Assignment Two: Individual Research Report
Individual Research Report (50%)
The purpose of this assignment is to develop your capability to understand supply chain sustainability concepts, methods, and frameworks. On this assignment, you will write a research report of about 4000 words based on review of relevant literature on one of the following topics:
(Written report: A4 typed on one side, one-and-a half spaced, font 12 (Times New Roman) plus reference pages and appendix).

• Reverse supply chains and carbon footprint – how are they related? Analyze critically.
• Corporate social responsibility in supply chains – Analyze the impact in the context of global supply chains.
• Performance indicators in sustainable supply chain management – identify key indicators and critically analyze in the context of sustainable supply chain management
• ISO14001 standards and supply chain sustainability – establish a relationship between standards and supply chain sustainability and critically analyze.

You are required to conduct a thorough literature search (mainly academic journals) in order to prepare the research report. It is expected that you will follow the following guidelines while preparing your report:

1. Introduction
• Introduce your topic of research.
• Discuss aims and objectives of the research.
• Highlight the plan of the report.

2. Literature search
• Conduct a thorough search on the topic of research. For this you are required to search journals (mainly academic). Develop a database of the articles in the chosen topic area. Your objective is to provide up-to-date information on the chosen topic in a systematic manner. It is expected that you will address the following areas:
• Summary of the literature – basic summary of the chosen articles
• Group materials under few meaningful themes and critically analyze and discuss
• Identify the practical and theoretical implications of your findings
• Build your arguments based on the evidence from published cases and empirical studies.

3. Conclusions and suggestions for future research
• Conclusion based on your findings
• Future direction.
4. References
• Provide a list of references and refer these appropriately in the report
• Include a content page and an executive summary of the report (between 1/3 and 1/2 a page) Process
• Choose a topic.
• Locate relevant sources (databases, academic journals). You are expected to refer to refereed (peer reviewed) academic papers.
• Identify relevant literature (20-24 relevant journal articles).
• Submit copies of five articles from where you may have gathered most of your ideas while preparing your report.
• Analyze and synthesize the literature to produce an analytical report.
• Give figures and tables where necessary.
• Appendices can be added if additional material is considered essential.

NOTE: You are NOT writing an open easy on the chosen topic. You are writing a research report based on the chosen articles only.

Marking Criteria and Distribution
The written report will be graded using the attached grading sheet- Appendix D: ‘Marking Criteria – Individual Research Report’. The grading sheet consists of four major items:
1. Organization (10%)
2. Research (20%)
3. Analyses and Discussion (60%)
4. Innovation (10%)
Please check the above items while preparing your report