Group progress report please read the following and let me know i

1. Group Progress Report
Please read the following and let me know if you want to
change anything:
Please also upload all your parts to the doc. Once this is done, I
will post the Progress Report on iLearn:
1.The initiative your group suggested to support the growth
strategy
Our group has decided to diversify Foleo Group by establishing
an additional business unit - ‘Foleo Fablets’. This unit will
specialise in the production, manufacturing and distribution of
electronic tablets.
2.The 'real-life company you have selected to support your
group’s proposal
After undertaking thorough research on real-life companies' that
have successfully developed a tablet branch within their
business, we have decided to further investigate the company
Apple. Apple manufactures and distributes the most popular
tablet in the technology market, the iPad. Researching this
company’s strategic business plan and diversification strategy
will support our group’s proposal for Foleo Fablets.
3.Completeness status of the group report
All team members have contributed towards the body of the
group report . A first draft of the following sections have been
written up:
· Proposed Initiative
· SWOT Analysis
· Strategic Alignment
· Evidence of Viability
· Impact on Stakeholders
We have also created a title page and table of contents for the
final submission of the report. As a team, we still need to
complete the following work:
· Write up the executive summary, introduction and conclusion/
recommendations

2. · Edit the first draft by fixing spelling, grammar and
punctuation errors
· Adjust references to align with correct Harvard referencing
style
· Format the structure of the report to meet the assessment
criteria
Overall, we have completed approx. 70% of the group report
requirements.
4.Number of meetings held between the group members
We have had two group Zoom meetings. All group members
attended both meetings. The two meetings were held on the
following dates:
· Wednesday 15/09/2021
· Thursday 23/09/2021
We intend to have an additional 3-5 more meetings until the
submission date of the report.
5.Individual contributions of members up to that point
All members have equally contributed to the first draft of the
report. Each member was elected to complete one component of
the body of the report and all members have uploaded their first
drafts onto a shared Google doc.
Proposed Initiative - Jingyan
SWOT Analysis - Talia
Strategic Alignment - Yujia
Evidence of Viability - Albert
Impact on Stakeholders - Nicole
Please have a draft by Wednesday 22nd September

3. Exec Summary - Yujia
Intro - Jingyan
Conc - Nicky
Recommendations -Albert
Editing/Formatting/Table of contents etc - Talia
Proposed Initiative
To further improve the competitive advantage of Foleo, our
initiative is to expand a new business--- ''Fablet '', which is the
line of tablet computers (iPad - Wikipedia 2021). This
electronic device is prepared for people who are on a business
trip frequently, so they need a computer not only portable but
also functional. The SliFone's multi-touch interface is brought
to a much larger display screen, to allow it to work more like a
laptop, which is expected to be Fablet's signature achievement
(Fingas 2018). All Fablets connect using Wi-Fi, so the users can
work or study as long as there is an internet connection.
Simultaneously, Fablets have a variety of functions associated
with shooting a video, playing music, taking photos, etc. Other
functions like games, GPS navigation as well as social
networking enable it to be downloaded from Foleo Scapps (iPad
- Wikipedia 2021).
Related diversification
Foleo that aims to explore and develop a core capacity to
become more thriving will be given an edge over other
competitors if the company adopts related diversification as a
strategy of growth (Hamel & Prahalad 2002). According to
Edwards (2021), when a company develops a new industry has
similar businesses with the company’s existing business lines,

