Critical Analysis of Business Environment and Strategy Implementation

For the Strategy Report, you are required to carry out a critical analysis of the Business Environment of the organization you’ve selected as case study as well as evaluate the strategies implemented by the organization.

Please note that we want you to have the mind-set that you are submitting this Management Report to the Board of Directors for their consideration and understanding. Therefore it must be professional both in content (depth of research and analysis) and presentation. 

This assessment will entail engaging with the business models and frameworks typically employed to undertake an environmental audit and effectively evaluate strategic options available to organizations in terms of appropriateness, feasibility and sustainability. When presenting the frameworks do not simply re- create the diagrams. Your role is to apply the frameworks. It is perfectly acceptable to use a series of subheading to delineate the points that you wish to make.

• Anonymous cover sheet: This must contain the module title and code, assignment title, your ID number, name of your specific seminar tutor, submission date and word count
• Executive summary: This should present a ‘snapshot’ of the report – What did you find out? What conclusions have you drawn? [This will help you to start formulating the Executive Summary for your Summative.]
• Introduction: An introduction to the company’s operations – in other words ‘setting the scene’. This to include an overview of the organisation’s operations, their proposed strategy, its financial situation, general state of the sector/industry (for example, is it in growth or decline) and its key competitors. It is expected that elsewhere in the report you will apply the models/concepts and frameworks to the organisation. This approach should underpin your knowledge and understanding of the organisation and the environment in which it operates. 
  ?  An analysis of the organisation's external business environment – macro factors (PESTEL framework).
• An analysis of the sector/industry through Porter’s Five Forces model.
• Analysis of the organisation’s strategic position in its industry- by using relevant business KPIs in Comparing the performance of the organization with that of its main competitors
• An analysis of the organisation's internal business environment – specifically the capabilities of the organisation. This will include the use of the VRIO framework.
• Analysis of the organisation's strategic direction: This needs to be undertaken with a clear identification of the methods by which the organisation's strategies have been pursued. You must use Ansoff and either BCG orGE /McKinsey.
• Formulation and critical evaluation of strategic measures for the organisation based on an assessment of the organisation's internal and external business environment using the appropriate frameworks – SWOT/TOWS
• Critical evaluation of the strategic measures formulated: This is in terms of its suitability, acceptability and feasibility (SAF Framework).
• Conclusions: What conclusions have you drawn from analysing this organisation?
• Recommendations: These are what you have derived from examining the organisation.

These should link back to the material that you have critically reviewed within the previous sections. There must be a clear rationale for the recommendations. Read your recommendations carefully and ask yourself the following questions:

• Are your recommendations rational?
• What evidence can you provide in support of these recommendations?
• How would the various stakeholders react? How would you react if you were a shareholder?
• Is it logical that the company would or need to take these specific actions?
• Do they make sense?
• Would you be prepared to discuss them at a Board meeting?