INTRODUCTION
For this task, you will create a report on the performance of the company from your completed Marketplace business simulation referenced in Task 1.
Note: This task should not be attempted until you have passed Task 1.
SCENARIO
As a leader in your business, you are responsible for reporting to other stakeholders about the performance of your business during its first six quarters. Your report will provide a detailed overview of the performance of the business. It should provide a data-driven analysis of your business decisions and the outcomes of those decisions.
REQUIREMENTS
Your submission must be your original work. No more than a combined total of 30% of the submission and no more than a 10% match to any one individual source can be directly quoted or closely paraphrased from sources, even if cited correctly. The originality report that is provided when you submit your task can be used as a guide.
You must use the rubric to direct the creation of your submission because it provides detailed criteria that will be used to evaluate your work. Each requirement below may be evaluated by more than one rubric aspect. The rubric aspect titles may contain hyperlinks to relevant portions of the course.
A. Upload the final (i.e., covering Quarters 1–6) income statement and final (i.e., covering Quarters 1–6) balance sheet in two separate unaltered spreadsheets exported from the Marketplace business simulation with the verification details included in each.
Note: The correct income statement and balance sheet can be accessed using the “Final Income Statement” and “Final Balance Sheet” web links. You must be in Quarter 7 to view the final income statement and final balance sheet, which include data for Quarters 1–6. Click on the “Export” icon in the upper right-hand portion of the appropriate page to download each spreadsheet. The verification details will be contained within each spreadsheet that you export from the simulation in a tab titled “Verification Details.”
B. Using the attached “Business Performance Report” template, prepare a written report (suggested length of 7–10 pages) in which you assess the performance of your simulated business based on facts from the simulation; your performance report should include five sections in which you do the following:
- Describe your business briefly, including information about the locations of sales outlets, the manufacturing process, and the product you produce.
- Select three different topics from the following list, and for each selected topic identify a related business decision that was important to the performance of your simulated business:
• marketing (advertising and internet marketing)
• store expenses and sales force
• pricing (including rebates)
• research and development
• capacity shortfalls or excess capacity
• use of loans and cash
Note: It is possible that a decision may be identified as relating to more than one of the selected topics. This is acceptable if the decision is clearly relevant to each associated topic and is subjected to a separate and distinct explanation (in part B2a) for each topic. In addition, the discussion for this section must be supported by information from the spreadsheets located in B2b.a. Explain why you made each selected business decision identified in part B2 and the impact the decision(s) had on the three topics selected in part B2. Each of the three topics must be supported by at least one explained business decision.
b. Support your explanation in part B2a with relevant facts about your business, including at least one reference to relevant information from the final income statement or final balance sheet for each of the three topics selected in part B2. Use the following information to guide your choice of supporting facts:
• For decisions related to marketing, store expenses and sales force, pricing, and research and development, cite the Gross Profit and/or Expenses portion of the income statement.
• For decisions related to capacity shortfalls or excess capacity, cite the Long-Term Assets portion of the balance sheet.
• For decisions related to use of loans and cash, cite the Debt and/or Cash portion of the balance sheet, and/or the Expenses and Profitability of the income statement.
- Conduct a SWOT analysis of your business in the simulation by doing the following:
a. Identify one strength, one weakness, one opportunity, and one threat, using the four-square diagram in the attached “Business Performance Report” template.
b. Justify your choice of each strength, weakness, opportunity, and threat from part B3a based on information from your business.
- Analyze the competitive position of your company in the marketplace by doing the following:
a. Incorporate three strategic graphs from the “Market” section of the strategic graphs in the final quarter (i.e., Quarter 7) of the simulation into your report.
Note: Refer to the supporting document “Accessing Strategic Graphs” and the “Marketplace Simulations (General)” web link for information about accessing these graphs. You must be in Quarter 7 of the simulation to access the final strategic graphs, which cover Quarters 1–6.
b. Analyze how specific events and decisions in your simulation led to the outcomes shown in each of the three strategic graphs from part B4a.
- Provide recommendations for the future by doing the following:
a. Suggest two SMART goals for your simulated business for the next one to three quarters.
b. Explain why each goal from part B5a was suggested, including how each goal addresses specific needs of the business.
C. Acknowledge sources, using in-text citations and references, for content that is quoted, paraphrased, or summarized.
D. Demonstrate professional communication in the content and presentation of your submission.
WEB LINKS
Final Income Statement
Use this link to access your final (i.e., covering Quarters 1–6) income statement. Download this income statement.
Final Balance Sheet
Use this link to access your final (i.e., covering Quarters 1–6) balance sheet. Download this balance sheet.
Marketplace Simulations (General)
Use this link to sign in on the main page of your Marketplace simulation. You can use this link to find your strategic graphs.
SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS
Accessing Strategic Graphs.docx
Business Performance Report Template.docx
RUBRIC
A:FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
NOT EVIDENT
The complete final income statement and balance sheet (i.e., covering Quarters 1–6) are not provided in a spreadsheet with a verification link.
APPROACHING COMPETENCE
Not applicable.
COMPETENT
The complete final income statement and balance sheet (i.e., covering Quarters 1–6) are provided in a spreadsheet with a verification link.
B1:BUSINESS OVERVIEW
NOT EVIDENT
The submission does not describe the business or its product.
APPROACHING COMPETENCE
The submission provides an inaccurate description of the business or its product, or the description is missing information about sales outlet locations or the manufacturing process.
