PYP CPW4 Week 4 and 5 – Assignment - Writing Long Reports
This is a major assignment as part of this unit. It is not easy and requires:-
1. A review of all materials presented and studied in this unit
2. Focus and concentration
3. Discussion
4. Research
5. Planning and drafting
6. Rewriting to final report stage
7. Solid English business writing showing a grasp of grammar, sentence and paragraph structure
8. Referencing using Harvard system
9. A total absence of plagiarism
10. A good understanding of the target audience before you start writing and the type of tone that is needed
11. Writing in the third person
12. Adherence to the structure set in the Exemplar Report
This assignment will occupy Week 4 and 5 of this unit and much of it will be done in the allocated session time. HOWEVER, it is strongly recommended you give it attention and effort between the 2 weeks and submit and questions, issues, problems or clarification to me in that time so we can try for completion at the end of Week 5.
IMPORTANT: I will need to see a first draft in Word before you progress to finalising this assignment.
SCENARIO FOR THE LONG REPORT ASSIGNMENT
Brown and Yummy Pty Ltd is a small scale, family owned chocolate manufacturer with a factory and warehouse in Adelaide and 3 shops in the metropolitan area. Business has been good with turnover of approximately $9millon per annum yielding a profit of about 10% per annum.
Mr and Mrs Black, now in their 70’s founded Brown and Yummy in 1970 manufacturing chocolates for charity organisations to sell and then in 1975 opened their first shop. Gradually they consolidated and expanded production, warehousing and shops to what they have at the moment. Gradually they brought their son Jack Black and daughter Jill Black in to the company and now Jack is Operations Manager and Jill is Marketing Manager. Mr Black Snr is CEO and Chair of the Dark and Yummy Board and Mrs Black also sits on the Board. Mr Black is not a great fan of things like the internet but Mrs Black has through her grandson Joey discovered Facebook and stays in touch with her Bridge Club friends and social calendar. She thinks Facebook is great. Dark and Yummy has a very basic and “still” website that in effect is just a chocolates catalogue which shows what people can but when they walk into their shops.
Dark and Yummy has a range of chocolate types, shapes and packaging and recently at the instigation of Jill they developed a range of low sugar chocolates they are proving successful with growing sales figures rising from zero to 15% of all sales from the 3 shops in just 6 months. At Jack’s golf club the members have for some time been pestering him to make up gift and promotional hampers for business clients and high end special events and he has even done this for 5 of his mates recently with very good feedback.
These 2 potential growth initiatives were tabled at the last Dark and Yummy board meeting and where pushed by both Jack and Jill but Mr Black is hesitant to mess around and believes in the saying, “If it ain’t broke why fix it?”
But two problems are starting to raise their heads.
1. The warehouse is getting old and proving too small and some ingredients that were delivered by suppliers have on occasions been left outside by the delivery and have been spoiled and their own delivery trucks that take Dark and Yummy to the 3 shops are also old and unreliable. The warehouse functioning is supported by a phone and order system and stock control is managed through an excel spread sheet with is emailed back and forth to the head office. Any expansion in production and sales of any new products could mean a major outlay in a new factory and warehouse.
2. The three shops are leased from Mr Con Savrapopouolos who has sent Mr Black notification by email that at the end of the current lease period in 12 months time he will be putting up all the shop rents by 20% which will dramatically increase dark and Yummies costs and east into the profits.
You are the consultant for Mind Hunters IT Business Solutions and Jack and Jill Black have approached you to:
1. Research and report on strategies for containing costs in their operations in the face of growing demand and sales with a focus on introducing new IT solutions as part of operations management.
2. Provide preliminary advice on strategies to increase sales using the internet and in particular if the idea of corporate and business hampers could be viable, if and how they work in the current market place.
3. Provide a “mud map” of a possible redesign of the Dark and Yummy website with showing features, rough costing of development, hosting, support and maintenance.
Your report is likely to be tabled at the next Dark and Yummy board meeting.