HIGHER EDUCATION PROGRAMMES
Academic Year 2025: January - June
Summative Assessment 2 (SA2): Business Management 3 (HBMN333-2)
NQF Level: 7
Credit: 14
Weighting: 10%
Assessment Type: Research Essay
Educator: R. Parry
Examiner: R. Parry
Due Date 06 June 2025
Total 20 Marks
Instructions
1. Summative Assessment 2 (SA2) must be uploaded in PDF format onto ColCampus by
no later than 23h59 on 06 June 2025.
2. The research essay must be a minimum of 700 (seven hundred) words and should not
exceed 850 (eight hundred and fifty) words.
3. The research essay structure must be as follows:
• Cover Page:
o Name
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o Surname
o Student Number
o Name of your Support Centre (i.e. Boston, Braamfontein)
• Introduction: Tells the reader what the essay is about.
• Body / Main Content: Is based on research and relates to the research essay
question or topic that has been set.
• Conclusion: Is a summary of what has been covered in the essay, it may also
include suggestions/recommendations.
• Reference list: (not included in the word count): the Boston Harvard Referencing
Method must be adhered to with regards to in-text citations and the reference list.
Please make sure you read and adhere to Boston’s Harvard Method of
Referencing: A Beginner’s Guide when referencing, as well as The Beginners
Guide to Plagiarism, both are available in the HE Library module on ColCampus.
4. The essay must be typed, using the following format settings only:
• Font: Arial
• Font Size: 12
• Line Spacing: 1.5
5. For this assessment the following must be adhered to:
• You have been provided with three (3) academic sources (see below), these
sources are compulsory and must be consulted and referenced when answering
the research question.
• The compulsory sources must be accessed using the HE Library module on
ColCampus unless otherwise stated e.g. through a hyperlink.
• Compulsory sources to be used:
Journal Article 1: Sabinet:
Van Vuuren, G. & Hargarter, A. 2018. Conduct risk in South African banks:
aligning regulatory compliance with business sustainability. Southern African
Business Review, 22(1):1-27.
Journal Article 2: Sabinet:
Ezeanyika, S. 2018. Globalisation, Democratisation Process and Challenges of
National Security in Africa. African Journal of Public Affairs, 10(4):119-137.
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Journal Article 3: Sabinet:
Mashilo, E.N., Agigi, A.F.A., Mooke, K & Jaqueta, S.D.J. 2020. Physical
distribution challenges and adaptations: a qualitative study of South Africa-
based organisations operating in emerging African markets. Journal of
Transport and Supply Chain Management, 14(1):1-16.
6. Academic sources and accessing credible e-Resources:
Not all sources / texts can be classified as academic sources. Wikipedia, for example,
is not a credible academic source since authors are not identifiable and editing an
article on this site is very easy. Also, blog posts often provide valuable information
but are not academically sound. To judge whether a source is credible, consider the
following criteria:
• The author should be identifiable through author information, affiliations, and/or
qualifications.
• An academic source has usually been peer-reviewed.
• Academic textbooks or academic journals should be published by a recognised
authority/publisher like a university, an academic publishing house, research
organisation etc.
• A list of references should be present, that is, full citations for sources used.
Thorough reference to research is a crucial characteristic of legitimate academic
work.
7. You must make use of the Harvard Method of Referencing. Refer to the examples
of referencing below:
Book, single author:
Holt, D.H. 2017. Management principles and practices. Sydney: Prentice-Hall.
Book, 2 or 3 authors:
McCarthey, E.J., William, D.P. & Pascale, G.Q. 2017. Basic marketing. Cape Town:
Juta.
Book, more than 3 authors:
Bond, W.R., Smith, J.T., Brown, K.L. & George, M. 2016. Management of small firms.
Sydney: McGraw-Hill.
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Book, no author:
Anon. 2009. A history of Greece. Athens: Cengage.
eBook:
Case, J., Marshall, D. & McKenna, S. 2018. Going to university: The influence of
higher education on the lives of young South Africans [E-book]. Cape Town: African
Minds. Retrieved from https://www.africanminds.co.za/wp-
content/uploads/2017/06/9781928331698_web.pdf [Accessed 3 June 2019].
Academic journal article with one author:
Waghid, Y. 2019. On the polemic of academic integrity in higher education. South
African Journal of Higher Education, 33(1):1–5.
