BUSINESS POLICY

TERM PROJECT (Summer 2015)

Prof. F. A. Fareedy
BUSINESS POLICY IS COURSE WITH VAST DIMENSIONS. IT COVERS ALL AREAS OF
BUSINESS FROM HEAD TO TOE. THERE ARE THREE MAIN BROAD COMPONENTS
OF ANY BUSINESS. THAT IS, MANAGEMENT, MARKETING AND FINANCE. ANY
BUSINESS ACTIVITY TAKEN BY ANY ORGANIZATION CAN BE DIVIDED INTO ( AS
SET OR SUB-SET ) OF THESE THREE BROAD CATEGORIES. THATS IS WHY
BUSINESS POLICY IS CALLED AS MOTHER OF ALL COURSES. THEREFORE ANY
SUBJECT YOU HAVE EVER STUDIED WILL PLAYS SOME ROLE IN THIS COURSE.
The purpose of Business Policy Term Project is to do a complete ANALYSIS of the
firm selected as it exists today and then to propose and/or develop and
formulate a new strategy for the future growth and expansion of this firm. Our
assumption is the basic capitalism model: that is Superior Financial performance
& Growth and Expansion. Your final Term Project Report is done by a pair 2
students and due on Monday 29th by 6.00 pm. The following is the basic outline
of your term project report:
1. Introduction: This portion gives an overview of the firm. What is our
business, the company history, its products and services, and the most
important thing; it identifies mission, vision, and objective statements
including the current industry structure and the positioning of your firm.
This information is usually obtained through their website or published
annual reports or any other internal company sources.
2. Current operations: This portion looks at all level of productions,
procurement, supply chain, distribution, sales and marketing , human
resources and management structure, research and development, current
planning, strategy and resource allocations etc. etc.. Actually you can
break this chapter into many parts ( of management, marketing and
finance areas) depending upon the nature and type of business and
industry and some competitors analysis.
3. Financial analysis: all firms have a common goal in capitalism. SUPERIOR
FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE. This portion analyzes all aspect of financial data
for the past 3 to 5 years. You will include balance sheets, income statements
and cash flow statements analyses of the firm. You will calculate all
necessary key financial ratios for audit, evaluations and controls. You may
compare financial results of your firm with its two major competitors.

INDUSTRY AND OR COMPETITOR ANALYSIS IS AN INTEGRAL

PART OF YOUR PROJECT.

4. After you have completed the above review and have gathered
substantial information and have done the current analyses of the
firms ( SHOW ME THIS in Folder-1 and 2 ) then you are ready to
embark on the real work:
5. SWOT Analysis: You should be able to identify at least, 10 strengths, 1o
weaknesses, 10 opportunities, and 10 threats. You have to justify as why

you think these items are important for your firm. This is generally done
by rigorous analysis of the industry and company you have selected.
6. External Factor Analysis Summary (EFAS): From the SWOT Analysis,
you would need to develop a table of EFAS in which you will look at factors
affecting the industry and the firm (such as political, social, legal,
economic, technological etc). This requires general knowledge and brain
storming about these factors which are related to your company and
discarding some factors which are less important (by process of
elimination).
7. Internal Factor Analysis Summary (IFAS): This usually requires many
visits to the firm (called field work and you have to submit the hand
written reports of these visits in a folder) and talking to many managers to
do marketing analysis, production analysis, HRM analysis, financial ratio
analysis etc. This portion is the major work where your analytical
capabilities are challenged.
8. Strategic Factor Analysis Summary (SFAS): From the EFAS and IFAS,
you will formulate SFAS that will provide you the basic input for the
development and formulation of new strategy of the firm.
9. Formulation of New Business Strategy: It includes writing new
mission, vision, and objective statements for the firm. It may include new
suggested organizational structure and how to implement change in the
current operations and how the evaluation and control system will be
instituted. YOY WILL TRY TO FORMULATE A NEW BUSINESS STRATEGY FOR
YOUR FIRM BY UTILIZING THE VARIOUS MODELS YOU HAVE STUDIED FROM
YOUR TEXT BOOK. AS PART OF YOUR NEW STRATEGY YOU MUST LAUNCH A
NEW PRODUCT OR SERVICE FOR YOUR FIRM OR EXPLORE OR DEVELOP
NEW MARKET FOR YOUR FIRM, OR ANYTHING ELSE YOU MAY THINK OF, AS
HOW YOUR FIRM CAN EXPAND AND GROW IN THE FUTURE.
10.Summary and conclusion:
11.Annexure and attachments:
The above is simply guidelines to prepare your term project report. But you have
the freedom to do your work and present your report as you please. Just make
sure, it fulfills the project requirements. You can include in this some
Management Model(s), such as Porters competitive advantage model or Porters
value chain model or McKinseys 7 S Model or any other that you may consider
appropriate. You can also include a new business plan for launching a new
product or service for the firm as a part of your new strategy. All the exhibits,
questionnaires or any other information can be included in your report as
annexure to support your new strategy formulation, implementation and control
process.

