Division of Business

Course: HND Level 5 Business

Year: 2013/14

Student Name:
UNIT 15: Managing Business
Activities to Achieve Results

Lecturers Name: Mr U Tanveer

Date Issued: 6th of October 2014

Completion Date: 16th of January

2015

Fail
P1

P2

Pass
P3

P4

P5

Merit
P6

P7

Distinction
P8

P9

P10

P11

P12
P13
P14
P15
P16
M1
M2
M3
D1
D2
D3
Learning Outcomes: 1 Understand the importance of business processes in delivering outcomes
based upon business goals and objectives 2 Be able to develop plans for own area of responsibility to
implement operational plans 3 Be able to monitor appropriate systems to improve organisational
performance 4 Be able to manage health and safety in the workplace.

Comments:

Assessors Signature:______________
Date:______________
Late: Yes

No

Referred

Internal Verification: Yes

I declare that the work I am submitting for assessment contains no sections in copied in whole or part
from any other source, unless it is explicitly identified by means of quotation mark or by means of
wholly indented paragraphs. I declare that I have also acknowledged such quotations by providing
detailed references in an approved format. I understand that unidentified and un-referenced copying
both constitutes plagiarism which is an offence. I give my consent for my work being scanned by
Turnitin formatively and summatively for the purposes of assessment .

No

Student Signature:

Received:

Date:

Date:

EDEXCEL Business (Management)

Unit 15: Managing Business Activities to Achieve Results
Google case study
Scenario 1
Google was founded in 1995 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin and it was the first
popular search engine in the world. They created this search engine so that users
can find any website or document on the web based on keyword or exact searches.
Google provides free services for their users. Other than the search engine, they
can also search books on Google Book Search, news on Google News, videos on
Google Video (YouTube) and maps on Google Maps Google has changed the way
people look at and share information. This has made them a leading search engine on
the web and a global technology leader. Back in the mid 90s Brin and Page,
Stanford University graduates, worked on developing this unique technology. Since
then, Google has grown to become one of the most recognized brands in the world
as well as one of the top Internet destinations.
As of 2013, Google has 16800 employees working in more than 70 offices in more
than 40 countries around the globe. Their headquarters is located in Mountain View,
California, USA. Strategic management has many benefits to an organization.
Google is a pioneer in empowering its employees by making them shareholders
making top management own 1/3 of shares but control 80% of votes to allow for
stability over long time horizons.
A companys vision, mission and future goals are set from the strategic process. In
addition, strategic management gives managers an advantage in allocating resources
efficiently. Moreover, these strategies help give the firm a competitive advantage
in the market. Statistics show that, on average, companies using strategic
management are more successful. This assignment will aim to clarify the concept of
strategic management in the global sense as well as focus on Googles strategic
management.

Company
Objectives & values
Ressources & skills
Structure
Market Environment
Competitors
Customers
Supplier

The company core values

Dont be evil.

Technology matters.

Make own rules.

Managing innovation part of culture.

Never settle for the best.

The company Business strategy

What we do is search. Yahoo is a portal with a myriad of

services. What Google does is sufficiently limited. It's
targeted at what Yahoo or AOL is trying to do. Our business
not to compete, because we want them as customers Eric
CEO Google

specialized
not really
strategy is
Schmidt ex

Had a corporate structure which allowed quick decision making & encouraged
innovation unlike competitors

Higher focus on innovation, 20% policy, resulted in products like Orkut,

Google news

Offered free software to marketers so they could optimize their

investment in Google

No adoption of commercial agendas unlike competitors, focus only on

improving algorithms for better results

Focused search engines like Froogle that are for specific products, these
were free.

Faster, better search with many enhanced features like search history,
language flexibility etc.

