BUSN3910 Assignment 3: 2022-2023

BUSN3910 Assignment 3 Briefing

Module Name Business Organisations, Issues and Skills

Module Code BUSN3910
Assignment 3 Business Issues Report
Type of Assignment/Weighting Individual Report (60%)
Word Count 1800 words. There is a 10% buffer so you can write up to a
maximum of 1980 words. You can write less (1620 words)
but it’s likely that if you do you will not cover the content
sufficiently. Contents page, title page and reference list are
excluded from the word count.
Issue Date 10 October 2022 (week 11)
Submission Date Wednesday 18th January 2023
12 noon (week 25)
Date of Feedback to Students 3 weeks from submission (excludes winter vacation period).
Students will be emailed when marks are available and
notified if there is any delay to the return of marks.
Where feedback can be found Online feedback will be given in feedback studio.

THE REPORT TASK

Businesses are faced with a multitude of challenges and need to be aware of influences and
changes in their external environment, so they can identify and respond to opportunities
and threats. With this in mind, the report task is to:

“Discuss and analyse the influence of two issues in the external macro environment that
you think could present opportunities, or pose threats, for firms in an industry of your
choosing.” When discussing these issues consider how aspects of a firm’s immediate
microenvironment (i.e. consumers, competitors, suppliers, stakeholders) might influence
how they navigate these issues. For example, what are key players doing regarding the
issue; what is the response/pressure from stakeholders such as consumers?

GUIDANCE FOR STUDENTS

The Aim of the Report

The assignment will assess your ability to discuss and analyse evidence to formulate clear
and well-reasoned arguments. To help formulate clear arguments you will need to use
credible online and academic sources (such as journal articles and textbooks) to support
your discussion and explanations. You should also use company examples to help support
and illustrate the points you are making for each chosen issue. These examples are most
likely to be found in the credible online news media or industry reports.
BUSN3910 Assignment 3: 2022-2023

Identifying Issues to Discuss

A range of potential issues (i.e. important topics/trends/developments for discussion) will

be introduced in the lecture in weeks 12-19. These lectures will introduce broad elements of
the macro environment that you could consider (as specified in the PESTEL or ESTEMPLE
frameworks) as well as a range of potential issues that you could discuss under each of
these elements such as sustainability, ecological and environmental concerns, technological
developments and digitalisation, societal changes and innovation. When considering which
issues to analyse be specific. For example, rather than just saying technological factors are
important, you need to provide a specific example of a technological issue (e.g. rise of social
media) that is relevant.

Structuring Your Report

Report format requires the use of numbered headings and sub headings. Guidance will be
given on how to format and structure the report in the seminars in week 17. However to set
general expectations please be aware that the report should contain a title page and a
contents page. It should also contain the following four sections, which should be
numbered:

1. Introduction: Introduce the report task. As part of this you will introduce your
chosen industry and highlight some key issues and challenges that firms operating in
this industry needs to be aware of and manage.
2. The main body of the report: This will analyse the key issues in the external
environment that you have chosen to discuss. At the start of the section briefly
summarise which key issues you are focusing on and why, as well as which PESTEL
element the issues fall under. When discussing your chosen issues you must put
forward a clear argument of why you think they are important (i.e. why they should
be on a firm’s agenda) and how they might create opportunities or pose threats.
Don’t call this section ‘the main body’, instead use a context specific title. It is
important that in this section you illustrate and support your arguments with
references and specific examples.
3. Conclusion: A short conclusion should be drawn from your discussion in the main
discursive section of the report to summarise the key points made.
4. Reference list
 This must include full references for all sources cited in the report. You must
use Harvard Style referencing for in text citations and the reference list.
 Think about the credibility of the sources you use to support your arguments.
You will probably cite several online sources as many of the issues you are
discussing are likely to be topical and media based. However, you should also
seek to investigate academic sources for information. For example, journals
such as the Harvard Business Review often discuss issues such as innovation,
technology and sustainability from a managerial and practitioner perspective.
BUSN3910 Assignment 3: 2022-2023

