The Cedar Grove Academy

‘Centre of Excellence’
DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Principles of Business
SCHOOL-BASED ASSESSMENT GUIDELINES

Note the mark scheme on pages 59-60 of syllabus

Total marks: 40
Word limit: 1000 words

CATEGORY DESCRIPTION EXAMPLE

INTRODUCTION State the overall aim of the project which will “Topic: Ethical Business Practices
i. Topic/aim of be derived from the stated specific objectives
project in the syllabus. Title Statement:
The effects of poor disposal of garbage by
“Kentucky Fried Chicken” on potential sales
within the community of Kingston 6.”
OR
Topic: Consumer Behaviour
Title Statement:
An investigation to determine factors influencing
the purchase of Grace Kennedy’s tin mackerel as
opposed to those produced by Lasco”.

ii. Objectives The following objectives guided this research:

1. to identify way/s garbage is disposed
inappropriately at the business.

2. to determine how often ethical practices

are enforced by the business.
 3. to assess the inappropriateness of the
disposal of garbage and its effect on sales
for the business

OR

The objectives that have been embarked on for

this research are:
1. to determine three (3) major factors
contributing to the sales performance of
Grace and Lasco’s tin mackerel

2. identify two (2) main factors that

influence consumers’ choices/ behaviour
towards purchasing tin mackerel

3. ascertain the average sales of tin

mackerel from both companies for the
period of two (2) months

iii. Background Includes a description of the “Understanding how consumers make decisions
topic/issue/problem - Description includes the is the best way for a company to create and keep
history of the business been studied. customers. However, it has been difficult for firms
to study these behaviours/ practices of
Establishes the need for research - Why/how is consumers; what motivates their consumption
the topic/issue/problem important to student decisions and anticipate their consumption needs.
and outline one impact of topic/issue/problem According to gracekennedy.com and
on society lascojamaica.com, Grace Kennedy Limited and
Lasco Jamaica Limited are two well- rounded
companies in the manufacturing and distribution
of a variety of products. They have played a vital
role in the lives of Jamaicans over the years
through their distribution of canned products to
suit the needs and preferences of customers. Both
companies were established in the 20th century
 and have been the top of the food and nonfood
consumer products in Jamaica. Subsequent to
this, a greater proportion of consumers prefer
grace foods as opposed to Lasco’s. As aspiring
business personnel, the researchers aim to better
grasp the concept of consumer behaviour and
what factors influence these behaviours/
practices; as this area of research is a key
component in the field of marketing of any
business and the knowledge gained will be
beneficial in the future.”

METHODOLOGY Data collection instrument clearly described Research Design:

and the appropriateness of the instrument for The researcher embarked on a Qualitative type of
type of data research. This is due to the researcher’s desire to
Included at least two instruments of data have a thorough understanding of the problems
collection faced and to deduce and present a suitable
Method of data collection clearly described and solution for the problem.
adequately justified. Outline at least two Research sampling:
limitations of data collection methods clearly The instruments utilized to collect the data for
stated. this research was a Questionnaire and an
How many people did you interview? interview schedule. It is the decision of the
Why did you choose this number of persons? researchers to select individuals between the ages
of eighteen to fifty-eight (18-58), willing to
Research instrument: participate in a survey to find information about
What kind of instrument did you use? Eg. the state of cleanliness of the selected business.
Questionnaire, interview. State whether The reason for choosing to engage in a
primary or secondary source of data. questionnaire is to gather information from
Qualitative or quantitative? respondents with the objective of collecting
Advantages and disadvantages of the research relevant information for the purpose of research.
instrument you chose. Also, an interview was chosen to better obtain
How many questions? necessary information that will enable the
What type of questions? completion of this school based assessment.
How long did it take?
When did you carry the research out? Data collection:
Cost of research? Questionnaires and interview schedules will be
Limitations of research? issued and conducted with randomly selected
individual that are seen in the Kingston 6
franchise of KFC. The use of questionnaires was
advantageous as it can collect specific data as
well as collect large amounts of data at the same
time. Also, the researchers decided to use an
interview schedule as it increased the likelihood
of collecting accurate information related to this
topic.
Limitations:
Whilst collecting and compiling information on
this topic, the researcher faced numerous
difficulties in attempting to complete this
assessment. One of these challenges faced was
some potential correspondents were unwilling to
fill out the questionnaire presented and likewise
unwilling to respond to some interview questions.

