MGT3031E: Group Project & Oral Presentation Guidelines
Objectives:
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To think through the concept of environmental sustainability in the context of city
government.
To identify obstacles faced by municipal departments in regards to implementing
environmental initiatives
To identify correlations between the cities’ political, economic and geographical
factors in relation to development of environmental policy
To provide in-depth analysis in regards to each city’s environmental departments
organizational structure and history (number of employees, history and
development of department, hierarchal placement in organization).
To critically evaluate the way in which the municipalities use web space to
inform/educate the public.
To practice oral presentation skills.
To work collaboratively in a group.
Presentation Dates:
April 3rd, 5th & 10th
Time Allowance: ~20 min
1. Each group of 5 students will choose a separate municipality from those listed
below to compare with the City of Lethbridge.
2. You will examine in depth the websites of both the municipality that you have
chosen and the City of Lethbridge, paying special attention to their environmental
initiatives. Additional information on the City of Lethbridge will be made
available to all groups.
3. Think about what your expectations would be in general for a department
responsible for encouraging sound environmental practices in a city. What
external influences/environmental issues have contributed to the development of
these expectations?
4. Find out the primary industries that operate in the city that you have chosen.
(Hint: Check their Chamber of Commerce members.) Are particular stakeholders
/ sectors of these industries’ environments at risk as a consequence of their
operations? Might the city government be expected to monitor or even intervene
in industry activities? What are the governing policies locally, provincially and
federally regarding environmental regulation? How does a municipal department
operate in relation to these policies?
5. Develop a means of comparing the environmental initiatives of the two cities.
What would you look for? How would you measure it?
6. Apply your evaluation scheme to the two cities using information available on
their websites and any other information that you are able to obtain. Which city
do you feel is being more successful? Why? What are the implications of using
information from the internet as a primary research source? How could the cities
improve their delivery of web based information?
7. What recommendations would you make to the City of Lethbridge to build on
their existing strengths concerning environmental initiatives?
8. Present a summary of your findings to the class and a ~10 page report to me that
include overall profiles of both cities (location, basic demographics, and an
economic profile that includes primary employers) and your answers to the
questions above. You are encouraged to include screen captures from the websites
of the municipalities in your presentation to illustrate your points in addition to
whatever summary materials or handouts you wish to support your discussion.
Presentations will be made in the order in which they appear below. The report is
due on the day of your presentation.
Groups #1, #2, #3: Alberta Municipalities
1) Red Deer
2) Medicine Hat
3) St. Albert
Groups #4, #5, #6: British Columbia Municipalities
4) Chilliwack
5) Kamloops
6) Kelowna
Groups #7, #8, #9: The East
7) Peterborough (ON)
8) Fredericton (NB)
9) St. John’s (NFL)