Assessment overview

Brief

There are three assessments for UXB115 that will be centered on a chosen case study company with the aim of developing competencies to run a modern construction business.

No.	Name	Type	Weighting	Due Date
1	Problem Solving Task	Individual	40%	11.59pm, 1 April 2021 (Thursday of Week 5)
2	Presentation	Group	20%	Week 10 (TBC)
3	Professional Plans	Group with Individual component	40%	11.59pm, 4 June 2021 (Friday)

To support your work on Assessment 1, students are required to:

• Select a case study company;
• Pick a key sector to focus on; and
• Undertake the analysis in the Brisbane/ Queensland context only.

Step 1 – Identifying a case study company

The case study company should be a current Queensland-based construction company with an active Australian Business Number (ABN), and a functioning company website. The construction company should preferably be an ASX listed construction company. In choosing a company, students will need to ensure they have access to company background information such as company structure, areas of expertise, core values/ mission statement/ strategic objectives, corporate governance etc..

A list of suggested case study companies is provided on Blackboard. Students choosing to use any case study company not featured on the list provided will need to seek permission in writing from the Unit Coordinator.

Please note that you are not permitted to select the case study companies used as a teaching resource in the lectures as your chosen case study company.

** Please include a 2-page detailed case study overview of the chosen case study company in the Appendix of Assessment 1.

Step 2 – Pick a key sector to focus on

Students are required to select one key sector as the focus of their analysis for their chosen case study company in Assessment 1. The sector can either be a new sector or one in which the case study company currently has a presence. Examples of key sector include: high-rise residential, aged care development etc.. A list of suggested sectors is provided on Blackboard.

Step 3 – Undertake the analysis in the Brisbane/ Queensland context only

Students are required to consider the analysis in terms of the chosen case study company’s foray/ presence in the key sector, and in the Brisbane/ Queensland context only.

Assessment One (40%) – Individual Assignment

Name	Problem Solving Task
Due date	11.59pm, Thursday of Week 5 (1 April 2021)
Length	5 to 8 pages (excluding appendix and references) at size 12 font (single spacing).

Assessment details:

In week 5, students are required to upload an electronic copy of Assessment One (in .docx format only) to Turnitin via the UXH115 Blackboard site (under ‘Assessment’ tab). Please include a cover page for Assessment 1 with your student details including full name (as enrolled), student number, unit code and name, assessment number and case study company name.

The Queensland construction industry is set to register its biggest ever fall in recorded construction activity, particularly in the high-rise residential market (ABC News, Aug 2019). As the newly appointed business manager of the chosen case study company, you have been asked to:

• undertake a market analysis (Part A) to assess the company’s direction and the on- going/ future viability of the key sector (pick one only e.g. commercial high-rise);
  • identify key stakeholders (Part B) within the key sector that need to be managed; and
  • provide recommendations (Part C) to advance the company’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) agenda so as to provide an ethically sound competitive advantage in the key sector.

The above will help inform the case study company’s short-term plans to ensure business continuity in an increasingly competitive and lean business environment.

Using lecture materials from weeks 1 to 4, each student is required to individually work on and submit a formal report detailing the market analysis (Part A), stakeholder analysis (Part B), and corporate social responsibility recommendations (Part C) to capture lessons learnt from the case study company. This will inform your work on Assessments 2 and 3.

Students are required to perform desktop research only to inform their understanding of the requirements of Assessment 1 (that is, do not contact, interview or visit the case study company). Please ensure you use credible sources of information, and to reference all reading material quoted or that has informed your views of the case study company.

Part A – Market Analysis

You are required to undertake the market analysis using all 6 types of influences within the PESTEL framework as detailed below.

PESTEL framework

Using the PESTEL framework, you are required to perform an analysis of the case study company in relation to its current/ future direction and performance in its identified key sector through a focus on the following 6 types of influences:

• Political influences (e.g. government policy influences in identified key market; extent of government intervention; effectiveness of lobby groups; sensitivity of projects etc.).
• Economic influences (e.g. general state of the economy, economic trends, interest rates; rate of unemployment; government incentives, government spending in the identified key market).

• Social influences (e.g. key socio-demographic profile – age, disabled population, gender, education levels, wealth).
• Technological influences (e.g. use and availability of innovative and/ or specialised technology, materials, processes, systems).
• Environmental influences (e.g. impacts of climate change, impacts on flora and fauna, managing client and societal expectations in relation to green agenda, cost implications of implementing environmental requirements).
• Legal influences (e.g. implementing and responding to legislative requirements such as HSE, contract law).

