Strategic Management Report
You are required to submit a strategic management report focussing on ONE of six given organisations. You should choose a different organisation to that which was the focus of your first submission. Each of these organisations is facing different strategic management issues. Strategic issues are those that impact upon the competitive advantage, performance and/or wider survival of the organisation. Organisation 1 faces issues in its competitive environment; Organisation 2 is facing issues in relation to its competitive resources and capabilities; Organisation 3 has issues in its relationships with key stakeholders and in relation to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Information on these organisations, and the strategic issues they each face can be found in ‘Assessment Guidance’ area on MOLE.
For your selected organisation you are to first perform a strategic analysis to examine in-depth the nature of the strategic issues they face. You should then propose at least TWO strategic options for addressing the organisation’s strategic issues. You should then critically evaluate the pros and cons of these different strategic options before choosing the ONE option that you think is most appropriate for the organisation. Finally you will explain how the organisation should implement that strategic option, reflecting upon any potential barriers and challenges. Your report should draw upon
relevant strategic management concepts, theories and frameworks, and be supported with evidence and analysis.
You are NOT expected to collect primary data for this assignment. The material provided in the ‘Assessment Guidance’ area on MOLE should be supplemented with your own research from secondary sources.
Your report should be structured as follows
Section A: Strategic Analysis (1000 +/- words)
In this section you should identify your chosen organisation and perform an in-depth analysis of the strategic issues it currently faces. In your analysis you should make appropriate use of strategic management concepts, theories and frameworks (e.g. you might utilise the PESTEL and Porter’s five forces frameworks, the VRIO framework, the Mitchell et al (1997) framework for stakeholder mapping and salience etc.).
Section B: Strategic Options and Choice (1000+/- words)
In this section you will propose and evaluate different strategic options (alternatives) for the organisation to address its issues. These options should be identified clearly, and they should also be discrete/non overlapping. You should propose at least TWO strategic options. You should evaluate the pros and cons of the different options before making a strategic choice about which option you think is most appropriate for addressing the organisation. The justification for your choice should be clear, and fully supported by your analysis and critical evaluation
Section C: Strategy Implementation (1000 +/- words)
In this section you should discuss how the selected organisation should implement the strategic option you have recommended. Include a plan for implementation identifying for example activities that need to be performed, timelines for work to be done, resources needed, how progress will be monitored and controlled. Reflect on possible barriers and challenges the organisation may face in implementing your plan. For example, there may be stakeholder issues, a culture that is not conducive to change, or limitations in existing resources and capabilities. As far as practicable your recommendations for implementation should be tangible, realistic and specific.