4. which can be defined as related diversification. Hence, Foleo
utilizes the strategy and exploits a new business line that allows
the company to charge a better price than if the company
operates this business separately. Combined under one brand,
the Fablet may be more valuable by integrating well with other
productions. For instance, Fablet and SliFone canoperate better
than if they are produced and offered by separate companies
(The benefits of related diversification 2021). More
specifically, the establishment of Fablet will only experience a
positive effect on other existing Foleo businesses, such as
SliFone and Foleo Scapps. As Fablet engages in sharing the
existing resources with SliFone and drives the utilization of
Foleo Scapps. As such, customers likewise may prefer to
purchase supporting products and buy from a company that they
trust (The benefits of related diversification 2021).
How Fablet operate
Fablet is expected to utilize criteria to select suppliers and
Supply Chain Management (SCM) to manage suppliers.Supplier
selection criteria are associated with price, quality, delivery,
performance history, capacity, communications systems,
geographical location, and so on. Fablet can list all supplier
selection criteria to score, and finally select the supplier with
the highest score as Fablet’s supplier (Langfield-Smith et al.
2018). Table 1.2 suggests that how to score suppliers. SCM is a
process that organizes and integrates different business
activities. SCM has been recognized as an increasingly
important procedure in the current global business world and
Fablet needs to have strong relationships with the suppliers for
achieving successful coordination by using SCM (Jha et al.
2013).
Fablet initiates marketing schemes, where additional 10%
discounts are provided to students. Therefore, creating an
incentive for users to choose Fablet over its competitors.
Additionally, Fablet will launch physical stores in Australia and

5. also expand to other countries in the future, while providing
shipping services almost all over the world. Table 1.1 displays
the shipping policy in Fablet, which shows the shipping policy
details of major partner cities. However, Australia Post has
canceled the package collection service due to the COVID-19 so
customers can only purchase products from physical stores
(Shipping & Delivery | Lovisa Jewellery Australia 2021).
Reference
Edwards, J., 2021. Diversification Strategies. [online]
Ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub. Available at:
<https://ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/strategicmanagement/c
hapter/diversification-strategies/#footnote-273-2> [Accessed 18
September 2021].
En.wikipedia.org. 2021. iPad - Wikipedia. [online] Available at:
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPad#History> [Accessed 19
September 2021].
Fingas, R., 2018. A brief history of the iPad, Apple's once and
future tablet | AppleInsider. [online] AppleInsider. Available a t:
<https://appleinsider.com/articles/18/04/03/a-brief-history-of-
the-ipad-apples-once-and-future-tablet> [Accessed 17
September 2021].
Hamel, G. & Prahalad, C.K., 1990. The core competence of the
corporation. Harvard business review, 86(1), pp.79-91.
Jha, G.K., Chatterjee, P., Chatterjee, R. & Chakraborty, S.
2013, "Suppliers Selection In Manufacturing Environment
Using Range Of Value Method", i-Manager's Journal on
Mechanical Engineering, vol. 3, no. 3, pp. 15-22.
Langfield-Smith, K., Thorne, H. & Hilton, R., 2018.
Management accounting. McGraw-Hill.
Lovisa. 2021. Shipping and Delivery | Lovisa Jewellery
Australia. [online] Available at:
<https://www.lovisa.com.au/pages/shipping-delivery>
[Accessed 19 September 2021].
Startup Sloth. 2021. The benefits of related diversification.
[online] Available at: <https://startupsloth.com/the-benefits-of-

6. related-diversification/> [Accessed 18 September 2021].
Appendix
Table 1.1
(Table 1.1 has something wrong with the format when I copy it
from my document, so I only can upload screenshots. But if the
original looks better, I can send it by email Lol)
Table 1.2
Supplier A
Supplier B
Supplier C
Quality
1-10
1-10
1-10
Price
1-10
1-10
1-10
Delivery
1-10
1-10
1-10
Performance History
1-10
1-10
1-10
Capacity
1-10
1-10
1-10
Communications Systems

