Department of Mechanical and Construction Engineering

Faculty of Engineering and Environment

Assessment Brief Assessment Components 001 and 002

1 Module Key Information

1.1 Module Title
People in Project Management

1.2 Module Code Numbers

KB7030 (Newcastle) and AT7027 (Amsterdam)

1.3 Module Level and Points

Level 7 and 20 points

1.4 Summative Assessment Component(s) and Weighting(s)

▪ Assessment Component 001: Coursework ................................................................... 10% weighting
▪ Assessment Component 002: Coursework ................................................................... 90% weighting

1.5 Module Leader

Dr Allan Osborne

1.6 Academic Year

Semester 2 2021-22

1.7 Cohorts
Newcastle and Amsterdam students

2 Assessment Submission and Feedback

2.1 Assessment Overview
The module has two components of summative assessment. These include:

▪ Assessment Component 001 is a piece of coursework in the form of a Peer Review (Steps 1 & 2)
▪ Assessment Component 002 is a piece of coursework in the form of an Academic Paper

2.2 Release Date of Assessment Brief

The module leader released the assessment brief to you on the following date and time:

▪ 09:00 (UK time) on Monday 21 February 2022

2.3 Medium Used to Disseminate Assessment Brief

You can find a digital copy of this assessment brief from the Content > Assessment sub-folder in the
Blackboard (Bb) course.

2.4 Date(s) and Time(s) of Submission

You are required to submit these assessment components by no later than the following dates and times:

1. Peer Review Step 1..................................................... 13:00 (UK time) on Monday, 21 March 2022
2. Peer Review Step 2............................................... 13:00 (UK time) on Wednesday, 30 March 2022
3. Academic Paper ................................................................ 13:00 (UK time) on Monday, 9 May 2022

2.5 Return Date of Unconfirmed Internally Moderated Mark and Feedback

The module leader will post your Peer Review Step 2 feedback and your unconfirmed internally
moderated mark and feedback for the Academic Paper by no later than the following dates and times:

1. Peer Review Step 2.......................................................... 13:00 (UK time) on Monday, 4 April 2022

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 2. Academic Paper ............................................................ 13:00 (UK time) on Thursday, 9 June 2022

2.6 Mechanism for Return of Mark(s) and Feedback

The module leader will use the Turnitin digital submission tool to return your feedback and unconfirmed
internally moderated mark for the Academic Paper. You can find the relevant Bb Assignment and Turnitin
digital submission tools in the Bb course from the Content > Assessment > Submission Tools sub-folder.

3 Assessment Overview
The assessment baseline quotation is: “Leadership in a team setting is much less about command and
control, and more about getting the most out of a diverse and experienced group of individuals” (Ernst &
Young, 2013).

3.1 Belbin Self-Perception Inventory (SPI)

Before writing your Academic Paper, you need to complete a Belbin Self-Perception Inventory (SPI)
questionnaire to ascertain your preferred team role(s) according to Belbin’s team roles theory. The
module leader will invite you to complete a Belbin SPI questionnaire by emailing your Northumbria
University inbox no later than 13:00 (UK time) on Monday, 21 February 2022. You must note the
invitation will come from [email protected] and not the module leader. You will need to check your
junk folder if you cannot see the message in your Northumbria University inbox.

You must message the module leader using the Bb Messages tool if you cannot find the module
leader’s invitation to complete a Belbin SPI from [email protected] after checking your inbox and
junk folder. Do not email the module leader; this will slow down the module leader’s response time
(see Module Handbook and Panopto Assignment Briefing video presentation for further information).

3.2 Peer Review

Peer Review has two steps. You can read what these steps are in the following two sub-sections. There
are only two possible marks for Peer Review: 0% or 100%. To gain 100%, you must complete both
steps by the deadlines shown above in Section 2.4. You cannot receive a partial mark by completing
only one of the steps. Neither can you apply for a Short Extension for Assessment Component
001 (Peer Review); this is because the module leader has notified the Student Engagement Team that it
cannot grant you a Short Extension for Assessment Component 001 (Peer Review).

