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Summative Assessment Point 1

Brief, Guidelines and Marking Criteria

Essay 1

A Strategic Business Plan is a structured document that outlines your main business goals and how you intend to

accomplish them within a specific period. It is intended to assist you and others in comprehending how you intend to

generate revenue and maintain your company.

Your report should be grounded in relevant theory and use the core and recommended reading to produce this essay

– at the same time, you should consider exploring a new/innovative idea/venture.

Develop a Strategic Business Plan for a New Venture

Start-up companies are more important in bringing products and services to market. In response to new

technologies, new and innovative businesses are taking over the markets of those older companies too

slow to move with changing customer demands. Following this line of thought, for this task you are an

administrative officer at the corporate level of an offshore organization and, you are assigned to

develop a Strategic Business Plan for a new venture in a sector of your choice.

This Strategic Management Process should include the new company’s philosophy, mission, objectives,

strategies and tactics, an analysis of the firm’s internal and external environment and organizational

structure and leadership. You should justify your choices in terms of the chosen industry/sector on the

grounds of innovation, competitive advantage and, company’s sustained growth and survival. Your

budget for this project is $150,000 (US).

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Strategic Business Plan Structure

Please note that this is an indicative structure, specifically designed for this module. Strategic Business Plans include

more elements, information, sections, and details.

Cover page

1. Institution and Department

2. Title: The name of the new business venture

3.Student’s Name

4.Tutor’s Name

Executive Summary

The purpose of this section is to present a short abstract that outlines the essence of the project. This section will

include a brief and formal overview of what your venture is and why it will succeed. It should contain the name of

the venture, the mission statement, an overview of the industry, an explanation of its uniqueness, competitive

advantages, and the core team. Finally, the budget of this project should be mentioned ($150,000).

Table of Contents

List the sections of the project (headings and indented sub-headings) and the corresponding page numbers.

Introduction

This part includes two introductory paragraphs and the primary goal is to catch the attention of the reader. These

paragraphs set the stage for the project aiming to identify the main business operations.

Business Description

An in-depth overview of the proposed venture will be provided here. The final aim is to make the reader quickly

grasp the concept of the business and its uniqueness (in terms of products or services).

Industry Background

This section provides past and current data about the shape, size, trends, and critical features of the industry you are

trying to get in. What is the industry? What is the industry outlook? Who is competing in this industry? What are the

industry's barriers to entry?

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Market Analysis

Focus on your customers, their preferences, needs, and demographics. The aim is to demonstrate that there is an

opportunity for your venture in the market/industry.

Company Mission

You need to form a company mission for your new venture. The mission of a company is the unique purpose that

sets it apart from other companies of its type and identifies the scope of its operations. In short, the company mission

describes the company’s product, market, and technological areas of emphasis in a way that reflects the values and

priorities of the strategic decision-makers.

Internal Environment

Following an internal analysis process, this section analyzes the quantity and quality of the company’s operations. It

also assesses the strengths and weaknesses of the company’s management and organizational structure. You are

expected to proceed to a similar analysis, using the SWOT analysis tool.

External Environment

A firm’s external environment consists of all the conditions and forces that affect its strategic options and define its

competitive situation. You are expected to proceed to a similar analysis, using the PESTEL analysis tool.

Competitive Analysis (part of the External Environment analysis)

Look at current and prospective rivals and competitors. Who are your competitors? Which are your competitors'

strengths and weaknesses? What distinguishes your business from theirs? What is the competitive outlook for the

industry?

Strategic Analysis and Choice

Simultaneous assessment of the external environment and the company profile enables a firm to identify a range of

possibly attractive opportunities. These opportunities are possible avenues for investment. However, you must be

screened through the criterion of the company mission to generate a set of possible and desired opportunities. This

screening process results in the selection of options from which a strategic choice is made. The process is meant to

provide the combination of long-term objectives and generic and grand strategies that optimally position the firm in

its external environment to achieve the company mission. In this section, it is important to justify all your choices.

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Long-Term Objectives (part of the Strategic Analysis and Choice)

In your analysis, you are expected to emphasize the importance of long-term objectives. The results that an

organization seeks over a multi-year period are its long-term objectives. Such objectives typically involve some or

all of the following areas: profitability, return on investment, competitive position, technological leadership,

productivity, employee relations, public responsibility, and employee management.

Generic and Grand Strategies (part of the Strategic Analysis and Choice)

Many businesses explicitly and all implicitly adopt one or more generic strategies characterizing their competitive

orientation in the marketplace. Low cost, differentiation, or focus strategies define the three fundamental options.

Although every grand strategy is a unique package of long-term strategies, 15 basic approaches can be identified.

You are expected to present and discuss the generic and grand strategy/ies that are suitable for your new venture,

how are to be achieved, and their roles towards achieving the organization’s long-term objectives.

Short-term objectives (part of the Strategic Analysis and Choice)

Short-term objectives are the desired results that a company seeks over one year or less. They are logically

consistent with the firm’s long-term objectives. Companies typically have many short-term objectives to guide their

functional and operational activities. Thus there are, among others, short-term marketing activity, raw material

usage, employee turnover, and sales objectives. You should discuss your short-term objectives and their role in

supporting generic and grand strategies.

Functional tactics (part of the Strategic Analysis and Choice)

You are expected to suggest several functional tactics and how these short-term activities are used to achieve short-

term objectives and establish a competitive advantage. Within the general framework created by the business’s

generic and grand strategies, each business function needs to undertake activities that help build a sustainable

competitive advantage. These short-term, limited scope plans are called tactics. A radio ad campaign, an inventory

reduction, and an introductory loan rate are examples of tactics. Functional tactics are detailed statements of the

‘means’ or activities that will be used to achieve short-term objectives.

