Programme in Innovation Management Individual Assignment - Accounting Assignment Help

Assignment Task:

Task:

ASSIGNMENT INSTRUCTIONS
Read through the case study provided on pages 3 – 4.
Answer Questions 1 – 6 chronologically. Read each question carefully and make sure that you understand exactly what is being asked.
You may make use of any resources (e.g. class notes, internet) to assist you in answering the questions in this assignment.
Please answer all questions within the areas (e.g. tables, spaces) provided in this document. Ensure that your formatting is neat.
The assignment needs to be submitted through Turnitin (TII) by following the Individual Assignment Submission link on clickUP. The submission needs to be done before 22:00 on the 19th of September 2021.
You can upload either a PDF or MS Word copy of your assignment.
The lecturer will check the reports generated by TII for possible plagiarism.

CASE STUDY
John and Busi are two young, energetic and ambitious South Africans.
In 2012, John graduated from the University of Pretoria with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. After graduating, John joined a well-known mechanical engineering firm where he gained experience in designing, developing, constructing and commissioning equipment in various manufacturing facilities across the country. John stayed with this firm until December 2017, and thereafter joined a well-known management consulting firm. Here John gained experience in managing optimisation and automation projects for clients in the manufacturing industry, with a primary focus on manufacturing plants that produce clothing and personal protective equipment in bulk.
In 2010, Busi graduated from the University of Pretoria with a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering. Busi joined a well-known local retailer after graduating, where she gained experience in supply chain management and optimisation. She excelled in this role and gained invaluable experience and an intuitive understanding of supply chains and their complexities. In 2016, the company identified Busi as one of the individuals within the company that they would like to “groom” for the future, and offered her the opportunity to complete an all expenses paid Masters in Business Administration (MBA) at the GIBS Business School. She enrolled in 2017, completed the MBA at the end of 2018, and was promoted to a more senior role in 2019.
John and Busi met at the University of Pretoria in 2009. John was in his first year of engineering studies, and Busi was in her third year of studies. Busi was doing math tutoring in order to earn some extra cash, and John was a struggling maths student in need of some guidance. Their relationship quickly evolved from tutor-student to a friendship, where they regularly met up on campus to discuss studies, local politics, business ideas and music.
When Busi graduated in 2010, their campus meetings came to an end, but they vowed to stay in touch and maintain their friendship. They kept this promise, and Busi even attended John’s graduation ceremony in 2012. She made sure to remind him that he would probably have graduated a year later were it not for her tutoring back in 2009.
From here their friendship grew further and they both showed a keen interest in one another’s career paths. They celebrated wins together, and they cried over failures together. This continued throughout their careers, and both were always very proud of the other for their individual achievements.
When Busi was offered the opportunity to do her MBA, she immediately called John to share the news and to get his opinion. She was initially scared of becoming a student again, but John laughed it off and told her to shut up and say yes. Which of course she did. At her MBA graduation ceremony in 2018, John was sure to remind her that she would not be here now were it not for his slightly rude advice two years ago.
Both John and Busi felt like they were on top of their game, and that the world was at their feet. They were working for fantastic companies, in roles they loved, getting paid more than what they thought was possible.
Fast-forward to March 2020. Globally, the coronavirus pandemic had taken its grip with movement restrictions, lockdowns and economic meltdowns in most countries.
Towards the end of March, John received a call from his CEO, informing him that due to the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic, the firm would have to retrench him. He is offered a retrenchment package, which he accepts.
Around the same time, Busi received an online meeting request from her CEO. In this meeting, the CEO explained that they will have to place her on unpaid leave. She is not retrenched, but the company will not be able to pay her during this time. The CEO notes that she has free reign to pursue alternative opportunities during this time, but that her job will be secure if all returns to normal and the company survives the pandemic-driven economic crisis.
Naturally, John and Busi shared their equally devastating news with one another. At first, they cried together. Then they got angry together. And, after some time, they became excited together.
What Busi and John started realising is that for the first time in their adult lives they were in a position where they could try and do their own thing – be their own bosses. Become entrepreneurs. Although the coronavirus pandemic would cause great despair across the globe and in South Africa, they knew that the larger the problems are that face all of us, the larger the opportunities are to solve these problems.
During the next couple of days John and Busi spent countless hours on phone calls and video calls discussing potential opportunities which they believed they could pursue during these trying times. Many ideas were exchanged, and finally they decided on the opportunity that they thought had the most merit of pursuing further. It aligned to their individual experience, skills and interests, and they believed that they would be solving a relevant, profitable problem that would benefit the South African society as a whole.
In their assessment of the various opportunities, John and Busi believed that the coronavirus pandemic would not quickly go away, and that the stringent hygiene measures, restrictions on movement and other mitigation measures would remain in some shape or form for at least the next two years.
Fast forward to right now. In order to take the opportunity identified by John and Busi further, they have identified you as a key member in their entrepreneurial team. They were made aware of the fact that you were recently exposed to several tools and methods that would assist them in further developing their identified opportunity into a potentially viable business. Naturally, you accept the offer.
The opportunity identified by John and Busi is rather simple. Global trends indicate that all people will most likely have to wear protective masks for the foreseeable future when they are not at their personal residence. This will most likely also be the case in South Africa. Traditionally protective masks are a consumable item, meaning that you can use it once (twice at most) before having to discard it. Thus, if John and Busi’s hypothesis is true that masks will have to be worn at most times, a massive demand will be created, and an adequate supply will not yet exist. John and Busi would like to be able to satisfy some of the demand from large industries (e.g. mining, construction, manufacturing) through business-to-business bulk transactions, as well as demand from the general public through business-to-consumer transactions.
John and Busi are still in the early phases of assessing this opportunity and are open to suggestions from you on how to potentially better their chances of creating value from this opportunity. Using the knowledge that you gained during the IEE780 module, the course textbook and any information that you can find on the internet, complete the questions that follow and assist John and Busi in converting their identified opportunity into a new venture.

