Strategic Enterprise Plan

Strategic Enterprise Plan
Major Assignment Details
This document contains the details for the major assignment for BUMGT5928 Strategic Enterprise
Planning semester one, 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” (AQF Level 9—Masters http://www.aqf.edu.au/aqf/indetail/aqf-levels/)
Good luck with the assignments.
Overview of the Assignments
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
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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 assignments is as follows:
1. The proposal—20 marks (report)
2. The plan—60 marks
a. Report—40 marks
b. Presentation—20 marks.
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.
Here are some suggested 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.
Examples from recent semesters are:
1. A start-up for a Ballarat-based family run restaurant specialising in African food.
2. A plan for a division of a major regional hospital.
3. A plan for a family business to help its transition the leadership from the founders to the next generation
of the family.
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4. A plan for an existing regional-based café that employs people living with disabilities.
5. A plan for a new revenue stream for a major not-for-profit organisation.
6. A start-up for an online sports clothing, equipment and entertainment retailer.
7. A plan for the commercialisation of a new, more sustainable building material.
8. A plan for a new Domino’s Pizza outlet in Sydney.
9. A start-up for a home-based Indian food delivery and takeaway business.
10. A start-up for a health food café in a Victorian regional town.
11. A start-up for a new maternity and obstetrics health care business in rural India.
12. A start-up for a Ballarat-based retailer specialising in children’s shoes.
13. A three year plan for an existing sole proprietor in the funeral services industry.
14. A three year plan for an existing sole proprietor in the domestic cleaning services industry in suburban
Melbourne.
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.
I have reviewed a number of plans that have been submitted over the last couple of years and I believe
there has been a wide range of approaches taken on the financial aspects of the plans—from very little to
very extensive. I see little value in you developing great sounding plans/strategies if there is no or very
little financial reckoning of those plans/strategies. There is an opportunity here to conduct limited
sensitivity analyses which can highlight how robust your predictions are considering various assumption
changes.
I have also observed that many plans encompass the breadth and depth I would expect of a strategic
enterprise plan covering, e.g. organisational behaviour issues, contingency plans, HR aspects, risk
management and so forth. If your plan has a too narrow a focus on say, marketing, then the course aims
are not being met. You should re-visit the Learning Outcomes and the Course Content sections of this CD
as you, e.g. gather data, conduct analysis, develop strategic options, evaluate options and compile the plan
so as to remind you as to whether your plan takes a sufficiently broad organisational perspective.
The Proposal (20%)
In the early stages of this course you are required to submit a written proposal outlining key factors such
as (but not necessarily limited to):
1. Selected firm/organisation;
2. Underlying issues to be addressed, span of the project;
3. Research methodology;
4. Information/data sources;
5. Likely/possible key challenges in developing the plan, etc.; and
6. Key outcomes and timeframes.
This is very similar to a business consultant proposal to a firm—done in response to a request by the firm
to have some business planning/business plan developed. This is typically done prior to any detailed work
being undertaken and prior to any approval being given. In a commercial situation, this proposal would
also include information on costs, etc.
It is hoped that students will agree to the lecturer sharing their proposals on discussion boards in Moodle
so that all students have the chance to provide class mates with additional feedback. This is not
compulsory but insights from fellow students could benefit the final plan.
On Moodle there are two samples from Mt Helen students for the second semester 2018. They are
noticeably different, with one providing far more information but they both address the basic requirements
as laid out in the relevant Assessment Criteria Sheet—see the end of this CD. Do NOT just ‘copy’ these—
they are guides only—they represent the minimum standard I am expecting from final semester MBA
students doing the capstone course.
The Strategic Enterprise Plan (60%)
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At the end of the teaching period you will be required to produce the following:
• A presentation
• A report
Presentation: This will be to the wider group and might also include other people—invited guests with a
very real awareness of business plans and business planning. Possible candidates might include financiers
involved in assessing business cases, business management consultants, and other lecturers.
Ideally this would as a Power Point presentation format with ensuing discussion and debate.
The above format will allow for constructive criticism, review and feedback to be provided with you
doing the same for other business case presentations.
Report: After the presentation/workshop session (considering the feedback, etc.) you will be required to
develop a fully integrated business plan. The plan will cover all key aspects of a strategic enterprise plan.
Guidance on how to develop a strategic plan will be provided in a workshop session and associated
readings, etc. You will have the opportunity during the teaching period to view a couple of business plans
BUT you cannot keep them or take photos. The purpose is simply to give you a better insight to the
breadth and depth that we expect of MBA students in the capstone course.
General Formatting Requirements for the Reports
They are to satisfy the following requirements.
• Report format—business (not an essay)—see Report Writing notes on Moodle and other FedUni Library
resources.
• Use a report Title page making sure you have all the required details—course code and name,
assignment title, your name and ID, submission date/time, lecturer’s name.
• The Executive Summary is placed before the Table of Contents.
• Insert the Table of Contents by using the Word steps—click on References, click Table of Contents and
automate the process. If you have tables and figures you may want to consider having a Table of Tables
and a Table of Figures shown after the Table of Contents.
• Page numbering. The Titlepage is not numbered. The number format for the Executive Summary and the
Table of Contents is i, ii, etc. The body of the report starting with the Introduction is numbered 1, 2, 3, etc.
• DO NOT write in the first or second person (I, we, our)—write in third person only.
• Proof-read at least three times for spelling, grammatical and logic errors.
• Font—any San Serif font, e.g. Arial.
• Size—11.
• Paragraphs—fully justified.
• Paragraph spacing—one space before and after.
• Line spacing—single.
• All tables and diagrams labelled—they do not form part of the word count. Check APA 6th Ed. Manual
as tables are labelled differently to diagrams.
• APA reference style. http://federation.edu.au/current-students/learning-and-study/online-helpwith/referencing
• Use Australian English, e.g. organisation NOT organization. You only use American English when you
are quoting an American source. To assist you please visit http://www.tysto.com/uk-us-spelling-list.html
Further, make sure you set your language in WORD as English (Australia).
The is a Word file in this course’s Moodle titled Executive Summary Guidelines RE BOS that many of
you will have seen in the Marketing Management course. Please read carefully and follow what is put
forward. If you are not sure of any point, ask your lecturer. My expectation is that an MBA graduate can
make a reasonable attempt at writing a cogent Executive Summary—it is a very good skill to have in the
business world.