I usually spend a good while obsessing over MBA assignments. This is a good thing for the most part, especially on the marked assignments. It can also absorb a lot of time. Due to the existence of Facebook you get an idea of how other members of the MBA cohort are doing their assignments. A few sit down and finish them in one sitting, often ridiculously late in the game. While there is a lot of context missing, such as how they studied and prepared up to that point, finishing them in a short burst of time had some appeal.

So, I thought I'd give it a go with the tutor assessed assignments (TAA).

It went well and I got the first draft done today in about five hours. What was even more noteworthy is I actually enjoyed it. The goal of getting it completed, the knowledge it wouldn't be hanging around for several weekends in a row. All good. In truth, the preparation and the writing can't be separated. What I did this semester is focus on the TAA before I even cracked open the study materials. This meant I studied with a focused awareness of the questions and how the topics in question were distributed through modules one to four. In short, rather than the TAA just focusing what I learned it focused how I studied. This seems to have translated into me being more prepared for the essay, who'd have thought? It wasn't a specific, more intense effort, it's just you pick up what is necessary as you have it in mind. I'll also admit to focusing my efforts a bit more, rather than cramming in too much, and brought in more real world examples. You only have 1,500 words. It's not a mark that contributes to the final result.

The other TAAs present a few wrinkles that the Strategic Supply Chain Management one doesn't have. The Strategic Marketing module requests that you analyse a few different sales forecasting methods, ideally in the context of 'your organisation or an organisation you are familiar with'. I know why they do this and I agree it's great. The problem is if the question just happens to put you in the situation of your current organisation not being applicable and one you are familiar with not helping either (like a past one or a supplier, etc). It's also a bit of a pain finding any studies or discussion of the topic. Tricky one that. I can hit the second part which is about product development and market penetration.

The Small Business Management one isn't to bad, but I need a franchise to analyse. Domino Pizza have sent me through their franchise contract, and they have the usual investor information on the web. I'm going to try and get the franchise pack they send to interested parties. That'll take a call or two I suspect (my first contact gave me the necessary names).

The conclusion? Subject to the marks coming back and telling me this was a disastrous way to do it. I like this method better. I think in the past I've spent too much time on them for no more a guarantee of a 'reward'. This is inevitable as you gauge effort for things over time. Taking the one I did today as an example, it doesn't feel significantly better or worse than the others I've done. We shall see.