Assignment Briefing – 2020/21
Module Name Economics for Business
Module Code BB4404 M
Assignment Title Individual Assignment
Type of Submission Report
Word Count 1300 - 1700 max.
Issue Date
Submission Date 21/02/2022
Date of Feedback to Students Within 20 working days after the submission date
Where feedback can be found Canvas
Assignment Task
Your task is to write a report that describes, explains and analyses three relevant news articles (published in print or online)
Each news article should refer to a specific firm that is going through or responding to a particular kind of change. Each of your three stories should feature a different firm.
Story 1.
A firm that is bringing a technological change to its industry.
Story 2.
A firm that is either merging, is attempting to take over other firms, or is diversifying.
Story 3.
A firm that is experiencing competition from an online business.
You are welcome to choose firms that are not based in India or multi-national firms.
The news articles you use should have been published between 7 October 2021 and 13 February 2022. They should come from quality English language news outlets (e.g. the Times of India, The Financial Times, The New York Times, The Guardian, the BBC). It is fine to use either print or online versions.
However, ‘Tabloidesque’ papers are not acceptable as sources and neither are blogs or social media reports. Only news reports are acceptable, so background articles from for example The Economist (published weekly) are not acceptable.
Your report must be submitted through Canvas by the date and time specified above.
Guidance and Requirements
You are asked to describe, explain, and analyse.
The description is simply a short summary in your own words what the article is about, that is, what particular event or issue does it deal with and which are the main parties involved.
The explanation is the relevant background to the story. In order to understand the story well you should perhaps give some more information about the firm involved, or about its industry, or about the reason why the particular event or issue reported in the article has arisen. The information for this background is not always found in the article, you may use further sources.

The analysis often involves the application of theoretical concepts. For example (and this is just an example), often firms that are planning to merge say that they expect to benefit from synergies or economies. You can apply such concepts in your story 2 by discussing whether the firm in you article will experience synergies or economies, and if so, what kind. The concepts you use will often have been covered in one of the Economics for Business sessions and the textbook (in this case, for example Sloman et al. pp.249-253). Try to make connections between the newspaper articles and general concepts. You may use graphs or other visual aids to clarify your analysis but no special credit is given for this.
In order to help you make notes in preparation for writing the three stories, there is a table at the end of this brief that you can fill out for each story (make multiple copies if needed). You do not have use this table, it is there just if you think it’s useful. And if you use it you do not submit completed tables with your assignment.
Report requirements:
- A front cover with title (for example: “Three firms and their changing business environments”) and date.
- Contents page naming the three stories.
- Three stories, each following the format description, explanation and analysis.
- Aim for a length of 500 words for each story. The total word count of the report should be between 1300 and 1700 words.
- On the last page of your report you should list your references. This should include the three articles you have used and all other sources that you have used. References must be written using the Harvard referencing style. Make every effort to avoid plagiarism (see the information about avoiding plagiarism at the end of this brief).
- The report should be a Word document.

