Reference no: EM133663801

Develop and implement business plans

Assessment Task: Skills Test

Case study:

Introduction
"Online Media Solutions" is opening a new small business in Melbourne, Australia. From idea to design, development and marketing, the company will achieve results for its clients and grow their business.
Our business will venture into the web service industry to offer superior and unique services to small businesses and institutions. Our experience and expertise in web sales and e-commerce will give us the backing to provide solutions that are currently lacking in the market.
There is an all-time high demand for web development and marketing for small businesses with signs of rising further. Interestingly, few web developers have taken advantage of this opportunity, leaving the industry with no dominant participants.
The projects' high costs and the focus on bigger companies and institutions could be the contributing factor as to why this market remains untapped. We will have a system that will reduce the project costs dramatically, giving us the opportunity to offer quality services at reduced costs.

Activity 1: Prepare to develop a business plan
This part of the activity requires you to prepare to develop a business plan for Online Media Solutions.
To prepare to develop the business plan, you need to arrange a meeting with the Senior Management team, clarify the organisational and legislative frameworks relevant to the business plan's development, and consult them about developing performance objectives and measures for the business plan.
The following are the Senior Management members that you need to arrange a meeting with:
General Manager
IT Manager
Marketing Manager

Roles and responsibilities during the meeting:
Senior Management (General Manager, IT Manager, Marketing Manager)
The trainer/assessor will take on the role of the General Manager.
The trainer/assessor will allocate the IT Manager and Marketing Manager's role to the
students/staff members.

The Senior Management will collaborate with the student to clarify the organisation's mission, visions, values and goals and establish key performance objectives and measures for the business plan.

The Senior Management will provide feedback, opinions or views on the key performance objectives and measures for the business plan.
Student (Operations Manager)
Clarify the organisation's mission, visions, values and goals/objectives
Consult and seek advice from the Senior Management regarding the key performance objectives and measures for the business plan.
Use listening and questioning to elicit feedback and opinions from the Senior Management.

Before the meeting, the student is required to:
Review the case study information and analyse the organisation's mission, visions, values and
goals/objectives

Create an agenda for the meeting that encourage the participants to discuss the key points regarding the following:
Business vision, mission, values and objectives for input into the business plan.
Performance bjectives and key performance indicators to assess the achievement of the objectives of the business plan.

During the meeting, you must:
Welcome the participants
Provide an introduction to the meeting's purpose
Discuss and explore the business vision, mission, values and objectives for input into the business plan.
Consult with them and seek their advice on the performance objectives and key performance indicators to assess the achievement of the objectives of the business plan.
Provide an opportunity for discussion.

Listen and comprehend information from a variety of spoken exchanges with the participants of the meeting
Provide an opportunity for the audience to ask questions
Respond to questions.
Acknowledge and respond to differences in opinions.
Close the meeting:
Summarise the agreed outcomes using the meeting minutes template provided

Activity 2: Develop a business plan
This activity is a continuation of Activity 1.
This activity requires you to develop a business plan that addresses the goals and objectives of Online Media Solutions.
When developing the business plan, you must incorporate the outcomes of Activity 1 and analyse and research business vision, mission, values, objectives, goals, competitors, financial targets, management arrangements and marketing approaches.

You must develop the business plan using the template provided in "Appendix-A: Business plan
template".
Word-limit to prepare the business plan is 1200-1500 words. To develop the business plan, you are required to:
Analyse the information given in the case study.
Identify organisational frameworks, including mission, vision, values, and objectives relevant to developing a business plan. (Based on Activity 1)
Identify the legislative frameworks, including:
Licence and permit requirements
Legal requirements for selling products and services
Regulatory requirements
Identify and assess marketing requirements, marketing objectives and established plans (Marketing analysis and operational strategy) based on the information given in the case study and conduct research to develop the marketing strategy.
Identify the target market
Conduct market analysis and document marketing activities and strategies relevant to operational strategy and marketing objectives
Conduct research, identify any three (3) competitors in the market and conduct competitor analysis to identify the competitive advantage.
Document productivity and performance targets for key result areas based on the consultation conducted in Activity 1
Identify financial, human and physical resource requirements for the business based on the information given in the case study
Identify and document the financial indicators assessing the performance of the business based on the information given in the financial analysis in the case study.
Develop a business plan using the template provided in "Appendix-A: Business plan".

The business plan must be prepared using "Appendix-A: Business plan template" and include the following
details:
Description of the business
Mission, vision, values and objectives of the business plan.
Products and services
Legislative and regulatory requirements, including:
Licence and permit requirements
Legal requirements for selling products and services
Regulatory requirements
Marketing strategy.
Target market
Market analysis.

Marketing strategy and activities
Competitor analysis.
Financial (including forecasted profit and loss statement), human and physical resource requirements for the business
Financial indicators to assess the performance of the business
Productivity and performance targets for key result areas

After preparing the business plan using "Appendix-A: Business plan template", you are then required to
send an e-mail to the General Manager (Trainer/assessor) and request the business plan's approval.

Activity 3: Implement the business plan
Activity context:
The business plan has been approved. The Senior Management wants you to implement the business plan, handle the key operations, and report its key aspects.
Description of the activity:
This activity requires you to implement the business plan. To do so, you are required to complete the following six (6) parts:
Part A: Communicate the business plan to the stakeholders
Part B: Prepare an action plan for implementation of the business plan
Part C: Confirm skilled labour is available to implement the business plan.
Part D: Test performance measurement systems and refine, where required.
Part E: Prepare reports on key aspects of the business

Part A: Communicate the business plan to the stakeholders
This part of the activity requires you to communicate the business plan prepared in Activity 2 to the following stakeholders:
IT Manager
Marketing Manager

Before the meeting, the student is required to:
Create an agenda for the meeting that encourage the participants to discuss the key points given in the presentation.
Print out and hand out the print outs of the business plan to the stakeholder.
During the meeting, you must:
Welcome the participants
Provide an introduction to the meeting's purpose
Discuss the following elements of the business plan
Mission, vision, values and objectives of the business plan.
Legislative and regulatory requirements, including:
Licence and permit requirements
Legal requirements for selling products and services
Regulatory requirements
Marketing strategy.
Target market
Market analysis.
Marketing strategy and activities
Competitor analysis.
Financial, human and physical resource requirements for the business
Financial indicators to assess the performance of the business
Productivity and performance targets for key result areas
Clarify their understanding.
Provide an opportunity for discussion.

