Assessment – 2 Business Plan Report: Brief

Module Code KIC – 10011 Module Title Business Foundations

Delivery Instance Module Leader Dr Zeeshan Akmal
Assessment Number 2 Assessment Type Business Plan Report
Assessment weighting 50% LO assessed 1,2,3,4,5,6,7
Due date Week 12 Feedback date

Detailed Assessment Guidance:

This Business Plan Report aims to test your understanding to apply some of the underlying concepts, theories and models learnt
during the course. Analysis should be carried using your own learning. This is an individual work, so please ensure that the work
you submit is your own.
Details of the assessment task
Write a Business Plan Report of not more than 1,000 words (not including supporting data, diagrams etc.) on one of the chosen
business topic. This will be a researched topic, and students are expected to engage with relevant, credible, academic reading from
either the course reading, or from your own research (Students are encouraged to use the Keele University Library preferably). The
use of Wikipedia as a source should not be encouraged and strictly undesirable. Credit will be given for the application of theories
(from lectures) and specific academic content in thoughts provoking process. Originality and contribution of the work encourage for
the student’s academic thought process and learning.
Expectations of writing style, where appropriate
Part 1. Introduction
Business Name
What is the name of your business?
Hint: When choosing a name for your business, make sure it captures the spirit of the business you are creating. Also refer to the
BizChat in Chapter 5 for tips on naming your business.
Description of Business
What will your business do?
Hint: Imagine that you are explaining your business to a family member or a friend. It should be easy to explain, using 30 words or
less.
Form of Business Ownership
What form of business ownership (sole proprietorship, partnership, LLC, or corporation) will your business take? Why did you
choose this form?
Hint: For more information on forms of business ownership, refer to chapter 6
Ideal Customers
Describe your ideal customers. What are they like in term of age, income level, and so on?
Hint: You don’t have to go into too much detail in this part of the plan; you will provide more details about customer and marketing
in later parts. For now, simply outline the kind of customers your product or service will best fit.
Company Advantages
Why will customers choose to buy from your business instead of your competition?

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 Hint: Describe what will be unique about your business. For example, is your product special, will customer service be exceptional,
or will your price be lower.
Part 2. The Company and Management Team
The Mission Statement
Mission Statement
Write a brief mission statement for your business.
Hint: Refer to the discussion of mission statement in chapter 7. Be sure to include how you will stand out from your competition and
why customers will buy from you.
Ethical Issues
All business must deal with ethical issues. One way to address these issues is to create a code of ethics. List three core
(unchanging) principles that your business will follow.
Hint: To help you consider the ethical issues your business might face, refer to Chapter 3.
Social Responsibility
A business shows social responsibility by respecting all its stakeholders. What steps will you take to create a socially
responsible business?
Hint: To help you consider the issues of social responsibility, refer to the discussion in Chapter 3. Consider how you may need to be
socially responsible toward your customers and, if applicable, investors, employees, and suppliers.
Industry Profile
Industry Description
Describe the industry and sector in which your company operates.
Hint: Industries are broad categories, such as financial, technology, services, or health care. Sectors are more specific categories
within an industry, such as a sporting goods store in the services industry or computer peripherals in the technology industry. In your
description of the industry and sector, discuss economic trends as well as the current outlook for the industry, including growth
potential.
Opportunities and Threats
Describe the opportunities and threats that face your company.
Hint: For this section, refer to the discussion of the economy in Chapter 2. Consider external factors, such as macroeconomic matters,
technological changes, legislation, and sociocultural changes that may affect the industry as well as your company. This typically is
done as part of a SWOT analysis, which is discussed in Chapter 7.
Company Profile and Strategy
Business Goals
What are three business goals you want to achieve in the first year? What are two intermediate to long-term goals you want
to achieve in the next three to five years?
Hint: Refer to the discussion of goal setting in Chapter 7. Be as specific and realistic as possible with the goals you set. Remember
the SMARTER acronym; goals should be specific, measurable, acceptable, realistic, timely, extending, and rewarding. For example,
if you are selling a service, how many customers do you want by the end of the first year and how much do you want each customer
to spend? If you are selling a good, what volume of sales do you hope to achieve?
Company Strengths
Describe the strengths of your company.
Hint: In evaluating a company’s strengths, analyze its internal resources, including finances, human resources, marketing, operations,
and technological resources. A company’s strength might be its strong marketing department or a favourable location.
Raw Materials and Supplies

