Business ABE

Business ABE
Project description
Conduct an in-depth analysis using the PEST framework and discuss the potential impact of each factor on SaveBritianMoney (SBM), its policies and competitiveness in the marketplace.
Evaluate how SBM might need to adapt and respond to the key market forces driving industry changes which are identified in the PEST analysis to maintain competitive advantage in the future.
Based on your findings consider 3/4 appropriate recommendations for SBM’s future success.

Present the findings of the report via PowerPoint
The report and the presentation will require synthesis of theoretical material and its practical application within the context of a given case organisation (50% weighting, equivalent to 1,000 words).

 

TASK DESCRIPTION
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Save Britain Money (SBM) is a Welsh company with headquarters in Swansea and a large sales office in Cardiff. The group currently employs over 950 staff with a further 500 self-employed staff working across the UK. The group CEO and founder is Swansea businessman Neville Wilshire. Save Britain Money is the parent company for Nationwide Energy Services, We Claim U Gain, Save Me My Money, Billscutter, HiS Energy, Debts Reduced and FuelSwitch.com. The group provides a wide range of money saving services to the British public including energy efficiency surveys, renewable energy advice and installation, mis-sold payment claims, price comparison services, debt management plans, on-line fuel switching and much more. As a group, Save Britain Money contact over 15,000 households every week and are able to help around 10,000 of these with money saving products and services.

Origins

The Save Britain Money group dates back to the formation of Nationwide Energy Services (NES) by Neville Wilshire in 2005. The company had small offices in Killay, Swansea and employed 12 staff. The company was formed in response to the Welsh Government making grants available to householders to make energy efficiency improvements to their homes. Mr Wilshire has always explained his motive as simply wanting to help people in his hometown of Swansea, enjoy warmer homes. Focusing initially on South Wales, NES surveyors would visit customers in their homes, advise on what improvements could be made under various grant schemes, and then arrange for installers to complete the work. The challenges for NES as a new company will be familiar to many small businesses; how to manage efficiently the growth required to meet rapidly growing customer demand without compromising the financial security of a new business. The nature of the business meant that to reach new areas required an investment in new staff. This challenge was met via good planning, steady growth and the hands on approach of Mr Wilshire. The last two years have seen a further wave of expansion as the group expanded into online fuel switching, price comparisons and debt management. The most recent development for the SBM group was the acquisition of an energy installation company that placed the group in the enviable position of being able to carry out all stages of domestic energy improvements; from customer contact to survey to installation.

Success factors

Business planning is at the heart of SBM; the rapid expansion that has been seen over the last two years has been achieved as a result of sustainable growth and planned expansion into new markets. Instrumental to this pattern of planned expansion is the recruitment and retention of high quality staff at all levels of the business. The CEO and senior management team of SBM have also never rested on their laurels; instead of relying on the success of current ventures they have been active in seeking new opportunities. Finally, the focus of Save Britain Money has always been on saving the consumer money. Never has this been more relevant than during the current economic downturn. The company ethos of real savings with no upfront costs to customers appears to have struck a chord with the public and led us to an unprecedented period of growth.

 

The future?

The aim of the Save Britain Money group is to be able to offer customers savings in all aspects of their lives. The company start-ups and acquisitions planned for the next 12 months will take SBM a considerable way to achieving this. In October the Government are set to launch Green Deal, their energy efficiency flagship. Green Deal is an innovative scheme that will allow householders, regardless of income, the opportunity to make energy saving improvements to their homes at no-upfront cost to them. SBM have spent the last two years in preparation to become a Green Deal Provider. It is the intention of the group to be the largest provider of Green Deal services in the UK. There are also exciting plans for other parts of the business; a large expansion is planned to the existing mis-sold mortgage campaign, the formation of a quality will writing company is well underway and the setting up of an exclusive price comparison site to be targeted solely at existing customers of the Save Britain Money group will soon be delivered. (Fastgrowth 500 2014)

Staff don?t just whistle while they work ? they sing. All new recruits at this money-saving services firm are treated to a karaoke session with chief executive Neville Wilshire, and staff join in communal singing on the sales floor and before board meetings.
?Most of this young workforce ?? 78% are under 34 years old, with an average age of 28 ?? are call centre and sales advise staff, with 79% earning between ?7,500 and ?15,000. ?But employees feel they receive fair pay for the responsibilities they have, and say they are paid fairly compared to others in the organisation.
?And as well as singing with Wilshire, staff are encouraged to share their opinions with him. A ?tell the CEO? scheme gives all staff a dedicated slot to pass on their suggestions, and has led to a number of initiatives including better car parking, a pool room and staff nights out.
?Employees say they find Wilshire inspiring. People at Save Britain Money are also happy with their work-life balance, and feel they have plentiful opportunities to learn and grow within the organisation.

