Higher Nationals

AssignmentBrief – BTEC (RQF)

HigherNationalDiplomain Business

StudentName ID
UnitNumberandTitle Unit 1 Business and The Business Environment

AcademicYear 2019/2020 Cohort April 20 Term 1

UnitLeader Assessor Rajini Chandrashekar
AssignmentTitle Macro Environmental Influence
IssueDate 27/04/20
SubmissionStartDate (Formative) 15/06/20
Submission Summative 27/06/20
IV Name Alfred Agyeman
IV Date 25/04/2020

Learners Declaration: I certify that the work submitted for this unit is my own and the research sources are fully
acknowledged.

Learners Name: Date:

Plea e co he abo e and in e in o o a ignmen f on age.

Academic Misconduct:

A ac f Acade c M c d c be e dea h acc d g he C ege a d a ad g

b d e eg a .

Academic misconduct includes, but is not limited to, the following: Verbatim (word for word) quotation
without clear acknowledgement, cutting and pasting from the Internet without clear acknowledgement,
collusion, inaccurate citation and failure to acknowledge assistance.

P ag a e e g e e a . I c de c g f a d ec from the
web or books without referencing the material; submitting joint coursework as an individual effort; copying
a he de c e ; ea g c e f a he de a d b g a
work.

Suspected plagiarism, and any other cases of suspected academic misconduct, will be investigated and if
found to have occurred will be dealt with according to the College procedure. (For further details please
refer to 5o.i the Academic Misconduct Policy and Procedure; 5o.ii Academic Misconduct Student Guide;
Academic Good Practice Handbook, all available on HELP.)
 SubmissionFormat:
Assignment Guidelines:

The submission must be in the specific format(s) as specified in the assignment brief instructions. This could
be a variety of formats such as report, essay, presentation, poster etc.

The assignment must be submitted in a MS Word© format, or equivalent.

A PDF submission will be classed as a Non-Submission

Use a standard report or essay structure (if specified), word-process the report and use a normal script of
font size 10 to 11. Line spacing 1.5. Pages should be numbered and include a Table of Contents where
appropriate.

The overall word limit of 3,000 to 3,500 words is recommended, although you will not be penalised for
exceeding the word count.

Complete the title page and sign the statement of authenticity (see above). These details should be included
in the front page of your assignment.

All work should be comprehensively referenced and all sources must be fully acknowledged, such as books
and journals, websites (include the date of visit), etc.

Include a References/Bibliography at the end of the assignment. Use the Harvard referencing system.

In order to Pass you need to address all pass criteria.

In order to get a Merit you need to address all the merit criteria along with pass criteria.

In order to get a Distinction you need to address all the distinction criteria along with pass and merit criteria.

Use a common structure in writing, for example:

Introduction (analyse the question.)

Underpinning Knowledge (write about the relevant theory/points)

Applied knowledge (Application to a business scenario and supported by applicable data)

Conclusions and Recommendations (summarizing the whole scenario keeping in view pass, merit,
distinction criteria.)

Where you are required to select an organisation please ensure you use your selected organisation(s) to provide
context and application of knowledge wherever required. Information about your organisation must be supported by
actual evidence with in-text citations and references for the sources of information. General statements that could
apply to any organisation should be avoided.

Resubmission
A resubmission opportunity Is available to any student that has a referral or did not submit in the first submission
period. When resubmitting changes made to the assignment should reflect feedback received. The entire assignment
should be uploaded and not just referred sections/tasks. If referred on 2nd submission this may lead to retaking the
assignment with full attendance and payment of course fees.

Please ensure you are familiar with the learning outcomes and their criteria that must be met in order to achieve
a Pass, Merit or Distinction grade. See table below.
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 UnitLearningOutcomes:

LO1 Explain the different types, size and scope of organisations

LO2 Demonstrate the interrelationship of the various functions within an organisation and how they link to
organisational structure

LO3 Use contemporary examples to demonstrate both the positive and negative influence/impact the
macro environment has on business operations.

LO4 Determine the internal strengths and weaknesses of specific businesses and explain their
interrelationship with external macro factors.
AssignmentBriefandGuidance:

You are interning at a company of your choice, as such your supervisor has asked you to put together a
report examining the macro environment that the business operates in. The report is divided into two
parts.
Part One
Within your report you are required to provide a critical analysis of the complexities of different types of
business structures and the interrelationships of the different organisational functions.

The report must include An explanation of the different types and Purposes, (P1)Size, Scope, and the
Legal Structuresof organisations(P2) in the Public, Private and Voluntary sectors.

An Analysis of how the structure, size and scope of different organisations link to the business objectives
and product and services offered by the organisation as well as an Analysis of the advantages and
disadvantages of interrelationships between organisational functions and the impact that can have upon
organisational structure (P3)can be conducted to enhance the quality of the report.(MERITS AND
DISTINCTIONS

Part Two
In the second part of the report, you will explore the relationships that organisations have with their various
stakeholders and how the wider external environments influence and shape business decision-making.
To explore the relationships that organisations have with their various stakeholders and how the wider
external environments influence and shape business decision-making, you are required to Critically Evaluate
the impacts that both macro and micro factors have upon business objectives and decision-making.

