Part -1:
Compare and Analyse Business Plans
The business plan is often described as a 'living document', providing a road map towards achieving business goals and objectives. Creating a business plan sets out the effective use of time and resources and how a business may take advantage of available business opportunities in the market. Business plans cover several predetermined functions such as revenue targets, raising finance and specific marketing or operational programs; and provide an analysis of firm's internal and external environments the influence the components of the business plan.
In this assessment task, you will be given two sample business plans from two different business/industry sectors. You will be required to compare both the plans and write a report that includes a comparative analysis of strengths and weakness of each of the plans.
Your analysis will compare and cover the following aspects of the plan;
- Analysis and interpretation of mission, vision and business objectives
- Key strengths of the plan
- Key weaknesses of the plan
- Competitive environment
- Strategic orientation (e.g. marketing strategy)
- Available/required resources
- Performance measures and/or benchmarks
Your analysis should be comparative, presenting contrasting aspects of both the sample plans and contain your own views on key aspects of the plans as mentioned above. Merely re-producing or re-phrasing plan contents will not be sufficient. To reinforce the underpinning knowledge and develop the required analytical skills, schedule for this task may be arranged to coincide with the relevant classroom lessons, including practice and discussion sessions.
The analysis should be word-processed, structured and presented in a report format. All external sources must be cited using the Harvard Referencing System.
Part -2:
Project: Develop a Business Plan
The purpose of a business plan is to explain in writing what your business idea is, why it is needed in the marketplace, how it will succeed, and who will make it happen (Investopedia). For start-up businesses, a business plan describes a business opportunity and tells you what to expect, and what alternative measures you can take, to realise your business goals.
In this assessment task, you will develop a business plan for your own venture. If you are planning to start your own business in the near future, this will be an opportunity to apply and enhance the required skills and knowledge to develop and write a formal business plan. The process of writing the business plan will enable you determine what commitments you will need to make to the venture. You may also complete this task for a fictitious business and/or a business idea. However, even for a fictitious venture, the assumptions and context should be realistic and viable.
You will need to have your business idea approved by your trainer/assessor before commencing this task.
The key areas covered in a business plan should ideally be common to the following purposes of writing a business plan;
- Investigate and evaluate new business opportunities
- Present a case for finance
- Present a clear picture of the business and its potential
Part -3: Develop an Implementation Plan
A business plan remains a written piece of paper until it is actually implemented. Once implemented, it acts as a living or dynamic resource that helps to keep a business focus and continuously evaluate business performance against stated objectives.
This assessment task compliments Assessment Part 2. In this assessment task, you will develop an implementation plan with a view to implement the business plan you developed in Assessment Part 2. Business plan implementation mainly involves clarification of objectives, task assignments with deadlines, and charting business progress in reaching goals and milestones.
The implementation plan should be developed in as an ancillary document to the business plan listing each of the objectives and breaking down strategic initiatives into tasks with realistic timeframes. Your implementation plan may contain (but not limited to) the following components;
- Business goals and objectives
- Tasks and priorities
- Delegation of tasks/responsibilities
- Deadlines/Time allocation
- Required resources (including staff training or professional development)
- Internal communications
- Strategies to manage performance issues and problems
- Strategies to mitigate risks and manage contingencies
- Strategies to monitor and develop the plan on an on-going basis
This task needs inputs from Assessment Part 2 and as such cannot be undertaken as a stand-alone task. It should be completed in conjunction with Assessment Part 2. Learners must also ensure that they keep pace with relevant learning sessions and practice to develop the required knowledge and skill to complete this part of the project.