business plan assignment

Assignment 4: Business Plan – Part 2 Length: 30 - 40 double-spaced pages (does not include cover page and reference page(s))*.

It often takes students twice as many pages to cover this material. *Some students find that it takes more pages to complete this assignment Due: Week 6 Sunday Midnight (PST) Post: Week 6 Assignments Folder Points: It is critical that as you write the Business Plan to incorporate citations from the text books used in the BBA program. Do not copy and paste from your (or others) assignments from previous classes (that is an Academic Integrity Violation). But do apply and cite the concepts from what you have learned. For this assignment you are to review your Outline (Assignment 2) and then fill in and actually write the second half of the Business Plan. Before you submit this assignment review ALL the instructor feedback from Assignment 3 and do not continue to make the same mistakes. For example, if your instructor reminds you that you are not using APA, or APA headings, be sure you make this second assignment follow those guidelines. After you receive feedback on this assignment (after Week 6) you will combine the first half of the Business Plan with the second half of the Business Plan for your final Signature Assignment for this class. For this assignment prepare and write out the following sections of your proposed business. Use APA and follow APA guidelines for your headings. Each section is to have primary source data and you should cite the text book at least three (3) times in this section. Remember to alphabetize all of your sources for this paper and list them in a reference section at the end. It is recommended that you use only short citations, up to fifteen words. Trying to fill up your paper with long citations of five to ten lines long is never appropriate in a Business Plan. If you quote more than 40 words, follow APA guidelines in doing so: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/02/. Also remember the “voice” of a Business Plan is never to write that something “must” or “should” be done. The Business Plan “voice” is to recommend or provide options and opportunities. Also avoid using any pronouns (we, us, they, them, etc.) as they are always confusing and should be completely avoided in a Business Plan. For this paper have at least six (6) pages* for each major section (Operations plan) and to have at least four to five paragraphs on all of the smaller sections (Key Suppliers). Often students need twice that amount of pages to successfully complete this assignment. Furthermore, a paragraph is usually about a third of a page and is never just one sentence: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/606/02/. Each major section should have a minimum of two to three citations (not quotes), many will have twice that amount. It is never allowed to have a single sentence paragraph.

After you have written this assignment you need to go back and look at Assignment 2 and write the Executive Summary and submit that at the front end of Assignment 2. Remember you have already written 2 – 7 in the first half of the Business Plan (so the numbering appears to be off below, but it is not). 1. Executive Summary

It is recommended that you write this before you submit this paper but not until you have finished all of the sections below. The purpose of an Executive Summary is to write a brief description of your plan that allows the reader to gain the essence of the entire plan in less than two pages. It is intended to give a busy executive the key information and lead the reader to the sections that will answer the executive’s primary questions. It is not an introduction to the plan, as you may have written in typical papers. This Executive Summary, although positioned first in the project, should actually be written last. That way you know what you are summarizing. Writing it earlier will cause it to tend towards a traditional introduction. The elements of an Executive Summary are:

● Purpose of the plan (attract investors, diversification, etc.) ● Introduction to market opportunity ● Brief description of the company ● A description of the unsatisfied need that creates the business

opportunity/innovation

2. Operations Plan (operations for product or service from the beginning to the end of the supply chain (Cradle to Cradle) of the supply chain, technology, expert advice). Key suppliers, Customers, and Operations ◉ List of potential suppliers ◉ Production and Service Delivery Procedures ◉ Supply Chain process flow chart (how goods and services will flow from the supplier

all the way through the organization to the customer). These are some examples: https://www.google.com/search?q=process+flow+chart&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=u niv&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiwj_qUwI3QAhXHh1QKHdwABsQQsAQISg&biw=192 0&bih=97

◉ Products return process ◉ Supplier Relationship Management ◉ Logistics ◉ Packaging ◉ Transportation

9. Financial Plan (income statement, balance sheet, cash flow statement, personal

financial statement [not included in student plan – but students need to be aware of this requirement], financial ratios, forecasts, expert advice).

● Financial Analysis ◉ Funds required and their sources ◉ Current funding requirements ◉ Funding requirements over the next three years (key ratios to focus on) ◉ Use of funds

◉ Loss Control ● Financial statements for first three (3) years (monthly first year and annually for

years two and three) (may use template) ◉ Income statements ◉ Balance sheets ◉ Cash flow statements ◉ Determine capital requirements ◉ Determine funding sources

10. Action Plan: Steps to take to implement business plan including performance

evaluation criteria 11. Conclusions & Recommendations

• Conclude why your business is a viable business venture (or a viable business/strategic path for the client company)

• Explain why the student should or should not pursue the business venture at this time (or why or why not the client)

• business should pursue the path under investigation) 12. Appendices & Reference Section (Reference section will include at least 35 sources

for research for the business plan and APA citation will be provided for each source). Examples for other Appendices include: a. Key employee resumes, product and advertising samples, press clippings b. First impression collateral (e.g. cover letters for sources of income, brand,

printing, design, charts, graphs and tables, multimedia presentations, etc.) c. Information that creates capital (market research, communication plan,

financing, websites, trade groups, associations, etc.)

