Group Report with Presentation
Group Report with Presentation
Purpose The purpose of this assessment is to allow students the opportunity to demonstrate their understanding of the topic content from 1 to 7 by proofreading and editing a text, critically analysing any beliefs or assumptions behind a prescribed journal or newspaper article text and presenting their findings. This contributes to the learning outcomes a, b, c, d, e. f and g.
Due date Friday, Week 8
Weighting 25% (20% report and 5% Presentation)
Submission Report submission through Turnitin on Canvas. The video presentation upload onto Canvas.
Content Topics included for this assessment are weeks 1 to 7 inclusive.
Task details Each student in groups of 3 or 4 must write 1500 words (6000 words per group) to accompany their presentation. Variations of plus or minus 10% of word limitation are acceptable. Presentations must be approx. 15-20 minutes long in which all group members participate and occupy discrete roles. There will be a rubric for students to know the scope required for the group report.
APA is the referencing style used at ASA and is expected to be applied in all academic assessment tasks where applicable. In this first-year task marks will be deducted for errors in its application.
For this assessment, you are to demonstrate that you have the skills and knowledge to:
Develop a business plan (8 Marks)
Monitor performance (4 Marks)
Respond to performance data (4 Marks)
Report Structure (2 Mark)
References (2 Mark)
This is a group report and you should all work together to complete this.
You are required to develop a business plan for a small business, manage the performance of that business plan, and respond to performance data. For this report, you will be in the role of the owner or manager of a hypothetical proposed tourism business.
To do some parts of this project, you will need to form a team of 3 to 4 classmates. The other members will act as your business partners or managers at various stages throughout the project. You will meet with the group to communicate and discuss ideas, develop business concepts and analyse relevant markets. You may collaboratively make decisions on how you will develop procedures and monitor and report on business performance. If you prefer, you may work as an individual, but you will need to meet with a group of ‘stakeholders’ at varying stages to consult.
Scenario
You and your business partners have bought/leased an old property in the country which you intend to set up as a tourism attraction. It is set in a beautiful area with mountains and a stream, and there is good access via a sealed road. There is a large old homestead that you can use for accommodation and an old winery, some fields and a barn for animals. You plan to provide guests with a complete ecological country experience.
You can accommodate up to 12 guests at a time and plan to provide breakfast and an optional packed lunch each day, and a complimentary ‘farm dinner’ as part of the package. All meals will use locally grown produce where possible. You will grow herbs and some vegetables in the garden. You are looking at options for activities. You are considering hikes in the local area, horse riding, ‘hay rides’, and canoeing. Down the track, you would like to harvest the grapes from some of the old vines and make wine. Your guests can participate in the picking, production and tasting. You are also considering the option of keeping bees to produce honey.
You anticipate that you will need a cook, wait staff who can also serve drinks, make coffee and assist in catering, a couple of gardeners and one person to assist in setting up some of the attractions. You will also need a cleaner and housekeeper to assist with the laundry. Your partners may decide to take on one or more of these roles. You intend to use both part-time and full-time staff as needed. You will employ tradespersons to do any construction or heavy or specialised work. The place looks reasonably attractive but will need painting and some renovations. You will need to purchase a range of large and small equipment, including a commercial fridge, a commercial stove, a microwave, small kitchen equipment and crockery and cutlery. You will also set up a small bar area. You also need bedding, towels and other linen.
There are no competitors that you are aware of in the immediate area. However, there are many similar establishments in the State, and you have researched and know that this type of place is very popular, with backpackers, older travellers and families, particularly from overseas. You need to check tourism statistics to confirm that this type of tourism attraction will continue to grow, as the market is continually changing.
Tasks
You first need to meet with your business partners to confirm the exact type of business, the location and the products and services you will be offering. Conduct research into other businesses similar to your proposed business and the location.
You should also look at examples of strategic, business and operational plans of similar businesses from the website to get some ideas. Make notes as you do your research, as you will need this for your business plan.
Meet with your partners to discuss and analyse the business vision, mission, values, goals and objectives of your planned business. Write these up as clear statements. (You may need to change these as you continue with your planning.)
Decide who your business stakeholders will be and write a list of those you need to consult with in doing your planning and research. Consult with key stakeholders such as potential suppliers, local business owners, council or regulatory bodies. Make notes and take records of your meetings, emails and phone calls.
You now need to review the market requirements for the product or service. Decide on the product and services, product type, market position, pricing strategy, value to customer, and growth potential.
Profile the market. Include:
profile of your intended customers
customer demographics
who are your competitors?
the various pricing options
You may need to do some research to position this well. Describe the research you did and cite
the sources you used.
Conduct a SWOT analysis to look at the strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities for
your business, together with your business partners.
Identify the planned operations: suppliers, plant and equipment, technology, trading hours,
communication channels, and the payment type.
Identify the staffing requirements. Include required staff, recruitment options, training programs,
proposed organisational structure, and management arrangements.
Identify the physical and financial resource requirements for the business. Develop a start-up budget.
Identify any permits or licenses that may be required for your new business and any legal
requirements.
Write your business plan, monitor performance and respond to the performance data using the template on the following pages. (You may use your own
template but must include all the required sections and information.)
Your plan must include:
a) Business details and registration
b) Permit and licence requirements, legal requirements
c) Business premises, location
d) Products and services
e) Market research and planned marketing activities
f) Staff and key personnel
g) SWOT analysis
h) Future goals and objectives
i) Finance, funding and resource requirements
Part 2 – Narrated Presentation (5 marks)
Narrate a presentation in 5 or 6 PowerPoint slides that summarise your plan. [Limit: 10 minutes]
Planning: topics, format, environment, and relevance
Most important communication and presentation skills
Recommendation: why your plan is the best.
Assessment criteria:
Relevant and recent references are used
Assignment is well-presented and edited
Fluent academic writing style using [first and third – reflective or third person – academic] is demonstrated
Correct spelling and grammar are used
A minimum of five references is used
Academic referencing and reference list follow APA academic referencing conventions
Word count is appropriate with variations of plus or minus 10% of word limitation are acceptable
