Organisational Planning and Control (SCO: 12/10/2021)

GROUP RESEARCH REPORT / BUSINESS PROPOSAL – GENERAL REQUIREMENTS:

Students will be allocated to groups of five members in Week 5 tutorial. Each group will be required to submit a

comprehensive business proposal to support Foleo Group’s strategy for expansion. To complete this task, students are

expected to conduct their own research into the Case Study chapters, the real-world’s relevant industry and the academic

literature to produce a viable proposal.

Proposals are expected to be presented as a formal report to the Board of Directors, and as such, should comply with the

following structure:

i. Title Page

ii. Executive Summary

iii. Table of Contents

iv. Introduction

v. Body

vi. Conclusion and Recommendation

vii. Appendices

viii. List of References

Proposals must be:

• no more than ten (10) pages in length, excluding title page, executive summary, table of contents, and list of

references

• presented in Times New Roman font size 12

• presented with 2.5 cm margins and 1.5 line spacing

• comprehensive and to the point - excessive verbosity, lack of precision or poor writing skill will affect the grade

• referenced in accordance with the Harvard Referencing System (the referencing guide can be found on iLearn)

Each proposal will receive a mark out of 75, which will be converted to the weighting for this assessment item (i.e. 7.5%).

This grade will be available to all group members according to their agreed contribution percentage on the coversheet.

In the best managed teams, contribution of each member should be 100%.

One electronic version of each group’s proposal (including the coversheet) must be submitted to Turnitin (plagiarism

detection software) via the provided link on iLearn before 9:00 PM Sunday 17 October 2021 (Week 10). Late submissions

will NOT be accepted (NB: the submission link will be deactivated after the deadline). Plagiarism will not be tolerated and

will be penalised, so it is in student’s best interests to submit their own original work. Please note that only one submission

per group is permitted, so members within groups must agree on who will submit their proposal.

Groups are also required to submit a Group Progress Report via the provided link on iLearn before 9:00 AM Monday 27

September 2021 (Week 8) which must address the following criteria:

1. The initiative your group suggested to support the growth strategy

2. The ‘real-life’ company you have selected to support your group’s proposal

3. Completeness status of the group report

4. Number of meetings held between the group members

5. Individual contributions of members up to that point

Submission of this report is mandatory and failure to submit will impact the final grade awarded to the group’s proposal.

Please keep records of meetings and evidence of contribution to the work of individual members. Any dispute about

contribution to the work will be settled by the Tutor and Unit Convenor, based on evidence provided.

ACCG3001

Organisational Planning and Control

Session 2, 2021

Group Research Report REQUIREMENTS

BRIEFING

Assume your group has been engaged by Foleo Group Limited as a team of consultants. At your initial

meeting with the Board, your team has been asked to propose an initiative that will expand the current

operations of the Foleo organisation as a whole, by recommending a new business to add to the current

group of businesses. This project will require extensive research into the industry in which the proposed

new business will operate, in addition to Foleo Group’s current market.

The long-term objectives of the Foleo Group of businesses revolve around growth, stakeholders and technology and can be summed up in the following 4 dot points:

o We aim to grow each business by at least 8 per cent per annum over the next decade. o We aim to put our customers’ needs first – to do that we will foster good relationships with

them, our suppliers and our employees. o We aim to use and provide the most up-to-date technology available to ensure our

customers receive the best product possible at the lowest price. o We aim to provide a working environment for our employees that encourages and facilitates

a happy and motivated team. The Board of Foleo Group Limited have provided the following parameters for your research and proposal:

Strategy for Growth: related diversification

Scope of Proposal:

The business proposal must contain the following elements:

• Proposed initiative: A detailed explanation of the proposed initiative (e.g., what the new

business is, how it works, what the target market is, how it is consistent with the prescribed

Strategy for Growth…). The new business must not negatively impact any existing Foleo

businesses.

• SWOT analysis: An analysis of the environment of Foleo Group Limited using SWOT analysis. The

analysis must be supported by reasonable evidence from the case facts, and further research into

the real-world external environment of Foleo Group.

• Strategic alignment: An explanation of the strategic alignment of the proposed initiative. This

section should include:

i. an identification of the long-term objectives of Foleo Group and how the proposed

initiative will align with these, and

ii. an identification and explanation of the proposed generic competitive strategy of the

new business.

• Evidence of viability: Reliable and relevant evidence that the proposed initiative will be viable for

Foleo Group. This section should include:

i. an explained example of a relevant real-life company that has successfully introduced a

similar growth initiative as that being proposed, and

ii. reference to at least one academic journal that supports the initiative being proposed.

• Impact on stakeholders: An analysis of the likely impact of the proposed initiative on the below

stakeholders:

1. Customers

2. Suppliers

3. Competitors

4. Employees

5. Shareholders

ACCG3001 S2 2021 – GROUP RESEARCH REPORT – MARKING GUIDE

Marking Criteria Marking Scale

Excellent

Good

Satisfactory

Poor

Very poor

1. Proposed initiative Is consistent with the prescribed strategy and does not negatively impact any existing Foleo business units.

10 - 9

8 - 7

6 - 5

4 -3

2 - 1 - 0

2. SWOT analysis Is substantiated and logically derived.

10 - 9

8 - 7

6 - 5

4 -3

2 - 1 - 0

3. Strategic alignment Clear explanation of alignment between the proposed initiative and the objectives the organisation, and the competitive strategy of the new business.

10 - 9

8 - 7

6 - 5

4 -3

2 - 1 - 0

4. Evidence of viability Reliable and relevant evidence to substantiate the viability of the proposed initiative, using academic literature and real organisations.

10 - 9

8 - 7

6 - 5

4 -3

2 - 1 - 0

5. Impact on stakeholders Thorough and relevant analysis of the impact of the proposed initiative on all 5 groups of stakeholders.

10 - 9

8 - 7

6 - 5

4 -3

2 - 1 - 0

6. Structure Proposal presented as a formal report as per the prescribed structure; executive summary logically summarises the content of report; introduction provides clear objectives and structure of report; conclusion provides clear summary of recommendation, main points and findings of the research conducted.

10 - 9

8 - 7

6 - 5

4 -3

2 - 1 - 0

7. Language and Presentation No errors in spelling, punctuation, grammar, word choice or sentence structure; clear sentences and paragraphs. Report presented, within the page limit, in an excellent, professional, coherent and integrated manner; correct format (Times New Roman font size 12, margins 2.5 cm and 1.5 line spacing).

10 - 9

8 - 7

6 - 5

4 -3

2 - 1 - 0

8. Referencing All sources acknowledged; correct in-text citation and list of references using Harvard referencing system; demonstrated research depth and quality (e.g. quantity of relevant and authoritative referenced sources).

5

4

3

2

1 - 0

Penalty for non-submission of Progress Report in Week 8, and/or Plagiarism in the Research Report

To be decided by the Unit Convenor and the Tutor/Marker on a case-by-case basis depending on the seriousness of the issue.

Total raw mark out of 75

Converted to a total final mark out of 7.5

Your report achieved the listed criteria at a (√): - High Distinction (HD) Excellent level of quality (6.4 – 7.5) - Distinction (D) Very Good level of quality (5.6 – 6.3) - Credit (Cr) Good level of quality (4.9 – 5.5) - Pass (P) Fair level of quality (3.7 – 4.8) - Fail (F) Poor level of quality (less than 3.7)