RECENT ASSIGNMENT

ASSESSMENT BRIEF – Assessment 1
Subject Code and Title PROJ6004: Contracts and Procurement
Assessment Assessment 1: Contracts and Procurement Case Study – Report – Review of new Royal Adelaide Hospital Auditor General Report (and associated Learning Resources), including detailed analysis of findings.
Individual/Group Individual Report and Reflection Journal
Length Report Format approximately 2,400 words
Learning Outcomes 1. Critically evaluate the risks associated with contract and procurement management approaches and make recommendations to global project sponsors with regard to ‘best practice’ in this area.
2. Apply judgement and initiative in the development of ‘best practice’ contract and procurement process for global project management, identifying the external factors that need to be considered and mitigated for in every instance.
3. Analyse the responsibilities of the procurement manager and project manager necessary to ensure stakeholder satisfaction and successful project outcomes.
Submission By 11:55pm AEST/AEDT Sunday end of Module 3
Weighting 40%.
There are 4 parts to Assessment 1, - submitted as 1 Report
Total Marks 40 marks
Context:
General
Procurement and contracts are integral to successful project management. Planning for purchases and acquisitions, requests for proposal, vendor selection, contract administration, and contract closure are integral parts of the process. Learning from Case Studies and benchmarking against better practices, standards and excellence is vital to understand complexity of issues and successful strategies for procurement and contract management. It will also ensure improved responsiveness to key issues, promote supplierclient relationships through proactive management of risks and ultimately deliver higher level of focus on performance-based outcomes.
Specific (Assessment 1 Context)
Assessment 1 is about uncovering complexities in the procurement context generally, identifying key issues, looking at leadership, governance and key themes that will allow improved focus, reflection and learning.
Assessment 1 - Individual Report (overall 2,400 Words) based on review Case Study (new Royal Adelaide Hospital AG Report) and other module Learning Resources.
• Students are encouraged to look at the Essential and Highly Recommended Learning Resources and other public documents associated with the new Royal Adelaide Hospital.
• However, a careful thorough review of the South Australian Auditor General Report for 2015 is required to understand the contracts and procurement issues that have arisen during the execution of the new Royal Adelaide Hospital project, ongoing risks mitigations and lessons learnt that can be applied to other large infrastructure projects.
• Assessment 1 aims to encourage a deeper understanding of the challenges faced in large complex projects – particularly with procurement methods that involve private-sector finance to deliver complex projects – which is a significant method of procurement because it can mobilise global financial and procurement capability to innovatively build public infrastructure and facilities to meet the needs of the growing population.
• Students are also encouraged to understand and explore the related organisational issues, stakeholders and the funding and finance aspects associated with the new Royal Adelaide Hospital project.
Instructions:
Assessment 1 is designed around the review of a Case Study from a current large-scale public private partnership hospital project that aims to create a modern health-care facility in South Australia. This assessment comprises of four parts:
• Part A: 600 Words Introduction summarising the procurement context (life cycle journey and where the project is currently), uncover complexities (and key issues), discuss project environment and organisation aspects, leadership and governance and how that has influenced the current situation.
• Part B: 700 Words Identify key risks, mitigations and possible learnings. Where learnings have wider implications, identify how those learnings may require changes to roles and responsibilities of key project resources, changes to procurement briefs or specifications, scope and the procurement process itself. Identify dependencies and common themes.
• Part C: 600 Words – Summary of key findings and also identify best practices for procurement and contracts management (in particular PPP procurement) and explore roles of project and procurement managers in ensuring successful delivery.
• Part D: Nominal word limit of 500 words. The Reflection Journal summarises the student’s ideas and thoughts and key aspects pertaining to Module 1 and Module 2 including any key aspects picked-up as a result of the review of the Essential and Highly Recommended Learning Resources and critical self-assessment of how some aspects may apply to student’s current or future roles.
Important Note: The research effort put-in by students in Assessment 1 is vital input for Assessment 2 and Assessment 3 as it will provide actionable information for better participation in the discussion board as well as within Groups.
It is recommended that students Reflection Journal also cover some of the topics below – which will help students for Assessment 2:
• Typical procurement and financial risks require to be managed for complex projects;
• Specific financial risks that remain for the nRAH project to completion (use initiative and judgement);
• Possible mitigation actions and how these relate to better practice guidelines published by State Procurement Board of South Australia;
• Areas for further vendor negotiations and management - to achieve successful contract completion.
• Areas of key accountability for Project Manager and Procurement Manager to facilitate successful outcomes;
• Areas performance-based contracting and its application to nRAH contract management or completions effort generally;
• Possible Issues that can be considered by the Group/Team for Group Report or Group Presentation;
• Possible team/group behaviours that the individuals will display to develop the Group Report or Group Presentation.
In considering the above, please be mindful of, and reflect on, the findings and the lessons learnt from the case study and how they can be applied in your own personal development and professional career. Record these in your Reflection Journal and also highlight any specific instances where your strengths and limitations as a project manager or manager have been identified.
