Develop an operational plan
Submission details
| Student’s name | Student no. | ||
| Assessor’s name | |||
| Assessment site | |||
| Assessment date/s | |||
The assessment task is due on the date as told to you by your assessor. Any changes to this arrangement must be approved in writing by your assessor.
Submit this document with any required evidence/proofs attached. See specifications/details below for details.
Performance objective
You will show skills and knowledge required to develop operational plans in consultation/discussion with key stakeholders/interested parties/others
Assessment description
In response to a simulated/pretend business scenario/plan, you will research resource/items requirements and develop (or amend) an operational plan in consultation/discussion with related / concerned stakeholders/people. As a part of the development of your plan, you will set performance indicators/goals, plan for other possibilities and get approval in accordance/in line with organisational requirements.
Procedure
- Read the BBQfun scenario information provided in Appendix 1 and the BBQ fun simulated/pretend business documentation provided by your assessor.
- Write a brief summary of the BBQfun operational environment that includes:
- an outline of the legislative and regulatory (government and industry rules) context/situation that is relevant to BBQ fun’s operational plan (available on pages 14–16)
- an outline of the BBQfun policies and procedures that directly relate to the operational plan
- an explanation of the role of an operational plan in achieving the successful implementation/setup of the e-commerce [1] strategy
- a discussion of your intention to either develop a new operational plan for BBQfun, or to amend the existing operational plan; support your discussion with reference to different methods and models for developing operational plans – such as methods for setting goals, outlining actions, identifying risk and monitoring performance.
- Research resource/items requirements for implementation of e-commerce strategy.
- Write a set of questions to:
- Sales and Marketing Manager – ask about human resourcing/ staffing requirements
- Technology consultant – ask about physical resourcing requirements related to development of e-commerce website. i.e IT related equipment.
- Develop an action plan for the implementation of the e-commerce strategy. In your plan include:
- physical resourcing (all major steps for resourcing, including procurement/purchasing of different types of resources, but not to the detail of including all procurement steps for each resource type)
- human resourcing (all major steps, e.g. recruiting, training, communication)
- timelines and milestones for implementing the e-commerce strategy
- consultation and communication (ensure all affected staff are informed and engagement is encouraged for all stakeholders).
An example action plan template is provided in Appendix 2.
Ensure plans adhere/meet to organisational requirements set out in the scenario/situation and in relevant policies and procedures.
- Develop performance indicators [2] for operational and financial targets and amend or develop existing operational plans to include KPIs and financial targets related to e-commerce strategy. Develop a balanced scorecard [3] for an e-commerce customer service representative including three KPIs and associated targets.
Note: The current budget and operational plan for BBQfun is located in Appendix 1. A balanced scorecard template is located in Appendix 3.
- Identify at least three risks to the implementation/setting up of the operational plan and develop a contingency/backup plan for each risk (you may use the contingency plan template provided in Appendix 4). Risks must include:
- Develop a proposal for resourcing/items – equipment, staff etc to be presented for approval to the Operations General Manager. Include in your proposal:
- description of proposed implementation of resourcing
- breakdown of costs
- benefits to organisation
- a list of different approaches to developing key performance indicators
- risks to organisation by not implementing
- outline of identified risks and contingency/backup planning
- description of sources of information used to develop proposal (use internet research on technical aspects/features of e-commerce and importance to retailers; use consultation, use company financial projections).
- Submit a portfolio/selection of your implementation/setup documents as outlined in the specifications below. Keep copies of your work for use in Assessment Tasks 2
and 3 and for your own records.
Specifications
- submit a planning portfolio, including:
- a summary of the operational environment of BBQfun
- action plan
- performance indicators for operational and financial targets (in the new/amended operational plan)
- balanced scorecard for e-commerce customer service representative
- proposal for resourcing.
- Letters/ emails to the Sales & Marketing Manager.
Your assessor will be looking for:
- reading and writing skills to use workplace information to write an operational plan that meets organisational requirements
- communication skills to present information in a clear and professional manner.
- planning and organisational skills to take responsibility for developing and implementing a plan to achieve operational goals including resource needs, strategy development, sequencing activities, identification of risks and impact on operational performance and generating contingency/backup plans
- interaction/contact skills to communicate and empathise/understanding with stakeholders/interested parties during consultation processes and collaborate/work together to achieve business outcomes
- numeracy (mathematical) skills to work with an existing budget/financial plan to allocate/share and manage financial resources
- knowledge of models and methods for operational plans
- knowledge of the relationship between an operational plan and organisational objectives [6]
- knowledge of budgeting/costing processes
- knowledge of legislation and regulations (government and industry rules) relevant/connected to the operational plan of the organisation
- knowledge of intellectual property (IP) rights and responsibilities relevant to the operational plan
- knowledge of using KPIs to develop business objectives.
Appendix 1: Scenario – e-Commerce strategy
Background to scenario
The BBQfun Board of Directors and the CEO have decided to implement an e-commerce strategy to maintain or increase market share and revenue and satisfy customer needs in line with company strategic directions.
You have been hired as an external consultant to manage operational planning activities for BBQfun’s e-commerce strategy.
Under the strategy, BBQfun would offer all products in an online store. Stock could be stored at no extra cost at existing stores. Customers would cover delivery costs.
Currently, BBQfun has a website, but this website lacks e-commerce functionality. The website would need to be redeveloped to incorporate/include this functionality in line with relevant technical specifications. Existing infrastructure/setup such as office and store configurations/settings, would need to be adapted/changed to suit to the new strategy. Additionally, assets/properties-company possessions, such as delivery vehicles would need to be acquired. New staff would need to be recruited and existing staff retrained or informed of the e-commerce strategy and associated operational and performance targets.
