PBA4809
MAY / JUNE 2022 PORTFOLIO EXAMINATION
POST-GRADUATE DIPLOMA in BUSINESS
ADMINISTRATION
PBA4809
INTEGRATED MANAGEMENT PRACTICE
EXAMINATION PAPER MAY / JUNE 2022 100 MARKS
EXAMINERS:
FIRST EXAMINER: MR C SINGH
SECOND EXAMINER: DR C HIND
THIS IS A NON-VENUE BASED INDIVIDUAL PORTFOLIO EXAM
The paper consists of 8 pages
PBA4809
MAY / JUNE 2022 PORTFOLIO EXAMINATION
EXAMINATION INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATE
1. Please note that the SBL maintains a zero-tolerance stance against plagiarism.
Plagiarism carries a severe penalty and disciplinary action. Please refer to the
University’s Policy for Copyright Infringement and Plagiarism
https://www.unisa.ac.za/static/corporate_web/Content/Colleges/CGS/docu
ments/copyrightinfringement_and_plagiarism_policy_16nov05.pdf
2. This is an individual exam, and you may not compile or submit the portfolio
as a group.
3. The portfolio must have a Cover Page (provided). Please ensure that the module
code, your registered name, and student number appears on the cover page.
4. The portfolio must have the signed Honesty Declaration Form (provided). Please
ensure that you read, understand, and sign the form and include in the portfolio
submission document.
5. The portfolio must have a Table of Contents. Please ensure that you insert the
correct page numbers in the table of contents.
6. Please submit your portfolio before the submission deadline 10 JUNE 2022 at
10:00.
7. No late submissions will be accepted, and any late submissions will be awarded a
zero mark.
8. Candidates must ANSWER ALL QUESTIONS.
9. Please number your answers correctly.
10. Submit your entire portfolio with the Honesty Declaration as a single
document. Do not submit multiple documents. Only the first document will be
downloaded and assessed by the marker.
11. The portfolio exam document must be in PDF format only and the following
naming convention of the final edited file must be used when submitting the
document on MyUnisa Moodle: SURNAME_NUMBER_PBA4809_EXAM_JUNE
2022.
12. Please note that the onus rests on you to ensure that your portfolio posted onto
MyUnisa Moodle is the final and correct version. No amendments to submissions
will be accepted after the deadline.
13. It is your responsibility to ensure that the portfolio document is not password
protect and the file submitted is not corrupted. If the marker is unable to access
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MAY / JUNE 2022 PORTFOLIO EXAMINATION
or open the submission document, you will be awarded a zero mark for the
examination.
14. You are required to carefully examine the requirements of the questions and make
sure all elements in the questions are addressed. This does not call for a
regurgitation of facts but a critical usage and application of those facts towards a
logical conclusion. An answer that merely gives a bullet list of points, without
showing insight into the reasons and results, will not earn good marks.
15. You score marks for the quality of your answers (logical, cohesive, and referenced
arguments), not for filling the pages with words.
16. Use the Harvard Referencing style to document sources used in the portfolio.
17. Please follow all instructions. Failure to follow instructions may incur a penalty.
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PBA4809
MAY / JUNE 2022 PORTFOLIO EXAMINATION
Graduate School of Business Leadership
PBA4809 Exam Honesty Declaration Form
▪ This declaration form must be read on the date the examination paper is received and personally completed in the
candidate’s own handwriting in black ink.
▪ The completed form must be submitted in PDF format as part of the portfolio submission and inserted after the cover page
and before the Table of Contents in the document.
▪ This form declares that the candidate commits to the University’s assessment policies and procedures applicable to this
examination.
▪ Any candidate who fails to submit the hand-signed form with the portfolio will be deemed to not agree with the University’s
assessment policies and as such will not be allowed to participate in the examination and will be awarded a zero mark.
CANDIDATE SURNAME
CANDIDATE FULL NAMES
STUDENT NUMBER
MODULE CODE
CONTACT DETAILS
DECLARATION
▪ I declare that all the details provided by me on this form are true and correct.
▪ I am aware that the examination submission deadline is 10 JUNE 2022 before 10:00, after which the MyUnisa Moodle
system will not accept any late submissions.
▪ I will comply with all the rules, regulations and policies of the University pertaining to this assessment.
▪ I agree that it is my responsibility to ensure that I will have internet access to enable me to access MyUnisa Moodle system
and submit my portfolio.
▪ I agree that it is my responsibility to personally download and/or print and/or access the question paper provided to me via
the MyUnisa Moodle System and to upload my completed portfolio to MyUnisa Moodle and that any late submission will
not be marked and graded at 0%.
▪ I am aware that my completed portfolio must only be submitted via MyUnisa Moodle and not to be submitted via email to
the lecturer, programme administrator or programme manager.
▪ I am aware that the assessment will be conducted in medium of English only.
▪ By completing and submitting the PBA4809 portfolio exam, I declare that:
• I have read and understood the Unisa’s Students’ Disciplinary Code;
• I know what plagiarism is, that plagiarism is wrong and that disciplinary steps can be taken against me if I am found
guilty of plagiarism;
• The written portfolio submission as required for the PBA4809 Examination is my own work and I have neither
received nor aided any person whatsoever in completing this examination;
• I have independently and individually completed the examination without copying work from any other person/s;
• I have not allowed any other person/s to copy my work during the examination;
• I will report and provide details of any third party or person not associated with this examination, who approaches or
solicits me in any way whatsoever, regarding this examination, to the University;
• I know that if I am found to be in violation of this declaration, I will receive 0% for this examination and that Unisa
may investigate further and institute disciplinary action against me.
