Purpose of Business – Value Chain Mapping
Word Limit: 1,200 words (+/- 10%)
Weight: 40%
Assignment Overview:
Businesses create value through their activities in various ways depending on the purpose of a business. This assessment allows you to map how value is created inside and outside a business. With a shift to the stakeholder model of business and the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that assist business link with larger societal goals, combining value chain mapping and SDGs can be a useful approach to expand the impact and value of businesses. In this assessment you are asked to map 4-6 relevant SDGs across the value chain of an organisation. You should use the same organisation from Assessment 1. If you feel you need to change your organisation, you should speak with your tutor.
This assessment is to be written as a 1200-word short report. The report has two components:
Part 1: Use the United Nations Global Compact SDG Compass document to map 4-6 SDGs across the value chain of an organisation. You will need to choose an organisation that has not yet mapped the SDG as a strategy in that organisation. Use a value chain diagram as explained in the SDG Compass document to create the image. See image below:
For each of the 4-6 relevant SDGs you should map the positive impact on stakeholders and ‘the environment’ as well as the negative impacts. IMPORTANT: You only need to map 4-6 relevant SDGs. Choose SDGs that ‘fit’ within the value chain for your business. You DO NOT need to map them all.
When creating your Value Chain: We recommend that you re-create this value chain in Microsoft Word. You can do this by clicking Insert > SmartArt > Process and choosing the design that mimics the UN Global Compact design. Then, you can add in text boxes and arrows as you map the SDGs. We recommend that you ‘Group’ your elements (smart art, arrows, text boxes etc) together to stop your Value Chain Map from warping when you save and upload your assignment.
IMPORTANT: Map SDGs that your company positively impacts on top of your value chain, and SDGs that your company negatively impacts underneath your value chain, as per the example on the UN document.
We know that this can get ‘fiddly’ in Microsoft Word, but this is a good skill to have. Many employers require proficient use of Microsoft Word and this assignment will develop those skills.
Part 2: After you have done your visual mapping of the SDGs along the value chain, it is important to offer some justification for this. You will need to outline why you have mapped the SDGs in those locations.
Then, offer some suggestions on how the company can increase its positive impacts on the SDGs, and decrease its negative impact on the SDGs.
General Points:
The in-class teaching is designed to provide information and activities to help you develop skills to understand value chain mapping of the SDGs, but you will need to work on your assignment in your own time. No workshop time has been allocated to assignment work.
Do not exceed the word limit. Words included in text boxes within your value chain mapping are NOT included in the word count.
You need a minimum of 5 references for this assignment. Some suggestions are the company webpage, an industry leader’s webpage, the UN webpage, industry sources and academic sources on your topic and chosen sector.
Please use font style Calibri, Times or Arial, size 12, spacing 1.5.
Please use format report style writing. This includes objective language; use of headings & sub-headings and a numbering system.
It is also important that you add a page break for your value chain mapping so that it can be on a landscape page. (Go to, Layout > Breaks > Next Page (before the figure) > Next Page (after the figure), then go back to the page your figure is on and click Orientation > Landscape).