Team A (Learners 1 & 2)
Topic 9.1: Corporate Planning
Project Overview
Activity Type: Comparative Corporate Analysis (Desk Research)
Project Brief: Select two large corporations to analyze and contrast (e.g., Apple vs. Microsoft,
or a historical success vs. a failure like Netflix vs. Blockbuster). You will investigate their public
corporate plans, official mission statements, and recent annual reports to evaluate how strategic
planning drives corporate survival and growth.
Blueprint
Specific Expected Elements in
Project Phase What You Need to Do
Focus Final Report
* Brief introduction of
* Choose your 2 companies.
both companies.
Phase 1:
Corporate
Profiles &
Foundations * Source their latest annual
* A side-by-side
Selection & reports, official mission
comparison of their core
Initial Research statements, and public
vision and mission
strategic plans.
statements.
* Use SWOT to identify * Labeled SWOT
internal strengths/weaknesses. diagrams or PESTLE
grids for both
Phase 2:
corporations.
Internal &
External
Factor * Use PESTLE to track
Analysis external forces (Political,
Environmental
Economic, Social, * Clear notes linking
Mapping
Technological, Legal, these factors directly to
Environmental) that shaped the choices made in
their planning. their corporate plans.
Phase 3: Benefits vs. * Analyze what went right * Critical analysis
Limitations (e.g., market expansion, paragraphs identifying
increased profit, risk the exact business
mitigation). outcomes.
Specific Expected Elements in
Project Phase What You Need to Do
Focus Final Report
* Evidence-backed
Strategic * Analyze what went wrong or
conclusions explaining
Evaluation what they missed (e.g., rigid
why their plans
structures, unexpected market
succeeded or hit
pivots, execution failures).
boundaries.
* A one-page
Phase 4:
comparative table
* Distill your entire report
summarizing: Core
down into a highly readable,
Data Strategy, Key
high-level overview table
Synthesis Environmental
designed for corporate
Influencers, Major
Executive executives.
Successes, and Key
Summary Table
Limitations.
📦 Final Deliverables Checklist
[ ] Written Comparative Research Report: A formal, professional business document
detailing Phases 1, 2, and 3.
[ ] Executive Summary Table: A clean, scannable table placed either at the very beginning (as
an abstract) or at the end of your report to summarize the core findings.
Here is the detailed, step-by-step project blueprint for Team B, organized into a clear tabular
format to match Team A's structure.
Team B (Learners 3 & 4)
Topic 9.2: Corporate Culture
Project Overview
Activity Type: Primary Case Study & Business Interview (Field Project)
Project Brief: Conduct a field project analyzing how an organization's specific culture style
(such as Power, Bureaucratic, Task, or Person culture) impacts how decisions are made. You
will interview a real-world manager or leader to uncover how their workplace culture functions
and how it adapts to change.
Blueprint
Project Specific Expected Elements in
What You Need to Do
Phase Focus Final Report
* Select and contact a local
manager, business owner, or school
Phase 1: administrator. * A detailed
Transcribed
Interview Log
Fieldwork
containing your exact
Execution
questions and the
Preparation * Draft a list of open-ended subject's responses
& Interview interview questions focused on appended to the report.
workplace habits, leadership styles,
and communication channels.
* A clear classification
section defining their
specific culture type.
Phase 2: * Analyze the interview data to
identify which core culture type
dominant in the workplace: Power
Framework
(centralized control),
Application
Bureaucratic/Role (rules-driven),
* Direct quotes or
Culture Task (project-focused), or Person
evidence from the
Diagnosis (individual-focused).
interview that prove
why the workplace fits
this specific model.
* A narrative
breakdown explaining
the catalyst for change
Phase 3: (e.g., market shift,
growth, new
* Investigate a specific historical
leadership).
Change instance mentioned by the leader
Analysis where they had to actively change
or adapt that workplace culture.
Cultural
Evolution
* Analysis of why this
cultural shift was vital
for business survival.
Phase 4: Human * Evaluate the workforce's response * Critical analysis
Factor to the cultural transition. detailing employee
Evaluation reactions (both positive
Project Specific Expected Elements in
What You Need to Do
Phase Focus Final Report
and negative).
