Unit 2 – Area of Study 3: Industry issues
Outcome 3:
Analyse the impact of two significant issues on an Australian industry within the last four years and discuss how the industry has responded to the issues in an enterprising way.
Examples of learning activities
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Identify a significant issue that is impacting an Australian industry and analyse its effect on the selected industry in terms of employment and competitiveness. Explain how the industry is responding and ways the government could support the industry to adapt to resultant changes.
- Collect and present a folio of articles about a significant issue affecting an Australian industry. Use these as a basis to write a letter to the editor about the issue.
- Analyse a case study of a selected workplace to assess whether it is responding in an enterprising way to a significant issue.
- Survey workers in a selected workplace. Investigate how their workplace is responding to change. Prepare a written report about the skills that workers need to cope with change in the workplace.
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Prepare a class presentation about a selected issue affecting an Australian industry. Describe the issue, the impact it has had so far and is anticipated to have in the future. Outline how the industry is currently responding to the issue and how it could respond to the challenge in the future.
- Conduct a class debate on one of the following topics:
- Globalisation is not good for Australian business.
- New technology is always beneficial for business.
- Climate change is harmful to business.
Detailed example 1
Industry case study
This task involves investigation and analysis of one or more significant issue/s facing an Australian industry including how that industry has responded in an enterprising way.
Significant issues facing Australian industry include:
- globalisation and international competitiveness
- use of technology
- free-trade agreements
- skills shortages
- social issues such as occupational health and safety
- environmental concerns.
Students conduct research and complete the analysis covering:
- a brief introduction to the industry
- an introduction to significant issue/s faced by the industry
- a detailed discussion about how the issue/s is/are affecting the industry
- a general outline of how the industry is responding
- an example of how one workplace within the industry has responded in an enterprising way
- the changing role of industry stakeholders, including workers as a consequence of the issue/s.
Detailed example 2
Industry issue presentation
Issue: Fracking and its effect on environmental sustainability
Fracking, the onshore exploration for coal-seam gas, was banned by the Victorian Government in March 2017. If exploration in Gippsland had gone ahead, many believed that it would have had a negative impact on some of Victoria’s best pastoral and farming land.
A similar situation has arisen in south-west Western Australia where refineries want to capture carbon emissions in subterranean rock below prime agricultural land. In Western Australia, the state government is apparently in support of the fracking venture.
Students are required to research and compile information about fracking in preparation for a class presentation.
Task
Investigate the practice of fracking and its associated environmental concerns as an industry issue.
- Explain what fracking is.
- Describe what the refinery industry does and give examples of companies involved in the industry, stating what product each one refines.
- Compile a table showing the costs and benefits of fracking for different stakeholder groups including:
- the mining industry
- local communities
- the Australian economy
- environmental interests
- government.
- Discuss the topic: In your opinion does industry have a responsibility to reduce carbon dioxide emissions?
- Outline possible actions that industry might take in response to environmental concerns about carbon emissions. Describe how one company (such as Alcoa or Linfox) has responded in an enterprising manner.