Using your study of chapters 11 and 12 of Modern systems analysis and design, answer the following four questions.
For the three common methods of system interaction—command language, menus, and objects—recall a software package that you have used recently and list what you liked and disliked about each package with regard to the interface.
What were the strengths and weaknesses of each interaction method for this particular program? Which type of interaction do you prefer for which circumstances?
Which type do you believe will become most prevalent? Why?
Valacich, J. S., & George, J. F. (2019). Modern systems analysis and design (9th ed.). Pearson. Print ISBN: 978-0135172759 eText ISBN: 978-0135172841
BE SURE TO DELETE ALL RED TEXT FROM THIS TEMPLATE BEFORE SUBMITTING YOUR PLAN!!
A startup business plan serves several purposes. It can help convince investors or lenders to finance your business. It can persuade partners or key employees to join your company. Most importantly, it serves as a roadmap guiding the launch and growth of your new business.
Writing a business plan is an opportunity to carefully think through every step of starting your company so you can prepare for success. This is your chance to discover any weaknesses in your business idea, identify opportunities you may not have considered, and plan how you will deal with challenges that are likely to arise. Be honest with yourself as you work through your business plan. Don’t gloss over potential problems; instead, figure out solutions.
A good business plan is clear and concise. A person outside of your industry should be able to understand it. Avoid overusing industry jargon or terminology.
Most of the time involved in writing your plan should be spent researching and thinking. Make sure to document your research, including the sources of any information you include.
Avoid making unsubstantiated claims or sweeping statements. Investors, lenders and others reading your plan will want to see realistic projections and expect your assumptions to be supported with facts.
This template includes instructions for each section of the business plan, followed by corresponding fillable worksheet/s.
The last section in the instructions, “Refining Your Plan,” explains ways you may need to modify your plan for specific purposes, such as getting a bank loan, or for specific industries, such as retail.
Proofread your completed plan (or have someone proofread it for you) to make sure it’s free of spelling and grammatical errors and that all figures are accurate.
The undersigned reader acknowledges that any information provided by _________________________ in this business plan, other than information that is in the public domain, is confidential in nature, and that any disclosure or use of same by the reader may cause serious harm or damage to ________________________. Therefore, the undersigned agrees not to disclose it without express written permission from ________________________________.
Upon request, the undersigned reader will immediately return this document to ___________________________.
___________________ Signature
___________________ Name (typed or printed)
___________________ Date
This is a business plan. It does not imply an offering of securities.
Table of Contents Confidentiality Agreement 3 I. Executive Summary 5 Executive Summary 6 II. Company Description 7 Company Description Worksheet 8 III. Products & Services 9 Product & Service Description Worksheet 10 IV. Marketing Plan 11 SWOT Analysis Worksheet 12 Competitor Data Collection Plan 14 Competitive Analysis Worksheet 15 Marketing Expenses Strategy Chart 17 Pricing Strategy Worksheet 19 Distribution Channel Assessment Worksheet 21 V. Operational Plan 23 VI. Management & Organization 25 Management Worksheet 26 Organization Chart 27 VII. Startup Expenses & Capitalization 28 VIII. Financial Plan 29 IX. Appendices 31 X. Refining the Plan 32 Now That You’re (Almost) Finished . . . 34
The Executive Summary is the most important part of your business plan. Often, it’s the only part that a prospective investor or lender reads before deciding whether or not to read the rest of your plan. It should convey your enthusiasm for your business idea and get readers excited about it, too.
Write your Executive Summary LAST, after you have completed the rest of the business plan. That way, you’ll have thought through all the elements of your startup and be prepared to summarize them.
The Executive Summary should briefly explain each of the below.
1. An overview of your business idea (one or two sentences).
2. A description of your product and/or service. What problems are you solving for your target customers?
3. Your goals for the business. Where do you expect the business to be in one year, three years, five years?
4. Your proposed target market. Who are your ideal customers?
5. Your competition and what differentiates your business. Who are you up against, and what unique selling proposition will help you succeed?
6. Your management team and their prior experience. What do they bring to the table that will give your business a competitive edge?
7. Financial outlook for the business. If you’re using the business plan for financing purposes, explain exactly how much money you want, how you will use it, and how that will make your business more profitable.
Limit your Executive Summary to one or two pages in total.
After reading the Executive Summary, readers should have a basic understanding of your business, should be excited about its potential, and should be interested enough to read further.
After you’ve completed your business plan, come back to this section to write your executive summary on the next page.
This section explains the basic elements of your business. Include each of the below:
1. Company mission statement
A mission statement is a brief explanation of your company’s reason for being. It can be as short as a marketing tagline (“MoreDough is an app that helps consumers manage their personal finances in a fun, convenient way”) or more involved: (“Doggie Tales is a dog daycare and grooming salon specializing in convenient services for urban pet lovers. Our mission is to provide service, safety and a family atmosphere, enabling busy dog owners to spend less time taking care of their dog’s basic needs and more time having fun with their pet.”) In general, it’s best to keep your mission statement to one or two sentences.
2. Company philosophy and vision
a. What values does your business live by? Honesty, integrity, fun, innovation and community are values that might be important to your business philosophy.
b. Vision refers to the long-term outlook for your business. What do you ultimately want it to become? For instance, your vision for your doggie day-care center might be to become a national chain, franchise or to sell to a larger company.
