.

Sales&purchasing management

Description:

Individual task. Choose a question from each section to answer and choose a company which will inspire que answers; 3 questions in all, each equally weighted

Formalities:

· For the document: Word count 800 words per question. The 3 questions: 2.400 words

· Cover, Table of Contents, References and Appendix are excluded of the total wordcount.

· Font: Arial 12,5 pts.

· Text alignment: Justified.

· The in-text References and the Bibliography has to be in Harvard’s citation style.

Assignment Launch: Week 10.

Submission: Via Moodle (Turnitin). Submission will be accepted all Week 13: From the 4th to the 10th of May at 23:59hrs (Barcelona’s time).

Weight: This task is a 35% of your total grade for this subject. Each Question is equally weighted.

Task

Choose a question from each section to answer; 3 questions in all, each equally weighted You must also support each of your answers to a company of your choice. You may choose different companies for each question. Ensure you indicate which section and question you are addressing (For example S1, Q3; S2, Q5; S3, Q1)

Sections and options Section 1 The Strategic Role of Sales Management

1. Explain the need for research in the selling-purchasing framework

2. Explain how the correct sales organization can enable the selling-purchasing process

3. Explain why sales analysis is an important component of a successful sales strategy

4. Explain the importance of accurate sales forecasting to an organization

5. How is Sales Forecasting connected to the rest of the business and what are the implications for the sale teams.

6. Explain how the process of selling (specific Sales Cycle steps) is related to the type of industry and product being sold.

Section 2 Sales Organization and Sales Deployment

7. There are different options for sales force organization. Explain the options, highlighting benefits and drawbacks

8. When would an organization need to consider developing key account managers? Explain how they could do this.

9. Sales force organization affects decisions concerning centralization versus decentralization, management span, departmentalization. Explain how

this is, or should be, driven by organizational and marketing strategy

10. Not all selling situations would call for the same sales force organization within the sales department. Explain this

11. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of Inside Sales versus Outside Sales and the influence of the type of product being sold.

12. Discuss the benefits and disadvantages of using a 3rd party to sell your product versus a company’s own sales force

Section 3 Salespeople Management: directing sales force operations

13. Explain the importance of recruitment and selection in the sales department

14. Explain why sales training is an important aspect of strategic sales management

15. How does sales leadership impact effective sales organization?

16. Explain how sales force compensation needs to be aligned to sales/marketing/organizational objectives

17. “Sales is all about effort.” Discuss this statement and the factors which might influence the implication of this for the direction and management of

the sales teams.

18. Describe and discuss the relevant metrics that a senior manager would be interested in in terms of sales force efficiency with respect to Total Quality

Management in sales.

PROJECT PROPOSAL

Description:

· Individual task.

· You have to create your proposal on an ideal Graduation Ceremony to be held next year (your future graduation).

· In your proposal you have to use all material discussed in class to assess the future role of professional Project Manager.

· You must show engagement with the topics learned in class, in particular: formulate the proposal, make teams with people from your class, create WBS,

work packages, make estimations of time, resources and budget, identify sensitive activities/risks, create AON, calculate the total duration of your project

and demonstrate your project on Gantt chart calendar.

· You should make references to real names (people, places, etc.) to elaborate your work.

· You may quote relevant publications, such as academic journals and books, to support your arguments and conclusions.

Formalities:

· Wordcount: From 1500 to 2500 words.

· Cover, Table of Contents, References and Appendix are excluded of the total wordcount.

· Font: Arial 12,5 pts.

· Text alignment: Justified.

· The in-text References and the Bibliography have to be in Harvard’s citation style.

Assignment Launch: Week 10. Submission: Week 13 – Via Moodle (Turnitin). Submission will be accepted all Week 13: From the 4th to the 10th of May at 23:59hrs (Barcelona’s time). Weight: This task is a 30% of your total grade for this subject.

Outcomes: This task assesses the following learning outcomes:

· Describe the need for a project-based approach inside organizations.

· Understand the role of project management as a strategic element inside organizations.

· Critically assess the roles and responsibilities of a Project Manager.

· Evaluate how to select, develop, plan schedule and measure its outcomes and risks.