Impact of External Environment Changes on a UK Company: The Covid Situation

Description of chosen organisation and justification of choice

Carry out some research to find current information about a UK company of your choice. Use books, newspaper business reports and the internet. Discuss how changes in its external environment over the last three years have affected the company. Particular reference should be made to the current Covid situation. What has the company been doing to adapt to these changes?

Your essay should be 1500 words in length; it should be fully referenced using the Harvard referencing method.

Further details and guidance about the assignment are available on Moodle.

Your essay should be submitted via Turnitin, the submission deadline will be available via Moodle and your tutor.

Guidance on answering the assignment question

In answering this question you should demonstrate:

• That you can research current information about a named company and present that information in your own words. This should include the nature of the business, size, ownership and where available, its turnover, profit and growth.
• That you understand what is meant by the term external environment and how changes in the external environment impact on a business. You should present and explain relevant theories and frameworks.
• That you can show a clear linkage between the changes in the external environment over the last three years and the opportunities and threats faced by the company.
• That you can relate information about opportunities and threats to company activities. How has it responded to opportunities and threats? Has it been successful or not?

Resources

The basic theory needed to answer this question can be found in the lecture notes and the course textbook (see reference below). The company’s own website is a good starting point for researching the company but make sure that you present a balanced account by using other sources. Articles written in business journals and publications such as The Economist, Daily Telegraph, The Guardian and Financial Times give reports on current developments in the world of business. Many of these are available free on the internet and are searchable. Through the university library you will also be able to gain access to a wide range of academic journals, national and international newspaper archives and market research reports. The University librarians are there to help if you are having trouble finding suitable references, either electronic or paper based - just ask. The information that you use for your coursework must come from reputable sources so you must be very careful when using the internet for research. If in doubt about the suitability of a particular website please ask your tutor.

Description of chosen organisation and justification of choice 10

The essay should include discussion of the relevance of choice of organisation. Should demonstrate research of reliable sources of relevant information about a named company, presented in own words. Should include the nature of the business, including; size, ownership and where available, its turnover, profit and growth. Good answers will include evidence in the form of correctly referenced material. Better answers will include a wide variety of sources with a strong academic base.

External environment discussion – what it is and how it has changed 30 Should demonstrate an understanding of what is meant by the term external environment and how changes in the external environment impact on a business. Should present and explain relevant theories and frameworks e.g. PESTEL. The student should have selected an appropriate model to analyse the external environment, the model will be applied appropriately to the chosen organisation with evidence to support. Better answers may include discussion of other models that may have been used. A wide variety of appropriate resources should be used.

Evaluation of how the business has adapted to meet the new challenges 40 Students should have selected one of the environmental changes from the previous section to discuss in more detail. Should have clear links between the changes in the external environment over the last three years and the opportunities and threats faced bythe company. The information about opportunities and threats to the company should be related to how it has responded and whether it has been successful or not. This will be supported with appropriate references from a wide range of resources.