Professional Conversion - JAIIB

Assignment & Guidelines

Edition 1

March 2021
 Professional Conversion - JAIIB
Professional and Ethical Banking in a Contemporary Environment

Overview

As a Junior Associate of the Indian Institute of Banking and Finance (JAIIB), you are eligible
to have your qualification recognised by the Chartered Banker Institute and attain Associate
Chartered Banker through a professional conversion programme.

Learning resources for your professional conversion programme include:

 the information provided in these guidelines

 the IIBF’s learning resources on professionalism and ethics
 the Chartered Banker Institute’s learning resources, available on our website at
www.charteredbanker.com. Please search our Knowledge Hub for a range of resources
to support your study of professionalism and ethics, including our Responsible Banking
Toolkit (member sign-in is required).

To become an Associate Chartered Banker, you are required to complete a reflective

assignment to demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of professional and ethical
banking in a contemporary environment. (See Appendix 1.)

Your assignment will be marked and externally verified by the Chartered Banker Institute. The
assignment is marked out of 100. The pass mark is 60%. If you achieve 80% or more, you will
pass with distinction.

This document provides guidance on how to complete the assignment to the required standard
and outlines the process for submitting your assignment for marking.

Assessment criteria

An Institute examiner will assess your assignment in accordance with the assessment criteria
in Appendix 2. We have also provided tips to help you meet the criteria.

You will see that the assessment criteria include a requirement for appropriate referencing. To
help you reference your work accurately, please refer to the Referencing Guide in Appendix 3.

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As this is a reflective assignment, we have also included guidance on how to write reflectively.
(See Appendix 4.)

Word count

Assignments are to be 3,000 words plus or minus 10%. References within the body of your
assignment are included in the word count; reference lists and appendices are not. Please write
your word count at the end of your assignment and on your assignment cover sheet (see
Appendix 5).

A Word version of the cover sheet is available for download from your personal home page on
the Institute’s website at www.charteredbanker.com.

Presenting assignments

Assignments should be written in Microsoft Word. The Institute has a standard format for
assignments.

Please make sure that you format your assignment in accordance with this standard so that it is
easy for our examiners and verifiers to assess.

The standard format is:

Font: Times New Roman or Arial

Font size: 12 point

Spacing: 1.5 lines

Headings: consistent in terms of size and font

Page Numbers: footer on each page

Please make sure that you present your assignment in only one Word document that
includes your cover sheet, answers, and any appendices.

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Academic offences

There are two main types of academic offences – plagiarism and collusion.

Plagiarism is where another person’s work, excerpts or ideas are presented without appropriate
referencing, credit or acknowledgement. In other words, it’s about “…copying another
person’s work…and claiming or pretending it to be your own” (Neville, 2010, p.30).

Collusion is when two or more individuals submit work which is so similar in terms of concept,
content, wording and/or structure that the similarity extends beyond what could be regarded as
mere coincidence.

As plagiarism and collusion are considered to be academic offences, we treat this seriously. If
your work exceeds the acceptable plagiarism parameters, and/or you are found to have been
involved in collusion, you may be subject to one or more sanctions, including: a requirement
to review and re-submit the assignment; a requirement to submit a new assignment; a reduction
of marks; a warning letter; and even the Institute’s disciplinary procedures.

It’s therefore important to make sure make sure that your work is all your own, and that your
sources are acknowledged and adequately referenced. (See Appendix 3.)

To find out more about the different forms of plagiarism, and how to avoid it, see:

Turnitin (2021) Preventing Plagiarism (online). Available at:

https://www.turnitin.com/solutions/plagiarism-prevention (accessed 17th March, 2021).

Plagiarism.org (2017) About Plagiarism.org (online). Available at: https://plagiarism.org/

(accessed 17th March, 2021).

Submitting assignments

On enrolling for the programme, you will have received registration details for Turnitin - the
software we use for the submission and marking of assignments and other written forms of
assessment.

Turnitin is used by many universities, colleges, schools and professional bodies like ours to
help support academic integrity, through the detection of academic offences, and teach
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academic writing skills.

If you do not receive the link to Turnitin within four weeks from the date of your enrolment,
or if you have any queries, please contact [email protected] .

