HOLMES INSTITUTE
FACULTY OF
HIGHER EDUCATION
Assessment Details and Submission Guidelines
Trimester T1 2020
Unit Code HC3031
Unit Title Trends in the Global Business Environment
Assessment Type Group Assignment
(Group Report)
Note: Groups of 4 students only. Once a group is formed and entered into Blackboard, no changes are allowed.
This is strictly required to be your own original work. Plagiarism will be penalised. Students must use correct in-text citation conventions in accordance with the Harvard method.
Assessment Title Group Report
Purpose of the assessment and linkage to Unit Learning
Outcomes (ULO) To identify contemporary trends in today’s global business environment This assessment will address the following unit learning outcomes:
1. Students will demonstrate familiarity with the academic literature.
2. Students will demonstrate the capacity to write persuasive reports containing sound recommendations, in preparation for a career in business or government.
Assessment
Weight Group Report = 30%
Total = 30%
Total Marks 30 Marks
Word limit Report not more than 3,000 words
Due Date Week 10 for the group report.
[Late submission penalties accrue at the rate of - 5% per day]
Submission Guidelines • All work must be submitted on Blackboard by the due date along with a completed Assignment Cover Page.
• The assignment must be in MS Word format, 1.5 spacing, 12-pt Arial font and 2 cm margins on all four sides of your page with appropriate section headings and page numbers.
• Reference sources must be cited in the text of the report, and listed appropriately at the end in a reference list, all using Harvard referencing style.
Consult your lecturer if you are unsure or you require clarification on plagiarism.
Note: You may not get the assignment submission links unless you are registered in a group on Blackboard.
Note: All students must contribute equally to the presentation or marks will be deducted for students who do not contribute to the assignment.
Assignment Specifications Required Structure/Format of the report
• The report must include a cover page
• Table of Contents
• Executive Summary
• An Introduction: Briefly introduce the purpose of the report. Within the introductory paragraph, you need to address the key topics you will address in the body paragraphs.
• Body Paragraphs: With headings/subheadings: Please remember to support your claims/arguments with in-text scholarly references.
• A Conclusion: The conclusion must briefly summarise the key points in the body paragraphs.
• Reference List: Please include all in-text references in the list of references formatted in Harvard style. A minimum of 10 references is required.
Each group of 4 students will select and analyse one of the following questions and submit a collaborative written report.
Students’ reports will vary widely. Their writing should reflect an understanding of the chapter’s basic concept(s), thorough research, and logic and critical thinking skills Please choose one question only from the following:
1. Using the Internet, research the prices of several products in one or more foreign countries and compare them to their prices in the home country where the goods are produced. What factors do you think determine the foreign prices? Do you think any of the prices are artificially high or low in one country or another?
2. Managers and leaders are continually required to make decisions – to make ‘right’ decisions. However, decision-making is affected by biases. Discuss some of the common biases in decision-making and how they might be overcome.
3. Some researchers predict major impacts of information technology still to come in the workplace. Discuss.
4. Assessing an individual’s performance and productivity are major challenges for managers. Automating various processes has been identified as a way of improving performance. What are the implications of automation in contemporary organisations particularly professional jobs?
5. Discuss and identify how ‘globalisation’ impacts business today. What are some competencies that are necessary for international managers?
6. Discuss why an understanding of national culture is crucial for multinational enterprises seeking to operate in a global business environment. Outline the dimensions commonly used in describing national culture.
7. Discuss the role of ‘Corporate Social Responsibility’ (CSR) in today’s world. Give practical examples for your arguments.
Your final submission is due Friday of Week 10 at Midnight. Late submissions will attract penalties at the rate of 5 % per day.
Assignment Structure Required:
• Holmes Institute Cover Page [This is essential and must be completed accurately] • Executive Summary – This should be a concise synopsis of the whole report.
• Table of Contents – This should be well formatted with numerical sub headings • Main Body of the report contains Section Headings for each paragraph listed • Sub-sections are numbered.
• Appropriate paragraphing must be used.
• Introduction – Briefly introduce the purpose of the report. Within the introductory paragraph, you need to address the key topics you will address in the body paragraphs.
• Body Paragraphs – With headings/sub-headings: Please remember to support your claims/arguments with in-text scholarly references.
• Conclusion – The conclusion must briefly summarise the key points in the body paragraphs.
• Reference List – Please include all in-text references in the list of references formatted in Harvard style. A minimum of 10 references is required.
• The report must be within the 3,000-word limit.