Academic journal with 2 or more authors:
Waghid, Y. & Davids, N. 2019. On the polemic of academic integrity in higher
education. South African Journal of Higher Education, 33(1):1–5.
Newspaper article from a webpage:
Motshwane, G. 2019. A missed opportunity: Shakes slams Bafana's Afcon plans.
Sowetan Live, 7 June. Retrieved from
https://www.sowetanlive.co.za/sport/soccer/2019-06-07-a-missed-opportunity-
shakes-slams-bafanas-afcon-plans/ [Accessed 8 June 2019].
Court case:
Gold Circle (Pty) Ltd v Maharaj (1313/17) [2019] ZASCA 93 (3 June 2019).
Web based images (figures, graphs, maps, artwork):
Boston City Campus & Business College. 2019. Welcome [Image]. Retrieved from
https://www.boston.co.za/ [Accessed 3 June 2019].
Music or recording:
Makeba, M. 1960. The Click Song [Recording]. YouTube. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qg4Fp-A7IRw [Accessed 8 June 2019].
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Chapter in an edited book (collected work):
Velez, C. 1978. Youth and aging in central Mexico. In B. Myerhoff & A. Simic (eds.).
Life′s career-aging: Cultural variations on growing old. San Francisco, CA: Sage,
107–162.
8. Boston expects you to approach your work with honesty and integrity. Honesty is the
basis of respectable academic work. Whether you are working on a formative
assessment, a project, a paper (read at a conference), an article (published by a
journal), or a summative assessment essay, you should never engage in plagiarism,
unauthorised collaboration (collusion), cheating, or academic dishonesty.
Plagiarism occurs when a writer duplicates another writer's language or ideas, and
then calls the work their own. Simply put, plagiarism is academic fraud. This includes
the ‘copy and paste’ of work from textbooks, study guides, journal articles, etc.
9. To obtain maximum results, please consult the rubric included in this brief to ensure
that you adhere to and meet all the given criteria.
10. A Copyleaks Report will be issued via ColCampus once the assignment is
submitted. Please ensure that you follow the correct steps when uploading your
assignment, to ensure that the verification report is correctly issued. If the incorrect
document is uploaded, or if the verification report is issued for the incorrect document,
or the verification report indicates that a 30% similarity rating has been exceeded, a
mark of zero (0) will be awarded.
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The following Learning Outcomes are assessed in this assessment:
Principles of Global Business Management:
Unit 4 – Chapter 4:
• Explain the link between international business, government and society.
Unit 7 – Chapter 7:
• Explain the evolution of the global capital market.
• Understand the dynamics of the African capital market.
• Discuss the challenges that hinder capital market development in Africa.
• Describe the new thinking on capital market development.
Unit 11 – Chapter 11:
• Discuss the intricacies of regional economic integrations in Africa and evaluate their
prospects and possible challenges that confronts them.
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Question 1: [20 Marks]
Read the case study below and answer the question that follows:
Absa feels the pinch
Absa expects stronger earnings, but this comes off a notably low base.
In a trading update for the first ten months of 2024, Absa said that the operating environment in
South Africa and its Africa regions countries has been largely as expected year-to-date.
That said, conditions in Kenya, Zambia and Mozambique have been more challenging than
expected. The group added that weaker average exchange rates versus the rand remained a drag
on group revenue and headline earnings for the period, which are expected to reduce by roughly
3%.
Against this backdrop, the group provided shareholders with the following guidance for its financial
performance in 2024:
“In line with previous guidance, we expect materially stronger earnings growth in the second half of
2024, off a relatively low base. Our 2024 guidance is unchanged besides that, we expect a slightly
better credit loss ratio now than we did previously.”
“Conversely, the impact of applying hyperinflation accounting in Ghana is slightly more than we
expected. We continue to expect mid-single digit revenue growth, with broadly similar growth in net
interest income and non-interest income.”
Non-interest income is also set to grow and should improve substantially in the second half of 2024,
which, in part, reflects the non-recurrence of Nigerian Naira losses in the second half of 2023, as
well as better growth in fee and commission income and insurance revenue.
It added that it expects its credit loss ratio in the second half of 2024 to drop noticeably, to within the
upper half of its through-the-cycle range.
“Africa regions’ charge is expected to increase off a low 2023 base.”
From a geographic perspective, South Africa is expected to drive group earnings growth in 2024,
mostly on lower credit impairments in retail lending and relationship banking.
