Archive for category: Business paper

Description

About the Research There has been a long-standing debate regarding the purpose of business, and the commanding perspective has been that the purpose of business is to maximise profits and shareholder value. This perspective is being challenged by the emergence of organisations with dual motives of pursuing social purpose and economic success, such as social enterprises and B Corps. There are a number of emerging business models that have a strong commitment to social and/or environmental purposes, whilst running profitable businesses. These are hybrid businesses that converge for-profit and not-for-profit values, beliefs, and practices while employing market mechanisms to address social and environmental issues. This emerging arena is garnering increasing support from a wide range of advisers, institutions, and investors. This study refers to this arena as the Purposeful Business Ecosystem (PBE), and the businesses that operate in this space are referred to as Purpose Driven Enterprises (PDEs). This study provides insights into a little- researched area to advance knowledge of how two different types of PDEs address their social and environmental challenges and implement their purpose-driven business models. The aim of this study is to undertake a comparative analysis of two PDEs – B Corps and Social Enterprises – in Australia to understand the similarities and differences between them, and how they implement a dual purpose. I am conducting interviews with representatives of B Corps and Social Enterprises in Australia to understand their contribution to the PBE and their motivations to pursue a dual purpose in business. Research question: “What are the key similarities and differences between social enterprises and B Corps that operate within the purposeful business ecosystem in Australia?” Sub-questions: SQ 1: What are the practices and drivers of purpose-driven enterprises, focusing primarily on B Corps and Social Enterprises? SQ 2: What are the key challenges faced by B Corps and Social Enterprises? SQ 3: What is their role and contribution to the emerging purposeful business ecosystem? SQ 4: How are they attempting to influence traditional business practice? General Instructions – All information regarding the research has been shared. Please ensure it is kept confidential. – A rough outline can be found by having a look at the Presentation file (Title: Thesis Final Presentation) – I have included some Example Thesis files for reference. I have also added two text files with all the references used so far.

Chapter Instructions: – I have uploaded a copy of the literature review and the findings chapters to provide a clear context. You may use references from the literature review or even add to it – If you can create a strong story to set the tone, that will phenomenal. – You can take parts from the “About this Research” section above – Please include the research questions and sub-questions in the introduction chapter – You don’t have to write about the methodology and the chapter wise guide – I will add that since I’ll be revising the other chapters while you progress on this chapter. Please let me know if you need any additional papers, information, or have any questions. The time deadline must be met because naturally, it is quite last minute. Therefore I’ve requested it to be completed in 18 hours

Description

Critically discuss the role and influence of the State on the industrial relation systems in two of the Coordinated Market Economies considered in the course. To what extent do the States’ role and influence differ across these countries?

Key points: •strong argument •clear introduction with definitions and theoretical/ analytical framework; •integration of a broad range of academic literature and robust data sources from across the course; •analysis rather than an overemphasis on description; clearly expressed; •referencing and bibliography; •conclusion that builds on the argument rather than merely summarising; •clear, logical structure Essay structure and developing an argument •The introduction should address the question and its meaning The introduction should use definitions from the academic literature •A theoretical/ analytical framework should be introduced early on •The question should be broken down and themes identified •Comparative analysis should be organised thematically rather than country-by-country References: The role of the state •Hyman, Richard (2008) The state in industrial relations. In: Blyton, P., Bacon, N., Fiorito, J. and Heery, E., (eds.) The Sage Handbook of Industrial Relations •A Hassel (2009) ‘Policies and Politics in Social Pacts in Europe’, European Journal of Industrial Relations, 1 •V Glassner, The Public Sector in the Crisis, ETUI (2010): http://www.etui.org/Publications2/Working‐ Papers/The‐public‐sector‐in‐the‐crisis