Learning Activities and Output:
The learning process will involve the deconstruction of the case study material to answer questions, examine lessons learnt and highlight issues for further discussion. You will be encouraged to reflect on your case study findings in order to identify contracts and procurement management best practices which can be applied in the future to significant projects that you may lead as project manager or oversee in a senior role.
Learning output will be a Report Format for Assessment 1 - using the Instructions noted above.
Learning Resources:
• Resource on APA style:
The URL/page for the TUA referencing guides is http://onlinelibrary.tua.edu.au/skills/referencing
• Resource on report writing:
Victoria University of Wellington (2013). How to write a business report. School of Marketing and Internal Business and Student Learning Support Service, Wellington, New Zealand. http://www.victoria.ac.nz/vbs/teaching/publications/VBS-report-writing-guide2013-July.pdf
• Resource on writing case study reports
Monash University (2015). Case study report (sample). Learning Support, Language and Learning Online, Melbourne, Australia.
http://www.monash.edu.au/lls/llonline/writing/general/report/1.xml
• Refer to the subject planner and Modules 1 and 2 for other learning resources specific to Assessment 1.
Assessment Criteria:
Assessment 1 (Parts A, B, C and D inclusive) Individual Report (40%)
• Content, audience and purpose (30%)
• Knowledge and understanding (30%)
• Correct citation of key resources and evidence (20%)
• Effective communication (20%)
The Reflection Journal will also be assessed and has a weight of 10% out of 40%. In addition, students may wish to consider that the audience for the Reflection Journal is the Learning Facilitator and or the student’s employer or sponsor. Therefore, effective communication of ideas is vital recognising the audience too. See learning rubrics in the following pages for details.
Learning Rubrics –Assessment 1 (Part 1, 2, 3 and 4 inclusive)
Assessment Attributes Fail (0-49) Pass (50-64) Credit (65-74) Distinction (75-84) High Distinction (85-100)
Content,
Audience and
Purpose
(30%) Does not meet
minimum standard
Demonstrates no awareness of context and/or purpose of the assignment. Meets minimum standard
Demonstrates limited awareness of context and/or purpose of the assignment Moves beyond
minimum standard
Demonstrates consistent awareness of context and/or purpose of the assignment. Exceeds minimum
standard
Demonstrates an advanced and integrated understanding of context and/or purpose of the assignment. Exceeds minimum standard and exhibits
high levels of
independence
Consistently demonstrates a systematic and critical understanding of context and purpose of the assignment.
Knowledge and
understanding
(30%) Limited understanding of required concepts
and knowledge
Key components of the assignment are not addressed. Knowledge or understanding of the field or discipline.
Resembles a recall or summary of key ideas.
Often
conflates/confuses assertion of personal opinion with information substantiated by evidence from the Thorough knowledge or understanding of the field or discipline/s. Supports personal opinion and information substantiated by evidence from the research/course materials.
Demonstrates a capacity to explain and apply relevant concepts. Highly developed understanding of the field or discipline/s.
Discriminates between assertion of personal opinion and information substantiated by robust evidence from the research/course materials and extended reading.
A sophisticated understanding of the field or discipline/s.
Systematically and critically discriminates between assertion of personal opinion and information substantiated by robust evidence from the research/course materials and extended reading.
research/course materials. Well demonstrated capacity to explain and apply relevant concepts.
Mastery of concepts
and application to new
situations/further learning.
Correct citation of key resources and evidence
(20%) Demonstrates inconsistent use of good quality, credible and relevant resources to support and develop ideas.
There are mistakes in using the APA style.
Demonstrates use of credible and relevant resources to support and develop ideas, but these are not always explicit or well developed.
There are no mistakes in using the APA style.
Demonstrates use of high quality, credible and relevant resources to support and develop ideas.
There are no mistakes in using the APA style.
Demonstrates use of good quality, credible and relevant resources to support and develop arguments and statements. Shows evidence of wide scope within the organisation for
sourcing evidence
There are no mistakes in using the APA style. Demonstrates use of high-quality, credible and relevant resources to support and develop arguments and position statements. Shows evidence of wide scope within and without the organisation for
sourcing evidence
There are no mistakes in using the APA style.
Effective communication
(20%) Difficult to understand for audience, no logical/clear structure, poor flow of ideas, argument lacks supporting evidence.
No effort is made to keep audience engaged, audience Information, arguments and evidence are presented in a way that is not always clear and logical.
Attempts are made to keep the audience engaged, but not Information, arguments and evidence are well presented, mostly clear flow of ideas and arguments.
The audience is mostly engaged, line of Information, arguments and evidence are very well presented, the presentation is logical, clear and well supported by evidence.
Expertly presented; the presentation is logical, persuasive, and well supported by evidence, demonstrating a clear flow of ideas and arguments.
cannot follow the line of reasoning.
Little use of presentation aids, or the presentation aids and material used are irrelevant. always successful. Line of reasoning is often difficult to follow.
Presentation aids are used more for effect than relevance.
reasoning is easy to follow.
Effective use of presentation aids. Engages the audience, demonstrates cultural sensitivity.
Carefully and well prepared presentations aids are used. Engages and sustains audience’s interest in the topic, demonstrates high levels of cultural sensitivity
Effective use of diverse presentation aids, including graphics and multi-media.