LB160 Professional Communication Skills for Business Studies

Mid-Term Assessment
Student's Full Name: _____________________________________
Student's ID: __________________________
Tutor's Name: __________________________________________
Section Number: ______________________________
EXAM COMPONENTS, GRADES AND TIME YOU ARE ADVISED TO SPEND ON
EACH SECTION:
SECTION
MINUTES
TOTAL POINTS
EARNED POINTS*
PART I: DEFINITIONS
10
5
PART II: SHORT
40
12
ANSWER QUESTIONS
PART III: ESSAY

70

13

QUESTIONS
TOTAL

120

30

TUTOR REMARKS *
Tutor's comments: _____________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________

* To be filled by tutor.
PART I

DEFINITIONS

A. Briefly explain only 3 of the following features of a case study: (3 points)

1. Summarise: write about the main points of the information available on a subject and
not the details.
2. Assess: make comments about the value/importance of the
concepts and ideas under discussion.
3. Language is it formal or informal, personal or impersonal
4. Low level information: Its information consisting of particular examples and details.
B. For each of the expressions below on the left column, circle the expression on the
right column that is similar in meaning. Then, fill in the blanks with the appropriate
expression from the left column. (2 points)
Vendors
Sourcing
Ethical
values
Vetting

a. Buyers
Flexibilities
a. Manufacturing
Monitoring
a. Framework
Global reach
a. Producing
Inspecting

b. Inspectors

c. Suppliers

b. Obtaining

c. Vetting

b. Production quality
b. Owning

c. Code of conduct
c. Controlling

d.
d.
d.
d.

Despite having what they claim is a global reach, Gap do not own or operate any factories for
the manufacture of garments. In 2002 their clothing was produced in around 3000 factories in
over 50 countries. They claim that sourcing our product with a variety of vendors gives greater
flexibility when fashion dictates the use of different fabrics, techniques or expertise(Beyond the
Label fact sheet from Gap.com). This international network of manufacturers is controlled via
rigorous processes of prior vetting and monitoring against company standards. Some of these
standards relate to quality assurance and production engineering- ensuring that a manufacturer
meets the required quality standards and has the capacity to accept a particular order- while
others relate to Gaps corporate ethical values. The framework for this is set out in a Code of
Vendor conduct which Gap first produced in the early 1990s in response to criticisms of sweat
shop labour conditions amongst some of its vendors.
(RB1, p.138)

PART II
SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS
A. Below is an extract of a case study. Identify the 6 features of a case study that best describe
this extract. (3 points)
Overall, the US airlines industry is in a terrible financial state. Last year alone, operators
lost about $ 8bn on top of the more than $7bn they lost in 2001. The six biggest carriersAmerican, United, Delta Airlines, Northwest Airlines, Continental and US Airlines- have
all suffered badly.

Southwest Airlines was the only significant carrier that did not cut back operations last
year and its profitability, amid a sea of losses, has earned it a stock market value bigger
than all its rivals combined.
RB1, Extract 1.4, p.6

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Content: Industry
Organisation: story
Language: Formal/impersonal
Writer: Lecturer/journalist
Reader: Student/ public
Purpose: Education/ Information

B. From the below essay introduction, write down in the blank column words which
contribute to a good introduction. (4 points)
Explain why Nike is the biggest training shoe company in the world.
For a company to be regarded as the biggest in its business sector, it has to be successful.
Nike is certainly a story of success. From its humble origins in the early 1970s to a 43%
market share in the USA in 2005, the successes of Nike has been built on two strategies:
marketing and innovation. This essay will examine how the marketing strategy and the
company mission to bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world (Nike
website, 2005) have made the company into a leading brand throughout the world.
B2, Extract C, p. 21

Words that contribute to a good Examples

introduction
Words which link back to the
Biggest= successful, leading brand
title
Words which identify the key
concepts in the essay

