Assessment item 2 - Spreadsheet analysis back to top Value: 30% Due Date: 27-Apr-2020 Return Date: 19-May-2020 Length: 300 words Submission method options: Alternative submission method TASK back to...

Assessment item 2 - Spreadsheet analysis

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Value:30%Due Date:27-Apr-2020Return Date:19-May-2020Length:300 wordsSubmission method options:Alternative submission method

TASK

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Background

You are working for a real estate development firm which is considering various options in and around the Greater Sydney region. The company buys residential property and then builds or renovates as needed and then sells to owner-occupiers or investors. Typically, the company buys one of more adjacent stand-alone houses and then builds small-to-medium-sized apartment blocks. The combination of interest payments, opportunity costs, building costs, and taxes require the company to build and sell as quickly as possible, while maintaining a high-quality product. There is regular debate among senior managers about where is the best place to invest. As an analyst for several managers occasionally you are asked to gather evidence to suit different agendas.Your TaskYou will be allocated one Local Government Area (LGA)Your task is to preparetwo separate short reportswithin an Excel document:

1. Show that your LGA is a good place to build property for resale. Maximum 150 words of explanatory notes (excluding cover sheet, tables or graphs).
   
   
   
   
   • Note: your graph should tell the story, not your verbal explanation.
   
   
   
   
   
   


2. Show that your LGA is a bad place to build property for resale. Maximum 150 words of explanatory notes (excluding cover sheet, tables or graphs).
   
   
   
   
   • Note: your graph should tell the story, not your verbal explanation.
   
   
   
   
   
   

ResourcesExcel SpreadsheetsSales, Trend March 1991 – December 2015, Metropolitan LGAsmay be downloaded from theNSW Department of Housing. The data show median home prices over time in a number of LGA's.Dollar values in these resources do not take account of inflation. You may decide that these prices should be adjusted for inflation using the Housing Inflation data in Table 5 or Table 9 of theConsumer Price Index data(Report 6401) from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.You may also access other publicly available data (e.g. ABS demographics) -CautionsStatistical data from the ABS are available at several levels of aggregation. LGAs represent a large population. Collection Districts may represent only several hundred people. Be sure that you are accessing the right level of aggregation for your analysis.Data presented in these Excel files are in their raw form. You will note that there are many redundant or additional columns, and there are missing values for those cases where data were not available, or where the number of transactions was too few to give a meaningful median measure. You will need to clean up the data before you begin your analysis.Generally, you should confine your analysis to the price information contained in the Housing Price data.Additional information that might relate to specific properties (views, proximity to a park, etc.) are not applicable to this report. Similarly, additional information about the region itself (distance from the Central Business District, or distance from beaches or rivers, etc.) islikely to be contained already in the Price.

RATIONALE

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SUBJECT LEARNING OUTCOMES

This assessment task will assess the following learning outcome/s:

• be able to critically examine different methods of data analysis and presentation for social networks, complex systems and relational links.


• be able to apply intermediate skills in spreadsheets and data visualisation software to identify trends and relationships among factors in industry and society.


• be able to analyse government, industry and social media data to identify relationships and trends.


• be able to critically evaluate conclusions drawn from different data and analytic tools.


• be able to create interactive models using appropriate software and effectively communicate results and findings to aid decision-makers in understanding interrelationships and trends.

This assessment meets the following learning outcome:

• Be able to apply intermediate skills in spreadsheets to identify trends and relationships among factors in industry and society;

GRADUATE LEARNING OUTCOMES

This task also contributes to the assessment of the followingCSU Graduate Learning Outcome/s:

• Information and Research Literacies (Knowledge) - Charles Sturt Graduates demonstrate that disciplinary knowledge is developed through research and evidence.


• Information and Research Literacies (Skill) - Charles Sturt Graduates demonstrate the skills required to locate, access and critically evaluate existing information and data.


• Information and Research Literacies (Application) - Charles Sturt Graduates synthesize and apply information and data to different contexts to facilitate planning, problem solving and decision making.


