Unit Number and title Unit 1 : Business Environment Qualification Pearson BTEC Level 4 HNC in Business Start Date Deadline Assessor Amirtesh Pratap Singh Student Assignment Covering Form Course/Unit Information Course Pearson (Edexcel) BTEC Level 5 Higher National Diploma Unit No. Unit 1 Unit Name Business Environment Batch HND12015 Instructor Information Name Mr. Amritesh Pratap Singh Phone Skype Email [email protected] Assignment Information Full/ Part Assignment Full Date Assignment Issued 2nd January 2015 Date Assignment Due 29th January 2015 Student Information (To be filled by the student prior submitting the assignment) Name Email Date of Submission 29th January, 2015 Student Assignment covering form is an integral part of the assignment document and should be submitted along with all submissions. Student Declaration I, _____________________ hereby confirm that this assignment is my own work and not copied or plagiarized. It has not previously been submitted as part of any assessment for this qualification. All the sources, from which information has been obtained for this assignment, have been referenced as per Harvard Referencing format. I further confirm that I have read and understood the Atlas Group of Institutions rules and regulations about plagiarism and copying and agree to be bound by them. Students Signature : (signed) Student Name : Date : General Guidelines (Please read the instructions carefully) 1. The Assignment cover sheet should be filled in compulsorily while submitting the assignment. 2. All Assignments should be submitted as per the prescribed format which can be a Chart Paper, Word file, PPT presentation, Audio Clippings etc. as a soft copy or a hard copy respectively. 3. The word documents and power point presentations should be properly formatted and should follow Arial 12 Font Size for the texts black in colour, Arial 14 Font Size for Headings black in colour. 4. Every answer should have the heading of relevant task with Pass or Merit or Distinction criteria it is addressing to. 5. The written communication skills will have relevance in awarding grades to your assignment. 6. Any Assignment not meeting the deadline shall be considered under RESUBMISSION criteria, except those cases where the relevant assessor has been informed about extenuating circumstances for being unable to the assignment on time. 7. The evidence required is the most important part of preparing the assignment, one should adhere to the requirement of producing relevant evidence for each Task in the Assignment. 8. The learners will be provided with only one attempt to submit the assignment else they shall be considered under RESUBMISSION criteria. 9. The learners will not be provided with any formative feedback to ensure that INDEPENDENT WORK has been done by the learner without any help. 10. Learners should understand the policy of plagiarism and ensure the worth of following Harvard Referencing System with in-text citation and bibliography or references to be given at the end compulsorily. 11. Anyone falling short of 75% of attendance will not be provided with the assignment and has to RETAKE the entire UNIT. In addition to the above PASS criteria, this assignment gives you the opportunity to submit evidence in order to achieve the following MERIT and DISTINCTION grades Grade Descriptor Indicative characteristic/s Contextualisation M1 Identify and apply strategies to find appropriate solutions An effective approach to study and research has been applied To achieve M1, you have to show through your work that an effective approach to study and research has been applied. M2 Select / design and apply appropriate methods / techniques A range of sources of information has been used To achieve M2, you will have to use a range of information in your work. Strict adherence to Harvard Referencing System is mandatory. M3 Present and communicate appropriate findings The appropriate structure and approach has been used To achieve M3 you have to demonstrate through your work that an appropriate structure and approach has been used while doing your research. The work you present will use appropriate structure and approach and also will use business terminology accurately. D1 Use critical reflection to evaluate own work and justify valid conclusions Conclusions have been arrived at through synthesis of ideas and have been justified To achieve D1 you will have drawn conclusions through synthesis of ideas which have been justified. D2 Take responsibility for managing and organising activities Activities have been managed To achieve D2 you will have demonstrated that all the activities have been managed. You will have demonstrated an effective approach to independent research and study and done logical analysis of different analytical approaches. You also should have submitted all your assignment tasks by the given due date and time. D3 Demonstrate convergent /lateral / creative thinking Problems have been solved To achieve D3 you will have to demonstrate excellent lateral thinking in an unfamiliar context. Assignment Title Business Environment Analysis Purpose of this Assignment : The unit Assignment aim is to provide learners with an understanding of different organization, the