Assessment - Strategic Analysis (Individual Case Study)
Overview of Assignments
You will take on the role of an eBusiness strategy consultant and prepare two reports for an organisation (i.e. Assignment 1 and 2). Assignments 1 and 2 are individual and form two parts of a single analytical study of the organisation.
Assignment 1 will focus on you demonstrating that you can analyse an organisation in an advanced and sophisticated manner, to identify strategic changes which will be beneficial and effective.
Assignment 2 will describe and justify in detail the proposed new strategic changes
A case study has been provided in CloudDeakin (see Assignment Case Study) with details about this organisation. The case study provided is quite comprehensive, however the information provided is by no means complete. You will research aspects of the business in order to provide a deeper level of analysis that will inform your proposed changes to the current strategy.
If you would like to work with a real company that is available to work with now (immediate access to staff willing to engage in information sharing) you see the Lecturer to seek approval. Such students must provide a short appendix (non-assessable) with background information for the marker so they can contextualise the Assignment 1 and 2 reports.
The remainder of this document outlines the requirements for Assignment 1. A separate document outlines the requirements for Assignment 2.
Assignment 1 requirements - Strategic Analysis
The Assignment 1 report will be 1,000 words.
Analyse the organisation presented in the supplied case study using 3 analytical approaches (PESTLE, 5 forces, Core Competencies) to analyse the organisation to identify strategic changes that would be beneficial and effective. It is recommended that you have a section for each bullet point. This is a working document that needs to convey findings to be used as inputs to the final report (thus the informal structure and no need to introduction/overview section). Use diagrams, bullet points, rich pictures and very concise explanations to demonstrate an understanding of current position of the firm.
All sections except the references will be included in the word count.
This preliminary work will be the basis of your more comprehensive work required in Assignment 2. Structure
- PESTLE analysis - brief description of the most relevant findings (risks, uncertainties, under/overestimated trends etc.)
- 5 forces analysis - the most relevant findings from looking at the organisation from a ‘big picture' viewpoint
- Core Competencies - using the model analyse the organisational resources (tangible and intangible skills and knowledge that can increase organisational strategic capabilities assisting in pursuing opportunities).
- Strategy Recommendation - very brief overview of the proposed strategy direction.
- References - references and citations showing the source of all the information in the report need to be provided (Harvard referencing style).
The references used must demonstrate thorough research using quality references such as journal articles, industry reports, etc. with good evidence to support the strategic direction recommended. Details on referencing can be found at:
http://www.deakin.edu.au/current-students/study-support/study-skills/handouts/ideas.php