BTEC Extended
Certificate in Business

Unit 12

Business Online

Coursework assignment

Assignment scenario

Your friends James and Claire have a T-shirt business called ‘Wacky T-shirts’. The business prints its own designs on T-shirts and then sells them in market stalls across the UK. The business started 5 years ago and is doing well. James and Claire have decided to go on a holiday and they have asked you to look after the business whilst they are away. They have explained to you that competition can be fierce as every business in the market selling T-shirts tries to attract as many customers as possible.

You have been given a free hand to organise the business as you think best, and keep any of the profits made during your period of management.

James and Claire were pleased with your hard work during their absence and your recommendations on how to improve the business. You have suggested that they should extend the range of designs and sell their T-shirts to small businesses. They have offered you to become a partner with them in the business. The idea is appealing and you have agreed to invest £10,000.

The new partnership flourishes and you therefore decide to rent a small shop in Windsor to sell the T-shirts.

The business has continued to expand and you decide to open further small shops in some of the major towns in the UK.

Over the past 12 months Wacky T-shirts has faced strong competition from Brook Brothers who began to sell similar products at lower prices. Your sales figures began to drop in the first quarter of the year by 15%. James, Claire and you are worried about this situation. You are thinking about improving your customer service and sales promotion techniques by offering online services. However, the problem is how to do this in the best, cheapest and most effective way. Before you start to do this, you decide to research online businesses in order to understand the different online business activities, the main issues relating to doing business online and the impact of an online presence.

Task 1 (P1)

Describe the aims and objectives of three different businesses operating online. You will need to choose one business organization from each of the following sectors:

Private sector (Amazon, Argos, eBay, Tesco………)

Public sector (local council – Surrey Heath Borough Council, RBWM, Cracknel Forest Borough Council, hospitals, state schools……)

Voluntary sector (Oxfam, British Red Cross, The Big Issue, The Prince’s Trust…) For each of the 3 different business organizations, answer the following:

(a) What is the name of the business?
(b) What sector does that business operate in?
(c) What is their website address?
(d) What are their aims and objectives? For example:

Private sector – Sell their products, promote their brand, and reduce costs….
Public sector – Provide information, allow online payment……
Voluntary sector – Promote their cause and increase awareness, obtain donations for a charitable cause….. (e) Who do they provide their goods / services to?

Deadline:

Task 2 (P2)

In this task you are required to describe the features of each of the websites you chose in task 1 and explain how they contribute to achieving the aims and objectives that you identified.

For each of the 3 different businesses, complete the following:

(a) Provide at least 5 screenshots for each business showing what it offers to its website visitors such as:

Hyperlinks
Use of images / graphics
Drop-down menus
Feedback opportunities
‘About us’ pages
Ability to zoom and rotate images
Payment online
Order tracking
Simple log-in procedure
Animations / video

(b) Describe the features of each of your screenshots and then say how it helps the business to achieve its aims and objectives.

Deadline:

Task 3 (M1)

Compare the features of the 3 business organisations