Posted: November 9th, 2015

strategic management

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Coursework Assignment

Autumn2015

 

The focus of this assignment is to produce a 1,500 word critical review ‘essay’. This essay is based on the Nokia companywith a consideration and review of its strategic positioning and business development in relation to Porter’s generic competitive strategies (Porter 1979, 1980, 1985, 1996 etc). The essay title is:

 

Nokia “Connecting People”

 

As an initial primer to your assignment, you are provided with some short introductory short reading/reference sources:

 

BBC News Website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-23947212

 

Guardian Business Website: http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/jul/08/windows-phone-microsoft-nokia-layoff-smartphones

 

Guardian Business Website: http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/sep/03/nokia-rise-fall-mobile-phone-giant

 

You should augment these initial sources with additional research on Nokiaas a company and with more general reference sources considering Porter’s competitive strategy theories and model(s).

 

The assignment will be assessed in three areas of content/analysis and the overall presentation and referencing support as follows:

 

1. Critically review of Porter’s theory of generic competitive strategies as well as later developments in that model both by Porter and others (40%)
2. Critical analysis of Nokia’s strategic positioning in relation to the relevant generic strategy concepts and theories (50%)
3. Consideration of the quality of presentation, written style and structure and referencing style. In this you should demonstrate the proper use of Harvard style referencing(10%)

 

You should note that the principle referencing sources should be traditional texts, academic journals and other quality business sources. Marks will be deducted across each element of the assignment as appropriate where there is indiscriminate and inappropriate use of web-based source material (in this regard, please note that the above internet references are from respected sources).

 

Porter M E (1979) ‘How competitive forces shape strategy’Harvard Business Review March

Porter M E (1980) Competitive StrategyNew York: Free Press

Porter M E (1985) Competitive AdvantageNew York: Free Press

Porter M E (1996) ‘What is strategy?’Harvard Business Review Nov-Dec

 

The essay constitutes 40% of the total assessment for the module

 

 

Key submission details

 

Word Limit:                  1500 words.

 

Submission Date:        30 November 2015

 

Time:                           11.59 pm as an electronic copy submitted into Turnitinuk via the Unilearn site for the module (under the assignments tab). Submissions will not be accepted via e-mail. Also note that submissions received after this deadline, up to 1 week late, will be capped at a maximum of 40% as noted in your course handbook and student regulations. Submissions received later than 1 week will only be marked at the discretion of the module tutor.

 

Marking date:              It is anticipated that, subject to the standard University moderation processes, provisional feedback and assignment grading will be available via the Turnitin (Grademark) site by 21 December 2015

Note(s):                       Module tutors do not provide extensions or receive requests for extenuating mitigating circumstances. These should be addressed to your year or course tutors as appropriate.

 

Your coursework must be word processed and your submission must include a fully completed cover page – these are available from the Unilearn site. You are further advised to annotate each page with your name, student number and module code as a ‘header’ or ‘footer’.

 

Your attention is drawn to the rules on academic misconduct and you should be aware of the requirements in this respect and the penalties for non-compliance.

 

 

Dr Radi Haloub (Module Leader)

Department of Strategy, Marketing and Economics

BusinessSchool

September2015