influence of stakeholders and the relationship between businesses and the local, national and global environments. Scenario : UAE has seen a storm economic development drive in the country since past few years, which has given a lot of opportunities to people living in the country, expats and businessmen from all different parts of the world. Though the opportunities are thriving extensively in the country still it has given some jolts of competition to the bigger players of the market .seeing this situation one of the European conglomerate dealing in retail FMCG, Construction and many other business lines has appointed you on a new designation of competitor analyst created out of discussion with HR team of the conglomerate to find out the Nitti gritty of competition in the UAE market with through analysis of factors related to the business environment in the country. Task 1: (LO1 : 1.1,1.2,1.3,M2,D2) Visit one of the prospective areas of business activities in UAE choosing one of the Emirates of your choice and develop a proper descriptive report, classifying and identifying some of the major businesses with their ownership structures. Develop a portfolio in consideration to a description of various activities undertaken by a business out of above mentioned business for meeting their stakeholders expectation and provide a justification with an explanation about what (responsibilities) and how (strategies) a business of your choice is meeting commitments towards communities, consumers and employees related to their business. In order to achieve M2 you must device effective research methods to gather the information from relevant sources. Sources like internet, questionnaire, live interviews and journals .Additionally be reasonable towards your choice of research methods for completing the task and the method should be evident enough to support the research work. In order to achieve D2 make sure that the research activities have been managed properly. The activities of research work should be presented in an organized format to showcase the time line of all research activities which should also reflect the autonomous work and well defined schedule of entire research work. Scenario CHINA a Command Economy: - Clearly, compared to the capitalist democracies, there are pros and cons to the way China's government and economy are run. But all I know is highly simplistic media stereotypes - China's system is better for governmental decision making, better for infrastructure development; but worse for individual freedoms. It would be nice to get a detailed and nuanced view. Compared to, say, a similarly "developing" economy like India, Brazil, and South Africa how is China's system better, and in what areas is it worse? China's political system is not founded on civil liberty, equality under law and rule of law. China is ruled by a group of people not elected by anyone. Such a system can result in bad political decisions (example cultural revolution) and good political decisions (example capitalism within communism). On balance, a nation depends on the wisdom of a small coterie of people. This has the advantage of speed and consistency in direction and the disadvantage of a direction that is not in the best interest of most people. The greatest weakness of China's political tradition is the failure to develop strong institutions outside the political centre, whether that is the Emperor or the Communist Party. Indeed, China has traditionally been hostile to institutions that it does not control. Religion is under State control and even small non-government organisations or associations are just tolerated and subjected to monitoring. (When Beijing holds major political meetings, even harmless group activities are liable to be interfered with.) UK a Mixed Economy: - A mixed economy is an economic system that incorporates aspects of more than one economic system. This usually means an economy that contains both privately-owned and state-owned enterprises or that combines elements of capitalism and socialism, or a mix of market economy and planned economy characteristics. This system overcomes the disadvantages of both the market and planned economic systems. Features Resources are owned both by the government as well as private individuals. i.e. co-existence of both public sector and private sector. Market forces prevail but are closely monitored by the government. Advantages: State provides the essential services Private sector encouraged for profits Competition keeps prices low Consumer choice Inefficient business behavior controlled Disadvantages: Heavy taxes reduce incentives to work hard or make profits Less efficient than private sector Excessive control over business activity can add costs and discourage enterprise Kazakhstan a Transition economy: A transition economy is one that is changing from central planning to free markets. Since the collapse of communism in the late 1980s, countries of the former Soviet Union, and its satellite states, including Poland, Hungary, and Bulgaria, sought to embrace market capitalism and abandon central planning. However, most of these transition economies have faced severe short-term difficulties, and longer-term