Assignment 2: Additional Information

Assignment 2 is worth 40% of the overall marks. This individual assignment is therefore an important piece of work. It is an opportunity to demonstrate your understanding of the link between International Business theory and practice. Briefly you are required to identify, review, analyse and critique the relevance of the international business action(s) of an organisation of your choice.

The assignment involves research within the context of existing knowledge. You may use secondary data to provide a logically structured argument. While there will be significant reporting of facts in this assignment, mere reporting will be insufficient. I will look for evidence of critical review and analysis. You are expected to identify an appropriate concept/model/theory from the recommended textbook or other acknowledged sources to explain the relevance of the International Business action.

Assignment Focus:
You are required to identify, review, analyse and critique International Business Practice of a real organization of your choice.

You should utilise your knowledge of international business to undertake an analysis of the ‘reported practice or action’ of a real organisation. You may choose an organisation from the local environment or from overseas. Business press is full of reports about different aspects of international business actions implemented by local and global organisations.

Your first step should be to choose a recently reported event (from past one year) in the business world that highlights a significant international business action. It is recommended that you look for business developments from credible business publications such as The Wall Street Journal, Business Week, The Economist, Fortune, and Forbes. Major newspapers can also be used to identify the event.

The next step should be to analyse the relevance of the reported actions. You should be able to justify or refute the actions based on the theory and models of international business. It is essential that you are able to assess if the reported actions are “theoretically sound and justified”? The discussion section should clearly articulate how the reported event/action makes sense in the context of concepts/theories/models discussed in this unit. You should also provide an explanation of the relevant concepts/theories/models used in your critique.

The assignment components should include (1) an introduction including additional background information on the action/event and other stakeholders that may be involved, (2) explanation of the relevant concepts/theories/models, including in-depth detail from academic sources (3) critique of the reported action/event to discuss how the event/news relates to or can be explained by one or more concepts from IB knowledge. You should provide details of how the discussed event/news is logically explained by of one or more concepts covered in this unit. To this end you should also discuss these concept(s) in detail. This will involve you to identify, explore additional sources such as
academic journal articles or book chapters that are related to the concepts you discuss. (4) Reference list – Provide a proper reference list with the references quoted in your paper at the end of the report. It is essential that you provide the full citation details of each reference

Assignment Format

Your assignment should not exceed 2500 words, typed at least 1.5 or double space, preferably using Arial point 12 type face. You can attach appendices to the report to provide coverage of information that, because of the report length constraint, could not be included in the main report.

The source of all materials included in the report should be accurately referenced using Harvard referencing format (which is known as the Harvard System).

Make sure you provide details of the reported action or practice.

Assessment Criteria:

You must make an effort to use multiple sources of information in preparing your assignment. These sources may include- articles from refereed journals (the most important source), electronic database, newspapers, and in some cases (where feasible and desirable) interviews with key stakeholders. Assignments will be assessed based on demonstrated conceptual understanding, evidence of wide reading and research, appropriate editing and consistent use of referencing.

Your assignment will be assessed on multiple dimensions including conforming with instructions (e.g., word lengths, reference list, formatting etc.); an ability to utilise appropriate academic theories and models that can provide a framework to explain the reported event; ability to develop and present an effective argument; ability to utilise sources such as the Internet and University library facilities to search, locate and summarise relevant information and data to develop and present your argument; an ability to critically analyse information, formulate conclusions and exhibit original thought; and clarity of expression (including accuracy, spelling, grammar, punctuation).