COMPETENT
The submission provides an accurate description of the business and its product, including information about sales outlet locations and the manufacturing process.
B2:BUSINESS DECISIONS
NOT EVIDENT
The submission does not identify business decision(s) from the simulation related to any of the topics on the given list.
APPROACHING COMPETENCE
The submission identifies business decision(s) from the simulation related to fewer than 3 of the topics on the given list.
COMPETENT
The submission identifies business decision(s) from the simulation related to at least 3 of the topics on the given list.
B2A:REASONING AND OUTCOMES
NOT EVIDENT
The submission does not explain why each business decision from part B2 was made and does not explain the impact of the decision(s) on the simulated business. Or 1 or more topics included in the explanation do not match the topics selected in part B2.
APPROACHING COMPETENCE
The submission explains why each business decision from part B2 was made but does not explain the impact of the decision(s) on the performance of the simulated business in each of the 3 topics selected in part B2.
COMPETENT
The submission explains the reason for each business decision from part B2 and explains the impact that the decision(s) had on the performance of the simulated business for each of the 3 topics selected in part B2.
B2B:RELEVANT DATA
NOT EVIDENT
The submission does not provide any supporting facts for the explanation in part B2a.
APPROACHING COMPETENCE
The submission provides some support for the explanation in part B2a, but 1 or more of the supporting facts are not clear or relevant to the business decision(s) or topics selected in part B2. Or the explanation for 1 or more of the 3 topics selected in part B2 is not supported by at least 1 fact from an appropriate financial statement.
COMPETENT
The submission provides clear, relevant support for the explanation in part B2a and references at least 1 fact for each of the 3 business decisions identified in part B2 from an appropriate financial statement.
B3A:SWOT ANALYSIS
NOT EVIDENT
The four-square diagram in the attached “Business Performance Report” template is incomplete.
APPROACHING COMPETENCE
Not applicable.
COMPETENT
The four-square diagram in the attached “Business Performance Report” template is complete with 1 strength, 1 weakness, 1 opportunity, and 1 threat for the simulated business.
B3B:SWOT JUSTIFICATION
NOT EVIDENT
A justification for each strength, weakness, opportunity, and threat is not provided.
APPROACHING COMPETENCE
The justification for 1 or more of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, or threats is illogical or is not based on the performance of the business in the simulation.
COMPETENT
The justification logically supports the choice of each strength, weakness, opportunity, and threat based on the performance of the business in the simulation.
B4A:STRATEGIC GRAPHS
NOT EVIDENT
The submission does not include 3 strategic graphs from the Market section in the final quarter (i.e., Quarter 7) of the simulation.
APPROACHING COMPETENCE
Not applicable.
COMPETENT
The submission includes 3 strategic graphs from the Market section in the final quarter (i.e., Quarter 7) of the simulation.
B4B:COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS
NOT EVIDENT
An analysis of how events or decisions in the simulation led to the outcomes shown in each graph is not provided. Or 1 or more provided graphs are not from the Market section in the final quarter (i.e., Quarter 7) of the simulation.
APPROACHING COMPETENCE
The analysis of how events or decisions in the simulation led to the outcomes shown in each graph is unclear, implausible, or limited in detail. Or 1 or more provided graphs are not from the Market section in the final quarter (i.e., Quarter 7) of the simulation.
COMPETENT
The analysis of how events and decisions in the simulation led to the outcomes shown in each strategic graph is clear, plausible, and thorough.
B5A:SMART GOALS
NOT EVIDENT
The submission does not suggest 2 goals for the business.
APPROACHING COMPETENCE
The submission suggests 2 goals, but 1 or both goals are incorrectly formulated as SMART goals or are not relevant to the business in the simulation.
COMPETENT
The submission suggests 2 properly constructed SMART goals that are clearly relevant to the business in the simulation.
B5B:EXPLANATION OF SMART GOALS
NOT EVIDENT
The submission does not provide an explanation of why each SMART goal was suggested. Or 1 or more goals are incorrectly formulated as SMART goals.
APPROACHING COMPETENCE
The submission explains why each SMART goal was suggested, but it is unclear how each SMART goal logically addresses specific needs of the business. Or 1 or more goals are incorrectly formulated as SMART goals.
COMPETENT
The submission explains why each SMART goal was suggested and clearly shows how each SMART goal logically addresses specific needs of the business.
C:SOURCES
NOT EVIDENT
The submission does not include both in-text citations and a reference list for sources that are quoted, paraphrased, or summarized.
APPROACHING COMPETENCE
The submission includes in-text citations for sources that are quoted, paraphrased, or summarized and a reference list; however, the citations or reference list is incomplete or inaccurate.
COMPETENT
The submission includes in-text citations for sources that are properly quoted, paraphrased, or summarized and a reference list that accurately identifies the author, date, title, and source location as available.
D:PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION
NOT EVIDENT
Content is unstructured, is disjointed, or contains pervasive errors in mechanics, usage, or grammar. Vocabulary or tone is unprofessional or distracts from the topic.
APPROACHING COMPETENCE
Content is poorly organized, is difficult to follow, or contains errors in mechanics, usage, or grammar that cause confusion. Terminology is misused or ineffective.
COMPETENT
Content reflects attention to detail, is organized, and focuses on the main ideas as prescribed in the task or chosen by the candidate. Terminology is pertinent, is used correctly, and effectively conveys the intended meaning. Mechanics, usage, and grammar promote accurate interpretation and understanding.
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