7. 1-10
1-10
1-10
Geographical Location
1-10
1-10
1-10
Impact on stakeholders
The following section will outline the ways in which the
introduction of Fablets will likely affect customers, suppliers,
competitors, employees and shareholders.
Customers
Fablet’s target demographic is a well-educated customer that
likely will find practical use of the device for business or
educational purposes. It is important to note that tablets are not
only used for educational purposes, but are also very commonly
used recreationally, for gaming, viewing videos and listening to
music (Chan-Olmsted & Shay 2016).
The portability of a tablet offers the convenience of laptop
functions anywhere at any time, which is found to be a highly
desirable attribute for the customer (Li & Leung 2014).
Just as Foleo Fones created phones that were catered
specifically with the interests of Australians in mind, the Fablet
would also be customized to suit the specific needs of
Australian consumers, unlike US-based competitors (Huberty et
al 2011 p.4).
The introduction of the Fablet would boost motivation for
Scapps to produce more applications that are catered to the
dimensions and software of the Fablet. This would also push the
need for flexibility of the applications’ practical use across
platforms.
Suppliers
With the introduction of the Fablet to Foleo’s product line,
Foleo group would be able to utilize many existing supplier

8. relationships to negotiate better contracts with inputs that are
common across both Foleo Fones and Fablets such as displays,
memory chips, batteries, and touchscreens (Kraemer et al.
2011). By pursuing larger quantity lock in contracts with both
suppliers and distributors, Foleo group would have the ability to
negotiate larger quantities of orders for a discounted price,
increasing economies of scale (Burrows & Satariano 2011).
With the introduction of Fablets, Foleo group would need to
consider the source of their operating system and the source of
their applications (apps). Foleo group could tap into the
software or operating system of Android to bypass the process
of reviewing and integrating existing apps in the market.
Android’s status as the best-selling smartphone operating
system platform that offers an extensive collection of apps that
have been programmed to work well within the Android
operating system (Alliance 2013) can be very attractive to Foleo
group. However, this move could revert Foleo group back into
an unfavourable contract wherein they are locked into providing
monthly sales reports and substantial licensing fees to Google.
Competitors
The market for tablets has many competitors such as the Apple
iPad, Samsung Galaxy Tablet, the Blackberry Playbook, and the
Motorola Xoom (Lennon & Gillard 2012). Whilst the Apple
iPad was not the first tablet on the market, it was the first to
impact the market with considerable success due to their unique
combination of software and hardware (Griffey 2012 p.7) and an
organic ease of use (Lennon & Gillard 2012). Whilst Samsung’s
operating system became the market leader in 2012, Apple is
the leading tablet vendor (Statista 2021b) and had 31% of the
global market share in the second quarter of 2021 (Statista
2021b). The Fablet can approach the market with the goal of
reaching the average Australian and catering to the unique
needs of the Australian market in the same way that they did for
Foleo Fones. The introduction of a tablet to the Foleo line
would broaden the range of competitors and competing products

9. that influence Foleo group’s bottom line and competitive
positioning in the tech market.
Employees
The introduction of a the Fablet would require Foleo group to
invest into employee training programs. The training should
provide best practices in selling tablets, answering general
FAQs regarding the tablet and after sales care to solve any
questions or concerns the customer may have. The focus on
these areas of customer service have proven to be successful
within Apple storefronts and implemented via intense training
and mentoring by the experienced staff until they are deemed
ready for one-on-one customer interactions (Kane & Sherr
2011).
Foleo group would introduce different sales goals that
incorporate an addition to the product line. Market research
would be required to determine the demand within each store’s
specific region for Fablets. Additionally, Foleo group would be
required to consider the most organic roll out of the Fablet to
stores across both Australia and New Zealand that
accommodates the delay related to employee training.
Shareholders
The introduction of tablets would not negatively impact the
sales of Foleo Fones’ existing products. This is because whilst
not all phone users own tablets, almost all tablet users own
phones (Chan-Olmsted & Shay 2016). From the perspective of
consumers, tablets are not perceived as an alternative to
smartphones, but are rather additive, complimentary platforms
(Chan-Olmsted & Shay 2016). By adding another product into
Foleo group’s line, profits will be diversified, attract new
customers and would consequently increase shareholder value.

