Strategic Operational Plan for BBQ Fun's E-commerce Expansion

This report outlines an operational plan for BBQ Fun's e-commerce expansion, detailing strategies for acquiring physical resources like trucks and forklifts through purchasing from open markets and bid tenders for inventory. It addresses intellectual property risks, including unauthorized use and information leakage, proposing measures like confidentiality contracts and legal ownership. The report also covers human resource planning, focusing on recruiting skilled online sales and delivery personnel, incorporating interview templates and strategies to protect company information. This comprehensive plan aims to facilitate BBQ Fun's successful transition into e-commerce while mitigating potential risks and ensuring efficient operations.

Running head: OPERATIONAL PLAN
Operational Plan
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

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Table of Contents
Assignment Task 2..........................................................................................................................2
Intellectual Property.....................................................................................................................4
Human Resource Planning..........................................................................................................6
Reference.......................................................................................................................................12

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Assignment Task 2
As per the case study provided in the assignment, BBQ Fun is in the process of
expanding its business by incorporating an e-commerce facility in its website. This will help the
business in improving the overall sales of the company and lead to development of the business
of BBQ Fun. As per the budget, the physical resources which the business will be requiring
consists of 6 trucks which is necessary for smooth distribution process of the products
manufactured by BBQ Fun. In addition to this the company will also be requiring four forklifts
for the business. The company also has a capital requirement which is of five million dollars for
effective and efficient running of the operations of the company. There are various sources
where the company can acquire the required physical resources of the company. Some of the
options which is available to the company is given below along with the benefits and limitations
which are associated with choosing the source:
Resourcing Option Benefits Limitations
Purchasing from open
market
The basic advantage which is
associated with purchasing
the resources from open
market is that the company
has a lot of options available
to it and a range of prices is
also available from where the
company can choose the most
appropriate choice (Lee, Noh
The limitation which the
company faces while
selecting this method is that
the market prices of the
equipment in most cases are
considerably high and there
are also risks which are
associated with open market

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& Kim, 2013). purchases.
Second hand Purchases The main benefit of this
method of purchasing is that
the cost of acquiring
resources are quite low as the
products are used and not
entirely new (Hamari,
Sjöklint & Ukkonen, 2016).
In comparison with new
purchased resources, second
hand products are low on
cost.
The limitation which is
associated with this method
of acquiring resources is that
the resources such as
equipment and machinery can
be outdated or defective.
Tender The main advantage of using
this method of purchasing is
that the company gets a wide
range of offers for the tender
and then the company can
choose the most competitive
and suitable price.
The disadvantage which is
associated with this method is
the complexity of the entire
process associated with the
method.
The above table shows the various options which the management has for purchasing the
physical resources which are required as per the requirement of the company. As per the decision

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of the management of BBQ Fun will be purchasing the physical resources of the company from
open market. It is the requirement of the management that new physicals products should be
purchased as such will have more useful life than the second-hand ones. Assets like trucks and
forklifts would be constantly used in the market and therefore new model is the requirement of
the company which will not be available in case of second-hand purchase. Another objective of
the business for purchasing the product from open market is that the company wants to establish
relation or a friendly tie up with the supplier so that in future requirements of physical resources
the company and supplier can again do business. In this way the company will be able to get
some bargaining power and also in some cases discounts in case of future transactions.
As for the purchase of inventory and stocks the company can use Bid tender method
where the company needs to appoint an auctioneer who will be conducting the proceedings of
auction process. The first order of the business is to invite all potential suppliers of the raw
materials for the auction. The suppliers will be bidding for the contract of suppling raw materials
to the company. The auction process will start with a base price which is decided by the
management of the company after analyzing the market for the product. The auction for the
contract will begin at the base price as set by the management and this price will be gradually
increasing by the offers made by the suppliers until the price reaches a saturation point and the
contract will be given to the highest bidder. In this way the company acquire physical resources
necessary for effective functioning of the business.
Intellectual Property
The term intellectual property of any business refers to the intangible assets of any
company which includes goodwill, patents, copyright and trademarks (Bently & Sherman, 2014).

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Risk management of intellectual property covers areas where adverse effects which are caused
on an asset’s useful life is minimized. In case of every company which has intellectual property
is also subjected to certain risks which are there in the business. The acquisition of intellectual
property depends on the nature of the business. One of the risks which is faced by the business in
relation to intellectual property is that there is a threat of same intellectual property being
developed by a third party. Then there is the risk that the intellectual property which includes
trade secrets can be leaked to outside party by employees. In case the company is using an
intellectual property which the company has taken on lease from third party, there is a risk that
the property might get damaged when being used by an employee who does not know how to use
the property. In addition to this an intellectual property always faces the risks of cases which can
be filed against the company as intellectual property violations (Williams, 2013). The measures
which the business can adopt so that the business does not face the risks or minimize the risks are
discussed below in details:
1. One of the measures which can be incorporated in the contract of intellectual property
that the company cannot use intellectual property of any third party without the prior
consent of the same.
2. The company can protect any leakages of vital information to third party from happening
by ensuring that every employee of the company signs a confidentiality contract
according to which the employee will not be disclosing any information or trade secrets
to any third party even if the employee is out of the service of the company.
3. The company needs to have the legal rights of ownership of the intellectual property so
that no third party is able to copy the intellectual property of the company (Waelde et al.,
2013).

