ASSIGNMENT BRIEFS
Qualification Pearson BTEC Level 5 HND Diploma in Business
Unit (FT/OL) OL U28 Launching a Venture
Year and cohort
Assessor name
Assignment title A Business Plan
Learning Objectives
LO1 Investigate the range of resources required to launch a new venture
LO2 Assess the skills and capabilities required and how these might be acquired or
developed
LO3 Explain and justify appropriate promotional activities to support the launch
LO4 Suggest an appropriate legal form and compile a budget for launch
Transferable skills
Cognitive Creativity, effective communication, numeracy
Affective Organisation, persuasion, conclusion
Practical Design and presentation using digital tools, budgeting
Unit Learning Outcomes
LO1 Investigate the range of resources required to launch a new venture
LO2 Assess the skills and capabilities required and how these might be acquired or
developed
LO3 Explain and justify appropriate promotional activities to support the launch
LO4 Suggest an appropriate legal form and compile a budget for launch
Assignment 1 Brief and Guidance: A Business Plan for a new venture
Submission format:
The submission is an individual Business Plan Your presentation should be appropriate
for the business scenario given below.
You will submit your Business Plan into Turnitin: the recommended word limit is
2,000-3,000 words, although you will not be penalised for exceeding the total word
limit. Your research should be referenced using the Harvard referencing system.
Scenario and activity:
You have an exciting entrepreneurial idea and you are in a position to turn that idea into
a venture. You need to create a persuasive Business Plan that you can present to
potential investors to convince them of the viability of your venture with a view to
receiving the funding you will require.
Your business plan will include
1. A business proposal in which you introduce your business idea; identify the
target market; apply methods to analyse the competitive environment;
determine the resources required; discuss strengths, weaknesses and areas of
risk; and develop a contingency plan that minimises risk.
2. An assessment of the skills and capabilities required in which you assess how
they can be acquired or developed and discuss the associated costs and
timescales involved.
3. A promotional activities plan to support the pre- and post-launch phases of
your launch, justified with a critical evaluation of the chosen activities.
4. A legal and financial plan in which you justify your choice of legal form and
present an itemised monthly cash budget for the pre- and post-launch phases of
your launch including an evaluation of contingency measures.
Draft deadline sections 1 & 2: Sunday, October 18, 2020 23:59
Draft deadline sections 3 & 4: Sunday, November 1, 2020 23:59
Learning Outcomes and Assessment Criteria
Pass Merit Distinction
LO1 Investigate the range of resources required to
launch a new venture
D1 Develop a detailed
proposal that demonstrates
critical analysis and reflection of
the competitive environment with
supporting contingency planning
to minimise risk.
P1 Investigate and explain a
new venture identifying specific
target markets and undertaking
competitive analysis
P2 Determine specific
tangible and intangible resources
that would be required for the
launch of a new venture.
P3 Produce a credible proposal
to launch a new venture.
M1 Apply a range of methods
and techniques for competitive
analysis to justify how to achieve
competitive advantage.
M2 Discuss the strengths and
weaknesses of the new venture
and determine areas of risk.
LO2 Assess the skills and capabilities required and how
these might be acquired or developed
D2 Critically discuss
supporting costs and timescales
required for acquiring and/or
developing the skills and
capabilities of a launch team
P4 Assess the skills and
capabilities required to launch a
new venture and how they are
acquired or developed.
M3 Explore the range of skills
and capabilities required for the
launch and critically assess how
they might be acquired or
developed applying appropriate
methods.
LO3 Explain and justify appropriate promotional
activities to support the launch
D3 Critically evaluate the
different promotional activities to
support justifications.
P5 Explain the different
promotional activities and
channels that will support the
launch and justify their choice.
P6 Develop an appropriate
promotional activities plan for
both launch and pre-launch
M4 Evaluate an appropriate
promotional activities plan for
both launch and pre-launch.
LO4 Suggest an appropriate legal form and compile a
budget for launch
D4 Create a pre- and
post-launch monthly itemised
cash budget based on financial
resources, including key budget
categories and sub-categories,
with contingency measures for
anticipated outcomes
P7 Produce an itemised
monthly cash budget for the
pre-launch phase of the venture
and the first 12-18 months post
launch.
P8 Suggest an appropriate
legal form for the venture stating
why it has been chosen.
M4 Justify an itemised
monthly cash budget showing
one-off costs, ongoing costs and
anticipated income post and
pre-launch.
Referencing
HELBUS uses the Harvard system of referencing. All the sources you have used to
prepare your assignment must be referenced in your text and also in your bibliography.
References List/Bibliography (in alphabetical order of the authors’ last names)
Jobber, D. and Ellis-Chadwick, F. (2014) Principles and practice of marketing. 7th ed.
London: McGraw Hill.
Poole, J. (2011) Leadership in easy steps. Southam: Mixed Sources.
Thomas, D. (2019) Five reasons the car industry is struggling. BBC [online]. Available
from: https://www.bbc.com/news/business-48545733 [Accessed 24 June 2019].
In-text referencing examples
Author’s name is cited in your text
Poole (2011, p.10) argues that ‘excellent leaders will recognise and develop people’.
Marketing is a branch of business that consists of many theories and intricate systems,
according to Jobber and Ellis-Chadwick (2013).
Author’s name is not directly cited in your text
‘Excellent leaders will recognise and develop people’ (Poole, 2001, p.10).
Marketing is a branch of business that consists of many theories and intricate systems
(Jobber & Ellis-Chadwick, 2013).
To access the full guide to the Harvard System of Referencing go to Moodle >> Links
(menu on the left) >> Referencing instructions
Or take a look at the resources in the University of Northampton’s Skills Hub
Command words
Your assignment brief will contain a verb that indicates the level of the response that you are
expected to give. This is called a command word. It is important that you interpret these verbs
correctly so that you fully recognise the level of critical thinking required in each assignment.
If you have any questions about your assignment brief,, do ask your instructor to provide further
advice.
Analyse This requires you to explore the different aspects of an issue, considering
the relative significance of each. You would normally need to explore causal
relationships, examining how an action will lead to a particular reaction. This
type of assignment would not normally require you to make judgements,
but rather to drill down into an issue, exploring relationships in depth.
Assess This requires you to weigh up the positive and negative aspects of
something. Alternatively, it might require you to explore the important and
unimportant aspects of an argument. You should build these strands into a
balanced argument before reaching a final balanced conclusion.
Apply This means you need to put your new skills/knowledge/understanding into
use in an appropriate context. For example, you transfer your knowledge of
the theories and models that you have learnt about to a specific business
situation or context.
Critically
analyse
This is when you have to explore the strengths and weaknesses of the ideas
of a theorist or claims made by a professional body before reaching a final,
balanced conclusion. You would normally begin by presenting the initial idea
and arguments in favour of it, before introducing contradictory arguments.
When you present the arguments, you should present their relative merits
(e.g. their strengths and weaknesses) before summarising your arguments
and reaching a final conclusion.
Demonstrate Explain a broad range of ideas persuasively and with originality using a
variety of examples
Describe Provide a thorough description of the characteristics of a subject
Explain Give details about how and why something is as it is and what relevance it
has (implications)
Evaluate This type of question will require you to give an opinion on an issue, which
you should support with relevant evidence. You should ensure that your
response provides a balanced view of the issue, exploring points for and
against your argument. This should lead to an overall conclusion where you
summarise your main arguments and explain how you have come to your
final decision.
Justify This requires you to provide arguments in support of a particular
interpretation of, or perspective on, something. This should be based on the
use of theoretical justifications applied to normal business practice.
Identify Name the main point or points and explain why you chose those.