GSS503 Navigating Risk in an Interconnected World Course Tutor-Marked Assignment 01, 2026, Singapore

Please ensure that you read the TMA submission instructions as well as submission reminders [Appendix A/B] carefully.

GSS503 Tutor-Marked Assignment 01

This tutor‐marked assignment (TMA) / group-based assignment (GBA) is worth 30% of the final mark for GSS503: Navigating Risk in an Interconnected World Course.

Please upload this assignment to Turnitin by Saturday, 14 March 2026, 11:55pm. Resubmissions are allowed before this cut-off time.

Submit your essay/report/write-up together with your cover page, in a single file (saved as MS word file), to the submission link titled [TMA01].

Marks allocation at a glance

Note: All marks will be awarded only with the TMA submission via Turnitin.

Submission Instructions

Please submit the assignment by Saturday, 14 March 2026, 11:55pm. Resubmissions are allowed before this cut-off time.

Submit your essay together with your cover page, in a single file (saved as MS word file), to the submission link titled [TMA01].

Note – Your TMA submission will be used as a reference for your ECA assignment. Select your organisational case study with care. You may refine the case study you have selected in your Discussion Board submission.

Question 1 (50 marks)

Using ONE real-world organisation, analyse the key risks it faces in an interconnected global environment and appraise how these risks interact across sectors and scales.

Your submission must consist of two integrated components:

1. Written Introduction, and
2. Presentation Slides.

Written Introduction (400–500 words)

In the written introduction, you should:

• Introduce and justify the choice of organisation.
• Explain why the organisation is exposed to interconnected and systemic risks (e.g.

sectoral position, geography, supply chains, operational dependencies).

• Briefly outline the key risks selected and the analytical framework(s) used.
• Set up the logic for analysing risk interconnections, cascading effects, and governance implications.

The written introduction should demonstrate conceptual framing and evaluative intent, not merely describe the presentation structure.

Presentation Component

Your presentation slides should address the following:

(a) Organisational Context and Risk Exposure

Briefly describe the organisation’s operating environment and explain the sources of its risk exposure.

(b) Identification and Examination of Interconnected Risks

Identify and examine THREE major risks relevant to the organisation (e.g. climate, health, financial, cyber, supply chain, reputational).

Explain how these risks are interconnected, including:

• directionality (risk drivers and amplifiers),
• cascading or reinforcing effects, and
• interactions across local, regional, and global scales.

(c) Risk Framework Application and Real-World Case Appraisal

Apply at least ONE recognised risk framework to analyse the identified interconnections.

Appraise the risks using ONE real-world case example (within the last five years) relevant to the organisation, explaining how the case:

• illustrates risk amplification or cascading effects, and
• reveals vulnerabilities, blind spots, or governance challenges.

(d) Implications for Risk Assessment and Monitoring

Appraise 2–3 integrated implications for how the organisation should improve its risk assessment and monitoring practices in light of interconnected and uncertain risks.

Question 2 (50 marks)

Mitigation, Adaptive Capacity, and Governance Assessment

Building on your analysis in Question 1, assess how the organisation manages interconnected risks and propose mitigation strategies that strengthen adaptive capacity and governance.

Your submission must consist of two integrated components:

1. Presentation Slides, and
2. Written Integrative Conclusion / Reflection.

Presentation Component

Your presentation slides should address the following:

(a) Focused Interdependency Assessment

Select TWO interconnected risks identified in Question 1.

Using systems thinking, assess their causal relationships, including:

• feedback loops,
• reinforcing dynamics, and
• potential escalation pathways.

(b) Assessment of Current Organisational Responses

Assess existing organisational practices used to manage these risks.

Identify:

• strengths,
• limitations, and
• gaps in addressing interconnected risk dynamics.

(c) Framework-Guided Mitigation Design

Apply one or more risk frameworks to guide mitigation planning.

Propose 3–5 concrete mitigation measures, clearly explaining:

• how each measure addresses risk interdependencies, and
• implementation considerations, including feasibility, constraints, or trade-offs.

(d) Adaptive Capacity, Coordination, and Ethics

Assess how the proposed measures enhance adaptive capacity, including:

• learning,
• coordination, and
• uncertainty management.

Where relevant, appraise ethical, equity, or stakeholder implications.

Written Integrative Conclusion / Reflection (400–500 words)

In the written conclusion, you should:

• Synthesise insights from Questions 1 and 2, showing how interconnected risks shape organisational vulnerability and resilience.
• Critically reflect on the effectiveness and limits of the proposed mitigation strategies.
• Demonstrate evaluative judgement regarding uncertainty, trade-offs, and residual risks. Highlight broader governance or strategic implications for managing complex, interconnected risks.

