Referencing Styles : Harvard ASSIGNMENT 1 (2,500 words) Part (a) Select a small firm of your choice (any country) in the business to business or business to consumer sectors’ that has been trading for no more than 10 years and present it as a business case study (a social entrepreneurial enterprise will also be acceptable). Cover the history of the business, the nature of the business, the main target markets served by the business, the objectives set for the next five years, the original vision and mission set for the new venture by the entrepreneur. Use analytical frameworks in your work. Part (b) Using the case study you have constructed from the above task as a vehicle for discussion and analysis and using appropriate evaluative frameworks critically appraise and discuss the organisation’s approach to opportunity recognition and product and/ or service innovation. Suggest how a more entrepreneurial approach to product and/ or service innovation might be used by management to reduce the risk associated with new product and service development and the general performance of the firm. Present your suggestions and recommendations in the form of 12 months business plan for product and/ or service innovation strategy objectives, targets, planning, budgets, implementation and control. Use analytical frameworks in your work. 1,000 words additional support paper summarising the slide presentation and expanding on key points if necessary. STUDENT GUIDELINES FOR ASSIGNMENT 1 STRUCTURE Please ensure that your assignment has: • A title first slide • A table of contents on the second slide • A list of figures and/ or list of tables where appropriate on additional slides at the front end of your presentation • Introduction/ Executive summary on one slide • Use a specific small firm venture and develop this venture as a CASE STUDY. • Provide a critical analysis and imaginative entrepreneurially based suggestions and recommendations for your future entrepreneurial approach to product and/ or service innovation improvements including conceptual models and academic frameworks based on the available literature. • Conclusions • References / Bibliography (additional slides) • Appendices if appropriate – use additional slides or submit as Word documents as part of the presentation pack. Make full use of the academic and other literature to support the points made. Give a critical discussion and evaluation of the different positions held in the literature evidence. You should take care to ensure that the work you submit has a high standard of structure and presentation. You must acknowledge the sources of information and evidence using the Harvard referencing system. Guidelines to students’ Criteria for excellent/good, average, poor/inadequate answers Excellent/ good answer • Excellent and good students’ will use a specific small firm and develop this firm as a short CASE STUDY. They will cover the history, nature of the business, the objectives, vision and mission set for the new venture. Students’ will use analytical frameworks’ in the work. Students’ will provide a critical analysis and imaginative entrepreneurially based suggestions and recommendations for an improved entrepreneurial approach to product and/ or service innovation together with a clear rationale and justification. Excellent and good students’ will demonstrate their knowledge of entrepreneurship and their entrepreneurial skills developed on the course within the assignment. They will be expected to provide a logical and cogent critical discussion and provide an answer containing academic and conceptual depth. They will produce innovative, imaginative and entrepreneurial suggestions for future product and/ or service innovation ideas and improvements. The difference between excellent and good is likely to be in the areas of the extent of criticality provided in the discussion, the degree of focus on the specific question asked, structure and provision and critical evaluation. Average answer • Average students’ will produce a short small business case study but such a case is likely to be less well structured and less informative than with the case of excellent and good students above. They are likely to discuss product and/ or service innovation might be used by management to reduce the risk associated with new product and service development and the general performance of the firm. They are likely to put forward suggestions for future improvements to opportunity recognition and innovation polices. The suggestions made may lack the entrepreneurial imagination and depth given by excellent and good students’ discussed above. Average students’ may not adhere completely to the specific question given and answers may lack focus and be rather general in nature. Answers may lack the degree of criticality and entrepreneurial focus asked for in the question. Poor/ inadequate answer • Poor and/ or inadequate answers’ are likely to be too generic with the candidate failing to answer the specific question set. There is likely to be a small business case study but this may be poorly constructed and lack focus. There may well be a discussion on an improved entrepreneurial approach to product and/ or service innovation but this discussion may be superficial and lack critical depth. There will be little critical examination or discussion and the answer will be more descriptive than analytical. There will be limited evidence of the ability to apply entrepreneurial skills and knowledge. The difference between a poor but marginally successful answer and a inadequate answer that fails to achieve the required standard for a pass grade is like to be one of degree in terms of structure, the level of focus, critical examination and critical discussion provided