Unit M/617/1145      Business Environment

 Level 4    15 Credits

 Business Environment Sample Assignment Question and Answers

 You have gained an internship with the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), an organisation that supports UK businesses through its London office and a network of regional offices. You are working in a regional office in an area of high unemployment and the CBI has been approached to offer a series of lectures and seminars to support business development in the area.  Some of the lectures and seminars will be aimed at those wishing to set up businesses; others will be aimed at established businesses, which may benefit from a more ‘global’ outlook.

 

You have been given the following tasks:

 

Task 1

You are to produce an informal talk/workshop for people who are considering setting up their own business.

Prepare a presentation about the purposes of business organisations with supporting notes. Use hand-outs to provide detailed information which you can distribute to your delegates. Your presentation and supporting notes and / or handouts must:

 

• Explain the different types of organisations and discuss their purposes.
• Analyse responsibilities of organisations.

 

LO1 AC 1.1, 1.2, 1.3

Merit Task

To achieve a Merit, your presentation and supporting materials must also analyse the extent to which a specific organisation meets its stated purposes.  You may select an organisation where you have worked or one that you will research.

LO1 1M1

Task 2

One of the seminars will focus on the structure of organisations.  You are in charge of this seminar.

• You will start by writing a discussion paper on the different organisational structures. This will be the first part of a handout package to be delivered to the participants. In the paper you must evaluate the different types of organisational structures.
• Secondly, you must prepare short case studies to be distributed to each of the five tables at the seminar. Each case study should explain the functions of different departments in organisational structures and their inter relationship.
• Thirdly, you should write an article for the delegate handout pack evaluating the influence of global factors on organisational structures.

LO2 AC 2.1, 2.2, 2.3

Distinction Task

To achieve a Distinction, your handout package must include assessment of the organisational structure of a selected existing organisation. The critical assessment should identify areas for improvement, either with regards to specific structural elements or to their inter relationships.

LO2 2D1

Task 3

A day’s conference and networking opportunity has been set up for local business leaders who may be interested in government support and local partnerships.

You have been asked to project manage the event and have arranged for experienced local business leaders, as well as local government representatives to present specific workshops.

You are required to prepare a written paper which will be sent to the local business leaders before the event and discussed during the conference.  Your written paper needs to:

 

• analyse the impact of supply and demand on the prices of goods and services in markets
• analyse possible planned interventions in the market place and their impact on organisations

Merit Task

To achieve a Merit, your paper must include an assessment of the response of a selected organisation to changes in its market.

LO3 3M1

Task 4

You must provide a leaflet which will help participants in the lectures and seminars pursue their business ideas.

 

The leaflet should be titled ‘The nature of the national environment in which organisations operate’.

 You must ensure that the sections in the leaflet include:

• An explanation of the importance of national entrepreneurship strategy.
• An explanation of the role of monetary and fiscal policy and the possible impact on organisations and their activities.
• An evaluation of the impact of competition policy and other regulatory mechanisms on the activities of a specific organisation

 

LO4: AC 4.1, 4.2, 4.3

Distinction Task

To achieve a Distinction, your leaflet must include a case study which compares and contrasts the benefits and challenges to a specific business operating in different economic environments.

LO4 4D1

 

Guidelines for assessors

Work submitted by learners must achieve the learning outcomes and meet the standards specified by the assessment criteria for the unit. To achieve a merit or distinction grade, the learners must demonstrate that they have achieved all the criteria set for these grades. Where work for the pass standard is marginal, assessors can take account of any extension work completed by the learners. The suggested evidence listed below is how learners can demonstrate that they have met the required standards.

 

Task number LOs and AC
Suggested evidence  PASS Suggested additional evidence MERIT
Suggested additional evidence DISTINCTION
1.
1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1M1,
AC 1.1, 1.2 and 1.3

The learner must produce a presentation and supporting notes and / or handouts that are appropriate for the audience given.

In the explanation learners need to describe relevant information on the types of organisations in detail including a range of examples.  The purposes of the organisations should be discussed so there is clear understanding.

AC 1.3:  The explanation of the differing responsibilities of organisations should be broad ranging and clear.
1M1:  When completing 1M1, the learner needs to identify a specific organisation, provide evidence and make judgements and reasoned conclusions on how it meets its stated purpose.

2
2.1, 2.3, 2.3, 2D1,
AC 2.1, 2.2, 2.3

The learner must produce seminar handout material which is divided into sections in line with the guide provided in the assignment.

AC 2.1:  The learner must demonstrate appropriate understanding of different types of organisational structures, clearly evaluating their efficient use and the respective challenges.

Examples should be given for each, demonstrating the reasons for the suitability of the specific organisational structure.

AC 2.2: The learner must select five departments within an organisation. The functions of each of these should be clearly explained and the learner work must fully explain the inter-relationships which exist and how the different departments need to function in order to meet the needs of the business.

AC 2.3:  The article required for this task should be appropriately structured.  The evaluation of global factors should focus on how these factors impact on structure of organisations.  The evaluation should be balanced and lead to reasoned judgements.

2D1: For the distinction task the learner needs to demonstrate higher analytical skills when assessing organisational structure of a specific business. The learner should identify strengths as well as areas for improvement.

3
3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3M1,
AC 3.1, 3.2 and 3.3

The learner needs to prepare a written paper which will be sent to the local business leaders before the event and discussed during the conference.

AC 3.1:  The learner needs to analyse the impact of supply and demand on the prices of goods and services in markets. A range of practical examples would enhance the learner work and the learner could include diagrams to illustrate the points which are made.

AC 3.2:  The written paper produced for this task must show that the learner is able to analyse possible planned interventions in the market place considering different interventions in detail and the impact they make.  The learner may wish to include diagrams to illustrate the points which are made.

3M1:  For the merit task, a comprehensive assessment needs to be prepared on a selected organisation, evaluating the company’s response to certain market changes. The change may be for example a local governmental intervention, global economic change etc.

4
4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4D1,
AC 4.1, 4.2 and 4.3

The learner needs to prepare a leaflet on the nature of the national environment.

AC 4.1:  The learner needs to explain the concept and significance of national entrepreneurship strategy, indicating how it can contribute to the success of enterprises.

AC 4.2:  The leaflet must clearly explain the fiscal and monetary policies. The learner will then be able to clearly assess their impacts. There must be a reasoned assessment of the impact of fiscal and monetary policies with examples of specified business organisations.

AC 4.3:  The evaluation of competition and regulatory mechanisms should focus on how different policies impact on the activities of a selected organisation.  The evaluation must consider the evidence from different views leading to conclusions.

4D1:  For the distinction task, the learner needs to state the name of a specific business which operates in different economic environments.   The economic environments should be identified. There needs to be a comprehensive assessment of the benefits and challenges posed to the organisation.