Listen and comprehend information from a variety of spoken exchanges with the participants of the meeting

Provide an opportunity for the audience to ask questions
Respond to questions.
Acknowledge and respond to differences in opinions.

Part C: Confirm skilled labour is available to implement the business plan.
This part of the activity requires you to confirm the availability of the following skilled labour to implement the business plan:
Word press developer: Full-time position
SEO Analyst: Part-time position
Customer service representatives: Part-time position To do so, you are required to:
Prepare job descriptions for the above-given positions using ‘Template 2'.
E-mail the position descriptions prepared to the labour-hire agency and request confirmation of skilled labour.

Part D: Test performance measurement systems and refine, where required. Context:
‘Online Media Solutions' have the following existing performance measurements systems:
The organisation has a financial management system that keeps track of the monthly revenue generated by business operations. However, the existing system does not keep track of the operating expenses and further sales and profit projections based on previous data analysis.
A balanced scorecard that quantifies business performance by Financial, Customer, Internal processes and Learning and growth measures
Customer relationship management (CRM) system to measure business performance and track customer satisfaction by measuring the interactions and relationships with existing or potential customers and tracks sales activities, customer service and support
The organisation uses a 360-degree review system to include peers, stakeholders, and subordinates in the review process annually. The existing system does not capture real-time performance data.

Part E: Prepare reports on key aspects of the business Context:

After three (3) months of implementing the business plan, a review of performance was conducted. Following are the outcomes of the review conducted:
The graphic templates (Brochure and business cards) designed by the newly recruited web designer has failed to meet the client specifications and had some errors in their formatting. This is due to the failure of the quality management system. The organisation does not have a formal system of quality checking.
The operating costs have increased by 5% for the first quarter due to clients requesting re-work on a number of projects.
The performance management system has failed to keep track of real-time performance and provide training on the areas of improvement. Therefore, leading to performance issues.
Description:
This part of the activity requires you to report on key aspects of the business and make variances to the business plan.
The report must be prepared using ‘Template 4' and must be 400-500 words in length. To complete this activity, you are required to:
Analyse the information given in the ‘Context'.
Analyse system failures, product and service failures and identify variances to the business plan
based on the information given in the ‘Context.'
Prepare a report using ‘Template 4'. Include the following elements in the report:
System failures
Product and service failures
Variations required to the business plan and reason for variations
Recommendations to address system and product and system failures
Revise ‘Business plan' prepared in Activity 1.
Include a section for performance management and training
Document a quality management strategy
Revise budget targets. Include 10% extra in operating expenses for quality management and training of staff.
E-mail the revised business plan to the trainer/assessor.

Activity 4: Monitor and respond to business performance
Activity context:
The business has completed its first year of operations. Following is a brief summary of the business performance in the initial year of its operations:
Performance reports:
The operating expenses exceeded by 5% due to the establishment of quality management and performance management system.
The net profit margins have decreased by 5% due to an increase in the operating costs.
Sales targets have been achieved.
The business has established its name in the market and is expecting to exceed the sales projected sales target for the next two year by 10%.

Employee performance:
Further, the performance management system's outcomes have shown that the Sales Manager lack interpersonal skills to communicate with people from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) backgrounds.

Description of the activity:
This part of the activity requires you to monitor and respond to business performance, including evaluating performance against key results indicators, coaching underperforming staff, and establishing an ongoing review process.
To do so, you are required to complete the following three (3) parts:
Part A: Revise business plan
Part B: Identify and coach underperforming staff
Part C: Establish ongoing review processes

Part A: Revise business plan
This part of the activity requires you to revise the business plan. To do so, you are required to:
Analyse performance reports given in ‘Activity context' against planned objectives (Objectives of
the business plan prepared in Activity 1)
Review performance indicators against performance reports.
Revise the business plan using "Appendix A: Business plan" based on the analysis conducted:
Revise financial reports considering the analysis of performance reports
Revise the performance indicators based on the analysis of performance reports
Submit the revised business plan to the trainer/assessor.

Part B: Identify and coach underperforming staff
This part of the activity requires you to identify and coach the Sales Manager on the interpersonal skills to communicate with people from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) backgrounds.
To do so, you are required to conduct a coaching session with him.

When conducting the coaching session, you must:
Welcome the participants
Provide an introduction to the coaching session purpose
Discuss the difficulties they are facing and the learning requirements
Discuss the strategies to communicate with people from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) backgrounds.
Collaborate with them and prepare a learning plan that includes the following:
Areas of improvement
Learning activities
Desired outcomes
Expectations/Key Performance Indicators
Provide an opportunity for discussion.
Provide an opportunity for the audience to ask questions

Respond to questions.
Acknowledge and respond to differences in opinions.
After the coaching session:
Complete ‘Template 5: Learning Plan'.

Part C: Establish ongoing review processes
This part of the activity requires you to establish an ongoing review process for monitoring the business plan outcomes.
The ongoing review process must be prepared using ‘Template 6' and include the following:
Stages of the ongoing review process
Explanation of each stage
How will they monitor the ongoing performance of the business plan?