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Africa region earnings will likely decrease slightly due to the stronger Rand, increased cash reserve
requirements in certain countries, higher credit impairments off a low base, and a challenging
operating environment in several markets.
“In addition, we are providing high-level guidance on the expected shape of our results in 2025.
Revenue growth is expected to moderate in 2025, meaning our operating JAWS is likely to be
slightly negative. We expect the stronger Rand to remain a drag on revenue next year”.
“The normal seasonality is likely to be evident in our 2025 credit loss ratio again next year, with our
credit loss ratio in the first half of 2025 above the second half of 2025. Ghana’s hyperinflation
accounting is currently expected to end in the middle of 2025. These factors should improve our
RoE in 2025.”
“Firstly, we expect a further recovery in our credit impairments, particularly in our South African retail
books. Secondly, we have launched a productivity programme that should improve our cost-to-
income ratio in the medium term”.
Source:
Fraser, L. 2024. Absa feels the pinch. BusinessTech, 06 December.
https://www.businesstech.co.za/news/business/803209/absa-feels-the-pain. [Accessed 08
December 2024].
You are the Chief Executive Officer of the Absa Group. You are required to deliver a written
presentation to the Absa group’s Board of Directors at their quarterly meeting to be held on 11 April
2025. Your presentation is required to address the following topic:
Debate the challenges that globalisation poses for Absa on the African continent and
recommend ways whereby these challenges may be overcome.
NOTE:
• Refer to the grading rubric provided for guidance when researching and writing your essay.
• You have been provided with three (3) academic sources (see below), these sources are
compulsory and must be consulted and referenced when answering the research essay.
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Journal Article 1: Sabinet:
Van Vuuren, G. & Hargarter, A. 2018. Conduct risk in South African banks:
aligning regulatory compliance with business sustainability. Southern African
Business Review, 22(1):1-27.
Journal Article 2: Sabinet:
Ezeanyika, S. 2018. Globalisation, Democratisation Process and Challenges of
National Security in Africa. African Journal of Public Affairs, 10(4):119-137.
Journal Article 3: Sabinet:
Mashilo, E.N., Agigi, A.F.A., Mooke, K & Jaqueta, S.D.J. 2020. Physical
distribution challenges and adaptations: a qualitative study of South Africa-
based organisations operating in emerging African markets. Journal of Transport
and Supply Chain Management, 14(1):1-16.
9 HBMN333-2-Jan-June 2025-SA2-RP-V.4-14022025
GRADING RUBRIC
CRITERIA
Research and 10-12 8-9 3-7 0-2 /12
Content An excellent and A good/satisfactory An inadequate and A very poorly
relevant researched researched essay that irrelevant research researched essay
essay that provides provides adequate detail essay that provides that provides no
a detailed and well- and a fairly well-rounded little detail and a poor detail and no
rounded debate of debate of the challenges debate of the debate of the
the challenges that that globalisation poses for challenges that challenges that
globalisation poses Absa on the African globalisation poses for globalisation poses
for Absa on the continent. Absa on the African for Absa on the
African continent. continent. African continent.
Relevant recommendations
Excellent are provided whereby these Irrelevant/poor No
recommendations challenges may be recommendations are recommendations
are provided overcome. provided on how Absa are provided on
whereby these may overcome these how Absa may
challenges may be challenges. overcome these
overcome. challenges.
Structure 2 1 0 /2
Professional structure, with a Somewhat unclear structure, No evident structure, no
clear delineation between the with either the introduction or introduction and no
introduction, body and conclusion missing. conclusion, just a collection
conclusion. of paragraphs covering the
topic.
Compulsory 3 2 0-1 /3
Sources All three (3) compulsory Two (2) compulsory sources were One (1) compulsory source
sources consulted and used consulted and used in the was consulted and used in
in the research essay. research essay. the research essay. (1 mark)
None (0) of the compulsory
sources were used in the
research essay. (0 marks)
Referencing 3 2 0-1 /3
Correct Boston Harvard Correct Harvard Referencing is Incorrect use of Harvard
Referencing was used for both mostly used for both the Referencing for all references
the reference list and in-text reference list and in-text citations and in-text citations.
citations.
Two (2) of the reference list One (1) of the reference list
The reference list (3 references provided and the in-text citations provided with correct in-text
provided) and all in-text are correct. citations was used. (1 mark).
citations for these references
are correct. None (0) of the reference list
provided, with no in-text
citations provided.
(0 marks).
TOTAL /20
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