In order the conduct the investigation, both

primary and secondary methods of data
collection were used. The primary methods that
were used are an interview and printed
questionnaires to customers at various
distribution outlets. While the secondary methods
used were online posting and articles which
assisted with gathering information for the
background.
For the questionnaires twenty (20) sets of fifteen
(15) preplanned questions based on the objectives
were designed, printed and distributed using a
random sampling of customers at five (5)
different distribution outlets.
The interviews were a conversation between ten
(10) candidates; 4 distributors of the products
and 6 consumer). They were used to ask questions
related to the topic/objectives and get instant
 feedback as well as clarifications for
misconceptions and any questions that were not
clearly completed or answered on questionnaires.
(See sample interview questions in the appendix
along with the interview schedule)
The methods used included questions of both a
qualitative and quantitative nature to reduce bias.
In addition, respondents were anonymous based
on selection.
Procedure to collect data:
Various distributors in the district of Portmore
namely Shoppers Fair, Mega Mart, Master Mac
Food Store and two (2) retail shops will be
interviewed. Permission to carry out the research
was requested via letters addressed to the various
distributors informing them of the purpose of the
research three (3) days prior the interview/
investigation.
Limitations
1. Time consumption- the process of
collecting information exceeded the over
the estimated time frame and as a result
the gathering and analysis of the data
collected was slowed down.
2. Unanswered questions and inaccessible
information- some questions were left
answered on the questionnaires and in a
case like that of Megamart information
was unattainable due to confidentiality as
such the information gathered was
limited, which lessened the quality of
information that was prepared in the
assignment.
PRESENTATION AND Data is presented an appropriate form using
ANALYSIS OF DATA tables, charts, graphs.

Data presented are relevant to the objectives of

 the project
Data is adequately analysed and analysis is Figure 1: 3- D Clustered Column chart representing the
using appropriate statistics – mean, median, customers’ reason behind the purchase of products from
their preferred company.
mode
Findings are consistent with analyses

TO NOTE:
Present data relevant to aims of project

Put findings organized under each specific

objective

Do not discuss under this heading, only present

raw information

ANALYSIS OF DATA Discuss what you found in the data above Figure 1 is a representation of some of the factors
influencing consumers’ decision or choice of
Relate data closely to findings company to purchase products from in relation to
responses to question #2 (the respondents’ age)
and #7 (Why did you start purchasing from that
company?). It shows that persons aged 47 and
over are influenced the most by family tradition
and is also the factor that influences persons the
most. Thirteen percent 13% of the participants
are influenced because it is their personal
 preference while equal amount was influenced/
introduced to the company by their peers.
Grace Kennedy has developed a number of family
brand ambassadors over the years that have been
passing down the tradition from generation to
generation.
CONCLUSION AND Must be based on findings, realistic Conclusion
RECOMMENDATIONS Initially, the research began with the assumption
Must contribute to a better understanding of that Grace Kennedy has grown to become the
the business, improve its operations dominant and highly purchased tin mackerel
brand than Lasco and the research proofed just
that. The three major factors contributing to the
sales performance of Grace Kennedy and Lasco
tin mackerel are quality, taste and price.
Customers’ choices were influenced mainly by
family traditions then by both their peers and
personal preference through its reputation (taste
and quality) since establishment.
These factors promoted brand loyalty immensely
through the level of customer satisfaction
provided.
This is evident in average sale of tin mackerel
from both companies. As shown in the appendix,
Grace Kennedy is the preferred brand for tin
mackerel due to its variety, taste and quality.

