,
Compliance and Risk Management and a part specific to the research topic), and Data Evaluation;
4) Analysis and Findings;
5) Conclusions and Recommendations;

F. A REFERENCE LIST following APA Referencing;

G. APPENDICES

H. An EVALUATION OF AND REFLECTION ON THE PROCESS OF DOING RESEARCH, including an

evaluation of the chosen approach what would be done differently in the future. (max. 2 A4)

3.3 Academic Report Writing

When writing an academic report, please take into account the following rules.

A. The Individual GCR Report should be written in the third person this means not using "I" or "we". To
offer more structure, more formal, lengthy reports are written in sections which have sub-headings
and are numbered;

B. The main body of the Individual GCR Report consists of a minimum amount of words (3.500) and a
maximum amount of words (5,000), excl. appendices;

C. The main text should be kept to the point: leave out what may be interesting but is not strictly
necessary. Lack of quality cannot be covered by quantity. Additional information can be put into the
appendices. The way in which the report is presented will vary according to the topic;

D. Someone else's exact words can only be used if they are included in quotation marks and are
referenced appropriately, using APA Referencing. The ideas of someone else can only be used if they
are acknowledged properly;

E. Please also enrol for the blackboard course IBS Report Writing Hub to find out more about report
writing standards (please find the IBS Report Writing Guide under Report Writing Standards).

Please find below a description of all report sections required:

Cover Page
This will include the title, the author, the word count and the date it was written/submitted, as
well as the name of the lecturer(s).

Abstract
This section should be carefully written and should contain a complete overview of the message in the report,
with a clear summary of the students recommendations. The abstract should consist of no more than 250
words.

Table of Contents
As in a book, this lists the report headings, together with the page numbers showing where the particular
section, illustration etc. can be located. Reference to all items, including the appendices (as mentioned above)
is listed here as well.

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Executive Summary
This section summarises all the major areas of the report: the purpose, research methods, findings, conclusions
and recommendations. It should not be more than one A4 page and should be listed as a chapter in the
contents, but not numbered.

Introduction/Background
This will help the readers to understand the background of the report. It is not another name for a summary
and should not be confused with this.

Research questions/Methodology
This section outlines how the topic was investigated and why the chosen method is most suitable given the
limitations (time, etc.). It contains how information was gathered and why the research is reliable and valid.

Data collection (Secondary research) and Data Evaluation

This is where the gathered secondary research is presented. It should include a general part on Governance,
Compliance and Risk Management and a part specific to the research topic.

This part should be well structured, with clear headings and high accessibility. The student should include
graphs or other visual material if this will help the readers. It should contain sufficient information to justify the
conclusions and relevant recommendations. A selection of appropriate information here is crucial and
information should only be included if it is important/relevant to understanding the report.

Critical evaluation of the validity and reliability of the data collection should also be included here (or may be
included in the methodology).

Analysis and Findings

These are drawn from the data in the previous section and should be clear and concise. They should be based
on the research, apply gathered secondary information to the situation and link back to the
introduction/background. At this stage in the report, no new information should be included.

Conclusions and Recommendations

This is a very important section of the report. The conclusions should be based on the research and findings.
The recommendations should logically follow from and conclusions and be formulated according to the SMART
criteria. Recommendations such as "It is recommended that some changes should be made" are not helpful.

3.4 Individual Report Deadline

The Individual GCR Report has to be handed in on Friday of exam week 1, 12.00 pm (noon). Students have to
submit 1 hard copy in one of their lecturers pigeon hole and submit a digital copy to the same lecturers
Ephorus account (via Blackboard).

For assessment of the individual report, please find the assessment rubric published on blackboard.

4. Resit Procedure

If a student fails or receives a Missed Opportunity (MO) for IBVB17GCR1D (1EC) Presentation and/or
IBVB17GCR1C (3EC) Report, the student has to resit that part of the course he/she failed. The student has to
sign up for the resit in Osiris.

The resit for the group presentation will take place in a group created by the lecturer, developing a strategy for
another New Incident (distributed by the lecturer), following the instructions of this assignment description. A
new company will be assigned to the group. A presentation schedule will be published on Blackboard in due
time.

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The resit for the individual report requires the student to select another research topic and research question,
following the instructions of this assignment description. The student is strongly recommended to approach
the lecturer for feedback on the main research question.

4.1 GCR in period 1 - Resit in period 3

Students who take GCR in period 1 can resit GCR during period 3, when the course is offered again. Students
would have to register in Osiris for period 3.

The deadline for the individual report will be Friday of exam week 1, 12.00 pm (noon) (of period 3). Students
have to submit 1 hard copy in one of their lecturers pigeon hole and submit a digital copy to the same
lecturers Ephorus account.

4.2 GCR in period 3 - Resit in period 4

Students who take GCR in period 3 can resit GCR during period 4. Students would have to register in Osiris for
period 4. The course will not be taught in period 4, which means that a student who wishes to resit in period 4
will have to inform the GCR lecturers one week after he/she receives their grade.

The deadline for the individual report will be Friday of exam week 1, 12.00 pm (noon) (of period 4). Students
have to submit 1 hard copy in one of their lecturers pigeon hole and submit a digital copy to the same
lecturers Ephorus account.