business assignment. 600 words. due today
VVV356
GFPSpring18.docxBUS 300 – Spring 2018
Group Final Project – Request for Proposal (RFP)
Instructions
This document contains two scenarios: a scenario in which the Virgin Group (“Virgin”) is soliciting proposals from prospective venues for a major music festival, and a scenario in which Disneyland Paris is soliciting proposals from owners of a fictional movie, tv, book, or game franchise to form a partnership with. In groups of three to four, students will, according to the selection process outlined below, select a city/franchice to represent in responding to the request for proposal (RFP). Your group should, working as a team, first prepare a written executive summary of your city’s proposal that is creative, thorough, and persuasive. You will need to conduct outside research to familiarize yourself with your proposed city/franchice, research the industry, and identify any relevant business concepts necessary to critically analyze the RFP and prepare an effective proposal. Your group will then prepare and deliver - during the specified final examination period for your section - an oral presentation that is persuasive and reflects the group’s executive summary.[footnoteRef:1] [1: Further instructions will be given by your professor in class. All students must attend and remain for the entire duration of the final examination period.]
Selection Process:
There are two selections that each student will need to make for this project: 1) select a team of 3 or 4 members and 2) select a city to represent in this project. All students must ensure that they fully understand the following process and then strictly adhere to all deadlines:
1) Group Selection. Students should begin forming teams of three or four immediately. Once a team has been formed, one member of the team should email your professor - copying all other members of the group - and inform your professor of your desired group composition. Your professor will then reply to all to inform you of whether your group composition is acceptable. This will be determined on a first-come, first-served basis and your group composition is not final until you have received confirmation from your professor. Any student who is not a member of an approved group by April 14th, 2018 will be placed into a group by his or her professor. Note that your professor may need to make adjustments to groups to ensure that all students are in groups. All final groups will be formed and posted on Blackboard April 14th, 2018.
2) City Selection. Once your group is approved, one member from each group should email the professor a list of your top three choices for cities/franchises (depending on which prompt you choose). This will again be determined on a first-come, first-served basis. Your professor will respond via email to inform you which city or franchise you will represent. Note that any group that does not submit its role request by April 15, 2018 will receive an automatic 5% reduction on its Group Final Project.
Executive Summary Submission Instructions:
Select one member of your group to submit the Executive Summary of your proposal via Safe Assignment on the Blackboard course website by the Assignment Deadline. This is considered the official copy of your proposal. Late submissions will be treated the same as all prior written assignments in BUS 300 (see Syllabus for late assignments policy). In addition, one member of the group must email your professor an identical copy of the proposal by the Assignment Deadline with a copy to all group members. The Assignment Deadline for the Executive Summary is Tuesday, May 1, 2018, at 11:59 p.m.
Formatting Instructions:
Your Executive Summary (proposal) should be 10 pages of written text, double-spaced, and in Times New Roman 12-point font, justified, with one-inch margins. Any headings, visual aids, table of contents, footnotes/endnotes, etc. will not count towards the 10 page requirement.
Citations:
For your Executive Summary, you must include citations (either as footnotes or endnotes) in accordance with the University of Miami’s plagiarism policy. The purpose of citations is to give credit to the authors of any ideas that are not your own by identifying the source of the ideas. In addition, citations enable your reader to evaluate the quality of your research and to verify the information in your analysis. Although there are many ways to document your research, for this assignment, you should select one citation style (e.g., Chicago Manual of Style, MLA, etc.) and be consistent in your use of that style throughout. Provide a superscript footnote following the punctuation mark after any idea that is not your own or information that you obtained from any source. A corresponding footnote at the bottom of the page should include a complete citation to the source.
Executive Summary Grading Criteria
Each Executive Summary of your proposal will be graded based on the following factors:
· Effectiveness of your group’s Executive Summary in articulating the main ideas of your proposal in response to the RFP;
· Critical thinking, creativity, and inventiveness reflected in the proposal;
· Feasibility of the proposal;
· Effective use of persuasive writing techniques;
· Overall writing proficiency; and
· Other factors discussed in class by your professor.
Oral Presentation Instructions:
During the final exam period for the course, your team will deliver a presentation to Virgin’s corporate executives that reflects your Group Final Project Executive Summary (written proposal) and incorporates the persuasive communication techniques that you have learned this semester. The purpose of the presentation is to persuade Virgin to select your city to host the annual event.
