Strategic Analysis: Understanding Approaches, Complexities, and Applications

Understanding of the origins and various approaches to strategy Understanding of the complexity of the relationships between the organisation and its environment Understanding of international/global strategic thinking Understanding of the application of strategy ideas in practice 
 
The ability to analyse the complexity of organisations and their environments The ability to synthesise earlier, diverse and possible piecemeal studies of the organisation and assimilate new theoretical models and offer solutions relative to strategic issues The ability to evaluate existing models and methodologies against observations of the practices of real organisations
 
Please read carefully the following instructions: 
All students are required to submit their assignment via the module in Canvas. The penalty for students that do not submit their assignments through the module in Canvas is that they will fail the assignment. Students  may  submit  assignment  drafts  prior  to  the  submission  date  to  generate  originality reports. The last submission of the assignment prior to the submission date will be deemed as the final submission for assessment purposes.
 
You must not submit an assignment that analyses the mobile phone industry and or a mobile phone company. 
Task:  
You  are  required to  submit an  individual report of 3,000 words, which can be based on an organization or idea of your own choice. The strategic analysis must be related to a recognised aspect  of  business  policy,  strategic  management  or  the  philosophical  underpinning  of  a particular methodology within the public or private sector strategic management domain. 
 
If your analysis is of an organisation, then do not submit a functional analysis; for example, do not submit a strategic marketing analysis or a strategic human resource analysis. You should be applying the concepts and models from the topics that are within the module to your chosen organisation. 

The  report  must  be  written  in  a  recognised  style,  i.e.  table  of  contents,  introduction,  main  analysis,  conclusions,  recommendations,  references  and  bibliography.  You  must  apply  the  Harvard system of referencing in your report. The word count must be stated on the front page of  your  assignment.  The  word  count  includes  the  introduction,  main  analysis,  conclusions,recommendations, diagrams, tables, figures and graphs; the word count does not include the front  page,  executive  summary,  contents  page,  references,  bibliography  and  appendices.  A penalty will be applied for exceeding the word count. The penalties that will be applied for exceeding the word count can be found in Table 1. 
 
Objectives 
To analyse a business policy or strategic management topic, to carry out individual research or evaluation of an organization. 
Requirements Meet the learning outcomes listed above, identify and critically analyse fundamental issues related to strategic management. Undertake a study that shows clear evidence of synthesis and evaluation. 
 
Use  a  theoretical  model  to  reflect  upon  the  reality  (practice)  of  a  situation.  Use  theory  to predict the outcomes of practice. Use practice to reflect upon / modify theory. There are a number of ways you might carry out this assignment. Here are a few ideas: 
1. Compare  theory  and  theory:  Using  practical  examples  compare two  theories  from either the schools of thought or the inside out and outside in approaches and examine success and/or failure. E.g prescriptive and descriptive schools. 
2. Compare  theory  and  practice:  for  example;  does  M.E.  Porter’s  (1985)  model  of competition support the experience of practitioners? i.e. use a practical example/case/ issue to reflect on Porter’s model(s) and examine success and/or failure. 
3. A case study approach: for example, is Satya Nadella, C.E.O. managing Microsoft as effectively as he might? i.e. do an analysis of Microsoft’s performance in relation to declared (or undeclared) strategy and the efficacy of his strategy. 
4. A recovery plan: for example, my advice to the Chief Executive Officer of the Toshiba Corporation  is  i.e.  suggest  a  way  forward  for  the  organization  in  light  of  their  poor  performance over recent years. 
5. A  risk  management  strategy:  for  example,  my  advice  to  Tesco’s  Chief  Executive Officer in light of their 2014/15 £6.4 Billion trading loss. 
 
These are merely examples of approaches you might take; thinking up your own ideas might be more productive and fun. You are encouraged where practical to discuss your ideas with your tutor prior to commencing the assignment. 
 
Assessment Criteria: 
The Assessor on the basis of the following general criteria will assess the paper: 
• The university generic assessment criteria 
• Discretion - additional credit may be awarded to a student who tackles a difficult subject well. 
• The “Presentation” element of the Generic Assessment Criteria will be used to assess the report structure.