As part of the final assessment, you must write an essay on one of the issues listed below. It should be no longer than 2,000 words. References are not included in the word limit. You can have one additional page as an appendix.
It is due on 18th December 2018 and it should be submitted via moodle.
When preparing your essay, you should make use of the skills that you have learned in the critical thinking module. You are also expected to do additional research on the topic. Chapter 12 of the Critical Thinking book by Chatfield would be useful in helping you craft the essay. Please read the scenario carefully and pay close attention to the list of expectations from the board of MyTaxi.
Scenario
The board of MyTaxi are going to meet and spend two days reflecting about the longer-term future of their business. They have identified six mega-trends that they think will have a big impact on their business in the coming years. These issues are automation, the gig economy, new forms of energy, changing role of women, mega-cities and the rise of nationalism. The chair of the board has asked you to prepare a short essay on any one of these mega-trends. It should be no longer than 2,000 words.
Specifically, the board is interested in the following:
1. Introduce your chosen mega-trend
2. Discuss both pros and cons of the mega-trend to develop your recommendations
3. Make action recommendations. The board expects you to be clear in making recommendations about what MyTaxi should do considering the developments associated with your chosen mega-trend
4. Provide logical basis for recommendations. Your recommendations should be well-argued based on empirical evidence, research, and/or logical deductions.
5. The board expects that you will present persuasive arguments, avoid biases, and explain some of the limitations of your arguments.
When you asked for some more details about each of the six issues, you received the following information:
1. Automation. We are interested in understanding what impact automation, algorithmic technologies, and robots will have on our business. In particular, we want to know what is likely to be the impact of self-driving cars on our business and how we might prepare ourselves to deal with these changes.
2. Gig economy. We are interested in how less secure and flexible forms of employment impact our business. In particular, we would like to understand how conditions of work might change in our sector and what that means for how we engage with drivers.
3. New forms of energy. We want to know what impact changes in energy will have on our business. In particular, we are interested in the accelerating shift from petrol to electricity as the major source of energy used by our drivers. What impact will this have on our business and how could we prepare for it?
4. Changing role of women. We want to know what the changing role of women in the economy means for our business. In particular, we are interested in understanding what a shift from a majority male fleet of drivers to a more gender balanced fleet of drivers will mean for our business and how can we prepare?
5. Mega-cities. We want to know what impact the rapid growth of mega-cities particularly in developing countries will have on our business. We are specifically interested in what business opportunities and challenges this will create for us and how we might prepare for them.
6. Rise of nationalism. We want to know what the growth of nationalist sentiment though-out Europe (and beyond) will mean for our business. What impact is this likely to have on availability of drivers and customers as well as regulators for instance in terms of expansion. What does this mean for our business and how do we prepare for this?