Extension of existing services in order to diversify

Close potential gaps in service provision

Further partnership with AOL

Create as much awareness as possible; brand awareness plays a major role in

search engine selection

Very successful with project to provide free Wi-Fi in San Francisco and
Mountain Valley (California) and aiming to extend such projects worldwide

Develop superior search solutions + monetizing through targeted advertising

Make it the trusted third part info escrow agent for all the world business

In line with its aim of organizing all of the worlds information

Consolidating content

Up to date and subjective searches

Classified by relevance

The company Management policy

Google follows a fairly regular functional structure with management

positions specialized by various value chain activity. As a globally diversified
company, these positions are further divided and grouped into regions of
interest that aid the company in managing the breadth of its operations.

Facilitating efficient team dynamics and communication

Encourage creativity, Google allows employees to spend 70 percent of their

time on the core business, 20 percent on related projects, and 10 percent on
unrelated new businesses. This rule is so important that Google has people on
staff to manage the 70/20/10 rule. The engineering and design staff makes
use of the free time to pursue new products and technologies, but even the
top-level managers adhere to the rule. According to Eric Schmidt, they
spend 70% of time on search and advertising, 20% on adjacent businesses
like Google News and Google Earth, and 10% on new things like the free
wireless initiative (Battelle, 2005). The 20% rule has a good return on
investment since about half of Googles new product launches occur as a
result of that free time.

Google is often lauded for the way the company treats its employees.
Fortune magazine ranked Google at the top of its lit of the best companies
to work for in 2007 and 2008(Fortune, 2008). Perhaps thats because
Googles corporate vision includes such axioms as, you can be serious without
a suit. (Google, 2008)

In conclusion, Founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin named the search engine they
built "Google," a play on the word "googol," the mathematical term for a 1 followed
by 100 zeros. The name reflects the immense volume of information that exists.
Google is successfully achieving its mission to organize the world's information and
make it universally accessible and useful. Engine Google is one of the premier
Internet brands in the world. Googles brand was valued at $114billion (2013), the
company holds strong market position and continues to diversify its product and
service to always stay ahead of competition.
References:
Google. (2013). Company Overview: http://www.google.com/corporate/index.html
http://www.google.com/support/jobs/bin/static.py?page=benefits.html
http://investor.google.com/committee_leadership.html
http://finance.google.com
http://www.google.com/privacy.html
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122826503489174369.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
http://investor.google.com/releases/2009Q1_google_earnings.html
http://www.itwriting.com/blog/2254-googles-strategy-unveiled-a-little-

TASKS

Task 1 - This task offers you an opportunity to achieve LO: 1.1, 1.2 and 1.3
1.1.

Evaluate the interrelationship between the different processes and

functions of an organisation like Google.
Guideline: You are required to include the following:

1.2.

Hierarchy and objectives

Organisational process
Business process

Suggest methods to map processes to the goals and objectives of Google.

Justify the methods you have selected.
Guideline: You are required to include the following:

1.3.

The different elements of the process

What controls a process
What areas it covers

Once you have selected of these processes, evaluate the output of the
process and the quality gateways for the Google Corporation.
Guideline: You are required to include the following:

Elicitation
Analysis
Representation and validation
Cost and quality of the process
Reliability of quality of output

Task 2 - This task offers you an opportunity to achieve LO: 2.1, 2.2, 2.3 and
2.4
2.1 You are in the Research and development department of Google, design plans
that promote goals and objectives for your own area of responsibility.

Guideline: You are required to include the following:

Goals and objectives to be achieved

The resources needed to achieve these goals
Different task performance is required to progress effectively toward
these goals

2.2 Write objectives, which are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timebased (SMART) to align people and other resources to Googles goals in an effective
and efficient way for your Department.

