| Course | MGT 418 Evaluating New Business Opportunities (MGT/418) |
|---|---|
| Week | 1 |
| Paper type | Opportunity screening analysis |
| Length | about 1,029 words, 4 double-spaced pages plus title page and references |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | University of Phoenix |
| Program | BS in Business |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for MGT 418 Week 1
Drone Surveys, Electric Equipment or Portable Storage? Screening Three New Ventures for a Boise Equipment Rental Company
[Student Name]
University of Phoenix
MGT/418: Evaluating New Business Opportunities
Week 1 Assignment
[Instructor Name]
[Date]
Summit Ridge Equipment Rental and all figures are composites written for a model paper.
Summit Ridge Equipment Rental, a composite family-owned company in Boise, Idaho, rents excavators, skid steers, lifts, generators and trailers to contractors and homeowners from three yards in the Treasure Valley. Revenue reached $28 million last year, but growth slowed as housing construction cooled. The second-generation owners want a new line of business and have three ideas: drone surveying for contractors, a rental line of battery-electric compact equipment and portable storage containers delivered to homes and job sites. They have about $3 million to invest. A company with three appealing ideas and money for one needs a way to say no to two of them without regret, and screening provides it. This paper screens the three opportunities.
What Makes an Opportunity
Shane and Venkataraman (2000) argued that entrepreneurship centers on the discovery, evaluation and exploitation of opportunities, meaning chances to offer something new to customers at a price above what it costs to provide. They emphasized that opportunities exist in relation to particular people or firms with the information and resources to act on them. An idea that would work for another company may not be an opportunity for Summit Ridge.
Why Screen Before Evaluating
Kerr et al. (2014) described entrepreneurship as experimentation: because returns are hard to predict, entrepreneurs learn by testing ideas cheaply before committing heavily. Screening is the first, cheapest test, using available evidence to decide which ideas deserve deeper study.
Screening Criteria and Weights
The owners and their controller set six criteria: customer need and willingness to pay, 25 percent; fit with Summit Ridge's assets, skills and customers, 25 percent; market size and growth in the Treasure Valley, 15 percent; investment required relative to the $3 million budget, 15 percent; competition, 10 percent; and risk, 10 percent. Fit is weighted heavily because the owners want to build on what the company does well.
Gathering Early Evidence
In three weeks, the team interviewed 18 contractors and 12 homeowners who had rented from Summit Ridge, reviewed building permit and population data for Ada and Canyon counties, collected competitor prices and asked two equipment makers about electric models and costs.
Opportunity One: Drone Surveying
Drone surveying offers contractors fast site measurements and progress photos. Contractors expressed interest, but several already use surveying firms or their own drones. The service requires licensed pilots, surveying knowledge and software skills Summit Ridge lacks. Investment is modest, about $400,000, but fit is poor.
Opportunity Two: Electric Compact Equipment
Battery-electric mini excavators and skid steers are quieter and produce no exhaust, valuable for indoor work and noise-restricted sites. Equipment makers report growing interest. However, only 3 of 18 contractors said they would pay a premium today, electric units cost about 50 to 80 percent more than diesel models and charging at job sites is a problem. Fit is strong, since Summit Ridge already rents and services compact equipment.
Opportunity Three: Portable Storage
Portable storage containers are delivered to a home or job site, filled and kept on site or moved to a storage yard. The Treasure Valley's population growth, frequent moves and remodeling create demand. Homeowners interviewed liked the convenience, and 11 of 18 contractors said they need secure job-site storage. Summit Ridge already has yards, trucks capable of moving containers, a customer base and a reservation system.
Scoring the Opportunities
On a five-point scale, drone surveying scored 3 for need, 1 for fit, 3 for market, 4 for investment, 2 for competition and 3 for risk, a weighted total of 2.55. Electric equipment scored 2, 5, 2, 3, 4 and 2, totaling 3.10. Portable storage scored 4, 5, 4, 3, 3 and 4, totaling 4.0.
Testing the Weights
Because fit carries a quarter of the weight, the team checked whether the result depends on it. Reducing fit to 15 percent and raising market size to 25 percent leaves portable storage first at 3.9 and electric equipment second at 2.8. Weighting investment more heavily helps drone surveying, which is cheapest, but it still finishes last. The ranking holds under every reasonable set of weights the team tried, which increases confidence in the choice.
Interpreting the Scores
Portable storage leads clearly because it combines demonstrated need with strong fit. Electric equipment's fit is excellent, but current demand is weak; it may be an opportunity in a few years. Drone surveying is an attractive idea but not an opportunity for Summit Ridge, given its lack of the required skills.
What the Interviews Revealed
The interviews added detail the scores do not show. Contractors described theft from job sites as a constant problem and said they would pay for a lockable container delivered on short notice. Homeowners renovating kitchens wanted a place to store furniture without moving it across town. Several mentioned that national storage brands were slow to deliver in outlying towns such as Kuna and Emmett. These comments suggest service speed and coverage of smaller towns may be where Summit Ridge can compete.
