1. Demonstrate the following knowledge and understanding :

Demonstrate an in-depth knowledge and understanding of strategic approaches and theories
and relate them to the external/internal environment that shapes a business.
2. Demonstrate the following skills and abilities:
Deploy analytical tools of strategic management in relation to both the external and internal
environments of organisation to synthesise, evaluate and develop appropriate strategic
options in a complex environment.

required to do in this assignment?
Based on the analysis provided in Assignment 1 (improved if needed based on feedback received), your assignment 2 will be in the form of a
case study. The exact presentation style will be at your discretion but should be a professional, business like report.  It should also use
Harvard referencing. For guidance, the report should include
1. Identification of the possible strategies at the corporate and at the business level including a justification of those possible strategies
models in relation to both the external and internal environments of organisation.
2. Critical evaluation of the different possible scenarios using strategic models in relation to both the external and internal
environments of organisation.
3. Your recommended route forward: explanation of the scenario chosen and critical analysis of the implications in order to develop
appropriate strategic options in a complex environment.
The report should be based on the analysis (internal and external) of the firm performed in Assignment 1.  However, given the words count,
you should focus on presenting and justifying your recommendations. It is not therefore necessary to repeat assignment one but key points
should be used to help show why some strategic options are rejected or preferred, You can work in group to do the analysis but your report
must be prepared individually

2
The assignment should be 3600 words in length, (+/- 10%) The word count does not include appendices, references, bibliography, or other
supporting material which are additional and do not contribute to your grade.  Include only those things which you would include in a
professional business report or which are essential background for markers if you are writing about a less well-known business.
You should not waste words describing what the tools are used for or how they are used. This kind of ‘literature review’ approach is likely to
result in a poor grade. The emphasis should be on using the analysis to develop options and strategic choice.

What do I need to do to pass? (Threshold Expectations from UIF)
In order to pass Assessment 2 you will need to:
 Evidence analysis of relevant data to identify the current strategic position of a real firm
 Generate and propose strategy based on data analysis
 Show evidence of selecting and applying relevant strategic frameworks to determine the attractiveness of an industry and
distinctiveness of a firm
 Show evidence of evaluating and justifying the proposed strategy based on the use of appropriate frameworks

How do I produce high quality work that merits a good grade?
We will be filling this section in together in class on 00/00/0000 make sure you have downloaded/printed out the Assignment Brief and
bring it to the session with you.
1. The strategy selection and justification :
Use the analysis developed in assignment to develop viable strategic scenario. Evaluate those scenarios and justify your choice based on
strategic framework and logical analysis
2. The structure:
Flexible. You can describe the theory you intend to use to support your standpoint, and then use practical situations to reinforce your work.
There is no fixed order to structure this assignment.
3. The link between theory and practice:
Remember to relate the two together sufficiently! You need to relate the theory to evidence in your assessment. The evidence needs to be
specific. Don’t use generalised and anecdotal evidence.
4. Use of literature:
Use academic source, i.e. books, journal articles etc. Refer to respected industry sources DO NOT overuse the Internet, do not use and / or
quote from Wikipedia.
Reminder:
You are required to use proper in-text reference and the reference list in the end using the Harvard Referencing System.
5. The writing:
Try to approach this assignment in a logical and systematic way. Make sure you have a logical structure, a convincing argument, clear
description of the situations which ‘set the scene’, and clear explanation which relate to theories, and a conclusion that draws your
argument together.
Overall, you need to provide a logical and coherent demonstration ( strategic tools, like pestle, 5 forces, value chain etc should only be
included in the appendix not the body of the report)

3

How does assignment relate to what we are doing in scheduled sessions?
Please refer to the study guide, all the session in the first week are designed to introduce you to specifics topic in strategic
management. Those elements will be needed to design your assignment.
Week 2 of the block is devoted to data collection and to start structuring your assignment.
Week 3 any assignment related quarries will be addressed before the submission.