1 Assignment 1: Business plan Course: MMST13017 Business of Digital Innovation, 2017 Term 1 Due date: 9:00 pm AEST, Friday of Week 5 Weighting: 30% Objectives This assessment item relates to course learning outcomes 1 and 2. Task This assignment requires you to imagine that you are starting a small business within the digital media industries, and to prepare a business plan with the aid of a template. Choose your business type from the following options:  Web designer  Graphic designer  Photographer  Illustrator  Animator  Motion graphics artist  Video producer  Audio producer  Game developer  App developer  Software developer  User experience designer  Social media manager  Marketer  Advertiser  Journalist  Copywriter  Public relations manager  Composer  Musician Try to select a business that is compatible with your interests and abilities to ensure that you have clear ideas about the activities that would be involved. Your chosen business may encompass more than one of the areas listed above, but one area should be the dominant one for the purpose of this assignment. You can choose to establish your business as a sole-trader, in partnership with others, as a trust, or as a company. You might run your business from home or from an office. There are many options. The business that you imagine for the purpose of this assignment does not have to be particularly large or innovative; it simply needs to provide an income. The important topic of innovation within business will be covered later in this course. Download the Australian Government’s Business Plan Guide (BusinessPlanGuide.docx) and Business Plan Template (BusinessPlanTemplate.docx) from the course web site. Use the template to create a well-structured plan, tailored to your business. Complete the first four sections of the template:  Business Plan Summary  The Business  The Market  The Future Delete the fifth section of the template entitled The Finances. We are not completing that part of the document because the course does not allow enough time for you to research the figures for the financial projections. Similarly, delete the Finances section of the Business Plan Summary as well. Do not create a business logo for the title page. Although the addition of a logo would give the plan a more professional appearance, we do not want this activity to become more time-consuming than necessary.2 Do not register a business name or domain name for this assignment, but make up names that you could register if you wanted to. Sections of the plan that ask you to enter your Australian Business Number, your Australian Company Number, or the date of your GST registration should be left blank. Make up all other required details as if you intended to implement this business plan. The template is filled with instructions and guidelines in italics enclosed with square brackets [like this]. Delete these instructions and guidelines as you complete each section. If any items within the template are not applicable to your business, leave them within the document and insert the words ‘Not applicable’ in the response. As you complete the template, read the guidelines in the Business Plan Guide and refer to the course materials for explanations of any terms or concepts that you do not understand. Some research will probably be required to flesh out your ideas about topics such as business operations, competitors, and insurance options, to mention a few examples. Before submitting your plan for assessment, delete the two preliminary instruction pages from the template so that the plan begins with the title page. Also update the table of contents by right-clicking it and choosing Update Field from the pop-up menu that appears. Presentation and submission This assignment must be submitted electronically through the course web site. You must submit a single Microsoft Word file named assignmnent1.docx containing your business plan. Instructions for submitting assignments electronically are available on the course web site. Plagiarism The work that you submit for this assignment must be your own. You must not take the words or ideas of others and attempt to pass them off as your own when completing this assignment. Refer to the University's Plagiarism Policy for more information.3 Assessment criteria The assignment will be assessed against the following criteria. Penalties will be applied for late submission, viruses, and failing to comply with the assignment's requirements. Criteria Marks Title page and table of contents (content; clarity; completeness; authenticity; formatting and presentation; adherence to template; grammar, punctuation and spelling; written expression and style) 2 Business Plan Summary section (content; clarity; completeness; authenticity; formatting and presentation; adherence to template; grammar, punctuation and spelling; written expression and style) 4 The Business section (content; clarity; completeness; authenticity; formatting and presentation; adherence to template; grammar, punctuation and spelling; written expression and style) 10 The Market section (content; clarity; completeness; authenticity; formatting and presentation; adherence to template; grammar, punctuation and spelling; written expression and style) 10 The Future section (content; clarity; completeness; authenticity; formatting and presentation; adherence to template; grammar, punctuation and spelling; written expression and style) 4 Total 30 1.75-2.9 2.7 The fundamental theories relevant to this question are provided without ambiguity and refers to a text or journal article, but these may not be well discussed.Some context provided. Reflection demonstrates satisfactory clear reasoning and provides reasonable discussion on the “cultural fit” to the organisation. 