Competitive Strategy Report: Critical Evaluation and Recommendations

Section 1 - Critical Evaluation of the Company’s Business Strategies with Reference to Porter’s Generic Strategies Model

This is an individual assignment that requires you to write an original report that explores the competitive strategy of your selected company* for CW1, by addressing the following tasks:

1. Using Porter’s Generic Strategies model (Porter, 1985), critically analyse the company’s business strategy.
2. Critically discuss the key drivers of the company’s business strategy.
3. Critically discuss the risks associated with the strategy identified and provide recommendations for maintaining the strategy and sustaining the competitive advantages.

There will be a penalty of a deduction of 10% of the mark (after internal moderation) for work exceeding the word limit by 10% or more.

The word limit includes quotations and citations, but excludes the references list and appendices.

This document is for Coventry University students for their own use in completing their assessed work for this module and should not be passed to third parties or posted on any website. Any infringements of this rule should be reported to [email protected]

The contents of your References and Appendices are not normally given a specific mark (though they may contribute to your overall mark, as detailed in the assessment criteria). We, therefore, recommend that you only use Appendices for supporting material and not for the substantive part of your work.

The front page should cover the report title, selected company name, total word count (not included in word count)

• Product lines or strategic business units
• Target Market Profile

Section 1 - Critical evaluation of the company’s business strategies with reference to

Porter’s Generic Strategies model

Section 2 – Critically discussion of the key drivers of the company’s business strategy

Section 3 – Recommendations for maintaining the strategy and sustaining the competitive advantages with consideration of discussing the risks associated with the strategy identified.

Note: You will be expected to use insight obtained from lecture materials and the textbook and show evidence of additional reading by referring to academic literature in your report. This should include the core textbook, relevant additional reading from the lectures (available on Aula), and your own research using the university’s library facilities.

Criteria for Assessment

This assignment is designed to assess learning outcomes (LOs) 1 and 3 and accounts for 50% of the overall module mark.

LO 1. Critically evaluate the varying types and levels of strategy in an organisation.

LO 3. Demonstrate self-awareness, openness and sensitivity to diversity in terms of people, cultures, business and strategic management issues.

This table details the weightings of the criteria by which your assignment will be assessed:

Criteria Proportion of CW mark

We will consider this guideline for grading

Section 1 - Critical evaluation of the company’s business strategies

- Evidence of research and engagement with relevant literature

- Correct application and critical evaluation of the theories/frameworks

- Appropriate balance of opinion with facts

- Development of arguments

- Accurate citations and referencing

- Clarity and coherence of the report

- Grammar and spelling

This document is for Coventry University students for their own use in completing their assessed work for this module and should not be passed to third parties or posted on any website. Any infringements of this rule should be reported to acreg.

How to submit your assessment

• Your coursework will be given a zero mark if you do not submit a copy through Turnitin. Please take care to ensure that you have fully submitted your work.
• Please ensure that you have submitted your work using the correct file format, unreadable files will receive a mark of zero. The Faculty accepts Microsoft Office and PDF documents, unless otherwise advised by the module leader.
• All work submitted after the submission deadline without a valid and approved reason (see below) will be given a mark of zero.
• The University wants you to do your best. However, we know that sometimes events happen which mean that you can’t submit your coursework by the deadline – these events should be beyond your control and not easy to predict. If this happens, you can apply for an extension to your deadline for up to two weeks, or if you need longer, you can apply for a deferral, which takes you to the next assessment period (for example, to the resit period following the main Assessment Boards). You must apply before the deadline.

• Students MUST keep a copy and/or an electronic file of their assignment.
• Checks will be made on your work using anti-plagiarism software and approved plagiarism checking websites.

As part of your study you will be involved in carrying out research and using this when writing up your coursework. It is important that you correctly acknowledge someone else’s writing, thoughts or ideas and that you do not attempt to pass this off as your own work. Doing so is known as plagiarism. It is not acceptable to copy from another source without acknowledging that it is someone else’s writing or thinking. This includes using paraphrasing as well as direct quotations. You are expected to correctly cite and reference the works of others. The Centre for Academic Writing provides documents to help you get this right. If you are unsure, You can also check your understanding of academic conduct by completing the Good Academic Practice quiz available.

Self-plagiarism or reuse of work previously submitted

You must not submit work for assessment that you have already submitted (partially or in full), either for your current course or for another qualification of this and any other university, unless this is specifically provided for in your assignment brief or specific course or module information. Where earlier work by you is citable, ie. it has already been published/submitted, you must reference it clearly. Identical pieces of work submitted concurrently will also be considered to be self-plagiarism. Self-plagiarism is unacceptable because you cannot gain credit for the same work twice.