Success
Two strategies: marketing and innovation

Words which state the central

argument of the essay

This essay will examine how the marketing strategy

and the company mission to bring inspiration and
innovation to every athlete in the world (Nike website,
2005) have made the company into a leading brand
throughout the world.
Words which say how the
There are no specific words about the essay
essay will be organized
organization although the sentence which states the
central argument gives a good idea about the
organization of the essay.
C. Read the extract carefully and apply the problem-solution pattern of analysis to it. (5
points)
From Competition to Collaboration
Competition in the Scottish electronics industry for skilled technicians
is famously intense and in the early 1990s recruitment problems were
3

getting out of hand. We were basically poaching from each other and
pushing salaries up. It was becoming a vicious circle, says Morag
McKelvie, a personnel manager at NEC semiconductors.
The idea then that managers from competing companies would start
working together to solve the skills shortage would have seemed
incredible, she says. Russell Pryde, manager of .one of Scotlands
local enterprise councils, agrees. I dont think they would have sat in
the same room together.
But in a striking turnaround, a number of competitors have embarked
on an unprecedented degree of cooperation on training over the past
two years. Yesterday, their innovative approach was recognized when
.they received a special training award from the Institute of
Personnel and Development at the National Training Awards, organized
by the Department for Education and Employment.
RB1, Text4.1, p. 55

a) What is the starting situation?

Competition in the Scottish electronics industry for skilled technicians
is famously intense and in the early 1990s recruitment problems were
getting out of hand.
b) What is the problem?
Competing companies were basically poaching from each other and
pushing salaries up.
c) What is the underlying cause of the problem?
Skills shortage
d) What solution has been proposed?
A number of competitors have embarked on an unprecedented degree
of cooperation on training over the past two years.
e) How successful is the solution?
They received a special training award from the Institute of Personnel
and Development at
the National Training Awards, organized by the
Department for Education and Employment.

PART III

ESSAY QUESTIONS

A. Carry out a SWOT analysis on the following business extract

1. Fill chart A to identify each of the factors (2 points)
4

2. Use the information in Chart A to write a 150 word essay (5 points)

The Sweet Dreams Motel Far North Queensland
The Sweet Dreams Motel is a 40-unit, no-frills operation in the less scenic part of a major Queensland resort town.
The owner, Mr. Smith, firmly believes that there is a need for his style of low-cost family accommodation amid the
luxury and beauty of the area. His rooms are large, family-style rooms (there is no television, for example).
Although there is plenty of room for future expansion, the grounds are fairly bare with a bit of landscaping, but
mostly grass.
Mr. Smith can serve breakfast to the rooms and provides tea-making facilities. There are now a lot of good
restaurants and take-aways in the area. Mr. Smiths prices are less than half of what similar motels charge and only
a fraction of what the big five-star properties are charging. And, really, he isnt all that far away from the beach,
shops and other attractions.
The problem is occupancy. He has some regulars who come every holiday period (and have been doing so for the
four years he has owned the property). Overall, occupancy is about 50% year round and he knows from the local
tourist office that the other properties average around 68% occupancy year round. New developments could mean
trouble. This lack of occupancy can be quite frustrating for Mr. Smith. Cars pull in, drive around the parking areas,
then drive away.
Currently Mr. Smith does very little advertising in local district guides and the holiday papers, mainly because he
really thinks word-of-mouth is the best form of advertising. He is a member of the local tourist committee, but too
busy to go to meetings. However, he does receive the local statistics and knows the average stay in the area is 3.8
nights, and that local families and couples and increasingly overseas visitors are his potential customers.
Hes not desperate yet, but hes getting worried and disillusioned. He thought he would be overrun with guests, but
that hasnt happened.
(Source: www.alacartetraining.com)

Chart A (2 points)
Strengths

Weaknesses

Opportunities

Threats

PART B
Choose 1 or 2
1. Carry out a STEP analysis outlining the main factors in the external environment
influencing the mobile phone market in your country.
5

OR
2. Name and briefly explain the four main characteristics that tutors look for in a
successful essay.