Learning Outcome(s) Assessed:

Understand the fundamental components of the business environment and the internal and external drivers for change implicit to it;
Identify competing interests among stakeholders and understand the implications of those competing interests.
Description of Assignment: Target length: 1,500 words

Task:

Find a multinational organisation of your choice and describe and evaluate the changing business environment of this company using appropriate theories, models and relevant examples.

Requirements

This 1,500 words assignment is to be typed in an essay format.  You are only allowed 10% more or 10% of the expected word count.  The structure should include:

Expected Format of the Essay

Introduction:

In this section I would expect the best students to:

Discuss what we mean by The Business Environment
Consider why an understanding of The Business Environment is important
Explain any relevant theories/models in relation to the wider topic of the business environment.
Signpost the structure of the document, including a brief overview of the company they have chosen
Main Body:

In this section I would expect students to discuss the challenges/changes that the organisation they have chosen had to deal with.  A clear analysis should be provided in relation to what was the change, what was the impact it had on the organisation and how did they deal with it. If students can relate those changes to any of the models discussed in class, for example PESTEL, then even better.

The main purpose for performing this secondary research is to allow students to practically see the impact that changes in the business environment can have on business organisations. That way they can understand that such changes can be  positive or negative, direct or indirect. 

Conclusions:

This section should summarise the main points of the previous section, drawing everything together.

List of References:

References need to be provided in an alphabetical order.

You must do your own work and avoid plagiarising at all cost. Plagiarism is a serious academic crime and all plagiarized work will be awarded a zero mark.  Please ensure that every part you have read from a book or an official website, and intend to use in your essay, is paraphrased and in text references provided accurately using Harvard Referencing System.

Grading Criteria (What constitutes a good delivery in the essay):

Criteria

Ratings

Depth of analysis/critical thinking

Excellent 4.0 pts

Good 3.0 pts

Adequate 2.0 pts

Inadequate 1.0 pts

Fail

Application of models/theories/concepts/frameworks

Excellent 4.0 pts

Good 3.0 pts

Adequate 2.0 pts

Inadequate 1.0 pts

Fail

Introduction and Conclusions

Excellent 4.0 pts

Good 3.0 pts

Adequate 2.0 pts

Inadequate 1.0 pts

Fail

Use of practical business examples

Excellent 4.0 pts

Good 3.0 pts

Adequate 2.0 pts

Inadequate 1.0 pts

Fail

Expected structure of report

Excellent 4.0 pts

Good 3.0 pts

Adequate 2.0 pts

Inadequate 1.0 pts

Fail

Good use of English language

Excellent 4.0 pts

Good 3.0 pts

Adequate 2.0 pts

Inadequate 1.0 pts

Fail