BFF3321 2023.1 International Finance
Group Assignment 1 (30% overall)
GENERAL
The benefits of group assessment for students include:
 development of project planning and teamwork skills
 cohort building with peers
 strengthen confidence to work in diverse teams
 working on real-world projects or solutions-based problems
 learning how to collaborate productively in a team

These are skills that may not necessarily be developed using individual assessments, and
BFF3231 Group assignments are good practice.

In this first assignment, you need to complete
a. A Group Report to be submitted by one team member using the appropriate submission
file and the submission link for group reports (one submission per group).
b. An Individual Self-reflection and Peer Assessment Report, using Feedback Fruits on
Moodle.
GROUP REPORT
Background.

Corporate business requires that staff can work in teams with diverse people and respect
timelines. In the past few years, the need to do this virtually has intensified even more.

This assignment is meant to give you some practice and familiarity in accessing public data in
international finance to compile a quick report as a team, an activity that frequently occurs in
professional settings. The ability to work in teams, sometimes virtually, and to work with data,
even simply, are considered critical skills by employers. See, for example, Exhibit 1 in this
McKinsey's Report: "Defining the skills citizens will need in the future world of work" from 25
June 2021, by Marco Dondi, Julia Klier, Frederic Panier, and Jorg Schubert.

General instructions

 In Group Assignment 1 you will be working in groups of 4 students, and group
formation will be led by your tutor in your tutorial starting in week 1.
 In particular circumstances, groups of 3 may be allowed (say, in case someone is not
well, for example). The task will remain the same.
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 Each group will be assigned a number before week 3. When you receive the task on the
17th March, you will find that this number is matched to a specific country but different
for different groups.
 Students will then have until 9.30am on the 21st March to submit a report.
 With prior preparation based on the material provided by the lecturer, it is expected
that students should be able to complete the task within a few hours.
 I will not provide extensions. I estimate that this assignment takes about 6 hours for a
group of 4 so the time provided (about 10-12 of time to work on it, excluding necessary
sleep time) is already generous. Part of the exercise consists in consulting the material
BEFORE the task is distributed, preparing with your team BEFORE the beginning of the
assignment window, and managing your time efficiently when it's limited.
 I will subtract 5 points for every 12h of delay in delivering the assignment.

Research material
In week 2, I will upload on Moodle
a) a set of slides and
b) a link to a 1h video on data in international finance presenting these slides,
broadly referring to some of the charts and data as seen in lectures 1-3.

Several hints have been sprinkled through the recordings and homework.

Becoming familiar with this material before the beginning of week 3 is fundamental. If you
start consulting the material after the task is made public, you will not have enough time to
digest it and do the work required to complete the task.

You may also need to look at the Central Banks' websites for your allocated countries. Central
banks normally have an English version.

Requirements
You will be given questions and required to construct charts using the sources suggested in the
video and slides, as well as to provide a commentary on these charts. Please proceed to answer
each question. A formal introduction and conclusion are not required. The structure of the
report should follow the questions.

Date released
This task will be released on Friday 17th March, 4pm.

Date/time due
a. Group report:
9.30am, 21st March via a submission link on Moodle, which uses Turnitin. Only one group
member needs to submit the report.

b. Individual self reflection and peer assessment
9.30am, 22nd March via Moodle.
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Details of the submission file for the report
I have uploaded a word file to be used as a template for the submission.
Please clearly state the following items in your submission file:
• all group members names and student IDs; specify each member's role in the group:
Leader, coordinator of the meetings, auditor, etc. if any (the determination of roles is up to
you for discussion).
• tutor's name;
• tutorial number and/or day/time;
• allocated group number.

Marking and rubric
Along with the questions and the countries in week 3, I will release a rubric that may help you
with assessing your answers before submitting.

The clarity of the layout and charts will be factored in the marking. Reports that are difficult to
follow or that do not include citations and referencing (when appropriate) will be penalized. I
don't expect you will not need many citations or references in this particular assignment.

Word limit
1,800 words. You do not necessarily need to use all these words. Put yourself in the shoes of
the reader (for example, your boss who will be reading your report): they will want to see
precise and concise answers that make them understand the point you're making without using
too much time. Precise and Concise.

Recommendations for teamwork
a. Meet before the assignment and determine roles in the groups; you can do this at the
end of one of your tutorials.
b. Become familiar with the members of the team and discuss strengths, witnesses and
possible constraints to your participation during the assignment (say you have another
class during the delivery window or you work, etc.).
c. Schedule a pre-assignment, an initial, a halfway, and a conclusive brief meeting before
submission. Or at least communications.
d. Agree on the way to communicate to the team (WhatsApp, Teams, Slack, email, etc.).
e. Attribute roles within the groups with the expectation of shuffling them in group
Assignment 2. This is not compulsory but highly recommended. See the appendix below
for suggestions. Note you are able to work with a different team for Assignment 2.

Feedback to you
Students can expect to receive feedback on this assessment within 2 weeks of submission.
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INDIVIDUAL REPORT: INDIVIDUAL SELF-REFLECTION AND PEER ASSESSMENT

Within 24 hours from the Group Report submission deadline, you are required to submit
feedback via Feedback Fruits on Moodle (under the Assignment 1 tab). Students will provide
feedback to group peers anonymously. Students will also undertake their own self-reflection
(180 words max). This should not take more than 1 hour, so I won't accept extensions.

This component will be reviewed by the CE to ensure fair and equitable marks for this
component are provided.

Your mark may be adjusted based on your peers' assessment.
APPENDIX
Possible roles in the team:

Leader/facilitator
 Clarifies the aims of the group and helps the group to set sub-goals at the beginning
of each meeting. Sub-goals should serve as an agenda of issues that need to be
addressed during the meeting.
 Makes sure that all group members understand the concepts and the group's
conclusions.
 Starts the meetings, introduces each topic, and keeps the group on task and oriented
towards its goals.
 Ensures that the group completes its tasks before deadlines.

Arbitrator/monitor/copy editor
 Observes group functioning carefully and initiates regular discussions on group
climate and process, especially if he or she senses tension or conflict brewing.
 During disagreements or conflicts, clarifies the arguments and proposes suggestions
for resolving a dispute.
 Ensures that all group members have a chance to participate and learn; may elicit
comments from members if they are not participating.
 Reads the drafts

Notetaker/time keeper/assembler
 Takes notes during meetings to keep a record of what has been decided, tasks that
have been assigned, when meetings are scheduled, etc.
 Summarizes discussions and decisions for the rest of the group. Distributes a
summary of each meeting to all group members.
 Assembles the group material
 Keeps track of time during meetings to avoid spending excessive time on one topic.
This is best handled by deciding how much time will be allocated to each issue on the
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agenda and letting everyone know when this time is up. It is also useful to point out
when time is almost up so that issues can be wrapped up appropriately.

Devil’s advocate/auditor/subitter
 Remains on guard against “groupthink” scenarios (i.e., when the pressure to reach
the group goal is so great that the individual members surrender their own opinions
to avoid conflict and view issues solely from the group’s perspective).
 Ensures that all arguments have been heard, and looks for holes in the group’s
decision-making process, in case there is something overlooked.
 Keeps his or her mind open to problems, possibilities, and opposing ideas.
 Serves as a quality-control person who double-checks every detail to make sure errors
have not been made and searches for aspects of the work that need more attention.
Keeps an eye out for mistakes, especially those that may fall between the
responsibilities of two group members.
 Checks the document before submission
 Submits, takes a screenshot of the successful submission and shares it with the group.