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 Explain what raw materials and supplies you will need to run your business. How will you produce your good? What
equipment do you need? What hours will you operate?
Hint: Refer to Chapter 11 for information to get you started.
Anticipated Challenges and Planned Responses
Anticipated Challenges
Describe any weaknesses or potential challenges that face your company.
Hint: Consider any potential vulnerability from the competition, problems with suppliers or resources, or any legal factors that might
affect the business, such as pending lawsuits or patent or copyright issues.
Planned Responses
Describe any plans you have to address these weaknesses and anticipated challenges.
Hint: Consider any resources your company can make available to address these challenges.
The Management Team
Management
Who are the key individuals that will manage the business?
Hint: Refer to the discussion of managers in Chapter 7. Think about how many levels of management as well as what kinds of
managers your business needs. In addition, outline how each manager’s contribution will positively impact the business. What is it
about that particular manager that will help the business succeed?
Organization Chart
Show how the “team” fits together by creating a simple organizational chart for your business. Make sure the organizational
chart indicates who will work for each manager as well as each person’s job title.
Hint: Most businesses start quite small. However, as you create your organizational chart, consider what your business will look like
in the future. What different tasks are involved in the business? Who will each person report to in the organizational structure? Refer
to the discussions of organizational structure in Chapters 6 and 7 for information to get you started.
Part 3. Marketing
Market Analysis
Market Research
Describe your target market in terms of age, education level, income, and other demographic variables.
Hint: Refer to Chapter 12 for more information on the aspects of target marketing and market segmentation that you may want to
consider. Be as detailed as possible about who you think your customers will be.
Assessment of the Competition
Describe three companies that you see as your main competitors.
Hint: For each company, describe the company’s perceived strengths and weaknesses. How do you intend to take advantage of each
weakness and respond to each strength?
The Product or Service
Product Features and Benefits
Describe the features and benefits of your product or service.
Hint: As you learned in Chapter 13, a product has tangible and intangible benefits that create a total product offer. Describe your
product on three levels, as outlined in Chapter 13—the core product (What basic needs or wants does this product or service satisfy?),
the actual product (What are the tangible aspects of the product that you can taste, see, smell, touch, and hear?), and the augmented
product (What are the perceived benefits that provide additional value to a customer’s purchase?).
Product Differentiation
How will you make your product(s) stand out in the crowd?

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 Hint: There are many ways to stand out in the crowd, such as a unique product, outstanding service, or a great location. What makes
your product special? Does it fill an unmet need in the marketplace? How will you differentiate your product to make sure that it
succeeds?
Pricing
What pricing strategy will you choose for your product(s), and why did you choose this strategy?
Hint: Refer to Chapter 13 for more information on pricing strategies and tactics. Because your business is new, so is the product.
Therefore, you will probably want to choose between price skimming and penetration pricing. Which will you choose and why?
Sales and Promotion
Place (Distribution) Issues
Where will customers find your product or service? (That is, what distribution channels should you consider?)
Hint: If your business will sell its product directly to consumers, what types of stores will sell your product? If your product will be
sold to another business, which channel of distribution will you use? Refer to Chapter 14 for more information on aspects of
distribution you may want to consider.
Advertising
How will you advertise to your target market? Why have you chosen these forms of advertisement?
Hint: Marketers use several different advertising media—specific communication devices for carrying a seller’s message to potential
customers; each form has advantages and drawbacks. Refer to Chapter 14 for a discussion of the types of advertising media you may
wish to consider.
Promotions
What other methods of promotion will you use and why?
Hint: There’s more to promotion than simple advertising. Other methods include personal selling, sales promotions, and publicity
and public relations. Refer to the discussion of promotion in Chapter 14 for ideas on how to promote your product that go beyond
just advertising.
Part 4. The Financials
Expected Revenue
How much will you charge for your product? How many products do you believe you can sell in one year (or how many
customers do you think your business will attract)? Multiply the price that you will charge by the number of products that
you hope to sell or the amount you hope each customer will spend. This will give you an estimate of your revenues for one
year.
Hint: You will use the amounts you calculate in the costs and revenues questions in this section in the accounting statements, so be
as realistic as you can.
Cost of Doing Business
What are the costs of doing business? Equipment, supplies, salaries, rent, utilities, and insurance are just some of these
expenses. Estimate what it will cost to do business for one year. Include any assumptions you use in generating cost estimates.
Hint: Insert the costs associated with doing business in the table on the following page. The following list provides some hints as to
where you can get this information. Note that these are estimates; try your best to include accurate costs for the expenses you think
will be a part of doing business.
Hints for each expense in the following table:
 Rent: What is the “going rate” per square foot for office space in your community? A real estate agent or a local SBA
representative (www.sba.gov) can also be helpful in answering this question.
 Salaries and Wages: Refer to the organizational chart. How much will each employee earn? How many hours will each
employee be needed on a weekly basis? Once you’ve determined the weekly cost, then expand it to a monthly cost and a
yearly cost.

