BUS9048M Strategy Making Assessment 2 Brief | UoL

Description of Assessment Task and Purpose

The purpose of this assessment is to assess your ability to critically evaluate and apply strategy concepts and theory to a selected organisation and to demonstrate knowledge of business strategy. 

Put yourself in the shoes of a consultant to the board of directors, hired to tackle a strategic problem or address an opportunity to improve the performance of the organisation. The board of directors consists of the representatives of the main shareholders, executive directors, and independent directors who are industry experts and university professors.  

Building on the situational analysis conducted in Assignment 1, students will continue working on the same organisation as in Assignment 1, select a specific strategic issue among those identified by the group, and develop a strategy for the organisation to gain a sustainable competitive advantage. They will appraise,  investigate, and recommend strategies aligned with the organisation’s mission,  vision, and values. Students will formulate a comprehensive strategy that addresses the chosen strategic issue and opportunities for growth and success, and helps to develop a lasting competitive advantage. Additionally, they will discuss strategy implementation or execution, outlining the steps, resources, and actions required for a successful strategy execution and suggest ways to monitor and evaluate the success of the chosen strategy.

Finally, students will proffer recommendations for organisational growth and an ethically sound, sustainable, strategic route.

Deliverable:

A report including the following sections:

Introduction

Strategic issue: What is the strategic issue that you selected? Why is the issue important? What is the impact of the strategic issue on the long-term performance of the firm?
 
Strategic choice: What are the strategic alternatives available? What is the strategy that you suggest? Why do you think that this strategy is the most appropriate? How does the suggested strategy allow the organisation to seize opportunities for growth and success and help to develop a competitive advantage?

Strategy execution and implementation: What is the business model or value proposition to customers? Where is the organisation going to compete? How will the organisation win against our key competitors? What capabilities are needed to achieve success? How will the strategy be implemented? What organisational systems and processes are required to achieve success? How to ensure that the employees are committed to executing the new strategy?

Strategy monitoring: How will the strategy performance be measured? 

Recommendations: What are the key recommendations for organisational growth and an ethically sound, sustainable strategic route?

Personal Reflection and Conclusion: Critically reflect on the implications for you as a leader and strategist. What have you learned from the assignments and the group work? How will you use the learning gained in the future to be a better leader and strategist?

The case study essay will also provide a comprehensive set of recommendations and action plans, with supporting reasoning and evidence.

You should use academic literature and relevant evidence to justify your choices and recommendations and support the reasoning and evidence of the analysis you performed to “sell” your approach to board members and the senior management of the organisation.

Besides, by engaging with literature, you will provide contextualisation and critical evaluation of the strategic analysis and the suggested strategic recommendations:

• Explain your approach by drawing on relevant literature.
• Critically evaluate how the strategic alternatives you suggested address the issues identified considering the context of your selected organisation.
• Critically review the factors that you need to consider when implementing your recommended strategy effectively.
• Support the recommendations that you suggest to the board of directors.
• Support your reflection regarding the learning gained and the implications of your learning.

BUS9048M Learning Outcomes Assessed

• LO1 Evaluate and demonstrate knowledge of the context in which a strategy can be made and implemented. 
• LO2 Analyse different theoretical approaches, tools, and models used in understanding strategy-making 
• LO4 Apply strategy-making models and tools to proffer recommendations for organisational growth and an ethically sound, sustainable strategic route

Knowledge & Skills Assessed:

Analysis and critical evaluation, e.g. critical thinking, analytical, strategic argument skills and professional presentation

Subject Specific Knowledge, Skills and Understanding: e.g. literature searching, referencing, project planning, techniques and subject-specific knowledge and skills.

Professional Graduate Skills: e.g. independence and personal responsibility, adaptability, verbal communication, written communication, creativity, critical thinking, IT skills, self-reflection and life-long learning, problem solving, group or team skills, effective time management, working under pressure to meet deadlines, negotiation skills, leadership.

Emotional Intelligence: e.g. self-awareness, self-management, awareness of others, managing and supporting others, motivation, resilience, self-confidence.

Career-focused Skills:  An understanding of the range of graduate careers, skills and attributes required by employers, a range of strategies to present skills and attributes to employers.

Assessment Submission Instructions:

You are required to submit your assessment before noon on the 09th of May 2024 using the online Turnitin assessment submission facility on the Module Blackboard site. Pay careful attention to the instructions provided at the time of submission.

Late submission, where an extension has not already been granted, will attract penalties at the level stipulated in the University Regulations (i.e. a reduction of 10 percentage points for each whole or partial working day late)