Business Report – Task instructions This assessment task requires you to analyse and address the issue you identified in your brief (i.e. Attached below- VBD Brief). The issue has been referred to the Management Group (of which you are a part) of the organisation by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Given your initial brief that identifies and outlines the issue (i.e., the ‘what’ question and its implications), the CEO has tasked you to further prepare a detailed report that examines the underlying reasons for the issue (the ‘why’?), how best to address the issue (the ‘how’?) and provide succinct recommendations for the business in moving forward. When completed the report will be forwarded to the CEO for consideration. Tips for writing the report: Refer to the task instructions and the template (see attached) to structure your report. You can modify the structure any way you like but be sure to include a cover page that has your name, student number. You should also provide the context for your issue so your reader can take this into account when considering your report. Please note there will be a 6 mark deduction for Reports which are less than 1350 words or more than 1650 words. The title page and reference list is not included in the word count – in text references are. The report could be structured around the following headings: 1. Introduction – You need to outline to your CEO the aim of report, the issue in focus (a quick summary from your brief), what management functions /theories are going to be covered, and how the issue is going to be addressed. 2. Defining and framing the Issue –You need to identify the underlying reasons why the issue has arisen in the first place (the ‘why’? question). As part of this, you will need to frame the issue in relation to the current practices with management (including supporting theory/theories) that may have contributed to the issue. You should include some consideration of any relevant environmental factors (internal/external) that may have influenced the issue. The “why” question - in other words why has the issue arisen. In this section we want to focus on issues such as any relevant environmental factors (internal/external) and their impact on organisational life. In this section we will not be focusing on the management functions (although it is mentioned in the assessment descriptor). You need to identify the underlying reasons why your allocated issue has arisen in the first place. A contingency approach to management is based on the theory that management effectiveness is contingent, or dependent, upon the interplay between the application of management behaviours [PLOC] and specific situations. In other words, the way you manage should change depending on the circumstances. 3. Addressing the Issue – You need to show how you will address the underlying reasons that have contributed to the issue by outlining changes to the existing practices with the identified management functions (the ‘how’? question). Your arguments need to be supported with reference to theory/theories that endorse the new approach. The "how " question. Address one or two of the management functions not all four This is where the focus will be on the management functions. In other words, if you are going to address the issue what will this mean for  POLC. 4. Conclusion – You need to provide a summary and evaluation of the key findings of the report. You may choose to identify some limitations and/or assumptions associated with the findings that reader of the report should be aware of. 5. Recommendations – You need to provide no less than two and no more than three recommendations on the courses of action that the business ‘should’ undertake. These recommendations should clearly and succinctly outline a suggested plan of action i.e., where to from here. Recommendations should be based on the interpretation of your findings and should typically be in point or numbered form (one or two clear sentences and should not include citations or content not previously addressed). Relevant aspects of the SMART framework should be used in outlining the recommendations. In other words those parts you feel are appropriate.Do NOT define SMART. The report needs to be structured, written and presented in such a way that the CEO will have no problem reading and understanding it. This also means that you need to provide justification and support for your analysis/arguments. Include a variety of sources such as the textbook and academic journals and business magazines.

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