(Adapted from Sunday Times 100 Best Companies and Fast Growth 50)

References
The Sunday Times 100 Best Companies. 2013. [Online]. [Accessed 16 September 2013] Available from: http://features.thesundaytimes.co.uk/public/best100companies/

Fast Growth 50. 2013. [Online]. [Accessed 16 September 2013] Available from:
http://www.fastgrowth50.com/2012/save-britain-money-group

 

TASKS

Write a report (1000 words maximum) to:

Conduct an in-depth analysis using the PEST framework and discuss the potential impact of each factor on SaveBritianMoney (SBM), its policies and competitiveness in the marketplace.
Evaluate how SBM might need to adapt and respond to the key market forces driving industry changes which are identified in the PEST analysis to maintain competitive advantage in the future.
Based on your findings consider 3/4 appropriate recommendations for SBM?s future success.

Present the findings of the report via PowerPoint
The report and the presentation will require synthesis of theoretical material and its practical application within the context of a given case organisation (50% weighting, equivalent to 1,000 words).

 

GUIDANCE FOR Students IN THE COMPLETION OF TASKS

NOTE: The guidance offered below is linked to the five common assessment criteria overleaf.

Research-informed Literature
Your work must be informed and supported by scholarly material that is relevant to and focused on the task(s) set. You should provide evidence that you have accessed a wide range of sources, which may be academic, governmental and industrial; these sources may include academic journal articles, textbooks, current news articles, organisational documents, and websites. You should consider the credibility of your sources; academic journals are normally highly credible sources while websites require careful consideration/selection and should be used sparingly. Any sources you use should be current and up-to-date, typically published within the last five years or so, though seminal works in the field may be older. You must provide evidence of your research/own reading throughout your work, using in-text citations in the main body of your work and a reference list that is alphabetical at the end of your work. Please use the Harvard referencing system.

Specific to this assignment: You should show a wide level of reading, a minimum of 15 references, from a variety of sources including textbooks, academic journals and academic based websites. For this assignment it is perfectly permissible to include industry-focused sources.

Knowledge and Understanding of Subject
Your work must demonstrate the growing extent of your knowledge and understanding of concepts and underlying principles associated with the subject area. Knowledge relates to the facts, information and skills you have acquired through your learning. You demonstrate your understanding by interpreting the meaning of the facts and information (knowledge). This means that you need to select and include in your work the concepts, techniques, models, theories, etc. appropriate to the task(s) set. You should be able to explain the theories, concepts, etc. meaningfully to show your understanding. Your mark/grade will also depend upon the extent to which you demonstrate your knowledge and understanding; ideally each should be complete and detailed, with comprehensive coverage.

Specific to this assignment: Based on your knowledge of the subject, select appropriate techniques, models and/or theories of the macro environment such as a PEST Analysis for use in this assignment. You do not need to explain in depth the model, as this assignment is weighted more towards analysis and application.
Analysis
Your work must contain evidence of logical, analytical thinking, evaluation and synthesis. For example, to examine and break information down into parts, make inferences, compile, compare and contrast information. This means not just describing What! but also justifying: Why? How? When? Who? Where? At all times, you must provide justification for your arguments and judgements. Evidence that you have reflected upon the ideas of others within the subject area is crucial to you providing a reasoned and informed debate within your work. Furthermore, you should provide evidence that you are able to make sound judgements and convincing arguments using data and concepts. Sound, valid conclusions are necessary and must be derived from the content of your work. There should be no new information presented within your conclusion. Where it is relevant, alternative solutions and recommendations may be proposed.

Specific to this assignment: After you have applied the models to SBM, you should evaluate how SBM might need to adapt and respond to the key market forces driving industry changes which are identified in the PEST analysis to maintain competitive advantage in the future. You should then derive sound conclusions from the content of the work and propose 3/4 relevant/appropriate ways forward for the organisation based on the findings.
Practical Application and Deployment
You should be able to demonstrate how the subject-related concepts and ideas relate to real world situations or a particular context. How do they work in practice? You will deploy models, methods, techniques, and/or theories, in that context, to assess current situations, perhaps to formulate plans or solutions to solve problems, some of which may be innovative and creative. This is likely to involve, for instance, the use of real world examples and cases, the application of a model within an organisation and/or benchmarking one organisation against others based on stated criteria. You should show awareness of the limitations of concepts and theories when applied in particular contexts.

Specific to this assignment: You should deploy your chosen techniques, models and/or theories, to SBM, to identify the key issues in the macro environment affecting the organisation, giving real-life examples to illustrate the points you make. Where possible you should show awareness of the limitations of the model used when applied to SBM.
Skills for Professional Practice
Your work must provide evidence of the attributes expected in professional practice. This includes demonstrating your individual initiative and/or collaborative working. You must communicate effectively in a suitable format, which may be written and/or oral, for example, essay, management report, presentation. Work should be coherent and well-structured in presentation and organisation.

Specific to this assignment: You should use a report of a recognised format. It should include an executive summary, introduction, main findings and conclusions. Recommendations are also required. All writing should be academic in style, formal, focused, concise and subject specific. It should use a font of Times New Roman 12 or Arial 11 Point. All graphs, charts and figures in the main body must be clearly referenced beside or beneath. Where possible they should not be on separate pages but should be incorporated within the text. You should use the Harvard Referencing System. There should be correct referencing in the main body and there should be full details of all references used in the main body in the correct order in the reference list. The presentation should have a minimum of 7 slides: one for each of the PEST factors along with an introduction, recommendations and conclusion and should last no longer than 10 minutes.

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