THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTHAMPTON

Faculty of Business and Law

MODULE NAME:
Module Code Level Credit Value Module Leader
MKT2052 5 20 Dr Rebecca Fakoussa

Assessment Brief

Assessment title: AS1 – Individual Feasibility Report

Please see NILE

Deadline:

Weighting: 60%

4 weeks later
Feedback and
Grades due:

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Resit Date:

Please read this assessment brief in its entirety before starting work on it.

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The Assessment Task

Write a formal individual feasibility report for a business of your choice. The report should be no
more than 2,400 words. The overall aim is to demonstrate that you can develop a solid feasibility
plan which will either decide whether your business idea is a go/no go. This could be used to
create a future detailed business plan and start your own business.

Your report should be laid out in the below format:

 Executive summary

 Introduction
 Overview
 Describe what your business is and why it exists (need identification)
 What is your vision, goal(s) and objective(s)

1. Product/Service

 Description: What exactly is your product/service. Have a clear, concise description

in 2-3 sentences.
 Value proposition(s): What makes you and your product/service unique and why is
this valuable for the customer? Why do people need it? Prove that the customer
wants what you are providing.

2. Market Feasibility

 Market: Discuss the market size, potential market size, and target market size. Is
the market large enough to meet your goals? Discuss trends and growth estimates.
 Competitive environment: Identify and compare your business against competition.
By understanding the competition, you will have a better understanding of the
dynamics of the industry in which you are competing and how you are differentiated.
Are there specific laws/regulations you should be aware of?

Things to consider: overall objective(s), market research, market size, market growth rate,
market profitability, distribution channels, trends, customer analysis (Buyer Persona,
Buyer’s Buying Cycle), competitor analysis (Porter’s 5 Forces), micro analysis (SWOT),
macro analysis (PESTLE).

3. Marketing Strategy

 How you plan to go about marketing your product/service

 Schedule: when do you plan to take your product/service to market

Things to consider: branding and positioning, pricing strategies, distribution strategies,

advertising and promotion strategies, socio-economic impact, and Marketing Mix (4-7 Ps).

4. Operational and Technical Feasibility

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  Start-up requirements: Identify the resources needed to start the business. What is
essential before a sale can be made? What don’t you have, but need?
 Team: Critically assess your current team, its fit with the business, and your ability
to act (or not). In this case the team may simply consist of just you.

Things to consider: team background and skills, plans of distribution, suppliers (supply
chain management), technology consideration, major start-up needs), work flow, Business
Model Canvas.

5. Financial Feasibility

 Revenue model: Describe your revenue model in terms of the revenue streams and
the key factors that will influence those streams. You will also need to examine your
cost model and determine the key drivers of your costs. Overall, you are assessing
your potential profitability. Provide a simple income statement.

Things to consider: start-up capital, sources of funds, sales projection, expenditures, cash
flow statement, return on investment.

6. Conclusion

 Decision: Based on the analysis laid out in the feasibility report, conclude whether
your business venture is feasible or not. And whether or not you would consider
starting this business? Why? Why not?

Things to consider: Refer to the business feasibility and personal feasibility checklist,
New Business Road Test.

7. Reference and Appendix

Learning Outcomes

The learning outcomes that are being assessed in this assessment are:
Module Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the module, with detailed guidance / guidance / limited
guidance students will be able to:
Subject-Specific Knowledge, Understanding & Application
a) Coherently collate, critically evaluate and make and justify links between information /
data / appropriate literature.
b) Apply aspects of creativity to different contexts where they identify them as being
appropriate.
c) Use academic conventions appropriately and effectively for the purpose, topic,
situation and audience and reference a range of different types of sources accurately
in line with standard conventions.
Employability & Changemaker Skills
d) Seek feedback from a variety of sources and demonstrate how behaviour / plans /
solutions have been modified in response
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Your grade will depend on the extent to which you meet these learning outcomes in the way
relevant for this assessment. Please see the grading rubric at the end of this assessment brief for
further details of the criteria against which you will be assessed.

Word Limits (where appropriate)

The maximum word limit for this assessment is 2,400 words

In accordance with the Assessment and Feedback Policy, as stated in section 4.40 where a
submission exceeds the stipulated word limit by more than 10%, the submission will only be
marked up to and including the additional 10%. Anything over this will not be included in the
final grade for the assessment item. Abstracts, bibliographies, reference lists, appendices and
footnotes are excluded from any word limit requirements.

In line with section 4.41 of the same Policy, where a submission is notably under the word
limit, the full submission will be marked on the extent to which the learning objectives have
been met.

Assessment Support
During class and online sessions. 1:1 support available.

Generic Grading Criteria

You will find the generic grading criteria for achievement at University Grading Criteria. Also
explained here are the meanings of the various G grades at the bottom of the grading scale.

Assessment Submission
To submit your work, please go to the ‘Submit your work’ area on the NILE site and use the
relevant submission point to upload your report. The deadline for this is 11.59pm (UK local time) on
the date of submission.

Written work submitted to TURNITIN will be subject to anti-plagiarism detection software. Turnitin
checks student work for possible textual matches against internet available resources and its own
proprietary database.

When you upload your work correctly to TURNITIN you will receive a receipt which is your record
and proof of submission.

If your assessment is not submitted to TURNITIN rather than a receipt you will see a green banner
at the top of the screen that denotes successful submission.

N.B Work emailed directly to your tutor will not be marked. The only exception to this is
when you are instructed to do so because TURNITIN is down.

Late submission of work

For first sits, if an item of assessment is submitted late and an extension has not been granted, the
following will apply:

 Within one week of the original deadline – work will be marked and returned with full
feedback, and awarded a maximum bare pass grade.
 More than one week from original deadline – maximum grade achievable LG (L indicating
late).

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Extensions
The University of Northampton’s general policy with regard to extensions is to be supportive of
students who have genuine difficulties, but not against pressures of work that could have
reasonably been anticipated.

For full details please refer to the Extensions Policy. The module leader can, where appropriate,
authorise a short extension of up to two weeks from the original submission date for first sits only.

Mitigating Circumstances
For guidance on Mitigating circumstances please go to Mitigating Circumstances where you will
find detailed guidance on the policy as well as guidance and the form for making an application.

Please note, however, that an application to defer an assessment on the grounds of mitigating
circumstances should normally be made in advance of the submission deadline or examination
date.

Plagiarism and Academic Integrity

Unless this is a group assessment, the work you produce must be your own with work taken from
any other source properly referenced and attributed. The University of Northampton policy will
apply in all cases of copying, plagiarism or any other methods by which students have obtained (or
attempted to obtain) an unfair advantage.

If you are in any doubt about what constitutes plagiarism or any other infringement of academic
integrity, please read the University’s Academic Integrity and Misconduct Policy. For help with
understanding academic integrity go to UNPAC and follow the Top Tips for Good Academic
Practice on the student hub.

Please note that the penalties for copying work from another source without proper
referencing are severe and can include failing the assessment, failing the module and
expulsion from the university.

Feedback and Grades

These can be accessed through clicking on the Feedback and Grades tab on NILE. Feedback will
be provided by a rubric with summary comments.

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Grading Rubric
In assessing your work, the marker uses his/her academic judgement to:
i) map the achievement of the learning outcomes against the marking bands,
ii) arrive at an overall mark that balances the marks for each LO with the overall
performance. All assessments are marked in accordance with the University’s
Assessment and Feedback Policy.

Please see NILE