2014

Business Management

National 5
Course
Assignment

Name
Business Management Assignment
The purpose of this assignment is to demonstrate your ability to apply your
business skills, knowledge and understanding to plan, research and report on a
business topic of your choice. You have 4 HOURS to carry out your research and
ONE HOUR to write up your report.

This assignment is worth 30 marks 30% of your overall grade.

It assesses the following skills, knowledge and understanding:

choosing, WITH MINIMUM SUPPORT, an organisation and a business topic/area

to focus your report on
preparing background information on the organisation
using research skills to gather information and/or data about the topic/area
and organisation.
collating the findings under suitable headings
making use of charts, graphs and suitable images where appropriate
analysing and interpreting the findings of the research gathered
drawing valid conclusions based on the evidence gathered
presenting the findings in a business report using correct business terminology

IN THE ASSESSMENT

you will have to prepare a short business report for the business
owner/manager of an organisation of your choice
this report should focus on an area within the business and should demonstrate
planning, research, analytical and decision making skills
the report should be no longer than four sides of A4 excluding appendices
at least two sources of data/information should be provided as appendices
you should make use of technology where applicable

The report should consist of 4 main sections as follows:

Background information 5 marks

Research methods and sources 6 marks
Analysis and interpretation 10 marks
Conclusion 4 marks

Additional marks are awarded for collating and reporting the findings 5 marks

You should attach at least two sources of information as appendices to your report
to ensure you can achieve all available marks.
Some Organisations you might choose

ORGANISATION TYPE OF ORGANISATION

Anta Made in Scotland Partnership
Ashers Bakery Private Limited
Baxters of Fochabers Private Limited
Craigdon Mountain Sports Private Limited
D C Thomson & Co Ltd Private Limited
Eden Court Theatre Charity
Harry Gow Private Limited
Highland Blindcraft Social Enterprise
Highland Hospice Charity
Highland Wildlife Park Charity
Ness Soaps Social Enterprise
Simpsons Garden Centre Private Limited
The Breadmaker Aberdeen Social Enterprise
Tunnocks Ltd Private Limited
Walkers Shortbread Private Limited

Local Hairdresser
Local Garage
Local Petrol Station
Local Bakery
Local Restaurants
Local Hotels
HOW TO PREPARE YOUR REPORT
STAGE 1
CHOOSING AN ORGANISATION

In order to prepare your report you will need access to information. Before you
make a decision do some research to find out if there is enough information to help
you do your report.

ORGANISATIONS IM INTERESTED IN INVESTIGATING WOULD BE

ORGANISATION Lots of info

Not much info
available

I choose

STAGE 2
Background Information

You should include:

Brief history of the organisation

Structure/ownership
Location Remember to use your own
Products/service words and expand these points
Method of production when you prepare your report
Any other interesting information

3
STAGE 3
Choose an aspect of this organisation to look at

Think about the areas of business you have studied - which of these areas interest
you?

TOPIC AREAS Focus on

I am going to investigate the use of pricing tactics

Marketing
I am going to look at the use of different methods of promotion

Human I am going to investigate how recruitment and selection is carried out

Resources I am investigating the training offered to employees

Finance I am going to investigate sources of finance the organisation could use

to
I am going to investigate the method of production used
Operations
I am going to investigate how the business ensures quality

Location I am going to investigate a potential new location for

Customer
I am going to investigate the standard of customer service in
Service

The purpose of my report is to investigate

Remember that at the end of your report you will need to make a
recommendation in your conclusion eg

From my findings I would recommend that the business locate their new premises
in . because there is no competition and an available market.

From my research I have discovered that the organisation does not offer e-
commerce and I would recommend that they set up this facility on their website.

4
STAGE 4

Research
You should use at least two different sources.

Some examples of sources you could use are:

interviews/surveys/questionnaires
websites information, charts, graphs, images
newspapers/magazines/books
audio/visual media (transcript of broadcast)
field trips or visiting speakers

You do not need to contact the organisation as part of your research. Most research
can be found on company websites and other sources listed above.

It is important to keep a note of all the research information you collect and where
and when you collected it. Print it out in case the webpage changes or make a
copy!

For each source of information you have used, you will have to explain in your report
why you chose this source, for example, consider the strengths and weaknesses of the
source, the reliability of the source and your reason for using it.

Source? Date found? Comments

www.bbc.co.uk/news 23/01/2014 BBC website should be reliable and up-to-date

Questionnaire 15/02/2014 Collected first-hand and up-to-date

You should select at least two pieces of research information to support your
findings and attach these as appendices to the report.

5
STAGE 5

Analysing and interpreting your findings

Now that you have your research findings, you should select and
analyse the ones that are the most important/relevant to
include in your report.

Complete this table with your research findings and use the space for your analysis.
What does the information tell you? What does it show/prove? What does this
information mean? Are there any patterns? Is it good or bad for the business?

You should have more than one comment to make on each piece of research
findings.

Research finding Analysis/Interpretation

1. This supports my view that

The graph from my survey shows

The newspaper article states 2. This proves that

The competitors website shows

3. This demonstrates that

1.

2.

3.

1.

2.

3.

1.

2.

3.

1.

2.

3.
STAGE 6

Conclusion

Based on your findings write your conclusions/recommendations below.

A conclusion is not just a summary of what you have already written. Your conclusion(s)
might be a recommendation for the future of the organisation. These conclusion(s)
must be based on analysis and supported by evidence in your report.

Your conclusion must relevant to the topic you researched and be detailed.

Conclusion Evidence to back up conclusion

I recommend that (the organisation)

This is based on my finding that
should

7
STAGE 7

Collating and Reporting

You will use your findings to produce a business report. In a clearly set out
business report you should:

use appropriate headings and fonts throughout

include any relevant and accurate information under these headings

make use of charts/graphs/images to enhance the report

make use of business terminology throughout your report

SUGGESTED LAYOUT

To: Manager/Owner of

From: Your name

Topic:

Background Information

Research Methods & Sources You may have sub headings

Analysis and Interpretation
under these main headings

Conclusion

BEFORE HANDING IN YOUR REPORT

Have you?
Made reference to your sources in your report

Included headings above

Checked it fits on 4 pages

Used business terminology

Spellchecked

Attached 2 appendices

Inserted name, date and school in footer