3. Company goals
Specify your long- and short-term goals as well as any milestones or benchmarks you will use to measure your progress. For instance, if one of your goals is to open a second location, milestones might include reaching a specific sales volume or signing contracts with a certain number of clients in the new market.
4. Target market
You will cover this in-depth in the Marketing Plan section. Here, briefly explain who your target customers are.
5. Industry
Describe your industry and what makes your business competitive: Is the industry growing, mature or stable? What is the industry outlook long-term and short-term? How will your business take advantage of projected industry changes and trends? What might happen to your competitors and how will your business successfully compete?
6. Legal structure
a. Is your business a sole proprietorship, LLC, partnership or corporation? Why did you choose this particular form of business?
b. If there is more than one owner, explain how ownership is divided. If you have investors, explain the percentage of shares they own. This information is important to investors and lenders.
After reading the Company Description, the reader should have a basic understanding of your business’s mission and vision, goals, target market, competitive landscape and legal structure.
Use the Company Description worksheet on the next page to help you complete this section.
This section expands on the basic information about your products and services included in the Executive Summary and Company Description. Here are some items to consider:
1. Your company’s products and/or services: What do you sell, and how is it manufactured or provided? Include details of relationships with suppliers, manufacturers and/or partners that are essential to delivering the product or service to customers.
2. The problem the product or service solves: Every business needs to solve a problem that its customers face. Explain what the problem is and how your product or service solves it. What are its benefits, features and unique selling proposition? Yours won’t be the only solution (every business has competitors), but you need to explain why your solution is better than the others, targets a customer base your competitors are ignoring, or has some other characteristic that gives it a competitive edge.
3. Any proprietary features that give you a competitive advantage: Do you have a patent on your product or a patent pending? Do you have exclusive agreements with suppliers or vendors to sell a product or service that none of your competitors sell? Do you have the license for a product, technology or service that’s in high demand and/or short supply?
4. How you will price your product or service: Describe the pricing, fee, subscription or leasing structure of your product or service. How does your product or service fit into the competitive landscape in terms of pricing—are you on the low end, mid-range or high end? How will that pricing strategy help you attract customers? What is your projected profit margin?
Include any product or service details, such as technical specifications, drawings, photos, patent documents and other support information, in the Appendices.
After reading the Products & Services section, the reader should have a clear understanding of what your business does, what problem it solves for customers, and the unique selling proposition that makes it competitive.
Use the Product and Service Description Worksheet on the next page to help you complete this section.
This section provides details on your industry, the competitive landscape, your target market and how you will market your business to those customers.
Market research
There are two kinds of research: primary and secondary. Primary market research is information you gather yourself. This could include going online or driving around town to identify competitors; interviewing or surveying people who fit the profile of your target customers; or doing traffic counts at a retail location you’re considering.
Secondary market research is information from sources such as trade organizations and journals, magazines and newspapers, Census data and demographic profiles. You can find this information online, at libraries, from chambers of commerce, from vendors who sell to your industry or from government agencies.
This section of your plan should explain:
· The total size of your industry
· Trends in the industry – is it growing or shrinking?
· The total size of your target market, and what share is realistic for you to obtain
· Trends in the target market – is it growing or shrinking? How are customer needs or preferences changing?
Barriers to entry
What barriers to entry does your startup face, and how do you plan to overcome them? Barriers to entry might include:
· High startup costs
· High production costs
· High marketing costs
· Brand recognition challenges
· Finding qualified employees
· Need for specialized technology or patents
· Tariffs and quotas
· Unionization in your industry
Threats and opportunities
Once your business surmounts the barriers to entry you mentioned, what additional threats might it face? Explain how the following could affect your startup:
· Changes in government regulations
· Changes in technology
· Changes in the economy
· Changes in your industry
Use the SWOT Analysis Worksheet on the next page to identify your company’s weaknesses and potential threats, as well as its strengths and the potential opportunities you plan to exploit.
Can any of your strengths help with improving your weaknesses or combating your threats? If so, please describe how below.
Based on the information above, what are your immediate goals/next steps?
Based on the information above, what are your long-term goals/next steps?
Product/service features and benefits
Describe all of your products or services, being sure to focus on the customer’s point of view. For each product or service:
· Describe the most important features. What is special about it?
· Describe the most important benefits. What does it do for the customer?
In this section, explain any after-sale services you plan to provide, such as:
·
21
· Product delivery
· Warranty/guarantee
· Service contracts
· Ongoing support
· Training
· Refund policy
Target customer
Describe your target customer. (This is also known as the ideal customer or buyer persona.)
You may have more than one target customer group. For instance, if you sell a product to consumers through distributors, such as retailers, you have at least two kinds of target customers: the distributors (businesses) and the end users (consumers).
Identify your target customer groups, and create a demographic profile for each group that includes:
For consumers:
·
· Age
· Gender
· Location
· Income
· Occupation
· Education level
For businesses:
·
· Industry
· Location
· Size
· Stage in business (startup, growing, mature)
· Annual sales
Key competitors
One of the biggest mistakes you can make in a business plan is to claim you have “no competition.” Every business has competitors. Your plan must show that you’ve identified yours and understand how to differentiate your business. This section should:
List key companies that compete with you (including names and locations), products that compete with yours and/or services that compete with yours. Do they compete across the board, or just for specific products, for certain customers or in certain geographic areas?
Also include indirect competitors. For instance, if you’re opening a restaurant that relies on consumers’ discretionary spending, then bars and nightclubs are indirect competitors.
