Assignment Template

Unit 1 - Business Environment

Start with

Business Environment Analysis of British AirwaysUnit 1: Business Environment

[Type the abstract of the document here. The abstract is typically a short summary of the contents of the document. Type the abstract of the document here. The abstract is typically a short summary of the contents of the document.]

NOW FOLLOW THE ARROW

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SIMPLE GUIDE

[Type the ABSTRACT/EXECUTIVE SUMMARY of the document here].

Example: EXECUTIVE SUMMARYBusiness environment means the external forces influencing business management and decisions. It contains two forces, specific and general. Investors, competitors, customers, and suppliers affect directly in their day-to-day operations are the specific forces. Social, political, legal and technological conditions affect organisations indirectly are the general forces. Strategy management and innovation are vital for an organisation’s growth and development. Upon understanding the importance of strategy management and innovation, researchers have formulated theories related to organisational management. Theories have critically analysed with the case study of British Airways by comparing strategies with both external and internal environments. The case study explains the dimensions of business travel and tourism and its social, economic and environmental consequences.

The abstract is typically a short summary of the contents of the document.

Learner declaration

I certify that the work submitted for this assignment is my own and research sources are fullyacknowledged.

Student full-name:

Student signature: Date:

Table of contentsPage No

Introduction ………………………………………………………………………………………………………?

Task One

AC 1.1……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..?

AC 1.2……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..?

AC 1.3………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………?

LO 2

AC2.1……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….?

AC 2.2………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………?

AC 2.3………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………?

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Task Two

LO 3

AC 3.1………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………?

AC 3.2………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………?

AC 3.3……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..?

LO 4

AC4.1………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………?

AC 4.2……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..?

AC 4.3……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..?

Conclusion/Strategic Recommendation

Bibliography/Reference List

Appendices

Then

Introduction to (the report)

For example: (just an example)‘The aim of this report is to, or this report will examine or discuss how an organisation can develop variety of purposes that culminate its establishment. In addition, it will further examine the reality of its business operations in an environment shaped or influenced by its stakeholder interest at different level’.

In conclusion, the report will carefully consider a company – British Airways as its case scenario, influenced by its stakeholders having competing interests, and posed with the challenges of reconciling them with greater satisfaction.

Tackling Task One

AC 1.1 Identify the purposes of different types of organisation; use British Airways as a scenario and describe its mission and vision along with short- and long-term objectives.

The purposes of different types of business organization in the following –Sole proprietorship includes electricians, television repair person etc. Sole proprietorshipbusiness in the objectives is –

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Sole proprietorship business helps to create work for people. Aperson taking extra funds may start sole proprietorship to make productive use of funds. Soleproprietorship business offers opportunity for an independent living to take all the decisions. Asole proprietorship directly contact with customers. Sole proprietorship business helps in thedistribution of income and capital between a large numbers of people. Sole proprietorshipbusinesses are small in size (Brewster D – Business Economics, International ThompsonBusiness P, 2008).

Partnership includes bookkeepers, lawyers, doctors etc. where the partners can share expertise,workload and pool their capital. Partnership business in the objectives is – To improve contact toresources in a partnership is a principle for funding claims. To improve flexible, innovativereactions to need recognized by the public using the strengths of partners. Improve the serviceand working effectiveness. Upgrade the responsibility (Hill B – The European Union,Heinemann, 2008).

Companies are possessed by shareholders that each donates a stock of money then added to byborrowing. Managements run the company on behalf of shareholders who take a share of theincomes as dividends. Company business in the objectives is – To develop contract performance;employees are safety at work, flexibility and training; to reduce manufacturing, distribution andfunctioning costs; to improve customer service; to modernize information technology; toimprove delivery service and profitability; to increase market share, product reliability,production capacities and sales; to improve economic performance includes operating margin.

For example British Airways - We think customer. ‘Our people will set the standard and through them we will deliver world-leading customer service. To continue our success, we need to be clear about what sets us apart.

• We keep promises – always doing what we say we will do;

• We look the part – our style is contemporary and understated;

• We do things properly – doing the right things for the right reasons and to a high standard;

• We find solutions – solving any problems inventively and working flexibly within a framework; and • We treat everyone as an individual – respecting differences and adding a personal touch to make

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everyone feel valued. We are using a comprehensive communications and training programme to help put these principles into practice in everything we do.(Check the tutors lecture note for guidelines)

British Airways has investigated and prioritised its main challenges, risks and impacts regarding sustainability. We operate in a global sector that is unique in the value it generates for our customers and wider society. However, we need to balance this economic value against the environmental impacts of aviation, with the aim of improving the sustainability of the sector.