•F Traxler (2003) ‘Bargaining, State Regulation and the Trajectories of Industrial Relations’, European Journal of Industrial Relations, 9,2, 141‐161 Sweden •Erixon, L. 2007. ‘The Swedish Third Way: An Assessment of the Performance and Validity of the RehnMeidner Model’, Cambridge Journal Of Economics, Vol. 32, No. 3, pp. 367-393. •Granqvist, L. and Regner, H. 2008. ‘Decentralised Wage Formation in Sweden’, British Journal of Industrial Relations, Vol. 46, No. 3, pp. 500-520. •Peterson, A., Wahlström, M. and Wennerhag, M. 2012. ‘Swedish Trade Unionism: A Renewed Social Movement?’, Economic and Industrial Democracy, Vol. 33, No. 4, pp. 621-648. •Svensson, T. 2013. ‘Sweden’, in Frege, C. and Kelly, J. (eds.). Comparative Employment Relations in the Global Economy. London: Routledge. Employers Associations •M Barry and A Wilkinson (2012) ‘Reconceptualising employer associations under evolving employment relations’, Work, Employment & Society, 25(1): 149–62. •Behrens, M. 2004. ‘New forms of employers’ collective interest representation’, Industrielle Beziehungen, 11. 77–91 Collective Bargaining •Glassner, V., Keune, M. and Marginson, P. 2011. ‘Collective Bargaining in a Time of Crisis: Developments in the Private Sector in Europe’, Transfer. Vol 17, No. 3, pp. 303-322. •Traxler, F. and Brandl, B. 2010. ‘Collective Bargaining, Macroeconomic Performance and the Sectoral Composition of Trade Unions’, Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Vol. 49, No. 1, pp. 91- 115. •Traxler, F. and Brandl, B. 2012. ‘Collective Bargaining, Inter-Sectoral Heterogeneity and Competitiveness: A Cross-National Comparison of Macroeconomic Performance’, British Journal of Industrial Relations, Vol. 50, No. 1, pp. 73-98.

Paper details

ACFI 2208 Performance Measurement in Organisations

2017/18 Assessment Three – an individual written assignment

PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT FOR NON-PROFIT ORGANISATIONS IN THE CONTEXT OF SUSTAINABILITY ACCOUNTING AND REPORTING (50% of the overall module grade)

British Heart Foundation is a UK charity whose vision is “a world in which people do not die prematurely or suffer from heart disease”.

Question 1: You will need to provide an analysis of the financial and non-financial performance of British Heart Foundation (BHF) using BHF’s annual reports of recent years. Relevant financial ratios must be used in your financial analysis. In the non-financial analysis, you need to evaluate the sustainability performance of BHF using relevant Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).

Whereever information about both the BHF group and BHF charity is provided, information regarding the group should be used. Question 2: Someone argues that a non-profit organisation will never achieve all three sustainability areas since they are not working toward earning profit, which is one of the three areas.

To what extent do you agree or disagree with that statement? Support your answers with the relevant literature. Referencing: Harvard referencing should be used. You should not reference to lecture handouts – use Google Scholar or other search method to find articles and text books to refer to. Word limit: Indicative: 2,200 words, including 1800 words for question 1 and 400 words for question 2, excluding tables, figures and references. You have 10 percent (220 words) variance allowance. No appendix should be used, all relevant information should be included in the essay. Please state the word count on the front sheet. Hand in date: Friday of Week 30 (27 April 2018) before 11.59pm via Turnitin. You must submit an electronic copy of your work to TURNITIN using the link in the Assessment tab on Blackboard. No hardcopy submission is required. You can hand your work in earlier if you wish.