Use the Competitor Data Collection Plan on the next page to brainstorm ways you can collect information about competitors in each category.
For each factor listed in the first column, assess whether you think it’s a strength or a weakness (S or W) for your business and for your competitors. Then rank how important each factor is to your target customer on a scale of 1 to 5 (1 = very important; 5 = not very important). Use this information to explain your competitive advantages and disadvantages.
FACTOR
Me
Competitor A
Competitor B
Competitor C
Importance to Customer
Products
Price
Quality
Selection
Service
Reliability
Stability
Expertise
Company Reputation
Location
Appearance
Sales Method
Credit Policies
Advertising
Image
Positioning/Niche
Now that you’ve assessed your industry, product/service, customers and competition, you should have a clear understanding of your business’s niche (your unique segment of the market) as well as your positioning (how you want to present your company to customers). Explain these in a short paragraph.
How you will market your product/service
In this section, explain the marketing and advertising tactics you plan to use.
Advertising may include:
· Online
· Print
· Radio
· Cable television
· Out-of-home
Which media will you advertise in, why and how often?
Marketing may include:
· Business website
· Social media marketing
· Email marketing
· Mobile marketing
· Search engine optimization
· Content marketing
· Print marketing materials (brochures, flyers, business cards)
· Public relations
· Trade shows
· Networking
· Word-of-mouth
· Referrals
What image do you want to project for your business brand?
What design elements will you use to market your business? (This includes your logo, signage and interior design.) Explain how they’ll support your brand.
Promotional budget
How much do you plan to spend on the marketing and advertising outreach above:
· Before startup (These numbers will go into your startup budget)
· On an ongoing basis (These numbers will go into your operating plan budget)
Use the Marketing Expenses Strategy Chart on the next page to help figure out the cost of reaching different target markets.
You explained pricing briefly in the “Products & Services” section; now it’s time to go into more detail. How do you plan to set prices? Keep in mind that few small businesses can compete on price without hurting their profit margins. Instead of offering the lowest price, it’s better to go with an average price and compete on quality and service.
· Does your pricing strategy reflect your positioning?
· Compare your prices with your competitors’. Are they higher, lower or the same? Why?
· How important is price to your customers? It may not be a deciding factor.
· What will your customer service and credit policies be?
Use the Pricing Strategy Worksheet on the next page to help with your pricing.
Which of the following pricing strategies will you employ? Circle one.
Cost PlusThe costs of making/obtaining your product or providing your service, plus enough to make a profit
Value BasedBased on your competitive advantage and brand (perceived value)
Other:
Provide an explanation of your pricing model selection. Include strategy info on your major product lines/service offerings. List industry/market practices and any considerations to be discussed with your mentor.
Location or proposed location
If you have a location picked out, explain why you believe this is a good location for your startup.
If you haven’t chosen a location yet, explain what you’ll be looking for in a location and why, including:
· Convenient location for customers
· Adequate parking for employees and customers
· Proximity to public transportation or major roads
· Type of space (industrial, retail, etc.)
· Types of businesses nearby
Focus on the location of your building, not the physical building itself. You’ll discuss that later, in the Operations section.
Distribution channels
What methods of distribution will you use to sell your products and/or services? These may include:
· Retail
· Direct sales
· Ecommerce
· Wholesale
· Inside sales force
· Outside sales representatives
· OEMs
If you have any strategic partnerships or key distributor relationships that will be a factor in your success, explain them here.
If you haven’t yet finalized your distribution channels, use the Distribution Channel Assessment Worksheet on the next page to assess the pros and cons of each distribution channel you are considering.
If you’ve already made some sales, you can use those as a basis for your projections. If, like most startups, you haven’t sold anything yet, you’ll need to create estimates based on your market research, your proposed marketing strategies and your industry data.
Create two forecasts: a “best guess” scenario (what you really expect) and a “worst case” scenario (one you’re confident you can reach no matter what).
Keep notes on the research and assumptions that go into developing these sales forecasts. Financing sources will want to know what you based the numbers on.
After reading the Marketing Plan section, the reader should understand who your target customers are, how you plan to market to them, what sales and distribution channels you will use, and how you will position your product/service relative to the competition.
A SCORE mentor can help you complete your Marketing Plan tailored for your business.Find a SCORE mentor.
This section explains the daily operation of your business, including its location, equipment, personnel and processes.
1. Production
How will you will produce your product or deliver your service? Describe your production methods, the equipment you’ll use and how much it will cost to produce what you sell.
Quality control
How will you maintain consistency? Describe the quality control procedures you’ll use.
Location
Where is your business located? You briefly touched on this in the Company Overview. In this section, expand on that information with details such as:
a. The size of your location
b. The type of building (retail, industrial, commercial, etc.)
c. Zoning restrictions
d. Accessibility for customers, employees, suppliers and transportation if necessary
e. Costs including rent, maintenance, utilities, insurance and any buildout or remodeling costs
f. Utilities
Legal environment
What type of legal environment will your business operate in? How are you prepared to handle legal requirements? Include details such as:
g. Any licenses and/or permits that are needed and whether you’ve obtained them
h. Any trademarks, copyrights or patents that you have or are in the process of applying for
i. The insurance coverage your business requires and how much it costs
j. Any environmental, health or workplace regulations affecting your business
k. Any special regulations affecting your industry
l. Bonding requirements, if applicable
Personnel
What type of personnel will your business need? Explain details such as:
m. What types of employees? Are there any licensing or educational requirements?
n. How many employees will you need?
o. Will you ever hire freelancers or independent contractors?
p. Include job descriptions.
q. What is the pay structure (hourly, salaried, base plus commission, etc.)?
r. How do you plan to find qualified employees and contractors?
s. What type of training is needed and how will you train employees?