CANDIDATE’S SIGNATURE
DATE
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PBA4809
MAY / JUNE 2022 PORTFOLIO EXAMINATION
COVER PAGE
PBA4809
INTEGRATED MANAGEMENT PRACTICE
PORTFOLIO EXAM MAY / JUNE 2022
STUDENT NAME:
STUDENT NUMBER:
QUESTION MAX MARK MARK %
1 10
2 10
3 20
4 20
5 20
6 20
Penalty (-10)
TITLE OF REPORT
ADRESSEE OF THE REPORT
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PBA4809
MAY / JUNE 2022 PORTFOLIO EXAMINATION
You are required to follow all instructions for the portfolio and address all of the portfolio questions
in a management report.
PORTFOLIO INSTRUCTIONS
1. For the purposes of this portfolio examination, you must select a real-life organisation for
analysis and evaluation and submit a management report.
2. The selected organisation could be a profit or non-profit organisation.
3. The selected organisation should preferably be the company you are currently working for (or
previously worked for if you are currently not in formal employment).
4. Do not select a multi-business organisation or an organisation you are not familiar with. The
chosen organisation must be known to you in order to complete the portfolio examination.
5. You are expected to gather additional information to address the tasks and questions of the
portfolio examination.
6. Every effort should be made to obtain the required information to complete the portfolio. If
access to the required information is not accessible (as is often the case in strategy and
because of the lockdown) then you are expected to make reasonable and logical assumptions
to address the portfolio brief and questions. Note that your assumptions must be qualified,
justified and clearly stated as such in your report.
PORTFOLIO QUESTIONS
Identify the business competitive strategy pursued by the selected company over the past year.
Note that access to company strategic documents and executives would be an advantage in order
to collect the data required to answer the questions below:
Question 1
Provide a short overview of the company in terms of:
a) The identity of and history of the organisation, its products / services, industry, and target
market. (5 marks)
b) Its strategic direction in terms of information contain in the official strategic vision,
mission and values statements or documents of the organisation. (5 marks)
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MAY / JUNE 2022 PORTFOLIO EXAMINATION
Question 2
Use and apply Porter’s Generic Business Strategies as a theoretical framework to identify,
describe, and evaluate the competitive strategy employed by the organisation. Note that
anecdotal information and organisational information in this regard is not required. You need to
demonstrate practical application of the theory in your assessment and evaluation of the
organisation’s chosen strategy. Is the business-level strategy sufficiently shaped by the
company’s vision, mission, and values, and aligned? Please answer ‘yes’ or ‘no’ and then proceed
to argue and motivate your answer fully based on your findings. (10 marks)
Question 3
Identify and evaluate the current critical three (3) external environmental factors impacting the
organisation. Then, evaluate organisation’s internal arrangements and position to determine
whether it has the competencies to either seize any opportunities or withstand any threats you
identified. Is there a requisite ‘strategic fit’ between the organisation and its environment? Please
answer ‘yes’ or ‘no’ and then proceed to argue and motivate your answer fully based on your
findings. (20 marks)
Question 4
Assess and evaluate the financial performance of the company over the past three (3) years.
Provide a trend analysis of the key financial measures employed by the organisation to this effect.
Is the company achieving its objectives and is it financially ‘healthy’? Please answer ‘yes’ or ‘no’
and then proceed to argue and motivate your answer fully based on your findings. (20 marks)
Question 5
Identify and list at least three (3) important Key Success Factors (KSFs) for the industry in which
the selected organisation exists. State these clearly and undertake a Competitive Strength
Assessment by benchmarking your selected organisation against at least two (2) of its major
competitors. (20 marks)
Question 6
Based on the findings of the preceding analyses, please answer the following questions:
a) Is the organisation at a competitive advantage or disadvantage relative to its competitors?
(5 marks)
b) Does the organisation have a winning strategy? (5 marks)
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PBA4809
MAY / JUNE 2022 PORTFOLIO EXAMINATION
c) What recommendations can you offer to the organisation regarding its strategy and
competitiveness? (10 marks)
PORTFOLIO STRUCTURE
You should use the following management report structure for your portfolio:
• An appropriate Cover Page (provided, be sure to include a suitable title and addressee)
• Signed Declaration (provided)
• Table of Contents
• Executive Summary (maximum 1 page)
• Body of Report (responses to questions 1- 6, maximum 15 pages)
• List of References
• Appendices (only working material and supporting documents, no theory, and no marks
will be awarded for this component)
Your answers to the above will be assessed in terms of the level of communication displayed, the
insights and inferences drawn and your ability to show the implications of the factors that you
have assessed and discussed. An answer that merely provides a list of events that have
happened or a synopsis of current Covid-19 lockdown situation, without showing insight into the
reasons and results, will not earn good marks.
TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS OF THE PORTFOLIO
Maximum length of the body of your report: 15 pages (excluding all other components of the
report), 11-point Arial font, 1.5 spacing
Kindly note that marker will only review the first 15 pages of the body of your report. Your method
of referencing must consistently follow the Harvard method. While marks are not allocated for
presentation, failure to follow instructions, use required format, good grammar, spelling,
referencing and other written communication skills as well as exceeding the page limitation will
result in a mark reduction (max penalty – 10 marks). You need to provide evidence of adequate
preparation, pride of workmanship and a professional attitude and approach to your portfolio
examination.
(TOTAL MARKS 100)
©
UNISA 2022
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