Course Project : Capstone Integrated Management Project

COURSE OBJECTIVES

Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to:

1. Analyze effective strategic approaches to expanding an organization's product or services

2. Apply management theory to strategic organizational decisions

3. Integrate fundamental concepts of management into a comprehensive and strategic business plan

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

For this project, assume you are an employee of one of the organizations listed below. Your task is to identify a new business idea (either expansion or a new product/service) and lead the company on implementing this change from creation to completion. You are the "go-to" person for all management issues related to the project.

Write a business plan for an existing organization that will discuss an implementation strategy, based on your research and the needs of the organization you select. Choose one strategy to use for the focus of your business plan.

1. Expansion of the company

2. New product or service launch for the company

You may use a company or institution of your own choosing or choose from the list of organizations provided below:

Amazon

Bank of America

Costco

Disney

General Electric

Microsoft

The final project should be structured around your area of concentration within your degree program. You should apply what you have learned from this course and the knowledge you gained from previous courses in the program.

Course Project

Capstone Integrated Management Project

The exercises in units 2, 4, and 6 are tied directly to the project and are designed to help you prepare for the submission of the final presentation.

PROJECT INSTRUCTIONS

For the final project, write a business plan for the executive leadership team of an organization. It can be an organization of your choice, or one from the list above. The business plan will be completed in the form of a paper (suggested length 20-25 pages).

Be sure to cite any research using APA format and include a works cited page at the end of the business plan.

Choose a strategy topic to implement:

1. Expansion of the company

2. New product or service launch for the company Use the categories

below to organize the business plan.

1. Executive Summary:

a. Provide a synopsis that highlights key facts, issues, and conclusions.

b. How do these key facts pertain to the new product launch or expansion of the company?

2. Company Summary:

a. Describe the history and origins of the company. How does it relate to the new product or service approach, or company expansion being proposed? Be sure to give an overview of the company's history.

b. Provide the company's vision and mission statement and discuss how your proposal supports it.

c. Describe the company's location and facilities (feel free to include pictures or graphics/maps of the location).

d. Describe the company's management structure. How will it be impacted by your proposals?

e. Explain the company's product/service mix.

3. Business Goals and Objectives:

a. List and describe three business goals/objectives that are key to the proposal of company expansion or new product/service launch. Provide sufficient detail on why these are important goals/objectives to the overall success of the initiative.

b. How does the expansion, or new product/service launch, support the vision and mission statement?

4. Market Analysis:

This section of the business plan should demonstrate knowledge of the organization's customers/clients and their bargaining power.

a. Describe the target market(s) for this new product/service or expansion.

b. Describe the industry in which the organization operates.

c. Complete a competitive analysis. Be sure to include the strengths and weaknesses of an existing competitor to your business and also a potential competitor.

5. Marketing and Sales Strategy:

Analyze how product, price, place, and promotion relate to the new product or service being offered, or the company expansion.

a. Marketing Mix: Discuss the pricing, product, promotion, and distribution of the new product or the expansion.

b. Sales Strategy: Develop a sales strategy with goals, milestones, and deliverables for the new product or expansion.

c. Sales Forecast: Develop a sales forecast based on expected market conditions.

6. Implementation Strategy:

Outline how the business will launch the new venture and evaluate its possible successes and failures.

a. Overall Strategy: Summarize the overall strategy for successfully launching new product or expansion.

b. Implementation: Outline the steps that will have to occur and timeframes/target dates that will be met for a successful implementation.

c. Control Plan: Develop a control plan to be used to evaluate the success of the company in meeting milestones.

d. Risk Management: Describe at least two possible risks that could occur in the implementation, and examples of how they could be mitigated.

e. Key Performance Indicators and Measures: Describe at least two key metrics that will be used to measure success or failure.

7. Organizational Structure:

Describe the organizational structure of the staff that will be needed to implement the new product or expansion. The following areas should be included:

a. Management Team

b. Employees Needed (what types of employees, and an estimate of how many)

c. Job Descriptions (these can be short summaries)

8. Financial Statements and Projections:

Develop projected financial statements for the first year of the new product/service or expansion. This section should include the following:

a. Capital/Investment Needs:

i. Estimate the capital and investment needs for the company. Be sure to discuss any equity contributions the company will need along with other start-up costs required.

b. Forecasted Income Statement

i. Develop a 12-month income statement forecast using a month-by-month approach.

ii. Describe the key assumptions you used when developing the Income Statement forecast above.

c. Forecasted Balance Sheet for the proposed venture

i. Develop a 12 month Balance Sheet forecast (month by month).

ii. Describe the key assumptions you used when developing the Balance Sheet forecast above.

9. Recommendation and Justification:

a. Recommend course of action for the expansion or new product/service.

b. Justify the recommendation based on your analysis.

10. Conclusion:

a. Provide a summary of the topics covered in sections 1-9.

b. Re-emphasize any important details that make the plan relevant to the organization.

c. Be sure to explain why this plan is an important step for the organization.