Your submission will be marked using the rubric below which is based on the KU descriptors for Level 4.
ARKING CRITERIA AND FEEDBACK FORM. THIS INDIVIDUAL REPORT IS WORTH 45% OF THE OVERALL MODULE MARK.
Letter Grade F1-F4 F5 D C B A
%
Grade Band 1-34
Fail 34-39
Marginal Fail 40-49
3rd 50-59
2.2 60-69
2.1 70+
1st Max
mark Your mark
1. Overall written style and structure of report
Unacceptable, insufficient or incomplete
0 - 2
Significant flaws
3
Acceptable, but with some flaws /errors remaining
4
Satisfactory, but with few flaws /errors remaining
5-6
Good. Minimal flaws /errors
7-8
Excellent written style and structure
9-10
10
2. Referencing Incorrect referencing and insufficient or incomplete list (less than 5 sources)
0 - 2 Not properly constructed list and inaccurate or inconsistent referencing
3 Properly constructed list but with some inconsistencies remaining in referencing
4 Properly constructed list with only few inconsistencies in referencing
5-6 Properly constructed list and accurate referencing throughout. Minimum errors (e.g. full stops, brackets and comas)
7-8 Exemplary referencing throughout and properly constructed list.
9-10 10
3. Description Insufficient or incomplete summary of articles
0-4 Some flaws in the summaries of the articles
5 Adequate summaries of the articles
6-8 Satisfactory summaries of the articles showing some understanding of the issues raised
9-11
Good summaries of the articles showing proper understanding of the issues raised
12-14 Excellent summaries of the articles showing full understanding of the issues raised
15-20 20
4. Explanation No relevant background provided
0-4 Some background and explanation provided but incomplete or irrelevant
5-8 Adequate background and explanation provided
9-12 Satisfactory background and explanation provided for all three articles
13-17 Good background and explanation provided for all three articles
18-22 Excellent background and explanation provided for all three articles
23-25 25
5. Analysis Insufficient or incomplete, does not draw on theory
0-9 Vague and ambiguous analysis with very little evidence of an in-depth examination of relevant issues and theories – just repetition of facts from the articles and replication of theory. Very little evidence of logical development of arguments
10-14 Adequate analysis with little evidence of an in-depth examination of relevant issues and theories – little attempt to link the articles’ issues with theory. Little evidence of logical development of arguments.
15-20 Satisfactory analysis with some evidence of an in-depth examination of relevant issues and theories – some attempt to link the articles’ issues with theory. Some evidence of logical development of arguments.
21-25 Good analysis with clear evidence of an in-depth examination of relevant issues and theories – good links between the articles’ issues and theory. Good evidence of logical development of arguments.
26-32 Excellent analysis with highly critical evaluation of relevant issues and theories - very good links between the articles’ issues and theory. Excellent and highly logical development of arguments.
33-35 35
Total 100


Avoiding plagiarism
When you write an essay, report or dissertation you should always cite the published sources which you quote, refer to or use as evidence, otherwise you are likely to be committing plagiarism, which is a form of academic misconduct with potentially very serious consequences. References need to be made both within the text and in a list at the end.
The aim in doing this is to ensure that somebody reading your work can easily find these sources for themselves. This applies to whether you are using a book, a report, a journal article or an Internet site. You will probably know from your own experience how much easier it is to find a reference when a reading list or bibliography is clear and unambiguous.There is help available from the library and online, including a range of videos such as those given below:
https://mykingston.kingston.ac.uk/library/help_and_training/Pages/referencing.aspx.
http://www.citethemrightonline.com/basics
Do remember you can submit your work as many times as you like before the final deadline. It is a good idea to check your Originality Report and ensure that any potential plagiarism is eradicated for your work by rewriting in your own words and referencing correctly. The staff on the BLASC desk in the LRC will be able to advise on this.
Additional helpful resources can be found here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yYf8AihndI
The best way to avoid academic misconduct or plagiarism is to use your own words at all times; do not cut and paste from other work.
Illness or other mitigating circumstances
By submitting an assignment you are declaring yourself fit to take the assessment therefore please make sure that if you are unwell you understand our mitigating circumstances process. The most important thing to do is keep us informed if you are experiencing problems! See our regulations on this link: http://www.kingston.ac.uk/aboutkingstonuniversity/howtheuniversityworks/policiesandregulations


Prepare your writing of report write up by gathering the following information. You can repeat this exercise for each of the three articles you have chosen. This exercise is just an aid, it should not be submitted with your report.
Full Harvard reference of news paper article:
…………………………………………………………………………………………..
Questions Your Answer
What is the main topic of the article?
Which firms are discussed? (summarise in your own words)

What is the relevant background to the article? For example:
- what aspects of the firm (e.g. its size or history) or the industry have to be understood to understand the article?
- – should the change to the business environment or the operation of the firm discussed in the article be seen as part of a larger process? How long has this been going on?
Is the relevant background covered sufficiently in the article? If not what further sources will I use?

Are any specific terms or concepts used in the article?

What (other) economic concepts will be used to analyse this story?