BSB108 Business Environment
Semester 1 2024
A1 Insight report: National business environment
1. Submission date
Refer to Canvas.
2. AssessmentTask
An anonymous investor1 has requested an overview of the business environment of the Australian
domestic airline sector.
You have been commissioned to write the report. Your brief is as follows:
the report is to provide an overview of the national business environment in which the Australian
domestic airline sector operates using the PEST framework;
in defining the sector acknowledgment should be made of the main activities undertaken;
the analysis is to be objective and supported by appropriate data and sources.2
3. A1requirements
The report has a MAXIMUM WORD limit of 2500 words. The word count is inclusive of in-text citations,
figures, tables etc. The word count excludes your reference list.
The report is to be submitted through the Canvas Assignment link in BSB108 Canvas. You are advised
to keep a copy of your work for your own records.
Your report will be checked for originality by TurnItIn.
The report should be submitted as a WORD document or PDF. Other file formats may not be able to
be opened and will be assumed to be a non-submission.
It is your responsibility to check that (i) your report has been uploaded and (ii) that it is the correct
document. If you need help on how to check, contact HiQ support (do not contact your tutor or UC).
Work that has been submitted for assessment in BSB108 in previous semesters, or for other units,
cannot be resubmitted for assessment. Re-submitted work will be treated as plagiarism.
QUT exercises zero tolerance on late submissions without an approved extension. For details on QUT’s
policy on late assessment and extensions can be found here.
You must not use any AI tool, including ChatGPT, to write this report for you. Using AI tools to write
this report in place of your own work is a form of plagiarism.
We strongly recommend that prior to submission you ensure that you have read ALL the related
assessment documents.
Your report will be marked against the published marking rubric for this assessment.
Bullet points are NOT to make up the substantive part of your report.
You are strongly recommended to keep a portfolio of your reading, notes made, and all assessment
drafts. This will help you establish the originality of your work, should you need to.
1 The investor is anonymous. You have no knowledge if they are familiar with the Australian business environment. Write your report
accordingly. Do not try to second guess the intention of the investor. They may be interested in establishing/running a company or investing in
this sector. Alternatively, they may just be keeping their options open. Tailoring your report to what you “think” their agenda might be is a risk
and will potentially undermine the validity and objectivity of your PEST analysis.
2 Note that it is likely that you will be asked to write a second report focusing on the (i) policy environment and (ii) global issues impacting the
business environment of the sector (otherwise known as Assessment 2). It is important therefore that you stick to the brief as defined by the
PEST structure to ensure that duplication of information between the two reports is minimised.
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4. WhatisaPESTanalysis?
A PEST analysis is a business tool that provides a framework to identify and assess the macro factors which
have shaped the business environment and will impact it in the future. The first half of the unit has focused
on each of these four elements:
Political (aligns to lecture 2 and the related drilling down and tutorial)
Economic (aligns to lecture 3 and the related drilling down and tutorial)
Social (aligns to lecture 4 and the related drilling down and tutorial)
Technology (aligns to lecture 5 and the related drilling down and tutorial)
5. ButIknownothingaboutthebusinesssectorforA1?
You probably know a bit more than you think. But a critical skill that you are developing in this unit is to
“get up to speed” very quickly in unfamiliar territory. The lectures, drilling down and tutorials have
provided you with the broad indicators that are relevant to conducting an analysis of the business
environment for any sector.
The substantive part of your assessment will be a macro-level analysis of the Australian business
environment organised under each of the PEST headings with sector-specific examples as appropriate. This
assessment is your opportunity to consolidate your new knowledge and use your research skills and apply
it to the business sector for A1.
6. Butitismassivesector–whatdoIcover?
The phrase “pick your battles” will serve you well here. The objective of a PEST analysis is not a deep dive.
The objective of a PEST analysis is to scan the macro business environment and identify the key defining
and potential future forces that will impact it under the four PEST elements. (Review the assessment
triangle in lecture 1)
7. Structure and word length
Your report has a MAXIMUM WORD limit of 2500 words (excluding your reference list – but inclusive of
abstract, in-text citations, figures, tables etc.).
Essentially your report has seven components consisting of:
an abstract
a brief definition of the sector
the FOUR PEST elements
reference list
We recommend that your abstract and definition of the sector are approximately 200 words each. The
rest of the word count can be divided equally between the other four PEST elements – approximately
525 words each.
8. Naming and saving your document
Suggested file name
• BSB108 A1_YOUR NAME_YOUR STUDENT NUMBER
It is recommended that you save all work to the cloud (that way if your computer dies you can recover it)
AND make sure autosave is on OR that you save your document regularly.
It is also recommended that you keep a backup document on an alternative storage source.
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9. Formattingyourreport
Format your report as follows:
margins: top 2 cm, bottom 2cm, sides 2cm
main body of text
o font: Times Roman, Arial or Calibri
o fontpointsize11minimum/12maximum
o spacing:Multiple1.15
• section headings
o font:TimesRoman,ArialorCalibri
o fontpointsize14minimum/18maximum
o bold all section headings
page numbers bottom right hand corner font size 9
begin each new section of your report on a new page
The citation and referencing style is APA.
10.How do I get started?
In the first half of the unit, we are progressing through each of the PEST elements and covering the critical
features that we would expect to see in your assessment. Engaging in all the learning activities is therefore
your foundational preparation for A1.