Identify the key stakeholders of BA.i.e. owners; customers etc.(Check tutors note)

AC 1.2Describe how an organisation meets the objectives of different stakeholders

Different stakeholders have different objectives and needs. These needs include the following:

(a) Owners/ Investors. The providers of risk capital and their advisers are concerned with the risk inherent in, and return provided by, their investments. They need information to help them determine whether they should buy, hold or sell. Shareholders are also interested in information which enables them to assess the ability of the enterprise to pay dividends.

(b) Employees. Employees and their representative groups are interested in information about the stability and profitability of their employers. They are also interested in information which enables them to assess the ability of the enterprise to provide remuneration, retirement benefits and employment opportunities.

(c) Financial Institutions. Lenders are interested in information that enables them to determine whether their loans, and the interest attaching to them, will be paid when due.

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(d) Suppliers and other trade creditors. Suppliers and other creditors are interested in information that enables them to determine whether amounts owing to them will be paid when due. Trade creditors are likely to be interested in an enterprise over a shorter period than lenders unless they are dependent upon the continuation of the enterprise as a major customer.

(e) Customers. Customers have an interest in information about the continuance of an enterprise, especially when they have a long-term involvement with, or are dependent on, the enterprise.

(f) Governments and their agencies. Governments and their agencies are interested in the allocation of resources and, therefore, the activities of enterprises. They also require information in order to regulate the activities of enterprises, determine taxation policies and as the basis for national income and similar statistics.

(g) Public. Enterprises affect members of the public in a variety of ways. For example, enterprises may make a substantial contribution to the local economy in many ways including the number of people they employ and their patronage of local suppliers. Financial statements may assist the public by providing information about the trends and recent developments in the prosperity of the enterprise and the range of its activities.

(h) Trade Unions: This is for groups of employees who seek to secure higher wages and better working conditions for their members.

For example explain how the business challenges have impacted the various stakeholders of British Airways

Based on these challenges, as well as risks identified through our risk-mapping activity at IAG and British Airways, we have identified the following as our key impacts in terms of corporate

• Economic Financial performance Alliances and joint business agreements operating efficiency

• Environmental Emissions associated with climate change Noise and air quality impacts Consumption of resources Waste and recycling

• Social Charity partnerships and community investment Employee relations, engagement and support Brand management and customer experience Customer safety Employee safety Inclusion and diversity Responsible procurement responsibility:

AC 1.3Explain the responsibilities of an organisation and how did British Airways respond to fulfil its responsibilities to these stakeholders? Provide suitable examples such as responsibilities to the environment, the suppliers, to the employees etc.

Such as: Consumer Protection Act Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 Impact of Global warming The Fair Trading Act makes it illegal for businesses to mislead consumers, give them false

information, or use unfair trading practices. It also promotes product safety and ensures consumers receive information they need when they buy goods and services.

Noise can have an effect on health, wellbeing, productivity and the natural environment. The government’s policy on noise is set out in the Noise policy statement for England.

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For example: British Airway's approach towards Corporate Social Responsibility on environmental is that it is planning to reduce Co2 emission by 50 percent by 2050.it is aiming to reduce noise per flight by 15 percent. BA has plans to recycle its waste up to 50 percent by 2010 and aims to send zero waste to landfill by 2010 across Heathrow and Gatwick.

BA'S approach towards corporate social responsibilityCorporate social responsibility (CSR): CSR is a type of corporate self-regulation integrated into a business model. Superlatively, CSR policy would function as integrated, self-governing device whereby business would observe and make sure that its adherence to law, ethical standards, and international norms. Business would accept responsibility for the influence of their activities on the environment, consumers, employees, communities, stakeholders and all other members of the public.

In order to weigh up the approach of Corporate Social Responsibility a well-known framework has been used which was devised by Elkington (1999) called the triple-bottom line. According to triple bottom line a corporate doesn't have only one purpose that is to add economic value to their corporation but also to add environmental and social values too. Triple bottom line gives a clearer picture of what the components of sustainability actually represents in terms of a goal for business ethics by examining them separately.