The written conclusion should go beyond summarising slides, demonstrating integration, reflection, and critical judgement.

References (5 marks) (Deduct up to -5 marks)

This section only checks that the in-text citations and reference list are presented accurately in APA7 format. It does not involve the degree or extent to which students support their arguments with appropriate citations. It also does not involve the quality of the items listed.

English competency (Deduct up to -5 marks)

Appendix A: TMA Submission Reminders

TMA/GBA Cover Page & GBA Declaration

• Download and complete the TMA/GBA Cover Page from Canvas L01 > Modules > Assessments.
• Acknowledge that you have read the self-declaration on academic integrity and submit it with your TMA/GBA. There will be a penalty of 5 marks deduction if the TMA/GBA cover page is incomplete, inaccurate or missing from the final submission of your TMA/GBA via Turnitin. No appeals concerning the Cover Page will be entertained.
• [Only applicable for GBA] The GBA declaration form constitutes 10 marks of the assignment and must be submitted together with the cover page.

TMA/GBA submission 

• Adhere strictly to the naming convention specified for TMA/GBA files. Noncompliance to these standards may result in your TMA/GBA not being marked and/or an administrative fee being imposed.
• It is your responsibility to ensure that you have uploaded your file(s) completely and accurately to the correct submission link. All inaccurate submissions will be treated as a null submission.
• Backup your TMA/GBA at all times. o Review your submission immediately and ensure that the entire document has been uploaded completely and successfully.
• Submit early and check the originality report to decide if you need to revise and resubmit your assignment.
• Turnitin reports are generated immediately the first time but subsequent reports may take up to a day to generate.
• Retain the Turnitin digital receipt as evidence of a successful submission. Appeals submitted without the Turnitin digital receipt will not be entertained.
• Resubmissions (overwriting earlier submissions) are allowed only before the deadline. No further resubmissions can be made during the grace period or thereafter.
• The 12-hour grace period after the deadline is NOT an extended deadline. It is solely for resolving technical problems encountered with submissions before the deadline.

Late submissions and submission problems

• Late penalties are automatically applied by Canvas after the 12-hour grace period.
• Your instructors will NOT be able to grant any extensions as they cannot override Canvas system settings.
• Details about marks deduction are outlined in your Student Handbook under Academic Rules and Regulations.
• In case of problems, email Canvas Support at LSsupport@suss.edu.sg Attach your TMA/GBA file and relevant screenshots showing the technical error and follow up with Canvas Support before the grace period is over.
• If there was no submission before the deadline, one late submission is allowed up till 1 week after the deadline, after which no more late submissions will be allowed.

TMA/GBA Formatting Requirements [For essay submissions on Word only]

• Upload your TMA/GBA as a Word document file (.doc, .docx) No other formats are allowed. Feedback on your marked assignments will be provided only if the assignment is submitted as a Word document file.
• Use 12-point Times New Roman and double line spacing throughout the entire paper.

Margins: 1 inch (2.54 cm) margins on all sides (top, bottom, left, and right) of the page Line spacing: Double-spacing

Paragraph alignment: Align the text to the left and leave the right margin uneven

Paragraph indentation: Indent the first line of every paragraph 0.5 inch

Word / Slides / Page / Duration Limit

Writing and presenting succinctly is an important skill in academic writing. Keep strictly to any word limits (or limits to the number of slides, pages, or durations of videos) as no allowance will be given. Any content beyond the specified limits will not be marked. Tables, figures, and in-text citations are included in the word count whilst the reference list and appendices are not.

English Competency

Negative marking up to a penalty of 5 marks will apply for English competency. It is important that you use an appropriate academic writing style, and write clearly using correct grammar, punctuation and spelling. British spelling is recommended.

Referencing

Follow the APA7 format. Appropriate in-text citations and an accurately formatted Reference section are expected. More information about formatting in APA7 can be found in the APA website: http://www.apastyle.org/index.aspx.

Plagiarism and Collusion

The University takes a very serious view of plagiarism, including misuse of Generative AI (GenAI), and collusion, i.e. submitting an assignment which is very similar to another student’s. The definitions and penalties are outlined in your Student Handbook.

All assignments are to be completed on your own. You may discuss the TMA/GBA with your course mates, but the assignment must be written up independently. Similarly, for assignments where GenAI use is permitted, you may consult GenAI but write the final submitted assignment yourself. You are also responsible for properly disclosing any use of GenAI in your assignments through citations and tables as detailed HERE. See below for further guidelines on GenAI use.