Guideline: You are required to include the following:

Specific
Measurable
Achievable
Realistic/relevant
Time bound

2.3 Suggest methods to implement appropriate systems to achieve objectives in the

most efficient way, on time, to budget and meeting organisational standards of
quality

Guideline: You are required to include the following:

Mission , objectives and goals

Strategy
Tactics
Operational plans

2.4 Form a management team and write a plan for work activities that meet the
operational plan through effective monitoring and control. Detail how these
activities will be a carried out.
Guideline: You are required to include the following:

Plan activities at:

Strategic and tactical levels
Operational level

LO3 Be able
performance

to

monitor

appropriate

systems

to

improve

organisational

Task 3

3.1 You have been appointed as the ISO verifier for Google. Design a system to
manage and monitor quality standards specified by the organisation
Guideline: You are required to include the following:

Definition of the quality systems by reference to the ISO

The importance of the quality systems in a business environment
Design a quality system at different stage (Product design, process design
and control

3.2 Discuss how the quality culture can ensure continuous monitoring, evaluation and
development of the process practiced in the company helps Google to achieve ISO
certification
Guideline: You are required to include the following:

Discuss the quality culture; quality circles and total quality management
TQM

Discuss the different tools and techniques that could be used including:
flowcharting, Pareto analysis, cause and effect diagrams, benchmarking, cost
of quality, quality function deployment.

3.3 Recommend improvements which align with the organisations objectives and
goals and which will result in improvements at Google
Guideline: You are required to include the following:

Ideas connected with improvement and recommendations

Possible solutions and suggestions
Organising the implementation of the ideas and solutions
Continuous improvement plan

LO4. Be able to manage health and safety in the workplace

Scenario 02:
Westfield London, the pioneering shopping and leisure destination, opened in W12
on October 30th. It is an innovative and dynamic place for a new generation of
consumer to shop, to eat, and to meet.
Aspirational, yet inclusive, it is an architecturally stunning showcase for 5 anchor
stores: Debenhams, Next, Marks and Spencer, House of Fraser, Waitrose and over
265 luxury, premium and high street retailers from more than 15 different
countries. 80 percent are fashion-focused and 40 are luxury brands housed within
the beautiful, boutique-style environment, The Village.
Food is as important as fashion at Westfield London. Nearly 50 exciting eating
concepts boast 73 awards between them and offer some 25 styles and nationalities
of cooking. 6 new to the UK and of those 5 are first ever seen brands. A bustling
cluster of 17 restaurants run the length of Southern Terrace, the pedestrian

street of dining, and open cooking brings drama to the collection of 13 counters on
The Balcony where fresh food is prepared fast and to order.
Westfield London is as much a meeting hub as a place to shop and eat. A stunning
central Atrium, unique in London, will host a full calendar of arts and educational
events beneath a spectacular glass roof. A 14-screen state-of-the-art cinema, gym
and spa will open in 2010, and a new library serves the local community.
Source: http://uk.westfield.com/london/centre-information/about

Using the case study above, visit a shopping centre of your choice and make notes
from the Health and Safety consideration of the various aspects at the centre.
4.1 Carry out risk assessments as required by legislation, regulation and
organisational requirements at the Mall you have visited using the right HSE format
and present your assessment in a report format.
Guideline: You are required to include the following:

Present your work in a report format and attach your slides (screenshots )
to your assignment
Please visit the HSE website http://www.hse.gov.uk/risk/index.htm
You can refer to the BPP book page 207

4.2 Demonstrate that health and safety regulations and legislation applicable at the
centre are correctly and effectively applied.
Guideline: You are required to include the following:

You need to look at the major legislation implications including the health and
safety work act 1974
The regulations introduced in January 1993 implementing EU directive on
health and safety
You can use the unit slides, BPP book and the HSE website for more
information

4.3 Carry out a systematic review of organisational health and safety policies and
procedures in order to ensure they are effective and compliant at the centre you
visited.
Guideline: You are required to include the following:

Definition and benefit of risk assessment for the selected organisation

Analyse the different steps on monitoring and reviewing the organisational
health and safety policies and procedures

4.4 Show how practical application of health and safety policies and procedures has
been done in the shopping centre
Guideline: You are required to include the following:

The health and safety policies

Accident and fire preventions
Contrast the information collected against the HSE requirements

The pass criteria

To obtain a pass in this assignment, the student must satisfactorily complete
all the above tasks.