When you have completed your assignment, upload it to the Turnitin platform.

As a first step, upload your assignment to the ‘draft’ folder and review your Similarity Report
so that you can check your work for potential issues with plagiarism, collusion and referencing.
This will enable you to revise your assignment where necessary and ensure that you have
adequately referenced external sources of information.

When you are satisfied that you have adequately acknowledged and referenced your sources in
accordance with our guidelines, you can then upload it to the ‘final’ folder for marking.

More detailed guidance on how to use Turnitin is available for download from your personal
home page on the Institute’s website.

Marking and verifying assignments

Your assignment will be marked in accordance with the assignment assessment criteria. The
pass mark is 60%. If you achieve 80% or more, you will pass with distinction.

All assignments that fall either side of these grade boundaries will be sent for external
verification. We also verify an additional percentage of marked assignments to ensure the
fairness and consistency of the marking process.

When we receive your final mark we will record your mark on our system, advise you of your
result and, if you have attained the pass mark, we will issue your Certificate to evidence your
successful completion of the programme.

If you do not attain the 60% pass mark, please refer to the assignment re-submissions
information available for download from your personal home page on the Institute’s website.

If you have any questions about the assignment process, please contact the Institute at
[email protected].

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Appendix 1: Assignment

Assignment Requirements

To become an Associate Chartered Banker, you are required to complete a reflective

assignment to demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of professional and ethical
banking in a contemporary environment.

In this assignment, you will:

 look back at, and reflect on, events and situations that have occurred during your
professional career
 analyse those events and situations from different perspectives
 think carefully about what those events and situations mean to you and your
professional career.

You are required to demonstrate:

1. an awareness of how banking and banking regulation have changed since you
completed your initial qualification and how these changes affect your current banking
practice
2. an understanding of the key principles of customer-focused ethical professionalism in
a banking environment
3. an ability to apply ethical thinking, decision-making and professional judgement to
situations at work in which ethical dilemmas and conflicts of interest may arise.

You can do this by:

 reflecting on how banking and regulation has changed since you completed your studies
with the Indian Institute of Banking and Finance and how this affects your current
banking practice
 describing the key principles of ethical and professional behaviour in a banking
environment, and explaining why this is important
 reflecting on situations at work where you have been faced with an ethical dilemma or
conflict of interest, and applying ethical theories and decision-taking models to explain

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 what action you would take, and why, were you to be faced with similar situations in
future.

The assignment consists of three questions:

Question 1 (approximately 900 words)

Reflect on how banking and the financial services environment has changed since you
completed your banking qualification, and what impact these changes have had on your
working practices. Consider, for example:

 the economic environment

 the regulatory environment
 competition/customers/sales and service
 technology and innovation
 operational practices
 recruitment and selection/roles/jobs
 learning and development
 strategy/values/culture.

(30 marks)

Question 2 (approximately 900 words)

Consider why ethical and professional behaviour is important in banking/financial services,

and what you think it means to be an ethical and professional practitioner within the context of
your role.

(30 marks)

Question 3 (approximately 1,200 words)

This question has four parts:

Part 1: Consider a work situation when you have been faced with an ethical dilemma, or
conflict of interest and, whilst respecting third party confidentiality, use the following questions
to help you reflect on the situation.
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  What happened? Where?
 What was your part in this? What did you do?
 Who else was involved? What did they do?
 What was the result?
 What professional and/or ethical issues did this raise?
 In what ways were your own values/ethics compromised?
 Were you satisfied with what you did?
 To what extent did your actions match your beliefs and values?
 What did you think when the event started? How did you feel?
 How did you feel about the outcome of the event at the time?
 What do you think, and how do you feel about it now?
 What was good about the experience? What was bad about it?
 What went well? What didn’t go so well?
 What would you do differently if this happened again, and why? What would you do the
same?
 What did you learn from this experience? How will you apply this learning in future?

Part 2: Reflecting on the ethical theories you have studied, explain which theories best support
the action that you took, and in what ways.

Part 3: Select an ethical decision-taking model and apply this to the situation you have
described and reflected upon. If you were faced with the same situation in future, what decision
would you make as a result of using this model, and why? What additional factors, if any, did
you take into account when using this model compared to your actual experience of the
situation you described?