· What kind of inventory will you keep on hand (raw materials, supplies, finished products)?
· What will be the average value of inventory (in other words, how much are you investing in inventory)?
· What rate of inventory turnover do you expect? How does this compare to industry averages?
· Will you need more inventory than normal during certain seasons? (For instance, a retailer might need additional inventory for the holiday shopping season.)
· What is your lead time for ordering inventory?
Suppliers
List your key suppliers, including:
· Names, addresses, websites
· Type and amount of inventory furnished
· Their credit and delivery policies
· History and reliability
· Do you expect any supply shortages or short-term delivery problems? If so, how will you handle them?
· Do you have more than one supplier for critical items (as a backup)?
· Do you expect the cost of supplies to hold steady or fluctuate? If the latter, how will you deal with changing costs?
· What are your suppliers’ payment terms?
Credit policies
If you plan to sell to customers on credit, explain:
· Whether this is typical in your industry (do customers expect it)?
· What your credit policies will be. How much credit will you extend? What are the criteria for extending credit?
· How will you check new customers’ creditworthiness?
· What credit terms will you offer?
· Detail how much it will cost you to offer credit, and show that you’ve built these costs into your pricing structure.
· How will you handle slow-paying customers? Explain your policies, such as when you will follow up on late payments, and when you will get an attorney or collections agency involved.
After reading the Operational Plan section, the reader should understand how your business will operate on a day-to-day basis.
This section should give readers an understanding of the people behind your business, their roles and responsibilities, and their prior experience. If you’re using your business plan to get financing, know that investors and lenders carefully assess whether you have a qualified management team.
1. Biographies
Include brief biographies of the owner/s and key employees. Include resumes in the Appendix. Here, summarize your experience and those of your key employees in a few paragraphs per person. Focus on the prior experience and skills that have prepared your team to succeed in this business. If anyone has previous experience starting and growing a business, explain this in detail.
2. Gaps
Explain how you plan to fill in any gaps in management and/or experience. For instance, if you lack financial know-how, will you hire a CFO or retain an accountant? If you don’t have sales skills, will you hire an in-house sales manager or use outside sales reps?
3. Advisors
List the members of your professional/advisory support team, including:
a. Attorney
b. Accountant
c. Board of directors
d. Advisory board
e. Insurance agent
f. Consultants
g. Banker
h. Mentors and other advisors
If they have experience or specializations that will increase your chances of success, explain. For instance, does your mentor have experience launching and growing a similar business?
4. Organization Chart
Develop and include an organization chart. This should include both roles that you’ve already filled and roles you plan to fill in the future.
After reading the Management & Organization section, the reader should feel confident that you have a qualified team leading your business.
Use the Management Worksheet and Organization Chart on the next two pages to highlight your management team.
In this section, detail the expenses involved in opening for business and how much capital you’ll need. (Do not include ongoing expenses after your business opens; those are listed in the Financial Plan.) Estimating startup expenses as accurately as possible helps you gather enough startup capital.
1. Start-Up Expenses
Download and complete the Start-Up Expenses template. In working on this Business Plan, you should already have gathered most, if not all, of the information you need. In the body of this section, be sure to explain all of the assumptions behind the figures. How did you come up with these expenses? If you’ve secured or expect to secure loans, explain the source/s, amount/s and terms. If you’ve secured or expect to secure investors, explain how much each investor will contribute and what percentage of ownership each receives in return.
Be sure to include extra capital for unexpected expenses. Opening a new business almost always ends up costing more than expected, and you need to be prepared. List this figure in the Start-Up Expenses template under “Reserve for Contingencies.” How much should you set aside for contingencies? You can talk to other business owners in your industry to get a ballpark figure. If you can’t come up with a figure this way, a good rule of thumb is to set aside 20% to 25% of your total startup costs for contingencies.
2. Opening Day Balance Sheet – NOT REQUIRED
Download and complete the Opening Day Balance Sheet. Use it to detail the expected state of your business finances on opening day. As with the Start-Up Expenses sheet, be sure to explain the assumptions behind the figures.
3. Personal Financial Statement
If you are using the business plan to seek financing, include personal financial statementsfor each owner and each major stockholder. The personal financial statements should detail each person’s assets and liabilities outside of the business and their personal net worth. Investors and/or lenders typically expect business owners to use personal assets to finance a startup, and they’ll want to see how much capital you have available from your personal finances.
After reading the Startup Expenses & Capitalization section, the reader should know how much money is needed to start the business and how well capitalized you are.
Your financial plan is perhaps the most important element of your business plan. Lenders and investors will review it in detail. Developing your financial plan helps you set financial goals for your startup and assess its financing needs. Include the following:
Be sure to explain the assumptions behind the numbers in your P&L. Keep detailed notes about how you came up with these figures; you may need this information to answer questions from potential financing sources.
2. Optional: 3-year profit & loss projection
A three-year profit and loss projection is not essential to a business plan. However, you may want to create one if you expect your business’s financials to change substantially after the first year, or if investors or lenders require it. Download the 3-Year Profit and Loss Projection template, and use it to create your projection.
