Strategic Management Assignment -

Select an organization with which you are familiar and undertake the following tasks:

Your focus should be on a Strategic Business Unit (SBU). In the case of a small or a medium sized organisation, the focus can be on the whole organisation.

This assignment is primarily designed for you to show your understanding of key concepts, theories, or models covered in this unit and apply them to business reality in the light of the organisation being studied to facilitate your learning. Be assertive to draw conclusions for your analyses and evaluations. Besides searching for literature or publications, you are encouraged to interview managers/owners in the organization you have selected.

The length of the report should not exceed 8,000 words, preferably 6,000 - 8,000 words)

Briefly provide an introduction to the organization selected. This information should be relevant to the discussion of your assignment;

Using the PESETEL framework, conduct a macro-environment analysis for the industry within which the business organization operates. Emphases should be placed on the purpose of this analysis, the interconnectedness of the different environmental factors, and their overall impact, in terms of key opportunities and threats, on the industry as conclusions on this analysis;

Conduct an industry attractive analysis using Porter's 5 forces model. Again, emphasis should be placed on the purpose of the analysis, the interconnectedness of different aspects of the competitive forces, the links between the competitive forces and macro-environment, and their overall impact on the industry and the organization selected in terms of main driving forces in the competitive environment.

Identify and explain the core competences of the organization. Critically evaluate the core competences identified based on the four criteria covered in the course.

Describe the current business strategy followed by the organization through:

• Identifying and briefly discussing the contents of the business strategy; and (You may use Porter's generic model or the Bowman's clock)
• Examine how the strategy has been identified (i.e., is it intended as a written document as a plan, or emergent as a pattern of decision making/activities)

Evaluate the successful implementation of the strategy identified, in terms of the systems, procedures, leadership and building relationships (external & internal)

Evaluating the suitability of the strategy identified in the light of the outcomes of your analyses on the environment (both macro and industry environments), and the organization's core competence.