BTEC Assignment Brief
Qualification BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma in Business
Unit number and title
Unit 1: Exploring Business
Learning aim(s) (For NQF
Learning Aim A & B
only)
Assignment 1: The Stakeholders and Structures of
Assignment title
Businesses
Assessor Michael Cawdrey
Issue date
Hand in deadline
You currently work for a business advisory firm called
Business Edge that offers advice to new and existing
Vocational Scenario or
businesses about their operations. You have been asked by
Context
your manager to produce a series of reports for clients to
use when starting up their businesses.
Task 1 You are required to produce a report that explores the
relationship between a business and their stakeholders. You
must select two contrasting businesses to focus your
research and report on. You are required to structure your
report in the following manner;
Section 1: The Features of Businesses
Within this section, explain the features of two contrasting
businesses. These businesses must have contrasting;
ownership and liability, purpose, sector, scope and/or size.
Begin your report by introducing the two selected
businesses, giving a brief overview of their history, the
products/services they provide and locations in which they
operate.
Following this, discuss the ownership and liability of the two
selected businesses. You should include;
The ownership structure of each business; Private,
e.g. sole trader, partnership, private limited
company, public limited company, cooperative,
limited and unlimited liability. Public, e.g.
government department o not-for-profit, charitable
trust, voluntary.
The overall purpose of each business, e.g. supply of
products or services, difference between for-profit
and not-for-profit businesses.
The sector that the businesses operate in: primary,
secondary, tertiary, quaternary.
Scope of business activities: local, national,
international.
Size: micro – up to nine staff, Small and Medium
Enterprises (SMEs): small – between 10 and 49 staff,
medium – between 50 and 249 staff; large: more
than 250 staff
Section 2: The Influence of Stakeholders
Within this section of your report, explore the different
stakeholders that the two businesses must consider when
trading. You should discuss the following;
Internal Stakeholders (e.g. managers, employees,
owners)
External Stakeholders (e.g. suppliers, lenders,
competitors, debtors, creditors, customers,
government agencies
Communities (local, national, international)
Pressure/Interest Groups
Following this, discuss the influence that stakeholders have
on the two selected business, including;
Shareholder value
Customers as long-term assets
Employee involvement
Corporate social responsibility
Conclude your report by assessing the relationship and level
of communication between the two selected businesses and
their stakeholders. You must support your ideas with
external sources of information such as news articles and
company reports.
Checklist of evidence Professionally written report
required Bibliography of research sources used
Criteria covered by this task:
Unit/Criteria
To achieve the criteria you must show that you are able to:
reference
A.P1 Explain the features of two contrasting businesses.
A.P2 Explain how two contrasting businesses are influenced by stakeholders.
Assess the relationship and communication with stakeholders of two
A.M1
contrasting businesses using independent research.
Task 2 In this second report, continue with your exploration of the
two businesses selected in Task 1. You are required to
include the following areas;
Section 1: The Aims, Objectives and Organisational
Structure of Businesses
Within this section of your report, discuss how the two
selected businesses are structured, you should consider the
2
BTEC Assignment Brief v1.0
BTEC Internal Assessment QDAM January 2015
following;
Type of organisational structure (hierarchical, flat,
matrix, holacratic)
The functional/operational areas of the business
(human resources, research and development, sales,
marketing, purchasing, production/quality, finance,
customer service, IT and administration.
Following this, discuss the aims and objectives of the two
selected businesses. You should include;
The mission statements of both businesses
How the sector being operated within influences the
aims of the business e.g.
- Private: making profit, profit maximisation,
break-even, survival, growth.
- Public: service provision, cost control, value for
money, service quality, meeting government
standards.
- Not-for-Profit: Education, housing, alleviating
poverty, healthcare.
Discuss, with examples, how the organisational structure of
the two businesses allow them to achieve their aims and
objectives. Include an explanation of how the functional
areas of the businesses interrelate and contribute to the
success of the businesses.
Conclude this section of your report by discussing how the
two selected businesses use SMART objectives. Provide
examples of SMART objectives for each business, discussing
the how these objectives contribute to the overall success of
the business.
Section 2: The Reasons Why Businesses are
Successful
To conclude your report, evaluate the reasons for success
for the two selected businesses. You must make conclusions
based on evidence you have gathered through independent
research.
Reasons for success may include;
Making a profit
Meeting aims and objectives
Having clarity of vision
Having innovative products and processes
Checklist of evidence Professionally written report
required Bibliography of sources used
Criteria covered by this task:
Unit/Criteria
To achieve the criteria you must show that you are able to:
reference
Explore the organisation structures, aims and objectives of two
B.P3
contrasting businesses.
3
BTEC Assignment Brief v1.0
BTEC Internal Assessment QDAM January 2015
Analyse how the structures of two contrasting businesses allow each to
B.M2
achieve its aims and objectives.
Evaluate the reasons for the success of two contrasting businesses,
AB.D1
reflecting on evidence gathered.
Sources of information
to support you with www.businessballs.com
this Assignment www.gov.uk
Other assessment N/a
materials attached to
this Assignment Brief
4
BTEC Assignment Brief v1.0
BTEC Internal Assessment QDAM January 2015
