Posted: November 30th, 2015

Critical evaluation of the organisation's strategy: This is in terms of its suitability, acceptability, feasibility and sustainability (SAFS Framework).

CW2 ASSIGNMENT
This assignment represents the culmination of all your work on this module. This is also where you incorporate your revised/enhanced material from your CW1 assignment. You have studied the strategic options available to the business. You are now required to independently evaluate the existing strategy of the business and make recommendations to the Board of Directors as to the future development of the business’ strategy. Your evaluation and recommendations should be presented as a Management Report.
Your management report should include:
Title Page: This must contain the following:
Module title and code
Assignment title
Your name and ID number
Name of your seminar tutor
Word Count (see later note on word limit): This needs to be in two parts (a) the total number of words in the document and (b) the word count minus the title page, contents page, executive summary, tables/charts, reference list and any appendices.
Submission date
Executive Summary: This should be no more than one page in length and should present a ‘snapshot’ of the report including your findings from the environmental audit and the strategic direction of the organisation. You should also include an overview of your recommendations with a brief rationale. [Note: This is not counted in the word limit.]
Table of contents: This should be no more than one page in length. [NOTE: This is not counted within the word limit.]
Introduction: An introduction to the company’s operations – in other words ‘setting the scene’. This to include an overview of the organisation’s operations, their proposed strategy, its financial situation, general state of the sector/industry (for example, is it in growth or decline) and its key competitors. It is expected that elsewhere in the report you will apply the models/concepts and frameworks to the organisation. This approach should underpin your knowledge and understanding of the organisation and the environment in which it operates.
Analysis and critical evaluation of the organisation’s environmental audit:
This is the material from your Formative assignment (Pestel, Capabilities, Porter’s Five Forces, SWOT/TOWS). However, you need to have taken into account the feedback provided and, where necessary, enhanced your work. [Note the comments made in the earlier section on the Formative.]
Analysis of the organisation’s strategic direction: This needs to be undertaken with a clear identification of the methods by which the organisation’s strategies have been pursued. You must use Ansoff and either BCG or GE/McKinsey.
Critical evaluation of the organisation’s strategy: This is in terms of its suitability, acceptability, feasibility and sustainability (SAFS Framework).
Conclusions: What conclusions have you drawn from analysing this organisation?
Recommendations: These are what you have derived from examining the organisation. These should link back to the material that you have critically reviewed within the previous sections. There must be a clear rationale for the recommendations. Read your recommendations carefully and ask yourself the following questions:
Are your recommendations rational?
What evidence can you provide in support of these recommendations?
How would the various stakeholders react? How would you react if you were a shareholder?
Is it logical that the company would or need to take these specific actions?
Do they make sense?
Would you be prepared to discuss them at a Board meeting?
References: These must be in the CULC Harvard Format. There must be appropriate in-text citations throughout your submission. [NOTE: You must seek out reliable and validated sources of information for your assignments – Please refer to comments elsewhere in this document and other guides on the M002 Moodle pages.] The references (both in-text and within the reference list) are not included within the overall word count.
Appendices: If required and no more than four pages. If there are more than the stipulated four pages those additional pages will not be read.
Your response to the brief must show evidence of your ability to research independently relevant data, using appropriate sources and databases, as well as relevant academic literature, to support your arguments.
Conducting and applying research is crucial to this module. Additionally there is a mark awarded for the level of research demonstrated (See rubric). You will be expected to read and apply information (as an absolute minimum) from the core text, the company’s most recent Annual Reports & Accounts, two news items (from reliable sources) and four journal articles. The journal articles can include the two used to support the Formative assignment and those listed in Moodle (however the key is application of the information within those articles.)
Please note that marks will be deducted for the use of such sources as (though not exclusive to): ‘Wikipedia’, ‘Businessballs’ ‘essays UK’ (or any site that states the word ‘essay’ in its title or introduction), QuickMBA and ‘tutor2u’. These are not Level 7 reading and should be avoided. If you have any doubts regarding the reliability and validity of sources please ask either your seminar tutor or the module leader.
Please refer to the guides on the M002 Moodle site for further information. It is expected that every student will comply with good academic practice. Any suspicion of a breach of good academic practice will be investigated.
When presenting the frameworks do not simply re-create the diagrams. Your role is to apply the frameworks. It is perfectly acceptable to use a series of subheadings to delineate the points that you wish to make.
Presentation of Summative Assignment
The Management Report must be professionally presented and appropriately referenced. As stated above we want you to develop the mind-set that this is for the Board of Directors of your chosen company.