TASK 1 (1250 Words):
“Creativity concerns the use of imaginative thought, leading to new ways of seeing things and may result in innovative solutions to a problem or the initiation of a change. Technology is often used in the process of creativity and creating”. Kelly, P. & Ashwin, A. (2013).
1. Assess the impacts of innovation and technology and how it has affected the sales, profits and growth of one of the following companies. (45 marks)
a. Royal Mail PLC b. Lloyds Bank PLC c. Glencore PLC d. Kainos PLC e. Avast PLC
2. Presentation, referencing and grammar (5 marks)
Total (50 marks)
ASSESSMENT CRITERIA • Knowledge and understanding of technological innovation. • Understanding of the relationships between innovation and economic development. • Abilities to appreciate the role of technological change in economic progress. • Identify the financial and ICT issues for key business functions.
POINTS TO CONSIDER:
1. Demonstrate your understanding of innovation, and the role of technological change in economic progress. 2. A brief overview of your chosen company, and practical illustrations of how innovation has impacted the sales, profits and growth of your chosen company.
READING LIST 1. Morrison, J. (2017) The Global Business Environment, (4th edition), Palgrave. 2. Needle, D. (2015) Business in Context, An Introduction to Business and Its Environment, (6th edition), Cengage Learning. 3. Boddy. D. (2016) Management An Introduction, (7th edition), Pearson Press. 4. Please visit the web site of your chosen company for its annual report and other necessary information. In addition to the recommended textbooks and the website of your chosen organisation, you are expected to read other textbooks and journals for your research.
TASK 2 (1250 Words):
“Corporate governance involves a set of relationships between a company’s management, its board, its shareholders and other stakeholders. Corporate governance also provides the structure through which the objectives of the company are set, and the means of achieving those objectives and monitoring performance are determined” OECD (2004)
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) can be defined as where a business attempts to meet certain ethical, legal and commercial expectations as set by society. As a business goal, corporate social responsibility has grown in importance over recent years.
Using the same organisation chosen for Task 1:
3. Evaluate the importance of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) for the organisation (20 Marks)
4. Apply Archie Carroll’s (1991) CSR model to the organisation (25 Marks)
5. Presentation, grammar and referencing (5 marks)
Total (50 marks)
ASSESSMENT CRITERIA • Knowledge and understanding of corporate governance. • Abilities to appraise and recognise use of corporate governance and ethics within a business context. • Understanding of the importance of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) • Understanding of a CSR model (Archie Carroll’s model) and its practical applications.
POINTS TO CONSIDER
1. You must briefly discuss corporate governance, including the responsibilities of the Board of Directors to the stakeholders. 2. Explain the four areas that make up corporate social responsibility as identified by Archie Carroll. (1991). Apply this model to your chosen company. Please give relevant practical examples to demonstrate your understanding of this model.
Total 50 marks
READING LIST 1. Morrison, J. (2017) The Global Business Environment, (4th edition), Palgrave. 2. Needle, D. (2015) Business in Context, An Introduction to Business and Its Environment, (6th edition), Cengage Learning. 3. Boddy, D. (2016) Management An Introduction, (7th edition), Pearson Press. 4. Please visit the web site of your chosen company for its annual report and other necessary information.
In addition to the recommended textbook, you are expected to read other textbooks and journals for your research. Further Details: • This assignment must be completed individually as a management report, following the appropriate academic structure: ▪ Executive summary ▪ Table of Contents ▪ Introduction ▪ Main body ▪ Conclusions ▪ References list • The word limit for this assignment is 2500 words. This word limit does not include the executive summary, tables, diagrams, appendices or references. • Assignment submissions will be made via Turnitin. Please ensure you have your user login and password well before the submission date. • If you share your work or, parts of your work, with another student this is an academic offence (collusion) and will result in a fail grade.
• You must use Harvard Referencing (Citations in-text) to acknowledge your sources of information and provide a reference list (and bibliography where appropriate). Failure to do this is an academic offence and will result in a fail grade. • Any bibliography provided must be included as an appendix. • Marks will be awarded for the professionalism of the report.