Part 4: What have you learned from applying this model, and how will you apply this learning
in future?

(40 marks)

(Total: 100 marks)

End of Assignment

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Appendix 2: Assignment Assessment Criteria

Assessment Marks (out of 100)

Criteria
80 - 100 60 - 79 0 – 59
(80%+/Distinction) (60%+/Pass) (less than 60%/Fail)
Relevance Question answered Question answered with Question partly
thoroughly with relevant mostly relevant content answered. Some
content from the study from the study material, irrelevant content. Little
material, work experience and work experience and evidence of additional
other relevant and reliable other relevant and reading or use of further
sources. reliable sources. A little resources. Little
irrelevant content. evidence of drawing on
own experience.
Understanding Demonstrates a sophisticated Demonstrates a good Demonstrates only some
Key Concepts understanding of key understanding of key understanding of key
and Theories concepts and theories and concepts and theories. concepts and theories.
subjects these to critical Some critical analysis Little or no critical
analysis based on experience based on experience analysis based on
gained in the workplace. gained in the workplace. experience gained in the
workplace.
Synthesis of Makes good connections and Makes some good Makes few, if any,
Knowledge comparisons within and connections and connections and
and Ideas between areas of knowledge. comparisons within and comparisons within and
Draws from a broad range of between areas of between areas of
knowledge, ideas and knowledge and knowledge and
experience as well as experience. Draws from experience. Little
including relevant depth of more than one source of evidence of breadth
detail to formulate knowledge with some and/or depth of
conclusions. depth of detail. knowledge and
understanding.
Critical Views and evaluates Shows awareness of Different perspectives
Thinking information from different different perspectives. not considered.
and Analysis perspectives, including Presents relevant Statements mainly
personal experience. arguments with some unsubstantiated with
Provides sound and reasoned supporting evidence. little or no evidence to
arguments with relevant support conclusions.
evidence to make informed
judgments and support
conclusions.

Practical Consistently interprets and Mainly interprets and Mainly inaccurate

Application applies information applies information interpretation and
of Knowledge, accurately. Draws on accurately. Recognises application of
Understanding knowledge and understanding some implications of information. Little
gained in the workplace. knowledge and evidence of awareness of
and Skills
Demonstrates an ability to demonstrates an ability to practical implications of
apply knowledge in relevant apply it in relevant work knowledge and an ability
work situations and relates it situations and/or relates it to apply it in relevant
to own experience. to own experience. work situations.
Structure and Logical and coherent Mainly logical and Poorly structured and
Presentation structure. Meets coherent structure. Meets presented. Intentions
recommended word count. word count. Most unclear at times. Word
Sources of information are sources of information count not met. Contains
acknowledged and acknowledged and inaccurate information
appropriately referenced. referenced. and inaccurate or
incomplete referencing.

