Description

Unit 1 Business and Business Environment

Report Structure to compliment Assignment Brief

Keep the sequence of the following elements of the report 

⦁ Cover Page 

You must display the following information on your cover page: your name; your student ID; the name of the unit; the title of the assignment; your specific wordcount (from introduction to conclusion)

Please do not use the cover page templates from MS Word toolbox, keep it black and white with no images or graphics. Do not use page number on your cover page.

This is an example for a good cover page:

The exact layout of the page is up to you, only make sure you display all the required information and keep the font type and size as it specified in your assignment brief

⦁ Student Declaration

Place your Student Declaration on a new page, no page number is needed, and this page is not to be included into the Table of Contents either

The template for your Student Declaration is on the second page of the assignment brief 

You can create an identical table and copy and paste the text of the declaration from your assignment brief and you can type your name as a signature

Alternatively, you can print the page sign it by hand, scan and save it on your device, and insert it

onto the page

You will not be able to copy and paste the whole table with the text from the assignment brief as it is uploaded in a PDF format on MOODLE only the text can be copied

Use the Insert function to create an identical table  

⦁ Table of Contents

Place your Table of Content on a new page, no page number is needed

If you decide to use the template from MS Word document, please make sure you chose the Manual Table option so you can keep it tidy and organised

You can access it from References

Of course, you can create your own Table of Contents in the document without using the template; or use a free one from the internet 

⦁ Introduction

Place your introduction on a new page and start numbering the pages in your document

Focus on discussing the first point in your assignment brief: 

“1. Introduction to the tasks along with a brief overview of the current business environment”

This is the point you need to start counting your words, after you have highlighted the introduction, main body and conclusion, you will be able to read the word count in the left bottom corner for the highlighted sections. Use the first, smaller number to display it on your title page

In your introduction you will have to explain that your report will offer:

⦁ First, general information on the topic based on research – explain what your topic is; what is the significance of your topic in a wider context of Business Studies 

⦁ Then, how the general information is going to be applied on your chosen companies 

Basically, in the introduction you set the scene for the more detailed main body - by explaining the given scenario from your assignment brief - ; create a backdrop for the wider context of your report; tell your readers briefly what you are going to talk about in the main body of the report 

"Tell them what you are going to tell them; tell them; tell them what you have told them"

(Aristotle)

Bear in mind that you must put references into your introduction as a rule of thumb: 1 reference/100 words

More information on in-text referencing in Harvard format  is included in your academic skills module materials

You can access it from home page by clicking on:

and then, scroll down to access the hyperlinks

Always use third person throughout your whole report

⦁ Main Body 

Your assignment is required to be written in a report format. Therefore, you must structure your main body by using subheadings

"Tell them what you are going to tell them; tell them; tell them what you have told them"

(Aristotle) 

Please find more information on writing styles and how to structure an academic report amongst the 

Academic Skills Development Materials 

Please refer to the Unit Handbook (on MOODLE; Unit 1; Teaching Materials) 

(we have talked it though at the first class) and make sure you include ALL elements of

 Essential Content LO by LO 

How to make thorough research on each point? Please, take these summative points apart and research each part separately e.g. :

“Micro, small, medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Different business purposes, objectives and supply of goods and services.“ 

Research the aspect of categorizing businesses by size

-research micro businesses, definition, examples main features find and use references

-research small businesses, definition, examples main features find and use references

-research medium size businesses, definition, examples main features

find and use references

-research large size business, definition, examples main features

find and use references

-research SMEs and their significance, definition, examples main features

find and use references

Research the aspect of categorizing businesses by purpose

-research what kind of business objectives are out there?

find and use references

What is supply from a business point of view?

find and use references

Examples of supply of goods and services

find and use references

All general knowledge and theory then, must be applied on your 3 chosen company 

⦁ The main body – spread across the 4 learning outcomes – must discuss the following points from your assignment brief:

“2. Give details for three different types of organizations, one each from private, public and voluntary sectors, which should include their background, size, scope mission, objectives, purposes, legal structures and their key stakeholders. Analyse how these impact on their products and service delivery.”

