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Assignment front sheet

Qualification Unit number and title

Pearson BTEC Level 5 HND Diploma in

Business Unit 6: Business Decision Making

Student name Assessor name

Emmanuel Adjaho

Date issued Completion date Submitted on

15/10/2014 19/12/2014

Assignment title Efficient Decision Making: The Secret of Successful Business during the Financial

Crisis in the UK

Learning

Outcome

Learning outcome Assessment

Criteria

In this assessment you will have the opportunity

to present evidence that shows you are able to:

Task

no.

Evidence

(Page no)

LO1

Be able to use a

variety of

sources for the

collection of

data, both primary

and0us

secondary

1.1 Create a plan for the collection of primary and

secondary data for a given business problem

1.2 Present the survey methodology and sampling

frame used

1.3 Design a questionnaire for a given business

problem

LO2

Understand a range

of

techniques to

analyse data

effectively for

business

purposes

2.1

Create information for decision making by

summarising data using representative values

2.2

Analyse the results to draw valid conclusions in

a business context

2.3

Analyse data using measures of dispersion to

inform a given business scenario

2.4 Explain how quartiles, percentiles and the

correlation coefficient are used to draw useful

conclusions in a business context

LO3

Be able to produce

information in

appropriate

3.1 Produce graphs using spreadsheets and draw

valid conclusions based on the information

derived

3.2 Create trend lines in spreadsheet graphs to assist

in forecasting for specified business information

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formats for decision

making

in an organisational

context

3.3 Prepare a business presentation using suitable

software and techniques to disseminate

information effectively

3.4 Produce a formal business report

LO4

Be able to use

software generated

information to

make decisions in

an organisation

4.1 Use appropriate information processing tools

4.2 Prepare a project plan for an activity and

determine the critical path

4.3 Use financial tools for decision making.

Learner declaration

I certify that the work submitted for this assignment is my own and research sources are fully acknowledged.

Student signature: Date:

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In addition to the above PASS criteria, this assignment gives you the opportunity to submit evidence in order to achieve the following MERIT and DISTINCTION

grades

Grade Descriptor

Indicative characteristic/s

Contextualisation

M1

Identify and apply strategies to find

appropriate solutions

Effective judgements have been made

Complex problems with more than one variable have been explored

An effective approach to study and research has been applied.

To achieve M1, you will have to:

Identify the primary and secondary data collection techniques adopted for the assigned task.

Relate the data to the specific business problem that you are investigating into (Linked to AC 1.1)

M2

Select / design and apply appropriate

methods / techniques

Relevant theories and techniques have been applied

A range of methods and techniques have been applied

A range of source information has been used

The selection of methods and techniques/sources has been justified

The design of methods/techniques has been justified

Complex information/data has been synthesised and processed

Appropriate learning methods/techniques have been applied.

To achieve M2, you will have to:

Design appropriate research methodology for the relevant work.

Identify what specific research paradigms are used to formulate the available data for the investigation

(Linked to AC 1.2)

M3

Present and communicate appropriate

findings

Communication is appropriate for familiar and

unfamiliar audiences and appropriate media have

been used.

To achieve M3 the work you will need to

Present and communicate appropriate findings based on assigned task and use suitable techniques to report the

information.

Presentation should be well thought and planned and findings should be reported in a way that is

understandable to all stakeholders in the decision

making process regardless of their specialization

(Linked to AC 3.3)

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D1

Use critical reflection to evaluate own work

and justify valid conclusions Conclusions have been arrived at through synthesis of ideas and have been justified

The validity of results has been evaluated using defined criteria

Self-criticism of approach has taken place

Realistic improvements have

To achieve D1 you will have to:

Critically discuss the limitations faced during the data

collection and analysis stages

Comment on the generalizability of the decisions

reached based on the sample data in and across the

industry (Linked to M3 and presentation)

D2

Take responsibility for managing and

organising activities

Autonomy/independence has been demonstrated

Substantial activities, projects or investigations have been planned,

managed and organised

Activities have been managed

The unforeseen has been accommodated

The importance of interdependence has been recognised and achieved.

To achieve D2 you will have to show:

An original project plan with a recent complexity that needs immediate addressing to keep pace with the

competition

Supporting theories for your choice of methodology for the data collection and analysis

Link between the project and other on-going ventures/branches/ departments to demonstrate the

impact on the sales mix.

D3

Demonstrate convergent /lateral / creative

thinking

Ideas have been generated and decisions taken

Self-evaluation has taken place

Convergent and lateral thinking has been applied

Problems have been solved

Innovation and creative through throughout

Receptiveness to new ideas is evident

Effective thinking has taken place in unfamiliar contexts.

