M34415 Strategic Management L6 AE1 - Coursework | UOP

M34415 Assessment Description:

The objective of the assessment is to enable learners to work on a live project with a UKbased startup GeNext and appraise strategic issues at business & corporate levels using appropriate frameworks & evidence to identify, develop & recommend strategic options for GeNext. They will also propose appropriate strategies for issue resolution & the strategic changes needed for their implementation.

Learning Outcomes of M34415 

LO1 Critically examine & evaluate key propositions underlying strategic management theory & practice in national & global contexts.
LO2 Appraise strategic issues at business & corporate levels using appropriate frameworks & evidence to identify, develop & recommend strategic options.
LO3 Propose appropriate strategies for issue resolution & the strategic changes needed for their implementation.

M34415 ASSESSMENT TASK

Coursework: Based on live brief with UK-based startup GeNext (www.genext.io )

Introduction

The objective of the assessment is to enable learners to work on a live project with a UK-based startup GeNext and appraise strategic issues at business & corporate levels using appropriate frameworks & evidence to identify, develop & recommend strategic options for GeNext. They will also propose appropriate strategies for issue resolution & the strategic changes needed for their implementation.

Key Tasks

The students will conduct a thorough analysis of the company and about the environment in which the company exists. They will primarily conduct three types of research –

Background Research: Research about the company website( www.genext.io ), and interview the founder

Secondary Research: Research about industry, competitors, and other stakeholders;

Market Research: Each Student contacts 3-4 small businesses, and interview their owners using the intervie guide (see below).

Using all this research, they will conduct a full strategic analysis of GeNext. Based on the analysis, they will then develop a report with the following deliverables –

Deliverables

Part A (Framing) (suggested word count: 1000 words)

• Internal Analysis: VRIO and SWOT of GeNext
• Industry Analysis (Micro-Environment): Porter’s 5 Forces Analysis for GeNext
• Macro-Environmental Analysis: PESTEL for GeNext
• Client Value Proposition Analysis (small business owners interview analysis)

Part B (based on Part A) – (Strategizing) (Suggested Word Count: 1000 Words)

• Vision, Mission, Values, and Strategy of the company
• Corporate, Business, and Functional Strategy for GeNext. The functional strategy in this case will only focus on the Marketing Strategy.
• Marketing-Mix Strategy for GeNext: 7Ps
• STP Strategy: Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning Strategy of GeNext

Part C (based on Part A and B) – Issue resolution & Strategic Change (Issue: No clear client acquisition strategy) (Suggested Word Count: 500 words)

• Client Acquisition Strategy for GeNext

Interview Questions for Interviewing Small Business Owners

Some Basic Information about the Business
Name of Business
Website/Business Listing
Nature of Operations
Years in Operation
Founders
Number of Employees
Do they value Google reviews
Do they actively seek out good reviews – Fb, Trust Pilot
Do they offer promotions to get better reviews?
Do they understand the benefit that good reviews, particularly Google reviews, have on SEO
Have you ever considered applying to BCorp?
Have you ever entered any business awards/ratings relevant to your industry?
Do you think certification would improve customer perception and customer acquisition?
Do you think certification would be a moral boost for their colleagues/employees?
What else do you expect a business certification to do for you?
Do you think it will be of value to be in a community with other certified small businesses?
What do you think is a fair rate/cost for a business certification?
Would you be interested in hearing more about affordable business certification tailored to small businesses?
Would they be happy to be contacted by GeNext? If yes, please share contact person, email address, and
phone number (this will involve no commitment).

M34415 Report Cover

Project Title: Strategic Analysis of GeNext UK to charter a Strategic Direction
Prepared for: GeNext, UK <logo>
Prepared by: <names and ids of students>
Under the Guidance of: Dr. Debashish Sengupta
As partial fulfilment towards successful completion of the Strategic Management Module
University of Portsmouth, London <logo>

Suggested Report Structure

• Table of Contents
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• Part A (Framing)
• Internal Analysis: VRIO and SWOT of GeNext
• Industry Analysis (Micro-Environment): Porter’s 5 Forces Analysis for GeNext
• Macro-Environmental Analysis: PESTEL for GeNext
• Client Value Proposition Analysis
• Part B (based on Part A) – (Strategizing)
• Create Vision, Mission, Values, and Strategy of the company
• Create Corporate, Business, and Functional Strategy for GeNext. The functional strategy in this case will only focus on the Marketing Strategy.
• Create Marketing-Mix Strategy for GeNext: 7Ps
• Assess STP Strategy: Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning Strategy of GeNext
• Part C (based on Part A and B) – Issue resolution & Strategic Change
• Develop Client Acquisition Strategy for GeNext
• Individual Reflection by the student on project experience and learning (100 words)
• Annexures
• Transcripts of each interview conducted with the small business owners

M34415 Grading and Evaluation