Part 1 RESEARCH CONTEXT As a prominent local research expert, you have been approached to carry out some initial exploratory secondary research on behalf of the above proposed business, as well as a plan for appropriate primary research. The following paragraphs outline the research context and ‘brief’. You have been recruited as a local researcher by the ‘No Alcohol’ Institute; a research organisation sponsored and funded by the UK Government. The purpose is to carry out a study of attitudes to alcohol among university students in Leicester. The ‘No Alcohol’ Institute wishes to develop an awareness programme among students in Leicester during January 2020 of the health risks arising from excessive alcohol intake. Before launching that programme, they want you to get data for them on some of the following: • The wider background situation in the UK concerning alcohol related problems. • attitudes of current undergraduate students in the age range 19-24 to drinking alcohol and managing alcohol intake. • current student social behaviour patterns around alcohol • student perceptions of their own drinking habits and that of family members or friends, including any financial implications. • how and why some students might experience issues of alcohol abuse or addiction, or related problems, when they come to study away from home. Also, the ‘No Alcohol’ Institute would be interested in identifying the level of knowledge of undergraduate students of the health risks associated with varying levels of alcohol intake. You are asked to prepare a research plan for to address the ‘No Alcohol’ Institute’s requirements. In this plan, they expect you to undertake exploratory secondary research, and some primary research, with a sample of university students in Leicester. NB The ‘No Alcohol’ Institute is an entirely fictitious organisation invented solely for the purposes of this examination case study. Part 2 PROPOSED RESEARCH TASK You will need to consider what exploratory secondary research would be useful here and how it might contribute to the later part of the study – the main data collection. For the primary research, you will need to comment on sampling, quantitative data perception and respondent choice, on the research method taken (interview, survey, focus group) and the specific insights that the proposed research can offer. Some consideration of the dimensions (issues) that the research would focus on is also important, and how the data generated could be of value to the ‘No Alcohol’ Institute. Finally, you should indicate some data analysis that is appropriate for the research method(s) you propose. Important facts You need to do some background reading on the context (secondary desk research) and to prepare ideas on the key areas noted in the task. Preliminary secondary research is needed so that you understand the patterns of alcohol consumption in the UK, some of the current behaviour and lifestyle trends and how that links to the health issues of young people in the age range 19 to 24. propose a specific main data collection process and you should consider what method would address the requirements of the ‘No Alcohol’ Institute. You are expected to demonstrate knowledge of research design, to be able to explain different parts of the research process logically and to illustrate all those elements in a relevant way in this case. Some reference to key authors is advised when considering choice of research method, sampling methods, approaches to data collection and potential data analysis.

You are to synthesize the material you learned in this course to propose a mission to discover extrasolar life to the Global Organization for an Optimistic Future (GOOF). GOOF is willing to spend unlimited funds to be the first agency to find a non-terrestrial living organism of any kind. They will select the proposal that shows the most scientific evidence for finding life with the minimal amount of money and time.  IMPORTANT: Your proposal MUST follow this format or it risks rejection. A rejected paper will receive 0 points for grade and will be further scrutinized for plagiarism with serious consequences. Please include all headers in your paper. All writing should be in your own words with appropriate citations to any other works. Paper Topic: You are to synthesize the material you learned in this course to propose a mission to discover extrasolar life to the Global Organization for an Optimistic Future (GOOF). GOOF is willing to spend unlimited funds to be the first agency to find a non-terrestrial living organism of any kind. They will select the proposal that shows the most scientific evidence for finding life with the minimal amount of money and time. I. Introduction (~150 words) Give an overview of the mission your propose. II. Mission Location (~1000 words) Select a location (e.g., a moon or planet) other than Earth where you would propose to search for extraterrestrial life. Make a valid scientific argument on why you think this location is the most promising and practical place to search. III. Discover of Lifeforms (~1000 words) Describe the most likely lifeforms scientists think we will find on the extrasolar planet or moon you chose. Explain how this lifeform likely survives and thrives in the described location. Your explanation should include a description of its biological process (e.g. respiration, metabolism) and the sources of energy and other requirements and how these requirements are likely available in the location. IV. How Would We Find It (~ 250 words) Give a description of the mission or observational technique(s) you propose to accomplish the mission. IV. Conclusion (~150 words) A summary of your proposal. Criteria for a successful paper: A successful paper will be at least 2500 words and will follow the format above. It will include: A clear, accurate, and coherent scientific argument that uses scientifically valid information (from the Internet or journals) and many of the main concepts used in the course. Your paper should demonstrate your understanding of these concepts, not just the awareness of the terminology. A clear organization and correct grammar to provide a readable and intelligent paper. It should be easy and pleasurable to read. This must include an introduction, conclusion, and the mandatory headers to help make clarify your argument. Within this format, your paper should demonstrate individuality and creativity to show how you have digested and interpreted the information, and to show me it is your OWN work. Papers that read like a bunch of cut and paste text without any personality will be poorly graded. A complete and consistent set of citations and references in APA, IEEE, or similar academic format. I don’t care which format you use, but be consistent and thorough.