RECENT ASSIGNMENT

Due date: 18/1/2015
Part A (1,500 words, 20 marks)
In April 2013, the Rana Plaza garment factory collapsed upon its workforce, killing approximately 1,200 workers and injuring about another 2,000. The incident served to highlight the plight of low-paid Bangladeshi workers forced to work in dangerous conditions for the profit of big multinationals and shoppers in first world countries who want $2 shirts.
You are to investigate what happened at Rana Plaza and identify the ethical issues involved. Explain whether these issues are particularly difficult or unique to multinational companies (MNCs).
Part B (1,500 words, 20 marks)
Continuing with the Rana Plaza case, investigate what has happened since for the people of Bangladesh, and whether the MNCs associated with Rana have done more to recognise and act upon their ethical obligations.
You should also look at how social media has placed pressure upon these MNCs through activism and stakeholder pressure. Does social media continue to play a positive role for the workers of Bangladesh, or is it only interested in a quick -Twitter moment-?
Some articles to get you started.
ABC News: The Rana factory collapse
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-04-24/australian-clothing-retailers-yet-to-sign-factory-safety-accord/5408028
The Guardian.com: 10 things that have changed since the factory collapse
http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/bangladesh-factory-collapse-10-things-changed
There are a lot of newspaper articles out there, and you might find some academic articles appearing as well related to this subject -emerging ethical issues-
Required
Each part of this assessment item will require a report not exceeding 1,500 words (in the report body). As both parts refer to the same company, you may combine these reports, with one executive summary, one introduction, a main body in two parts (3,000 words), one conclusion and one reference list.
Make sure that each part is clearly identified using appropriate headings.
Each part will require a high level of critical analysis and good writing skills. It is recommended that all students make full use of tutorial activities to familiarise themselves with the required analysis skills.
Report writing
A report should include the sections outlined below and in the exact order:
Executive summary
This is an overall summary of the entire report and should:
• Introduce the topic of your report
• Indicate the main subjects (major findings) examined in the discussion section of your report
• State your conclusions
• State your recommendations
• Be on a separate page
Table of contents
This is an ordered list of the different sections and subsections of your report. It must include numbered section headings and subheadings, with their relevant pages. This indicates to your reader where various sections of your discussion can be found. The Table of contents should also be on a separate page.
Introduction (this page starts as number 1)
The introduction should generally include three key types of information:
• Background: This section sets the context for the report and provides the (brief) background information required for the reader to understand the report. For example, it may briefly outline the issue faced by the organisation. Tell the reader something about the history/origin of the report. When was it requested? Why is it important? Who was involved and how?
• Aims/objectives: This tells the reader what the aims/objectives of the report are. It indicates what key questions the report is trying to answer and what it is trying to achieve. Why was it written?
• Scope: Tell the reader exactly what areas/ideas are covered in the report. This also helps to explain how the report is organised. Look at your plan and consider your headings and sub-headings.
Discussion and analysis
This section is where information relevant to the topic is presented. It is similar to the 'body' section of an essay. It must be fully referenced throughout, using various resources to support ideas. It should be organised logically, using topic headings, subheadings and minor subheadings to break it into sections and sub-sections based on the ideas being discussed. All headings must be numbered sequentially. Length of a discussion is approximately 60% of total word count.
Conclusion
The purpose of the conclusion is to provide a summary of the major findings. It effectively attempts to answer the key questions posed in the introduction. When writing a conclusion it may be useful to consider the following:
• No new information should be introduced
• What has been learnt or proved from doing this research?
• On the basis of the research, what conclusions can be drawn?
• Consider the key questions and objectives set out in the introduction – what are the answers/conclusions you came to?
• Consider each of the key sections of your report – what was the main point made in each section?
Recommendations
Often when writing a report specific recommendations for future actions are requested. These can be included as a separate section after the conclusion or even as a part of the conclusion (using a sub-heading). Recommendations should state what actions should be implemented based on the findings of the report. You may list these in bullet points or small paragraphs.
Reference list
This list includes the full publication details of all books, articles, websites and other sources referred to in the report. The referencing style is Harvard. Access recent relevant peer reviewed academic journal articles, academic references (books, book chapters and international peer reviewed academic journal articles) to use in your discussion.
First draft
Specifically, the purposes of the first draft are:
• To formalise the structure of the assignment.
• To ensure that there is continuity between the various sections of the report.
• To state your ideas or case as clearly as possible.
Style, grammar, spelling and presentation are of only minor importance at this stage. These aspects are an important part of the final product because a person reading your report will expect a clear, well-written piece of work, but at this stage you are not writing for your reader. You are writing for yourself – to get your ideas down on paper in a structured form. For that reason, you should write as fast as you can - let your thoughts flow freely. Do not be restricted by considerations such as correct expression, choosing the right word or spelling. They can be considered when you do your second draft.
Revision of draft
Revision is successful when a thorough, systematic approach is used. One systematic way to ensure that your revision is thorough and that you produce a better document is to tackle the task of redrafting as several discrete tasks, rather than as one large one where you work through the document from beginning to end.
Move from the general to the specific. Your first revision should address the more general questions such as structure and coverage of material. Subsequent revisions would consider more specific areas such as language and spelling. Moving from the specific to the general would be counter-productive. There is little point in correcting spelling and improving the grammar of the material that may later be considered redundant or which has to be reworded for use in a different context. In the final editing stage, the emphasis is on producing a correct piece of work. Inadequate proofreading can produce a report that is difficult to read. Reading the report assignment aloud or having someone else read it are effective ways of finding errors.
Revise the document several times, on each occasion looking at different aspects. Ask yourself the following questions:
• Does the report answer the question adequately?
• Does it cover all the essential material?
• Does the report have a clear, logical structure?
• Are each of its parts clearly linked to one another?
• Does the report contain any irrelevant or redundant material?
• Does each paragraph have a clear purpose within its section?
• Are the introduction and conclusion effective?
• Is the language clear, direct and unambiguous?
• Are there any spelling or punctuation errors?
• Is referencing correct (in the body and reference list)?
• Has the report adhered to the stipulated word length?