10. References
Alliance, O.H., 2013. Android (operating system). Marketing,
4(5).
Chan-Olmsted, S. and Shay, R., 2016. Understanding tablet
consumers: Exploring the factors that affect tablet and dual
mobile device ownership. Journalism & Mass Communication
Quarterly, 93(4), pp.857-883.
Griffey, J., 2012. The rise of the tablet. Library Technology
Reports, 48(3), pp.7-13.
Huberty, K., Lipacis, C.M., Holt, A., Gelblum, E., Devitt, S.,
Swinburne, B., Meunier, C.F., Han, K., Wang, F.A., Lu, J. and
Chen, G., 2011. Tablet Demand and Disruption. Tablet.
Huimin, M and Hernandez, J.A 2011, Price skimming on a
successful marketing strategy: study of iPad launching as
Apple’s innovative product. In Proceedings of the 8th
International Conference on Innovation & Management (pp.
389-393). Japan.
Kane, Y.I. and Sherr, I., 2011. Secrets from Apple’s genius bar:
Full loyalty, no negativity. The Wall Street Journal, 15.
Kraemer, K.L., Linden, G. and Dedrick, J., 2011. Capturing
value in global networks: Apple’s iPad and iPhone. Research
supported by grants from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and
the US National Science Foundation (CISE/IIS).
Lennon, M.M. and Girard, T., 2012. iPadagogy: Enhancing
business education with the iPad. In Hawaii International
Conference on Business, Honolulu, HI May (pp. 24-27).

11. Li, K.X. and Leung, L., 2014. Impacts of iPad attributes, users'
lifestyles, and media dependency on the adoption and intensity
of iPad usage. International Journal of Cyber Behavior,
Psychology and Learning (IJCBPL), 4(1), pp.28-45.
Satariano, A. and Burrows, P., 2011. Apple’s supply-chain
secret? Hoard lasers. Bloomberg Businessweek, 4, pp.50-54
Statista 2021a, iPad - Statistics & Facts. [online] Statista.
Available at: https://www.statista.com/topics/877/ipad/
[Accessed 21 Sep. 2021].
Statista 2021b, Tablet shipments market share by vendor
worldwide from 2nd quarter 2011 to 2nd quarter 2021. [online]
Statista. Available at:
https://www.statista.com/statistics/276635/ market-share-held-
by-tablet-vendors/ [Accessed 21 Sep. 2021].
SWOT Analysis of Foleo Group
Strengths:
- Business unit structure
- Large supply of resources
- Dedicated staff
- Australian-based (less shipping time etc) location
- Intellectual property of Foleo Fones etc
Weaknesses
- Integrity within workplace (From James & Higher staff
ROI)
- Structural organisation
- Business model – chasing profits
Opportunities:
- Expand business with another unit (Fablets)

12. - Media expansion
Threats
- Competition
- Changing regulations
- Negative media coverage
- Changing customer attitudes towards company
Strengths of Foleo Group
The success of Foleo Group Limited can be attributed to the
strength of five key aspects of the organisation. These strengths
include the overall structure of the organisation, the large
supply of resources, the dedicated staff, the location of the
company and the intellectual property of Foleo Group. To
properly understand the merit of these strengths, an analysis of
each of the five strengths is necessary.
For a business to be successful, it is imperative that there is a
competent organisational structure in place. One of the key
strengths of Foleo Group Limited is that they have a highly
efficient, organised business structure. The company runs a
Foleo Group Head Office that oversees the progress of
departments including finance, marketing, human resources,
research and development and information technology. These
departments all offer their support services to the following five
business units: ‘Foleo Fones’, ‘Foleo Accessories’, ‘Foleo
Retailing NZ’, ‘Foleo Scapps’ and ‘Foleo Skills’ (REF WK 6).
Within each of these business units, a structural hierarchy is set
up to ensure all staff personnel report to a supervisor. This
organisational structure enables the business to progress on a
micro scale in terms of individual unit production, while also
ensuring the success of the business on a macro scale, allowing
for future business expansion with additional business units.
Conclusion
The following report has outlined the proposed initiative of
adding Fablet, a tablet to Foleo group’s product line using
Apple’s iPad as a comparative case study. This report outlined