constraints on development. The problems of transition economies include: 1. Rising unemployment 2. Rising inflation 3. Lack of entrepreneurship and skills 4. Corruption 5. Lack of infrastructure 6. Lack of sophisticated legal system 7. Moral hazard 8. Inequality The very nature of all these three type of economies differ in many ways and the policies governing them differ as well. The monetary policy running a mixed economy cannot be fit for running a command economy. Similarly, a fiscal policy can be very impactful in command economy but could have detrimental results in transition economies. The role of competition policy is also very vital as competition puts businesses under constant pressure to offer the best possible range of goods at the best possible prices, because if they don't, consumers have the choice to buy elsewhere. In a free market, business should be a competitive game with consumers as the beneficiaries. the Industrial policies are very instrumental as they provide plan of a country, sometimes shortened IP, is its official strategic effort to encourage the development and growth of the manufacturing sector of the economy Task 1 (AC: 2.1, 2.2, M1) *explain how economic systems attempt to allocate resources effectively. *assess the impact of fiscal and monetary policy on business organizations and their activities. * (AC: 2.1) Draw different examples of activities conducted by the government surrounding the business scenario in a country following a particular economic system, especially related to one of the resources of management. For an example, the men as a resource has been regulated by the North Korean government, the government restricts the flow of expats from many countries to come and work in North Korea. Most of the resources of Men, Money, Method, Machinery and Material are regulated by the North Korean government and almost nothing is allowed to be regulated or owned by the citizens of the country. (AC: 2.2) Further to extend your research dig a bit more in your choice of economy and find out the fiscal policies and monetary policies designed by the government of the economy to support the business organizations and their activities. Exemplary, the support of central bank in UAE in form of AED 50 Billion loan facility could be given to the subordinate banks to boost the lending power and ultimately increasing the flow of currency in the market, in turn it increases the buying activity in the market. Often banks decrease their interest rates with permission from the Cabinet, again to increase the buying habit among the citizens. To its contrary, the banks often increase the interest rate to discourage the buying habit of the citizens as it is done to curb the increasing inflation in the market. The other important factor to observe is fiscal policy structure, that how government plans to control the business scenario in the country. The fiscal policy decided the tax structure which is levied on the corporates or any profit making organization in the country. The tax structures are often combustive and substantial to kill margins of many business men, but at the same point of time the tax money collected is injected back into the economy for making the infrastructure better to do business. (AC: 2.3) In the selected economy of your choice you must include some of the elements of Competition policy in that economy. In European Union the scope of competition policy extends to: • Ensure discouragement of cartels formation or any unfair arrangements to consider all business equal. • Abuse of dominant position: where a major player tries to squeeze competitors out of the market. In accordance to competition policies also analyze the industrial policies of that economy of your choice. Also find out the industrial policies developed to support the betterment of manufacturing industries in the economy of your choice. (M3, Present and communicate appropriate strategies: coherent, logical development of concepts for the intended audience) To achieve the M3 criteria, prepare a power point presentation covering the findings under every criteria mentioned above. The power point presentation should cover the appropriate findings and shall depict that a coherent study has been done. Your power point presentation can be used for presentation purpose to BTEC level 2 & 3 learners, so it has to be made appropriately for the intended audience and shall be self-explanatory. (D1, Use critical reflection to evaluate own work and justify valid conclusions: conclusions have been arrived at through synthesis of ideas and have been justified) Further to achieve D1, a conclusion should be drawn showing the synthesis of your ideas and justification to declare that which of the economic system provides best national environment in which business operates. Scenario Telecommunications in the United Arab Emirates is under the control and supervision of the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) which was established under UAE Federal Law by Decree No. 3 of 2003. From 1976 to 2006 the Emirates Telecommunications Corporation (Etisalat) was the sole telephone and telecommunications provider for the UAE and while there were exceptions for free zones