Assessment name:

Business Environment Infographic

Task description:

Describe the role of key economic, political and legal institutions in shaping the business environment, and explain their impact on businesses operations. Present your findings in the form of an infographic, with accompanying reference list

Due date:

Friday, week 4, 11:59 PM.

Length:

One infographic incorporating a selection of elements. A full reference list will be appended to this item.

Weighting:

20%

Individual/Group:

Individual

Formative/Summative:

Formative and summative

Assessment and feedback:

Grading scale using a rubric

What you need to do:

Your client has requested an overview of the business environment in which they operate. You will deliver three (3) research outputs over the coming months (BSD108 Assessment Tasks 1, 2 and 3).

Client: A venture capitalist has requested an overview of the business environment to assist them, as they are interested in investing in the retail sector (emphasis on Pubs, Bars, Taverns/Cafes and Restaurants). You will deliver three research outputs over the coming months (BSD108 Assessment Tasks 1, 2 and 3)

Scope: The first research output for your client is an infographic which details relevant areas of the political and economic environment of the industry in Australia.

Audience: The report will be directed to your client who is unaware of the political and economic workings of the Australian business environment.

Purpose: The infographic is aimed to provide a shared understanding of the basics of the Australian business environment. You will build further on this base in Assessment 2 where you will present a discussion of the social and technological drivers of change in the business environment to members. Finally, with Assessment Task 3 you will deliver an in-depth written report on the national and international regulatory environment relevant to the industry.

Required elements of the infographic

1. A depiction/ description of the structure of government in Australia relating to the separation of power. Include the importance of rule of law and property rights, as well as the role of a peak body.

2. A depiction/ description of the institutions responsible for regulating the business environment as well as the chosen sector. Include an example of recent regulatory action in the sector.

3. An explanation of the key macro-economic indicators, include their importance and their limitations

4. A depiction/ description of current data of the key macro-economic indicators, including the chosen industry’s contributions to these measures (where relevant).

Format of the infographic

The proportions and dimensions of the infographic are for you to choose. You may find that a narrow and tall format suits your ideas, or a large square format, or a rectangle. There are common formats for infographics and you may find it simplest to choose a commonly used format.

Technology

This is a significant choice to make in preparation for this assessment. It is strongly advised that you avoid using professional packages such as Adobe Illustrator or Adobe Photoshop to create your infographic. These packages are expensive to access and require a significant investment in terms of time and effort to master. If you already feel confident using these packages then feel free, but if not choose one of the options presented below

Microsoft Office

Microsoft Office programs Word Excel and Powerpoint can all be used to create the infographic, or to contribute elements to an infographic. Microsoft Office programs Word, Excel and PowerPoint can all be used to create the infographic, or to contribute elements to an infographic. Word contains a number of drawing tools that can be used to create simple shapes and images for your infographic. Excel allows you to create a variety of charts and tables using data you have sourced in your research. These can easily be imported into other Microsoft packages like Word or PowerPoint.

PowerPoint provides some useful functionality that makes it a good choice for simple infographics. See the LinkedIn Learning course “PowerPoint: Creating an Infographic” which is linked form the Assessment 1 folder to see how this software can be used to complete this task.

Microsoft offers a number of free, easily edited infographic templates for each of the three software packages. Adapting an already existing template to suit your needs may be a good approach to this assessment task. View a range of free infographic templates for Word, Excel and PowerPoint here.

Canva

Canva is a free online graphics platform that allows you to create infographics using a selection of templates. Canva provides an intuitive, drag-and-drop environment which is very easy to understand and use. Canva offers a number of easily modified templates which will be suitable for this assessment item. Canva allows you to upload your own images, so graphs created in Excel can be added to your infographic. Canva offers a range of paid add-ons which you should not use for this assessment item. Free options at Cava are entirely adequate to complete this task to a high standard. Canva allows you to export your completed infographic as a pdf ready for submission to Turn It In. Access Canva here. View a very useful Canva infographics tutorial here.

Reference List

You are required to prepare a reference list for your response and to include citations in your infographic for key statistics.

Generative AI programs are not considered appropriate sources in this unit. You are reminded that copying material generated in this way is considered academic misconduct by the university.

Learning outcomes measured:

Learning outcome 1: Use business data and key indicators to describe and critically analyse the environments in which business operates [KS (1.2), HO (2.1), PC (3.1), SE (5.1)]

Learning outcome 2: Describe the role of key economic, political, and legal institutions in shaping the business environment, and explain their impact on business operations [KS (1.2), HO (2.1), PC (3.1), SE (5.1)]