1 Assignment Objective
You are required to write a report for either a real or a hypothetical company in an industry of your choice (for example – motor, entertainment, computer technology etc) that is considering investing in an African country of your choice.
The report will form a PEST analysis of your chosen country, with reference to your chosen industry.
The aim of the report is to be an advisory resource for the business. The report needs to describe (because the business does not know anything about the country) and analyse (to say how the described points are relevant to their business activity).
For example: you choose the mining industry and you choose Zambia. You must then write a report for a mining company which is considering entering that market (not one that is there already) and describe to them thespecific environmental issues that affect the mining industry and explain how they affect the mining industry in Zambia.
In sum: you are writing a report which will detail the impact of factors in the external environment on a real or hypothetical company in a specific industry. This report will help the company to choose a business strategy in their new market.
This will require you to conduct considerable independent research – so make use of the guide to the Library and online resources at City University on the course home-page.
2 Assignment Details
2 Assignment Details
· This assignment is worth 50% of your overall mark. It is a portfolio of work that you will complete throughout the term with a final submission date at the end of term (week beginning 27th of June 2016 ). In total it will be between 1900 – 2200 words.
· The assignment gives you the opportunity to research the topics covered each week and apply them to real situations (this is the best way to learn!).
· The assignment effectively will be a PEST analysis of an individual business that you will choose – we will cover what PEST is as we go through the term
· Case studies (posted on the VLE throughout the term) will also provide guidance on what topics you need to research. You must read the case studies.
· You will find information on the businesses that you are studying on the internet (google search etc) and on City University (or Westminster University) databases. You will need access to these resources. You all have been given City University cards. It is your responsibility to ensure that they are working.
· Tutors will monitor your progress on the History tab and we will have regular meetings to discuss your progress. Everybody should contribute to uploading material to the wiki. One person should not be the designated person for uploading.
· Tutors will be reviewing all sources (academic/internet) that you use for this project. Falsification is considered academic misconduct. If you provide information, you must provide a valid source. This source must be visible to the tutor and the tutor, at their discretion, must be satisfied that you have accessed that source.
· This page will be used as your guide throughout the term.This page will be updated with the topics that need to be researched for your report.
3 Assignment Rules
The following are rules that must be followed in the interest of fairness for everybody taking the FC009 module.
· Students must choose their own group, however,students may choose to do the project individually if they prefer.
· Group sizes can be 2, 3 or 4 people. 4 is the maximum – NO exceptions
· Group members must come from within your seminar group – NO exceptions.
· If you cannot find a group from within your seminar group, then you MUST do the assignment alone.
· It is very important that each member of the group contributes to the project in an equal way.
· You must choose your groups in Week 2 of the course – week beginning 09.05.2016.
· The report will be done in a wiki format, which will be made available on the VLE once you have chosen your groups, at the beginning of Week 3 of the course.
· As responsible students/adults, it is 100% your responisiblity to resolve any and all issues/disputes that occur among your group – as a last resort this may include each individual member submitting an individual report.
· The tutor takes no responsibility for choosing groups or resolving any disputes among any member of the group – this is in the interest of fairness. You must learn to manage the group yourself.
· Every student will receive the same grade regardless of how much they contribute. It is up to the group members to ensure that everybody contributes equally and fairly. You must set your own standards.
· If you are worried that others will not work as well as you, you are free to do the project alone. However – you will not be allowed to change groups after Week 2. Please note: no extra marks for doing the project alone!
· You are required to submit a section most weeks throughout the term (see scheme of work). You will receive feedback on your work in written or verbal form from your tutor so that you can improve.
· If you do not submit work on time or submit work that is copied entirely from one source, you will lose marks!
· The report will be marked when all 6 sections have been complete.
4 Structure of the Report
· The wiki must contain six individual pages.
· You are required to write an Introduction paragraph at the start – 250/300 words.
· There will be 4 main content paragraphs – one each for Political, Economic, Social and Technologicalfactors.As a guide, each of the four paragraphs should be 350/400 words.
· You must describe, using these headings, the factors of the business environment in that country that impact upon your industry of choice.
· You should have three points (referenced) on each of those topics.
· You must analyse the three points in terms of how they help or hinder business in that country for the specific industry that you have chosen. You must provide a reason or rationale for your analysis.
· You should have at least 3 different references for each of the paragraphs (a minimum of 12 references for the 4 paragraphs).
· Every reference that you use must be hyperlinked to the document. If you cannot hyperlink, then you must provide a PDF copy of everything else. If you use books, you must photocopy the page, highlight the parts you use and send a scanned copy along with your work.
· You are also required to write a Conclusion paragraph at the end – 250/300 words
· In total, your assignment will be between 1900 – 2200 words.