and modern housing developments, for the majority of the UAE, Etisalat held a monopoly on business and personal telecommunications services. In February 2006 this monopoly became a duopoly when a new telephone company and Internet Service Provider, du was established to offer mobile services across the UAE and Internet and TV services to some free zone areas. Earlier du provided triple play services to free zone areas under the name Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (EITC), which is still its legal name. The market types determine the nature of market and somewhat regulate the market in a set direction, in a sense it good to have control over the market but at the same point of time it limits the options in the front of customers for buying various goods & services. The market structure generates certain forces which regulate the organizational responses. Like, least options available with customers often make their purchase decisions monotonous and delayed. More option while shopping sets moods for customers to buy and try new products or services. The price cues of 999/- instead of 1000/- also triggers the buying decision of customers and letting them indulge in some kind of buying activities. The monopolistic market structures often compels the foreign organizations to form joint ventures with local organizations to do business. Similarly, PESTEL factors affect the business from different aspects and creates the business environment around the industries and companies in a country. Task 1 (AC: 3.1, 3.2, 3.3) *explain how market structures determine the pricing and output decisions of businesses. *illustrate the way in which market forces shape organizational responses using a range of examples. *judge how the businesses and cultural environments shape the behaviour of a selected organization (AC: 3.1) Try and find out different incidences in UAE, where in the market structure would have determined the pricing and output decisions of businesses working in and around UAE. For an instance in UAE, the monarchy decides the market structure and the same structure determines the price and output decisions of businesses. (AC: 3.2) List certain examples and discuss how exactly organizations change their way of operations to deal with the market forces in a market of your choice. As we know that a market is formed by people living in it and their peculiar behaviour and perception instigate organizations to take various steps to satisfy the customers. In fact the competitive era has made it quite evitable for companies to fight for dealing in the best way to tackle the market forces. Try and figure out these examples related to recent behaviour showed by these organizations to deal with the demand and supply in a market. (AC: 3.3) The cultures differ from country to country and in many countries the way of behaving in public and advertising is a political issue. So, an organization has to keep in mind the various factors revolving around the business environment of an organization which can hinder its smooth functioning. Often it is mandatory for organization to follow certain structures in accordance to religious laws in the country. Keeping especially the cultural factors in mind judge how the cultural environment and business shape the behaviour of an organization. (M1, Identify and apply strategies to find appropriate solutions: effective judgments have been made) To achieve M1 make sure that effective judgments have been made in the different phases of the assignment. To do so, include the examples drawn on general knowledge and life experiences only. Scenario What is EU The EU is a unique economic and political partnership between 28 European countries that together cover much of the continent. The EU was created in the aftermath of the Second World War. The first steps were to foster economic cooperation: the idea being that countries who trade with one another become economically interdependent and so more likely to avoid conflict. The result was the European Economic Community (EEC), created in 1958, and initially increasing economic cooperation between six countries: Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. Since then, a huge single market has been created and continues to develop towards its full potential. What is GCC The Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (Arabic: مجلس التعاون لدول الخليج العربية‎), originally (and still colloquially) known as the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC, مجلس التعاون الخليجي), is a regional intergovernmental political and economic union consisting of all Arab states of the Persian Gulf, except for Iraq. Its member states are Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. Amidst the Bahraini uprising, Saudi Arabia and the UAE sent ground troops to Bahrain in order to quell Bahraini protests. Kuwait and Oman refrained from sending troops. In December 2011, Saudi Arabia proposed that the GCC form a confederation. Objections have been raised against the proposal by the other countries. There have been discussions regarding the future membership of Jordan, Morocco, and Yemen. Task 1 (AC: 4.1, 4.2, 4.3) *Discuss the significance of international trade to