Critical Business Research

Critical Business Research
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Task Description
This is an individual assignment. Students have the choice of
submitting a written case study or a video case study.
A written case study should be 1200 to 1500 words, not
including references, diagrams, tables, any appendices, etc.
A video case study should be between four to five minutes in
length.
The objective of Assessment 1 is to build students’ research,
critical thinking, business evaluation and entrepreneurial
skills. While researching the case study, students are
encouraged to explore and learn about different business
models, including the type of business models that are most
associated with success and high levels of profitability. By
learning about a number of businesses and their business
models, including their competitive environment, and writing a
deep case description of a particular innovative business
venture, students will not only learn how to identify the most
important aspects of a successful business model but also
how to effectively explain winning business models to others.
Although this is an individual assignment, students should
feel free to work with others taking this unit. For instance,
students may want to collaborate with others when making a
video. This allows students to learn much more potentially
about practical video production than they would have done if
making the video themselves.
However, it should be noted that the assignment work
submitted should be wholly the student’s own work. No two
students in the unit should do the same case study.
Before commencing, students must confirm with their lecturer
that the organisation they plan to write about is permissible
and that no other student doing the unit is doing the same
case study. The organisation that is the focus of the case
should also be a relatively new, innovative business venture,
which means it was most likely established in the last five
years.
The case study should include the following information:
The business context and background, including the
industry, location, size of the business, market
conditions, customer segments, demand conditions,
competitors, founders’ background, etc.
Comprehensive description of the business, including
the product(s) and service(s) that the business makes
available to customers and its business model.
Your evaluation of the strategy and future prospects
of the organisation (students can apply SWOT, PEST,
ratio or other analytical techniques to derive and
justify their evaluation).
Summary of the key points, including a discussion of
the one aspect of the business model you think is the
most important for the management of the
organisation to keep in mind to ensure the ongoing
success of the organisation.