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Assignment 1

Choose a newspaper or trade journal article that is corporate governance related and complete the following:

Outline and summarize the arguments made.

Discuss in the context of your readings, the issues raised in relation to corporate governance

Why are these arguments being made in the media?

Conclude by providing your opinion about the issues raised in the article.

2000 words

30 marks

Due date: 21 March 2016

Individual assignment workshop in Week 3, March 13

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Assignment 1

Introduction

Body section

Outline and summarize the arguments made:

Short introduction about the company

Brief summary of the arguments made by the author of the article

Discuss in the context of your readings, the issues raised in relation to corporate governance

CG issues

Related literature review

Analysis in light of the issues being discussed in the article

Why are these arguments being made in the media?

Conclude by providing your opinion about the issues raised in the article.

Conclusion

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Some examples of CG issues

Key CG issues may include (but are not limited to):

Executive remuneration practices

Transparency and disclosure

Committee composition

Shareholder rights

Board diversity

Quality of directors

Corporate social responsibility

Audit

Internal control

Risk Management

Community engagement

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Marking criteria

Your submission will be assessed according to the following criteria:

Fulfilment of overall task intent 20%

Use of information (including evidence and examples): 20%

Structure and organisation : 20%

Language use 20%

Presentation 20%

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Three key skills to develop:

Research

Where do I find the information that will help me form my argument?

Reading

How do I read articles to assist with my understanding?

Writing

How do I compose an analysis or argument that is thorough, convincing and compelling?

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Research

Writing

Reading

Building a skills base

Assessment tasks give you the opportunity to:

Develop expert knowledge in a particular area

Develop skills that you’ll need in the workplace in a structured environment

Generic skills addressed:

Logical presentation of materials/argument

Critical analysis of information

Synthesis of ideas, written expression

Referencing

Problem solving skills (higher order)

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Writing your paper

Stages of writing:

Finding the appropriate material

Reading material and note-taking

Planning your essay / report / analysis

Writing it

Editing and Revising

References and quotations

Presentation of paper

Writing

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Step 1: Reviewing the published material

You need to differentiate between good and bad sources of information

Focus on material which is

Current

Relevant

Reputable

Factual

Include academic studies [found in academic journals or research monographs]

Research

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What is scientific research?

Research published in academic journals is scientifically rigorous:

Validity

Reliability

To publish in an good academic journal, a paper is subject to ‘peer review’:

That is, reviewed by two or more experts in the area

For us, an acceptable journal article is one that is subject to this peer review process

See list in LMS Literature Review folder for a non-exhaustive list of acceptable journals

Research

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Old Rifle New Rifle New Rifle Sun glare

Low Reliability High Reliability Reliable but Not Valid

(Target A) (Target B) (Target C)

Reliability and Validity on Target

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Where can I find scientific research?

Conduct searches of the Library’s:

catalogue to find research monographs [books reporting academic research]

electronic journal databases to find journal articles:

ABI Inform [Proquest]

Expanded Academic Search

Emerald

Use Google Scholar

Tip: if you find a good article, look at its bibliography … it will point you to other studies.

Research

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How many articles should I include?

Tough question to answer. Depends on:

Relevance of the research identified to the question

Quality of the articles used

Breadth of arguments/ideas covered by the articles identified

What kind of mark you want to get!

Ten high quality, relevant sources would result in a ‘pass’ score on the research criteria

Your research is very important – without a solid foundation of research, it will be hard to meet the other criteria

It will take longer than you think ... START NOW!

Research

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Step 2: Read the Literature

Think about the following:

Defining the key terms [from the essay question]

What are the classical (seminal) works that everyone refers to?

Are there conflicting ideas about the relationship between the concepts of your topic?

What is the dominant view about the topic?

How do you know this is the prevailing view?

Does that minimise the views of others?

Make notes from the articles:

Don’t plagiarise

Take down the publication details for your reference list

Note which articles the author is citing – may lead you to other relevant articles

Reading

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Anatomy of a journal article

Most journal articles will have the following:

Abstract 

Introduction 

Literature Review 

Methodology 

Results 

Discussion 

Conclusion

Bibliography 

Read with a purpose!

Reading

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Organise ideas into categories

Use mind maps to develop connections between ideas

Think about how the ideas develop and connect

Develop an argument or point of view

Develop a ‘paragraph plan’

Introduction

Main body (many paragraphs)

Conclusion

Step 3: Planning your Review

Writing

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Step 4: Write the Review

Use the ‘paragraph plan’ you developed as a guide

Try to stick to ‘one point per paragraph’

Consistently ask yourself:

Am I answering the question?

Am I presenting the various views in the literature accurately and appropriately?

Am I presenting the various arguments in the literature in a logical way?

How is this paragraph relevant to the question?

Am I writing these ideas in my own words and acknowledging the source?

Writing

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Step 5: Editing and Revising

Read your work – ask the following:

Have I answered the question?

Have I discussed the different viewpoints?

Is my argument clear?

Does my paper have the appropriate structure?

Check your spelling, punctuation and grammar

If possible, ask someone (not a fellow student) to read over your paper – does it make sense to them?

Writing

Reading

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Step 6: Citations, quotes, references

Ensure that you:

Provide in-text citations wherever you have used the ideas of another (even when you have paraphrased)

Make it clear to the reader if you have directly quoted from a source (word for word, by using ‘quotation marks’ and citing the page number)

That you have the full citation of any in-text citations in the reference list

Only works cited in-text should be listed in the reference list

Where you have used quotes, make sure you provide the page numbers in the in-text citation.

Refer to Havard Referencing style

Writing

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In-text citations

Be consistent in your citation style

Wherever you obtain an idea, fact or argument from a source, acknowledge it in text:

Blyton (1999) argues that …….

………………. (Rimmer, 2000)

Provide a list of the full citations of every source you have cited in text in the reference list

Remember: style must be

Logical, consistent and systematic

Specific details can be found at http://www.lib.latrobe.edu.au/referencing-tool /

Note: Reference list must be started on a new page

Writing

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Writing

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Step 7: Presentation of paper

Your paper should have the following characteristics:

Be written in 12 point, in Arial font

Paragraphs must be fully justified at both the left and right margin1.5 line spaced

Reference list should start on a new page

Any subheadings should be clearly defined (bold or underlined)

Stapled in the top left-hand corner of the page

Information about plagiarism detection strategy will be outlined on the subject website prior to essay submission

Writing

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