MN7406 International Business

Module Leader: Daniel Ladley

Assessment Type: Individual Assessment
Weighting: 100%
Deadline: 22/4/22 by 15:00 via Turnitin on Blackboard
Wordcount: 3,000 (+/- 10%) in total comprising two essays of approx. 1500 words each
excluding references, appendices, charts, diagrams, etc.
Cohort: September & January
Academic Year: 2021/22

Assignment Brief

You should choose any two of the following four questions and complete them as separate essays.

1. Discuss how do cultural differences effect cross country trade.

OR

2. Discuss whether the modern financial system is too connected.

OR

3. Discuss how changing demographics impact on the opportunities and risks of international businesses.

OR

4. Discuss how the advent of blockchain has the potential to revolutionise the way businesses operate
internationally.


Further Guidance

For Essay 1:
In answering this question, you should consider the risks associated with doing business in different
countries bringing in appropriate examples to support your answer. In writing your essay you should not
just consider the within country risk but also the risk associated with operating across countries. You will
find the material covered in and around the lectures on Risk, Trade and Culture particularly useful for this
essay.

For Essay 2:
In your essay, you should comment on how international financial institutions connect countries; how
these connections create vulnerabilities; and how institutions try to limit this risk. Bring in appropriate
examples of how shocks or crisis have spread between countries/industries. You will find the material
covered in and around the lectures on International Institutions, Crisis and the seminars particularly
useful for this essay.

For Essay 3:
In writing your essay, you should consider how demand and opportunities relate to changing populations,
and how these changes interact with environmental sustainability. Bring in appropriate examples of
countries in which changes are having an impact on businesses. You will find the material covered in and
around the lectures on Demographics, Sustainability and Crime particularly useful for this essay.

For Essay 4:
In your essay, bring in relevant examples of how blockchains have been used and the impact they have had
on international businesses. In doing so you should consider examples beyond crypto currencies. You will
find the material covered in and around the lectures on Fintech, International Financial Management and
the seminars particularly useful for this essay.

Suggested Essay Structure

Each essay should be approximately 1500 words. I recommend in each case:

1 Introduction (200 words approx.)

2 Main body (approx. 1000 words. In this section work through the key issues in each case and bring in

relevant examples. Aim to have at least two relevant examples for each essay – discussion of each should be

at least 100-200 words.)

3 Conclusion (300 words approx.)

4 References

Marking Criteria
Criteria for a good essay:
• Evidence of reading beyond standard textbooks and lecture notes
• Solid reference list based on reliable sources
• Good understanding of key concepts and ideas
• Some imagination and originality
• Inclusion of data and evidence where appropriate, perhaps in the form of graphs of visual
representations where appropriate
• Development of a clear line of argument so that the whole essay hangs together
• Inclusion of examples and illustrations
• Substantiated conclusions

Each essay in this assignment will be assessed based on the following criteria and given a score out of 100.
Your overall grade will be the average of the scores you obtain for the two essays.