Reaction & * Look closely at friction points, * A summary of
Reflection employee resistance, or unexpected lessons learned
benefits that arose during the shift. regarding the difficulty
of changing human
behavior in business.
Final Deliverables Checklist
[ ] Written Case Study Report: A formal business document integrating your cultural
diagnosis, change analysis, and employee reaction findings (Phases 2, 3, and 4).
[ ] Transcribed Interview Log: A cleanly typed, word-for-word record of your interview,
positioned as an appendix at the back of your report.
Here is the detailed, step-by-step project blueprint for Team C, structured into a clean tabular
column to match the formatting of the previous teams.
Team C (Learners 5 & 6)
Topic 9.3: Transformational Leadership
Project Overview
Activity Type: Biographical Leadership Profile & Media Analysis
Project Brief: Select and research an iconic transformational business leader (e.g., Steve Jobs,
Elon Musk, Indra Nooyi, or Satya Nadella). You will analyze their career trajectory and
corporate decisions through the explicit lens of transformational leadership theory to see how
vision and inspiration can completely reshape a company's destiny.
Blueprint
Project Expected Elements in
Specific Focus What You Need to Do
Phase Final Deliverable
Phase 1: Core Profile * Select your business * A brief profile of the
Project Expected Elements in
Specific Focus What You Need to Do
Phase Final Deliverable
leader and the
leader.
organization.
Establishment
* Map out their timeline,
* Contextual background
Leader highlighting their entry into
on what crisis or
Selection & the target company and the
opportunity the company
Biography state of the business at that
faced before they took
moment.
control.
* Specific, real-world
Phase 2: * Connect the leader's
examples of actions,
actual behaviors to the core
speeches, or initiatives
Identifying pillars of transformational
where the leader
Transformational leadership (e.g., vision,
demonstrated
Traits intellectual stimulation,
transformational
Theoretical idealized influence,
leadership theory in
Application individual consideration).
action.
Phase 3: * Find documented * Case-study style
instances where this leader breakdowns of at least
made a bold, visionary two major corporate
The Corporate
choice that fundamentally pivots engineered by this
Turnaround
pivoted the company's leader, backed by
Strategic product line, strategy, or historical facts or
Pivots business model. corporate data.
* Critically evaluate how
* A balanced critical
Phase 4: their highly intense,
analysis showing both the
visionary style directly
positive outcomes (e.g.,
impacted employee morale
Performance & massive growth,
(culture/burnout), company
Morale Outcomes disruption) and potential
innovation
drawbacks (e.g.,
Impact (R&D/products), and long-
employee fatigue, high
Evaluation term financial
turnover) of their style.
performance.
📦 Final Deliverables Options (Choose ONE)
[ ] Option A: A Timeline-Based Presentation Deck
A highly visual slide deck (e.g., PowerPoint, Keynote) that traces the leader's chronological
journey, embedding the required framework analysis, data charts, and text directly onto a visual
timeline layout.
[ ] Option B: A Multimedia Video Profile
A produced video essay (or narrated presentation) analyzing the leader's career. This must
include video clips, audio interviews, and voiceover commentary addressing all key tasks.
Here is the detailed, step-by-step project blueprint for Team D, expanded into the same thorough
tabular format to ensure complete consistency across your shared learning materials.
Team D (Learners 7 & 8)
Topic 9.4: Managing Strategic Change
Project Overview
Activity Type: Simulated Change Management Strategy
Project Brief: Act as corporate change consultants hired by a traditional, brick-and-mortar retail
company that needs to shutter its physical stores and transition 100% to a digital e-commerce
model. Your team will construct a strategic blueprint to guide their workforce, minimize friction,
and successfully embed this digital evolution.
Blueprint
Specific Expected Elements in Final
Project Phase What You Need to Do
Focus Deliverable
* Map out the entire digital * A detailed breakdown of
transition chronologically. actions required at each stage.
Phase 1:
Structural
Change * Apply an established * Concrete steps for preparing
Modeling model (such as Lewin’s 3- the workforce (Unfreezing),
Framework Stage Model: Unfreeze, implementing e-commerce
Architecture Change, Refreeze) to systems (Changing), and
structure the move from solidifying new digital
retail spaces to digital operational habits
platforms. (Refreezing).