AC 2.1….Later

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Social Environment/ EconomicViable/Sustainable

A COMPREHENSIVE BUSINESS REPORT STYLEREAD THIS: NOTE ON THE ABOVE SIMPLE GUIDEStructuring your report

This guide aims to help you understand the way that reports are structured. It includes information

on:

how to decide where your information should go

the sections most commonly found in reports

Organising your information

Unlike essays, reports have formal structures:

When writing an essay, you need to place your information to make a strong argument

When writing a report, you need to place your information in the appropriate section

Consider the role each item will play in communicating information or ideas to the reader, and place it in the section where it will best perform that role. For instance:

Does it provide background to your research? (Introduction or Literature Review)

Does it describe the types of activity you used to collect evidence? (Methods)

Does it present factual data? (Results)

Does it place evidence in the context of background? (Discussion)

Does it make recommendations for action? (Conclusion)

Commonly found sections

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The list below describes the most commonly found sections of a report, including some of the

alternative names that are used to refer to them. Your brief may ask for different sections, but you

will almost certainly have to include some of these.

Scroll down to browse the sections, or click on a name to jump straight to it.

Abstract / Executive summary   Introduction   Literature review  

Methods   Results / Data / Findings   Discussion  

Conclusions / Recommendations   Bibliography / Reference list   Appendices  

The Abstract/Executive summary… is the 'shop window' for your report. It is the first (and

sometimes the only) section to be read and should be the last to be written. It should enable the

reader to make an informed decision/JUDGEMENT about whether they want to read the report

itself. Length depends on the extent of the work reported - usually a paragraph or two and always

less than a page. It should briefly explain:

the purpose of the work

methods used for research

main conclusions reached

any recommendations

NOW WHAT?

The Introduction… should explain the rationale for undertaking the work reported on, and the way you decided to do it. Include what you have been asked (or chosen) to do and the reasons for doing it.

State what the report is about. What is the question you are trying to answer? If it is a brief for a specific reader (e.g. a feasibility report on a construction project for a client), say who they are.

Describe your starting point and the background to the subject: e.g., what research has already been done (if you have to include a Literature Review, this will only be a brief survey); what are the relevant themes and issues; why are you being asked to investigate it now?

Explain how you are going to go about responding to the brief. If you are going to test a hypothesis in your research, include this at the end of your introduction. Include a brief outline of your method of enquiry. State the limits of your research and reasons for them, e.g.

"Report will focus on British Airways Ltd only, as a proper consideration of the issues arising from

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British travel industry……… of this project".

The Literature Review… surveys publications (books, journals and sometimes

conference papers) on work that has already been done on the topic of your report. It should only

include studies that have direct relevance to your research.

Introduce your review by explaining how you went about finding your materials, and any clear

trends in research that have emerged. Group your texts in themes. Write about each theme as a

separate section, giving a critical summary of each piece of work, and showing its relevance to

your research. Conclude with how the review has informed your research (things you'll be building

on, gaps you'll be filling etc.).

The Methods used… should be written in such a way that a reader could replicate the

research you have done. State clearly how you carried out your investigation. Explain why you

chose this particular method (questionnaires, focus group, experimental procedure etc.). Include

techniques and any equipment you used. If there were participants in your research, who were

they? How many? How were they selected?

Write this section concisely but thoroughly – Go through what you did step by step, including

everything that is relevant. You know what you did, but could a reader follow your description?

The Results/Data/Findings… this section has only one job, which is to present

the findings of your research as simply as possible. Use the format that will achieve this most

effectively: e.g. text, graphs, tables or diagrams. Don't repeat the same information in two visual

formats (e.g. a graph and a table).

Label your graphs and tables clearly. Give each figure a title and describe in words what the figure

demonstrates. Save your interpretation of the results for the Discussion section.

The Discussion… is probably the longest section. It brings everything together, showing how your findings respond to the brief you explained in your introduction and the previous research you surveyed in your literature review. This is the place to mention if there were any problems (e.g. your results were different from expectations, you couldn't find important data, or you had to change your method or participants) and how they were or could have been solved.

The Conclusions… should be a short section with no new arguments or evidence. Sum

up the main points of your research. How do they answer the original brief for the work reported

on? This section may also include:

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Recommendations for action

Suggestions for further research

The Reference List/Bibliography… list full details for any works you have

referred to in the report. For the correct style of referencing to use, check any instructions you may

have been given.

If you are uncertain about how or when to reference, see the webpage on Harvard referencing

The Appendices… include any additional information that may help the reader but is

not essential to the report's main findings; for instance, interview questions, raw data, or a glossary

of terms used. Label all appendices and refer to them where appropriate in the main text (e.g. 'See

Appendix A for an example questionnaire').

