Assessment Tasks

Assignment 1 (Online Test)

Format: It would be a multiple-choice test covering topics 1-3.

Venue: Online via Blackboard
Time: The online test will be held between 4pm and 6pm on Friday of week 5.
IMPORTANT: Once you start, you will get 25 MINUTES to complete your test
and you will be able to log in to do the test ONLY ONCE.
Keep an eye on the Blackboard site for further details.

Assignment 2 (Group Assignment)

Due: Friday of week 7
Length: No more than 4000 words (without tables, figures and list of references)
Group membership: Self-inclusion via Blackboard (please ensure to enrol into a group
no later than Friday of week 2).
The Task:
Read the following two articles:
1. Time
to
get
the
economics
of
environment
right
(Available at http://www.smh.com.au/business/comment-and-analysis/time-toget-the-economics-of-environment-right-20150717-giejry.html);
2. Australia has a big role to play in feeding the world (Available at

https://theconversation.com/australia-has-a-big-role-to-play-in-feeding-the-world43648).
Now, based on these readings, respond to the following questions and justify your
answers:
1. Producers will need to overcome major environmental challenges due to climate
change, land degradation and biosecurity threats while also sustaining and
increasing rates of productivity growth (article 2). In the face of growing
international demand for agricultural products, what role the Australian
government may play in helping producers overcome these challenges?
2. Research on provenance and clean, sustainable production could also assist
Australian manufacturers to compete on food quality rather than price, potentially
accessing higher value markets (Article 2). Do you agree with this statement?
Please justify your response.
3. A farm is sustainable when environmental assets located on the farm are being
maintained in a condition that contributes to the overall health and resilience of its
surrounding region (Article 1). What role consumers can play in this regard?
Provide justifications with examples.
4. Are increasing international demand for agricultural products and the economics
of environment contradictory with each other? Please provide justification for
your response.

For each question, it is important to bring in competing ideas before justifying your
response in order to demonstrate your understanding of concepts relevant to the question.
Use wide research to gather evidence for your perspective. You must demonstrate your
ability to understand and incorporate ideas from academic (i.e., peer-reviewed) journals
and other information sources, and show consistent argumentation throughout (not a mere
description). Use relevant theories and examples in order to substantiate your arguments.
Distribution of Length
i. The assignment should have an introduction and a conclusion (maximum 250
words each);
ii. Response to each question should be between 700 and 1000 words;
iii. Total length of the assignment should not exceed 4000 words.
Mandatory Referencing Requirements
i. It is important that the assignment reflects the students own understanding of
relevant literature. An effective integration of these materials to the discussion
is also vital that could primarily be achieved through the use of appropriate
referencing.
ii. Accordingly, at least 8(eight) academic references MUST be cited along
with other non-academic references such as articles from periodicals,
newspapers and web pages.
Structure, and Formatting
iii. The students are expected to maintain a high standard in presenting their
works.
iv. The paper must be well-structured and well-argued. The clarity of expressions
together with the appropriate use of grammar, spelling and punctuations are
important to maintain.
v. Referencing format must strictly be adhered to (Harvard System).
vi. As mentioned above, an appropriate structure must be maintained. An
introduction as well as a conclusion is needed. Headings and sub-headings
could be used.
vii.
Use appropriate pagination. 12 point font in Times New Roman should be
used throughout. Double-spacing with appropriate margins on each side (at
least 2 cm) need to be maintained.
Guidelines for Participating in Virtual Group Activities (For OUA students only)
Many courses at RMIT require you to work on group projects. This type of activity
provides you with skills that are directly transferable to organisations. It also enables you
to benefit from the diversity of experience of other students in your course.
When studying online, your group work will be in virtual teams. You may never meet
your other team members, or even perhaps hear their voices. Yet working in virtual teams
also provides similar benefits to other types of team work.
Working in virtual teams can pose challenges but, by following some simple guidelines,
it can be highly successful and rewarding.

