Posted: April 5th, 2015

Natural resources in Thailand (RICE)

Natural resources in Thailand (RICE)

Project description
I chose Rice in Thailand as the natural resources
MAIN OBJECTIVE
Based on your research and tacit knowledge, you are to develop a Project (NOT an essay) that will set recommendations for businesses, industries or even local government on the specific country natural resource you selected, to advise them on how to make better and more sustainable use of that specific resource.
It could be by means of addressing CSR issues ( workers, animal welfare, fair trade);
Or it could be by addressing the ways in which the resource is extracted from a mine (human health and welfare, use of water or energy, environmental impact caused by the exploration, etc.)
Or the way in which the breeding programmes are set for the animals to be exploited as food, or fur/wool/feathers
Or the issues with CO2 emissions because of the transport involved in taking the natural resource from its extraction/production/natural origin to the processing/manufacturing/storage/distribution sites;
Or the issues about illegal trading
Or any other issues related to business ethics and sustainability

This is supposed to be a project (not an essay) maximum 1500 words long, with the following INDICATIVE structure (the word limit given for each section is also indicative):
i.Executive summary (the basis for your presentation) _ 200 words
ii.Key words (a selection of 5 words that you consider fully describe the topic and your findings)
iii.Overview of the topic (500 words)
iv.Development of the idea and brief justification of your recommendations (which can be presented as bullet points) (600 words)
v.Reflective analysis and Concluding remarks (200 words)

Illustrative set of paragraphs/sections worth including:
i.A brief overview on the natural resource selected and what may have led people to start using it and trading it, either per se or as a component of a final product;
ii.How the use of that specific natural resource has evolved through time in a specific region (ideally in your own country of origin or the one you most identify yourself with
iii.How the use of that resource has helped shape trade/businesses through time locally, either as an essential raw material or as a component of the products/services provided by that industry/sector.
iv.What has been the impact on the availability of that same resource through time (e.g. was the resource located in a very specific area of the world or did it exist almost everywhere on Earth when people started using it? Is the resource still available nowadays in those locations, is there a shortage of the resource and is so when and where did it start?)
v.What have been the social impacts of the exploitation of that resource locally and globally? (e.g. apprenticeships, jobs)
vi.What have been the environmental impacts of the trading of the resource (e.g. if it has to be transported from how far and using what types of transport? Or if has to be processed in some way, does the process lead to dust/noise, etc.)
vii.Further considerations on how businesses nowadays perceive the resource and what have they considered doing (if anything at all to help decrease the impacts)
viii.A detailed reflection on how the development of this assignment (identifying the key steps of your research from week one to the presentation day in week 10) has helped you gain further insights on the role of businesses on natural resources and on enhancing quality of life locally and globally.
ix.If you were a business person leading a business that would require the use of this specific resource (either as the resource itself or as a component of any product/service your company were to provide) what would be your recommendations for the company to be sustainable.
CRITERIA
i.Structuring and coherence of the findings presented
ii.Demonstrated depth, scope and focus of the research
iii.Reflective analysis
iv.Argumentative skills during the presentation of the highlights of the project
v.Bibliography (using Harvard referencing system)