Avoiding Overconfidence
Kahneman and Lovallo (1993) warned that decision makers tend to view each project in isolation and make bold forecasts, ignoring how similar projects have performed. The team will compare its expectations for portable storage with the experience of rental companies that added storage, rather than relying only on its own enthusiasm.
Keeping an Option Open on Electric Equipment
Rather than rejecting electric equipment entirely, Summit Ridge can add four electric units to its existing fleet for indoor and noise-sensitive jobs and track demand. This small test keeps the option open at low cost.
Questions for Portable Storage
The deeper evaluation must answer how large the market is, who the competitors are and how they price, how many containers and what investment are needed, what returns are likely, what risks exist and whether outside investors or lenders would support it.
Conclusion
Screening three ideas against weighted criteria with early evidence shows that portable storage is the strongest opportunity for Summit Ridge, building on its yards, trucks and customers in a growing market. Electric equipment deserves a small test, and drone surveying should be set aside. The following weeks will evaluate portable storage in depth.
References
Kahneman, D., & Lovallo, D. (1993). Timid choices and bold forecasts: A cognitive perspective on risk taking. Management Science, 39(1), 17-31. https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.39.1.17
Kerr, W. R., Nanda, R., & Rhodes-Kropf, M. (2014). Entrepreneurship as experimentation. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 28(3), 25-48. https://doi.org/10.1257/jep.28.3.25
Shane, S., & Venkataraman, S. (2000). The promise of entrepreneurship as a field of research. Academy of Management Review, 25(1), 217-226. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2000.2791611
What the MGT 418 Week 1 instructions ask
The opening MGT 418 assignment typically asks students to identify and screen new business opportunities. Common requirements include explaining the difference between an idea and an opportunity, describing several opportunities, setting screening criteria such as market need, size and growth, rival offerings, fit with resources, investment required and risk, applying the criteria with evidence and choosing one or more to evaluate further. Some prompts ask students to use a screening matrix. Use evidence even at this early stage, explain how criteria were chosen and weighted, be willing to reject ideas and cite sources in APA format.
How this MGT 418 Week 1 example is built
An equipment rental company with three new venture ideas cannot pursue all of them, and the paper screens them systematically. It explains that an opportunity requires a real customer need that can be met profitably by this company. Criteria are weighted toward market need, fit with existing strengths and investment required. Early evidence includes customer interviews, permit data and competitor pricing. Drone surveying scores low on fit, since it requires skills the company lacks. Electric equipment has strong long-term appeal but uncertain demand today. Portable storage scores highest, using existing yards, trucks and customers. The paper recommends evaluating portable storage in depth, testing electric equipment with a few units and setting drone surveying aside.
MGT 418 Week 1 grading rubric: where the points go
Successful screening papers apply clear, weighted criteria to several ideas using early evidence and make a decision. Instructors credit an explanation of what turns an idea into an opportunity, criteria tied to the company's strategy and resources, honest scoring that is willing to reject attractive ideas and a recommendation for further evaluation. Using research on entrepreneurial opportunities and on testing ideas strengthens the paper. A screening matrix, clean prose and correct APA citations finish the paper. Listing what must be learned next about the chosen opportunity prepares well for the following weeks. Instructors also value a sensitivity check that shows whether the ranking survives reasonable changes in the weights, since a leader that wins only under one set of weights is a weaker choice than one that wins under most.
MGT 418 Week 1 help: mistakes to avoid
Students often choose an opportunity they like and then justify it. Apply criteria first. Another gap is screening without evidence; even a few customer conversations or public data help. Students also ignore fit with the organization's strengths, which often decides success. Include it. Avoid treating all criteria as equally important; weight them. Be willing to say no to an attractive idea. Explain where scores came from. Finally, list the questions the chosen opportunity must answer in the next stages, since screening is the first filter, not the final decision. Check whether the ranking changes if the weights change, and say so.
Related MGT 418 sample papers
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- MGT 418 Week 3: Financial Projections and ROI
- MGT 418 Week 4: Risk and Investor Considerations
- MGT 418 Week 5: Go or No-Go Recommendation
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MGT 418 Week 1 questions, answered
What does MGT 418 Week 1 usually cover?
It usually covers screening new business opportunities: distinguishing ideas from opportunities, setting weighted criteria, applying them with early evidence and selecting opportunities for deeper evaluation.
Where can I find a free MGT 418 Week 1 sample paper?
This page contains a full screening of three new ventures for an equipment rental company, with a weighted matrix and margin notes. You can request a free draft of your own screening paper.
What is the difference between an idea and an opportunity?
An idea is a concept for a product or service. An opportunity exists when a real customer need can be met profitably by a particular person or firm with the resources and timing to do it.
What criteria are used to screen business opportunities?
Common criteria include customer need, market size and growth, competition, fit with the company's resources and skills, investment required, time to profit and risk.
Why should companies screen several opportunities?
Comparing several ideas against the same criteria helps avoid committing to the first appealing idea and directs limited time and money to the opportunity with the best chance of success.
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