3. Cash flow projection
The cash flow statement tracks how much cash your business has on hand at any given time. Once your business is up and running, you’ll want to keep close tabs on your cash flow statement. For now, however, you’re creating a cash flow projection. Think of the cash flow projection as a forecast for your business checking account. It details when you need to spend money on things such as inventory, rent and payroll, and when you expect to receive payments from customers and clients. For example, you may make a sale, have to buy inventory to fulfill the sale, and not collect payment from the customer for 30, 60 or 90 days. The cash flow projection takes these factors into account, helping you budget for upcoming expenses so your business doesn’t run out of money.
Depending on your needs and the purpose of your business plan, you may also want to include a 3-year cash flow statement. If so, download the 3-Year Cash Flow Statement and use it to create your projections. This is a much simpler document than the 12-month cash flow statement, but can still be useful in making plans.
5. Projected balance sheet
A balance sheet subtracts the company’s liabilities from its assets to arrive at the owner’s equity. You already created an opening day balance sheet in Section 1. Now, download the Balance Sheet (Projected), and create a projected balance sheet showing the estimated financial condition of your business at the end of its first year. The major difference between the two is that the projected balance sheet includes any owner’s equity resulting from the business’s first year in operation. Lenders and investors may want to see this projection.
6. Break-even calculation
The break-even analysis projects the sales volume you need in order to cover your costs. In other words, when will the business break even? Download the Break-Even Analysis template and, using your profit and loss projections, enter your expected fixed and variable costs. Adjust the categories to reflect your own business.
You can even create a couple of different break-even analyses for different scenarios. For example, your payroll costs will vary depending on whether you hire full-time employees or use independent contractors. Creating different break-even analyses can help you determine the best option.
7. Use of capital
If you’re using the business plan to seek financing from lenders or investors, provide a breakdown of how you will the capital and what results you expect. For example, perhaps you will use the money to buy new equipment and expect that to double your production capacity.
After reading the Financial Plan section, the reader should understand the assumptions behind your financial projections and be able to judge whether these projections are realistic.
A SCORE mentor can help you complete your Financial Plantailored for your business.Find a SCORE mentor.
Don’t slow your readers down by cluttering your business plan with supporting documents, such as contracts or licenses. Instead, put these documents in the Appendices, and refer to them in the body of the plan so readers can find them if needed.
Below are some elements many business owners include in their Appendices.
1. Agreements (Leases, contracts, purchase orders, letters of intent, etc.)
You can also include any other materials that will give readers a fuller picture of your business or support the projections and assumptions you make in your plan. For instance, you might want to include photos of your proposed location, illustrations or photos of a product you are patenting, or charts showing the projected growth of your market.
After reviewing the Appendices, the reader should feel satisfied that the assumptions throughout the plan are backed up by documentation and evidence.
· Will your retail store also have an ecommerce site, or is one planned for the future?
For an Ecommerce Business
· Will you sell a physical product, a service, a digital product (such as eBooks) or some combination of these?
· If you’re selling physical products, how will you brand and package them?
· Will you sell on your own website, online marketplaces (such as Amazon) or both?
· What technology providers and platforms will you use to run your ecommerce site?
· Web hosting service
· Web design service
· Shopping cart provider
· Payment processing service
· Fulfillment & shipping services
· Email marketing services
· Can the solutions you’ve chosen quickly scale up or down as needed?
· Where will you get your products? Will you manufacture them in-house, buy them from manufacturers or use drop shippers?
· How will you handle returns and exchanges?
· What are your customer service policies? How will you provide customer service?
· Will you use any proprietary technology of your own and if so, what advantages does that give you?
For a Software or SaaS business
· What is your pricing structure? Will you use a free trial, “freemium” or paid business model?
· If you offer free services or a free trial option, how will you upsell customers to a payment model? What percentage of customers are expected to become paying customers?
· Have you tested your software? Are any “early adopters” already using the product?
· How will you encourage long-term contracts in order to create recurring revenues?
· How will you manage rapidly changing markets, technologies and costs?
· How will you keep your company competitive?
· Will you use in-house developers or outsource this function?
· How will you provide customer support?
· How will you retain key personnel?
· Are you using any proprietary or exclusive software that will give you a competitive edge?
· How will you protect your intellectual property?
· What additional products or updates to current products are you planning after launch?
After you’ve filled out all the worksheets and executive summary, print them out and you have a business plan. Work with aSCORE mentorto review and refine your plan
An important part of advertising is determining what and how to reach a particular group or target market. There are numerous ways to do this: demographics, psychographics, behavioral and geographic.
