Arab Open University

Faculty of Business Studies

B207B- Shaping Business Opportunities II

First semester 2022-2023- Tutor Marked Assessment

I. TMA overview

This TMA is intended to assess the following:

 Your knowledge and understanding of the key concepts covered in (weeks1-10)

 Your ability to apply the course ideas to real business examples
 Your ability to use academic business and management language appropriately and
effectively to communicate your ideas
 Your ability to critically analyze business topics and ideas.
 Your ability to work and communicate with a team

This is a group TMA. Each team will consist of 3-4 students. (Consult with your tutor if it’s not
possible to form a group).

This TMA consists of 20% of your total course grade.

 Teams of the same section should select different ideas for this TMA.
 The initial task of your team is to select an innovative organization and ask for tutor
approval.
 Teams should arrange with their tutors to verify that no other team had selected the same
organization.

II. TMA Topic and requirements

The global trade environment and the dynamics of competition among organizations are the most
important topics for understanding and practicing management in today’s markets. The focus of

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this TMA is to select an example of a successful global organization/brand and discuss the
factors that had led to its success along with the challenges that it faces in operating globally.

This TMA encourages students to develop greater critical analysis skills in application to the
theories and course material they learned in B207B. This assignment is an analysis and not a
copy paste of information from sources.

1. Essay Paper (100 marks out of 100) (1500 words)

Your answer should be in the form of an essay. The essay should be well organized, that is, it has
an introduction (5 marks), body (90 marks) and conclusion (5 marks). The introduction should
introduce the topic.

In the body paragraphs, the following points should be discussed:

1. Name the global brand/organization and briefly describe its products and activities. (10
marks)
2. What does it mean to be a global organization? Why is your chosen organization global?
Link to the theories discussed in the course material. (10 marks)
3. There are many factors that could trigger an organization to expand across international
boundaries. Discuss these factors and link your discussion to your chosen organization.
(20 marks)
4. Discuss the main success factors of the global brand. What is its marketing strategy,
competitors and competitive advantage? (10 marks)
5. Discuss the concept of globalization vs. customization and the measures taken by the
global brand to recognize that offerings and communication should be adapted to local
preferences and conditions. Support your answer with solid examples and Link to the
theories discussed in the course material. (20 marks)
6. Discuss the ethical considerations for the global organization. Support your answer with
solid examples and Link to the theories discussed in the course material. (10 marks)
7. Discuss the post COVID-19 challenges and opportunities for the organization. (10
marks)

Instructions for students:

 Each team will work on the paper as they would normally do with other courses, but this
time in a group. This is a good opportunity for students to learn a set of skills that are
very important in the professional business world, such as time management, planning,
communicating with others, etc.
 Each team is required to select a team leader. The TMA paper should be uploaded to the
LMS by the team leader only. This is a very important requirement in order to avoid
Turnitin similarities.
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  The names of all the team members should be written on the pt3 form, including the
name of the team leader. All team members will receive the same mark on the TMA
essay paper. Students are required to use the pt3 form provided on the LMS for this
specific TMA.
 Students papers are expected to meet the following criteria:
o Plagiarism: It’s imperative that team members write the TMA using their own
words. Plagiarism will be penalized depending on its severity and according to
AOU plagiarism policy.
o Format: team members are expected to write their answer in an essay format:
introduction, body paragraph(s) and a conclusion. Failing to do so could result in
the deduction of up to 4 marks from the total TMA paper mark.
o Word count: TMAs are expected to be within the specified word count. A 10%
deviation from word count limit is acceptable. Not adhering to specified word
count could result in the deduction of up to 4 marks of the total TMA paper mark.
o Referencing: team members are expected to use the Harvard referencing style
for in-text referencing and list of reference at the end. Failing to do so could result
in the deduction of up to 4 marks of the total TMA paper mark.
o E-Library: team members are expected to use E-library sources to support their
answers. A minimum of 3 sources is required. Failing to do so could result in the
deduction of up to 4 marks of the total TMA paper mark.

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