UAE business organizations *analyze the impact of global factors on UAE business organizations *evaluate the impact of policies of the GCC on UAE business organizations. (AC: 4.1) UAE is one of the biggest re-export port of the world and almost everything travelling from East to West or West to East is consolidated at UAE ports. Seeing this as an international trade opportunity discuss the significance of international trade in terms of doing business in UAE. (AC: 4.2) There are various factors working globally which impacts the business organizations, sometimes organizations are challenged through global politics, media regulations in global media coverage scenario, global trade control initiatives and many more to count. Considering these aspects in mind, analyze and present some instances where in the steps would have been taken by the government to help organizations deal with the impact of global factors affecting business organizations. (AC: 4.3) Considering various policies in GCC related to business, employment & labour, education policies etc. evaluate the impact of these policies on overall business scenario in GCC. D3 To achieve the D3 criteria your work should reflect that an effective thinking has taken place in unfamiliar contexts. The achieve the same and reflect your work show be in form of a power point presentation with following aspects covered in your assignment:- • Observations. From a series of observations, we can come to establish: • Facts. From a series of facts, or from an absence of fact, we make: • Opinions. Taking our opinions, we use the principles of logic to develop: Evidence Checklist Type of Evidence Required Evidence Presented Task 1 Portfolio of with primary and secondary research work properly document to support the findings to prepare the assignments. Task 2 Power point presentation covering aspects of government taking steps to improve business in an economy, monetary policies, fiscal policies, competition policy and Industrial policies. Task 3 Power point presentation related to UAE market structures, organizations dealing with market forces. Cultural factors affecting businesses in any economy. Task 4 Power point presentation on international trade in respect to UAE economy, global factors affecting business in UAE and various policies related to education, labour and business. Achievement Feedback Summary Name of the Assessor Mr. Amritesh Pratap Singh Learning Outcomes Assessment Criteria (AC) Criteria Achieved (Tick Mark ) Assessor Feedback AC Met/Grade Descriptor Achieved LO 1 Understand the relationship between organisational structure and culture 1.1 compare and contrast different organisational structures and culture AC met/ M3 1.2 explain how the relationship between an organisation's structure and culture can impact on the performance of the business AC met/M3 1.3 discuss the factors which influence individual behaviour at work AC met/ M3 LO 2 Understand different approaches to management and leadership 2.1 compare the effectiveness of different leadership styles in different organisations AC met/D1 2.2 explain how organisational theory underpins the practice of management AC met/M3 2.3 evaluate the different approaches to management used by different organisations AC met/M3 LO 3 Understand ways of using motivational theories in organisations 3.1 discuss the impact that different leadership styles may have on motivation in organisations in periods of change AC met/ M3 3.2 compare the application of different motivational theories within the workplace AC met/M3 AC met/M2 3.3 evaluate the usefulness of a motivation theory for managers LO 4 Understand mechanisms for developing effective teamwork in organisations 4.1 explain the nature of groups and group behaviour within organisations 4.2 discuss factors that may promote or inhibit the development of effective teamwork in organisations AC met/ M3 4.3 evaluate the impact of technology on team functioning within a given organization AC met/M3 Higher Grade Achievements (where applicable) Grade Descriptor Achieved ? (Tick ) Grade Descriptor Achieved? (Tick ) M1: Identify and apply strategies to find appropriate solutions D1: Use critical reflection to evaluate own work and justify valid conclusions M2: Select / design and apply appropriate methods / techniques D2: Take responsibility for managing and organising activities M3: Present and communicate appropriate findings D3: Demonstrate convergent /lateral / creative thinking Over All Result/Grade Date Result/ Grade Tasks 1 Date Result/ Grade Tasks 2 Date Result/ Grade Tasks 3 Date Result/ Grade Task 4 Date Note: The learners can find the feedback for their assignments in the 'Achievement Feedback Summary'. The elaborated comments shall be provided in the feedback form attached with the assessment. The grades issued to the learners are subjected to change as per the final verification report of the external verifier appointed by the awarding body Pearson (Edexcel). The dates of external verification are decided by the awarding body in accordance with the institute, all learners are expected to make their presence count upon the visit of external verifier. Due Date: The date of submission is final and non-negotiable.