This document outlines an assessment for an individual essay as part of an international management module. Students must write a 2,000 word essay discussing the impact of COVID-19 on international trade for one of several listed countries. They must address the country's trade relations, foreign direct investment flows, economic growth forecast, and policy responses. The essay should apply relevant economic principles and include an industry example, implications for globalization, and over 20 references. A sample extract demonstrates addressing some initial requirements but a full student response requires more depth, detail, and their own examples and analysis.

1. MD4099 Assessment 1 – Individual Essay
Details of assessment:
Assessment type
Individual academic essay
Word count:
2,000 words
Weighting of assessment 2
60% of the module
Learning Outcomes Assessed
1. Identify and critically assess the major features of the Global
Economy, the shifts in economic power, and FDI trends.
2. Employ Comparative Advantage and related trade models in
analysing a country’s role in the world economy.
Submission details:
Hand in date – 10th April 2021 by 5pm, via Turnitin
Essay Question:
‘’COVID-19 is uprooting economic globalization’’ (WEF,
2020). Discuss the impact of the novel coronavirus pandemic
(Covid-19) on international trade for ONE of the countries
listed below:
UK
India
China
USA
Japan
Discuss the economic implications of Covid-19 for this country,
including: trade relations with main trading partners, FDI
inflows and outflows and the country’s economic growth
forecast. Drawing on the economic principles covered in this
module, assess how the country has responded to the health

2. pandemic with their economic policies I.e. examples of supply-
side and/or demand-side economic policies.
Aspects to consider:
1. Introduction: what is globalisation and define some of the
terms that will be included in your essay. Start off with the
global perspective by providing an appraisal of the current
global internal trade situation and global FDI flows I.e. that
international trade has contracted with FDI projected to contract
by 40% this year (WEF, 2020)
1. Then move in from a global view to a national view, to
include macroeconomic data for your country of choice (e.g.
national unemployment rates, GDP trends etc.) and start to
explore how Covid-19 has impacted that county’s economy and
trade (how have supply chains been disrupted?). How has the
country responded - I.e. supply side and or demand side
economic policies?
1. Bring in a detailed example (either a company or industry
example) to support the points you are making to provide
practical insights
1. Finally, what are the overall implications - is that country
rethinking its international trade strategy to reduce their
vulnerability to the global economic shock? What is the longer -
term outlook for globalisation? Add critical analysis into these
discussions.
1. Conclusion - summarise your essay and the main points that
have been addressed - do not add anything new in your
conclusion section
1. References - as a guide, aim for 1 reference per 100 words,
so approx. 20 references for this whole essay.
*please focus your discussion on the economy and trade given
that this is an assessment for your international strategic
management module. Please do not use up your valuable word
count going into depth about the health implications of the

3. coronavirus pandemic - instead keep it focused on the business-
side.
Assessment criteria:
· Demonstrate a critical understanding of a range of theories of
international production
· An ability to apply a number of perspectives in your critical
evaluation of implications
· Evidence of extensive reading
· An ability to structure a coherent, critical argument
· Accurate use of the Harvard Referencing system.
Level 7 assessments (e.g. Postgraduate taught programmes)
Band
Numerical equivalent
Grade band Indicative language
Exceptional Distinction
100
Creative, insightful, illuminating, inspiring, exciting,
authoritative, challenging
Very High Distinction
94
High Distinction
87
Mid Distinction
80
Persuasive, sophisticated, original, reflective, ambitious,
meticulous, critical, convincing, unexpected
Low Distinction
74
High Merit
68

4. Fluent, thorough, analytical, precise, rigorous, confident,
consistent, thoughtful
Mid Merit
65
Low Merit
62
High Pass
58
Satisfactory, clear, accurate, careful, congruent, coherent
Mid Pass
55
Low Pass
52
Min Pass / Capped Mark
50
Sufficient, adequate, descriptive, limited
Marginal Fail
45*
Mid+ Fail
42
Mid Fail
40
Fail
35
Incomplete, inadequate, inconsistent, derivative, contradictory,
superficial, irrelevant
30
Erroneous/wrong, missing, extremely limited, inappropriate,