References This section continues with the Arabic numbering of pages. Only sources of information that have actually been cited in the project are included here. (see APA sample paper https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/18/) Appendices The appendices continue with the Arabic numbering of pages from the previous section. (see APA sample paper https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/18/) This section includes information that is too detailed to be included in its entirety in the body of the project. This would include raw data, sample questionnaires, and detailed computations. This section would also include information that is referred to but is not essential to the project, such as relevant policies, laws, forms, pamphlets, sample letters sent to organizations and subjects, or subject consent forms.

Below is the Rubric that will be used to grade this assignment:

Evaluation Criteria for First Half of the Business Plan Paper Elements Exemplary

60 Proficient

50 Developing

42 Emerging

25 Operations Plan

12 Clearly and creatively describes the operations plan and shows with data the connections to the innovation. Also explains in detail with data driven analysis the steps to show how the business will run. Excellent clear process flow chart.

10 Clearly describes the operations plan and shows with data the connections to the innovation. Also explains in detail with data driven analysis the steps to show how the business will run. Easy to read process flow chart that might lack a few steps.

8 Somewhat describes the operations plan and shows with data the connections to the innovation. Also explains in some detail with data driven analysis the steps to show how the business will run. The process flow chart lacks detail.

5 Somewhat describes the operations plan and shows with data the connections to the innovation. Missing some detail with using some data driven analysis the steps to show how the business will run. The process flow chart is either missing or incomplete.

Financial Plan and Statements

12 Clearly and completely shows the financial plan and includes all information about funding sources and all of the financial documents outlined in the Handout above. Uses Score.org templates or other sources that are embedded into the word documents (not an attached

10 Shows the financial plan and includes all of the information about funding sources. All of the financial documents are included and explained.

8 Has some confusing information funding sources and all of the financial documents are included but not clearly explained.

5 Missing financial information or the information is not data driven.

excel spread sheet). All financials are clearly displayed and explained.

Action Plan, Conclusions and Recommendatio ns and appendices.

12 Clearly, creatively and concisely describes the step-by-step action plan which includes information from Part 1 and Part 2 of the Business Plan. All recommendation s, references and appendices are included, well written, easy to read and inclusive. All of this is prepared using data driven analysis with business and academic sources.

10 Concisely describes the step-by-step action plan which includes information from Part 1 and Part 2 of the Business Plan. All recommendation s, references and appendices are included, well written, easy to read and inclusive. All of this is prepared using data driven analysis with business and academic sources.

9 Somewhat describes the step-by-step action plan which includes information from Part 1 and Part 2 of the Business Plan. Most recommendation s, references and appendices are included, well written, easy to read and 80% inclusive. All of this is prepared using data driven analysis with business and academic sources.

5 Somewhat describes the step-by-step action plan which includes information from Part 1 and Part 2 of the Business Plan. Most recommendation s, references and appendices are included. Most is prepared using data driven analysis with some business and academic sources.

Critical Analysis

12 Consistently employs critical analysis to research and analyze the issue and effectively synthesizes data to draw strong conclusions and value for the new business.

10 Often employs critical analysis to research and analyze the issue; synthesizes data to draw reasonable conclusions, and shows value for the new business.

9 Somewhat employs critical analysis to research and analyze the issue; somewhat analyzes the data to draw conclusions, and shows only some value for the new organization.

5 Limited use of critical analysis to research and analyze the issue; limited, if any, analysis or synthesis of data to draw conclusions that show little or no value for the new organization.

Writing Mechanics

12 The paper is logical and well- written; spelling, grammar, and punctuation are accurate. Paper is the required length and includes correctly prepared title page, abstract, TOC, and Reference Page. The paper is 100% for APA.

10 The paper is logical and well- written but with minor errors in APA, spelling, grammar and/or punctuation.

8 The paper is somewhat logical and well- written; some errors in APA, spelling, grammar and/or punctuation.

5 The paper lacks clarity and may be confusing with numerous errors in spelling, grammar and/or punctuation or may be too short to cover all of the components.