Qualification

Unit Number and Title

In addition to the above Pass Criteria, this assignment gives you opportunity to submit evidence in order to achieve the following MERIT and DISTINCTION grades

Contextualisation

Effective judgements are made about the business,

To achieve M1:

including its objectives, environment, effectiveness and

management and staff skills. These judgements are made

(Tasks 1 and 2)

based on reasoned analysis of the business and its staff.

To achieve M2:

Recommendations for improvement are clearly set out, cover a range of relevant factors and are developed from the analyses of the business and its staff.

(Tasks 1 and 2)

The written assignment is in an appropriate academic report format, i.e. in impersonal academic language and

To achieve M3:

well structured, with contents page, introduction and conclusion. The work is neatly and professionally

presented, maintaining the highest academic and

The work has been checked for spelling errors. A range of sources of information is used. This is shown

professional standard.

by clear on-page citations and a bibliography, in the Harvard format, of at least ten sources for the whole

Business Health Check assignment.

(Tasks 1 and 2)

All tasks are submitted on time.

Indicative characteristic/s

Effective judgements have been made.

Appropriate learning methods / techniques have been applied

The appropriate structure and approach has been used

Grade Descriptor

M1 Identify and apply strategies to find appropriate solutions

M2 Select/design and apply appropriate methods/techniques

M3 Present and communicate
appropriate findings

In addition to the above Pass Criteria, this assignment gives you opportunity to submit evidence in order to achieve the following MERIT and DISTINCTION grades

Contextualisation

Conclusions are summative, well-justified and demonstrate

To achieve D1:

deep evaluative and strategic thinking based on though

importance of different factors to the success of the

(Tasks 1 and 2)

investigation of the business and awareness of the relative

business.

independent research and study throughout this Business

To achieve D2:

Health Check assignment, so ideas in the reports are well-

standard. The student has regularly attended (80%) and developed, clear and logical, demonstrating independent The whole assignment has been completed to a high contributed to class sessions. thinking.

The student has demonstrated an effective approach to

(Tasks 1 and 2)

Recommendations for the future development of the

To achieve D3:

consideration of different options, their suitability, feasibility business and its staff are realistic and made after and acceptability.

(Tasks 1 and 2)

Indicative characteristic/s

Conclusions have been arrived at through synthesis of ideas and have been justified

Activities have been managed.

Ideas have been generated and decisions taken

Grade Descriptor

evaluate own work and justify D1 Use critical reflection to valid conclusion

D2 Take responsibility for managing and organising
activities

convergent/lateral/creative
D3 Demonstrate
thinking

Purpose of the assignment

This purpose of this assignment is for you to carry out a business health check to help you gain greater understanding of travel and tourism businesses, including their foci, planning and human resource management. Thus you should use this assignment to build on learning not only from this unit but also from other related units.

Evidence Required

Task 1 – Individual written report with citations and bibliography in the Harvard Referencing Format. Task 2 – Individual written report with citations and bibliography in the Harvard Referencing Format.

Scenario

Imagine you are a business consultant and have been approached by a travel or tourism organisation which has asked you to review its performance and suggest areas for future improvement. You have been asked to produce your report in two parts – the first focusses on the business as a whole and the second on the staff and their contribution to the business.

Task 1: Travel / Tourism Business Analysis and Planning (LO1, LO2: 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 2.1, 2.2 and M1, M2, M3, D1, D2, D3)

Select an existing business / organisation which operates in the travel or tourism sector (either one you are familiar with or a well-known business / organisation that you can obtain sufficient data for), prepare a report on its current position and make recommendations as to how its performance could be improved upon.

The findings from task 1 should be submitted in a written report with an introduction at the beginning and a conclusion at the end. The suggested word length for this report is 2,000 – 3,000 words, excluding any appendices. Include a bibliography of all sources used in the Harvard Referencing Format, showing use of at least ten sources. Excellent bibliographies show use of high quality valid sources, e.g. academic journals. Make sure you write your name on your report and number all the pages.