Get to know the other members of your group. Share information about work
experiences, prior education, interests, skills, etc. In particular, share information
about your strengths in respect to teamwork: are you good at research, editing,
public speaking, document presentation, organising? This information will help
the group when determining what role each member will play.
Exchange contact information (i.e. email, phone, instant messaging IDs, etc.),
time zones, and schedule constraints.
Appoint a project manager for the group who will commit to keeping the group on
track, oversee all work, facilitate decisions, keep the lecturer up-to-date, etc.
Define the specific role of the project manager.
Identify the deliverables, timeframes and associated tasks required for the project
and allocate responsibilities fairly, according to the strengths of each team
member.
Discuss guidelines with the group. Guidelines should include how you will
communicate, how decisions will be made, timelines for completing the work and
rules for missing milestones, how to deal with group members who dont fully
contribute, etc. Put these guidelines in writing so you can refer back to them when
issues arise.
Come to a group decision on how to communicate and how often the
communications will take place. The team may find it helpful to have a weekly
schedule for working on the project and communicating with each other. Some
communication options are:
o myRMIT Discussion Boards Many lecturers set up group areas within
course sites and group discussion boards are available in the group areas.
If you select this mode of communication, make sure you check the
discussion boards frequently.
o email Some groups prefer just to email each other. Be sure to identify
which email address each member will be using for group work.
o Instant Messaging Free instant messaging tools can be installed on your
computers so you can meet via live text chat. This software is not
available from RMIT, but is easily found online.
o Phone/Skype Phone conferencing is not provided by RMIT for group
project work, but you can make your own phone conferencing
arrangements. Some groups find it easier to discuss their ideas over the
phone.
o Google docs Google docs is useful for sharing documents within the
team.
Pull your weight. There is nothing more frustrating than having someone on your
team who does not fully contribute and still gets a good grade due to the efforts of
the other team members. Make sure you are not the person who lets the team
members down.
Manage conflict. It is common for teams to have occasional friction or differences
of opinion. The negative effect of these instances can minimised by establishing
clear objectives and expectations in the establishment stage of the project. Where
disagreements do occur, the best way to deal with this is to discuss it openly and
attempt to reach a resolution through negotiation or compromise. Only if this
proves to be unsuccessful should you ask your lecturer to intervene.

Assignment 3 (Individual Assignment):

Due: Friday of week 12
Length: No more than 2500 words (without tables, figures and list of references)
Case Study
Please read the followingnews items:
BHP Billiton hit with $US25m fine over corruption allegations
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-05-21/bhp-billiton-hit-with-fine-over-corruptionallegations/6486036.
Major concerns over Australian corporate corruption, but convictions few
http://www.smh.com.au/business/comment-and-analysis/major-concerns-overaustralian-corporate-corruption-but-convictions-few-20160331-gnv8ap.html
Australia 'failing' to tackle bribery by multinational companies: OECD
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-01-06/australia-accused-of-failing-to-tacklebribery-among-multinatio/5187070.
In light of these articles, please respond to the following questions:
1. Please evaluate stand from a sustainable international business ethical sPHs
perspective.
2. Do you consider Australia losing its reputation as a result of corrupt activities by
MNCs and lax legal enforcement by the Australian law enforcing agencies to combat
such activities?
3. tralia need to overhaul its antisoes Aus-corruption law to ma e am s more ethically
responsible?
Use wide research to gather evidence for your perspective. You must demonstrate your
ability to understand and incorporate ideas from academic (i.e., peer-reviewed) journals
and other information sources, and show consistent argumentation throughout (not a mere
description). Use relevant theories and examples in order to substantiate your arguments.
Note: You may find the following two article links useful in responding to these
questions:
Lax rules boost risk of organised crime snaring government contracts (Available at
https://theconversation.com/lax-rules-boost-risk-of-organised-crime-snaringgovernment-contracts-44292).
The growing case for a federal anti-corruption agency
http://www.canberratimes.com.au/national/public-service/the-growing-case-for-afederal-anticorruption-agency-20160427-gofwyo.html

Distribution of Length
i. The assignment should have an introduction and a conclusion (maximum 250
words each);
ii. Response to each question should be between 500 and 800 words;
iii. Total length of the assignment should not exceed 2500 words.

Mandatory Referencing Requirements

i.
It is important that the assignment reflects the students own understanding of
relevant literature. An effective integration of these materials to the discussion
is also vital that could primarily be achieved through the use of appropriate
referencing.
ii. Accordingly, at least 5(five) academic references MUST be cited along with
other non-academic references such as articles from periodicals, newspapers
and web pages.
Structure, and Formatting
iii. The students are expected to maintain a high standard in presenting their
works.
iv. The paper must be well-structured and well-argued. The clarity of expressions
together with the appropriate use of grammar, spelling and punctuations are
important to maintain.
v. Referencing format must strictly be adhered to (Harvard System).
vi. As mentioned above, an appropriate structure must be maintained. An
introduction as well as a conclusion is needed. Headings and sub-headings
could be used.
vii. Use appropriate pagination. 12 point font in Times New Roman should be
used throughout. Double-spacing with appropriate margins on each side (at
least 2 cm) need to be maintained.