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TEXARKANA VOLUNTEER CENTER SITUATION ANALYSIS
Project Objective:
The report is to be a situation analysis for
the Texarkana Volunteer Center (http://www.txkvolctr.org).
This report should maintain focus on the
marketing environment and should be suitable as the
first part of a larger strategic or business plan.
The attached outline should also provide some guidance,
but strict adherence to this outline is not required if
the presentation is appropriate for our client.
This is not a creative writing assignment; it is a technical
writing assignment.
Length is expected to be no more than about 25
double spaced pages of text (exclusive of appendices).
All reports must have some sort of introduction that
explains the nature, focus, and objective of the report to
the reader.
The body of all reports must in some way
address opportunities and threats in the
environment and address the strengths and
weaknesses of our client.
All reports
must also end with some sort of recommendation.
That is, the report should lead to some speculation
regarding the outlook for our client organization,
the direction which should be set for the organization,
and possibly some suggestions regarding how it is that
the organization could go about heading in this direction.
Although some sort of recommendation is required,
most of the text of the report will be associated
with a scan and assessment of the current
environment.
Note that a report that ends with a
negative outlook can be as valuable as a report that
ends with a positive outlook.
The Assignment:
- Students will work in teams of four or five members.
An individual evaluation form is attached,
but it is expected that each team member will
receive the same grade on the entire finished product.
This evaluation is primarily for the professor's on-going
quest to understand the problems and issues associated with
team work. However, the professor does reserve the option
to differentiate in assignment of grades if the evaluations
provide enough indication that such action is warranted.
This has been an extremely rare occurrence in the past.
- This is a real world assignment.
The initial draft of the written report will be
scored in large part on the professor's perception of the
usefulness and acceptability of the report to the real
client within the framework that this is to be a situation
analysis.
A common problem is that students tend to include
irrelevant and inappropriate material in a report to show
evidence that some particular concept has been learned in
the course.
Note that a minimal requirement is that
reports be relatively free of problems of grammar, spelling,
typing, and such.
Do not fabricate material for the sake of
creating a report. Again, remember that this is not a
creative writing assignment but is a technical writing
assignment.
- The exact format of the finished report is of the team's
own choosing.
Although a suggested format for a situation
analysis is attached for guidance, it is not necessary that
this be followed exactly.
HOWEVER, the attached outline does
cover the major issues that are expected to be important to
our client; whatever format that you choose must be
appropriate for this assignment.
Other published formats
commonly called "situation analysis,"
"market analysis,"
"environmental analysis," "business plan,"
and such might or might not be appropriate and acceptable.
No two finished
reports would be the same, and it is unlikely that a report
could ever be constructed to exactly fit an imposed outline.
- ALL facts in the report must be substantiated except
those that are obviously common knowledge.
This necessarily
requires that the source of information be cited (footnoted).
Watch for statements that lend themselves to red-ink comments
such as, "says who" or "I disagree."
For example, if a statement
is made that the local economy is likely to get better or
worse over the next five years, then the report MUST
indicate the source of this expectation.
Additionally,
related questions associated with substantiating this
statement might have to be answered, e.g., Who expects
this? How did this person or organization or publication
arrive at this expectation? How many others agree with
this expectation? How many others disagree? If the
speculation is your own, be sure that it is substantiated
with charts, graphs, tables, or figures that indicate the
source of the information contained therein.
- You are required to cite all sources of information.
A less obtrusive method of citing in a business report is to
list the references at the end of the report in a numbered
list: List all sources at the end of the report in
alphabetical order. Number them in this order, starting the
list with number 1.
Whenever a statement is made that must
reference that source, indicate the source by a number in
parentheses after the statement, like this (12).
Note that
the first time in a report that a source is referenced, the
number is not necessarily (1), the second is not necessarily
(2), etc.
Also note that the same source may appear multiple
times in the same report, like this (23).
If several sources
support the same statement, they should all be included like
this (4, 7, 12, 15); a greater number of sources often
strengthens an assertion.
If several statements are made
in the same paragraph that use the same source, list that
source only once after all such statements within a single
paragraph.
That is, do not source this (8) and this again
(8) for two separate issues that are included in the same
statement.
- You must submit a folder with your report which
contains a copy of any documents that you reference.
For
example, if you reference demographic statistics which
were obtained from the CIA web site, then you must
include a printed copy (clearly identified) of the web
page which contained that information.
- As a point of reference, a typical environmental report
for a large established industry is 25-30 double-spaced
pages in length.
However, the practical usefulness of
an environmental report is not necessarily a function
of its weight.
Different people have different writing
styles; different perspectives on the organization might
require more or less detail in analysis.
Different time
constraints and working environments also would necessarily
yield more or less detail.
There are times when no stone
should be left unturned; this is not one of those times.
Neatness (defined as good grammar, punctuation, spelling,
etc.), however, is always important in business writing.
A minimal requirement of the report is that it be free of
blemishes in grammar, spelling, and such.
You are
asked to submit a report that is no more than 25
pages in length, but you are not asked to necessarily
reach that limit.
- The written report must be double spaced with one inch
margins.
Length will vary by the style of font that is
used. Since the professor wears bifocals, Courier 12-point
is the preferred font.
Left justification with a ragged
right edge is preferred for readability.
Please do not
use any sort of report folders; use plain white paper
with a single staple in the top left corner.
- The written report is due in class on 27 JUL.
It will be marked and scored by the professor and returned
in a day or two.
You are expected to use the feedback given to you in the report
to write a better report for submission to the client and to
make a better presentation.
Your presentation will be made in a dress rehearsal to the class
on 5 AUG; the dress rehearsal is merely for feedback and will
not be scored.
You will then make a formal presentation to the class client
in the last class on 7 AUG, and this will be scored for a grade.
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