Peer Review Step 1 Submission Requirements

You will submit a digital copy in Microsoft 365 Word format of your draft Academic Paper to a Bb
Assignment digital submission tool called Peer Review Steps 1 & 2 in the Bb course's Content >
Assessment > Submission Tools sub-folder. You must submit your draft Academic Paper anonymously.
When submitting your digital file, you need to be careful because your first submission attempt is
deemed final; this means you cannot ask the module leader to give you a second opportunity should you
inadvertently upload the wrong file. You can find the maximum word limit for your Academic Paper below
from Section 5.3.

Peer Review Step 2 Submission Requirements

The Bb Assignment digital submission tool will give you access to the Peer Review Step 2 process
immediately after the Peer Review Step 1’s submission deadline has passed. Peer Review Step 2
requires you to provide constructive, supportive feedback using a structured template provided by the
module leader for two students’ draft Academic Papers. You will find the Peer Review Step 2 Structure
Feedback Template from the Content > Assessment sub-folder in the Bb course. You will use the Bb
Assignment digital submission tool called ‘Peer Review Steps 1 & 2’ in the Content > Assessment >
Submission Tools sub-folder in the Bb course to write your reviews using the feedback template as a
guide. You must submit your reviews anonymously. You can find the minimum and maximum word limits
for Peer Review Step 2 below from Section 5.2.

3.3 Academic Paper

Metaphorically using your Belbin SPI questionnaire as an appraisal instrument, i.e., a conceptual lens
through which you will reflect on your past observations of people and their behaviour while working in
teams, you must write an academic paper that addresses the following two tasks. Between the two
main sections of your academic writing, you must include an appropriate segue linking the separate
sections together.

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 Task 1 – Belbin’s Team Roles Theory
In this section of your Academic Paper, the module leader requires you to write a clear and coherent
narrative detailing your opinion concerning the validity of your Belbin SPI questionnaire report and
Belbin’s Team Roles Theory. While doing so, you are required to use published papers you have
chosen from primary literature sources in leadership, management, and organizational sciences as the
theoretical underpinning for your academic writing.

Task 2 – People and Behaviour Theories

In this section of your Academic Paper, the module leader requires you to write a clear and coherent
academic debate detailing the opposing viewpoints concerning the validity of critical theories
associated with a single ‘People and Behaviour’ domain assigned to you. While doing so, you are
required to use published papers you have chosen from primary literature sources in leadership,
management, and organizational sciences as the theoretical underpinning for your academic debate.

‘People and Behaviour’ Domain

When the module leader posted this assessment brief on the Bb course, he also posted a document titled
‘Assigned People and Behaviour Domains’ in the Bb courses’ Content > Assessment sub-folder.

If you look at this document, you will see the domain the module leader has randomly assigned to you.
You must write your Academic Paper using the people and behaviour domain assigned to you. If you
write your Academic Paper using a different domain, you will not have fully satisfied the assignment's
requirements for Task 2 for Assessment Component 002. As a result, the module leader will have to
reduce your unconfirmed mark for the Academic Paper.

To ascertain the APM’s definition of your allocated domain, you need to review the APM Body of
Knowledge 7th edition. You can access this publication free of charge by joining the APM as a student
member. The APM’s website explains how to become a student member. You should note that the APM
does not expect you to pay an annual membership fee while you are a student. You are classified as a
student when studying this module and your Master’s degree.

Academic Paper Submission Requirements

You will submit a digital copy in Microsoft 365 Word format of your Academic Paper using the Microsoft
365 Word template provided by the module tutor to a Turnitin digital submission tool called ‘Academic
Paper’ in the Content > Assessment > Submission Tools sub-folder in the Bb course. You can find the
Microsoft 365 Word template from the Bb course’ Content > Assessment sub-folder. You must submit
your Academic Paper anonymously. When submitting your digital file, you need to be careful because
your first submission attempt is deemed final; this means you cannot ask the module leader to give
you a second opportunity should you inadvertently upload the wrong file. You can find the maximum
word limit for the Academic Paper below from Section 5.3.

4 Referencing Style
The module leader expects you to write your Academic Paper in an academically acceptable format. You
must present your bibliographic citations in your text and reference list using the Cite Them Right
method of the Harvard referencing system. Cite Them Right is freely available to Northumbria University
students at https://www.citethemrightonline.com/ You must enter your Northumbria University online user
credentials to access the online guide.