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Assessment Criteria Tips for Meeting the Assessment Criteria
Relevance Make sure you answer the question and consider only what is being asked. Use only relevant
content from your study material, work experience and other reliable resources. Address the
points at hand. It’s not about brain dumping everything you know about the topic! Where
questions ask you for ‘key’ information, consider only the most critical factors you would like to
bring out, e.g., between 2 and 4 areas for discussion. Ensure what you say is accurate according
to a reliable source. And pay attention to the number of marks awarded for each question.
Understanding Key This is about showing the examiner that you clearly know what you’re talking about. It’s about
Concepts explaining key ideas, relevant theories and/or best practice and putting forward an opinion about
and Theories
what works and what doesn’t, and why, based on your own ideas and experience.
Synthesis of This is about taking ideas from different sources and making sense of them, e.g., by comparing
Knowledge or contrasting. It’s about making connections and coming to a conclusion. To show that you can
and Ideas
synthesise information, you will demonstrate a broad range of knowledge, come up with ideas
and reflect on your own experience. You will also explore ideas in depth to help you arrive at a
conclusion. Start broad and funnel down/dig deeper with those aspects that are relevant for
answering the question. In other words, use ideas from different sources to help you arrive at a
‘whole’ conclusion.
Critical Thinking This is about looking at ideas and information from different perspectives, including your own
and Analysis experience. Ask yourself: What’s good about this? What’s not so good? What are your reasons
for thinking this? It’s about giving solid arguments, backed up with sound evidence to help you
make informed judgments and support your conclusions.
Practical This is about interpreting and applying information accurately. You will draw on knowledge and
Application understanding you have gained at work. Show the examiner that you can link theory with practice
of Knowledge,
Understanding and and apply what you have learned. Ask yourself: What is the theory and/or best practice in my
Skills field? What have I learned? How have I applied my knowledge and skills so far? What can I do
to apply my knowledge and skills in future? You are required to demonstrate your ability to apply
your knowledge and what you have learned in relevant work situations and relate it to your own
experience.
Structure and You must make sure that your answers are well structured and presented. Use the question as a
Presentation guide to structure your answer. What are you being asked to do? How can you best present this?
Your answer must be logical and coherent. Make it easy for the examiner to give you marks –
don’t leave them guessing as to what you mean. Label your answers Question 1, 2, and so on.
Use the standard format provided in these guidelines, e.g., font, spacing, and page numbers. Make
every word count and be ruthless with your editing without compromising your writing style.
Your answers should flow in continuous text. Avoid presenting a list of facts in bulleted form as
this hinders your ability to show critical analysis. Make sure all your sources of information are
acknowledged and appropriately referenced in accordance with the guidelines in Appendix 3. If
you state a fact or provide evidence, who is this according to? Include a reference list at the end
of your assignment with all the sources/references you have used in your assignment. And submit
your assignment in just one word document, including your cover sheet and any appendices.

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Appendix 3: Referencing Guide

Introduction

This programme is assessed by an assignment. The assignment assessment criteria requires that
sources of information are acknowledged and appropriately referenced. This is important
because it shows what you have read and acknowledges the sources you have used. If you
reference your work adequately, your assignments will be of a higher academic quality and
will earn you marks. Most importantly, it will help you avoid plagiarising other people’s work.

This quick guide to referencing will help you reference your work in accordance with key
aspects of the Harvard Referencing system. For a fuller explanation, search online for Harvard
Referencing guides.

You may also find this online referencing useful for referencing your work:

Citethisforme.com (2021) Citing Harvard (online). Available at:

https://www.citethisforme.com/harvard/source-type (accessed 17th March, 2021).

Referencing and citation

Referencing can be either a citation in the text of your assignment or a reference in a reference
list or bibliography at the end of your assignment.

Citation is a note within the main text that recognises and acknowledges the source of the
information (Pears & Shields, 2010). Citations are required for quotations and paraphrasing.

Quotations

For quotations, the format is: Surname(s), date, page number(s), all in brackets. For example:
(Green & Howe, 2012, p.27).

Paraphrasing

For paraphrasing or summarising a view, the format is: Surname(s) and date, with the date in
brackets, and ‘and’ written in full. For example: ‘Green and Howe (2012) argue that ………’

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Three or more authors

Where there are more than two authors, use the main author followed by et al., then the date.
For example:

(Johnson et al., 2017)

According to Johnson et al. (2017) ………..

Reference list

This is a list of all references provided at the end of the assignment which covers all the cited
sources in alphabetical order. This is different from a bibliography which is a full list of all
sources of information studied and used to prepare the assignment, whether cited in the main
text or not.

Books

The format is:

Surname(s), initials, date in brackets. Title in italics. Place published: Publisher. For example:

Green, C. H. & Howe, A. P. (2012). The Trusted Advisor Fieldbook: A Comprehensive Toolkit
for Leading with Trust. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

If the book is a revised edition, use:

Pears, R. & Shields, G. (2016) Cite Them Right: The Essential Referencing Guide (Palgrave
Study Skills). 10th ed. London: Palgrave Macmillan.

Johnson, G., Whittington, R., Scholes, K., Angwin, D. & Regner, P. (2017) Exploring Strategy:
Text and Cases. 11th ed. Harlow: Pearson Education Ltd.

Note that, unlike citations, where there are three or more authors, all authors are mentioned in
the reference list entry.