13. the ways in which Fablets will affect Foleo group’s stakeholders
and ways in which the company should integrate this new
product to support employees and yield the best financial
results. A SWOT analysis was conducted to provide an
indication of the company’s overall situation by analyzing both
internal and external environments.
GROUP RESEARCH REPORT / BUSINESS PROPOSAL –
GENERAL REQUIREMENTS:
Students will be allocated to groups of five members in Week 5
tutorial. Each group will be required to submit a
comprehensive business proposal to support Foleo Group’s
strategy for expansion. To complete this task, students are
expected to conduct their own research into the Case Study
chapters, the real-world’s relevant industry and the academic
literature to produce a viable proposal.
Proposals are expected to be presented as a formal report to the
Board of Directors, and as such, should comply with the
following structure:
i. Title Page
ii. Executive Summary

14. iii. Table of Contents
iv. Introduction
v. Body
vi. Conclusion and Recommendation
vii. Appendices
viii. List of References
Proposals must be:
• no more than ten (10) pages in length, excluding title page,
executive summary, table of contents, and list of
references
• presented in Times New Roman font size 12
• presented with 2.5 cm margins and 1.5 line spacing
• comprehensive and to the point - excessive verbosity, lack of
precision or poor writing skill will affect the grade
• referenced in accordance with the Harvard Referencing System
(the referencing guide can be found on iLearn)
Each proposal will receive a mark out of 75, which will be
converted to the weighting for this assessment item (i.e. 7.5%).
This grade will be available to all group members according to
their agreed contribution percentage on the coversheet.
In the best managed teams, contribution of each member should

15. be 100%.
One electronic version of each group’s proposal (including the
coversheet) must be submitted to Turnitin (plagiarism
detection software) via the provided link on iLearn before 9:00
PM Sunday 17 October 2021 (Week 10). Late submissions
will NOT be accepted (NB: the submission link will be
deactivated after the deadline). Plagiarism will not be tolerated
and
will be penalised, so it is in student’s best interests to submit
their own original work. Please note that only one submission
per group is permitted, so members within groups must agree on
who will submit their proposal.
Groups are also required to submit a Group Progress Report via
the provided link on iLearn before 9:00 AM Monday 27
September 2021 (Week 8) which must address the following
criteria:
1. The initiative your group suggested to support the growth
strategy
2. The ‘real-life’ company you have selected to support your
group’s proposal
3. Completeness status of the group report
4. Number of meetings held between the group members
5. Individual contributions of members up to that point

16. Submission of this report is mandatory and failure to submit
will impact the final grade awarded to the group’s proposal.
Please keep records of meetings and evidence of contribution to
the work of individual members. Any dispute about
contribution to the work will be settled by the Tutor and Unit
Convenor, based on evidence provided.
ACCG3001
Organisational Planning and Control
Session 2, 2021
Group Research Report REQUIREMENTS
BRIEFING
Assume your group has been engaged by Foleo Group Limited
as a team of consultants. At your initial
meeting with the Board, your team has been asked to propose an
initiative that will expand the current
operations of the Foleo organisation as a whole, by
recommending a new business to add to the current
group of businesses. This project will require extensive research
into the industry in which the proposed

17. new business will operate, in addition to Foleo Group’s current
market.
The long-term objectives of the Foleo Group of businesses
revolve around growth, stakeholders and
technology and can be summed up in the following 4 dot points:
o We aim to grow each business by at least 8 per cent per
annum over the next decade.
o We aim to put our customers’ needs first – to do that we will
foster good relationships with
them, our suppliers and our employees.
o We aim to use and provide the most up-to-date technology
available to ensure our
customers receive the best product possible at the lowest price.
o We aim to provide a working environment for our employees
that encourages and facilitates
a happy and motivated team.
The Board of Foleo Group Limited have provided the following
parameters for your research and proposal:
Strategy for Growth: related diversification
Scope of Proposal:
The business proposal must contain the following elements:
• Proposed initiative: A detailed explanation of the proposed
initiative (e.g., what the new