“3. Giving appropriate example preferably from one of the organizations selected above, critically analyse how business objectives, mission and vision determine the structure and impact on functional interrelations of the organization.”

“4. Use an organizational chart to support your discussions.”

You can use these points to create titles for your subheadings e.g. : 

Details of different types of organizations like background, size, scope mission, objectives

Organisational charts for three different organisations, chosen from each main sector of economy: private, public, voluntary 

Etc.

Section 1 - must cover LO1 and LO2 with all essential content

Whilst working on section 1 and the learning outcomes, always keep in mind the level of thinking you demonstrate and follow the command words of the grading grid: explain, analyse and critically analyse in order to achieve the highest possible grade

Section 2 - must cover LO3 and LO4 with all essential content

Whilst working on section 2 and the learning outcomes, always keep in mind the level of thinking you demonstrate and follow the command words of the grading grid: identify, explain, analyse, apply and critically evaluate in order to achieve the highest possible grade

Do a research on a very useful tool – Bloom’s Taxonomy - can help you to use English language to demonstrate your level of thinking by using the appropriate verbs and conjunctions 

https://mygrowthmindset.home.blog/2019/03/14/how-do-i-love-blooms-taxonomy-let-me-count-the-ways/

Do not forget in-text referencing your work and keep the text in third person 

⦁ Conclusion 

"Tell them what you are going to tell them; tell them; tell them what you have told them"

(Aristotle) 

In your conclusion summarize the key points of your report. Never use references or offer new information in this section. Make sure this section is not a mere repetition of the introduction but a summary from a different angle 

As you can see by the examples in the next table 

introduction briefly reaches back to the past and discusses the present challenges 

conclusion, however summarises present form a different (conclusive) angle and not just repeats what already been said in the introduction; and leaves an open window to the future

Past 

Briefly refer to the past of the wider context and mention some key points to be expected to be changed 

E.g. 

Researching management and leadership styles has a considerable history. The approach of the research however was based on the common view that each manager has got their own unique style solely based on tier personal attributes. 

Induction

(if your report was about management and leadership styles) Present 

Forecast the discussion points of the main body highlighting the general knowledge about the current state of the given field. Make sure you do not draw conclusions just yet 

E.g

Later, in this report different, the most commonly used management and leadership styles going to be analysed and discussed closely linked to the structure and culture of the investigated organisation. It will, be done by examining some specific examples considering current challenges business are facing. 

Present 

Conclude the found information highlighting the potential differences or similarities between theory and practice. Remember you have done your research therefore you have gained an insight on the current state of the investigated field 

E.g. 

As a conclusion of the conducted research, it is safe to state that there is a distinctive pattern of the used management and leadership styles used by organisations operating within the same or similar industry context. However, the research did not prove that every single organisation uses the same decision-making process under the same leadership or management style.

Conclusion 

(if your report was about management and leadership styles) Future 

Mention some aspects still open to future changes, in light of ongoing events and highlight that in time some more research can be done to 

find out the impact on the given field

E.g 

Taking the extreme external changing forces on current UK business operations - like Brexit or the pandemic – it will be very interesting g to see the evolution of management and leadership styles. Will the new phenomena of “working form home” or “home office” fundamentally change the way organisations are structured from a management point of view? Is it going to diminish the significance of strong leadership or are these changes result in the emerging of a brand-new management style? 

⦁ List of References

As a rule of thumb, you must use 1 reference/100 words

approx. 33-35 references for this report

You will find that, if you have done an in-depth research it is very easy to find that many references, in fact you probable will struggle to pick the best ones

More information on referencing on how to create a list of references in Harvard format is included in your academic skills module materials

You can access it from home page by clicking on:

and then, scroll down to access the hyperlinks

Your resources in the list of reference must be organised in alphabetical order 

The total word count on this report is 3500 words

(+- 10 %) 

min 3150 – max 3850 words 

BEST OF LUCK WITH YOUR REPORT WRITING, DON’T FORGET TO ENJOY YOUR JOURNEY OF THIS CHALLENGING PROCESS!!!

Instruction Files