Permissible Use of GenAI

• Brainstorming for ideas and basic outlines with proper disclosure
• Summarising research materials for reference only
• Correcting minor spelling and grammatical errors

Unacceptable Use of GenAI (AI Cheating)

• Wholesale or substantial lifting of AI-generated content, including text, images and videos
• Generation of references without conducting research or verification
• Extensive rewriting and/or restructuring, including changing from one writing style to another and reorganising content

WARNING: Submitting assignments that substantially regurgitate or reproduce information from any sources, including GenAI tools, constitutes plagiarism. Once a plagiarism offence is established, the student’s work will be heavily marked down. A Fail grade will be awarded for cases found to contain fabricated content, including bogus references, false information, or non-existent arguments attributed to cited reference sources.

Proof of originality of your submitted assignment

You are strongly encouraged to (1) keep a record of your assignment version history and (2) retain PDF copies of all the cited sources in your assignment in a zipped folder. This evidence will be required in the circumstance that your assignment is flagged for plagiarism, in particular misuse of GenAI.

(1) How to keep a record of your assignment version history:

• Prepare your assignment using Google Docs or Microsoft Word Online which automatically retains version history. When required to, you can share the link to your document with the following access rights:
• Google Docs: “Anyone with the link” and “Editor”
• Microsoft Word Online: “People with the link can edit”

Note: The assignment document must reside online (Google Drive or OneDrive). Saving a copy or downloading a copy of the online file will lose the version history.

(2) How to retain PDF copies of cited sources (in a zipped folder):

• Where possible, download the article in PDF format and rename the file as:
  • Single author: Surname and year of publication (e.g., Johnson 2022.pdf)
  • Multiple authors: Surname of first author + et al. and year of publication (e.g., Tan et al. 2024.pdf)
• If PDF files are not available, take screenshots of the webpage containing the article details, the Abstract, relevant pages you referred to, paste them to a Word doc file and save it as a PDF file using the same author/year file-naming conventions suggested above.
• For book references, take screenshots of the relevant pages you referred to, paste them to a Word doc file and save it as a PDF file using the same author/year file-naming conventions suggested above.

Appendix B: Generic Band Descriptors for Students

Excellent answer (A+) 45-50 marks:

• shows a clear and thorough understanding of the topic concerned by covering relevant points accurately and comprehensively in a well-structured, focused and cohesive manner
• provides excellent illustrations/examples/supporting evidence
• shows very strong evidence of critical thinking/analysis and in-depth understanding
• goes beyond expectation and shows original thinking
• all cited references are authentic, relevant and properly attributed in the required citation style

Good to Very Good answer (B+, A-, A) 36-44 marks:   

• shows a good to very good understanding of the topic concerned by covering relevant points accurately in a well-structured, focused and cohesive manner
• provides good illustrations/examples/supporting evidence
• shows good evidence of critical thinking/analysis and in-depth understanding
• shows evidence of original thinking
• all cited references are authentic, relevant and properly attributed in the required citation style

 Fair answer (B-, B) 30-35 marks:

• shows a fair understanding of the topic concerned by covering relevant points adequately, but may not always be well structured, focused and cohesive
• provides adequate illustrations or examples, however, they may not always be appropriate
• shows little evidence of critical thinking/analysis and lacks in-depth understanding
• shows little evidence of original thinking
• all cited references are authentic, but not always relevant or properly attributed in the required citation style

Weak answer (C, C+) 25-29 marks:

• shows only rudimentary understanding of the topic concerned and only manages to cover a relevant point or two adequately, but is not well structured, focused and cohesive
• attempts to provide illustrations or examples, however, they are generally inappropriate or irrelevant
• shows no evidence of critical thinking or in-depth understanding
• shows no evidence of original thinking
• may contain some omissions and minor inaccuracies, such as missing or erroneous citations and references (i.e. minor typos but cited references are authentic)

 Borderline Pass (D, D+) 20-24 marks:

• does not show adequate understanding of the topic concerned and may not sufficiently cover any of the relevant points
• does not provide illustrations or examples
• tends to be descriptive and may be off point
• contains errors and misconceptions, such as a mix of erroneous/fabricated citations and references, and false information

Fail (F) 7-19 marks:   

• shows very little understanding of the topic concerned and barely covers any of the relevant points
• fails to provide illustrations or examples
• attempts to describe but is off point
• contains serious errors and misconceptions, such as numerous erroneous/fabricated citations and references, false information, and non-existent arguments attributed to cited reference sources

Bad Fail (F) 0–6 marks:      

• shows very little to no understanding of the question
• contains serious errors and misconceptions, such as numerous erroneous/fabricated citations and references, false information, and non-existent arguments attributed to cited reference sources

—  End of TMA —