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Strategic Control and Continuous Improvement

Strategic control is concerned with tracking a strategy as it is being implemented, detecting problems or changes in

its underlying premises, and making necessary adjustments. Strategic control seeks to guide action on behalf of the

generic and grand strategies as they are taking place and when the results are still several years away. The rapid,

accelerating change of the global marketplace of the last 10 years has made continuous improvement another aspect

of strategic control. In this section, you should provide some recommendations regarding the strategic control and

continuous improvement procedures you will follow.

Management Summary

Briefly introduce your team and describe how each member is going to work together. Every business is a risk,

especially when there are no precedents to evaluate. This is why the knowledge, skills, and ability of the team to

work together as a capable unit, is one of the first elements that can make a company a success.

Conclusion

As it has been mentioned earlier, you are expected to use all or several components towards synthesizing a Strategic

Business Plan for your new venture. In this final section, you are expected to summarize the key points of the

document.

References

The reference section is the section of all the documents you have cited in your project and it is found at the end of

the body of your work, but before your appendices. In this section, if you refer to work by another author (including

theories, models, measurement scales, or diagrams) you must cite the original author and source. References are

included within the text to enable any reader who is interested to be able to find the complete details of the work you

have drawn upon. The University requires that you use the APA System of referencing, both within the body of your

work and also within your reference list at the end of your work. These are listed in alphabetical order. The reference

section is useful to those marking your work to see the scope of your reading in the preparation of your project. It is

also useful for future readers to access your cited references.

Appendices

Add all those additional documents can provide valuable, additional information to the Strategic Business Plan.

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Revision and Proofreading

As in any other piece of academic writing, it’s essential to redraft, edit and proofread your Strategic Business Plan

before you submit it.

Text Layout

• Font: Times New Roman

• Size: 12

• Line spacing: 1 ½

• Your document must have page numbers (bottom center is recommended)

Word Limit

• The word limit of your Strategic Business Plan is 3000 (±10%) words (not including tables, diagrams,

appendices, and references).

Submission

• The submission of the Strategic Business Plan is due by the end of Week 4, Sunday 11:59 pm (23:59 hours)

VLE (UTC) time on the due date at the latest and it weighs 50% of the final grade.

• The document will be submitted via Turnitin and it must be in PDF format.

Further Guidelines

• This is an individual assessment, not a group task.

• This assignment weights 50% of your final grade.

• Your assignment should reflect scholarly writing and APA Referencing standard. Be sure to adhere to

Academic Integrity Policy by avoiding plagiarism through text-citing and acknowledging other author's

work.

• Academic Integrity Policy: Students are expected to demonstrate academic integrity by completing their own

work, assignments, and other assessment exercises. Submission of work from another person, whether it is

from printed sources or someone other than the student; previously graded papers; papers submitted without

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proper citations; or submitting the same paper to multiple courses without the knowledge of all instructors

involved can result in a failing grade. Incidents involving academic dishonesty will be reported to university

officials for appropriate sanctions. Furthermore, students must always submit work that represents their

original words or ideas. If any words or ideas used in an assignment or assessment submission do not

represent the student’s original words or ideas, all relevant sources must be cited along with the extent to

which such sources were used. Words or ideas that require citation include, but are not limited to, all hard

copy or electronic publications, whether copyrighted or not and all verbal or visual communication when the

content of such communication originates from an identifiable source.

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Marking Criteria

Criterion Remark Weight

Topic Agreement with assignment’s directions and the essay’s title and purpose. 10%

Satisfying

development

Satisfying development of each section and clear evidence of a complete grasp of the

knowledge. There is a defined and comprehensive conceptual framework with

categories/elements or variables.

10%

Validation Use of references and in-text citations. 10%

Argumentation Views are properly developed and supported with in-text citations. Use examples /

evidence, diagrams / charts (if necessary).

10%

Personal style The student expresses his/her personal view with a critical perspective and evaluates

arguments with supporting evidence.

5%

References sources Student’s work is convergent, examines different views/ideas, aspects and identifies

convergences, and expresses conclusions. The student works analytically. He/she

identifies and elaborates views/ideas and information.

5%

Correct organization,

essential parts of the

study topic

There is a logical structure (which aspects of the topic are presented first and which

topics follow?). Is the structure the student follows logical?

5%

Logical structure There is a logical structure (which aspects of the topic are presented first and which

topics follow?). Is the structure the student follows logical?

10%

Links and Sequence

of chapters and sub-

sections (macro-

level)

The student organizes his/her essay in chapters and sub-sections. The essay’s

organization is distinct and clear (the end of the previous section is linked with the

following section).

10%

Links and sequence

of paragraphs (micro-

level)

The student organizes his/her essay in paragraphs (the end of the previous paragraph

is linked with the following paragraph).

5%

Consistent use of

terms and scientific

names

Valid and appropriate scientific terms are used. 4%

Clarity, accuracy and

language

Flexibility in expressions, uniformity, and writing in complete messages (words’

repetition, simplified words), appropriate writing style (use of 'third' person).

2%

Elaborate syntax Correct verb-tense and pronouns, complete sentences, order of words and sentences. 2%

Correct spelling Correct use of punctuation, no misspellings, contractions, and typing errors. 2%

General presentation Cover Page, Table of Contents, Page numbering, Margins and Justified margins,

Line spacing, Appendices (if necessary), Font consistency, Separation of paragraphs

7%

APA reference

system

Citations, internal referencing and reference list according to APA referencing guide

with no errors.

3%

Total score 100%

Good luck!