Importance of Strategic Direction for Organizational Viability

Organisations are increasingly aware of the importance of complex, ever-changing external forces that significantly affect them. Managers, therefore, need to widen their perspective away from the internal daily functions and activities of the organisation in order to understand and cope with such factors that impact the long term grow and viability of the organisation. Strategic business management is the decision making process that links an organisation's internal functions and capability with the external opportunities and threats it faces. It is a process that involves analysis, planning and action that is ever changing and evolving. 

1. Critically explore the theoretical schools of strategic business and change management, with a particular focus on the role of strategy formation and the strategic planning process.
2. Evaluate and apply conceptual and practical approaches to strategic business and change management in a range of organisational settings.
3. Evaluate critically the impact and significance of macro and micro environmental influences on strategic business behaviour and subsequent responses to them, with reference to available tools and techniques
4. Demonstrate the ability to think critically in relation to a particular problem, situation or strategic decision through real-world scenarios.

You are required to write a 3000 word business report on the strategic direction of an organisation of your choice, commenting on the issues you have identified and making appropriate recommendations.  This is in preparation for an interview with your chosen company for the role of Strategy Officer.

If you are not able to complete your coursework on time due to extenuating circumstances, the ONLY way to receive an extension (up to 5 working days) or a deferral (anything longer than 5 working days) is to contact a Registry team member located at your specific CU site.

Extenuating circumstances are defined by CU as ‘genuine circumstances beyond your control or ability to foresee, and which seriously impair your assessed work’.

Please note that you will need to provide third party evidence to support your reasoning for requiring an extension or deferral.

Your course tutor is NOT able to approve an extension or a deferral, if you have not completed the official forms and had your request approved your work will count as not submitted and receive a zero mark.

You are encouraged to check the originality of your work by using the draft Turnitin links on your Moodle Web.

Collusion between students (where sections of your work are similar to the work submitted by other students in this or previous module cohorts) is taken extremely seriously and will be reported to the academic conduct panel. This applies to all coursework and exam answers.

A marked difference between your writing style, knowledge and skill level demonstrated in class discussion, any test conditions and that demonstrated in a coursework assignment may result in you having to undertake a Viva Voce in order to prove the coursework assignment is entirely your own work.

If you make use of the services of a proof reader in your work you must keep your original version and make it available as a demonstration of your written efforts.

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 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.