Unit 6: Managing a Successful Business Project

Assignment Brief 1

Student Name/ ID Number

Unit 6: Managing a Successful Business
Unit Number and Title
Project
Academic Year 2022-2023
Unit Tutor
Assignment Title Project Report
Issue Date
Submission Date 15/07/2022
Submission format
The submission is in the form of an individual written report. This should be written in a
course, formal business style using 1.5 lines spacing and font size 12. You are required
to make use of headings, paragraphs and subsections as appropriate, and all work
must be supported with research and referenced using the Harvard referencing
system. Please also provide a bibliography using the Harvard referencing system. Any
suspicions regarding plagiarism will lead to failure in results of the assignment. The
recommended word limit is 3,000 words, although you will not be penalized for
exceeding the total word limit.
Unit Learning Outcomes
 LO3 Implement the Project Management Plan (PMP) to communicate results from the
research and make conclusions from the evidence of findings
 LO4 Reflect on value gained from implementing the project and the project
management process.

Transferable skills and competencies developed

 Iterative practice in art and design
 Presentation skills
 Reflective practice

Vocational scenario
** This assignment guidance can be customized by the tutor to meet specific needs

Theme: Business recovery.

In the long term, businesses need to be prepared to face the unexpected, many fail
because they are unable to recover from unexpected events such as political
disruption, natural disasters, and pandemics. Business continuity planning allows
businesses to maintain or quickly resume functions in the event of a major disruption.
Essentially, business continuity is like having a back-up plan that outlines procedures
and instructions for staff members in the event of a disaster.

The recent COVID-19 global pandemic dramatically impacted industry across all sectors,
inevitably affecting disproportionately those businesses that exist to support social
interactions and placing strains on both supply and demand. As the pandemic
continues to affect industry: lock-down periods, and international and local restrictions
on movement have led to a huge drop in revenues and a situation of emergency due to
financial difficulties:

 Dramatically lower revenues.

 Operational and financial challenges, including issues with liquidity, debt
repayments or how to develop “smart capex” on assets to maintain tariffs
and/or competitive advantage.
 Uncertainty about the timing and speed of the recovery depending on the arrival
of treatments for the virus in order to return to “normal”

To meet the challenges posed by unexpected events and disasters, businesses around
the world need to react in agile and decisive ways. This involves businesses identifying
capabilities and needs to strengthen, refactor, reopen, rehire, re-budget, resupply, by
creating long term plans that allow for scaling up. An “after-action review” to collect
data and insights on lessons learned, and then using these to prioritise actions to
enhance business value today, businesses will build strategic resilience for tomorrow.
Businesses that take these steps now will be well-placed to capitalise more effectively
on the opportunities during business recovery, and to continue winning in their
marketplaces as greater certainty and stability return.

Role:

After you – the assistant for the Board of Director, submitted the Project Management
Plan (PMP), you are tasked with implementing the project, write a report and reflect
about the whole experience.
Assignment activity and guidance
This is your task: you must produce a comprehensive management plan for your
project; it should cover the followings:
1. Conduct the research as planned in assignment 1 including primary research
and secondary research.
2. Present and discuss your research findings and data in the form of a report.
3. Present data to draw valid and meaningful conclusions and recommendations
 from data analysis.
4. Justify conclusions and recommendations to meet the stated project
objectives
5. Reflect on the value of undertaking the business project and evaluate the
project management process to meet stated objectives and own learning and
performance. Use the following questions:
1. What did you aim to achieve through your work?
2. Did your work succeed in achieving your aims? How do you know?
Specifically, please outline any evaluation and assessment undertaken.
3. What aspects of your development process do you think worked well and
why? Evaluate all aspects of the project (e.g. initial research, concept
development, development process, presentation, etc.) from a range of
perspectives.
4. What problems emerged during the project and how were they tackled?
Was there timely identification of issues and resolution during the project
process?
5. What did you learn from undertaking the project?
6. What are strengths and weaknesses of your process that you have
identified?
7. How could your process improve for the future?
6. Critically reflect the project management process in supporting stated
objectives and own learning. (e.g. What problems emerged during the project
and how were they tackled? Was there timely identification of issues and
resolution during the project process?).
7. Keep weekly logbooks and attach them to the management plan. The weekly
logbook template can be found in the FLM website.

Recommended Resources

Please note that the resources listed are examples for you to use as a starting point in
your research – the list is not definitive.
Online articles and insights for Business Recovery Theme.

1. Learning from the impacts of COVID-19 and leading the recovery. Available at:
https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/issues/crisis-solutions/covid-19.html
2. Create a resilient business model in the face of covid-19. Available at:
https://www.gartner.com/smarterwithgartner/create-a-resilient-business-model-
in-the-face-of-covid-19
3. Small Business Roadmap for recovery and beyond. Available at:
https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/au/Documents/covid-19/au-
 deloitte-small-business-roadmap-for-recovery-and-beyond-workbook.pdf
4. Business Continuity and Recovery Planning. Available at:
https://www.undrr.org/publication/covid-19-small-business-continuity-and-
recovery-planning-toolkit
5. Economic Development Collaborative. Available at:
https://edcollaborative.com/blog/how-to-prepare-for-business-recovery-post-
covid-19/
6. Business continuity in the COVID-19 emergency: A framework of actions
undertaken by world-leading companies. Available at:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0007681321000227

Useful resources for Project Management:

1. What is Project Management? Available at: What is project management? | APM

2. Project Management links. Available at: Project Management Skills from
MindTools.com
3. Demystifying the 5 phases of project management. Available at: Demystifying
the 5 Phases of Project Management | Smartsheet
4. A range of project management resources available in the resource library on
HN Global. Available at:
https://hnglobal.highernationals.com/subjects/business/resource-library

Textbooks

SAUNDERS, M., LEWIS, P. and THORNHILL, A. (2019) Research Methods for Business
Students. 8th Ed. Harlow: Pearson.

Project Management Institute. (2021). A guide to the Project Management Body of

Knowledge (PMBOK guide) 7th Ed. Project Management Institute.

Reference text

MAYLOR, H. (2021) Project Management. 5th Ed. Harlow: Pearson.

Learning Outcomes and Assessment Criteria

Pass Merit Distinction

LO3 Implement the Project Management Plan (PMP) LO3 and LO4
to communicate results from the research and make
conclusions from the evidence of findings.

P6 Conduct a business
project as stated within
the PMP and M4 Justify conclusions
communicate findings. and recommendations
drawn from data analysis
P7 Present data to draw
and findings to meet the D3 Critically reflect on
valid and meaningful
stated project objectives. the findings from the
conclusions and
recommendations from research and the project

data analysis. management process in

supporting stated
LO4 Reflect on value gained from implementing the objectives and own
project and the project management process. learning

P8 Reflect on the value of

undertaking the business M5 Evaluate the project
management process to meet
project to meet stated
stated objectives and support
objectives and own
own learning and
learning and performance.
performance.