To achieve D3, you will have to demonstrate:

Your ability to use various financial and quantitative tools to support your decision making process

Assumptions about the surprises that may take place when the project is being pursued.

Sensitivity analysis for upward and downward turns in the projects lifetime.

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Assignment brief

Unit number and title Unit 6: Business Decision Making Y/601/0578

Qualification Pearson BTEC Level 5 HND Diploma in Business

Start date 20.09.2014

Deadline/Hand-in date 19.12.2014

Assessor

Emmanuel Adjaho

Assignment title Efficient Decision Making: The Secret of Successful Business during

the Financial Crisis in the UK

Purpose of this assignment

The aim of this assignment is to give learners the opportunity to develop techniques for data gathering and

storage, an understanding of the tools available to create and present useful information, in order to make

business decisions

Scenario

You have recently assumed the position of a business development manager at a medium-sized British

company, ABC Ltd. A major part of your role is the responsibility for making appropriate decisions for the

smooth operations of the companys business. And this requires occasional data gathering, analysis and

presentation to your departmental staff, and especially senior management team (SMT) as part of ABC

Ltd.s management information and decision support systems for the organisation.

Your company has invested in decision-making software and ICT applications to support efficient decision-

making, and you are given the following tasks to complete:

Task 1 (LO1: 1.1, 1.2, 1.3)

1.1

As the new business development manager, you have been tasked to expand the ABC Ltd business operations

in the UK. To provide the right information, you need relevant information to be presented to your senior

management team (SMT) to enable them make the right decisions as to whether to expand in these two

countries.

You are required to create a plan for the collection of primary and secondary data for the expansion project.

1.2 Following your plan above, present the survey methodology and sampling frame used in your research.

1.3

Since you taking the role, there was general complaining about the poor level of customer service, and you

noticed this has been having impact on sales figures and forecast profit. You have therefore decided to get to

the bottom of the problem by carrying out a customer survey to enable you address the customers concern.

You have been requested to:

(a) State general rules to observe when designing questionnaire;

(b) Design a questionnaire to help you address the customer service problem within the organisation.

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Task 2 (LO2: 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4)

2.1 Twenty five sales staff from the sales and marketing department of your department took course in

basic Excel spreadsheet. The test at the end of the course and marks obtained by the staff shown in the table

below. The marks were out of 50 and the pass mark was 20 out 50.

12

19

8

21

32

25

34

22

30

20

43

21

16

45

32

27

38

39

21

18

33

11

28

26

27

You have been asked to process this data so that the Marketing Director can make decisions based on the

results. Use representative values to summarise this data and create information to help with the decision

making.

2.2 The Production manager is concerned about the number of rejects computers produced by

ABC Ltd and requested you, as part of management information for decision making, to carry out some data

analysis from the table about number of rejects computer for past 10 weeks.

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17

7

17

22

3

30

28

23

24

19

23

25

24

15

23

16

18

27

27

11

9

21

24

3

22

33

22

13

23

28

28

19

21

24

22

24

29

26

26

22

23

12

20

26

31

8

20

25

27

(a) Construct an ungrouped frequency distribution from the data

(b) Construct a grouped frequency distribution from the data using seven class intervals of equal with.

(c) Analyse the results to draw valid conclusions in a business context

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2.3 The normal distribution curve shows profit for a business in the year 2013.

i. Given that the standard deviation is 1000, calculate the values within three standard deviations of the

mean and analyse data using measures of dispersion to inform this given business scenario

2.4 Explain briefly the importance of quartiles, percentiles and the correlation coefficient and as a tool for

business decision making.

Task 3 (LO3: 3.1, 3.2, 3.3)

3.1

The following sales figures were extracted from ABC Ltd annual accounts from the period 2002-2006. You have been asked to use spreadsheet software technique to draw multiple bar charts and provide comments on the figures provided on the graph. Sales (m)

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

Product X

5

12

15

10

20

Y

8

15

10

15

15

Z

15

10

15

10

25

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 0 8 9 10

Business profits

Thousands {000}

A

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3.2 You are given the following forecast data relating to ABC Ltd monthly sales and delivery cost. You are being asked to establish delivery cost against sales to examine the way in which delivery cost changed with sales revenue by using trend lines graph. This information will assist to establish the relationship between delivery cost and sales revenue in future.

SALES AND DELIVERY COSTS

Months Budgeted

Sales

(000s)

Delivery Cost

July

50

340

August

150 400

September

550 700

October

560 650

November

650 760

December

710 750

January

750 800

February

900 900

March

470 600

April

350 450

May

250 500

June

80 330

3.3 In addition to the above information, you are also provided with the ACTUAL sales figures for the same

periods. You are required to present this information on trends lines graphs to show the relationship between

budget sales, actual sales and delivery costs.

