Students will keep a journal in an electronic format where they outline ten ideas for a new business or expansion of an existing business. The Idea Journal is where students use strategies to locate, identify, and describe new ideas and identify problems or issues requiring a new solution. For the first two units of the course students maintain an “idea journal”. This journal should show a progression in thinking and idea generation.

Submission Instructions

Submit a journal of ten ideas and describe how these ideas meet consumer needs. These should be original ideas that show a wealth of critical thinking. Each journal should include an introduction and conclusion, should be 4-6 pages (double spaced), 2.54 cm margins (the default on MS Word), and 12 pts size . The paper should follow the APA guidelines for format and citation.

Evaluation

The Business Plan Case Analysis will be marked in its entirety out of 100. The following rubric indicates the criteria students are to adhere to, and their relative weights to the assignment overall.

Activity/Competencies Demonstrated% of Final GradeContent and Research/60a. A minimum of 10 well-supported ideas are presented/15b. Ability to demonstrate innovative and creative solutions to identified problems/20c. Ability to support proposed solutions using sound logic and critical thinking and present a minimum of two academic sources to support the claims about the idea or product/25Communication/20a. Uses clear language (verbal and written), with topic-specific terminology used correctly and effectively/10b. Information organized intelligently and holistically as a complete report (i.e., not simply answers to questions). Papers must include a proper introduction, conclusion, and be supported by a sound body/10Attention to Detail/20a. Document is referenced properly including citations and reference page, and proper title page/10b. Attention to spelling, grammar, and sentence structure/10Total