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  Supplies: How much will all the computers, equipment, and furniture cost? What kinds of general office supplies will you
need? Most prices for this information can be found on an office supply Web site, such as Staples.com.
 Advertising and Other Promotions: Refer to your marketing section. You have described how you wish to reach your
customers; now you need to decide how much it will cost. If you’re using television, contact the sales department at a local
station. If you’re using newspapers, contact their advertising department. Salespeople are usually happy to answer your
questions.
 Utilities: These amounts will vary depending on your business and what utilities you will pay. If your business looks like
an office, this cost may be similar to what a homeowner pays. However, if your business involves making a product, then
the costs will be significant. An SBA representative can be a good resource.
 Insurance: This value will be affected by the nature of the business. More equipment will usually mean higher insurance
costs. Again, contact an SBA representative for feedback.

Start-up Costs
How much money will you need to get your business started?
Hint: Refer back to where you analyzed the costs involved in running your business. Approximately how much will you need to get
your business started?
Financing
How will you finance your business? For example, will you seek out a bank loan? Borrow from friends? Try crowdfunding?
Sell stocks or bonds initially or as your business grows?
Hint: Refer to Chapter 15 for information on sources of short-term and long-term funds. Refer to Chapter 16 for information on
securities, such as stocks and bonds.
Income Statement and Balance Sheet
Create a balance sheet and an income statement for your business.
Hint: Use the Microsoft Word or Excel to create each statement. The Excel files are handy for calculations. If you make adjustments
to the values in the Excel worksheets, You’ll automatically see how changes to expenses, for example, can improve the “bottom
line.”

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 Part 5 The Finishing Touches
Cover Sheet and Table of Contents
Cover Sheet
Create a cover sheet for your business plan.
Hint: The cover sheet should include the following:
 Basic company information (name, address, phone number, and web address)
 The company logo
 Contact information of the owner(s) and any officers (names, titles, addresses, phone numbers, and e-mail addresses)
 The date the business plan was created
 The name(s) of those who prepared the plan
Table of Contents
Create a table of contents for the plan so a reader can quickly find information.
Hint: The table of contents should include the headings of each section and the page number of the first page of each section. All
pages in the document should be numbered.
Executive Summary
After you’ve finished your business plan, write an executive summary that contains the key points of the business plan. The
summary should be brief—no more than two pages—and cover the following points:
 The name of your business
 Where your business will be located
 The mission of your business
 The product or service you are selling
 Who your ideal customers are
 How your product or business will stand out in the crowd
 Who the owners of the business are and what experience they have
 An overview of the future prospects for your business and industry
 An overview of the amount and uses of required initial financing
Hint: You’ve already answered these questions, so what you need to do is put the ideas together into a “snapshot” format. The
executive summary is a sales pitch; it’s an investor’s first impression of your idea. Ultimately, you’re enticing a reader to want to
read more. If investors don’t get excited about your business and the prospects of success from reading the executive summary,
they’ll stop reading and most likely not consider the plan. Therefore, as with all parts of the plan, write in a clear and professional
way but be compelling about your business.
Note: Once you have created the cover sheet, the table of contents, and the executive summary, move these sections to the beginning
of your business plan, with the cover sheet as the very first element.
 Bibliography
Referencing List / Bibliography
· Any format restrictions (e.g. font, margins, file type, etc.)
 Word is accepted document (pdf or any other type of document are not acceptable)
 Words Limit: 1,000 words ( with +/- 10% margin)
 Line Spacing: 1.5
 Font Size: 12
 Font Style: Calibri or Times New Roman
 Referencing Style: Harvard

