Accounting business report
Students are required to Search website, library database, and newspaper to find a company to investigate, and required to submit an individual Business Report comprised of two main parts (Strategy and BSC).
Length:
The total word limit is 3000 words (part1: 1500 words, part 2: 1500 words). The word count does not include the list of references and executive summary.
Formatting:
The report should be written in Times New Roman, 12-point font, single spacing, minimum 3 cm margin on left and right side of paper.
The Individual Report must be in a report format, i.e., the content is split into several logical sections and sub-sections. These sections should include: an executive summary, introduction, main section of the report, conclusion and reference list. A typical report structure is:
Executive Summary
Introduction
Section 1
Section 2
Section 3
Section 4…
Conclusion
References
Appendices (optional)
References:
Full referencing (in-text citation and reference list) is required for this assignment. Please follow RMIT Harvard referencing style. You need to provide at least 5 academic references.
Penalties for Late Submission and Exceeding Word Limits:
Unless an extension has been granted, penalties will be applied for late submission.
All assignments will be marked as if submitted on time. Late submissions of assignments without special consideration or extension will be automatically penalised at a rate of 10% of the total marks available per day (or part of a day) late. For example, if an assignment is worth 20 marks and it is submitted 1 day late, a penalty of 10% or 2 marks will apply. This will be deducted from the assessed mark. Assignments will not be accepted if more than five days late, unless special consideration or an extension of time has been approved.
Assessment items that exceed the word limit by more than 10% (not including references, tables, figures, and appendices) will attract a marking penalty that is 5% of the total available marks. For example, an assessment item with a word limit of 2,000 words will incur a penalty of 5% if the submission is in excess of 2,200 words.
Academic Integrity and Plagiarism:
Academic integrity is about honest presentation of your academic work. It means acknowledging the work of others while developing your own insights, knowledge and ideas. Plagiarism is the presentation of the work, idea or creation of another person as though it is your own. It is a form of cheating and is a very serious academic offence that may lead to expulsion from the University.
All submitted documents will be checked by Turnitin. Please check the similarity rate once you submit your assignment, and ensure they’re your own work, and that you’ve acknowledged the work and ideas from other sources. You should keep your similarity rate less than 15%.
If one student submits work that’s completely or partly copied from another, both students can be charged with academic misconduct. And recycling your own work can be plagiarism.
Business Report detail requirements:
Students are required to Search the web, library database, and newspaper to find a company to investigate, and are required to submit an individual Business Report comprised of two main parts (1 and 2 below). Detail requirements are outlined below:
1. Analysis company’s strategy (maximum 1500 words)
a. Search the web, library database, and newspaper to find a company to investigate and briefly describe the company and the industry within which it operates.
b. Identify the current competitive strategy (low cost or differentiation) that your chosen firm is following. Provide evidence how you came to this conclusion.
c. Identify at least three Key Success Factors that can assist the company in achieving the current strategy.
d. Evaluate the suitability of the firm’s choice of competitive strategy.
2. Develop a Balanced Scorecard for the company (maximum 1500 words)
a. You need to incorporate social and environmental responsibility into your balanced scorecard.
b. For each of the perspectives, suggest two to three strategic objectives. And describe how the strategic objectives will help your chosen organisation achieve its mission and vision.
c. Draw a strategy map (an example is provided as in Figure 1) and describe the cause-and-effect relationships between the strategic objectives you would expect to see in your suggested balanced scorecard.
d. For each strategic objective, suggest two to three measures you would recommend in the balanced scorecard. Explain the reason why you have suggested those measures and how the measures can assess progress towards meeting objectives.
Figure 1: Example of strategy map