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SALES AND DELIVERY COSTS

Months

Budgeted

Sales

(000s

Delivery Cost

Actual Sales

(000s)

July

50

340

70

August

150 400 120

September

550 700 600

October

560 650 560

November

650 760 600

December

710 750 740

January

750 800 720

February

900 900 800

March

470 600 550

April

350 450 450

May

250 500 240

June

80 330 100

3.4 Produce a formal business report.

Use the above sales and delivery cost information provided in task 3.3 above, and present a brief formal business report to your line manager, Operations and Business Development Director, and identify 4 key points you observed on the graphs or the table. You should also calculate and highlight in your report the arithmetic mean, median and mode for budgeted and actual sales as well as delivery cost.

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Task 4 (LO4: 4.1, 4.2, 4.3)

4.1 (a) I identify, and discuss at least the four qualities of management information should have whether at

operational, tactical or strategic levels for decision-making within an organisation.

(b) Information systems design to support decision making within an organisation can be classified under

operational, tactical and strategic levels. Explain with examples the following information systems, which

are designed to support decision-making at operational, tactical and strategic levels:

i. Transaction processing systems (TPS)

ii. Management Information Systems (MIS)

iii. Decision Support Systems (DSS)

iv. Executive Information Systems (EIS)

4.2 (a) Discuss briefly the use of the following tools used in project management:

i. Critical Path Analysis

ii. Gant Charts

iii. Pert (Project Evaluation Review Techniques) Chart

4.2 (b) The following project data in the dependency table was provided by ABC Ltd IT manager; it relates to

a new ICT project to be undertaken.

Activity Duration (Days)

Preceding Activities

A 4 -

B 7 A

C 7 A

D 6 A

E 2 C

F 5 C

G 9 C

H 6 B, E

J 6 D, F

K 9 H, G, J

You are required to:

(i) To draw the network flow diagram.

(ii) The Critical path and its duration.

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(iii) Draw a Gantt chart to illustrate the project.

4.3 At the beginning of the year 2014, ABC Ltd board of directors are considering making investment

decisions in ONE of the two new products, A, & B to be developed from next year 2015. The Accounts

Department has provided the following data and relevant information to assist you, and using relevant

financial tools, as stated below, to help the board make the right investment decision.

Barclays Bank has agreed to lend ABC Ltd initial investment of 20,000 for a 5-year period for the

development of either Products A or B. The interest rate to be charged on the loan is 8%.

The forecast cash flows for the 5-year period provided by accounts department is as follows:

Products A B

Year 2015 7,000 8,500

2016 8,500 8,900

2017 9,800 9,600

2018 9,500 9,700

2015 15,500 13,500

Calculate:

(a) The Net Present Value (NPV) for products A & B and recommend to the board which product to

invest in.

(b) Internal Rate of Return (IRR) for products A & B and recommend to the board which product to

invest in.

---End of assignment-

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Materials for reading and consulting:

a. Resources:

b. Books:

Word Count

Learners must state the exact number of words they have used on the assignment submission form and comply

with the word count of 3,500 with a margin of +/- 10%. However, please note that the calculations, tables,

bibliography and appendices are excluded from word counts.

Plagiarism and collusion Any act of plagiarism and collusion will be seriously dealt with according to the Edexcel plagiarism policy.

Basically, plagiarism occurs when excerpts, ideas, passages taken from other sources are not properly

acknowledged and referenced both in the body of the text and in reference. It is the learners responsibility to ensure that they understand all Edexcel guidelines with regards to plagiarism and what Edexcel considers to be

an academic offence.

Collusion can be understood as the submission of works produced in collaboration for an assignment based on

the assessment of individual work. It is a severe academic offence to share a learners work with others who submit a part or the whole of it as their own work. The College has mechanisms in place to detect plagiarism

and collusion.

Learners must sign the declaration on the front of the assignment submission form.

Submission Guidance and Policies for Edexcel Students

This is an individual assignment. All parts of the assignment are required to be presented in a professional

format, MS Word processed with full citation and references following Harvard system. Brit College strongly

advises the learners to follow the guidance below:

Brit College prefers Times New Roman 12 or Arial 11 in the body of the text.

An assignment cover sheet and a receipt must be attached along with each submitted assignment.

All assignments must have clear headings and sub-headings where necessary.

Make sure you state the word count on the title page.

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Students will receive the feedback form and guidance from the lecturer to improve in the areas of their

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Please note that a resubmitted assignment will earn a maximum pass grade should it sufficiently meet

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A fine may also apply in case of resubmission.

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Please note that extensions are not allowed due to your inability to organize your work.

Should there be any extra-ordinary circumstances; the College should be made aware of this in writing.

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The college preserves the right not to accept or mark the assignment in case you failed to inform it in

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