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 · Submission Criteria
 Announcement: Assessment – 2 announced at KLE. Student can find is at; (KIC – 10011 Business Foundations ----- Assessment –
2: Business Plan Report ---- Business Plan Report: Instructions)

 Submission deadline: Essay need to be submitted electronically by using KLE (Turnitin) Week 12, Friday 15th December
2023 sharp 13:00 hours UK time.
 Words Limit: Note that the words limit is non-negotiable: words in excess of the exact limit will be ignored and left
unmarked.
· Guidance on how the students should complete the assessment task
 Make sure the level of understanding about asked essay question
 Answer the questions clearly
 Do not just put the class learning resource material (Lecture slides, Seminars, Homework) in the business Plan
 Expectations are the implementation of the course content to assess your level of understanding and grip on course content
 Use Keele library for additional resources, like, research articles, books, magazines etc. to achieve maximum marks
· Expectations of what should be included to achieve maximum success in the task
 Avoid spelling and grammatical mistakes
 Writing style should be concise, fluent, in British English.
 Originality of the piece of the writing
 Augment your argument with proper example
 Insert table or figures where necessary to support your analysis of argument, if necessary
. Plagiarism
Plagiarised work will receive a zero mark. You have to take it seriously, because your work will be checked through the use of
plagiarism software. Do not try to put your study in jeopardy? Write your essay in your own words to demonstrate your level of
understanding of course content.
 Do not copy and paste material from books/articles/internet online material
 Your work will not be marked and you will fail the module
If you have any query about plagiarism, please do not hesitate to discuss with student support office/tutor/lecturer.
Contact for Queries
 Dr Zeeshan Akmal
 Email - z.akmal@keele.ac.uk

Confidentiality/Anonymity Requirements
 Anonymous submission by student number

Ethical Requirements
 Individual student work
 Student’s own work i.e. originality of thoughts

Permitted Resources
 In this section include information about whether students are allowed to use a calculator, and which ones. Also, Physics/
Chemistry/ Biology whether a rubric of useful equations etc. might be included.
 Course material posted on KLE
 Online resources
 Library books, articles etc.
 You are not allowed to collude by messaging/emailing at forums

Referencing
 Any model/ theory/definition/data/graph or any other source borrowed from the text/online resources should be properly
referenced
 There is not penalty for proper usage of existing material resources
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 Marking Criteria Marks
Inappropriate or incomplete work 0
 due to inclusion of irrelevant material and absence of appropriate information
Poor 1
 Work shows limited understanding of subject matter, contains mostly irrelevant material, poorly
organised, lacking coherence
Fair 2
 Work shows some understanding of subject matter, contains some irrelevant material but some signs of
organisation and coherence.
Good 3
 Some areas can be improved upon or require further explanation. Presentation/ideas/arguments are well
organised demonstrating cohesion but limited critical analysis.
Very good 4
 Work is of solid quality showing competent understanding of subject matter. Presentation/ideas/arguments
are clearly developed and supported with relevant literature with some critical analysis.
Excellent 5
 Work of exceptional quality, showing clear understanding of the subject matter.

Section Tasks Marks

1 Cover Sheet 3
2 Table of Contents 5
3 Executive Summary 7
Introduction
Business Name
Description of Business
4 12
Forms of Business ownership
Ideal Customers
Company Advantages
The Company and Management Teams
The Mission Statement
Ethical Issues
Social Responsibility
Industry Profile
Industry Description
Opportunities and Threats
5 15
Business Goals
Company Strength
Raw Materials and Supplies
Anticipated Challenges
Planned Responses
Management
Organization Chart
Market Analysis
Market Research
6 12
Assessment of the Competition

Product
Product features and Benefits
7 12
Product Differentiation
Pricing
Sales and Promotion
Place (Distribution) Issues
8 12
Advertising
Promotions
Financials
Expected Revenue
Cost of doing Business
9 Start-up costs 12
Financing
Income Statement
Balance Sheet
10 Academic English Writing Skills 5
11 Bibliography / Referencing List 5
Total 100

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