Choose between the two
A Wordprocessed essay of 3,000 words (+/- 10%) is to be submitted via the module
Turnitin link by 23:00hrs:
End of Week 8
Students will choose ONE of the two statements to base their final essay on:
EITHER:
“Mergers and acquisitions are the key to an organisations strategic development of
knowledge. Knowledge acquisition is what drives organisations to carry out these
activities”
Critically evaluate this statement, using academic literature and current business
examples.
OR:
“For many years, community development goals were philanthropic activities that were
seen as separate from business objectives, not fundamental to them; doing well and doing
good were seen as separate pursuits. But I think that is changing. What many of the
organizations that are represented here today are learning is that cutting-edge innovation
and competitive advantage can result from weaving social and environmental
considerations into business strategy from the beginning. And in that process, we can
help develop the next generation of ideas and markets and employees” Carly Fiorina,
Hewlett-Packard, Business for Social Responsibility Annual Conference, November 12,
2003.
Critically evaluate this statement, using academic literature and current business
examples.
Marking Criteria
(The marks for each criterion are to illustrate where the main effort should be spent and
are not meant to be a strict marking scheme)
Presentation – Structure/Grammar 10%
Critical Analysis 50%
Current Business Examples 20%
Referencing 10%
Conclusion 10%
Please remember that an essay is not meant to DESCRIBE what you have found. Critical
Analysis means assessing the different academic viewpoints on a subject, seeing which
literature agrees/disagrees with each other AND the statement or question given.
General Guidance to students
Structure/Conclusion
➢ The introduction should set out the structure of the essay to come, including
definitions of key terms – Tell me what you are going to say…
➢ The main body of the essay should contain the critical analysis of the topics.
➢ You should use academic literature to critically analyse the statement or question
of your choice.
o What does the academic literature say?
o Does the literature support the statement or question or does it give an
alternative view?
o Identify the literature that agrees and supports each other, but also
important to identify those with opposing views.
➢ Split the main body into distinct parts or paragraphs and guide the reader through
the essay (for example, you can use guiding sentences such as: having looked at
the topic of CSR in general, the focus of this essay will now look at the business
case for such activities…)
➢ Structure the main body of the essay based on the introduction – Tell me what
you need to say…
➢ The conclusion should recap on the main points of the essay and the critique that
has been undertaken – Tell me what you said…
o No new materials should be included in the conclusion, it is a summary of
the main points of the critical analysis and states, based on the evidence
presented, whether there is agreement or disagreement with the statement.
➢ MAKE SURE YOU ANSWER THE QUESTION OR RELATE THE ESSAY
TO THE STATEMENT CHOSEN. This is not an opportunity to tell everything
you know about a subject, without relating it to the question.