For each influence type (e.g. political), please identify one positive and one negative factor that may potentially impact on the company’s foray into or presence in the key sector.

Please present your answers in detailed dot point with clear explanations using template #1, and frame all discussions specific to the key sector, the case study company, and in the Queensland/ Brisbane context only. References are needed to support your answers.

Template #1

Type of influence	Positive impact	Negative impact
Political	One answer required	One answer required
Economic	One answer required	One answer required
Social	One answer required	One answer required
Technological	One answer required	One answer required
Environmental	One answer required	One answer required
Legal	One answer required	One answer required

Part A Requirements: approx. 1 to 2 pages.

Part B – Stakeholder Analysis

Stakeholders are individuals or groups who affect or are affected by the company’s actions, goals, development and even survival. They often have competing and vested interests that need to be managed as part of the company’s business and operational processes. Specifically, for part B, students are required to undertake a stakeholder analysis in relation to its current/ future direction and performance in its identified key sector. As per Part A, please frame all your discussions specific to the case study company, and in the Queensland/ Brisbane context only:

• Identify between 8 to 10 stakeholders who can affect or are affected by the company’s current/ future direction and performance in its identified key sector.
• Using Template #2, assess each stakeholder according to their ability to influence company decision-making (power) vs their level of interest in the company (interest).
• Using Template #3, identify the key stakeholders (e.g. list of stakeholders from power/ interest matrix that you need to ‘manage closely’, ‘keep satisfied’ and/ or ‘keep informed’?).
• Why are these key stakeholders important? (Describe the stakeholder’s role and interest in the company and provide strong justifications why)

Templates #2 and #3 must be used (and included in main body of the report):

Template #2

Power/ Interest Matrix (Additional explanations to be provided below the template):

Template #3

Key Stakeholder	Reason for importance
Tip: List of stakeholders from power/ interest matrix that you need to ‘manage closely’, ‘keep satisfied’ and/ or ‘keep informed’?	Tip: Describe the stakeholder’s role and interest in the company/ sector.

Part B Requirements: Approx. 1 to 2 pages.

Part C – Corporate Social Responsibility Recommendations

There are increasing societal pressure and expectations for companies, including those in the construction industry, to be good corporate citizens. A key expectation is that construction companies need to act in ethical ways and actively give back to the stakeholders and communities they serve. Utilising corporate social responsibility (CSR) principles and practices, propose two (2) hands on recommendations (excluding fund raising or resource donation) of how the chosen case study company can give back to stakeholders/ communities within the identified key sector. The recommendations should take the form of a specific activity, and using template #4, consider the following:

• How does each recommendation align with the chosen case study company’s core values/ mission statement/ strategic objectives?
• How does each recommendation benefit the company and relevant stakeholders?
• Outline exactly how undertaking each recommendation allows the company to gain a strategic competitive advantage in the identified key sector?

Template #4

CSR Recommendations	Alignment with case study company’s core values/ mission statement/ strategic objectives	Benefit(s) to company	Benefit to stakeholder(s)	Strategic competitive advantage gained and how.
Tip: List one	Tip: Clearly explain	Tip: Clearly	Tip: Clearly	Tip: Clearly
recommendation	how the	outline	outline who	outline the
per row.	recommendation	tangible and	the	strategic
	aligns with the chosen	intangible	stakeholder(s)	advantage
	case study company’s	benefits to	are and clear	gained.
	core values/ mission	company.	benefits to
	statement/ strategic objectives.		them.

Part C Requirements: Approx. 1 page.

Important notes:

• A 2-page detailed case study overview detailing: company size, core values, vision, mission statement etc. (if available), an overview of types and size of projects currently undertaken by the chosen case study company must be included in the Appendix of Assessment 1.
• Students are required to properly reference all material that has informed their views of the case study. All references must be listed in the back of the report (before the appendix) using QUT APA style referencing only. See QUT CiteWrite for detailed information and examples. QUT takes academic integrity very seriously and a failure to properly reference all materials used in all submissions is a form of potential academic misconduct. Please be aware that a maximum of 10% of direct quotes may be used for any Assessment.
• Drafts will not be reviewed by your lecturer/ tutor.

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