Reference no: EM132614264

BUMGT5928 Strategic Enterprise Planning Assignment - Federation University, Australia

Strategic Enterprise Plan - Major Assignment Details

This document contains the details for the major assignment for BUMGT5928 Strategic Enterprise Planning semester two, 2020. It can be done individually or as a group. Included are aspects such as:

The assignment requirements;

How they meet the Learning Outcomes-refer to the course description;

How the assignments are to be formatted; and

How they will be assessed by using an Assessment Criteria Sheet.

You must read these in conjunction with the course description which contains other pertinent information on submission, etc. It is your responsibility to fully acquaint yourself with these requirements. If you are not clear on any aspect please speak with your lecturer.

The overall purpose of the assessment is for you to demonstrate an "advanced and integrated understanding of a complex body of knowledge".

Overview of the Major Assignment -

Nominally, this assignment is a group project but many students decide to do it by themselves, e.g. they do it for their employer and hence, there are issues concerning commercial confidentiality. If you do it as a group project then there is a maximum of three students in a group. Whatever the approach, your lecturer must approve it.

This two-stage (but three pieces of work) assessment task centres on both the process of, and development of, a strategic plan. This plan could be for an entire enterprise, an SBU of a corporation, or for a start-up (e.g. for-profit or a social entrepreneurship venture).

It brings together all the requisite aspects of strategic business planning/decision making, culminating in a fully integrated and robust strategic business plan being developed and presented. As such, it draws on key theory and principles that have formed the basis of many of the courses you have undertaken as part of the MBA program.

However, this assessment requires students to have not only just a demonstrated knowledge of the core principles, etc. but also an ability to (a) integrate these and (b) apply them in a real-life business plan. This reflects the capstone nature of this course and part of the assessment is designed to equip you with 'decision making ready' skills/capabilities and for you to be an effective contributor to wider business planning activities in future situations.

While there is a very clear emphasis on your own research, analysis, thinking, planning and creativity, your report must be based on well-developed arguments, logic, evidence and rationale. As such it will be necessary to undertake considerable research, analysis and synthesis to develop your ideas. A key aspect is to be able to support your ideas and direction, etc. with logic and evidence. To this end you will need to reference key material used in this assessment task. Referencing is not just related to meeting academic criteria-it also reinforces to the reader, (e.g. potential investors) the underlying logic and rigour of your plan, etc.

The structure of the major assignment is as follows:

1. The proposal - (report)

2. The plan

a. Report

b. Presentation

Task Requirements Preamble -

Working individually or in a groups with a maximum of three students, you are required to develop a fully integrated strategic business plan-from initial research through to final implementation/review, etc. of the actual plan.

This will require all keys facets to be considered and of course, to include the key area of implementation and performance measurement. It is not just about the direction but also a sense of how the firm/organisation can successfully implement the plan. Inherent in this is the need to address key risk areas and associated risk mitigation measures the organisation might need to have in place.

It is stressed that content delivery is not a main focus in this course-i.e. if you think that the lecturer will be going through slide after slide after slide of the main points you covered in all of your MBA courses you will be greatly disappointed.

Here are some options that could be considered:

1. Start-up Business/Organisation-developing a business case for a non-existent firm. This might be the 'blue print' for a business you want to start after graduation; and

2. Existing Business-developing a future strategic direction for an existing firm/organisation. Examples might include firms where you have access to good information/data or an ability to develop a VERY sound base understanding.

High profile/publicly listed firms where there is a wide range of public domain information. Has rarely been done-results were poor mainly because students had far less understanding of the organisation and industry than they thought.

Case studies-firms where RECENT case studies provide a good base understanding. Has never been done as access to appropriate cases is highly restricted.

Prior/inside knowledge-it may be a firm that you are working in, or have worked in.

Be realistic about the firm you select. Unfortunately, students have chosen firms, e.g. a global electronics manufacturer based in Japan, when they have absolutely no inside knowledge of the firm. Consequently, the paper is 'all theory' with no practical insights/strategies.

Your choice of organisation/firm MUST be approved by your lecturer PRIOR to beginning this task.

A term that is frequently used today is BUSINESS MODEL but there does not seem to be universal acceptance of just what this means. There appears to be some overlapping of terms such as business model, business strategy and business plan which only adds to the confusion. However, putting that issue aside, you should consider how to incorporate a business model into your strategic enterprise plan.

Attachment:- Strategic Enterprise Planning Assignment File.rar