SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AND SOCIAL SCIENCES

BACHELOR OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION (HONS)

INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT
SEMESTER 2 SESSION 2020/2021
LLN1012 Academic Writing
Date: 09 /06/ 2021 to 17/06/2021

Instructions
You are instructed to follow the guideline as given hereunder:
1. This is a take-home open book assignment. Therefore, you are allowed to look for
answers from internet sources, class notes, journal articles, textbook, and reference
books.
2. You must write your answers in this question paper.
3. Preferred Font- Times New Roman, size 12, and Spacing 2.0. Every heading and
subheading must be “bold” and “Capitalise Each Word”, references and citations in
APA style.
4. You are not allowed to consult with your friends about answering the questions.
5. You must maintain academic ethics. Hence, you are strongly advised not to conduct any
academic malpractices such as copy-paste, plagiarism, imitating others’ work, etc.
6. Your answer paper must be checked through Turnitin (online plagiarism checking
platform) for detecting the presence of similarity and plagiarism. Up to 20% of similarity
is acceptable. However, each 10% increase of similarity will cause a 5% deduction of
your marks.
7. You must convert your answer paper into a PDF file and submit it to the designated
Google Classroom.
8. Assessment Marks: 30%

STUDENT INDEX NUMBER : AIU19092016

 Total Marks 100

SECTION (A): Short Essay (25 marks)

1. What is the thesis statement in an essay? Give an example. (3+2 marks)

Answer to Question 1: The statement of thesis is the phrase that states the principal notion of a
writing job and helps to monitor the ideas of the document. It's not just a subject. It often
represents a view or judgment on a reading or personal experience from a writer.

Ex. Reading promotes an intellectual ability to understand, increases vocabulary and exposes
children to other worlds which they might otherwise not experience.

2. What is the topic sentence? Give an example. (3+2 marks)

Answer to Question 2: It is a phrase which presents a paragraph with the one issue to which the
paragraph is concentrated.

Ex. There are many possible contributing factors to global warming.

3. Briefly narrate the contents of the three main components of an essay. (5 marks)

Answer to Question 3: Briefly, the basic requirements in writing an essay have three main
important parts. Firstly, an introduction which consists of general information about the topic,
supporting detail, and thesis statement. Secondly, the body paragraph. In the body, it needs to
include topic sentences, supporting detail and it’s highly recommended by scholars to give an
example. Lastly, Conclusion. In conclusion, it’s the part of summarizing the whole essay by
using your own words and avoiding repeating.

4. What are the main characteristics of a piece of good academic writing? (5 marks)
Answer to Question 4: The main characteristics to make our writing good are as follows.

● Use formal language at all times. Use of colloquialisms or slang should be avoided.
● Use of contractions is not permitted (shortened verb forms).
● Avoid using the first-person point of view and instead use the third-person point of view.
● Instead of asking questions, make statements out of them.
● Exaggeration or hyperbole should be avoided.
● Don't make broad generalizations.
● Be clear and concise and avoid repeating.

5. What is plagiarism? How to avoid it? (3+2 marks)

Answer to Question 5: Plagiarism is defined as the use of another person's words or ideas
without properly attributing the original author. Plagiarism can occur intentionally, such as when
someone steals someone else's work, but it can also occur accidently, as a result of carelessness
or forgetfulness. To avoid plagiarism, first Keep a record of the sources you use in your
investigation. Secondly, cite or paraphrase your sources (and add your own ideas). Following in
an in-text citation and reference list, give credit to the original author. Lastly, before submitting,
use a plagiarism checker.
SECTION (B): Citations and References (15 marks)

Make references and citations in light of APA style

1. Journal Article (2+1= 3 marks)

a. Reference
b. Parenthetical Citation and Narrative Citation

Information:
Authors: Grady, Jessica Stoltzfus Her, Malina Moreno, Geena Perez,
Catherine Yelinek, Jillian
Year: 2019
Title: Emotions in storybooks: A comparison of storybooks that represent ethnic
and racial groups in the United States. 
Journal: Psychology of Popular Media Culture
Volume: 8
Issue: 3
Page No: 207–217
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000185

Answer to Question 1:

Grady, J. S., Her, M., Moreno, G., Perez, C., & Yelinek, J. (2019). Emotions in storybooks: A
comparison of storybooks that represent ethnic and racial groups in the United States.
Psychology of Popular Media Culture, 8(3), 207–217.
https://doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000185

B. Narrative Citation : Grady et al. (2019)

Parenthetical : (Grady et al., 2019)

 2. Book (2+1= 3 marks)
a. Reference
b. Parenthetical Citation and Narrative Citation

Information
Author: Lynne M. Jackson
Title: The psychology of prejudice: From attitudes to social action
Year: 2019
Publisher: American Psychological Association.
Edition: 2nd
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/0000168-000

Answer to Question 2:

Jackson, L. M. (2019). The psychology of prejudice: From attitudes to social action (2nd ed.).
American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000168-000

A. Parenthetical Citation: (Jackson, 2019)

Narrative Citation: Jackson (2019)

3. Newspaper Article (2+1= 3 marks)

a. Reference
b. Parenthetical Citation and Narrative Citation
Information

Author: Benedict Carey

Date: 22 March 2019

Title: Can we get better at forgetting? 

Newspaper: The New York Times. 

URL: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/22/health/memory-forgetting-psychology.html

Answer to Question 3:

Carey, B. (2019, March 22). Can we get better at forgetting? The New York Times.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/22/health/memory-forgetting-psychology.html
A. Parenthetical Citation : (Carey, 2019)
Narrative Citation : Carey (2019)

4. Magazine Article (2+1= 3 marks)

a. Reference
b. Parenthetical Citation and Narrative Citation

Information

Author: Nathan K. Schaefer, Beth Shapiro

Date: 6 September 2019

Title: New middle chapter in the story of human evolution.

Magazine: Science

Volume: 365

Issue: 6457

Page No: 981–982

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aay3550

Answer to Question 4:

Schaefer, N. K., & Shapiro, B. (2019, September 6). New middle chapter in the story of human
evolution. Science, 365(6457), 981–982. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aay3550

A. Parenthetical Citation: (Schaefer & Shapiro, 2019)

Narrative Citation: Schaefer and Shapiro (2019)

5. Conference Proceeding (2+1= 3 marks)

a. Reference
b. Parenthetical Citation and Narrative Citation
 Information
Authors: Angela L. Duckworth, Abigail Quirk, Robert Gallop, Rick H. Hoyle, Dennis R.
Kelly, and Michael D. Matthews
Year: 2019
Title: Cognitive and noncognitive predictors of success. 
Proceedings: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Place: USA
Volume: 116
Issue: 47
Pages: 23499–23504
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1910510116

Answer to Question 5:

Duckworth, A. L., Quirk, A., Gallop, R., Hoyle, R. H., Kelly, D. R., & Matthews, M. D. (2019).
Cognitive and noncognitive predictors of success. Proceedings of the National Academy
of Sciences, USA, 116(47), 23499-23504. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1910510116

A. Parenthetical Citation : (Duckworth et al., 2019)

Narrative Citation: Duckworth et al. (2019)

SECTION (C): Mini Case Study (60 marks)

Case Study

Micro-credit programs are an important innovation. They address the problem of credit rationing
that leaves many poor people in developing countries without access to the credit that could
enable them to make productive investments and rise out of poverty.

Today, both for-profit and social business companies operate in the field of microfinance. In fact,
microfinance has become a huge and growing market. Initially, however, this market did not
exist due to market failures. Because of their poverty, poor people did not have the collateral that
would make them eligible for credit. As a consequence, for-profit banks did not see a prospect
for profits and neglected the poor as potential customers. Excluded from the benefits of financial
markets, the poor could not participate in many transactions that would actually have been
productive for both sides.

Driven by the mission to overcome this sort of exclusion, Muhammad Yunus founded the
Grameen Bank in 1983 as a financially sustainable social business that would provide credit to
the poor. A key innovation of his micro-credit approach is “credit-rings.” Instead of pledging
collateral to individual borrowers, groups of borrowers—mainly women—are formed, the
members of which are jointly liable and thus have an incentive to monitor each other.
Furthermore, because it was a social business, as opposed to a strictly for-profit one, Grameen
gained access to rural social networks and thus created understanding and legitimacy for the idea
of credit-rings and micro credits.

