You are employed as a Junior Executive Consultant for a travel and tourism company that facilitates travel arrangements, providing services like booking flights, hotels, transportation, and tours

Student Name/ID Number

Unit Number and Title

Unit 1/ The Contemporary Business Environment

Academic Year

AY 2025-26/ Sep-25 Cohort

Unit Tutor

Assignment Title

Portfolio of Industry Analysis Factsheets (Part 1)/ Environmental Business Audit Presentation (Part 2)

Issue Date

10/10/2025

Submission Date

Saturday 24^th January 2026 at 11:59 pm

Guidance for Final Submission

• The submission must be in the specific format(s) as specified in the assignment brief instructions.
• The assignment should be submitted in a MS Word^© format, or equivalent.
• Ideally, you should start writing your assignment as soon as you receive the assignment brief.
• There will be only one submission link in Turnitin. You are required to compile both Part 1 portfolio and Part 2 presentation slides into one single Microsoft Word file for final submission.

Please access HN Global for additional resources to support and reading for this unit. For further guidance and support on academic writing please refer to the Study Skills Unit on HN Global: www.highernationals.com 

Submission Format: Part 1

The submission is in the form of a Portfolio of factsheets and an organisational flow chart document. The factsheets should be written concisely summarising and highlighting key information and data. You are required to make use of headings, paragraphs and sub-sections as appropriate. All work must be supported with research and referenced correctly using the Harvard referencing system. You will also need to provide a reference list using the Harvard referencing system. Inaccurate use of referencing may lead to issues such as plagiarism if not applied correctly.

The recommended word limit for the factsheets is 1,500 words, although you will not be penalised for going under or exceeding the total word limit.

Unit Learning Outcomes

LO1 Explain the different types, sizes and scope of organisations

LO2 Discuss the interrelationship of the various functions in an organisation and how they link to organisational structure

Transferable skills and competencies developed

• Analytical skills to conduct own analysis to draw conclusions.
• The ability to provide information based on collation, analysis and interpretation of data.
• Creative thinking for presenting information and data in a simplified and informative manner.
• Digital skills, using different software applications to visually present information and data concisely.
• Communicating effectively in all forms, written, visual and oral, for operating efficiently in the international business environment.

Vocational scenario 

You are employed as a Junior Executive Consultant for a travel and tourism company that facilitates travel arrangements, providing services like booking flights, hotels, transportation, and tours, and often creating customised travel packages. The company also handle related tasks like managing travel spend, providing customer support, and ensuring travel compliance. Essentially, they bridge the gap between travellers and various tourism providers, offering a range of services to make travel easier and more enjoyable. The main aim of the company is to focus on creating the best possible travel experiences to their clients.

The team acts as a key partner to senior leaders, the executive team and the CEO. It provides through leadership and an external perspective on the most critical strategic initiatives and pressing challenges facing the company. Your key roles include the following:

• Supporting data and business analyses to develop business plans
• Measuring business performance to compare actual data to forecasted values
• Executing market research projects and gathering intelligence on current industry, technology and consumer trends.

*Select an appropriate sports company that meets local needs.

 Assignment activity and guidance

You have been tasked with conducting an industry analysis that focuses on the travel and tourism industry to gain access to industry perspectives, best practices from other high-performance companies and insight into high-growth sectors. You will present your analysis to your line manager and to the management team. The industry analysis will involve the research and analysis of overall market size (international and national) and different sub-sectors (public, private, voluntary), and the organisational mapping of one of the highest-performing companies. Organisations to be considered will include public (National Tourism Organisations, Tourist information Centres, Parks and Recreation Departments, Transport Agencies, Public Museums and Historical Sites, Public Libraries etc), private (tourism agencies, tour operators, accommodation providers, attractions, entertainment venues etc) and voluntary (Local Youth Hostel, The Travel Foundation, Local Tourism Association). 

You will present this industry analysis as a portfolio of factsheets, to include: 

1. An introduction to sub-sectors and the different types of organisations in the industry, the market size and the growth of the international business environment
2. A factsheet for a selected sub-sector organisation, with explanation, including background details of the organisation; the products and services it offers; the size and scope of the organisation; it’s vision, mission and business objectives; the organisational and legal structure and information about their stakeholders.

For business modelling purposes, you will also need to examine the various business functions in one organisation and create an organisational chart to explore the interrelationships between the different functions. 

In addition to the factsheets, you will present an organisational functional structure flow chart that shows: 

1. An analysis for one of the chosen organisations, using visual mapping to show how internal departments, for example. finance, marketing, work together to meet business objectives and how interrelationships are defined by the structure of the organisation; present the advantages and disadvantages
2. A conclusions based on critical impact analysis of different business structures and the interrelationships between internal departments in successfully fulfilling overall business objectives.

