Order Description
– This essay must be constructed to answer a research question.
– You must use a business model from the module to help you determine the answer of your research question.
– You may use a company or a business sector to illustrate how the model works.
– The essay must demonstrate critical thinking which is the process of applying reasoned and disciplined thinking to a subject.
– You will be asking a question about a business model and doing research in order to arrive at an answer about the model.
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THE QUESTION
The question which you will need to answer is :
“Can the ……(a)…….model assist an industry segment or company to …(b)…..effectively.”
Where there is a blank you must fill in :
a) your choice of model
b) what you wish to study …(develop an existing market, plan a launch, build a brand, expand into a new market, segment a market, construct a strategy…establish a start up in a particular field etc )
c) models which you can choose are those covered in the term: PESTEL, SWOT, 5Forces , Porters CEC Strategy, Ansoff Box, BCG Matrix, Market segmentation, marketing mix
(I prefer 5Forces, market segmentation or Pestel)
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STRUCTURE AND LAYOUT OF ESSAY
Question:
Position:
Argument:
Evidence:
Conclusion:
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DETAILED STRUCTURE AND LAYOUT
The structure of your essay must conform to the following layout as this is the layout you will be marked on.
Clarify the Question (state what you will be researching)
Position taken on the question (What you believe the answer might be )
Present your argument.( The reasons why you believe the model can or cannot help you answer the question. You should limit these to three or four)
Assemble your evidence (This is from your reading and literature review and is a collection of points which prove your argument is correct)
Analyse the evidence (state which of your points are the most important to proving your argument and why)
Give your conclusion stating why you believe that the model either can or cannot assist you to answer the question)
References ( A list of all references used during your research, and should only include material that you actually refer to in your work.The list must be constructed using the Harvard referencing system)
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STEPS
1. Choose a model
2. Research the model using a literature review
3. Research the industry or company which you are looking at
4. Decide what evidence you will use to support your argument
5. Analyse the evidence and say how it helps build your case that the model is effective in assisting you to answer the question
6. Present your conclusion. This must state that the model is either effective, not effective or you need more research to give a definitive answer.
7. You must define what effective means in the context of what you are researching.
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You MUST use a minimum of six reference sources of which three must be journals.
Newspapers and magazines and academic articles can be used but they are not journals.
INDICATIVE TEXT
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill (2009) ?Research methods for Business Students? FT Prentice Hall (UK) fifth ed
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