Assignment Marking Criteria

KBS UNDERGRADUATE CATEGORICAL MARKING CRITERIA

READING & UNDERSTANDING, ANALYSIS ORGANISATION AND

CLASS MARK
KNOWLEDGE AND ARGUMENT PRESENTATION
Very full and perceptive
awareness of subject matter,
with original critical and
analytical assessment of the Very well structured piece of
issues and excellent grasp of work demonstrated by an
Very extensive reading
their wider significance. excellent arrangement &
HIGH FIRST  and exceptionally
Combines a comprehensive development of material &
85+   100 comprehensive
understanding of theoretical argument.
95 knowledge which
issues and empirical application. Excellent English and
85 indicates a high level of
Clear evidence of a high level of meticulous presentation,
‘Exceptional’ independent
originality and independent immaculate referencing and
background research.
thought along with an ability to extensive list of references.
defend a position logically and Observes the word limit.
convincingly with arguments
presented that are sophisticated
and challenging.
Full and perceptive awareness
of issues, demonstrating an
appreciation of all major points Well-structured piece of work
and a clear grasp of their wider with very careful thought given
Wide reading and significance. to arrangement and
comprehensive Clear evidence of independent development of material and
FIRST   78
knowledge of the thought, ability to defend a argument.
75
subject matter which position logically and Excellent English with
‘Excellent’ 72
goes beyond the course convincingly. At the higher end, appropriate referencing and
material and lectures. can make linkages between comprehensive list of
theoretical issues and empirical references.
application and also Observes the word limit.
demonstrates some originality
and flair.
A comprehensive argument
demonstrating a sound
awareness of issues and a
Well-organised answer with a
Very good range of serious understanding of their
clear structure which facilitates
UPPER reading and good wider significance.
68 the development of material
SECOND  knowledge which Evidence of careful thought with
65 and argument. 
comprehensively covers a well-developed argument.
62 Very good English with
‘Very Good’  course material and Use of theories, concepts and
appropriate referencing
may go beyond this. research findings which are
Observes the word limit.
largely precise although there
may be factual errors or
inaccuracies.
LOWER 58 Fair range of reading A satisfactory response to the Good effort to organise the
SECOND   55 and reasonable question. material and argument.
52 knowledge of It demonstrates some grasp of Adequate English with
course material theory and its relation to reasonable referencing.
‘Good’ empirical data but less Adequate observation of the
awareness of issues and their word limit.
wider significance.
It is largely accurate but may
contain more than minor errors
such as incorrect facts or errors
of omission.
There may be some attempt at
serious argument but this is not
BUSN3910 Assignment 3: 2022-2023

fully developed.
Content may appear correct but
lacks originality and clarity of
though for an above average
grade.
Structure is weak and there is a
limited effort
Awareness of issues and of their
to organise material and
THIRD   wider significance but at a basic
48 Some reading but with argument.
level. 
45 incomplete knowledge Satisfactory English but may
Largely descriptive with some
42 of course material. contain some errors.
‘Satisfactory’ errors and omissions.
Limited referencing
Limited argument.
May not observe the word
limit.
‘Pass’ 40
Limited awareness of issues and
Structure is largely absent
Limited reading with of their wider significance and
indicating very little effort put
evident gaps in contains a small amount of
FAIL   38 into organising material.
knowledge. acceptable and relevant
35 Significant errors in English and
Lack of familiarity with information.
‘Limited’ 32 poor referencing
course material is Clearly deficient answer which
Does not observe the word
evident. contains substantial errors,
limit.
omissions or irrelevancies.
Lacks familiarity with the
Very limited level of Assignment lacks structure and
subject, demonstrating very
LOW FAIL  25 reading and failure to there is a clear absence
poor awareness of issues and of
<30   20 demonstrate competent of organisation of material.
their wider significance.
‘Very 10 knowledge. Substantial errors in English,
Competent understanding is
Limited’ 0 Knowledge of course poor or absent referencing,
absent and assignment
material is absent. word limit ignored.
is characterised by confusion.
 BUSN3910 Assignment 3: 2022-2023

Avoiding plagiarism

What is plagiarism?
Plagiarism is a form of academic misconduct. Plagiarism may be committed in a number of ways,
including:
 Copying another person's work or ideas. This includes copying from other students and
from published or unpublished material such as books, internet sources, paper mills,
computer code, designs or similar
 Submitting previously submitted or assessed work of your own without attribution
 Submitting work solicited from (or written by) others
 Failing to adequately reference your sources

Plagiarism and duplication of material, as defined below, are cited in the regulations as
examples of breaches of General Regulation V.3:
 Plagiarism: Reproducing in any work submitted for assessment or review (for example,
examination answers, essays, project reports, dissertations or theses) any material derived
from work authored by another without clearly acknowledging the source
 Duplication of material: Reproducing in any submitted work any substantial amount of
material used by that student in other work for assessment, either at this University or
elsewhere, without acknowledging that such work has been so submitted

What are the penalties for plagiarism and duplication of material?

The penalties can be severe. They include marks of zero for individual coursework and de-
registration from university for serious or repeat offences. Additionally, offences may be noted in
your student record.
For more information on plagiarism (and referencing) please see the KBS Student Handbook and
the universities policy on academic discipline (Annex 10 of the Credit Framework) which can be
found at:
http://www.kent.ac.uk/teaching/qa/credit-framework/creditinfoannex10.html

Therefore it is vital that you ensure all assignments are your own work and follow good
academic practice, including the correct academic referencing.

Advice on avoiding plagiarism and the University’s guide to academic integrity, plagiarism and
Turnitin, the plagiarism detection software used by the University, can be found at:
http://www.kent.ac.uk/uelt/ai/students/
http://www.kent.ac.uk/uelt/ai/students/avoidingplagiarism.html

Illness or other mitigating circumstances

All students have a responsibility to manage their learning, revision and assessment activities
throughout the duration of each term. Unfortunately illnesses and difficult and distressing events
are a normal part of life and students are expected to manage these and continue with their work
and study.However, there may be times when illness or other misfortune cause exceptional
interference with academic performance over and above the normal difficulties experienced in
life. If you are experiencing personal factors which are impacting on your academic studies –
please refer to the
KBS Student Support Moodle site for comprehensive information relating to the school’s
concessionary procedures.
BUSN3910 Assignment 3: 2022-2023