PLAGIARISM:

BASIC PROBLEMS ALL PROFESSORS AT LSE HAVE FACED ARE

RELATED TO PLAGIARISM OF TERM PROJECTS OR RESEARCH PROJECTS.
STUDENT CONSIDERS THIS AS HIS/HER RIGHT TO CUT, COPY, PASTE, AND
PLAGIARIZE, USING EACH OTHER REPORTS, USING HIS OWN PREVIOUS PROJECT
REPORTS IN OTHER SUBJECTS OR TAKING HIS FRIENDS OR SENIORS REPORTS.
ALL OF THIS IS PIRACY, THIEVERY, DECEPTION AND FRAUD. IF PROVEN, AN

INSTRUCTOR MAY GIVE YOU AN F IN THE COURSE OR HE MAY BRING YOU TO

THE DC FOR THE SEPERATION OF THE STUDENTS FROM THE MBA PROGRAM. In
advanced countries, the penalty for plagiarism is immediate termination from
the university.

USUALLY PLAGIARISM, CUT, COPY, PASTE, USING PREVIOUS PROJECT REPORTS,

DOING OUT OF THE HAT REPORTS WITHOUT VISITS TO THE FIRM AND RIGOROUS
RESEARCH WORK AT THE FIRM ARE DISCOVERED AFTER THE GRADES HAVE BEEN
SUBMITTED. AND IT HAPPENS BECAUSE SOME STUDENT OR GROUP OF
STUDENTS WILL SQUEAL ON THEIR FELLOW STUDENTS BECAUSE OF THE FINAL
GRADE DISPUTES. THE INSTRUCTORS DO NOT KNOW THIS PRIOR TO FINAL
GRADING. THEREFORE, INSTRUCTORS HAVE THE RIGHT TO REVIEW THE
REPORTS AND IF FOUND GUILTY CAN GIVE YOU F IN YOUR COURSE. THE
INSTRUCTOR HAS THE RIGHT TO ASK DC TO TERMINATE YOU FROM THE MBA
PROGRAM.

HOW NOT TO PLAGIARIZE? The best way is to find a ROLE MODEL

publication such as a text book, or an Article published in a
reputed journal and just follow referencing done in one role
model. Do not mix it with other types or use your own brain, i.e.
invent your own method of referencing. Please I do not teach
this, so do not ask me about it. Thank you.
Identify all references from where the material was taken. Play safe and do not
take any chances. The following sample referencing is role model is from your BP
text book.
1. Srinivasan, R., 2005, Strategic Management: The Indian Context, Prentice Hall,
New Delhi, pp. 93-95.
2. Porter, M.E., 1985, Competitive Advantage, the Free Press, New York, pp. 482512.
3. Porter, M.E., winter 1986, Changing Patterns of International Competition,
California Management Review, p. 12.
4. Pine, B.J., 1993, Mass Customization: The new frontier in business competition,
Harvard Business School Press, Boston.
5. World Bank. (2005). Islamic Republic of Pakistan, country policy and
institutional assessment. Washington DC: World Bank.
6. Source: M.L. Patterson, Lessons from the Assembly Line, Journal of Business
Strategy, May-June, 1993, p. 43.
7. Haadiah Qaiser, 2010, WiTribe Pakistan: Business Policy Term Project, Lahore
School of Economics, p. 48.
8. Anam Javed, Azka Munir, 2010, Analysis of non-performing loans: balance
sheet analysis, Lahore School of Economics, pp. 37-38.

9. http://share.sweska.net/files/BCG_Matrix.png
10. ibid.
11. Carroll refers to discretionary responsibilities as philanthropic responsibilities,
in A.B. Carroll, The Pyramid of Corporate Social Responsibility: Toward the moral
management of organizational stakeholders, Business Horizons, July-August
1991, pp. 89-90
FINAL WORD: YOU MUST SUBMIT FOLDERS OF YOUR SCAP OR
ROUGHWORK WITH VISITS/INTERVIEWS IN THE FIRM TO PROVE THE
ORIGINALITY OF YOUR WORK. I WILL ACCEPT REPORTS WHICH ARE
THICK AS LONG AS THEY ARE NOT PLAGIARIZED WORK BUT TRY TO KEEP
IT LESS THAN 80 PAGES PLUS ANNEXURES. IF FOUND GUILTY OF
PLAGIARISM, YOU MAY GET AN F IN BUSINESS POLICY COURSE OR I
MAY RECOMMEND THAT THE STUDENT IS SEPARATED FROM THE MBA
PROGRAM.