Reference no: EM132466110

Develop and Implement Business Plan Assignment -

Task 1 -

This is an individual assessment. Use the information provided in the case study 'Fast Track Couriers' (see Appendix 1) to develop a business plan to support the company's strategic and operational goals. Develop a plan for communicating the business plan to relevant parties.

Procedure

1. Review the information in the case study.

2. Analyse and interpret the current business environment, goals and objectives embedded in the case study.

3. Consult with your assessor (assume the assessor is a key stakeholder) and discuss and agree upon performance objectives and measures.

4. Document a business plan to assist the organisation to achieve its goals.

5. Document a plan for communicating the business plan to all relevant parties.

To be deemed competent you will need to successfully demonstrate the following:

1. Submit a completed business plan.

2. Consult with key stakeholder (assessor) and document the outcomes of the consultation.

3. Submit a communication plan.

4. The business plan must include the following:

a. Table of contents

b. Executive summary

c. Introduction

d. Description of the business (background)

e. Business products and services

f. Marketing activity - the market

g. Business operations:

i. productivity and performance targets for key result areas (in consultation with key stakeholders)

ii. include financial and non-financial performance measures

iii. detail resource requirements, including human resources, capital equipment and other resources required to achieve business goals

h. Management and organisational structure

i. Proposal

j. Financial background

i. trading to date

ii. forecasts

k. Risks (risk analysis)

i. include a section on how you will ensure skilled labour is available to implement the plan, such as a recruitment or training strategy

1. Licensing

ii. include any permits or licences required

l. Conclusion

5. Communication strategy

a. Produce a report or document which covers the following areas:

i. Who are the key stakeholders?

ii. What information will each person (position) require?

iii. What are the relevant timeframes?

iv. How will you communicate this information?

v. How will you ensure their understanding of their role in implementing the business plan?

Task 2 -

This is an individual assessment. Read the questions carefully in Part A and B and you must answer all of the questions below, and include examples where appropriate. If you need help understanding any questions, ask your assessor to explain.

Part A- Analyse a business plan

Instruction for the student

This is an individual assessment. Review two completed business plans. Analyse the strengths and weaknesses of each business plan, and prepare two written reports of your findings.

Procedure

1. Read the business plan 'Quality Training' (see Appendix 1). Compare and contrast the business plan against the criteria for effective business plans, as described in your workbook or other reference materials.

2. Compare the strengths and weaknesses of the business plan.

3. Complete a written report, detailing a critical analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the business plan.

To be deemed competent you will need to successfully demonstrate the following:

6. Submit a completed report, analysing the strengths and weaknesses of business plans.

7. A report should be properly formatted and logically structured.

8. Identify relevant strengths and weaknesses of the plan, including discussion on the following areas:

a. Compare and contrast with text book structure and layout.

b. Comment on quality and relevance of information.

c. Comment on quality of information, i.e. did the business plan demonstrate adequate research on competition market conditions?

d. Comment on quantity of information - was there sufficient information to determine the likely success of the business in accordance with its performance measures?

e. Were the performance measures specific and realistic?

f. Was the document well set out, easily understood and pitched at an appropriate level for the reader?

Part B- Monitor performance

Monitor the performance of a business plan, through testing and refining of the performance measurement system, and report on progress of the business plan in a timely and effective manner.

Procedure

1. Review the completed business plan from Part A.

2. Identify the key performance objectives.

3. For each key performance objective:

1. Produce a report to capture and test the performance measure.

4. Write a brief report on how you would test the performance measurement systems, including:

1. Acceptable levels of variance to planned objectives (where applicable).

2. The timeframe for each report - how frequently reports will be completed.

3. What benchmarking will be used.

4. Who will be the key stakeholder for each report?

To be deemed competent you will need to successfully demonstrate the following:

9. Submit a report on capturing performance data for each performance measure.

10. Submit a written report explaining how the performance measurement system will be implemented and tested, and how system/product failures and variances to the business will be reported, to whom and when.

11. Performance measurement system:

a. one report for each performance measure

b. covers financial and non-financial performance measures

c. report should be pitched at the appropriate level for the recipient

d. should be presented in a readable and logical format

e. should include graphs, charts or other methods of presenting data.

12. Report:

a. timeframes should allow appropriate action to be taken (where necessary)

b. identify key stakeholders who will require the information

c. describe the benchmarking used to determine suitable performance measures, including tolerance levels and variances to plan

d. document how system failures, product failures and variances to the business will be reported, to whom and when.

Task 3 -

This is an individual assessment. In this task, you will analyse performance data and reports against planned objectives, implement strategies to refine performance indicators, and address coaching and training needs. You are also required to develop and recommend processes for the review of systems, procedures and work methods.

Procedure -

1. Review the case study 'B&A Toy Warehouse'.

2. Critically analyse the information and write a brief report, responding to each question in the case study.

Question 1 - After completing a comparison of current performance against desired performance levels, identify the corrective actions required to achieve the business plan goal of improving warehouse productivity by 10%. What type of corrective actions do you recommend for each performance improvement (e.g. interim, adaptive, corrective, preventative or contingency)?

Analyse systems and processes

After implementing his strategy to monitor and evaluate performance, Tony has identified the areas that require corrective action. Tony knows that in order to do this, he must first complete a more detailed analysis of the warehouse systems and processes, and identify the specific steps required to improve productivity.

Systems

Two years ago, the warehouse implemented a custom-built electronic warehouse management system (WMS) which has had an enormous impact on productivity. When completing his review, Tony asks the following questions to ensure that the system effectively supports warehouse operations:

Has the warehouse achieved the productivity goals that were to be delivered by this system?

What is the occurrence rate of the system being out of order and impacting on the packing of orders?

How long does it take to train new staff members to use the system?

How do the employees who use the system rate its ability in assisting them to process customer orders efficiently?

Tony also uses the system to generate a series of reports that allow him to analyse warehouse systems and processes. The reports details:

- number of orders packed per hour, per day

- time required to pack each order

- number of packers per order

- number of boxes per order.

Tony also documents the process (from order receipt to dispatch) to assist with his analysis, and to help him to understand the exact process followed in packing an order.

Question 2 - a. Critically analyse the performance against planned objectives.

i. Identify areas of non-performance.

b. Report on systems failures which contributed to these results.

i. Consider failures in communication, planning, reporting and training.

c. Review performance indicators and refine if necessary.

i. Comment on the suitability of performance indicators and what changes might be required to achieve organisational goals.

Question 3 - a. Recommend performance improvement strategies.

b. Identify and redefine performance measures, if necessary.

c. Document a training and development strategy to address the performance of underperforming individuals or teams.

i. Identify development needs of individuals and groups.

ii. Identify training/coaching needs.

iii. Present in a development plan.

Question 4 - a. Develop a strategy for reviewing systems processes and work methods at B&A Toy Warehouse.

b. Describe how the implementation of your strategy would lead to continuous improvement.

Attachment:- Develop and Implement Business Plan Assignment Files.rar