5. insufficient, incoherent, unstructured
25
10
Lacking, formless, detrimental
Non-submission
0
Absent/none
Marking Guidance:
Title
‘’COVID-19 is uprooting economic globalization’’ (WEF,
2020). Discuss the impact of the novel coronavirus pandemic
(Covid-19) on international trade for ONE of the countries
listed below:
UK, India, China, USA, Japan
Discuss the economic implications of Covid-19 for this country,
including: trade relations with main trading partners, FDI
inflows and outflows and the country’s economic growth
forecast. Drawing on the economic principles covered in this
module, assess how the country has responded to the health
pandemic with their economic policies I.e. examples of supply-
side and/or demand-side economic policies.
Due Date
Thursday 8th April 2021 by 5pm, via Turnitin
Word Count
2,000 words
Key Readings and Texts (this will become your references list):

6. Learning Outcomes:
1. Identify and critically assess the major features of the Globa l
Economy, the shifts economic power and FDI trends
2. Employ Comparative Advantage and related trade models in
analysing a country’s role in the world economy
1-Introduction – Brief background context- what is
Globalisation? Define some of the terms you will use in your
essay (e.g. FDI and protectionism). Clearly outline which
country your essay will discuss in detail and state which
company/industry example you will draw on in your essay
discussions….signpost the reader to what you will look at and
discuss further in the main body of the essay.

7. 2 - What is the general picture in terms of international trade
during the uncertainty of the coronavirus pandemic and what
role does your country of choice ((from the list above) play in
the world economy? I.e. is this a developed economy or an
emerging economy? FDI trends and GDP growth forecasts could
be included here.
3 - How has your country of choice (from the list above)
responded to international trade issues – who are their main
trading partners, what are their main imports and exports and
how have these been affected? How have supply chains been
disrupted –.

8. 4 –bring in a detailed example to support the points above –
either a company example or industry example for the country
of your choice. Provide the practical insight to what the
economic implications of Covid-19 have been for a company /
industry in this country.

9. 5 - Application of appropriate economic trade theory – such as
absolute and comparative advantage or supply and demand side
economics to explain how and why the country has responded
the way it has.
6 - Finally, what are the overall implications - is that country
rethinking its international trade strategy to reduce their
vulnerability to the global economic shock? What is the longer -
term outlook for globalisation? Any other relevant
considerations, such as the anti-globalization critique or
cultural implications, which are of relevance for county in
question and the economic implications of Covid-19 for this
country.

10. 7: - Summary and conclusions – reiterate the main points of
your essay in this final paragraph. Do not add anything new into
your conclusion, but just summarise the main points you
covered to answer the question.
8:- reference list – aim for a minimum of approximately 20
references within this list

11. MD4099 Assessment 1: Individual Essay
Essay Question:
‘’COVID-19 is uprooting economic globalization’’ (WEF,
2020). Discuss the impact of the novel coronavirus pandemic
(Covid-19) on international trade for ONE of the countries
listed below: UK
India
China
USA
Japan
Discuss the economic implications of Covid-19 for this country,
including: trade relations with main trading partners, FDI
inflows and outflows and the country’s economic growth
forecast. Drawing on the economic principles covered in this
module, assess how the country has responded to the health
pandemic with their economic policies I.e. examples of supply-
side and/or demand-side economic policies.
Example Essay Extract
This essay is going to critically assess the economic impact of
the coronavirus pandemic to one specific country. In these
critical discussions, this essay will focus upon India and assess
how the health pandemic has affected Indian trade, FDI trends
and economic policies. The points made in this essay will be
supported by relevant economic theory, financial and economic

12. measures (such as FDI and GDP) as well as draw from wider
literature to result in a critical appraisal of the situation
Comment by Victoria Jackson <School of Management>:
An attempt at an introduction – this is informing the reader of
what the essay will be about Comment by Mark Stephen Peter
Rees <School of Business>: It is also something to potentially
revisit at the end - has the essay achieved these aims, and what
were the main findings?
Firstly, this essay will now provide an overview of globalisation
and international trade before moving on to specifical ly focus
discussions upon the UK. Globalisation has been defined as
Comment by Victoria Jackson <School of Management>:
Signposting the reader
The global Foreign Direct Investment flows have contracted
during the covid-19 pandemic. Foreign Direct Investme nt (FDI)
provides a means for creating direct, stable and long-lasting
links between economies (OECD, 2008) but the covid-19 health
pandemic has meant that this international investment (FDI) has
contracted by 40% so far in 2020 (WEF, 2020). However, much
of this contraction will be felt more in emerging economies,
rather than in developed economies, so FDI trends are projected
to differ according to different types of economies (OECD,
2020). The reasons offered for reduced FDI flows to developing
countries, concern the sectors that have been severely impacted
by the pandemic, which include manufacturing sectors, and
these account for a larger share of FDI in emerging economies
than in developed economies (Moody’s Analytics, 2020).
Applying this to the OLI framework (Dunning, 1973),
multinational enterprises (MNEs) choose to invest in particular
countries depending on their location advantages (such as
growth potential, market size, as well as social and policy-
oriented characteristics). Part of the decision to invest in a
country therefore, involves an appraisal of what location
opportunities there might be, but if there are a lack of
advantages in that location and growth potential is declining,
this will influence Foreign Direct Investment inflows to that