The findings of your report must Identify the positive and negative impacts the macro environment has
upon business operations, supported by specific examples.(P4) Additionally, you must Conductan internal
and external analysis of specific organisations in order to identify strengths and weaknesses(P5) and must
Explain how strengths and weaknesses interrelate with external macro factors. (P6)
An appropriate Application of the PESTLE Model to support a detailed analysis of the macro environment
within an organisation and an Application of aSWOT/TOWS analysis to justify how they influence decision-
making will enhance your understanding of the macro environment. (Merits/distinction)

*Please access HN Global for additional resources support and reading for this unit. For further guidance and
support on report writing please refer to the Study Skills Unit on HN Global (www.highernationals.com)

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The module will be assessed and graded against the Pass, Merit and Distinction criteria as specified in the
assessment grid below issued by the awarding body, Pearson Edexcel.

Learning Outcomes and Assessment Criteria

Pass
LO1 Explain the different types, size and scope of organisations
P1 Explain different types and
purposes of organisations; public,
private and voluntary sectors and
legal structures.
P2 Explain the size and scope of a
range of different types of
organisations.
Merit
M1 Analyse how the
structure, size and scope
of different organisations
link to the business
objectives and product
and services offered by
The organisation.
Distinction
LO1 & 2
D1 Provide a critical analysis of the
complexities of different types of
business structures and the
interrelationships of the different
organisational functions.

LO2 Demonstrate the interrelationship of the various functions

within an organisation and how they link to organisational structure
P3 Explain the relationship M2 Analyse the advantages and
between different organisational disadvantages of
functions and how they link to interrelationships between
organisational objectives and organisational functions and the
structure. impact that can have upon
organisational structure.

LO3 Use contemporary examples to demonstrate both the positive LO3 & 4
and negative influence/impact the macro environment has on D2 Critically evaluate the impacts
business operations that both macro and micro factors
P4 Identify the positive and M3 Apply appropriately the have upon business objectives and
negative impacts the macro PESTLE model to support a decision-making.
environment has upon business detailed analysis of the macro
operations, supported by specific environment within an
examples. organisation.
LO4 Determine the internal strengths and weaknesses of specific
businesses and explain their interrelationship with external macro
factors
P5 Conduct internal and external M4 Apply appropriately
analysis of specific organisations SWOT/TOWS analysis and justify
in order to identify strengths and how they influence decision-
weaknesses. making.
P6 Explain how strengths and
weaknesses interrelate with
external macro factors.

Sources of Information Textbooks

1. BARON, P. (2012) Business and its Environment. 7th Ed. London: Prentice Hall.
2. PALMER, A. and HARTLEY, B. (2011) The Business Environment. 7th Ed. Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill.

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 3. WEATHERLEY, P. (Editor) and OTTER, D. (Editor) (2014) The Business Environment: Themes and Issues
in a Globalised World. 3rd Ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
4. WORTHINGTON, I. and BRITTON. C. (2014) The Business Environment. 7th Ed. Harlow Pearson. 5.
Jewell B – An Integrated Approach to Business Studies (Longman, 2000) ISBN 0582405424
6. Palmer and Hartley – The Business Environment (McGraw-Hill, 2006) ISBN 0077109902
7. Worthington and Britton – The Business Environment (Financial Times/Prentice Hall, 2006) ISBN
0273704249

Websites
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/charity-types
https://www.gov.uk/set-up-business
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/companies-house
www.phillipallan.co.uk– Phillip Allan Publishers -Journal Business Review Magazine

Please access HN Global for additional resources support and reading for this unit. For further guidance
and support on report writing please refer to the Study Skills Unit on HN Global.
Link to www.highernationals.com

Command Verbs
Below is a list of some of the Command Verbs that you will see in internal assessments. Different command verbs will
ask for different types of information.

Please note that sometimes command verbs may be used across the range of criteria. For example you may be asked
to provide an analysis or an evaluation for a Pass criteria.

These are common command verbs for Pass Criteria

List - Write a list of the main items (not sentences)

State – Point out the main features

Define - To state the meaning of something using the correct terms

Demonstrate - Show that you can do a particular activity or skill

Identify – Give all the basic facts which relate to a topic

Describe – Give reasons for the points you are marking so that the marker knows how you arrived at that
conclusion

Summarise - Write down briefly the main points or essential features

These are common command verb for Merit Criteria

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 Discuss - To present an argument for and against

Explain - Give logical reasons to support your view

Describe - Give a full description including details of all the relevant features

Suggest - Give your own ideas and thoughts

Justify - Give reasons for the points you are marking so that the marker knows

Analyse - Identify the factors that apply, and state how these are linked and how each of them relates to the
topic

Demonstrate - Prove you can carry out a more complex activity

These are common command verbs for Distinction Criteria

Assess - Evaluate in terms of advantages and disadvantages

Analyse - Identify the factors that apply, and state how these are linked and how each of them relates to the
topic

Recommend - Suggest changes or improvements

Evaluate - Break the information into components, examine factors methodically and in detail and bring
together all of your information and make a judgement on the importance

Select & Demonstrate - Select several relevant examples or pieces of related evidence which clearly support
the arguments you are making. This may include showing particular practical skills

Review - Consider each factor in turn providing a description and explanation of their uses, strength and
weakness, making recommendations

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