Part One (approx 3000 words) 1. Choose a concept/model in strategic management. You can choose the concept from the ones discussed in the course or you can choose another one. Examples of concepts are: core competencies, generic strategies, mergers and acquisitions, alliances, CSR, blue ocean strategy, etc. 2. Critically examine the concept: define the concept; identify when it was first discussed and what the arguments were for its creation; discuss how the concept then evolved by identifying the arguments for and against it over time and by noting any adaptations. 3. Explain how the concept fits today with other concepts of strategic management, and discuss how/if the concept is relevant or not to today’s business challenges. you must demonstrate you can research and develop a deep understanding of a concept by identifying, examining and challenging different views of it. You should reference a minimum of 10 academic sources: academic books and/or articles from academic journals that are peer-reviewed. This excludes textbooks, articles from business magazines and ‘popular’ books you may find in airport bookstores, but you can use these as additional supporting references if needed. All sources should be correctly referenced using the Harvard system, as for any professional academic document. (Approx 1500 words) 4. Present a real life case study of the concept that you chose in Part One ‘in action’. You can use your own organisation or an organisation of your choice – we recommend you use an organisation you are personally familiar with as it will be easier for you to ‘see inside’ the organisation This should be like a mini-case study where you will present the situation of the organisation you choose, the issues faced, and how the concept was or is being used to solve the issues and raise the general performance of the organisation. you must show you can integrate theory and practice. You do this by giving examples of the theory in action, and by evaluating the approach taken and how effective it was in delivering the desired results. By reflecting on events, you may even challenge the theory itself – From the events you describe, is the theory valid? How can it be improved? How will you evaluate the impact that your chosen strategic concept has on the organization; how do you measure ‘success’? (The article uses the terms ‘fruitful’, ‘performance’, ‘growth’, and fit with ‘environment’. How will you measure success of the implementation of the strategic concept?) Article Uploaded. How will you evaluate the impact of your chosen strategic concept on ‘stakeholder commitment’?

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