Fairfield School of Business
BTEC Assignment Brief
Qualification Pearson BTEC Higher National Diploma (HND) in Business (RQF)
Unit Number and Title Unit 9: Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management (ESBM)
Unit Code (RQF Level) T / 508 / 0495 (RQF Level 4)
Learning Aims This aim of this unit is to assist students develop cognitive knowledge and skills needed in the field entrepreneurship and small business management, through understanding the importance of types, attributes and characteristics of successful entrepreneurs, including contributions micro, small and medium-sized businesses make to a national economy.
This unit enables students to develop creativity, innovative-thinking and core business management skills necessary for start-up entrepreneurs, including skills-sets that assist aspiring entrepreneurs to evaluate economic variables relating to scale, managing risks, uncertainties and seeking opportunities.
Students will learn about the influence of national culture and the economy on entrepreneurship, including an exploration of the personal characteristics of entrepreneurs and the impact of personal situational factors, like education, background and life experiences.
Students will also learn about the role and importance of small firms to the economy, social enterprise and the social economy, including learning to balance the risks and rewards of starting a new venture, which requires investigation and reflection of their own entrepreneurial and enterprising characteristics.
Examples of entrepreneurs and start-up organisations will be discussed and students will be expected to draw on local, personal and general knowledge together with their learning to be able to identify the characteristics of entrepreneurial ventures.
Possible Grades: Pass, Merit or Distinction. P1 to P7 must be satisfactorily accomplished before Merit or Distinction may apply.
Assignment Title Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management (ESBM)
Assessor ‘Ladi Tokosi
Issue Date 30 January 2017
Hand in Deadline 05 May 2017
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BTEC Assignment Brief BTEC Internal Assessment QDAM January 2017
Vocational Scenario or Context of: 1-Elizabeth Gooch and EC Solutions PLC
2- Tom Mercer and MOMA Foods
Scenario:
Your primary role at the Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management Council (ESBMC) is to support your Line Manager, who reports to a Director. The Council primarily assists prospective entrepreneurs and start-up ventures to prepare to become successful entrepreneurs.
Your role is to contribute to development of resources used by your Line Manager, who makes presentations and issues publications on the subject, using the two (2) Case Studies below:
Case Study 1: Elizabeth Gooch and EG Solutions PLC
In 2006, Management Today named Elizabeth Gooch as the seventh most successful female entrepreneur in the UK. About 25% of the top entrepreneurs in the list were female.
Elizabeth is founder and CEO of EG Solutions, a small company selling operations management software that helps clients to generate improvements in operational performance and efficiency. EG Solutions prides itself on implementing its programmes on a fixed cost, fixed timescale basis. It is the only company that guarantees return on investment and its sales receipts/revenues are based on the results delivered. A typical implementation project pays itself within six (6) months.
Elizabeth started work for HSBC Bank aged 18 but left after only 12 months to work for a consultancy that helped large firms find better ways to use their staff. Eight (8) years later, she started her own business, EG Consulting, aged 26, financed by £1,000 borrowed from family and friends and a credit card.
EG Consulting initially offered consultancy and training on operations management to financial services companies. In its first year, turnover reached £600,000. However, the complexity of collecting the information needed to advise on improving efficiency led Elizabeth to develop software to help in the task.
In 1993, the software, called Operational Intelligence, was launched as a product in its own right. It allowed data to be collected in realtime, enabling all departments of a company to monitor the production process. At that point, the business had six (6) employees, several contract workers and a turnover of £1 million.
Elizabeth met Rodney Baker-Bates, then CEO of Prudential Financial Services and things changed dramatically. He believed that she was not making enough of the business and advised that she should focus on the software, rather than consultancy work.
In 2005, the company changed its name to EG Solutions PLC, with Rodney as the Chairman - engaged as a strategic planning consultant to help develop the business in a focussed way. The strategy worked, increasing turnover by 28% in a year to £4.2 million.