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Articles

The format is:

Surname(s), initials, date in brackets. Title of article, journal title in italics, volume, (issue in
brackets), page numbers. For example:

Clutterbuck, D. (2010) Coaching reflection: the liberated coach, Coaching: An International

Journal of Theory, Research and Practice, 3 (1), pp.73-81.

Kaplan, R. S. & Norton, D. P. (2000) Having Trouble with Your Strategy? Then Map It,
Harvard Business Review, 78 (5) (September – October 2000), pp. 167-176.

Online resources

The format is:

Surname(s) and initials (or company), date in brackets, title of article/resource in italics,
(online). Available at: URL reference (date accessed). For example:

Chartered Banker Institute (2018) Chartered Banker Code of Professional Conduct (online).
Available at: https://www.charteredbanker.com/resource_listing/knowledge-hub-
listing/chartered-banker-code-of-professional-conduct.html (accessed 17th March, 2021).

Open Banking Limited (2021) Background to Open Banking (online). Available at:
https://www.openbanking.org.uk/about-us/ (accessed 17th March, 2021).

Referencing requirement

The requirement for your assignment is:

 citation in the main text (and any appendices); and

 an alphabetical reference list at the end of the assignment.

Please note that citations in the text are included in your word count. The reference list at the
end of the assignment is excluded from your word count.

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Appendix 4: Reflective Writing

Introduction

As this assignment requires you to reflect on past events and experience, and how you have
applied what you have learned to your current professional practice, we have included this
guidance to help you write reflectively.

First we will consider what is meant by critical reflection. Then we’ll show you how you can
demonstrate this in your writing.

What is ‘reflection’?

Lexico.com (2021) defines reflection as a ‘serious thought or consideration; especially one that
is written down or expressed’, and to reflect on something means ‘to think deeply or carefully
about’ it.

We can reflect on:

 what happened in the past;

 what we think and feel about that now; and
 what might happen in the future if we adapt the way we do things.

Critical reflection takes our thinking to another level. It involves more analysis and evaluation
of ideas and approaches, applying these at work, and justifying why we chose one approach
over another.

Critical reflection involves being curious, asking questions and considering things from
different perspectives. It involves challenging ideas, suggesting new or different solutions, and
reflecting on and adapting what we do as a result of our analysis and conclusion.

How will reflecting on my experience help me improve my professional practice?

Analysing, evaluating and reflecting on our experiences and approaches helps us become more
aware of what we’re doing. This increased awareness and understanding can help us gain new
insights into the way we do things which then helps us learn from our experiences.

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Applying what we learn to new situations enables us to develop and grow as a professional.
Therefore, not only is this good for us personally, it’s also great for our organisation, the
profession itself, and of course our customers.

Education is about learning and change. Reflection drives learning and change. That’s why, as
part of your assessment for this programme, you are being asked to critically reflect on your
experience and show what you have learned through your writing.

How do I write reflectively?

Reflective writing provides evidence of your reflective thinking. Usually with academic
writing, you are expected to be impartial and objective. Reflective writing is different because
it’s all about you and your own personal learning journey. You are writing about what you have
done, what you are thinking about that now, and what you will do next as a result of gaining
new insights.

Therefore, in reflective writing, you write in the first person – you use ‘I’ when talking about the
past, the present and the future.

For example, when looking back on an event, you may write:

I noticed…I felt…I found…

When reflecting on that experience now, you may write:

I now realise that…I can see now that...I now understand that…

When reflecting on what you might do in the future, you might write:

The next time, I will…..to ensure that…

Using a reflective model

There are several published models that provide a framework for reflection. One such model
is the reflective cycle (Gibbs, 1988, cited in Williams et al., 2012). (See Diagram 1.) Using a
framework like this can help us focus on what needs to happen to learn and develop, and
improve what we do.

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Diagram 1: The reflective cycle

Source: Gibbs (1988, cited in Williams et al., 2012)

Reflecting on and learning from your experience is key to your professional and personal
development. Therefore, the reflective cycle is a useful tool to use generally to help you reflect
on your practice and grow as a professional.

Let’s look further at each stage of the reflective cycle, using an ethical dilemma as an example.

Note: The Institute of Business Ethics (2019) describes an ethical dilemma as “…a situation
that makes a person question what the ‘right’ thing to do is. Ethical dilemmas make individuals
think about their obligations, duties or responsibilities. It is through a dilemma that most
employees experience business ethics”.

