Instructions on BECM Strategy Assessment:

This assignment is an individual piece of work. Students are required to produce a report focusing on Your SME or alternatively, the following allocated businesses: glide-utilities and talonoutdoor.

An assignment should demonstrate that you possess a high level of understanding about the operations of the company inan international environment, which is the geographical focus of the analysis.

You are expected to conduct your own research. The report should not exceed 3,000 words,  and should have the following structure with each section numbered exactly as shown below.

Make sure you use exactly this structure for your report as otherwise penalties will apply.

Cover Page Include module code, student ID and word count for the main text.

1. Introduction This section requires you to focus on the company (Your SME)profile. As a starting point and the background to the report, this section should ‘set the scene' by providing information on main products/services, the industry company operates in, main competitors and markets. Pay particular attention to recent financial data. Students are asked not to construct this section by cutting and pasting or simple copying material from the company's website and other sources. (MLO1) AOL 2

2. Analysis of the nature of the company's environment: external conditions and influences affecting the industry

In this section the students are required to analyse the industry. The analysis provides a starting point for formulating strategy and understanding the competitive landscape in which the company operates. Students are expected to populate the frameworks using sources identifiedin Note 3. Please note citations will be required within the framework.

Attention has to be paid to macro-environment and micro-environment (including customers and competitors). The application of PESTLE, Five Forces and other analytical frameworks is imperative and should allow the students to get insight on company's strategy in meeting the opportunities and threats in the external environment. The limitations of each used framework should be stated. It is important not to confuse external and internal analysis! In a conclusion to this section, you MUST summarise the main opportunities and threats affecting the industry, and how they may influence the strategy.(MLO2)

3. Analysis of the company's strategic capabilities

This section should focus on the analysis of capabilities to effectively coordinate and redeploy the competences. The analysis should begin with the identification of the company resources (tangible, intangible, threshold and unique). Students are asked to use the Value Chain framework (Porter 1988;1985).

By providing a critical, realistic and thorough analysis students should indicate if the company currently has any competitive advantage. Discuss the company's ability to secure and/or obtain a competitive advantage in the future by implementing value-creating strategies, not simultaneously being implemented by the competitors. You need to link this section with the external analysis (section 2).

In a conclusion to this section, you MUST summarise the main strengths and weaknesses of the company.(MLO3)

4. Evaluation of possible future strategies for the company

What are the key strategic issues deriving from your analysis?

Identify potential future strategies (options) using Ansoff and competitive strategies evaluate them using innovation concepts and ideas. Which one would you recommend and why? Justify your recommendations and show how they address the key issues and could assist the company to achieve competitive survival. (MLO3)

5. Conclusion Maximum 200 words. What could be the potential barriers to implementation of your recommendation and to realisation of the selected strategy?

References All sources must be cited and referenced using APA style. Use of non-academic sources like quickmba.com, Wikipedia, etc. will be rejected and result in a lower mark.