The business needed additional capital to fund an ambitious growth target so; Elizabeth decided to float the company on the Alternative Investment market (AIM), rather than approaching venture ! 3
BTEC Assignment Brief BTEC Internal Assessment QDAM January 2017
Task 1 LO1: Explore and illustrate the range of venture types that might be considered entrepreneurial.
Your Line Manager has asked you to compose a report for her review, before developing a new publication for prospective entrepreneurs.
Evidence required Report
Assessment Criteria (AC) covered by this task: P1, P2, M1 and D1
AC To achieve the criteria you must show that you are able to:
P1 • Examine different types of entrepreneurial ventures and explain how they relate to the typology of entrepreneurship ventures, including examples of each type.
P2 • Explore the similarities and differences between Social Entrepreneurship and Lifestyle Entrepreneurship, including two existing examples of each.
M1 • Investigate a diverse range of entrepreneurial ventures to demonstrate an understanding of entrepreneurship, including sources and Harvard Referencing Style.
D1 • Critically examine the scope, development and growth of entrepreneurial ventures in the UK, including sources and Harvard Referencing Style.
Task 2 LO2: Assess the impact of small businesses on the economy.
Evidence required PowerPoint Slides (including Speaker Notes: 20 slides maximum)
Assessment Criteria (AC) covered by this task: P3, P4, M2 and D2
AC To achieve the criteria you must show that you are able to:
P3 • Interpret and assess relevant data and statistics to illustrate how micro and small businesses impact on the UK economy.
P4 • Explain the importance of small businesses and business start-ups to the growth of the social economy in the UK.
M2 • Evaluate the differences small, medium and large businesses make to the UK economy, applying relevant published data and statistics, including sources and Harvard Referencing Style.
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BTEC Assignment Brief BTEC Internal Assessment QDAM January 2017
D2 • Critically examine how small businesses have an impact on different levels of the UK economy (at local, regional and national levels), making comparison with at least one (1) other country, including data, sources and Harvard Referencing Style.
Task 3 LO3: Determine and assess the key aspects of an entrepreneurial Mindset. “You can never cross the ocean until you have the courage to lose sight of the shore.” - Christopher Columbus
Evidence required Report
Assessment Criteria (AC) covered by this task: P5, P6, M3 and D3
AC To achieve the criteria you must show that you are able to:
P5 • Determine the most likely characteristic traits and skills of Elizabeth Gooch and Tom Mercer, stating how they are differentiated from those of business managers.
P6 • Assess how aspects of the entrepreneurial personality of Elizabeth Gooch (Case Study 1) and Tom Mercer (Case Study 2) reflect their entrepreneurial motivation and mindset.
M3 • Explore and examine different lines of argument relating to entrepreneurial characteristics, building on P5 and P5, including sources and Harvard Referencing Style.
D3 • Analyse the characteristic traits, skills and motivational drivers of at least two (2) successful entrepreneurs, supported by specific examples, including sources and Harvard Referencing Style.
Task 4 LO4: Examine different environments that foster or hinder entrepreneurship.
Evidence required Report
Assessment Criteria (AC) covered by this task: P7, M4 and D4
AC To achieve the criteria you must show that you are able to:
P7 • Examine, using Elizabeth Gooch (Case Study 1) and Tom Mercer (Case Study 2), how personal background and experience can hinder or foster entrepreneurship.
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BTEC Assignment Brief BTEC Internal Assessment QDAM January 2017
M4 • Analyse the link between entrepreneurial characteristics and the influence of personal background and experience to Elizabeth Gooch (Case Study 1) and Tom Mercer (Case Study 2), including sources and Harvard Referencing Style.
D4 • Critically evaluate how personal background and experience influences entrepreneurs, both positively and negatively, by comparing and contrasting Donald Trump (The Trump Organisation) and Jack Ma (Alibaba Group).
Sources of information to support you with this Assignment.
Recommended Textbooks:
1. Burns, P (2011) Entrepreneurship and Small Business. 3rd Ed. Basingstoke: Palgrave MacMillan.
2. Carter, S. and Jones-Evans, D. (2012) Enterprise and Small Business: Principles, Practice and Policy. London: Pearson.
