Business Analysis Project

Master of Business Administration

Emmanuel Abbey (emmanuel@ftms.edu.my)

June 2019
 About the lecturer

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Our Vision • Your Future
www.ftms.edu.my
 Last FTMS
convocation

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Our Vision • Your Future
www.ftms.edu.my
 The module BAP
• Managing and understanding how a business
performs are critical tasks for management, • This module is largely self-managed and action
particularly in the context of a rapidly changing oriented. Although the emphasis is on a single
and competitive organisational environment. organisation, almost inevitably the student will
• This module focuses on both strategic and
operational aspects and integrates topics and need to consider other organisations in order to
themes from other modules.
make any findings meaningful.
• This integrative approach enables students
(managers) to develop a comprehensive • As such, it involves an awareness of values and
understanding of the issues facing an judgements managers make using both qualitative
organisation and the implications of those issues
for its well-being. and quantitative concepts and data.

• One of the main focuses for the design of this • This module will be assessed by a 3000 word
module has been the further development of assignment.
relevant employability and professional skills.
Such skills are implicit in the learning outcome.

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 The module BAP
Knowledge and understanding
1. Evaluate the ways in which competitive forces
impinge on an organisation's performance;
2. Critically examine relationships between
organisational issues and strategic development;

Intellectual, practical, affective and transferable 1. Apply appropriate qualitative and quantitative tools,
skills techniques and concepts to clarify, synthesise and
evaluate an organisation's current effectiveness and
future prospects;
2. Develop a critical and practice-based insight into the
key issues facing an organisation, supported by clear
evidence-based findings and to communicate those
findings and make recommendations.

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 Business Analysis Assignment

Choose Companies Soft Analysis Hard Analysis

• Analysis Company • PESTEL • Financial Ratio
• Two benchmarking
• Modified Analysis (3 – 5
competitors years data)
• Companies Porter’s 5 Forces
• Balanced • At least 1
overview, selection
rationale and Scorecard/Strate industry specific
industry position gy map KPI Model the best
• Analysis • Analysis Identification of Strategy Options
Problems/Opport strategy to
company company At least 2 and simulate the KPIs
compare with compare with unities evaluate to for future 2-3
competitors competitors choose the best years
• Appraisal of the • Appraisal of the
limitations of Limitations of
the models the financial
analysis - 10th July - 20th July - 30th July

• 17th June
• 26th June • 3rd July

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 Company Selection
• Must be public limited companies (listed on any stock
exchange);
• Banks and other financial institution not recommended;
• Local or international companies;
• Competitors should have similar business model;
• Check data availability for at least the recent 3 years (check
Morningstar, yahoo finance, stock exchange website,
Bloomberg, etc, for data availability).

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 Soft Analysis
• Qualitative Analysis
• A combination of PESTEL + Porter’s 5 Forces modified = a
good choice
• Alternatively, Balanced Scorecard/Strategy Mapping
• Or any other standard analytical framework is acceptable!
• But, SWOT is not acceptable!
• Analysis should identify any threats/issues or
opportunities
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 Hard Analysis
• Quantitative Analysis
• Collect 3 – 5 years of past years financial data on at least 5 selected
KEY financial indicators
• Collect data for at least 1 industry specific KPI
• Must be collected for three companies – Analysis company and the
two benchmarking companies
• Conduct analysis of the data using graphs for trend analysis
• Draw conclusions – what are the issues? Opportunities? What is the
critical one?
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 Identification of Issues/Opportunities
• Issues/Opportunities identified should be justified
based on both soft and hard analysis
• Issues/opportunities should be prioritize
• Select one key issue/opportunity to focus

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 Strategic Options
• Identify and justify at least 2 possible strategic options to
solve the issue or to tap the opportunity
• Justify and evaluate using SAF analysis
• Decision tree can be used
• Recommend the best strategic option out of the options
identified

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 Modelling Strategy
• The recommended strategy should be modelled using excel
spreadsheet.
• Project the KPIs used in your hard analysis to project into 2 – 3
years into future when strategy recommendation is
implemented.
• Future projection should be based on three possible scenarios
(e.g., Best Case, Moderate Case and Worst case)

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 General Guideline
• Read module guide assignment brief
• Report should be addressed to the CEO
• Maximum 3000 words
• Harvard Referencing Style for both in-text citations and reference list
• All non-original information (information from other sources should be cited
and listed in the Reference List)
• Academic sources should be used.
• Mainstream news portals and websites allowed
• Official website, Linkedin, facebook, twitter, youtube, etc of the selected
companies can be used.
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 Module guide
• MOD001112 Business Analysis Project Module Guide TRI3 201
7-18.docx

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 Assignment Format
• Format.docx

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 Financial ratios
• BAP.xlsx
• Maxis.xlsx

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 Sample assignment
• Sample A.pdf

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 Assignment flowchart
• BAP-flowchart.docx

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 Likely issues to be identified
1. Growth issue/market share;
2. Decline in revenue/profitability;
3. Asset utilisation problem;
4. Competitive disadvantage;
5. Product quality problem.

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Questions and answers

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 Contact & Appointments
• Email: emmanuel@ftmse.du.my

• Emails regarding BAP should be directed to the above email!

• For appointments, write to emmanuel@ftms.edu.my (Must be

two days in advanced, and I must confirm)!

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