Find an advertisement that seems to be directed toward a specific target market. Describe what you perceive to be the targeted market segment. Find two ads for each of the following segmentation variables:
A. Two demographic ads (an ad that is aimed at a particular age group, sex, income level, etc.)
B. Two geographic ads (aimed at a particular part of the country or climate.)
C. Two ads that exemplify a behavioral characteristic (usage rate or benefit received.)
D. One psychographic ad (aimed at a lifestyle orientation.)
Explain in detail why each ad falls into the category that you have chosen. Make sure your responses reflect an adequate explanation of the segmentation variable. Two or three paragraphs per ad should be sufficient. Attach a copy of each ad to the assignment. This will ensure that your response is adequately detailed
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Writing Assignment 2 Parameters and Standards Summary: All religions have places (or spaces) that are considered important for their adherents. Often called “sacred or religious spaces,” these locations can take many forms and serve a variety of functions. They can be structures that are utilized by the faithful in ritual and/or ceremony, shrines to commemorate special places, landmarks of religious significance, or areas of terrain considered important. For this writing, compose an essay in which you explore one of the religious spaces (or places) provided below. Describe the place and its history, explaining why and how the adherents of a particular religion use it. Be sure to pay attention to all the details in the rest of this document before writing. Here are the options from which you will choose only one to explore: • The Western Wall (Judaism) • Rock-Hewn Churches of Lalibela (Christianity) • Al-Masjid an-Nabawi (Islam) • Harmandir Sahib (Sikhism) Quick View Checklist (all of this is discussed in greater depth in the Parameters section that follows): □ Select only one (1) of the sacred spaces listed above as the subject of your essay. □ The sacred space is discussed in terms of history, purpose/meaning, features, and usage. □ The paper structure is that of a standard college essay. □ Research sources are academic, scholarly, or scriptures and doctrines of the religion. □ Include an MLA formatted bibliography of at least 3 sources. □ Quotes are limited to religious scriptures or doctrines only and can be no more than 10% of the paper content. □ Submission is at least 600 words (bibliographies are not a part of the word count). □ Contains appropriate sentence and paragraph formats, proper grammar, and correct spelling and punctuation. □ Demonstrates original writing skills. □ Submission is provided in the Writing Assignment 2 dropbox by the due date posted in the Time Schedule. Parameters: Here are the complete parameters of this research assignment: SACRED SPACE – Select only one (1) of the following sacred spaces to explore: The Western Wall (Judaism), Rock-Hewn Churches of Lalibela (Christianity), Al-Masjid an-Nabawi (Islam), or Harmandir Sahib (Sikhism). CONTENT – You should describe each sacred space in terms of history, purpose, meaning, features, and usage. This conversation should focus on how the sacred space is an example of the religious tradition that utilizes it. For example, think about the follow questions during your research: Why was this structure made? Why is it in this specific spot? Who was responsible for building it? What does the space mean to the people of the religion? Why and how do the adherents of the religion use it? Are there specific activities, props, and/or dietary aspects associated with this space? Are there certain times when this space is utilized? To what extent do the people participate in events at this space? You do not need to address all these questions; rather, the idea here is that you have demonstrated extensive cross-cultural knowledge through a description of the space, its history, its use, and its meaning for the adherents of a particular religious tradition. Deductions of up to 30 points will be made for errors related to the categories of Sacred Space and Content. ACADEMIC WRITING – This paper should be done in a traditional essay format: introduction paragraph, two to three content paragraphs, a conclusion paragraph, and then a bibliography of sources consulted. Additionally, the essay is expected to conform to academic writing standards (i.e., demonstrate the use of proper sentence and paragraph formats, proper grammar, and correct spelling and punctuation). Up to 20 points will be deducted for these errors based upon their frequency and severity. RESEARCH – You are expected to do academic research for this assignment. This is not an opinion paper, it is a research paper. To that end, consult and cite multiple sources (at least 3) to illustrate depth of research. These academic or scholarly sources should be peer-reviewed journal articles or books (library resources), primary sources (sacred literature and official religious documents), or authorized publications of recognized religious organizations. The research sources consulted are to be provided in a Bibliography conforming to the MLA (Modern Language Association) format. For more information about the MLA format visit: https://spcollege.libguides.com/MLA_8th. For useful research information you should see spcollege.libguides.com/world_religions. There will be deductions of up to 10 points for research and citation errors. WORD COUNT – Your submission is required to be a minimum of 600 words, but no more than 1200 words (Bibliographies do not count as a part of the word count). Submissions larger than 1200 words or fewer than 600 words will receive no points. A college paper needs to demonstrate the skill of being thorough, yet concise. ORIGINAL WRITING – Your paper is to demonstrate original writing (see this conversation in the Syllabus). In short, do not use the words of another as this can be considered plagiarism and may result in a failing grade and possible honor code disciplinary action. Additionally, it is unacceptable to submit your own work (in whole or in part) from another class or a previous attempt of REL 2300. For more information, visit https://www.spcollege.edu/current-students/student-affairs/student-right-to-know. QUOTING – Quotes are limited to primary source materials only (such as a verse from sacred literature) and should constitute no more than 10% of the paper content. In other words, quotes can only come from religious scriptures or documents, and should be used sparingly. You need to develop the ability to take the information that you would quote and express it in your own words as this is how to demonstrate understanding. Any quotes will need to have internal documentation done to MLA standards: owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/. Deductions will be assessed based upon the severity of the errors, with the points coming out of the “subject and content” section above. DUE – The essay is due by the date posted in the calendar. Any assignment submitted late for any reason is subject to a 5 point per business day late deduction, up to an assignment maximum of 30 points deducted. After the paper has been graded based on the categories above, the late points will be deducted. SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS – Students are required to submit the paper electronically to the “Writing Assignment 2” dropbox in MyCourses. Submissions to this dropbox are subject to an originality check through TurnItIn, a website that scans papers for signs of plagiarism and issues a report to the student and instructor. Please note that the allowed file types are MS Word, WordPerfect, Postscript, Acrobat PDF, HTML, RTF, and plain text. No other file types are accepted. I will grade and provide a response to you within seven to ten days of the assignment due date.
