BSB108 Business Environment Semester 1 2022

A1 Insight report: National business environment

1.    Submission date

Tuesday 3 May 2022 by 23:59:00 HRS

2.    Assessment Task

An anonymous philanthropist¹ has requested an overview of the business environment within which the Australian university sector operates.

You have been commissioned to write the report. Your brief is as follows:

• the report is to provide an overview of the national business environment in which the Australian university sector operates using the PEST framework;
• in defining the sector acknowledgment should be made of all the main activities undertaken; however,

the philanthropist’s key interest is in the activity of learning and teaching;

• the analysis is to be objective and supported by appropriate data and sources.²

3.    A1 requirements

1. The report has a MAXIMUM WORD limit of 2500 words excluding your reference list – but inclusive of in-text citations, figures, tables etc.
2. The report is to be submitted through the Blackboard Assignment link via the BSB108 Blackboard website (see BB assessment 1 folder for details). You are advised to keep a copy of your work for your own records. Your report will be checked for originality by SafeAssign.
3. The report should be submitted as a WORD document or PDF. Please note that other file formats may not be able to be opened and will be assumed to be a non-submission.
4. It is your responsibility to check that your report has uploaded to Blackboard and that it is the correct document. If you need help on how to check, contact HiQ support (do not contact your tutor or UC).
5. Work that has been submitted for assessment in BSB108 in previous semesters, or for other units, cannot be resubmitted for assessment. Re-submitted work will be treated as plagiarism.
6. QUT exercises zero tolerance on late submissions without an approved extension. For details on QUT’s

policy on late assessment and extensions can be found here.

• You will NOT be able to view your SafeAssign originality report.
• We strongly recommend that prior to submission you ensure that you have read ALL the related assessment documents.

• Your report will be marked against the published CRA (Criterion Referenced Assessment) for this assessment (provided at the end of the Assessment Documentation).
• Bullet points are NOT to make up the substantive part of your report.
• You are strongly recommended to keep a portfolio of your reading, notes made, and all drafts. This will help you establish the originality of your work, should you need to.

4.    What is a PEST analysis?

A PEST analysis is a business tool that provides a framework to identify and assess the macro economic factors which have shaped the business environment and will impact it in the future. The first half of the unit has focused on each of these four elements:

• Political (aligns to lecture 2 and the related drilling down and tutorial)
  • Economic (aligns to lecture 3 and the related drilling down and tutorial)
  • Social (aligns to lecture 4 and the related drilling down and tutorial)
  • Technology (aligns to lecture 5 and the related drilling down and tutorial)

5.    But I know nothing about the business sector for A1?

You probably know a bit more than you think. But art of the skill that you are developing in this unit is to “get up to speed” very quickly in unfamiliar territory. The lectures, drilling down and tutorials have provided you with the broad indicators that are relevant to conducting an analysis of the business environment for any sector. Your research should be focused on how this applies to business sector for A1. This assessment is your opportunity to consolidate your new knowledge and use your research skills and apply it to the business sector for A1.

6.    But it is massive sector – what do I cover?

The phrase “pick your battles” will serve you well here. The objective of a PEST analysis is not a deep dive. The objective of a PEST analysis is to scan the macroeconomic business environment and identify the key defining and potential future forces that will impact it under the four PEST elements.

7.    Structure and word length

Your report has a MAXIMUM WORD limit of 2500 words (excluding your reference list – but inclusive of abstract, in-text citations, figures, tables etc.).

Essentially your report has five components consisting of:

• an abstract
• the FOUR PEST elements.

We recommend that your abstract is approximately 200 words and that you divide the rest of the word count equally between the four PEST elements – approximately 575 words each.

8.    A1 template

A template for this report has been provided in the A1 folder on Blackboard.

9.    How do I get started?

In the first half of the unit we are progressing through each of the PEST elements and covering the critical features that we would expect to see in your assessment. Engaging in all the learning activities is therefore your foundational preparation for A1.

You may also find the “Framing your thinking” a useful starting point which can be found in the Assessment 1 folder on BB. There are also other supporting resources in this folder that you will find useful.

We would strongly recommend that you check out the A1 Planner in the Assessment 1 folder as to how to progressively complete your report (rather than leave it to the last minute).

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