All resourcing must be acquired and operations undertaken in accordance/in line with relevant internal and external standards – legislation and codes of practice [7]; intellectual property (IP) rights and responsibilities; and organisational policies and procedures.
Preliminary/initial–starting approval has been given to amend/adjust existing budget and operational planning to incorporate/include this strategy.
It is now 30 June 2013 and e-commerce operations are expected to be underway/in the process in one year and three months, by 1 October 2014.
Scenario task
As the external consultant, you will need to determine physical and human resourcing requirements. Review organisational documentation and undertake preliminary/initial research on e-commerce. Consult with the following personnel to determine resourcing needs:
- Sales and Marketing Manager
- technology consultant.
You will then need to plan physical and human resourcing and establish associated performance measures and targets. You may consider the Management Team of BBQfun, including team leaders in warehouses, to be resources for the implementation. Use description of their roles in operational planning when assigning responsibilities.
Finally, you will need to propose resourcing and associated operational changes to the Operations General Manager, who will, in consultation with the CEO and Board of Directors, provide approval.
Resourcing and budget: e-Commerce strategy
After consulting with the management team at BBQfun, you determine:
- eight online sales and customer service people will be needed to manage increased online customers
- since stores are overstaffed, four of the required customer service staff could be sourced from existing employees at the two stores
- no current staff have any online customer service skills
- management would like to develop people through re-training rather than hire new staff to handle online sales
- six delivery trucks needed to enable distribution
- e-commerce website will take 50 days to develop
- three forklifts are needed
- four additional warehouse workers are needed
- six additional drivers are needed
- office space will need to be reconfigured.
The following operational costs are associated with e-commerce business strategy.
| Costs: e-Commerce strategy (initial investment) | |
| Resources | Costs |
| Plant and equipment | ● Delivery trucks $50,000 x 6 = $300,000
● Forklifts $10,000 x 3 = $30,000 |
| Promotional costs | $300,000 |
| Website developers | $100,000 |
| Staff training | Online customer service training $3,000 per staff member = $24,000 |
| Recruitment costs | $30,000 |
| Management change leadership training for store managers and team leaders | $3,000 each = 1 Brisbane store manager, 4 Brisbane team leaders, 1 Gold Coast store manager and 3 Gold Coast team leaders x $3,000 = $27,000 |
| Warehouse and office reconfiguration | $50,000 |
| Total | $861,000 |
In addition, ongoing staff costs will be incurred/spent
The expected life of the initial investment is expected to be three years. (i.e how long for will the starting money be spent for)
| Costs: e-Commerce strategy (ongoing) | |
| Resources | Costs |
| Additional staff: | (At $40,000 year average annual salary) |
| · 4 online staff | 4 x $40,000 ($160,000) per year for 3 years = $480,000 |
| · 4 warehouse staff | 4 x $40,000 ($160,000) per year for 3 years = $480,000 |
| · 6 delivery drivers | 6 x $40,000 = $240,000 per year for 3 years = $720,000 |
| Total | $1,680,000 |
The following expenses should be incurred in the 2014 financial year and be included in associated financial targets for spending: (these costs will also happen in 2014)
| Additional staff | $400,000 |
| Additional marketing | $300,000 |
| Additional training | $51,000 |
| Recruitment | $30,000 |
Benefits to business
According to financial projection prepared by the CFO, the business expects the proposed strategy to be profitable over three years. (i.e that the company will have start making some money (profits) in 3 years time)
| Profitability index over three years | |||||||||||||||||||||||
PI>1 indicates project should be undertaken
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The expected additional profit for 2014 would be $200,000. This figure should be added to targets.
Risks to implementation
After consulting with stakeholders at BBQfun, you determine:
- medium risk of poor online sales
- high risk of customer service quality problems for online customers leading to a breach/break of consumer law
- high risk of staff misunderstanding changes and considering online sales as threat to jobs (i.e staff think that by having a website, they may be replaced and may lose their jobs)
- medium risk of not being able to recruit fully trained online staff
- low risk of loss of IP[8] relating to confidential information contained within the e-commerce strategy when employees leave the organisation
- medium risk of loss of IP ownership if a relationship with the website developer contract ceases (i.e – if work stops with the website developer then there is no real worry of any company IP loss)
- low level risk of not complying with WHS legislation through lack of risk assessment conducted on potential musculoskeletal disorders resulting from poor customer service workstation design (i.e company is not too worried about the WHS issues as it is limited to furniture and workplace design)
- medium risk of wastage due to overstocking product in anticipation of increased online sales.(risk levels are not too high if there is loss/wastage of product)
All additional costs associated with contingency planning will be approved in accordance with BBQfun policies and procedures. (i.e any backup plans will be in line with company policies rules and regulations)
[1] E-commerce – commercial transactions conducted electronically on the Internet
[2] Performance indicator or key performance indicator (KPI) is a type of performance measurement. KPIs evaluate the success of an organization or of a particular activity in which it engages.
[3] The balanced scorecard is a strategic planning and management system that is used extensively in business and industry, government, and nonprofit organizations worldwide to align business activities to the vision and strategy of the organization, improve internal and external communications, and monitor organization
[4] Intellectual Property (IP) is the intangible/vague – unseen property that is the result of creativity, such as patents, copyrights, etc
[5] Compliance – the term compliance describes the ability to act according to an order, set of rules or request
[6] Organizational objectives are short-term and medium-term goals that an organization seeks to accomplish
[7] A Code of Practice – is a practical guide to achieve the standards of health and safety required under the model Work Health and Safety (WHS) Act and model WHS Regulations. Codes of Practice provide duty holders with guidance on effective ways to manage work health and safety risks.
[8] Intellectual Property (IP) is the intangible/vague – unseen property that is the result of creativity, such as patents, copyrights, etc
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