Recommendations
Based on the findings of the research, the
researchers came up with following
recommendations for both companies:
Lasco
1. To boost performance and sales, a wider
range of products should be offered like
Grace as it relates to tin mackerel.
2. To combat the problem of products being
demanded less by customers the quality
and taste of the products should be
 improved in order to gain a competitive
edge over Grace Kennedy in addition to
the price advantage that is already there.
3. Since the promotional activities of Grace
Kennedy does not really affect the
decision of their customers, Lasco should
increase its promotional activities ways
that customers will be greatly persuaded
by to influence the decision of consumers
to purchase Lasco products instead of
Grace Kennedy’s.
Grace Kennedy
1. As for Grace Kennedy no
recommendations were seen except of that
to continue to remain up-to-date to
change in the market and consumer
preferences in order to remain
competitive.

OR

CONCLUSION:
1. to identify the way/s garbage is disposed
inappropriately at the business
The research has uncovered that the
failure to implement ethical business
practices does result in some negative
customer relations with the franchise.
Figure 3 has indicated that only 50% of
employees clean their workstations at the
end of every working day, a palpable way
garbage is disposed of inappropriately at
the business.

2. to determine how often ethical practices

are enforced by the business.
 Evidence has shown that the frequency of
enforcement of ethical business practices
is in need of some improvement. This was
concluded as there was a significant
decrease in the effort placed by
subordinates to keep the workplace clean
as seen in figure 5. This decline was
recognized by employer/manager who
had, as seen in figure 6, several meetings
that year to enforce and encourage
subordinates to utilize ethical business
practices to allow business activities at
the Kingston 6 franchise of KFC to thrive.
3. to assess the inappropriateness of the
disposal of garbage and its effect on sales
for the business
The findings suggested, as seen in figure
7, that all customers frequently see
garbage while purchasing their goods and
services. Figure 8 also complements this
finding, as the researcher has identified
an estimated 80% loss in sales if the issue
of garbage in the workplace is not
resolved.
RECOMMENDATION:
The findings of this project concluded that the
evidence of garbage in and around the Kingston
6 franchise of KFC will affect possible sales. The
data also revealed that both customers and
consumers are displeased with the company’s
effort in making the business clean.
However, the researcher has come up with a
possible solution for the franchises problem. With
thorough consideration, it is the belief of the
researchers that the most effective solution for the
problem is: “to implement the utilization of
standard Ethical Business Practices”. The study
 encourages application of Ethical Business
Practices that allows business operators to be
informed of the right way of running their
ventures. This will ensure that objectives and
corporate aims are fulfilled as well as satisfying
customers.
The implementation of ethical business practices
will allow the KFC franchise to become
conscious of their bad practices and use the
knowledge gained along with their resources to
immediately improve its profitability. The
rectification process hereunder outlined may
include the operators of the franchise:
1. Create a more rigid atmosphere that will
consist of overseers ensuring that
subordinates clean the interior and
exterior sectors of the business regularly.
2. Inform employees of the dangers of not
implementing ethical business practices.
3. Delegating duties to various members of
staff to ensure that time and effort is
placed into ensuring the cleanliness of the
business.
4. Implement promotional strategies or
fringe benefits to those employees who
work exceptionally well to uphold ethical
business practices.

REFERENCES AND Bibliography, APA style BOOKS:

CITATIONS Author's last name, first initial. (Publication
Appendix comes last, include copy of date). Book title. Additional information. City of
questionnaire and pictures publication: Publishing company.

MAGAZINES/NEWSPAPERS:
Author's last name, first initial. (Publication
date). Article title. Periodical title, volume
number (issue number if available), inclusive
 pages.

ONLINE JOURNAL:
Author's name. (Date of publication). Title of
article. Title of Periodical, volume number,
Retrieved month day, year, from full URL

ONLINE DOCUMENT:
Author's name. (Date of publication). Title of
work. Retrieved month day, year, from full URL

CORRECT GRAMMAR, SPELLING, NEAT, GOOD EXPRESSION