Instructions: You are required to submit an informational, analytical or proposal-style report on one of the topics below. Report type will vary by topic. See Chapters 9-11 for guidance on planning, researching, and report writing. This assignment is worth 200 points, 20% of your overall grade so put your best effort into it. EXAMPLES WILL BE PROVIDED FOR FORMATTING AND SUCH.

Requirements

• 8-12 pages total, SINGLE-SPACED, this is business format. (Your title page and reference pages count toward the total pages).
• The report should consist of a title page, introduction, body, close, and reference page (APA format for reference page only).You do not need a table of contents or any other preliminary parts (See Figure 11.1 on pg. 188). Within the body of your report, you should include clear, descriptive sub-headings so it is easy for the reader to find specific sections of your report. Look at the report examples presented in Chapter 11 for formatting. You must include at least four references (do NOT use Wikipedia, personal blogs or other user-generated or opinion-oriented sources).
• You are required to conduct secondary research, however, primary research is also recommended (through an online survey, observation, interview or method of your choice). For example, if you choose option 1, you might consider interviewing an owner or manager of the company and/or conducting observational research by sitting in one of their location and documenting your findings.
• The use of graphs, charts and other visual aids are required, but they should not replace text (don’t use as fillers), instead they should provide a visual representation of what is explained in th body of your report.
• You will be graded based on completion, demonstration of knowledge of report organization and writing, quality of content, presentation/format, spelling, grammar and punctuation.

Topics (Choose One):

4. 1. Assume you’ve been hired by an entrepreneur who is interested in opening a fast-casual sandwich shop. The entrepreneur is contemplating purchasing a franchise or opening their own shop and starting from scratch. In your report, present the pros and cons of purchasing a franchise versus starting from scratch. Also present on overview of the top three sandwich franchises in the country and the profile (or characteristics) of an entrepreneur that are best suited for each avenue – meaning, some types of people will be more successful opening a franchise while others will be better off starting on their own.
   2. Assume you work as an office manager for a hair salon or barber. Your boss is “old school” and has kept customer records through hand-written notepads. You recognize a strong need to move to a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system. You are looking for something that would track customers’ appointments and send reminders, keep customer profile records such as the type of cut/color they had in the past and basic personal information (address, phone number, birthday, etc.), plus any other features that would help your salon market to customers such as email or text notifications about promotions and specials. Research CRM software brands for salons or similar types of businesses and present 2-3 options to your boss with your personal recommendation. Hint: think about key information your boss would want – comparison of features, pricing, functionality, and anything else you think would be important.
   3. Assume you work for a vegan restaurant. The owner has a successful restaurant in North Park and he is considering expanding and taking his business mobile by adding a food truck. Based on your research of the mobile food truck industry, present pros and cons of entering this market. Include information such as permit requirements, operations-related considerations, all costs including specific permitting costs in San Diego, marketing, opportunities, challenges and anything else you think would be important to present to your boss.