ASSESSMENT: FINAL REPORT ASSIGNMENT (CASE STUDY)

This assignment is a case study analysis and environmental research report. It combines quality secondary research on relevant business environment issues that relate to issues identified in the case study organisation (CSO), and application of theories/concepts learnt on the course and researched separately.

As a rough guide, the final report case study project assignment requires you to:

a) Identify/justify the strength(s) and weakness(es) of the CSO (you may need to make intelligent/logical implications from the case study)

b) Identify (with supporting specific evidence) the current issues/trends that are/can be relevant to the CSO

c) Make specific recommendations (with justifications) to link the respective issues/trends to the respective strengths/weaknesses in the context of the CSO

You should use the standard academic business report format.

Case Study - Damien's guided computer repairs

Damien Mellick and Hemi Nikora share a small apartment over a commercial shopfront in Albany, New Zealand, only a short walk from the post office. Hemi works part-time as an IT consultant for a local college in Albany. Damien has a good sales position with an international medical software design company that he got after finishing his commerce degree in neighboring Auckland last year, but he is keen to start his own business.

While studying, his entrepreneurship and 3D design double major had him working his computer pretty hard, so it was always in need of repair/upgrades, which he performed himself, becoming a bit of a 'Mr fixit'. He believes that there are many similarly unaccredited self-taught yet technically competent people who just need to be coordinated to build a PC repair franchise network to service all areas of Auckland.

Basically, Damien and Hemi plan to outsource the mobile labour component of the business using a franchise model, effectively creating a network of PC repairers on an exclusive area basis with strong marketing and operational support. Damien and Hemi will differentiate their service by offering to diagnose the problem via telephone before sending out the repairer, so that the right parts and a good estimate of the time available to solve the problem are supplied to the franchisee accepting the callout. This two-step strategy will allow the repairer to focus on fixing the PC effectively with an expert telephone diagnosis providing a correct fault description to the mobile repairer at least 75 per cent of the time.

The service offer will thus have two main facets: A telephone assistance service will be operated by the franchisors (Damien and Hemi to begin with) where they will attempt to diagnose and correct software-related problems over the phone in a maximum of 15 minutes for a flat fee. If after 15 minutes the computer problem cannot be resolved remotely, the fee is retained as callout fee and a local repairer is advised of the probable diagnosis and machine specification to give them the best chance of repairing the PC onsite. A callout is then arranged by a local franchisee network partner who has an agreed service response time, processes and standards befitting their relationship to the franchise.