- Students will be assessed by a single piece of submitted work.
Set out a clear summary of key changes relating to global foreign direct investment and international production over the previous year. You should include an accurate description of salient trends in the data (Word-guidance 750).
Critically evaluate the following two explanations for the growth of multinational enterprises: the internalisation theory (Casson and Buckley) and the analysis of transnational monopoly capitalism (Cowling et al). (Word-guidance 1500).
Assess the impact of one transnational corporation on the UK using one of the following criteria: innovation or labour or trade or political sovereignty (Word-guidance 1500).
Guidance
In answering section a) you are strongly advised to concentrate on summarising current trends in global FDI and international production in the previous twelve months. With respect to current trends in global FDI you are advised to focus on its geographical distribution and its mode and sector/industry.
In section b) you might need to focus on explaining the essence of each of the two perspectives. One way of critically evaluating is to examine each perspective from the viewpoint of the other.
Finally, in section c you are advised to build answers around some of the following points in respect of one of the following criteria:
Innovation: Product innovation; process innovation; degree of embeddedness; absorptive capacity; spill-over effects.
or
Labour: direct and indirect employment effects; wages/rewards; employee welfare; longevity of employment; strategic behaviour (in the case of eNIDL).
or
Trade: Intra-frim trade; inter-firm trade; resource-based production; market-orientated production; rationalised or integrated production.
or
Political sovereignty: TNC versus state size; dominance versus mutual benefits; terms of market access; rules of conduct within jurisdiction; distribution issues (profits, tax yields and transfer pricing).
In addition to the 3750 word extended essay, the submission should include a 250 word Reflection on the assessment. It should include a discussion of:
What you learnt from the assessment?
What you found most interesting?
What you found most challenging?
How effectively did it assess the learning objectives of the module? (Module Handbook, p.3)
You are strongly advised to read this guidance in conjunction with the Assessment Handbook available on X-Stream which includes the assessment criteria, sets out the rules on word count, submission and referencing and also provides additional guidance on academic writing.