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Human Resource Planning
For the purpose of meeting the needs of the business in terms of workforce requirements, Human
resource planning model is followed. A human resource planning model includes aspects such as
job description, competency of the employees and also is useful for helping the business
understand how it can retain employees (Armstrong & Taylor, 2014). The case study of BBQ
Fun provides that the company is trying to expand its scale of operations by moving into online
e-commerce services where the products of the company can be sold. The main motive of the
management of the company is to ensure that the sales of the company increases with the
implementation of e-commerce facilities in the website. The forecasted demand of the employees
along with the forecasted supply of employees can be revealed with the human resource planning
model.
The plan of the management is to expand the operations of the business and incorporate
an e-commerce facility which can increase the overall sales of the company. As per the
operational developed by the company, the business will be requiring online sales and customer
service employees who would have necessary skills as to handle the e-commerce facility and
also the knowledge to handle any situation which arises. Another requirement for the human
resources is in the department of delivery services as the business will be requiring drivers and
also dour warehouse workers (Bratton & Gold, 2017).
As per the plan of the management, the company is going to advertise the vacancies for
the new employees who will be working in the e-commerce team of the company. The main
purpose of such an advertisement is to attract potential employees for the designation. The
management will then be conducting an interview round on the basis of which employee will be

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selected. The basis for selection of employee is highest degree qualification of the employee,
skills of the employees in handling software, computers and also problem- solving ability of the
employees. In addition to this, the management of the company requires the newly recruited
employees to be enthusiastic, taking initiates, proper communication skills and if there is any
prior experience then such will always be a plus point. The selection of the employee will be
done by the managers of the company on the basis of judgements on above criteria.
The IP requirements which are to be incorporated in the policies of the company so that
any case of leakages of trade information or profession’s secrets cannot be misplaced. The
company can protect any leakages of vital information to third party from happening by ensuring
that every employee of the company signs a confidentiality contract according to which the
employee will not be disclosing any information or trade secrets to any third party even if the
employee is out of the service of the company (Storey, 2014). In addition to this the management
of the company needs to enforce a law that anyone who will be breaking the terms of the contract
where leakages of any information or trade secrets are prohibited., against which legal actions
will be taken.
The interview of the company is conducted to understand the knowledge level, problem-
solving ability and communication skills of an employee. There is an interview template given
below which is prepared by the management:
Interview planning for the candidate of online service department
Planning aspect Description Time

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1. Type of
interview
Selection Interview
2. Objectives  To ascertain whether the candidate has basic
knowledge of the online websites and how to handle
the same.
 To recruit an individual who has the ability to face
every situation head on and tackle the problems of
the company.
3. Approach
and style
The management will be adopting a conversational
approach so that the communication skills of the candidate
can be judged
4. Schedule
1. Establish rapport with the employee
2. Set agenda of the business.
3. Collect information about applicant.
4. Discuss job and company thoroughly.
5. Invite applicant’s questions.
5 mins
10 mins
5 mins
10 mins
5 mins

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5. Topics and
questions
● Previous work experience in specific job functions.
● Previous training and education.
● Hints of career plans and interests.
● Explanation of the job and company benefits.
Page.
Interview planning for the candidate of online service department
Planning aspect Description Time
1. Type of
interview
Selection Interview
2. Objectives  To ensure that the candidate has basic knowledge of
the online websites and how to handle the same.
 To recruit an individual who can handle every
situation with best possible outcome
3.Approach
and style
The management will be adopting a conversational
approach so that the communication skills of the candidate
can be judged
4.Schedule

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1. Establish rapport with the employee
2. Set agenda of the business.
3. Collect information about applicant.
4. Discuss job and company thoroughly.
5. Invite applicant’s questions.
5 mins
10 mins
5 mins
10 mins
5 mins
5.Topics and
questions
● Previous work experience in specific job functions.
● Previous training and education.
● Hints of career plans and interests.
● Explanation of the job and company benefits.
Page.
As per the interview plan of the management, the recruiting workers for the online sales
team is required for which the management of the company is looking for individuals who have
the necessary skills and knowledge for handling the online e-commerce system. Moreover, the

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management also plans to provide specific training to such individuals for the purpose ensuring
that they are properly trained to handle any situation in relation to e-commerce system (Huang &
Benyoucef, 2013).