3. Down, S. (2010) Enterprise, Entrepreneurship and Small Business. London: Sage.
4. Griffiths, A. and Wall, S. (2011) Economics for Business and Management. 3rd Ed. Harlow: Pearson.
eBooks (Free Downloads)
1. http://www.freebookcentre.net/Business/Small-Business-andEntrepreneurship-Books.html (Accessed: 12/01/2017)
2. http://bookboon.com/en/entrepreneurship-ebooks (Accessed: 12/01/2017)
Recommended Journal
1. Journal of Small Business Management. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell. http://eu.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-JSBM.html
(To access this online resource for free; you are required to first request permission to reuse content from this title by providing your email address in the right-hand side of the relevant page)
Website:
1. The Institute for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (ISBE) - www.isbe.org.uk
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BTEC Assignment Brief BTEC Internal Assessment QDAM January 2017
Assessment Information:
The specific assignment details and the tasks can be found in the FSB Connect site.
Cross-Referencing of Module Outcomes to Module Assessment (detailed below)
Other assessment materials attached to this Assignment Brief
1. PowerPoint Presentation Slides
2. Guidance for Students
Unit / Module Learning Outcome (LO)
Types of Assessment
Task 1 Task 2 Task 3 Task 4
Required Format of Submission Report Slides Report Report
LO1
Explore and illustrate the range of venture types that might be considered entrepreneurial.
1,000 Words Not Applicable
LO2
Assess the impact of small businesses on the economy.
LO3
Determine and assess the key aspects of an entrepreneurial mindset.
Not Applicable 1,500 Words
LO4
Examine the different environments that foster or hinder entrepreneurship.
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BTEC Assignment Brief BTEC Internal Assessment QDAM January 2017
Please Note:
All Assessment Criteria (in LO1 to LO4) must be successfully completed in order to achieve a Pass grade in this Unit/Module. Merit or Distinction grades cannot be achieved/awarded, unless and until LO1 to LO4 have been successfully completed by the Student.
Learning Outcomes and Assessment Criteria
Total Recommended Word Count 2,500 Words (Maximum)
Pass Merit Distinction
LO1 Explore and illustrate the range of venture types that might be considered entrepreneurial
P1 Examine different types of entrepreneurial ventures and explain how they relate to the typology of entrepreneurship. P2 Explore the similarities and d i f f e r e n c e s b e t w e e n Entrepreneurial ventures.
M1 Investigate a diverse range of entrepreneurial ventures to demonstrate an u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f entrepreneurship in both the public and corporate Sector.
D1 Critically examine the scope, and development and growth of entrepreneurial ventures.
LO2 Assess the impact of small businesses on the economy
P3 Interpret and assess relevant data statistics to illustrate how micro and small businesses impact on the economy. P4 Explain the importance of small businesses and business start-ups to the growth of the social economy.
M2 Evaluate the differences small, medium and large businesses make to the economy, applying relevant data In addition, statistics.
D2 Critically examine how small businesses have an impact on different levels of the economy (local, regional, n a t i o n a l ) a n d i n a n international context.
LO3 Determine and assess the key aspects of an entrepreneurial mindset
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BTEC Assignment Brief BTEC Internal Assessment QDAM January 2017
P5 Determine the characteristic traits skills of successful entrepreneurs that differentiate them from other business managers. P6 Assess how aspects of the entrepreneurial personality reflect entrepreneurial motivation and mindset.
M3 Explore and examine different lines of argument relating to entrepreneurial characteristics.
D3 Analyse the characteristic traits, skills and motivational d r i v e r s o f s u c c e s s f u l entrepreneurs, supported by specific examples.
LO4 Examine the different environments that foster or hinder entrepreneurship
P7 Examine, using relevant examples, background and experience can hinder or foster entrepreneurship.
M4 Analyse the link between e n t r e p r e n e u r i a l characteristics and the influence of personal background and experience to specific successful entrepreneurs
D4 Critically evaluate how background and experience influences entrepreneurs, both positively and negatively, by comparing and contrasting examples.
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BTEC Assignment Brief BTEC Internal Assessment QDAM January 2017