Specific Expected Elements in Final
Project Phase What You Need to Do
Focus Deliverable
* Anticipate and identify * A dedicated "Resistance
psychological and practical Risk Matrix" mapping out
sources of employee potential workforce friction
Phase 2: resistance (e.g., fear of points.
technology, loss of routine,
Human job redundancy concerns).
Friction &
Mitigation
Resistance * Actionable, proactive
Risk Audit communication and retraining
* Draft specific, empathetic strategies designed to support
management tactics to struggling staff and defuse
address each concern. anxiety.
* Look beyond standard
managerial logistics.
Phase 3: * Detailed role definitions
highlighting how these
Defining individuals will actively
Advocacy evangelize, inspire, and
Roles * Design roles for Project promote the digital mindset
Mobilization Champions (cultural across the company, rather
& Culture advocates) and Project than just tracking deadlines.
Groups/Teams (cross-
functional working units).
Phase 4:
* Clean formatting featuring a
* Assemble your findings,
professional table of contents,
structural maps, risk
Strategy executive framing, and a
assessments, and role
Synthesis scannable operational layout
descriptions into a cohesive
tailored for the client's
Playbook internal advisory document.
executive board.
Compilation
Final Deliverables Checklist
[ ] The Corporate "Change Management Playbook" Blueprint: A comprehensive,
professionally structured strategy document detailing all components outlined in Phases 1
through 4.
Here is the detailed, step-by-step project blueprint for Team E, fully adapted into the clean
tabular format to complete the set for your learners.
Team E (Learners 9 & 10)
Topic 9.5: Contingency Planning
📋 Project Overview
Activity Type: Risk Assessment & Crisis Simulation Blueprint
Project Brief: Select a high-stakes, operationally sensitive industry (such as aviation,
hospitality, or data centers). You will conduct a comprehensive corporate risk audit and design a
fully functional business continuity plan to ensure the company survives and maintains core
operations during an unexpected catastrophe.
Step-by-Step Project Blueprint
Specific Expected Elements in
Project Phase What You Need to Do
Focus Final Deliverable
* Select your target industry. * An introductory profile
of the chosen industry
and its core operational
Phase 1:
dependencies.
Disaster Risk * Brainstorm and research
Scoping sector-specific crises that
could completely halt
Threat
operations (e.g., severe * A defined list of at
Identification
cyberattacks, ransomware, least 3 distinct, major
natural disasters, sudden disaster scenarios
global supply chain collapses). tailored to that industry.
* Build an analytical Risk
Matrix Table to evaluate * A color-coded or
each identified threat. scaled Risk Matrix
Phase 2: diagram.
Constructing
the Matrix
* Assess each event based on
Risk two distinct metrics: * Explanatory notes
Quantification Likelihood (probability of justifying why each
occurrence) and Business disaster was assigned its
Impact (severity of specific risk level.
damage/loss).
Phase 3: Crisis * Write a detailed operational * An emergency action
Specific Expected Elements in
Project Phase What You Need to Do
Focus Final Deliverable
protocol that outlines the exact
steps the company must take protocol featuring clear
during and immediately after a "If/Then" instructions.
crisis hits.
Response
Architecture
* Designated emergency
Continuity * Detail how core business roles (who does what
Planning functions will keep running when a crisis hits) and
(e.g., backup systems, operational workaround
alternative supply chains, strategies.
communication channels).
* A balanced, critical
* Step back and critically conclusion summary.
evaluate the concept of
Phase 4: planning itself.
Benefits vs.
* Analytical breakdown
Limitations
of how plans save
Strategic * Weigh the clear advantages lives/money vs. how
Evaluation of having a plan against the over-reliance on rigid
real-world limitations of plans can fail when
trying to predict the future. unpredicted variables
arise.
📦 Final Deliverables Checklist
[ ] Business Continuity Plan (BCP) Presentation Deck: A boardroom-ready, professional slide
deck that cleanly visualizes all four phases of your audit, including the Risk Matrix and crisis
protocols, formatted to be pitched directly to company stakeholders.