Questions from This Term

Comm 101 (02) & (04) Term 2, 2009-2010

Assignment #1

Frequently Asked Questions

Questions from this term

From: <name deleted>
Sent: Tuesday, January 26, 2010 11:28 AM
To: Boyd, Colin
Subject: Assignment #1

Hi,

I was looking at assignment #1, in particular the SWOT analysis. Examples of it I found online were a combination of point form and paragraph. Is this alright if I formatted it like this? http://marketingteacher.com/SWOT/amazon_swot.htm

Thanks in advance,

Answer

Hi <name deleted>:

That web site seems more like paragraph form than point form. Point form should be avoided, if possible, because it is harder to read, and the writer usually has been a bit lazy. Being forced to write flowing paragraphs makes you think more about what you want to say.

Colin

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Question

From: <name deleted>
Sent: Friday, January 22, 2010 3:16 PM
To:
Subject: COMM 101 assignment

Professor Boyd,

I am unclear about "an aspect of strategy" that is required for assignment #1 in COMM 101(02). Would you be able to clarify this in more detail so that my partner and I can success with this assignment.

Thanks!

Have a great weekend!

Answer

Hi <name deleted>:

Strategic management is all about planning for the future. The article you choose should have some kind of example of your chosen firm having made (or thinking of making) a decision about its future. This could be stability, growth, or retrenchment. This could be changing positions regarding horizontal breadth of products, vertical integration, or geographical coverage. There are a number of other possibilities as well, for example, lululemon deciding to buy back its franchised stores; Air Canada deciding to keep fuel surcharges on foreign flights; Apple thinking about the electronic book market; Potash Corp’s reaction to the news of a competitor about to dig a new mine in Saskatchewan.

Have a hunt for an interesting article that talks about the future of your chosen firm.

Good luck, and get back to me if you are still stuck.

Colin

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Questions from Term 1

From: <name deleted>
Sent: Monday, September 21, 2009 6:19 PM
To: Boyd, Colin
Subject: about the assignment 1

Hello Prof. Boyd,

I got a few questions about assignment 1.

1. If I add some figures in my paper, can I write over 5 pages?

2. Should the reference list be included in the 5 pages?

3. I am not quite understand the first requirement in assignment 1, does it mean we should give a brief description about the article (such as author, title, link) or the content of the article (such as industry background)?

Have a good night!

Answer

Hi <name deleted>:

First, please do not use gmail to send me e-mail. Your e-mail was found in my quarantine section.

Please use your address

Regarding your questions:

1. If you add any figures or tables, the paper must still not be longer than 5 pages

2. The reference list need not be part of the 5 page limit

3. The first requirement is to write a summary of the content of the main first article that you are using, not a description of where it was found or who wrote it.

Good luck with your paper

Colin Boyd

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Question

From: <name deleted>
Sent: Wednesday, September 30, 2009 11:07 PM
To: Boyd, Colin
Subject: COMM 101 (01) - Assignment #1 question

Hello Prof. Boyd,

I had a question regarding Assignment #1 in your COMM101 class. For the PEST analysis portion, we discuss the environment, but not necessarily how it interacts with our chosen firm. So, my question is, do we need to have an article discussing the economic/political/ social/technological environment just as it is in Canada 2009, without regard to the company? Or is our basic knowledge about the world sufficient enough to not require a cited source? Or are we supposed to just infer what the environment is, based on the opportunities and threats provided inour Air Canada articles?

Sorry if this question is wordy, I just wanted clarification.

Thanks for your time.

Sincerely,

Answer

Sorry to take a whole day to reply <name deleted>!

The answer varies depending on a couple of things.

If you do have a “basic knowledge about the world sufficient enough to not require a cited source” then that is fine – there is no need to go and seek sources for what you already know and can explain.

Similarly, if the articles that you have about your chosen firm are sufficiently comprehensive in their descriptions of that firm’s industry’s environment, then there is no need to go to a generic “article discussing the economic/political/social/technological environment just as it is in Canada 2009.”

Does this clarify things, or make things more muddy?

Colin

Hello Again,

No that clears everything up, thank you for your time.

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Question

From: <name deleted>
Sent: Monday, October 05, 2009 9:49 AM
To: Boyd, Colin
Subject:

Hello Professor Boyd,

My name is <name deleted> and I am a student in your Comm 101 class. I was wondering for the assignment with the PEST analysis and the SWOT analysis if we had to find something for every heading, such as political, economic, social and technological, or if we could just focus on 3 of the 4 or 2 of the 4 if we cannot find great examples or information to analyze the company this way.

Thank you for your time,

Answer

Hello <name deleted>:

If you find that there is little to talk about for one of the PEST categories (for example, technology is not really relevant for the male clothing retailing sector), then obviously you can leave it out. It might be useful to add a short sentence in your paper saying something like “there are no major factors related to technology affecting this industry.”

Colin

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Question

From: <name deleted>
Sent: Wednesday, October 07, 2009 12:41 PM
To: Boyd, Colin
Subject: swot analysis

Hi Colin,

I was wondering if you wanted the format for the SWOT analysis in point form, or would you like us to put it into paragraphs?

Thanks

Answer

Papers that are done in point form always seem to get lower marks for some reason. I think that your ability to understand a particular industry and the position of a specific firm within it is improved by the process of trying to put one’s thoughts into sentences and paragraphs that form part of a flowing argument .

Harder to do, yes, but the net result is almost always a much better paper.

You will not be penalized as such for using point form rather than paragraphs.

Good luck,

Colin

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