academic and business skill

BIZ101/BIZ101A_Assessment #2A Page 1 of 6
Context:
Report writing is an important academic and business skill; and you will develop your ability to outline
the types of information, sections and layout included in professional reports. Researching credible
and reliable sources relates to the ability to develop new business ideas and concepts for creating
different perspectives on organizational change. For this task, you will not only present your ideas in a
report format but to evaluate a range of resources, both academic and non-academic for your chosen
topic.
Instructions:
Writing assessments 2A, 2B and 3 for this subject relate to the task of implementing a digital
communication strategy in an actual organization to solve a communication problem. Your chosen
organisation can relate to the discipline of your study, e.g. Event Management, Hospitality or Culinary
Management, Tourism Management, Business, Information Systems, Commerce, Marketing,
Entrepreneurship, Sports Management.
Please refer to the Task Instructions for details on how to complete this task.

ASSESSMENT 2A BRIEF
Subject Code and Title	BIZ101 / BIZ101A: Business Communications
Assessment	Report Outline and Source Analysis
Individual/Group	Individual
Length	1000 words (+/- 10%)
Learning Outcomes	The Subject Learning Outcomes demonstrated by successful completion of the task below include: This assessment addresses the following subject learning outcomes: a) Demonstrate academic skills appropriate to the level of study. b) Demonstrate research skills and referencing appropriate to the level of study. d) Evaluate the use and importance of technology in presenting business communication
Submission	By 11:55pm AEST/AEDT Sunday of Module 3.2 (Week 6) For Intensive (6 week) classes: By 11:55pm AEST/AEDT Sunday of Module 3.2 (Week 3)
Weighting	25%
Total Marks	100 marks

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Topics:
Choose one of the topics below for your assignments 2A, 2B and 3 to fix the organisation’s
communication issues:
A. Using Social Media in the workplace to communicate internally with staff
B. Boosting workplace motivation through innovative digital communication tools
C. Implementing instant messaging/group messaging, discussion forums and chatrooms in the
workplace
D. Podcasts, internal blogs/vlogs to communicate with employees or
E. Using an internal intranet/social Intranet for employee interaction.
Structure of assessment 2A:
Cover Page – Includes the assessment title, your chosen topic, student name and ID, subject name and
code, lecturer’s name, submission date, word count. Be creative while making your cover page by
including an image and a citation with your image which needs to be added to the reference list, too.
TASK 1. Report Outline – 200 words (+/- 10%) for the whole outline.
The Report Outline is a plan of the report you will write for Assessment 2B. The report outline tells the
reader what to expect from the different sections of a report.
Introduction (outline only)
• Explain the purpose of an introduction.
• Provide context for the report you will write. It is expected that you write a brief introduction of the
business and background on the organizational issue/s relating to internal communication.
• State the purpose of the report you will write in assessment task 2B, e.g. include a purpose
statement such as “The report will . . . . and discuss…”.
• Outline the information you will include in the introduction of report 2B (don’t write it yet), your
chosen topic, and the intended audience (who will read the report? who is the information intended
for?)
Body – Source analysis (see the next page for Task 2)
Conclusion (outline only)
Explain the purpose of a conclusion and what questions will be answered in the conclusion of the
report but don’t provide the answers yet – that is for assessment task 2B.
Recommendations (outline only)
Explain the purpose of the recommendations section and what broad factors for implementation will
be included – broad ideas only, don’t write your recommendations, yet.
Remember that recommendations are based on conclusions, and conclusions are based on the
information in the body of the report.
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TASK 2. Source Analysis – 200 words per source analysis (+/- 10%) – body of the report.
The Source Analysis needs to include two academic and two non-academic sources that relate to
your chosen topic that will be useful for writing the Assessment 2B report.
The two academic sources can be articles from academic journals, published reliable reports or
academic books. The other two sources can come from reliable media sites, books, online magazines,
websites, YouTube videos, podcasts or TED Talks.
Apply the Five Tests of Reliability to each source as per your modules.
For each of your four sources, provide the following information separately:
1. The full name of the source – Include the full reference details as you would in the reference list
2. Type of source – E.g. website, journal article or video
3. A brief summary with an in-text citation for each source – Make sure to summarise from the
whole article/ text/ video or other source you have used. You will need to paraphrase to do so and
cite where relevant.
4. Evaluate the reliability of each source by applying the Five Reliability Tests using:
i. Authority
ii. Audience
iii. Transparency
iv. Objectivity
v. Currency
5. A justification about why the source is relevant to the chosen topic of your report.
Referencing
Provide one reference list for both tasks and include references of all four sources plus the image on
the cover page as a minimum using the TUA APA referencing style ensuring the list is in alphabetical
order.
References are not included in the word count. It is essential that you use appropriate APA style for
citing and referencing research. Please see more information on referencing here in the Academic
Writing Guide found via the Academic Skills website.
Submission Instructions
Submit your assessment via the Assessments link in the main navigation menu in BIZ101 / BIZ101A
Business Communications. Please submit all the tasks in one Word document including a reference list
on the final page.
Your learning facilitator will provide feedback via the Grade Centre in Blackboard. Feedback can be
viewed in My Grades.
Academic Integrity
All students are responsible for ensuring that all work submitted is their own and is appropriately
referenced and academically written according to the Academic Writing Guide. Students also need to
have read and be aware of Torrens University Australia Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure and
subsequent penalties for academic misconduct. These are viewable online.
Students also must keep a copy of all submitted material and any assessment drafts.
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Assessment Rubric

