BUS 301: Business Case vs. Business Plan - Detailed Analysis Report

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of business cases and business plans, highlighting their key differences and applications. A business case is presented as a market opportunity focused on a product level, while a business plan is an inspection of a potential business opportunity at the company level. The report explores the applications of each, such as attracting new customers for a business case and securing bank finance for a business plan. It also includes a comparison table outlining the distinctions in terms of organization, measures, focus, and predictions. The report further discusses the importance of business case templates, including the selection of an appropriate template for effective analysis and decision-making. Finally, the report concludes that business plans and business cases are distinct entities, with the former revolving around an organization and the latter around a product, action, or decision. The report also recommends choosing a business case template critically for the most appropriate support.

business plan and business case analysis

BUSINESS PLAN AND BUSINESS CASE ANALYSIS
ABSTRACT
The following project is undertaken to study the difference between a business case and a
business plan as various times people are confused between the two. A Business Case is that
market opportunity which is concerned at the product level. It is a type of market problem that is
lucrative and only exists for already operating businesses. Whereas, A Business Plan is an
inspection of a potential business opportunity concerned at the company level. It is a situation of
creating a new company to serve products and services in the existing market. Some people are
often confused between the business case and business plan. In brief, a business plan revolves
around the business and a business case is carried to address problems regarding a single product
or decision. The type of business case templates used is a very important aspect of any business
plan. So, the type of template used must be strategically designed so that it is easy to get the gist
of that business case.
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BUSINESS PLAN AND BUSINESS CASE ANALYSIS
TABLE OF CONTENTS
STUDY:...........................................................................................................................................3
BUSINESS CASE........................................................................................................................3
BUSINESS PLAN:......................................................................................................................3
COMPARISON AND CONTRAST BETWEEN A BUSINESS PLAN AND A BUSINESS
CASE:..........................................................................................................................................4
BUSINESS CASE TEMPLATE:.................................................................................................5
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................7
REFERENCE:.................................................................................................................................8
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BUSINESS PLAN AND BUSINESS CASE ANALYSIS
STUDY
BUSINESS CASE:
A Business Case is that market opportunity which is concerned at the product level. It is a type
of market problem that is lucrative and only exists for already operating businesses.
In layman terms, it is an assessment which is performed at product-level that reaches the decision
of whether the company should try to solve a market problem by making a product or not to
compete in the market.
For example, should a chips manufacturing company produce a new flavored version to compete
with the substitutes available to customers in consumer market or not? This type of situations
gives rise to perform a business case. ("Business case", 2016)
Applications of a business case:
 Attracting new customers
 Increased market share
 Hiring new personnel
 Guiding the objectives of managers
 Expanding the business
BUSINESS PLAN:
A Business Plan is an inspection of a potential business opportunity concerned at the company
level. It is a situation of creating a new company to serve products and services in the existing
market. A business plan can be anything related to a new business opportunity. It can be an NPO,
a profit making organization or a government organization, etc. Therefore, it is an evaluation
carried at the company level that reaches to a decision of whether we should create a company to
compete with others in a particular industry.
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BUSINESS PLAN AND BUSINESS CASE ANALYSIS
For example, should we initiate a new internet providing company called LUXYAIR to compete
with other networking companies in the industry? This type of situation gives rise to perform a
business plan. Business plans are used for creating a business opportunity but sometimes can
also be used as a marketing tool to critically run and guide the company.
Applications of a business plan:
 Bank finance
 Dealing with professionals
 Selling the business
 Alliance
 Equity Fundraising
 Recruitment (Berry, 2006)
COMPARISON AND CONTRAST BETWEEN A BUSINESS PLAN AND A
BUSINESS CASE:
Some people are often confused between the business case and business plan. In brief, a
business plan revolves around the business and a business case is carried to address problems
regarding a single product or decision.
The following table compares and contrasts the differences between a business case and a
business plan.
A Business Case Business Plan
Organized
around
A single product or decision and
its alternatives. An organization or the whole enterprise.
Measures ROI, IRR, NPV, TCO and
payback period Business health, Profits, margins and sales
In a non-
profit or
government
organization...
It includes the benefit to the
customers and organization.
It focuses on funding needs and ability to
operate within the budget.
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BUSINESS PLAN AND BUSINESS CASE ANALYSIS
Focuses on Business objectives for a product Business objectives for the company
Predicts Non-financial impacts and cash
flow result Performance of the organization
Based on Benefits rationale and cost model The business model for the organization
(Dezhi & Wenjing, 2014)
A business case supports the plan of a business by answering the questions like: "How the action
that the organization is planning to take will impact the performance of the business?”
A business plan helps a business case by helping the developers of that case in estimating the
revenue, expenses, expected changes and costs in different areas.
BUSINESS CASE TEMPLATE:
The details in the business case template show us all the details mentioned and required for
building an appropriate business case. This helps the manager to act accordingly to attain the
desired goals and objectives. The contents of the template give us the brief information about the
business case that allows us to know what the business plan is all about and act accordingly.
("Business Case Template", 2016)
For e.g., charts, tables and diagrams are also added to provide further guidance on how to
complete each task.
The representation of the collection of data in the template helps to obtain funding and project
approval to get a project started. As the template is brief, it becomes easy to go through each
aspect, but while being brief, it also contains sufficient information to get all the important
information about that case.
I chose the below business case template because it covered all the essentials required starting
from purpose and deliverables to constraints and requirements. And it is better from the other
referred templates as they didn't have any point considering either limitations or constraints
which are a very important aspect of any business case. Also, this business case template is much
more detailed and contains all the required information which is to be needed for developing any
business case.
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BUSINESS PLAN AND BUSINESS CASE ANALYSIS
URL of the business case template chosen:-
http://image.slidesharecdn.com/businesscase-100901132122-phpapp01/95/business-case-project-
management-template-2-728.jpg?cb=1283347317
The URL of other business case templates referred is given below:
http://image.slidesharecdn.com/2-150401145728-conversion-gate01/95/information-technology-
project-management-jack-tmarchewka-ch2-3e-33-638.jpg?cb=1427900403
http://www.fotolip.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Business-Case-Template-1.jpg
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BUSINESS PLAN AND BUSINESS CASE ANALYSIS
CONCLUSION
By conducting this project, we can conclude that business plan and business case are not the
same. Where the one revolves around a product, action or decision, i.e., business case, the other
revolves around an organization or the whole enterprise i.e., business plan. It is very important to
build a business case template to get all the information about a business case. Also, we must
choose a business case template very critically so that it supports our business case in the most
appropriate manner possible. The one chosen above will be appropriate for most business cases
and contains all essential aspects needed in a template.
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BUSINESS PLAN AND BUSINESS CASE ANALYSIS
REFERENCE
 Business case. (2016). Wikipedia. Retrieved 5 August 2016, from
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_case
 Berry, T. (2006). 15 Reasons You Need a Business Plan. Entrepreneur. Retrieved 5
August 2016, from https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/83818
 Business Case Template. (2016). Projectmanagementdocs.com. Retrieved 5 August 2016,
from http://www.projectmanagementdocs.com/project-initiation-templates/business-
case.html
 Dezhi, L. & Wenjing, C. (2014). On The Art Of Making Business Plan - A Successful
Case. Balkan Region Conference On Engineering And Business Education, 1(1).
http://dx.doi.org/10.2478/cplbu-2014-0006
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