You will be required to undertake a detailed evaluation of an existing SME and then design and growth/development strategy for the business. You will present your findings in a report and make clear and costed recommendations
Students will need to research a small, or medium sized business. You should try to determine the
following during
the research:
The nature of the entrepreneur behind the venture.
The SME start-up processes.
The business concept and any sources of competitive advantage
The current level of demand and the competitive environment
The growth and development of the business to date
The challenges of managing and running the business
The SMEs current growth and development strategy
Any government support measures that may be available to help the business overcome the
challenges faced
The extent to which, if any, the business has considered social or sustainability goals and
whether there is opportunity here for the business
structure for the report:
Title page: leave it empty
Contents page
Introduction: this should include some background on the SME and entrepreneur(s). You may
wish to include details such as the type of business, size, how long it has been trading, etc.
Students should also give a brief account here of the research process (focusing primarily on
the secondary data collection). The aims and objectives of the report, or the terms of reference,
should be clearly spelled out and should obviously relate to the assessment brief above; with the
9 components.
Findings: here the results of the research need to be presented. This section should follow
along the lines of the aims and objectives highlighted in the introduction. The purpose in this
section is to set out the elements covered as part of the research set out above. This should
include the nature of the entrepreneur, the start-up process, the business concept and
competitive advantage, the current level of demand the competitive environment, the growth
and development of the business to date, the challenges of managing and running the SME,
and your assessment of current growth and development strategy. Students should also
highlight appropriate government support schemes that may be available to the business. In
addition students should consider the extent to which the business has developed social or
sustainability goals and whether there is opportunity to do so. Students are also expected to
consistently support their work with reference to appropriate sources and course materials (cited
in accordance with the Harvard referencing convention).
Conclusions: this should follow logically on from the findings and provide a concise summary of
them. No new information should be presented here.
Recommendations: here students should present their proposals for the future growth and
development of their SMEs and these should be costed, compelling and persuasive. Work
should be supported with reference to appropriate sources.
References and Bibliography: you should be discerning about your sources of information
and ensure that all references conform to the Harvard convention
