Assessment Item 2: Research Question – Financial Management
Due: Week 10, Thursday, 20th September, 2018 at 5pm
Assessment 2 allows on-campus and distance (FLEX) students the option to collaborate and work in a group of 2 or individually.
Overview: The Big Mac Index
Initiated in 1986 by Pam Woodall and taking its name from the iconic MacDonald’s Big Mac hamburger, The Big Mac Index – published annually by The Economist, is a quirky and informal way of measuring the purchasing power parity (PPP) between two currencies.
Measuring the price of a McDonalds Big Mac hamburger in 31 countries as the international monetary standard, this economic indicator states that exchange rates around the world adjust to equalise the price of a basket of goods and services. Thus, the basket referred to by this index is the McDonald’s Big Mac.
The Task: Research Question
In this assessment task you are required to investigate The Big Mac Index – [AKA McCurrency and Burgernomics] and use your research and understanding to write a report based on your findings. Specifically, you are to describe the history, explain how it works, the theory behind it and its limitations, providing useful examples.
You will also be required to apply the index to the affordability and/or a global-to-local look at pricing of a product or service of your choice. To do this, you will compare relative prices of an identical basket of goods and services measured by a McDonald’s Big Mac, in terms of domestic currencies. Examples might be the price of popular and common electronics such as the Apple iPhone, motor cars, luxury goods, groceries, real estate, alcohol, cigarettes etc. Use tables, diagrams, illustrations and/or infographics to illustrate your findings.
Important information
Your work should be presented in report format, using the following structure.
- Introduction, body and conclusion
- Support for the response should draw from the references and YouTube clips provided, plus a selection from your own research and investigation. These must include a range of sources, including YouTube Clips and/or related websites, books, interviews and scholarly articles.
- Fonts must be either Arial or Times New Roman 12 pt for body copy
- Major headings to be 16pt bold and 14pt for sub-headings
- Spacing must be 1.5
- Inclusion of diagrams and tables to support your response is strongly encouraged
- Appendices and reference list
- All supporting material must be properly referenced using APA in-text referencing formats
- The word count is 1,500 words maximum (i.e. 5 pages maximum) excluding in-text referencing, diagrams and tables.
- Minimum number of reference articles / source material must be not less than 12 and must include at least 6 academic articles.
Recommended resources and reading
- Burgernomics: The Big Mac Index. The Economist. July 11, 2018. https://www.economist.com/news/2018/07/11/the-big-mac-index
- Economy Watch (2010), Big Mac Index, Big Mac Purchasing Power Parity. June 29, 2010. http://www.economywatch.com/economies-in-top/big-mac-index-big-mac-ppp.html
- Ong, Li Lian (2003), The Economics of the Big Mac Standard: Springer. Google Scholar: https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1057/9780230512412_3
- Wendover Productions (2016), Big Mac Economics
YouTube: https://novom.ru/en/watch/5XdYbmova_s - CNNMoney (2015), Forget the ‘Big Mac Index’… This is the ‘Chanel Index‘. YouTube: https://novom.ru/en/watch/gJXoEpiOlxs
- The Big Mac Index: Fast food for thought. What do hamburgers, lipstick and men’s underwear have in common? The joys of quirky economic indicators. The Economist. July 30, 2011. https://www.economist.com/leaders/2011/07/30/fast-food-for-thought
Submission Details
This online submission MUST BE submitted as a word document. PDF submissions will not be accepted.
Issues that will impact on your marks include:
- Where copying from other sources results in high % similarity, marks will be deducted as shown on the mark-sheet. Therefore, proper use of in-text referencing is important. Avoid direct quotes.
- Turnitin will be used to check % similarity.
- Under extreme circumstances where high % similarity indicates copying from written works of other students in CQU, other universities or any other institutions world-wide, the assignment will be reviewed by the academic misconduct board. If percentage similarity exceeds 20%, marks will be deducted based on a progressive scale as determined by the course co-ordinator.
- A marking rubric is provided.
- The assessment is worth 30% total assessment grade.
- The final grade will be recorded on Moodle as a percentage of 30%.
- Penalty for late submission is 5% per calendar day including Saturday and Sunday.
Assignment Questions and Marking Criteria / Rubric
Criteria |
Measures of Excellence |
HD | D | C | P | US | F |
| Content / Knowledge 40% |
There is an excellent standard of analysis and the responses demonstrate an accurate appreciation of the key concepts, principles and understanding of The Big Mac Index with examples provided. |
5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Examples and Evidence 20% |
The student has applied the index to the affordability and/or a global-to-local look at pricing of a product or service of their choice. The source of information and/or examples are insightful and support the research well. |
5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Organisation, structure and presentation 10% |
The use of headings and sub-headings is effective and enhances readability. Correct grammar, spelling and punctuation. Charts, diagrams, infographics and examples have been used and are presented professionally, as well as being labelled and referenced correctly, as appropriate. | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Referencing 20% |
APA Referencing has been used properly, accurately and consistently throughout the report. Referencing accurate – per APA Reference Guide. |
5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Presentation 10% |
Responses have been presented in a superior manner i.e. comparisons, tables, and figures are neat, separators have been used to present numbers, workings are shown in a clear manner, headings have been used to categorise elements of the answers. Correct grammar, spelling and punctuation. |
5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
Marks will be scaled down reflect a grade out of 30%.