Submission Format: Part 2

Submission is in the form of a 15–20 minutes presentation. You are required to individually create a PowerPoint presentation including headings, bullet points and subsections as appropriate. Your research should include references using the Harvard referencing system. Inaccurate use of referencing may lead to issues of plagiarism if not applied correctly.

Unit Learning Outcomes

LO3 Use contemporary examples to demonstrate both the positive and negative influence/impact the macroenvironment has on business operations

LO4 Determine the internal strengths and weaknesses of a specific business and their interrelationship with external macro factors

Assignment activity and guidance

In your role as Junior Executive Consultant, your line manager has now given you another task. This time you are required to prepare a PowerPoint presentation regarding the external and internal environment of your chosen organisation. The organisation is looking to expand their operation nationally through digital channels as well as by increasing physical presence through franchising. To enable the company to make any strategic decisions, they need you to present a business case to the leadership team.

Completion of the project will involve a PESTLE analysis of the travel and tourism market, develop insights and predict future growth in potential in new markets. The project will also involve a SWOT analysis to determine the company’s position in the marketplace and potential opportunities for distribution and expansion while minimising risks and threats.

Your presentation will include the findings from the external and an internal audit:

• PESTLE analysis to identify the positive and negative impacts of external factors and influences on the travel and tourism market, including a ‘traffic light chart’ evaluating level of competition, funding activity, legal complexity and investment opportunity available.
• SWOT analysis to explore and explain the organisation’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.
• Provide a critical analysis of SWOT/TOWS, to determine and justify whether the organisation should proceed with its expansion plan, including some suitable recommendations.

Recommended Resources

Please note that the resources listed are examples for you to use as a starting point in your research – the list is not definitive.

Textbooks

Burns, J. and Needle, D. (2023) Business in Context: An Introduction to Business and its Environment. 8th Ed. Andover, Hants: Cengage Learning EMEA.

Morrison, J. (2023) The Global Business Environment: Sustainability in the Balance. 6th Ed. London: Bloomsbury Publishing.

Weatherly, P. and Otter, D. (2018) The Business Environment: Themes and Issues in a Globalizing World. 4th Ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

 Worthington, I., Thompson, E. and Britton. C. (2023) The Business Environment. 9th Ed. Harlow: Pearson.

Websites

www.businessballs.com

www.forbes.com

www.ibtimes.com

www.ted.com

Pass

Merit

Distinction

LO1 Explain the different types, size and scope of organisations.

LO1 and LO2

D1 Provide critical analysis of the complexities of different organisations and structures.

P1 Explain different types and purposes of organisations; public, private and voluntary sectors and legal structures.

P2 Explain the size and scope of a range of different types of organisation.

M1 Analyse how the structure, size and scope of different organisations link to the business objectives and product and services offered by the organisations.

LO2 Discuss the interrelationship of the various functions within an organisation and how they link to organisational structure.

P3 Discuss the relationship between different organisational functions and how they link to organisational objectives and structure.

M2 Analyse the interrelationships between organisational functions and the impact these can have on organisational structure.

Pass

Merit

Distinction

LO3 Use contemporary examples to demonstrate both the positive and negative influence/impact the macroenvironment has on business operations.

LO3 and LO4

D2 Critically evaluate the impacts that both macrofactors and microfactors have on business objectives and decision-making.

P4 Identify the positive and negative impacts the macro environment has on business operations, supported by specific examples.

M3 Apply appropriately the PESTLE model to support a detailed analysis of the macroenvironment in an organisation.

LO4Determine the internal strengths and weaknesses of a specific business and their interrelationship with external macro factors.

P5 Conduct internal and external analysis of a specific organisation to identify strengths and weaknesses.

P6 Explain how strengths and weaknesses interrelate with external macrofactors.

M4 Apply appropriately

SWOT/TOWS analyses and justify how they influence decision-making.

Academic Misconduct:

Plagiarism is presenting someone else’s idea in your own name. Hence, it is important not to use information directly from any published sources such as books, journals or websites without paraphrasing and referencing the materials. It is also imperative for you not to copy anything from another student’s coursework and submit in your name (collusion). If similarity is found with another learner’s work or from other published sources, suspected work will be investigated in accordance with procedures set up by the college. Please read Academic Misconduct Student Guide in College website for further details: https://www.rcl.ac.uk/policy/academic-misconduct/academic-misconduct-student-guide.pdf