3-3.5 3.2 The fundamental theories relevant to this question are clearly identified and explained, without ambiguity and in context and with reference to a suitable journal article. Reflection demonstrates clear and consistent reasoning and provides detailed discussion on the “cultural fit” to the organisation. 3.6-4.15 3.7 The fundamental theories relevant to this question are clearly identified and described well, with relevant information and argument where necessary for understanding. The context is clear and suitable journal article(s) are used. Reflection demonstrates clear, consistent and detailed reasoning and provides high-level discussion on the “cultural fit” to the organisation. 4.2-4.75 5 The fundamental theories relevant to this question are clearly identified and described comprehensively, delivering all relevant information necessary for full understanding. The context and background are well explained and suitable journal article(s) are used. Reflection demonstrates consistent and systematic reasoning and provides thorough discussion on the “cultural fit” to the organisation. 4.8-6 Quality of language and ability to communicate information accurately using academic style ULO2 (Max 4 marks) 0.4 Writing filled with grammatical and spelling errors. English expression is difficult to understand. Little or no use of paraphrasing, with a heavy reliance on quotes. In-text citation and referencing have not been used or do not conform to Harvard standard. 0-1.55 1.2 Many grammatical and spelling errors. English expression is difficult to understand, but meaning can be made of what is written. Little effort has been put into paraphrasing of material. In-text citations not utilised or inaccurate. List of references does not follow the Harvard referencing style correctly. 1.6-1.95 1.6 Expresses thoughts meaningfully, even though there may be occasional errors. Paraphrasing uses too many of the author’s own words. In-text citations are too sparse and/or mostly inaccurate. Some attempt to present a list of References following the Harvard referencing style, but may have several errors. 2-2.36 1.9 Expresses thoughts meaningfully, even though there may be occasional errors. Paraphrasing portrays the ideas of others in student’s own words. In-text citations are accurate in most cases and are just adequate to the task. List of References presented using the Harvard referencing style accurately in most cases. 2.4-2.76 2.2 Communicates meaning with clarity and fluency. Writing is almost error-free. Paraphrasing correctly portrays the ideas of others in student’s own words. In-text citations are accurate and support the arguments made in the assignment quite well. List of References presented accurately using the Harvard referencing style. 2.8-3.16 3 Skillfully communicates meaning with high level of clarity and fluency. Writing is virtually error-free. Paraphrasing correctly portrays the ideas of others in student’s own words. In-text citations are accurate and support the arguments made in the assignment very well. List of References presented very accurately using the Harvard style. 3.2-4 List of suggested academic journal articles, books and book chapters: Carroll, AB and Shabana, KM, 2010. ‘The business case for corporate social responsibility: A review of concepts, research and practice’, International Journal of Management Reviews, vol. 12, no.1, pp. 85-105. Edwards, JR, Caplan, RD and Van Harrison, R, 1998. Person-environment fit theory. In CL Cooper (Ed.) Theories of organizational stress (pp. 28-67), Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Edwards, JR, Cable, DM, Williamson, IO, Lambert, LS and Shipp, AJ, 2006. ‘The phenomenology of fit: linking the person and environment to the subjective experience of person-environment fit’, Journal of Applied Psychology, vol. 91, no. 4, pp. 802-807. Ferguson, J (2016) ‘Corporate response to climate change: language, power and symbolic construction’, Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, vol. 29, no. 2, pp. 278- 304. http://ezproxy.deakin.edu.au/login?url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/AAAJ-09-2013-1465 Hollensbe, E, Wookey, C, Hickey, L, George, G, & Nichols, CV, 2014, 'Organizations with purpose’, Academy of Management Journal, vol. 57, no. 5, pp. 1227-1234. Available from: 10.5465/amj.2014.4005. http://ezproxy.deakin.edu.au/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=heh&AN=98822522&site=eds-live&scope=site Jovanovic, Z, 2015. ‘Management and changes in business environment’, Ekonomika, vol. 61, no. 2, pp. 143-151. http://ezproxy.deakin.edu.au/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=103670794&site=ehost-live&scope=site Robbins, SP, DeCenzo, DA, Coulter, M, Woods, M 2016, Management: The Essentials 3e, Pearson, Melbourne, Australia. Szymańska, K and Walecka, A, 2016, ‘Culture openness as an element of positive potential of enterprised in a crisis situation’. Journal of Positive Management, vol. 6, no.4, pp. 53-65. http://ezproxy.deakin.edu.au/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=116483370&site=ehost-live&scope=site Verbos, AK, Gerard, JA, Forshey, PR, Harding, CS and Miller, JS, 2007, ‘The positive ethical organization: Enacting a living code of ethics and ethical organizational identity’, Journal of Business Ethics, vol. 76, no. 1, pp. 17-33.