The total length of the presentation is 18-21 minutes for a team of 3 and 24-28 minutes for a team of 4. Each team member must present for a total of 6-7 minutes.
Visual Aids:
Your presentation should incorporate two visual aids (e.g., Powerpoint, Prezi, handouts, etc.). Evaluation Criteria:
· Is the presentation convincing?
· Does your team answer the most important questions a corporate executive might have?
· Does your team give explicit reasons (backed by evidence) for Virgin to select your city as its venue?
· Is the presentation effectively delivered by each presenter and as a team?
· Does each presenter employ the presentation techniques discussed in class and the course text?
· Does each presenter use “hooks” to connect with the audience?
· Does each presenter use at least one rhetorical device?
· Is the presentation cohesive?
· Are the presenters effective “team players” (e.g., cooperation, synergy)?
· Does your team use visual aids effectively?
Grading:
Each student will receive an individual grade based on a combination of his or her own performance during the presentation as well as: (1) the teamwork dynamics, and (2) the larger strategic decisions of the presentation that will be assumed to have been the product of the entire team (e.g., effective visual aids). Please refer to the Syllabus for additional details.
RFP Scenario #1
Richard Branson, Founder and Chairman of the Virgin Group, recently announced that Virgin intends to launch YesterdayLand, a major electronic dance music (“EDM”) festival that will take place somewhere in the United States. Virgin is soliciting proposals from cities located in any state or territory of the United States to host YesterdayLand. Virgin intends to invest significant resources in YesterdayLand and expects it to compete immediately with prominent U.S. EDM festivals including Ultra Music Festival, Electric Zoo, and Electric Daisy Carnival. The proposal should explain, in detail, why the proposed venue and city are superior to other proposed venues/cities.
The ideal proposal should meet the following criteria:
Venue & City Requirements:
1. The proposed venue must be climate-appropriate or contain accomodations for inclement weather.
2. The proposed venue must be large enough to accomodate 150,000 or more daily attendees.
3. The surrounding community must have a major international airport within a one-hour drive of the festival during off-peak driving hours.
4. The surrounding community must demonstrate that it can provide a variety of cultural and entertainment options geared towards YesterdayLand’s target audience.
5. The surrounding community must otherwise demonstrate a general preparedness to host an event of this magnitude.
RFP
Disneyland Paris® recently celebrated its 25th anniversary, but dark clouds loom over the park. The park has seen very little success in its 25-year history. Additionally, Paramount Studios announced that a $4.35 billion theme park will be constructed outside of London by the year 2021 and will directly compete with Disneyland Paris®. The CEO has decided that, in spite of flagging revenues, Disneyland Paris® must take a risk and invest substantial capital into the park if it is to be able to compete and survive. The Walt Disney Company (“Disney”) recently announced a risky buyout of the park’s remaining shareholders.
Disney recognizes the value in making intellectual property move from a screen to a physical environment that allows consumers to experience their favorite entertainment universes in a lifelike, interactive fashion. Disney owns a plethora of intellectual property appropriate for such a venture and already has plans to leverage that intellectual property; however, Disney is also interested in partnering with an outside entity that can breathe new life into Disneyland Paris®. Disney is, therefore, requesting proposals from owners of intellectual property in the movie, television, console gaming, and PC gaming industries for the creation of a new “land” at Disneyland Paris®[footnoteRef:2] that will be themed based on the intellectual property of the proposer. The ideal proposal should meet the following criteria: [2: See exhibit A for location –outlined in red- selected by Disney for new land. Identified land is owned by Disneyland Paris® and can be terraformed as needed to fit the specifications of the selected proposal.]
The Intellectual Property Franchise:
1. The franchise must be a screen-based franchised in one or more of the following industries: movie, television, console gaming, or PC gaming.
2. The franchise must have appeal within the relevant demographics.
3. The franchise should have a demonstrably high likelihood of maintaining or expanding its appeal over the next 10 to 20 years.
4. The franchise must support values consistent with those of The Walt Disney Company.
5. The franchise must not be owned by The Walt Disney Company.
The Proposal:
1. The proposal must include specific ideas for the design of the land including, but not limited to: attractions within the land, layout of the land, special events that will occur within the land.
3. The proposal must provide a detailed explanation of why the proposed franchise more appropriately fits the above requirements than its direct competitors.
EXHIBIT A