What is a report?A report is a piece of informative writing that describes a set of actions and analyses any results in

response to a specific brief. A quick definition might be: "This is what I did and this is what it

means." You may be given an assignment which is not called a report but shares many of the same

features; if so, aspects of this guide will be helpful.

It may help to know some of the key differences between reports and essays:

Essays Reports

Argumentative and idea-based Informative and fact-based

Semi-structured Formally structured

Not written with a specific reader in mind (except the

marker)

Usually written with a specific purpose and reader in

mind

Written in single narrative style throughout Written in style appropriate to each section

Usually do not include sub-headings Always include section headings

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Usually do not include bullet points Often use bullet points

Usually no tables or graphs Often includes tables or graphs

Offer conclusions about question Offer recommendations for action

Watch out for theseWhat makes a good/bad report?

Here are some of the most common complaints about reports:

Badly structured

Inappropriate writing style

Incorrect or inadequate referencing

Doesn't answer the brief

Too much/too little/irrelevant material

Expression not clear

Doesn't relate results to purpose

Unnecessary use of jargon

How can you make sure your report does what it's meant to do, and does it well?

Checklist for good reports Does it answer the purpose stated (or implied) in the brief?

Does it answer the needs of the projected reader?

Has the material been placed in the appropriate sections?

Has all the material been checked for accuracy?

Are graphs and tables carefully labelled?

Is data in graphs or tables also explained in words and analysed?

Does the discussion/conclusion show how the results relate to objectives set out in the

introduction?

Has all irrelevant material been removed?

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Is it written throughout in appropriate style (i.e. no colloquialisms or contractions, using an

objective tone, specific rather than vague)?

Is it jargon-free and clearly written?

Has every idea taken from or inspired by someone else's work been acknowledged with a

reference?

Have all illustrations and figures taken from someone else's work been cited correctly?

Has it been carefully proof-read to eliminate careless mistakes?

Good writing styleWhen you write a report you are communicating your knowledge about a set of actions to a reader.

The key here is communication. A good piece of advice is to 'write to express, not to impress'. Here

are some tips for achieving this:

Write in paragraphs which have one main point that you introduce, expand on, and summarise

Using shorter sentences avoids over-complexity

Avoid using colloquialisms and informality in academic writing

Write words out in full, for instance use 'do not' instead of 'don't'

Do use appropriate technical terms, but try to avoid jargon – consider who is likely to read your

report and whether they will understand the terms you use

If you're not sure how to use punctuation or grammar effectively, see the following;

Writing academicallyWriting academically means writing in such a way that your information sounds credible and

authoritative. It does not mean:

Using long words

Writing complicated sentences with lots of semi-colons and colons

Some suggestions to help you write academically...

Be objective – report what the evidence tells you even if it isn't what you hoped to find. Don't

present unsupported or personal opinions: for instance, 'Unsurprisingly, participants who recycled

their refuse more regularly were also nicer people'. Take a balanced view.

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Be accurate – give clear non-subjective descriptions ('light blue' is better than 'sky blue') and

definite figures ('after twenty five minutes', '80% of the participants'). Avoid vague or ambiguous

terms like 'a long period of time', or 'most of the participants'.

Be direct – don't leave it to your reader to work out what you are saying! Putting the emphasis on

a strong verb can help the reader to see the important points: for instance, 'an analysis was

performed on the results' is not as direct as 'the results were analysed'.

Be critical – evaluate your own work as well as that of others. Have the confidence to say if

something could have been done better if it had been done differently.

Be appropriate – identify the purpose of your communication and the audience you are

communicating to. Give them the information they need to understand your work.

Putting Finishing touchesIf you're going to go to the trouble of writing an excellent report, it's a shame to spoil it with

careless finishing. If you give yourself time to check details you can make your presentation as

good as your content.

Referencing – Your course handbook should explain the style of referencing preferred by your

department. Check that you have all the necessary details in the right places. If you've lost the

details of a source, don't include it – unacknowledged sources could be read as plagiarism.

Proof reading – Print your work off to proof read – you are more likely to spot errors. It can help to

read aloud. Use spell and grammar checkers wisely – make sure changes won't affect what you

wanted to say.

Title page, contents, list of illustrations – Not all reports will need all of these sections. If

yours does, they will probably be the last sections to write, once you are certain that the page

order will not change.

Six steps to a successful report writingA presentation outlining a whole new approach to successful study are this six steps:

S = Study Techniques and practices O = Overview C = Creativity C = Communicate effectivelyE = EmotionsR = Review, review, review

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