Assessment

This is an individual assessment and requires you to produce a timely assignment of high quality. You are required to undertake a strategic analysis of an organization that has sufficient information in the public domain to work with. The stages of this assessment are set out below in the "Instructions" section.

Instructions

This is an individual assignment whose aim is to give you a practical insight into the business strategy process at work in an organization.

The task requires you to conduct a case study of an organisation of your choice. You may select any local, state, national or international organisation with enough publicity available information to enable you to address the case study problems.

Guidelines for this tasks:

Introduction

Give a brief account of the history of the company and trace the evolution of its strategy over time. As part of this introduction, identify the organisation's current mission and goals.

Analysis

1- Conduct an analysis of the organisation's internal and external environment including its resources and capabilities, and the nature of its competitive advantage.

2- On the basis of the internal and external analysis, what opportunities and threats are indicated?

3- Based on the opportunities and threats identified, what strategies do you think the company should pursue to stay competitive?

Rationale

The aims of this assignment are:

- To provide you with an opportunity to describe and describe concepts addressed.

- To develop cognitive and practical skills by applying theoretical concepts to practical, organisational situations.

- To develop analytical skills by analysing situations and actions that management might take in response to a given situation.

- To develop research skills through in-depth research on this particular topic.

- To practice and develop presentation skills through formal case study reporting.

Marking criteria

- Identify and analyze issues in the general environment [executive summary, introduction (aims and objectives stated), mission and vision]

- Identify and analyze issues in the internal environment (i.e. value chain, present growth strategies, etc.)

- Identify and analyze issues in the industry and competitor environment (external assessment)

- Apply strategy theory to the issues (i.e. cost advantage, differentiation, etc.)

- Propose and justify strategies

- Presentation (using academic language and structure, referencing, etc.) 

Presentation

- In-text citations and end-text referencing (APA 6th)

Introduction

(General overview of the industry, brief history of the selected company, its vision and mission) – roughly 150 – 200 words – word count will not be considered as part of the word limit.

+Evolution of the strategy?

TASK:

Give a brief account of the history of the company and trace the evolution of its strategy over time. As part of this introduction, identify the organisation’s current mission and goals. 

problem 1

Internal assessment to identify resources and capabilities 

First of all, you must discuss what resources and capabilities are. Are resources and capabilities the same or different and why. Provide theoretical support to back up your argument. Then,I recommend you use Porter’s Value Chain Analysis. First, discuss what Porter’s Value Chain Analysis is and why it is important for analysing firm’s internal resources and capabilities.

Discuss each component of value chain (must provide a theoretical support to back up your argument) and then identify what resources and capabilities the company chosen has in each value chain. 

External assessment to identify resources and capabilities 

Provide a very brief analysis of why PESTEL is important to analyse external environment.

Then, discuss how each component of PESTEL may affect the company chosen. There are four steps to be undertaken. (1) What each factor is (you can directly quote from the textbook and use the textbook as the reference – don’t forget to quote the reference). (2) Discuss how each factor affect firm performance in general (try to find journal article(s) to support your claim. The worst scenario that you cannot locate any journal article(s) to support, you must at least cite the textbook as the theoretical support). (3) Discuss how each factor affect the company chosen in particular. It is how you relate your understanding of the theories to the case study. (4) Discuss what resources and capabilities that the company chosen Australia possesses or does not possess to respond or cope with each component of PESTEL. 

TASK:

Conduct an analysis of the organisation’s internal and external environment including its resources and capabilities, and the nature of its competitive advantage.

Analysis of the nature of organisation’s competitive advantage

problem 2

On the basis of the internal and external analysis, what strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats are indicated?

Drawing from your discussion of problem 1, provide a brief analysis of SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) of the company chosen. Before the brief analysis, discuss what SWOT is and how it is important. 

problem 3

Based on the opportunities and threats identified, what strategies do you think the company should pursue to stay competitive? 

Assuming that you are the analyst or CEO of the company chosen, discuss what strategies you believe the company should pursue to stay competitive. Please be remembered that your analysis must be backed up by theoretical discussion.