Week 1 Discussion
“Company Description”
Throughout this course, you will develop a series of written
papers / projects that you will later combine into a complete business plan for
a Non-Alcoholic Beverage company. For this discussion, you must first review
the “NAB Company Portfolio”. The mentioned
portfolio contains the company parameters and details you must follow when
developing your company. Provide the following information to set the
foundation for your non-alcoholic beverage (NAB) business plan.
Please respond to the following:
Create your NAB company name and explain its significance.
Develop your company’s Mission Statement and provide a
rationale for its components.
Week 2 Discussion
“Growing Honest Tea” Please respond to the following:
Review the following documents:
Honest Tea’s business plan for 1999 (PDF).
A strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT)
analysis based on Honest Teas’ business plan (PDF).
Suppose Honest Tea has hired you as a consultant to evaluate
the completeness of their strategy for future growth. Base your evaluation on
the provided SWOT analysis. Provide a rationale for your response.
Week 3 Discussion
“Don’t Miss the Mark” Please respond to the following:
Watch the following videos:
There are two (2) very different target markets and sales
forces discussed in the videos. Identify some of the key differences between
the organizations’ sales forces and target markets. Explain the value of
developing a sales force based on the target market. Use examples from each
video to support your response.
Week 4 Discussion
“A Rotten Apple?”
Please respond to the following:
Watch the following 2013 Bloomberg’s video:
Based on the video, fast forward to current day and give
your opinion on whether or not Apple’s product strategy should change given its
current rate of success and potential competing companies (i.e. Samsung, etc.)
operating within their market. Provide a rationale for your response.
For reference, review the supplemental article titled,
“Competitve Strategy”, which discusses Michael Porter’s Five Forces.
Week 5 Discussion
“Smooth Operator” Please respond to the following:
Elaborate your own definition of production operations
management, including manufacturing and service operations. Then, assess the
implication of technology in your definition. Lastly, appraise the impact of
your previous responses to your Operations, Technology, and Management Plan
development.
Week 6 Discussion
“Thirsty for the Triple Bottom Line” Please respond to the following:
Watch the following videos:
Evaluate Seth Goldman’s leadership performance on the
concept of the “Triple Bottom Line” using at least two (2) examples from both
resources (at least four [4] total examples) to support your evaluation.
Week 7 Discussion: The Financials Attachment
Important Notes
This exercise is considered an academic writing exercise.
Quality of response, grammar, and punctuation are considered in your overall
grade.
This exercise does not require the use of APA format or a
cover page.
This exercise uses the “Business Plan Financials” MS Excel
template. Use the “Business Plan Financials Guide” to assist you in completing
the required worksheets. (Both documents are also available in the Course
Required Files in Week 1.)
It is recommended that students construct their
deliverable(s) using MS Word / MS Excel and then attach the document(s) to the
discussion thread submission area in Blackboard.
Use the “NAB Company Portfolio” (see: Course Required Files
in Week 1) for reference. Provide the following information below.
For year one of your NAB company’s Business Plan, complete
the Income Statement, Cash Flow Projections, and Balance Sheet sections from
the “Business Plan Financials” MS Excel template (see: Course Required Files in
Week 1). Note: Attach the MS Excel worksheet to the discussion thread.
Hints: Your marketing costs should already be included as
you created your Marketing Budget in Week 4 and those will be filled in
automatically.
Hints: Use the figures you arrived at in the operations and
technology sections of your plan to help fill out your financial forms.
Hints: Work through the worksheets in order. The excel
worksheets will automatically enter the numbers into your Income Statement.
Develop the following financial sections of your NAB
company’s Business Plan. Note: Attach the MS Word document to the discussion
thread.
Sources and use of funds
Plan assumptions
Break-even analysis
Provide constructive feedback to at least one (1)
classmate’s post.
Week 8 Discussion
“Mission Possible”
Please respond to the following:
Describe how an organization’s mission statement and values
are supported by specific aspects in the marketing, operations, technology,
management, and social responsibility sections of a business plan.
In a real life situation, feedback from your business plan
development team can be extremely valuable. Explain the value of receiving
feedback from your ‘team’ (your instructor and fellow students) on the various
sections of your non-alcoholic beverage (NAB) business plan while you work
towards making necessary revisions.
Week 9 Discussion
“Pitch Perfect”
Please respond to the following:
Watch the following Lynda.com videos from the video serious
Giving Your Elevetor Pitch with Todd Dewett:
“Benefits to an Elevator Pitch” (2 min 01 s)
“Making an Initial connection” (2 min 43 s)
“Structuring your Pitch” (3 min 57 s)
Then, rank the following factors in order of importance when
developing an elevator speech, and provide a rationale for your response.
Speech is confident, not arrogant
Use of positive and compelling words
Short in duration
General to the industry in question
Specific to the company’s mission and company’s values
Week 10 Discussion
“I Have a Plan”
Please respond to the following:
Per the text, planning isn’t just what you do to go into
business; it’s what you have to do to stay in business. Speculate on the
planning mechanism(s) that you believe would work well for your NAB business if
implemented properly. Provide a rationale for your response.
Week 11 Discussion
“Stronger Than Yesterday” Please respond to the following:
Suppose you were invited to join a team in charge of
developing an organization’s Business Plan. Explain the strengths that you
personally would bring to the team. Provide a rationale for your response.
