OTHM Level 7- Strategic Management
Programme: OTHM Level 7 Diploma in Strategic Management
Institution: Metropolitan School of Business Management
Course Title: Enterprise and Entrepreneurship
Assignment No: 1
Task 1 of 3
Instructions:
You are to propose a business idea for this assignment which could then be explored further
- Review what make a successful commercial or social entrepreneur, and evaluate your own skills and attribute in that area.
- Propose a business idea
Submission:
- 1x PowerPoint slide (or poster’s photo)
- 3x Peer Review forms
- 1x Lecturer Evaluation form
1.1 Review what make a successful commercial or social entrepreneur, and evaluate your own skills and attribute in that area.
(Nature, characteristics and challenges of entrepreneurship; business skills and attributes; key factors of a successful commercial or social entrepreneur.)
Entrepreneurs are a minority group but they are essential for each economy. The world has seen some very prominent entrepreneurs who have changed the face of the world. Namely: mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook; Steve Jobs, CEO of apple, Bill gates the founder of Microsoft and many others.
Most of the entrepreneurs share some characteristics which help them achieve extra ordinary in the world. There are many attributes involved in performing entrepreneurial adventures but some common ones are as follows:
Creative
Creativity is essential for the innovations to take place. Like introduction of the new cellular phone or a launch of new system operations.
Passionate
Acumen
Persistent
Risk taking
Goal oriented
Think about Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg; these two entrepreneurs brought innovative products to the market that changed the way we live. Successful entrepreneurs innovate in one of two ways. They can bring an entirely new product or service to the m
Entrepreneurship is characterized by economic and dynamic activity, innovation, profitability, and ability to take risks. As per the study by Minniti (2010), economic activity is one of the most prominent characteristics of entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship includes developing and operating of an enterprise with the intention or goal to reap monetary profits or value by ensuring optimum utilisation of scarce resources. Since this activity is conducted consistently in a highly competitive and uncertain business environment, being a dynamic force is also a major characteristic of entrepreneurship.
Innovation is also one of the most important characteristics of a successful entrepreneur as they are constantly looking for new ideas and solutions to existing problems. They are driven to continuously evaluate the existing modes of business operations in order to design and develop better and more effective systems. In other words, entrepreneurship entails a continuous effort for improvement and synergy, optimisation of performance, within organisations to increase productivity and overall progress (Lorenzen, Allen and Ambruster, 2010)
Lastly, the most significant quality of an entrepreneur is his or her ability to take risks. According to a study conducted by Korhonen, Komulainen, and Raty (2012), the ability and willingness to undertake huge risks make entrepreneurs stand out from the herd. I believe that I possess the ability to innovate and assume calculated risks to generate economic activity. My patience, boldness and attention to detail will enable me to successfully plan and implement my business ideas successfully.
1.2 Propose a business idea
(Sources of business ideas: process of idea development; Stage Gate Model; methods: e g. theoretical models, e g. Graham Wallas (1926) Preparation (definition of issue, observation, and study); incubation (laying the issue aside for a time); illumination (the moment when a new idea finally emerges); verification (checking it out); Anderson and West’s four factor theory of group climate for innovation: vision, participative safety, task orientation and support for innovation; cultivating own imagination and curiosity; use of mind-maps; problem-solving exercises; overcoming barriers to creativity; the journalistic six (asking who, why, what, where, when, how)
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Task 2 of 3 – Business plan
Instructions:
In teams of 3, analyse the 3 ideas proposed by all 3 of you, select the one that is most likely to succeed and create a business plan (including marketing and financing). As such you should produce a business plan in which you should:
- Summarise and analyse the 3 business ideas
- Analyse production and marketing feasibility of all 3 ideas
- Produce business planning forecast using financial techniques
- Produce a marketing plan
- Develop a control and monitoring mechanism for the business plan.
Delivery and submission:
- 1x business plan (circa 5000 words excluding appendices)
2.1 Summarise and analyse the 3 business ideas
(The business ideas must be mutually exclusive and you must do a summarized analysis of the three ideas separately)
2.2 Analyse production and marketing feasibility of all 3 ideas
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2.3 Produce business planning forecast using financial techniques
(Summary of finance: profit and loss forecast; cash-flow forecast; break-even analysis;)
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2.4 Produce a marketing plan
(Marketing plan: market definition; proposed target market segments; demand for product/service; competition; other external influences e g. trends, legislation; marketing mix; market research; method; scale; findings; conclusions; sales forecasts; promotion methods to be used; coordination with rest of marketing mix; image to be developed; costs; schedule for proposed promotion campaign) ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
2.5 Develop a control and monitoring mechanism for the business plan.
(schedules and Gant Charts; organising for resources and procedures; key success factors and metrics; balance;)
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Task 3 of 3 – Reflections (AC1.1, 2.1, 2.2 and 2.3)
Instructions:
You should now reflect on entrepreneurship based on this experience, and using the appropriate literature. Your reflections should:
- Critically analyse the nature, characteristic and challenges of establishing different kind of enterprise and how you individually as a future manager could encourage creativity, innovation and changes. OTHM Level 7- Strategic Management
- With reference to one or more organisation, identify potential creative and innovative management ideas that could contribute to encourage creativity in the organisation
Delivery and submission
- 1x reflection (circa 600 words)
3.1 Critically analyse the nature, characteristic and challenges of establishing different kind of enterprise and how you individually as a future manager could encourage creativity, innovation and changes
(Business skills and attributes; skills envisaged for new ideas: e g. paperwork, sales, marketing, finance, production, purchasing; business law; obtaining supplies; maintaining equipment; monitoring quality; getting publicity; writing promotional materials; strategic thinking; communication; dealing with stakeholders; negotiation; decision making; problem solving; delegation; to support creative and innovative and entrepreneur management processes for a project or organisation; key factors of a successful commercial or social entrepreneur)
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3.2. With reference to one or more organisation, identify potential creative and innovative management ideas that could contribute to encourage creativity in the organisation. OTHM Level 7- Strategic Management
(Theory and application of lateral thinking; visioning and problem-solving techniques; theory and use of analytical tools –sources of business ideas; PESTLE (political, economic, social, technological, legal, environmental) analysis; cost-benefit analysis; decision-making processes and styles;)
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References