The analytical report should be structured as follows:

1. Introduction, which includes a short description of the selected travel or tourism business.
2. Analysis of the objectives of the case study business. A good analysis will consider how well theserelate to the stated mission, vision, goals, priorities, etc. of the business
3. SWOT and PESTLE analysis of the business. Good analyses will show your ability to make reasonedjudgements about internal environment factors (e.g. trading status, management skills, policies, stakeholders, financial performance, staff resources, location, problems and ability to change) and external environment factors (i.e. political, economic, social, technological, legislation and environmental factors) Excellent analyses are well justified.
4. Explanation of the different factors which impact on the business, based on the SWOT and PESTLE analyses. Good explanations will also consider the market environment (e.g. customers, customer loyalty, quality management, marketing methods, competitors and competitive advantage) in addition to the external and internal environment. Excellent explanations will demonstrate thorough awareness of the relative importance of the different factors to the success of the business.
5. Review of the effectiveness of the business. A good review will include aspects such as the product/services, marketing, sales, finance and overall business performance. Excellent reviews are thorough and finish with a summative conclusion.
6. Determination of potential improvements that could be made to the business, based on the SWOT, PESTLE and market analyses that have been carried out. Good determinations will be related to the long-term objectives of the business. Excellent determinations will evaluate a range of options based on their suitability, feasibility and acceptability.

7. Business plan that you have developed for improving the business. This plan must be justified. A good plan will include resources (including premises and personnel) finances and financial management systems, marketing, quality management, action planning, risk management and timescale. Excellent plans are realistic and well justified, showing ability to apply theory about improving business performance.
8. Conclusion with summarises the key points of your analysis and the main proposals for improvement. Excellent conclusions include in-depth evaluation of the main lessons learnt and how recommendations made build on strengths and overcome weaknesses.

For M1 Effective judgements are made about the business, based on reasoned analysis of the business. For M2 Recommendations and business plan are clear, comprehensive and developed from the analysis. For M3 The report is in impersonal language and well structured with citations and a bibliography in the Harvard referencing format. It has been checked for spelling errors.

For D1 Evaluative conclusions come directly from your own critical in-depth analysis.
For D2 The whole task is completed to a high standard, demonstrating that it has been well planned and managed. Ideas are clearly presented.
For D3 Recommendations for future business development are realistic and made after consideration of different options, their suitability, feasibility and acceptability.

Task 2: Travel / Tourism Business Staff Evaluation and Development (LO 3: 3.1, 3.2 and M1, M2, M3, D1, D2, D3)

Staff are key to any business success and so a good strategic business plan should include workforce planning, based on a staff skills audit. This second report should be for the same travel / tourism business / organisation as the first report.

The findings from task 2 should be submitted in a written report with an introduction at the beginning and a conclusion at the end. The suggested word length for this report is 1,000 – 1,500 words, excluding any appendices. Include a bibliography of all sources used in the Harvard Referencing Format, showing use of at least ten sources. Excellent bibliographies show use of high quality valid sources, e.g. academic journals. Make sure you write your name on your report and number all the pages.

The analytical report should be structured as follows:

1. Introduction, which recaps the short description of the selected travel or tourism business.
2. Evaluation of the current skills of key managers and selected staff. This staff skills audit should befocussed on relevant technical, operational and management skills. A good evaluation will include a skills gap analysis in which the current skills are compared with those needed both now and in the future for meeting long-term business objectives. An excellent evaluation will lead to recommendations for staff training and recruitment for improved business performance.
3. Plan that you have devised for developing the skills of key managers and selected staff. A good plan will set clear targets, consider what training is required, when and how it should be delivered, availability of suitable training, etc. An excellent plan will also include consideration of the cost / benefit analysis of the planned training for the business as a whole.
4. Conclusion which summarises your key recommendations for the travel / tourism business. Excellent conclusions demonstrate in-depth evaluation and strategic thinking.

For M1 Effective judgements are made about management and staff skills, based on reasoned analysis. For M2 Recommendations cover a range of relevant factors and are developed from the analyses.

For M3 The report is well structured, in an appropriate academic format, with citations and a bibliography in the Harvard referencing format and it has been checked for spelling errors.
For D1 Evaluative conclusions come directly from your own critical in-depth analysis.
For D2 The whole report has been completed to a high standard, using high-quality sources.

For D3 Recommendations for staff development are realistic and include cost / benefit analysis.