5 Word Limits
5.1 Peer Review Step 1
Your draft Academic Paper for Peer Review Step 1 should have a minimum word count not less than
50% of the maximum word limit for the Academic Paper. It also must not exceed the maximum word
limit for the Academic Paper.

5.2 Peer Review Step 2

You will use a structured template provided by the module leader as a guide when writing the peer
reviews for the two draft Academic Paper assigned to you. Each section included in the Peer Review
Step 2 Structure Feedback Template has a minimum word count of 50 words. There is no maximum
word limit.

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5.3 Academic Paper
You are required to declare the word count of your Academic Paper in the relevant section of the
Microsoft 365 Word Template the module leader has given you. The maximum word limit for the
Academic Paper is 3,000 words; this limit excludes the Abstract, which has a separate word limit of
200 words. The Academic Paper word limit includes the following constituents:

▪ The main body of text

▪ In-text citations, e.g., (Smith, 2011) or Smith (2011)
▪ Direct quotations from primary or secondary source materials

You are permitted to exclude the following constituents when calculating the word count of your
Academic Paper:

▪ Title
▪ Abstract (no more than 200 words)
▪ Keywords (no more than five keywords)
▪ Figures
▪ Tables
▪ Reference list

You are not allowed to include the following constituents when writing your Academic Paper:

▪ Appendices
▪ Bibliography
▪ Endnotes
▪ Footnotes
▪ Glossary of terms

6 Further Information
6.1 Module Learning Outcomes (MLOs) Assessed by Coursework
On completion of the Coursework, you will be able to:

Knowledge and understanding:

1. Define and evaluate selected key theories and concepts associated with the main characteristics
and processes of teams, the issues facing teams, and the organizational context of teams.
2. Critically appraise selected key theories and techniques associated with the groups and teams in
an organization, organizational structures, and management processes.

Intellectual/professional skills and abilities:

3. Empowered with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to create, participate in, and effectively lead
real and virtual project-orientated teams.
4. Critically review the literature on team dynamics, management, and organizational behaviour and
engage with what others have written through evaluative discourse.

Personal values attributes:

5. Exhibit the professional ethics characteristics of a University postgraduate student.

7 Referral
If the Progression and Awards Board (PAB) decides to give you a referral attempt of the module, the
module leader may ask you to retake the examination at another time. The referral attempt opportunity
will typically occur after the end-of-level Progression and Awards Board (PAB). If you pass the module
following a referral attempt, you will be awarded the module pass mark for level 7 modules, i.e., 50%. If
you become eligible to complete a referral attempt but are subsequently unable to undertake the
opportunity when required, you will be permitted to re-sit the module at the next scheduled sitting; this will
generally entail the suspension of your progression on your programme of study until such time that you
have completed the level and become eligible to proceed. The date and time of the examination for your
referral attempt will usually be confirmed to you by Academic Registry via the University’s website and not
by the module leader.

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8 Assessment Criteria
The academic staff that will mark your Academic Paper will use the following Assessment Criteria Matrix
to grade your work. The Assessment Criteria Matrix uses Northumbria University’s postgraduate
descriptor as its pedagogic base.

When you receive your summative assessment feedback, academic staff will give you feedback using the
Triple Plus/Delta Retrospective, which includes ‘three positive things you did’ and ‘three things you could
improve’.

Figure 8.1: Module Assessment Criteria Matrix

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9 Guidance for Students on Policies for Assessment
The University has many policies for assessment. The following information, available to you from here,
guides these policies, including relevant procedures and forms.

(1) Assessment Regulations and Policies

(a) Assessment Regulations for Taught Awards
(b) Group Work Assessments Policy
(c) Moderation Policy
(d) Retention of Assessed Work Policy
(e) Word Limits Policy
(2) Assessment Feedback
(a) Anonymous Marking Policy
(3) Late Submission of Work and Extension Requests
(4) Personal Extenuating Circumstances
(5) Technical Extenuating Circumstances
(6) Student Complaints and Appeals
(7) Academic Misconduct
(8) Student Disability and Unforeseen Medical Circumstances

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