Mark Postgraduate Grade Descriptor

85-100% Scholarship: Excellent application of a rigorous and extensive knowledge of subject matter; perceptive;
demonstrates a critical appreciation of subject and of the key issues; displays independence of thought and/
or a novel and relevant approach to the subject; reveals both breadth and depth of understanding, showing
insight and appreciation of argument.
Mark Postgraduate Grade Descriptor
Independent learning: Work draws on a wide range of relevant literature and is not confined to reading lists,
textbooks or lecture notes; arguments are well supported by a variety of means.
Writing skills: Writing skills are excellent; writing is clear and precise; arguments are logical, well-structured
and sustained, and demonstrate thorough understanding; conclusions are reasoned and justified by
evidence.
70-84% Scholarship: Very good application of a rigorous and extensive knowledge of subject matter; demonstrates
a critical appreciation of subject; displays detailed thought and consideration of the subject; reveals very
good breadth and depth of understanding.
Independent learning: Work draws on a range of relevant literature and is not confined to reading lists,
textbooks or lecture notes.
Writing skills: Writing skills are well-developed; writing is clear and precise; arguments are logical, well-
structured and demonstrate thorough understanding; conclusions are justified by evidence.
60-69% Scholarship: Good, broad-based understanding of subject manner; makes effective use of understanding to
provide an informative, balanced argument that is focussed on the topic; reveals some attempt at creative,
independent thinking; main points well covered, displaying breadth or depth but not necessarily both;
broadly complete and relevant argument;
Independent learning: Sources range beyond textbooks and lecture material and are used effectively to
illustrate points and justify arguments.
Writing skills: Arguments are presented logically and coherently within a clear structure and are justified
with appropriate supporting evidence; capably written with good use of English throughout; free from major
errors; complex ideas are expressed clearly and fluently using specialist technical terminology where
appropriate.
50-59% Scholarship: Some but limited engagement with, and understanding of, relevant material but may lack focus,
organisation, breadth, and/or depth; relatively straightforward ideas are expressed clearly and fluently
though there may be little or no attempt to synthesise or evaluate more complex ideas; exhibits limited
independent creative thought; adequate analysis but some key points only mentioned in passing; arguments
satisfactory but some errors and perhaps lacking completeness and relevance in parts.
Independent learning: Sources restricted to core lecture material with limited or no evidence of wider
reading.
Writing skills: The question is addressed in a reasonably clear, coherent and structured manner but some
sections may be poorly written making the essay difficult to follow, obscuring key points or leading to over-
generalisation; competently written with a good use of English throughout.
45-49% Minimum requirements have not been met.
Scholarship: Inadequate understanding of key issues and concepts; some material may be used
inappropriately; uninspired and unoriginal; relies on limited knowledge; analysis poor or obscure, superficial
or inconsistent in places; arguments incomplete, partly irrelevant or naive.
Independent learning: Restricted to a basic awareness of course material and textbooks; meagre use of
material to support assertions.
Writing skills: Poor use of English exhibiting errors. Answer may be poorly focussed on the question, lack
rigour and/or consist of a series of repetitive, poorly organised points or unsubstantiated assertions that do
not relate well to one another or to the question, although some structure discernible.
40-44% Scholarship: Poor knowledge of relevant material; omission of key ideas/material; significant parts may be
irrelevant, superficial or factually incorrect; inappropriate use of some material; mere paraphrasing of
course texts or lecture notes; key points barely mentioned; very weak grasp or complete misunderstanding
of the issues; inclusion of irrelevant material; does not address the topic or question.
Independent learning: Restricted to a basic awareness or no awareness of course material and textbooks;
very meagre use of supporting material or unsupported assertions; use of irrelevant or unconvincing
material.
Writing skills: Unacceptable use of English (i.e. comprehension obscured by significant and intrusive errors
of spelling, punctuation and grammar); poor and unclear, or totally incoherent, structure. Answers that ‘run
out of time’ or miss the point of the question may fall into this (or a lower) class.
20-39% Scholarship: Displays a superficial appreciation of the demands and broad context of the question but is
largely irrelevant, fundamentally flawed, or factually incorrect; inappropriate use of material; mere
paraphrasing of course texts or lecture notes; key points barely mentioned; complete misunderstanding of
the issues; inclusion of irrelevant material.
Independent learning: Restricted to a limited awareness of basic course material; unsupported assertions;
use of irrelevant or unconvincing material.
Writing skills: Minimal structure, though may only list key themes or ideas with limited comment or
explanation.
 Mark Postgraduate Grade Descriptor
0-19% Scholarship: No recognition of the demands or scope of the question and no serious attempt to answer it.
Complete misunderstanding of the issues; inclusion of irrelevant material. May have simply failed to address
the question/topic set.
Independent learning: No evidence that the most basic course material has been understood; unsupported
assertions; use of irrelevant or unconvincing material.
Writing skills: Without structure; comprehension may be completely obscured by poor grammar, spelling,
punctuation.

Plagiarism
Plagiarism is to take the work of another person and use it as if it were one’s own in such a way as

to mislead the reader. Whole pieces of work can be plagiarised (for example, if a student put his or

her name on another student’s essay), or part pieces, where chapters or extracts may be lifted from

other sources, including the Internet, without acknowledgement. Sometimes plagiarism happens

inadvertently, where students fail to read instructions about or do not understand the rules governing

the presentation of work which require sources to be acknowledged. In such cases, the problem is

usually identified very early in the course and can be put right through discussion with tutors.

Deliberate attempts to mislead the examiners, however, are regarded as cheating and are treated

very severely by boards of examiners. Any plagiarism in assessments which contribute to the final

degree class are likely to lead, at the very least, to the downgrading of the degree class by one

division. In the worst cases, expulsion from the University is a possibility.

Referencing

You are required to use the Harvard Referencing style for your work. Please ensure that you
have read the advice on referencing which is available at:

https://uniofleicester.sharepoint.com/sites/academic-skills-online/SitePages/Reference.aspx