Reference no: EM132822697
CE3CBM Business Organisation and Management Assignment - University of Reading, UK
Title - Business Models for a Contractor Company
Assignment Brief - Willmott Dixon a major construction contractor are looking to re-evaluate their business model. You have been tasked with creating a business model canvas and a supporting report which investigates their current products and services and offers advice about potential new opportunities. To do so, you need to critically examine the current Willmott Dixon's current strategy and apply your knowledge of trends in the construction industry to create a robust report suitable for senior managers of the company. Be sure to introduce your report and provide an executive summary of the process, your findings and recommendations.
Following the steps instructed below should help you develop the report.
1. Thoroughly study the company's website (and any supporting information from trade magazines, and journals) to find necessary information to develop the nine building blocks of the business model canvas. Examine and justify if one business model would reflect all the services/products that the company offers to its different customers, or if you need to develop multiple business models.
2. Based on your examination of their current business models recommend some new potential opportunities for Willmott Dixon. Consider the organizations current market position, its strengths and weaknesses, and trends in the construction industry (this can be in the UK or abroad) to inform your report. Assess how feasible your strategy recommendations are, what drawbacks you can see to your plans, and more broadly the risks of adopting a new strategy.
3. Reflect in your report on the challenges of capturing the company's business model and developing your recommendations. You can consider factors such as a lack of information (finances etc.), market uncertainty, working culture etc.
Guidelines - 1. Please include diagrams to support your work.
2. As references and for further reading (other than the lecture slides) you can refer to the following books and articles:
a. Osterwalder and Pigneur (2010), Business Model Generation, 1stEdition, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
b. Johnson, Scholes, and Whittington (2011), Exploring Strategy, 9th Edition, FT Prentice-Hall.
c. March (2009), Business Organisation for Construction, 1st Edition, Taylor and Francis.
d. Osterwalder, Pigneur, Bernarda and Smith (2014), Value Proposition Design, 1stEdition, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.