Assessment Attributes	Fail (Yet to achieve minimum standard) 0-49%	Pass (Functional) 50-64%	Credit (Proficient) 65-74%	Distinction (Advanced) 75-84%	High Distinction (Exceptional) 85-100%
Number of sources 10%	Identifies less than 4 sources useful to complete the Assessment 2B Written Report on the chosen topic.	Identifies 4 sources, however there are less than 2 reliable academic sources identified. The usefulness and/or suitability of the sources identified to complete the Assessment 2B Written Report on the chosen topic is debatable.	Identifies 4 sources, from which at least 2 are from reliable academic sources. The sources identified are generally useful and appropriate to complete the Assessment 2B Written Report on the chosen topic.	Identifies 4 sources, from which at least 2 are from reliable academic sources. All sources identified are useful and pertinent to complete the Assessment 2B Written Report on the chosen topic.	Identifies 4 sources, from which at least 2 are from reliable academic sources. All sources identified are highly pertinent to complete the Assessment 2B Written Report on the chosen topic.
Referencing 20%	Does not include correct references or in-text citations; does not use APA style.	Attempts to include references or in-text citations; however, these are sometimes insufficient or incorrect; uses APA style, however may contain some citation or referencing errors.	Includes in-text citations and references from suitable sources; uses APA style, however may contain minor citation or referencing errors.	Includes in-text citations and references from suitable sources; uses APA style, containing minimal and or no errors.	Includes in-text citations and references from suitable sources; uses APA style, containing no errors.

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Summary 25%	Sources have not been summarised (i.e. more than one summary missing for one of the sources). There is no/ a limited attempt at justifying relevance of selected sources.	Most sources have been summarised (i.e. all sources have partial summaries or there is one summary missing for one of the sources). The summaries are inconsistently appropriate to the task, as demonstrated by an interrupted flow of ideas and at times lack of clarity. There is a basic attempt at justifying the relevance of all selected sources, however this needs substantial work (i.e. relevance to topic and task not entirely clear or appropriate).	All sources have been summarised appropriately, however this still needs some work to achieve a clear and coherent flow of ideas. There is a generally adequate attempt at justifying the relevance of all selected sources, however, this still needs some work (i.e. relevance to topic and task inconsistently clear).	All sources have been summarised appropriately, coherently and clearly. All sources are justified in relation to their relevance to the topic of the written report clearly and consistently.	All summaries are consistently clear and coherent; in the summaries, the main ideas are synthesised as they are needed to justify the source selection in relation to the topic of the written report (i.e. main ideas from sources are used to justify selection and relevance to chosen topic).
Report format 20%	No headings, subheadings, and other report format guidelines are not followed. Report format and layout not acceptable in the business world.	Limited headings, subheadings, and/or some report format guidelines require adjustments. Report format and layout acceptable in the business world with some improvements required.	Headings and subheadings and other requirements are consistent with report format guidelines. Report format and layout acceptable in the business world with minor improvements required.	Headings, subheadings and other report format guidelines are consistent. Very good report format. Layout acceptable in the business world with little to no improvements required.	Headings, subheadings and other report format guidelines are consistent. Very professional work provided with an excellent report format. Layout acceptable in the business world.

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Reliability evaluation 25%

The reliability evaluation shows no understanding of source authority, audience, transparency, objectivity and currency, with omissions in all of the tests.

The reliability evaluation shows superficial understanding of source authority, audience, transparency, objectivity and currency, with weaknesses in all of the tests and some omissions.

The reliability evaluation shows a generally competent understanding of source authority, audience, transparency, objectivity and currency, with only weaknesses in some of the tests and no omissions.

The reliability evaluation shows a clearly competent understanding of source authority, audience, transparency, objectivity and currency, with no more than one or two weaknesses and no omissions in all of the tests.

The reliability evaluation is comprehensive, thorough and appropriate in all tests, demonstrating a highly competent understanding of source authority, audience, transparency, objectivity and currency, with no weaknesses and no omissions in all of the tests.