Posted: April 7th, 2015

Finance part of a Executive Memorandum/GB320 Integrated Business Project – Spring 2015, Boston Lobsters Project

Finance part of a Executive Memorandum/GB320 Integrated Business Project – Spring 2015, Boston Lobsters Project

Boston Lobsters
Assignment 3 – Executive Memorandum

General Instructions

•    3 Copies, 1 for each professor (black and white – unless color is absolutely necessary)
o    Corner clip (no staple)
o    No binders, folders, or fancy covers
•    1 Professional copy for the client (use of color and spiral binding is strongly recommended) – this should be handed to the client company during the day of your section’s presentations.

Cover Page – Include Project Title, Section Number, Team number, and list of all team members

Executive Memorandum Outline (22 pages maximum plus attachments, cover, table of contents, etc.)

•    Cover Page
•    Table of Contents
•    Section I. Executive Summary (1 page)
•    Section II. Overview of the Boston Lobsters (1 page)
•    Section III. Opportunity Analysis (3 pages)
•    Section IV. Marketing Plan [Marketing Assignment Guidelines]
•    Section V. Operations Plan [Operations Assignment Guidelines]
•    Section VI. Financial Plan [Finance Assignment Guidelines]
•    Works Cited (no page limit)
•    Appendix (no page limit)

Works Cited- See Proper Citation Method on Blackboard – no page limit.

Appendix – See Guidance for Attachments on Blackboard – no page limit.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS AND WRITING GUIDELINES

Sections, Titles and Order:
All required major sections referenced above (I through VII) must be included in your plan in the required order.

Font: 11 pt type; simple and attractive to read style (Arial or Times New Roman) with exactly 1.5 spacing.   All pages must be numbered.

Writing Tips
Write in third or fourth person using a mixture of the “company name”, a third person pronoun, or passive voice.

Objectivity & Persuasiveness
•    Be objective: Avoid exaggeration and self-aggrandizement.
•    Persuasiveness is derived from content, thoroughness and presentation, not the adjectives describing your concept or management team.

Organization & Structure
•    Outline and organize logically; transition and flow.
•    Simple, straightforward sentences and paragraphs
•    Use headings and bullets liberally
•    Write it for a layperson
•    Avoid technical jargon and big words
•    Don’t assume the reader has industry or market knowledge

Remember that this is a persuasive document. Cite multiple sources of information, and don’t rely solely on your own experience to support any claim. Every claim should have support from more than one source. Be sure to interrelate sources not simply dump data into the plan. Use parenthetical citations that link to your works cited.

Graphics
Introduce and discuss any graphics used to highlight the key points for the reader. Don’t assume the reader will readily identify key points in graphics or tables.

Page appearance
A certain amount of white space on the page is good. Remember, this is not a novel that the reader will devour cover-to-cover. Make it easy for the reader to find information. Use headers and bulleted points, and refrain from having full pages of nothing but text.

Persuasion
Be sure your most persuasive points are clearly understood in every section of the feasibility analysis. Every section should begin with a one-paragraph summary of the most persuasive points in the section.

Proofread: Proof, spell check, grammar check, proof . . . . . then proof again. Typos and grammatical errors may result in point deductions.

Section I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY (1 page maximum)

Although section one appears first in the plan, it is written last so you can include the plan’s salient features. It should also be written by the entire group collectively. Your audience is executives at Boston Lobsters as well as possible sources of funding considering supporting the client company’s growth. The executive summary must be a high-impact one page document that stands on its own. Often, “investors” use the executive summary as a proxy for whether they should continue to read the entire business plan — so a poorly written executive summary will most likely translate to a quick rejection of your idea.
Here are the key components that should be part of your executive summary (but don’t use these headings):
A. The Opportunity
You need to make it clear that there is a big, important issue (current or emerging) that you are going to solve, or opportunity you are going to seize. In this context you are establishing your value proposition—you are going to increase revenues, reduce costs, expand reach, eliminate inefficiency, increase effectiveness, whatever. Do not confuse your statement of the problem with the size of the opportunity (see below). Spend a few more sentences providing the basic market dynamics—how many people or companies, how many dollars, how fast the growth, and what is driving the market for this opportunity.
B. Your Competitive Advantage
No matter what you might think, you have competition. Most likely, there is a near competitor, or a direct competitor already out there or that is about to emerge. So, understand what your real, sustainable competitive advantage is, and state it clearly. Here is where you can articulate your unique benefits and advantages. Believe it or not, in most cases, you should be able to make this point in one or two sentences.
C. The Solution
What are your proposed marketing, operations and financial approaches to sustain the proposed 5-year business model you are proposing?
Identify at least three keys to success for this project. Don’t use generic statements here: these keys should be specific, objective and measureable and must be tied to the marketing, operations, and finance strategies
The key here is to select the most important issues (ie., marketing, operations, and finance) and provide a preview that is compelling so that the audience wants to read the rest of your document. Remember, this summary is the doorway to the rest of the plan. Get it right or your target readers will go no further. Keep it short.
Remember that the outline above should not be applied rigidly or religiously. There is no template that fits all companies. You need to think through what points are most important in your particular case, what points are irrelevant, what points need emphasis, and what points require no elaboration.
Section II. OVERVIEW: Boston Lobsters
Briefly describe Boston Lobsters. Use the data gleaned from your secondary analysis to provide the reader of the current state of the Boston Lobsters itself and its potential growth opportunities.  Be sure to include any recent developments.
Section III.  OPPORTUNITY ANALYSIS

The “industry” or opportunity analysis is not intended to provide specific detail into the Boston Lobsters’ marketing, operations, and finances but rather to provide a basic understanding of the environment and how all such collaborations exist and thrive. While it is important to understand the past and present, it is also equally important to understand the future.

First, identify the relevant trends that impact the market for sports and entertainment services in general and the factors driving those trends (as discussed in your secondary research). Discuss any additional trends that are specific to the Boston Lobsters.  Follow this by describing the Boston Lobsters vis-à-vis its competition, i.e. provide a short competitive analysis as done previously. Next discuss the results from the primary research performed, i.e. the focus group and web survey. What were the significant “take-aways” from this research? Finally, use the primary and secondary data discussed in this section to introduce your project strategies.

INDIVIDUAL SECTIONS:
•    See outlines on MK, OM and FI sections as provided by your individual professors
WORKS CITED

•    Use APA formatting

APPENDIX

•    You will have one appendix that will contain all of your charts, graphs, tables, exhibits and other supporting documents. Please number consecutively for easy reference throughout your executive memorandum.