The social business approach thus played a crucial role in developing the microfinance market.
In effect, it had a remarkable dynamic impact. Over the years, thousands of new microfinance
institutions all over the world diffused the idea of micro credits. In Mexico, José Ignacio Avalos
Hernández adopted the idea of microfinance in 1990 and transformed his charitable NGO into
the microfinance institution Compartamos, which is aimed at combating widespread poverty. As
a non-profit, Compartamos significantly contributed to developing the local market for micro
finance. Then, in 2000, it was legally converted into a for-profit bank and grew rapidly. Six years
later, in 2006, Compartamos went public and became a privately held for-profit corporation that
continued to grow massively. In 2010, Compartamos had annual revenues of about $493 million,
with growth rates of about 30%. Grameen’s annual revenue, by way of comparison, is about
$177 million.

Compartamos’s transformation into a for-profit has been harshly criticized by social business
proponents. The criticism touches on the general question of whether a for-profit or a social
business approach is the superior instrument for providing microcredits. While this question is
far too complex to be answered easily, the distinction between dynamic and static impact can
perhaps shed some light on the inquiry.

In terms of dynamic impact, social entrepreneurs such as Yunus and the early Avalos Hernández
played a critical role in overcoming market failures and creating financial innovations. Once
these markets had emerged, however, for-profit banks like Compartamos entered the market.
Proponents of the for-profit approach could argue that these for-profits take static impact to a
new level. For-profit competition increases efficiency, attracts additional capital, thus making
more loans available, and ultimately drives down interest rates, which are still very high in micro
finance in general. From this perspective, the fact that Compartamos has tripled its revenues in
comparison to Grameen shows that for-profit companies can be powerful engines of static
impact.

On the other hand, social business proponents could argue that the for-profit approach is flawed
based on remaining market failures in the domain of micro finance. Many poor people are
economically illiterate and cannot make fully informed decisions. They are often in situations of
dire urgency that easily could be exploited. Also, credit-rings can create social pressure sufficient
to drive people to commit suicide when they cannot repay the loans. These problems create the
need for further innovations guided by a strong social mission a challenge social business might
be better positioned to address than for-profits.

Total Wordcount: 700 words (10% +/-)

1. Write a case summary (10 marks)

(200 words)

Answer to Question 1: In conclusion, The main objective of having a microcredit program is to

minimize the problem of the unprivileged people who are not permitted to access the credit. As a
result, it keeps them living poor, and lacks opportunity in terms of making an investment. There
are some arguments between both, which are profit making and social businesses who play a big
role in growing the market. However, it seems that the profit bank doesn’t give a solution to
solve the problem of poverty since the poor were unable to participate in numerous transactions
that might have been beneficial to both parties. On the other hand, it does work for social
business in eliminating poverty since this is a business that has the aim to address the social
cause, yet the investor may receive his money back after a specified period of time and cover all
of the organization's operational costs. Although social business can be conducted in any field,
sectors such as healthcare, housing, nutrition, education, and financial services to the poor and
underserved continue to be prioritized. In contrast to profit-making organizations, success in the
sphere of social enterprise is determined by the degree of effect or good change that it is able to
bring about in the existing scheme of things.
 2. Answer the following questions as below
(100 words for the answer to each question: total 100*5=500 words)
(5*7= 35 marks)

Important Instruction: Each question should be answered in the paragraph form

(including the topic sentence and supporting topic sentences). Students are strongly
suggested to cite one article in answering each question hereunder. Your answer should
be written based on the given case and journal articles (that you will collect and read).

a. Why do for-profit markets fail and lead to credit rationing before the concept of
microcredit?

Answer to Question 2 (a):

Profit making is not systematic and deep. According to Jin and Zhang (2019), “The main reason
why it is more difficult for SMEs to obtain credit funds in the formal credit market is that, prior
to loan approval, SMEs are unable to transmit their risk levels because their initial asset size is
generally below the critical collateral value, and loans to SMEs cause higher costs to banks
because their loan size is generally below the minimum loan size. SMEs also lack tangible assets
as security, have a lesser proportion of public property rights, and have a higher degree of
knowledge asymmetry with banks”.

b. What are the key challenges that microfinance institutions are facing these days?

