Assessment Details and Submission Guidelines
Trimester T2 2021
Unit Code HI6008
Unit Title Business Research
Assessment Type SUPPLEMENTARY ASSESSMENT
Assessment Title Company-specific mini-literature review and research design proposal
Purpose of the assessment (with ULO Mapping) The purpose of this assessment is to ensure a student who requires and qualifies for an approved SUPPLEMENTARY ASSESSMENT is able to document a mini-literature review and research design.
Matches to Unit Learning Outcomes 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7
Weight 100%
Total Marks Note: The SUPPLEMENTARY ASSESSMENT result will be either 50P (a passing grade) or NN (a failing grade).
Word limit Approximately 2000 words
Due Date Within 10 days of final results being released to students. Note that this deadline cannot be extended for any reason.
Submission Guidelines • All work must be submitted on Blackboard by 12 midnight on the due date, along with a completed Assignment Cover Page.
• The assignment must be a single document in MS Word format, 1.5 spacing, 12-pt Arial font and 2 cm margins on all four sides of your page with appropriate section headings, paragraphing, and page numbers.
• Reference sources must be cited in the text of the report, and listed appropriately at the end in a reference list, all using the Holmes adapted Harvard referencing style.
• The Supplementary assessment will be graded PASS/FAIL. To PASS, all requirements must be complied with in full.

SUPPLEMENTARY ASSESSMENT Specifications
Purpose:
This unit aims to give you an opportunity to combine many facets of your acquired MBA skills into the production of a research project mini-literature review and research design proposal.
It is explicitly designed as a SUPPLEMENTARY ASSESSMENT for students who qualify for a Supplementary Assessment and are duly notified thereof. You must complete and submit this INDIVIDUALLY.
Task
Your task is to prepare a report of 2000 words (the word count does not include your questionnaire and reference list), based on the following scenario:
Your CEO has requested you to ascertain whether or not she/he should expand the company beyond the shores of Australia, by opening a new branch in the Fijian city of Suva. Please attend to the following aspects:
a. Use the city you are currently based in (i.e. where your Holmes campus is) as being the current base from which your company wishes to expand.
b. Choose a business that currently operates in either the retail or manufacturing sector. Ensure that you specify which sector and describe the industry within which the business operates. Explain the company and its brand positioning (this must be an existing brand, not a hypothetical one). Provide details about the current performance of the business, its other current locations, its growth history, etc. [from published secondary data]. Decide on and clearly state the Research Problem facing the company.
c. Research relevant politico-socio-economic-enviro-legal facts about Fiji in general and Suva in particular.
d. Research relevant facts about the state of the industry.
e. Research at least three relevant competitors in Fiji.
f. For the above three sections you need at least 9 references, of which at least 4 must be academic journal articles. [In your reference list, ensure that you provide the details of each reference in Holmes-adapted Harvard style, plus the hyperlinked URL of anything you accessed online, and the date on which you accessed it].
g. State the research question(s) that remain(s) to be answered after considering all of the above.
h. Decide what primary data will be needed to complete your study and state how you would go about collecting it, i.e. your specific methodology design. In particular, specify your sample frame of participants, the type of interviews you would use, and why. [Note: DO NOT actually collect any primary data]
i. Add the complete questionnaire and explain the data analysis plan ([Note: DO NOT actually collect any primary data]
Assignment Structure must be as the following:
1. Official Holmes Cover Page
2. Introduce the company (a and b above) [approx. 500 words], culminating in the specific Research Problem.
3. Conduct a research of literature review / secondary data (c, d, e, f, g) [approx. 1000 words, culminating in the specific Research Problem and state the Research Question]
4. Apply your knowledge of research to propose a research design (i.e. specify what primary data is needed; how will it be collected, analysed, interpreted (h) [approx. 500 words]
5. Design your detailed Questionnaire (i) designed specifically for the interviews that would be conducted to elicit primary data directly related to the Research Question (word count not specified). Demonstrate an appropriate range of questioning / answering techniques, based on HI6008 lecture materials.
6. List of references [not part of the word count]

HI6008 SUPPLEMENTARY ASSESSMENT - Marking Rubric
Section
PASS* FAIL
1. Official Holmes Cover Sheet
Must be complete and included as the front page of your submitted word document (i.e. the whole submission must be one single word file).
2. Introduction (a and b)
(approx. 500 words)
3. Literature Review (c, d, e, f, g) leading to Research Problem and specific Research Question
(approx. 1000 words)
4. Research Design / Methodology (h) incl. sample frame, data collection, analysis, interpretation methods
(approx. 500 words)
5. Detailed Questionnaire with appropriate range of questioning / answering techniques (g)
6. List of References
in correct Holmes-adapted Harvard format with all detail (including URLs hyperlinked)
*All sections must earn a PASS in order to complete the unit.
Note: Inclusion of any work that is not entirely your own OR inaccurate referencing all sources consulted constitutes plagiarism and will result in a FAIL and a recording of Academic Misconduct.