Marking guide business plan part 2

[guillaume.jourdain]

Hi guys,

Bob posted a quite interesting message on Muddy Water about the marking guide for this stage of the business plan. Here is the message:

"Hi

This marking guide is a draft only - but should be pretty close.  This is not the way business operates, of course.  It is just an artificial aid to assist you to practice following guidelines.  Please let me know if you find anything surprising about the draft mark allocation.  I won't be publishing any guidance finer than this allocation - it will depend somewhat on just what sort of work is submitted.  It is pretty easy to visualise a reasonable range of ways of responding, I find from experience that submissions contain totally surprising and unpredictable stuff - things I could never have imagined.  So the marking has to depend on just what people do.  Also if I find everyone has a similar misconception i look for a reason - If I conclude that my materials led people down the wrong path I go easy on those mistakes.

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In addition to the previous guidelines, here are the notes you will need to complete your fifth and final Assignment – Business Plan Part 2.  Note that the “Plan” also extends to cover some operational issues, so it is actually part plan and part a discussion of operational difficulties.

1. Background (1 mark)

Copy the Mission Statement and key items from Part 1 here (copy and paste, give a citation and reference).  Assume the previous part of your Business Plan applies, but the person who marked Part 1 of your Plan may not mark Part 2 - so do not assume the reader is familiar with all of Part 1. If any specific item is critical, repeat it here.  Alternatively, you are free to add to or modify your previous ideas to suit Part 2 of your plan.  In that case you must summarise the new or modified material here.

2. Key Activities and Resources for Competitive Victory (4 marks)

Research and IP Plan – You must relate your plans to your Customer Segments and your Value proposition.  Your mission is to develop the secret weapons that will help you achieve victory against rival products and substitutes.

3. Operations for Effectiveness and Efficiency (4 marks)

Partners, Supply, Partnering, and Contracts – What you cannot do or create you should get from others.  Choose trusted partners carefully, and always verify the trust with a written contract.  Do not try to draft your contracts, just plan what business objectives your legal advisers need to take into account.

4. Ethics (4 marks)

An Ethical Dilemma - You are invited to become an imaginative storyteller.  Relate a hypothetical situation that you consider to be an ethical dilemma (see definition of Dilemma in Wikipedia).  You should argue BOTH sides of your dilemma, and finally come to some conclusion.

5. Operational Challenges and Solutions (7 marks)

(4 Marks)

Problem Solving and Change Management – A gain, you are invited to use your imagination to tell a story about problems your business is encountering.  Assume you have been operating for two years.  Your enterprise has grown more rapidly than you planned or expected.  However problems are now emerging.

• There are disputes amongst key stakeholders: what are they?

• Some members of staff are dissatisfied with some aspects of the organisational culture: what are their complaints?

• Costs are getting out of control: why?

• Competitors appear to be about to launch a new innovative product: how can you respond?

What are your solutions to all these operational problems?

(3 Marks)

Before you can implement your solutions you will need to change your organisation.  What changes are needed and how will you implement them?  What objections do you expect and how will you deal with them?"