Answer to Question 2 (b): The key challenges that Microfinance are facing are both internal
and external. In other words, in Ghana, high operational/transaction costs are one of the most
fundamental internal challenges for MFIs. The operational expenditures include rent, utility bills,
personnel salaries, travel & transportation, administration, depreciation, and so on. As well as
external issue, One of the most significant external challenges that MFIs in Ghana face is a lack
of basic infrastructure. This absence of basic infrastructure exacerbates the operational
difficulties of these banks, which are typically faced with significant operational costs due to the
nature of their business. (Boateng, 2015)

c. What are the benefits of for-profit microfinance solutions?

Answer to Question 2 (c): Making an MFI a for-profit venture has numerous advantages. In
other words, a greater number of MFIs would promote competition, providing customers with a
wider range of appealing rates and services. More funding would allow MFIs to perform better
research to benefit the microfinance industry. By producing revenue for the company, MFIs will
be able to sustain themselves and serve without relying on donors or government fees, while also
allowing personnel to be fairly compensated. For-profit MFIs will allow the impoverished to
consider themselves as customers rather than dependents, boosting their self-esteem. Finally, for-
profit businesses will be permitted to hire locals. (Shaffer, 2012)

d. What are the benefits of social business solutions?

Answer to Question 2 (d): There are several benefits to solve the problem by using social
business strategy. Generally, this strategy deals with people who are living at the bottom of the
pyramid or poor people. Therefore, it gives them benefits by providing a means of livelihood.
Social enterprises significantly boost general employee advocacy. Employees are empowered
and feel valued as significant contributors to a company's overall success. Social business
promotes customer interactions. Customers are typically regarded as the primary motivators of
every organization. Social business increases an organization's or firm's marketing tremendously.
All parties involved collaborate to develop effective and innovative marketing tactics. Finally,
social business enhances organizational cohesiveness and communication. (insideview, 2012)

e. Why is social business more effective in overcoming the problems of market failure
while addressing social issues?
Answer to Question 2 (e): Social business has the main aim to operate with creating value for
the society and also generate income. Most people are unfamiliar with the concept of social
business. Contrary to popular opinion, social business does not refer to the usage of online social
networks in business. It is, rather, a business strategy targeted at significantly enhancing overall
performance in the particular businesses that use it. As the term implies, social business
promotes connectedness and active engagement of all communities in a business. Employees,
consumers, employers, analysts, donors, volunteers, consultants, suppliers, business partners,
prospects, user groups, and grassroots supporters comprise these communities. All of the parties
engaged in the operation of a business are listed here. As a result, social business refers to an
organization's ability to use all of its communities in order to boost business performance. This is
a different strategy than the typical business method, in which the executive has complete control
over the business and its operational components. (insideview, 2012)

3. Give five references of journal articles that you have already cited to answer question No
(2). Follow APA format. (5*3= 15 marks)

Answer to Question 3:

Jin, Y., & Zhang, S. (2019). Credit Rationing in Small and Micro Enterprises: A Theoretical
Analysis. Sustainability, 11(5), 1330. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11051330

Wampah, H. A. K., (2012), Monetary Policy Framework in Ghana: Practice and Challenges. A
Paper Presented at the International Conference on Monetary Policy Frameworks in
Developing Countries: Practice and Challenges. Organized by the National Bank of
Rwanda in collaboration with the IMF, WB and IGC, Kigali, July 19-20, 2012.

Boateng, A.A. (2015). An Examination of Challenges and Prospects of Microfinance Institutions

in Ghana. Journal of Economics and Sustainable Development, 6(4), 55.
 https://d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/36840894/19993-22525-1-PB.1.pdf?
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Shaffer, B. (2012). Charging to Teach a Man How To Fish: Why Is That A Bad Idea? A Case
For the For-Profit Microfinance Institutes. For-profit Microfinance Institutes, 6-7.
https://mcstor.library.milligan.edu/bitstream/handle/11558/52/Shaffer_Brittany_2012.pdf
?sequence=1

Insideview. (2012, July 30). The Main Benefits of Social Business. Retrieved from insideview:
https://www.insideview.com/blog/the-main-benefits-of-social-business/