Assignment Brief

Assignment 2 Business behaviour and the market environment
 
Learning Outcomes  
LO.2 – Understand the nature of the national environment in which businesses operate

LO.3 – Understand the behaviour of organizations in their market environment 2.1 – explain how economic systems attempt to allocate resources effectively
2.2 – assess the impact of fiscal and monetary policy on business organizations and their activities
2.3 – evaluate the impact of competition policy and other regulatory mechanisms on the activities of a selected organization

3.1 – explain how market structures determine the pricing and output decisions of businesses
3.2 – illustrate the way in which market forces shape organizational responses using a range of examples
3.3 – judge how the business and cultural environments shape the behaviour of a selected organization

 
Grading Descriptors  
M2 – select/ design/ and apply appropriate methods/ techniques Student has used a wide range of sources of information for the project to answer the set tasks, complex information/data has been synthesized and processed and is communicated appropriately and accurately to the reader by the given deadline.  
M3 – present and communicate appropriate findings Communication by the student has taken place in familiar and unfamiliar contexts, the student has used a wide variety of sources which are referenced correctly communicating new concepts and information.  
D2 – Take responsibility for managing and organizing activities Student has managed the activities required by the brief and completed the assignment on time. Student has also demonstrated autonomy/independence in locating and utilizing resources to assist in the completion of the tasks.  
D3 – demonstrate convergent/ lateral/ creative thinking Student has demonstrated effective thinking in response to this assignment, rising to the challenges of unfamiliar contexts and completing the tasks comprehensively and accurately.  

 
Summary of Tasks  

Rationale
In our working lives we will often be given responsibility for managing substantial projects and then reporting back with our findings. These challenges task us with researching correctly and efficiently, managing our time and taking responsibility for the success of our work.

Situation
We live in an ever changing world but businesses try to forecast for the future in order to make business decisions. You have been approached by a company which makes competition bicycles. Like all companies they have been affected by the current economic climate. Therefore they have approached you, a consultant, to produce  a report illustrating what are the possible economic impacts on the company for the upcoming year.

Task 1
Your first task is to go to the following website and work through the activities concerning supply and demand.

http://www.bized.co.uk/educators/16-19/economics/markets/activity/demandsupply.htm

(LO.2.1)
Once you have worked through the exercises, please proceed to the green box at the end and try and make predictions for the different goods. You can check your answers at the bottom of the page. Once you have done that, you are asked for the report to make a prediction/explanation of what would happen for the supply and demand of bicycles if next summer is:

1 – hot and sunny
2 – wet and cold

(LO.2.2)
Following on from this you are required to investigate the current fiscal and monetary policy of the UK government and assess the impact this has on the bicycle company. The following link has been provided to you to assist you in this. Once you have done this, provide an example of what would happen if fiscal or monetary policy were to change.

http://www.bized.co.uk/virtual/bank/itnsearch/fiscal%20policy%20startmonth%3AJan%20startyear%3A1997%20endmonth%3ASep%20endyear%3A2012

(LO.2.3)
Finally, you are asked to report back on the government legislation which the company has to adhere to – such as competition policy and other regulatory mechanisms. You must explain what the company has to adhere to and predict the impact of compliance on the bicycle company.

Task 2
Christmas time despite being often wet and cold in Great Britain is traditionally one of the period of year with the highest sales for the company. Therefore the company has requested you to investigate the retail market
last Christmas (2012) and explain the following so that they can think about their strategy for 2013:

1 – Overall, was Christmas demand for consumer items up or down. What were the reasons for this? (LO.3.1)
2 – How did consumer outlets respond to the economic situation of Great Britain? Was it effective? (LO.3.2)
3 – Were conditions in the UK the same as elsewhere? Illustrate your answer with the conditions in at least one other country. (LO.3.3)
4 – Did retail outlets in the foreign countries utilize different strategies to cater for their domestic market? Please illustrate some of the differences and reasons behind this. (LO.3.3)

To assist you in this, you should consult British newspapers for reports on the retail conditions. For comparison with another country, all original source material must be in English – therefore English language newspapers.

The report should follow a standard business report format. All answers must be supported with evidence in the form of examples from interviews or other examples/statistics.

 
Required Work and Format  

All word processed work must be 12 point font, double spaced and include a signed and correctly completed assignment coversheet. All sources of information must be referenced correct using the Harvard Referencing system, see Cite Them Right for details. There is no word limit for this report.

The report must be submitted as a pdf file to Moodle by the given deadline.

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