Strategic Management BUSM 3200

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These guidelines are provided to help in your preparations for the group assignment. They do

NOT represent in any way “model answers” or a correct approach. Rather they provide

suggestions as to how to proceed with data collection and analysis leading to the completion of

your report. Make sure you read the guidelines provided by the RMIT course coordinator carefully.

BUSM 3200- Strategic Management (JAN 2013) GDS

Requirements

You will work in pairs (a group of two (2)) to conduct a strategic analysis and strategy evaluation, and write a report on a real-life business. Please note that this report will focus on business-level strategy. (DO NOT write on the whole organization businesses!)

You are required to select a real-life organization (or a strategic business unit (SBU)) for this assignment. You are advised to conduct a preliminary research (e.g., browse organization websites and annual reports) prior to deciding which organization (or its SBU) will be selected for your assignment so as to make an informed choice.

You should report the firm for your assignment to your local lecturer by Week 4.

Write a 2500 - 3000 word report, including 200 words of an executive summary, but excluding references and appendix.

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Selecting the organization

Choose carefully and don’t change your mind half way- wasted time and effort

Must be FOR-PROFIT companies; no government bodies or charities (not-for-profit)

Avoid large global corporations such as Apple, Samsung, etc. I will have the final decision on your choice so send in your form early!

You must be able to get sufficient information sources to start your research

Published reports, GMID, Factiva, others

The organization must have some key developments in strategy

Entering new markets

Developing new products / services

Joint ventures, etc

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These developments

give you an

opportunity to relate

theory to actual

activities of the

selected firm

BUSM 3200- Strategic Management (July 2012) GDS

SBU or organization as a whole?

If your organization is too large then you select an SBU (strategic business unit) or division within that company and just write about that SBU

Remember the focus of the report is on “Business Strategy’ and NOT Corporate Strategy

Example within the Wearnes Group you could write just about ‘Wearnes Automotive Division”

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You are not writing a business plan!

Get this clear from the start

You are doing a strategic analysis first

Then you will comment on the current business strategies that it is pursuing (I will cover this in the next set of my guidelines)

You are NOT making recommendations; rather you are doing (in Sections 5 and 6 of the report) a critical assessment of the suitability of the chosen strategies

So remember, you are NOT writing business plan and do not follow formats that are irrelevant. Stick to what is given.

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How to approach the development and presentation of a report

1. Your report format should follow closely the requirements of the assignment. Read EVERY section carefully and understand fully what is needed. DO NOT insert additional information that is not required or follow standard formats.

2. The length is 300o words max including 200 word executive summary but not including appendices and bibliography

3. The marking criteria is clearly shown on pages 4-5 of the Assignment Guide provided by RMIT. Understand clearly how we grade each section of the report.

4. Assume each of the 6 sections carry equal weight and therefore your content must be proportionate.

5. Read and follow all instructions regarding TURNITIN and online submission. Ignorance is not an acceptable reason for non-compliance. Marks will be deducted if you did not meet RMIT requirements for TURNITIN and online submission.

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GET STARTED EARLY! DEADLINE IS FAST APPROACHING- WEEK 8 – BUT YOU NEED TO GET THINGS READY BY WEEK 7 BECAUSE OF TURNITIN!

Here are my comments on the first three sections of

our report

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Section 1:

Describe briefly the background information (strategic context) of the firm (or SBU) you have selected. This information should be brief and relevant to the discussion of your assignment and thus may include ownership, history, size, business scope, major products/services, and major markets of the firm (or SBU) selected.

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Requirement:

Comments on Section 1

Don’t write more than 1 to 1.5 pages

Give a brief introduction to the company or SBU

Only highlight relevant information

Better still, the information you list should point towards the new strategies that the firm is embarking on such as new ventures, new markets, new technologies, etc

Keep the information current – not dwell too much on history

You can mention about corporate culture and values.

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Section 2:

Conduct a macro-environment analysis for the entire industry within which the firm (or SBU) operates. You should use the analytical framework provided in the textbook. Foci will be placed on the understanding of the purpose of this analysis, the identification of key factors and their implications in terms of key opportunities and threats, and the discussion of their overall impact on the industry growth in the future. Draw your conclusion based on your macro-environment analysis

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Requirement:

Section 2: Environment and PESTEL

Research and write about RELEVANT PESTEL factors (general broad-brush factors will get no marks)

See my lecture notes on PESTEL

Not just listing PESTEL factors but more importantly being able to discriminate which factors carry greater implications for the company in terms of opportunities and threats.

Explain the implications and focus on key drivers (this part earns high credit if you do it well)

You can even do some brief scenarios for the industry – what the future outlook might be

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NOTE: it is important to do a PESTEL analysis with a specific emphasis on the industry you are studying (see page 51)

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Keep the

PESTEL

factors

specific to the

industry you

are studying;

avoid using

broad generic

factors that

have no

relevance to

your analysis.

Important to

note for your

Group

Assignment on

Strategic

Analysis!

BUSM 3200- Strategic Management (July 2012) GDS

What must be demonstrated

1. Relevance of factors. This comes from good secondary research. You cant get such information from textbook to answer specifically to YOUR SBU or company!

2. Only highlight key factors under each category of PESTEL. Sweeping statements such as “the economy is booming” or the “GDP has grown by 5%” will earn no marks if it has no bearing to your case!

3. Link your PESTL factors to Opportunities and Threats

4. At the end of this section, write a summative paragraph as to how you see the factors impacting on the growth of the industry

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Sometimes presenting in a table can be useful

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Key PESTEL factors impacting on the ____ industry (just a brief description)

Identified as: OPP THR

Implications for the industry

Identified as a key factor

Political/ Legal: 1. 2. 3.

x

x

Economic: 1. 2. 3.

X x

Social

etc

At the end of PESTEL listing, insert a summative paragraph that explains

the overall impact of these forces on industry growth and future

opportunities (industry outlook)

Section 3:

Undertake an industry (competitive) analysis using Porter’s 5-forces model. You are required to pay attention to the purpose of this analysis, the inter-connectedness of different aspects of the competitive forces, the links between the competitive forces and macro-environment, and their overall impact on the industry and the organization selected in terms of main driving forces in the competitive environment. Draw your conclusions based on your five-force analyses.

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Requirement:

Comments on Section 3- Five Forces

I want the five forces factors listed in your report to be specific to your industry; using factors listed in a textbook would not be useful unless you can show how they are relevant to your industry

After explaining all the five forces (and the detailed factors under each force) you then need to highlight WHICH key force/s would be of particular concern to the firm and why.

Another term is the word ‘links’ – what is the link between PESTEL factors and the five force?

Example: Technology Threat of Substitutes

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Applying Porter Model to a specific industry (airline)

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Notice how each of the

factors listed in each

category are specific to

the airline industry. NOT

textbook points are used

Again using a table is useful:

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Five Force Factors as related to our ____ industry

Implications for the industry

Link to selected macro-environmental factor

Threat of new entrants: 1. 2. 3.

Rivalry in the industry: 1. 2. 3.

Power of Buyers:

Substitutes:

Power of Suppliers:

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