18. business is, how it works, what the target market is, how it is
consistent with the prescribed
Strategy for Growth…). The new business must not negatively
impact any existing Foleo
businesses.
• SWOT analysis: An analysis of the environment of Foleo
Group Limited using SWOT analysis. The
analysis must be supported by reasonable evidence from the
case facts, and further research into
the real-world external environment of Foleo Group.
• Strategic alignment: An explanation of the strategic alignment
of the proposed initiative. This
section should include:
i. an identification of the long-term objectives of Foleo Group
and how the proposed
initiative will align with these, and
ii. an identification and explanation of the proposed generic
competitive strategy of the
new business.
• Evidence of viability: Reliable and relevant evidence that the
proposed initiative will be viable for
Foleo Group. This section should include:

19. i. an explained example of a relevant real-life company that has
successfully introduced a
similar growth initiative as that being proposed, and
ii. reference to at least one academic journal that supports the
initiative being proposed.
• Impact on stakeholders: An analysis of the likely impact of the
proposed initiative on the below
stakeholders:
1. Customers
2. Suppliers
3. Competitors
4. Employees
5. Shareholders
ACCG3001 S2 2021 – GROUP RESEARCH REPORT –
MARKING GUIDE
Marking Criteria
Marking Scale

20. Excellent
Good
Satisfactory
Poor
Very poor
1. Proposed initiative
Is consistent with the prescribed strategy and does not
negatively
impact any existing Foleo business units.
10 - 9
8 - 7
6 - 5
4 -3
2 - 1 - 0

21. 2. SWOT analysis
Is substantiated and logically derived.
10 - 9
8 - 7
6 - 5
4 -3
2 - 1 - 0
3. Strategic alignment
Clear explanation of alignment between the proposed initiative
and
the objectives the organisation, and the competitive strategy of
the
new business.
10 - 9
8 - 7
6 - 5
4 -3

22. 2 - 1 - 0
4. Evidence of viability
Reliable and relevant evidence to substantiate the viability of
the
proposed initiative, using academic literature and real
organisations.
10 - 9
8 - 7
6 - 5
4 -3
2 - 1 - 0
5. Impact on stakeholders
Thorough and relevant analysis of the impact of the proposed
initiative on all 5 groups of stakeholders.
10 - 9
8 - 7

23. 6 - 5
4 -3
2 - 1 - 0
6. Structure
Proposal presented as a formal report as per the prescribed
structure;
executive summary logically summarises the content of report;
introduction provides clear objectives and structure of report;
conclusion provides clear summary of recommendation, main
points
and findings of the research conducted.
10 - 9
8 - 7
6 - 5
4 -3
2 - 1 - 0

24. 7. Language and Presentation
No errors in spelling, punctuation, grammar, word choice or
sentence
structure; clear sentences and paragraphs.
Report presented, within the page limit, in an excellent,
professional,
coherent and integrated manner; correct format (Times New
Roman
font size 12, margins 2.5 cm and 1.5 line spacing).
10 - 9
8 - 7
6 - 5
4 -3
2 - 1 - 0
8. Referencing
All sources acknowledged; correct in-text citation and list of
references using Harvard referencing system; demonstrated
research
depth and quality (e.g. quantity of relevant and authoritative

25. referenced sources).
5
4
3
2
1 - 0
Penalty for non-submission of Progress Report in Week 8,
and/or
Plagiarism in the Research Report
To be decided by the Unit Convenor and the Tutor/Marker
on a case-by-case basis depending on the seriousness of the
issue.
Total raw mark out of 75
Converted to a total final mark out of 7.5
Your report achieved the listed criteria at a (√):
- High Distinction (HD) Excellent level of quality (6.4 – 7.5)
- Distinction (D) Very Good level of quality (5.6 – 6.3)
- Credit (Cr) Good level of quality (4.9 – 5.5)

26. - Pass (P) Fair level of quality (3.7 – 4.8)
- Fail (F) Poor level of quality (less than 3.7)