Learning outcomes

Assessment criteria for pass

LO1 Understand the

1.1 evaluate the interrelationship between the

different processes and functions of the
organisation

importance of
business processes
in delivering
outcomes based
upon business
goals and

1.2 justify the methodology to be used to map

processes to the organisations goals and objectives
1.3 evaluate the output of the process and the
quality gateways

LO2 Be able to develop plans

for

own area of

responsibility to
implement operational
plans

2.1 design plans which promote goals and

objectives for own area of responsibility
2.2 write objectives, which are specific,
measurable, achievable, realistic and timebased to align people and other resources in
an effective and efficient way
2.3 implement appropriate systems to achieve
objectives in the most efficient way, on time,
to budget and meeting organisational
standards of quality
2.4 carry out work activities meeting the

LO3 Be able to monitor

appropriate systems to
improve organisational
performance

operational plan through effective monitoring

33.1 design systems to manage and monitor
quality standards specified by the
organisation
3.2 demonstrate a quality culture to ensure
continuous monitoring, evaluation and
development of the process
3.3 recommend improvements which align
with the organisations objectives and
goals and which result in improvements
3.4 report on the wider implications of
proposed changes within the

LO4 Be able to manage

health and safety in

4.1 carry out risk assessments as required by

legislation,

the workplace

regulation and organisational requirements ensuring

appropriate action is taken
4.2 demonstrate that health and safety regulations
and
legislation applicable in specific work situations are
correctly and effectively applied
4.3 carry out a systematic review of organisational
health
and safety policies and procedures in order to ensure
they are effective and compliant
4.4 carry out practical application of health and

MERIT CRITERIA ONLY

In order to achieve Merit, students must achieve all the Learning Outcomes plus
M1, M2 and M3
Merit Criteria
M1

Identify and apply strategies to find appropriate solutions.

M2

Select/design and apply appropriate methods/ techniques.

M3

Present and communicate appropriate findings

M1: critically examine the limitations of the methods you have selected to map
processes to the goals and objectives of Google (1.2)
M2: critically evaluate the different sources of information that has been used to
create your plan that promote goals and objectives for your own area of
responsibility (2.1)
M3: analyse the different methods of presentation have been used to carry out
risk assessments using Health & Safety legislation and regulations (4.1)

DISTINCTION CRITERIA ONLY

In order to achieve Distinction, students must achieve all the Learning Outcome, all
merits plus D1,D2 and D3
Distinction Criteria
D1

Use critical reflection to evaluate own work and justify valid conclusions.

D2

Take responsibility for managing and organizing activities.

D3

Demonstrate convergent/lateral/creative thinking.

D1: present your proposal for work activities that meet the operational plan
through effective monitoring and control in a report format including headings,
detail how these activities will be a carried out, the report should be sharp,
professional approach, with clear headings and a coherent and logical approach.
(2.4)

D2: critically discuss the quality culture; quality circles and total quality
management TQM and evaluate the different tools and techniques that could be
used to achieve the ISO certification (3.2)

D3: recommend an improvement plan for a better application of health and safety
policies and procedures in the shopping centre, the plan should be written in a
report format addressed to the managing director of the shopping director, you
need to include a short executive summary of 300 word4.4)

Submission Guideline

Work should be referenced

Sources should be acknowledged fully by referenced books, journals used

and URL visited

All work should be word processed, font size of 12 and font style of Times
New Roman/Arial Subtitles of the assignment should be in the font size of
14

Pages should be numbered in the bottom right hand corner

Spell check the document and read thoroughly for grammatical errors

1.5 Line spacing

Reference at the end of the assignment

All paragraphs should be aligned in justified mode

The guided word limit is between 3000-4500 words