Marking Rubric for the Written Report
Criteria Ratings
Comprehension Max 10 marks Excellent
6.5 – 7 Very Good 5 – 6.5 Good
4 -5 Satisfactory 3 – 3.5 Unsatisfactory 0 – 2.5
Has understood and responded to each of the
task requirements appropriately. Has understood and responded to most task
requirements appropriately. Has understood some task requirement and attempted to
respond appropriately. Limited understandin g of the task was evident, but some
requirements are missing. No evidence that the student has understood what is required in this task.
Structure,
Synthesis of
Research
Max 10 marks Excellent
6.5 – 7 Very Good 5 – 6.5 Good
4 -5 Satisfactory 3 – 3.5 Unsatisfactory 0 – 2.5
Cohesive paragraph structure consistently encourages engagement
with the content. New information from research is synthesised and presented thematically
(topic by topic) to address the assessment question in an analytical way. Cohesive paragraph structure supports engagement with the contents. Uses discrete paragraphs to
present information. New material from research is structured into themes to address the
assessment question in an analytical way. Some effort to achieve cohesive paragraph structure. Ideas are not always presented in
discrete paragraphs.
Some effort to include new material from research into themes to address the
assessment question in an analytical way. Has used a
report structure to organise information logically. But has presented response composed of a series of
discrete paragraphs based on the summary of main ideas from each article. This report reads more like a book report than a piece of analysis. Limited or no attempt at a
report structure. Information presented
randomly or as a series of questions/answ ers only. No sense of
cohesion between ideas. No evidence for synthesis of new ideas from research. No
analysis attempted.
Research and
Referencing Skills
Max 7 marks Excellent 4 Very Good
3 Good
2.5 Satisfactory 2 Unsatisfactory 0-1.5
Uses academic research skills to select 8 or more current, credible and authoritative academic references.
The student has considered
how the articles relate directly to assessment requirements. Uses Harvard style referencing style and in- Uses academic research skills to select 6 or more current, credible and authoritative academic references. Some evidence that the student understands the relevance of the articles to the assessment requirements.
Uses Harvard referencing style and in-text citations with few errors. Uses academic research skills to select 4 or more current, credible, and authoritative academic references.
Attempt to understand relevance of the articles to the assessment requirements.
Uses Harvard referencing style and in-text citations, but with errors. Uses
academic
research skills to source 3 academic references.
No real evidence that the student understands the relevance of the articles to assessment requirements. Limited
attempt at using Harvard referencing style. In-text citations are either missing Has not located
3 academic references or selected references do not meet the
task requirements. Uses general web searches to locate online webpages or articles rather than library databases. Little or no attempt to use a
referencing style or include in-text citations.
text citations with no errors. or show
errors throughout.
Written
Expression
Max 3 marks Excellent 2 Very Good
1.5 Good
1.25 Satisfactory 1 Unsatisfactory 0-0.5
Uses discipline language
appropriate
for an academic or
professional audience.
Writing is fluent and
uses appropriate paragraph/se ntence structures. No critical
language or grammatical errors. Includes discipline-specific language sufficient for an academic or
professional audience. Writing is generally fluent and uses mostly appropriate paragraph/sente nce structures. Minor language or grammatical errors usually do not interfere with meaning, but some editing and proofreading is required. Some disciplinespecific language included to meet general expectations of an academic or professional audience. Writing is generally clear and mostly uses appropriate paragraph/sente nce structures.
Editing and
proofreading
would reduce errors and improve clarity. Limited use of disciplinespecific
language
which may not always meet expectations
of an academic or professional audience. Inconsistent paragraph and sentence structures.
Language and grammatical errors are frequent.
Little
evidence of proofreading or editing. Limited vocabulary. Inappropriate or incorrect use of disciplinespecific language. Consistent and numerous
errors in writing (grammar, paragraph and sentence structure) make reading difficult. No evidence for editing or proofreading.
Note: Please note that the lecture slides may contain the basic key concepts only and students are expected to have read a wide range of scholarly literature to complete all assessments. In addition, for many subjects, students are expected to have undertaken additional research using ProQuest research database.
Recommended Textbooks for this Course
Adekola, A & Sergi, BS 2007, Global Business Management: A Cross-Cultural Perspective.Taylor & Francis, Routledge.
Charles, WL, Hill, G, Tomas, MH 2019, Global Business Today, 11th ed. McGraw-Hill Education.
Charles, WL, Hill, G, Tomas, MH 2018, International Business: Competing in the Global Marketplace, 11th ed. McGraw-Hill Education.
Geringer, M, Minor, M & McNett, J 2012, M: International Business, 1st ed. McGraw- Hill Education.
Maidment, FH 2013, Annual Editions: International Business, 17th ed. McGraw-Hill Education.
Morrison, J 2020, The Global Business Environment: Towards Sustainability? 5th ed. Mcmillan Education, UK.
Peng, MW 2014, Global Business, 3rd ed. South-Western: Cengage Learning.