Business Decision Making - 5BUSS001W

Semester 1, 2020-21

INSTRUCTIONS FOR COURSEWORK – INDIVIDUAL REPORT

Weighting: 50% of the module mark

Submission Deadline: Tuesday 24 November 1 pm

Feedback: Tuesday 15 December Word limits: 1,500 to 2,000 words Submission details:

• Via Turnitin link on Blackboard.
• Name report with company name and market, for example, ‘sneakers are us”, London

Part 1 – Research skills (500 - 600 words)

Compare the UK and USA sneaker markets and identify how the global pandemic has affected them. Please use the Statista data base (you can find the link in the reading list of the module or via the library site) and 2 or 3 articles on relevant topics.

You should examine statistics on such things as revenues, sales volume, price, sales channels, market shares of brands and any other indicators you consider relevant. Please include your own charts using Excel wherever possible.

Part 2 – Demonstrate that you can apply concepts learned in the module to the simulation game (200 - 300 words per subsection)

2.1 Describe the thinking behind the Business Plan that you set out at the start of the simulation game. This needs to include your generic strategy, the targets that your group set and your chosen market segments. It also needs to include the rationale for decisions in all key categories - management, purchasing, marketing, staff and financial.

2.2 Analyse the decisions of your group using two concepts from weeks 2 to 4. You need to choose one concept from two of the options below, so for example, you can use an Ansoff Matrix and a decision tree.

• Swot analysis, Ansoff matrix or Porter’s strategy
• Payoff matrices, maximin, maximax or minimum regret
• Decision trees and value of perfect information

2.3 Analyse the decisions of your group using two concepts from weeks 5 to 8. You can choose from the following options:

• CVP analysis concepts such as break-even point, margin of safely and target profit
  • Pricing decisions

2.4  What did you feel were the most uncertain elements you faced in the external decision ‘environment’ and how did you overcome these? This should cover both the

• Broader business and economic environment. This is also known as the ‘states of nature’ and you can find about them through the various news items or events that occurred in the game.
  • The actions of rival companies in your city market.

Part 3 – Participation and development of team working skills (200 – 250 words)

3.1 Reflective Appendix commenting on the team skills that you developed during the game:

• What were the group’s ground rules and processes for conflict resolution?
• Provide the examples of successful team-working during the game
• What would you do differently next time you work on a team project?

3.2 Completion of asynchronous activities associated with the lectures by specified weekly deadline. These activities can be found in the theme folders. You need to complete five of the 8 activities posted during weeks 3 to 10.

3.3 Company’s ranking in terms of overall points scored by teams across all city markets