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Enjoy Please Note-You have come to the most reliable academic writing site that will sort all assignments that that you could be having. We write essays, research papers, term papers, research proposals. Describe the place and its history, explaining why and how the adherents of a particular religion use it
In order to bring current examples of strategic issues and problems into the class, each student will prepare a current event analysis. The analysis should be drawn from material in the business press and must deal with a topic within the last 12 months. The article/material should highlight the strategic issues facing a particular firm or industry and should be directly related to specific topics of this course. Your presentation should include the following points:
1. A very brief review of the key facts of the story.
2. Identification and explanation of the key course concepts, tools, topics that this report relates to.
3. Your analysis/evaluation of the actions or situations with respect to the relevant topic.
4. One question for the class discussion
Each presenter should submit your analysis report by 5 PM of the day before the presentation.
The length of the outline should be one totwo pages. Be sure to attach a link/copy of the article and any other materials from which the outline is derived.
Each presentation should be about 3 minutes. You may be randomly selected to do an oral presentation.
The grading template for the individual case presentation is as below:
Component (total 10%)
Comments
The event is well explained to understand (2%)
The event is relevant to the topic of the week (2%)
Great analysis of the event (2%)
The question is interesting (2%)
The report was submitted by the due (2%)
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Write about a negotiations-related topic. The purpose of this project is to explore one of the topics that has been discussed in this course in more depth. This will allow you to apply the concepts learned in the course and also to demonstrate your understanding of key negotiation topics. For instance, you might decide to describe and analyze a particular real-life negotiation (Middle East peace negotiations or a major merger and acquisition negotiation, for example) or research any topic of particular interest to you, such as cross-cultural negotiation styles, the importance and impact of nonverbal communication, gender differences, or negotiation styles, for example.
The final Portfolio Project should be 6-8 pages in A particular real-life negotiation length. This does not include the required cover page and reference page. A cover page, abstract, in-text citations, and a reference page are all required with your submission. In addition, you need to cite a minimum of five scholarly sources. Your paper must be formatted according to APA Requirements. References A particular real-life negotiation
In this paper, cross-cultural negotiation is considered. Negotiation is an important component of any business transaction. However, culture acts as a barrier to effective negotiation by impeding the communication process. First, negotiation is defined briefly. Then, culture is discussed in the context in which it affects business. Subsequently, the two topics are integratedand discussed in two particular ways. The first involves looking at Hofstede’s five-dimension model of culture and the effect of this model on the negotiation process. Moreover, other issues around culture such as language are assessed, with a view of establishing how the same affect the negotiation process. Finally, the paper sums up with a conclusion that recaps on the main points discussed.
Integrated
Introduction
Business has grown tremendously over the past decades and many organizations now engage in investments and activities that extend beyond the boundaries of their traditional domains of operation. This growth has particularly been precipitated by saturation of the traditional markets, thereby necessitating an expansion into new markets. Moreover, this growth has further been catalyzed by milestone improvements in infrastructure, and drastic advancements in technology, particularly information technology. Such milestones enable organizations to reach new potential markets in record time despite inhibitive geographical barriers. One of the most notable consequences of this increased globalization is an increase in global corporations, whose operations span nearly all continents.
As a consequence of these global corporates, one of the most pertinent issues in today’s dynamically global business world is cross-cultural interactions. Cross-cultural interactions affect business negotiations by their effect on the communication process. Effective communication is an essential ingredient in the negotiation process since for individuals to negotiate, they must first be able to understand what each party has to offer. Consequently, a cross-cultural negotiation makes for an interesting topic of study, owing to the current and future implications that effective cross-cultural negotiation has for businesses.
Understanding Cross-Cultural Negotiation
In order to understand cross-cultural negotiation as a topic, it is important to understand the terms negotiation and culture. Negotiation is a process where two or more parties engage in discussions aimed at reaching a mutually satisfying conclusion involving both parties. This does not however mean that negotiations leads to a mutually satisfying endpoint. However, where this is the outcome, then one can consider the negotiation process a successful one. Hofstede, Jonker, & Verwaart,provide a definition of negotiation as “complex emotional decision-making process aimed at reaching an agreement to exchange goods or services” (2012, p. 83). From this definition, we can interpret the exchanged goods or services as the mutually satisfying conclusion that the negotiation process portends to arrive at. As the parties engage in the negotiation process, there are a lot of offers, counteroffers and concessions involved in the process (Phillips & Gully, 2011) with each party trying to secure the most lucrative outcome.
Negotiation may involve two or more parties that are interested. Moreover, it may also involve more than two parties whereas one of the other parties is not an interested one, but one who facilitates the negotiation process. Facilitation may be in the form of mediation, interpretation or translation.
There are essentially two types of negotiation. These are distributive negotiation and integrative negotiation (Phillips & Gully, 2011). Distributive negotiation is also referred to as competitive or win-lose negotiation (Engle, Elahee, & Tatoglu, 2013) and it involves a loss by one party in order to offset a gain by the other. Integrative negotiation, however, is also referred to as win-win negotiation, where there is no loss occasioned to either of the parties at the conclusion of the negotiation process. Engle, Elahee, & Tatoglu describe this type of negotiation as problem-solving negotiation (2013). Win-win negotiation is consideredbetter than distributive negotiation since at the end of the negotiation process, neither of the parties feel that they have lost.