QUESTION 1 [11]
A firm needs to transform inputs into outputs by making use of intellectual capital and entrepreneurial capital as indicated in the schematic. Using the information in the case study, describe what the inputs John and Busi require, and how they will go about transforming these into outputs (their product/service) by using intellectual and entrepreneurial capital?

ANSWER QUESTION 1:
Start typing your answer here…

QUESTION 2 [10]
An attractive opportunity comprises of several main characteristics. Examples of the characteristics of attractive opportunities are as follows:
Timely
Solvable
Profitable
John and Busi believe that the opportunity that they have identified is attractive. Make use of the characteristics of an opportunity to motivate why you believe the opportunity is attractive. Note that attractive opportunities comprise of more characteristics than only the three listed above.
ANSWER QUESTION 2:
Start typing your answer here…

QUESTION 3 [9]
Generally, the value proposition that a company offers to its clients can comprise of different types of values (e.g. product, experience).
Using the opportunity identified by John and Busi, state what you believe should be the primary type of value around which John and Busi should structure their value proposition. Furthermore, explain what you believe should be the secondary values that John and Busi’s value proposition should contain. Remember the following – to be competitive in a market with multiple competitors, you need to outperform your competitors in at least one type of value (primary value) and match them in at least two types of value (secondary values).
ANSWER QUESTION 3:
Type Value Why is this value relevant in John and Busi’s context?
Primary Secondary
QUESTION 4 [18]
The Business Model Canvas (BMC) is a strategic management and lean startup template used by entrepreneurs and established companies across the globe. The BMC can be used to map out and develop the business model for new opportunities/ideas and is a great way of understanding all of the moving parts of a proposed new venture based on an identified opportunity. John and Busi would greatly benefit from mapping out their proposed new venture on the BMC. Make use of the BMC template provided (Appendix A) to assist with the population of each one of the nine boxes, based on how you believe John and Busi should structure their proposed new venture. Please provide your answer in the table below.
ANSWER QUESTION 4:
Box on BMC Your Description
Value Proposition Customer Segments Channels Customer Relationships Revenue Streams Key Partners Key Activities Key Resources Cost Structure
QUESTION 5 [15]
Porter’s five forces model (Figure 1) is a popular method for evaluating the competitive forces in an industry. Use Porter’s five forces model to analyse the industry where John and Busi’s proposed new venture would operate in. For each force, state whether you believe it is a low-, medium- or high threat, and back up your answers with thorough explanations (at least 2 – 3 paragraph explanation per force, more if you want to). You are welcome to make reference to information that you find online in support of your answers (if you do, please ensure that you include links to the original source).

Figure SEQ Figure \* ARABIC 1: Summary of Porter's Five Forces Model
ANSWER QUESTION 5:
Force Threat Level Your Description (at least2 – 3 paragraphs!!)
Threat of New Entrants Bargaining Power of Suppliers Threat of Substitutes Bargaining Power of Buyers Rivalry Among Existing Competitors
QUESTION 6 [12]
A SWOT analysis is a strategic planning technique used to help an organisation identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats related to the business. For John and Busi’s proposed new venture, identify at least two strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, and explain briefly why you believe that each is either a strength, weakness, opportunity or threat. [8]
For the two weaknesses that you have identified, explain what advice you would give to John and Busi that may allow them to neutralise the weaknesses. [2]
For the two threats that you have identified, explain what advice you would give to John and Busi that may allow them to either neutralise/mitigate the threats, or turn the threats into opportunities. [2]
ANSWER QUESTION 6:
5.1.
SWOT Description Brief Explanation
Strength Weakness Opportunity Threat 5.2.
 

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