Discussion question and Assignment 3

Week 8 Discussion

“Live Your Mission”

For this week’s discussion, please respond to the following:

1. Describe how your organization’s mission statement and values are implemented in the marketing, operations, technology, management, and social responsibility sections of your business plan.

Notes:

• State your company’s mission statement in quotation marks.
• Outline your company’s values.
• Explain how the mission and values are reflected in what you do at your NAB business in each of these areas: marketing, technology, management, and social responsibility.
• Read this article to learn more about the importance of having a mission-driven company.

Assignment 3

For this assignment, you will plan out the operations, technology, management, and organization for your company. To do this, you will use the “NAB Company Portfolio” that you downloaded from the Student Center.

Before you get started on this exercise, watch the videos below for some helpful tips on completing Assignment 3.

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Assignment 3: Operation, Technology, and Management Plan (with Financials)

This assignment consists of two sections: the Word document and your business plan financials. Note: You must submit both sections as separate files for the completion of this assignment.

Use the NAB Company Portfolio (see Required Course Files in Week 1).

Write a 4-8-page paper in which you provide the following information below.

Operations Plan (1–2 pages)

Note: Remember to assign a dollar amount to each operational cost you find, as you will need these figures for your income statement and cash flow in Week 8.

1. Create an operations plan for your NAB company using the template in the text as a guide (p. 214 | Operations Plan Preparation Form). Extract appropriate information from the NAB Company Portfolio, where applicable. Other required items in the template should be filled in using your personal preferences.
   1. 1. • Note: Most of the research pertaining to the hints provided here can be found in the NAB company portfolio.
         • Hints: Consider whether you will rent or buy your facilities or outsource production to an existing company.
         • Hints: One of your biggest expenses as a startup non-alcoholic beverage company will be transitioning from a small-batch prototype of your beverage to production on a large scale. Research the equipment you will need (vats, refrigerators, burners, ovens, bottling equipment, and so on), whether you will rent or buy, how you will maintain and clean the equipment, and so forth. Consider how you will ensure quality control. What capacity do you intend to reach?
         • Hints: Deliberate your inventory control. Where do your supplies come from and what is your turnaround time to produce your beverage once you have received an order?
         • Hints: Consider your distribution method. Refer back to your notes for the SWOT analysis assignment in Week 2 of the class.
         • Hints: How will you stay abreast of new developments in your industry? What new products do you have in development now, in addition to your flagship product?
2. Describe your research and development activities and explain how they will contribute to the company.

Technology Plan (1–2 pages)

3. Create a technology plan for your NAB company using the template in the text as a guide (p. 227 | Technology Plan Preparation Form). Extract appropriate information from the NAB Company Portfolio, where applicable. Other required items in the template should be filled in using your personal preferences.

• • • • Hints: Consider the type of technology your company will use to conduct the following activities: managing personnel; taking, fulfilling, and tracking orders; managing inventory; communicating with customers and providing customer service; and producing your beverage.

Management and Organization (1–2 pages)

1. Create a management plan for your NAB company using the template in the text as a guide (p. 248 | Management Plan Preparation Form). Extract appropriate information from the NAB Company Portfolio, where applicable. Other required items in the template should be filled in using your personal preferences.
2. Using the flow charts on page 242 as a guide, outline your company’s management hierarchy. Note: Charts or diagrams must be imported/included in the MS Word document.

Create an ethics and social responsibility plan (1-2 pages)

1. Describe the ways in which your company is committed to being a good corporate citizen.
   • Hints: Consider the following areas:
     • Creating jobs
     • Following the laws of every jurisdiction in which your company operates
     • Fair and honest treatment of employees
     • Non-discrimination of employees and increasing diversity of your work force

• Hints: If your company is designed as a social venture—in which you have a primary purpose of achieving a social or environmental goal—describe what that goal is and what aspects of your company are designed to reach that goal. Provide a rationale for why you have or have not chosen this to be a social venture.

2. Discuss how your company’s activities will affect the environment and identify the steps you will take to mitigate any negative impacts.

• • • • Hints: As a beverage company, consider such issues as your choice of packaging, disposal of bottles/packages by consumers, and your use of resources, such as water in areas where water may be scarce.

3. Determine any health issues/claims related to the product you are making, whether negative or positive. Suggest the strategy your company will use to mitigate any negative issues and to ensure any positive claims are true.

Section 2: Business Plan Financials (MS Excel worksheets bundled with course textbook)

For year one, submit the entire completed “Business Plan Financials” Excel document based on feedback from week 7 discussion and information from your business plan.

Format your assignment according to these formatting requirements:

1. Cite the resources you have used to complete this exercise. Note: There is no minimum requirement for the number of resources used in the exercise.
2. The paper must be typed, double-spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with 1-inch margins on all sides; references must follow APA format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.
3. Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required page length.

The specific course learning outcome associated with this assignment is:

• Create operations, technology, and management plans for a company.

Happy Wednesday class!

Assignment 3 is due this week. This is a more extensive assignment covering 4 sections of the business plan. You will also need to attach the revised Excel document.

Reminders:

• Read and follow the instructions in the assignment and use the textbook.
• Use the template provided in the Course Info area. The template contains videos explaining how to address each question.
• You must have headings in your paper for each major section and subsection (just as outlined in the template).
• Use the information from the NAB Company portfolio where applicable (operations, personnel, Review pages 4-8 in the portfolio)
• You must include the numbers where available (cost of equipment, vans, computers, software, salary for personnel, etc.)
• The operations section was partially addressed in week 5 discussion. Read the feedback received in the discussion thread to adjust this section. Note that you have additional sections in Assignment 3.
• Remember to include a hierarchy chart in the Management section.
• The written portion of the business plan must be reflected in the Excel document. For example, if you indicate in the Word portion that equipment will be purchased, then you must reflect this in the capital expenditures section. Or, if you indicated 2 managers in the management section, you need to reflect this in the Staff budget worksheet of the business plan, etc.
• Original work is required.
  1. Be sure to paraphrase correctly. It is not enough to change a couple of words. You must state your idea in an original sentence and cite any sources you use.
  2. Do not use information from any Strayer student paper. Safe Assign will pick up on this.
  3. Do not copy and paste information from the NAB portfolio.
• Use Grammarly to check your work.
• Revise the Excel document per the feedback you received in week 7 discussion and any changes you make to your business plan.
• Attach both the Word and Excel documents to the submission area before you click Submit.