13. economy. Comment by Victoria Jackson <School of
Management> [2]: Attempt at defining a key term /concept
Comment by Victoria Jackson <School of Management>
[2]: referencing using the Harvard system – evidence of
engagement with related reading and providing support for the
points being made in the essay. Comment by Victoria
Jackson <School of Management> [3]: Attempt to apply to
relevant framework / theory and referenced appropriately
Applying the above to India, India is classified as an emerging
economy (McKinsey, 2018) and as such would be set to receive
reduced amounts of FDI and international trade during the
covid-19 pandemic as investors and MNEs look to review and
potentially shorten their Global Value Chain’s (GVCs) to
protect themselves from supply-chain disruptions during the
pandemic. India was ranked as 30th on WEF global
manufacturing index (2018) and it was one of the high growth
sectors in India. Prior to the global pandemic, the Prime
Minister of India, Mr Narendra Modi, launched the ‘Make in
India’ program to place India on the world map as a
manufacturing hub (IBEF, 2018). However, once the pandemic
hit India, the economic implications began as supply chain
material disruptions occurred, as several states in India went
into lockdowns with intermittent relaxations in place (IDC,
2020). Comment by Victoria Jackson <School of
Management> [2]: Attempt to apply this to the country in
question that the essay is focusing upon Comment by Victoria
Jackson <School of Management> [2]: Brief mentio n of an
industry example in the country being discussed – although
more details would be required Comment by Victoria
Jackson <School of Management> [2]: starting to address the
economic impact of Covid to India
The next part of the essay will start to look at India’s response
to the covid-19 pandemic in terms of the proposed domestic and
foreign economic policies. Comment by Victoria Jackson

14. <School of Management> [2]: Sign posting the
reader…..guiding them through the essay as to what is being
addressed now and reference back to the essay question
According to Keynesian economic theory, government
intervention is necessary to moderate recession periods in an
economic trade cycle (IMF, 2014). In times of recession,
demand-side economics reduces, in that the demand from
customers drops as their overall spending goes down given high
unemployment rates often seen during recession periods. The
uncertainty caused by Covid-19 as well as unprecedented
national and regional lockdowns, mean that customer spending
in India has reduced. A report by ET Money (2020) reveals that
overall spend by Indian consumers between March and June
2020, was reduced by nearly 40% from the level of last year. As
a result, under the Keynes approach to encouraging more
demand for products and services (demand-side economics), the
Finance minister of India announced an INR 1.7 trillion (~USD
22 billion) relief package for Indian citizens in view of COVID-
19 outbreak (KPMG, 2020) to encourage spending and lift
demand from domestic markets. Comment by Victoria
Jackson <School of Management> [2]: Discussing economic
trade theory Comment by Victoria Jackson <School of
Management> [2]: Adding in details – such as data and research
data to support the points being made
For international trade however, in 2019-20, India’s trade with
South Asia, Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations),
the Gulf nations, China, and North America reduced
(Chakraborty, 2020). The essay will now look more closely at
India’s international trade amidst the covid-19 pandemic.
Comment by Victoria Jackson <School of Management>:
Identification of India's main trading partners / trade bloc
*Please note, example extract above is approx. 600 words and is
therefore only a very brief example which means it is lacking in
further details, explanations and examples. The purpose of this
extract is to give students a further illustration to the essay

15. question you have been set and to demonstrate how you can
approach some of the points you need to include in your essay.
You are expected to delve much deeper into the issues than
could be provided in this short example above and please use
your own examples rather than taking examples from this
extract.