• Digital Literacies (Knowledge) - Charles Sturt Graduates understand professional, social and cultural implications of the global use of technology.


• Digital Literacies (Skill) - Charles Sturt Graduates use, create, communicate and share multimodal information in digital environments.


• Digital Literacies (Application) - Charles Sturt Graduates ethically, legally, safely and critically use technology to select, create and share information and participate in online learning, professional and social communities.

MARKING CRITERIA AND STANDARDS

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Criteria	HD: 100% - 85%	DI: 84% - 75%	CR: 74% - 65%	PS: 64% - 50%	FL: 49% - 0%	Out of
Organisation of spreadsheet	The spreadsheet shows apolished and imaginative approach to the topic	The spreadsheet is organised and well-documented.	Some of the data and the chart are scattered or cluttered.	The spreadsheet appears to have some order. It can be read, but with difficulty	The data is not organised and the graph does not accompany the data.	5
Formulae used in spreadsheet	The formulae used were appropriate and innovative in presenting the information	The formulae were used wherever appropriate. There were no numbers typed in to do any calculations.	Most of the numbers that needed to be calculated were done by formulae.	Some of the numbers that needed to be calculated were done by formulae.	Only 1 or 2 of the numbers that needed to be calculated were done by formulae.	5
Positive ReportGraph	The graphs were well presented and represents the data appropriately and in an innovative manner.	The graph(s) is well-presented and represents the data appropriately.	The graph(s) is well designed and represent the data, but lacks some key figures	The graph(s) is present, but does not represent the data.	There is no graph.	2
Positive ReportOrganisation	The report is organised and well-documented in an imaginative and innovative manner	The report is organised and well-documented.	The report is difficult to read. Some of the data and the chart are scattered or cluttered.	The report appears to have some order. It can be read, but is very difficult.	The report is disorganised. The data are not organised and the graph does not accompany the data.	3
Positive ReportEvidence	The graph and commentary together provide a consistent and persuasive story presented in innovative and imaginative fashion	The graph and commentary together provide a consistent and persuasive story	A clear link between graph and story.	A tangential relationship between graph and the commentary.	There is no relationship between commentary and graph	3
Positive ReportAdditional Evidence	Imaginative and novel interpretation of figures/ratios or extra information is integrated into the evidence and story	Appropriate and well organised interpretation of figures/ratios or extra information is integrated into the evidence and story	Prices transformed into other figures/ratios but not well integrated	Some vague comments that may support the evidence	Nothing new or opinion without evidence	2
NegativeReportGraph	The graphs were well presented and represents the data appropriatelyand in an innovative manner.	The graph(s) is well-presented and represents the data appropriately.	The graph(s) looks good and represent the data, but lacks a couple key figures	The graph(s) is present, but does not represent the data.	There is no graph.	2
NegativeReportOrganisation	The report is organised and well-documented in an imaginative and innovative manner	The report is organised and well-documented.	The report is difficult to read. Some of the data and the chart are scattered or cluttered.	The report appears to have some order. It can be read, but is very difficult.	The report is disorganised. The data are not organised and the graph does not accompany the data.	3
Negative ReportEvidence	The graph and commentary together provide a consistent and persuasive story presented in innovative and imaginative fashion	The graph and commentary together provide a consistent and persuasive story	A clear link between graph and story.	A tangential relationship between graph and the commentary.	There is no relationship between commentary and graph	3
Negative ReportAdditional Evidence	Imaginative and novel interpretation of figures/ratios or extra information is integrated into the evidence and story	Appropriate and well organised interpretation of figures/ratios or extra information is integrated into the evidence and story	Prices transformed into other figures/ratios but not well integrated	Some vague comments that may support the evidence	Nothing new or opinion without evidence	2

PRESENTATION

back to topYou should submit one Excel document only

• Include spreadsheets containing the data and graphs you used to prepare your reports.


• Do not include spreadsheets that you did not use.


• Create a first spreadsheet which identifies you as the author, and summarises the contents of the spreadsheets in your document. (Summary is not included in the word-count.)