Having understood negotiation, it is also important to understand the term culture. Culture has to do with the sharing of a set of norms and beliefs. The most basic precept underpinning culture is uniformity (Ismat & Bashir, 2011). This implies that individuals of a particular culture have similarities in their tendencies that are significantly different and distinguishable from those of others of another different culture. The culture of a particular population is a sum of their beliefs rather than a mere outcome of their interactions. It is part of their life, and is usually explicated in their day-to-day interactions. From these interactions with each other as well as with the environment, culture continues to grow and become more advanced and more refined. There are many aspects of culture. However, some of the most basic and most important distinguishing factors of culture include language, values, attitudes, religion, customs and norms (Rugman & Collinson, 2012). These factors form the basis of cultural identity. Usually, they also constitute the point of distinction and the source of conflict.
Culture is an important and highly significant aspect for the success of any organization, especially those operating at an international level. Culture affects businesses in two principal ways. These ways are derived from the two types of cultures affecting business organizations. The first is the culture external to the business while the second is the organizational culture of the particular organization. In the first instance, the organization must find ways of successfully maneuvering the culture of its stakeholders. The second instance however has to do with the organization’s established internal culture and the manner in which this culture will interact with that of other organizations.
For multinational corporations, culture is important to their success……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Write a 3 page paper (not including title and reference pages so a total of 5 pages) in proper APA format. For your paper, please take a look at the video and article below
Pay particular attention to the video and article, as you watch/read, take notes on some of the topics presented that interest you.
Pick three areas of interest from the article or video and discuss why you find it interesting, if you have seen any personal examples of it (i.e., someone who covers their mouth while talking).
Make sure to use two additional resources from APUS online library or internet (Google Scholar is a great source)
Utilize this agenda for 10 hints to help make that paper great.
1. Know the Assignment
Rule #1 – ensure you are following the task. Ensure you comprehend the necessities and desires. To what extent should the paper be? Do you have to incorporate explicit sources? Do you have unfenced of point, or is there a particular brief?
2. Start With A Good Argument
What are you expounding on? What is this paper attempting to demonstrate or appear? Don’t simply type each idea in your mind in quest for that 2000 word tally. Your paper should show an attentive, very much explained contention that arrives at a nuanced resolution.
3. At that point Back It Up – Support Your Argument
Having a solid postulation explanation is central for any great paper. How would you demonstrate your perspective? With proof! Source and source and refer to some more. Essential sources should concentrate on scholarly sources (investigate diaries, papers, books and so on). Auxiliary sources can be increasingly different (magazines, interviews and so forth.). Clearly the kinds of sources required will rely upon the paper and the task. A few Professors require a base number of sources. Ensure you’re continually following your composing brief.
4. Edit and Proofread Again
Grammatical errors ARE DEATH. Poor spelling and sentence structure slip-ups can significantly hurt your last grade. Furthermore, never depend on or trust autocorrect or spelling checkers to get on everything. Check paper rater to know whether your assignment is good. Professionals will review your paper.
“The rule purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of whether on gorilla fighting in Asian.”
The entirety of the above is spelled effectively, but then absolutely off-base. Try not to let this transpire.
5. Let’s assume It In Your Own Words – Don’t Plagiarize
This ought to abandon saying – however don’t be a copycat. Written falsification is an infringement of each school’s scholarly code. Utilize your very own voice and words when you compose. With the measure of assets online it very well may be enticing to simply duplicate and glue. In any case, take every necessary step and never take from different sources. Numerous schools have literary theft checking programming that will get written falsification. It isn’t justified, despite any potential benefits.
6. Keep away from Words You Don’t Know
Extending your jargon is praiseworthy (see what I did there?) however in the event that you don’t generally comprehend the word or expression don’t utilize it in your paper. Try not to want to pepper your paper with your old SAT vocab words. On the off chance that you utilize a word erroneously, it ruins your contention – and educators can see directly through it.
7. Try not to Use These Words
To start with, second, and third are changes that ought to be utilized sparingly and scattered inside sections, instead of to start each passage. Without a doubt, it’s alright to state, “First, Melvin figured out how to chill through the mending forces of hot yoga.” Beyond that, identifying the entirety of your focuses is somewhat essential and abused.
Stay away from good for nothing filler words. Also, precisely, genuinely, and at the same time are not valuable in shaping or demonstrating a contention. Evacuating examples of verbosity will make your language sound cleaner and increasingly refined.
8. Compose and Revise
Congratulations, you completed a first draft. Presently the difficult work begins. Furthermore, in some radiance. Ensure you read through the paper so anyone might hear to yourself. This will assist you with getting significant blunders yet additionally assist you with checking on your contention. Genius TIP you can likewise duplicate and glue your paper into Google interpret and have it perused back to you. Hearing your paper read resoundingly can give you another point of view, and will help with altering.
9. Get Feedback – Don’t Be Afraid to Get Help
Each get essayist has an extraordinary proofreader. Regardless of whether that is somebody to help edit and check for botches, or only somebody to help direct you to a superior spread out contention. Utilize every one of the assets accessible to you. There’s no disgrace in getting scholarly help, and it’s in every case great to have somebody investigate your work before you turn it in.
10. In Conclusion
Ensure your paper leaves a decent impression. The finish of your paper ought to be your mic drop. This is your opportunity to outline your contention and persuade your peruser. So make the most of it.