As you will see in Table 1, we include a more detailed description of each stage of the reflective
cycle and give examples of how you might express in your writing your reflections on dealing
with an ethical dilemma.

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Table 1: Writing reflectively on each stage of the reflective cycle

Stage of cycle Example of reflective writing

Description: Set the scene with a relatively I remember a time when I was faced with an
brief description of the situation you want to ethical dilemma.
reflect on. (We have used an ethical dilemma What was the situation? What happened?
as an example.)
Feelings: Briefly describe what you were At first I thought…
thinking and feeling at the time. Then I began to feel…
Evaluation: Provide a balanced appraisal of The good thing about this is that it made me
the situation. This means assessing what you wonder…
thought was good and/or bad about the On the other hand…
situation.
Analysis: What sense can you make of the I knew I was facing an ethical dilemma
situation? Make connections to ethical theories because…
and decision-making models to help you The professional and/or ethical issues this raised
analyse, make sense of, and learn from the for me were…
experience. Who was/might have been This would affect…
affected? In what ways? What challenges did According to…the right thing to do here would be
this present for you and for others involved? to…
What did you do, and why? How did you decide On the other hand, I felt that…
that this was the right thing to do? I questioned…
This may have been due to…
This was a real challenge for me because…
This insight was useful because…
I therefore decided to...because…
Conclusion: Say what you have learned from Thinking about this now, I know I did the right
reflecting on your experience and what else you thing because...
could have done. I now feel that…
Perhaps if I had made a different decision, it may
What choices did you have? What was the have resulted in…
outcome? How do you feel about it now? What Reflecting on my experience has made me realise
lessons did you learn from this experience? that…
What did you do well? How do you know this? My experience has taught me to consider…
What didn’t go so well? What do you think was I have discovered that…
the reason for this? In what way would doing I have learned that…

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 these things better or differently have benefited
you and/or others? What insights have you
gained? What new knowledge and skills have
you acquired? To what extent do you now look
at things differently? What have you discovered
about your strengths? What abilities do you
want to develop further and why? How will
what you have learned influence what you do in
future?
Action Plan: Reflect on your conclusion and Having reflected on my ability to recognise and
state what you will do to change your practice deal with an ethical dilemma, in future I will…
as a result of your reflections, learning, and new I now intend to…
insights gained. Say what you will do in future This will enhance my professional practice
if the situation were to arise again. because…

References:

Institute of Business Ethics (2019) Frequently asked questions (online). Available at:
https://www.ibe.org.uk/frequently-asked-questions/3 (accessed 8th July, 2019).

Lexico.com (2021) reflect (online). Available at: https://www.lexico.com/definition/reflect

(accessed 17th March, 2021).

Lexico.com (2021) reflection (online). Available at:

https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/reflection (accessed 17th March, 2021).

Neville, C. (2010) The Complete Guide to Referencing and Avoiding Plagiarism. 2nd ed.
Maidenhead: Open University Press.

Pears, R. & Shields, G. (2016) Cite Them Right: The Essential Referencing Guide (Palgrave
Study Skills). 10th ed. London: Palgrave Macmillan.

Williams, K., Woolliams, M. & Spiro, J. (2012) Reflective Writing. Basingstoke: Palgrave
Macmillan.

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Appendix 5: Assignment Cover Sheet

Assignment Cover Sheet

Module: Professional Conversion Route IIBF JAIIB

Your Name:

Your Chartered Banker Institute Membership

No.*:

Assignment:

Date final assignment uploaded to Turnitin

for marking:

Word count (3,000, plus or minus 10%):

I declare that all material in this assignment is my own work except where there is clear
acknowledgement or reference to the work of others.
I agree to the sharing of any personal information contained in this assignment and cover sheet with
the Institute and module examiners and verifiers.

By submitting this assignment and cover sheet electronically, in whatever form, you are deemed to
have made the declaration set out above.

Internal use only Examiner use only

Date assignment received:
Date acknowledged: Automatic
Assessment mark: %
Date result notified:

*If you are a new member of the Institute, you will be advised of your membership number after you have been
enrolled for the qualification.

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