Business essay

PLEASE READ THIS ASSINGMENT CAREFULLY!! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For an organisation of your choice, trace the changes of strategy and strategic direction over the last 10 years. Relate these changes to any changes in strategic leadership, structure, culture, market forces, environment and strategic direction. Your coursework should address the following questions. 1. What significant external changes have influenced the organisation over the last 10 years and how has the organisation responded to the external changes? 2. What strategy approaches (methods and directions) has the organisation been following? 3. How successful has the organisation been in its strategy development and implementation? 4. What performance measures would you adopt to measure the organisation’s performance? 5. What strategies should the organisation adopt in the future? MY LECTURER PUT IN THESE STEPS FOR EACH QUESTION, SO PLEASE ENSURE YOU FOLLOW THEM ACCURATELY!! Q1 I would expect to see something about the chosen organisation, some background. Better students might produce a timeline. Frameworks used would be PEST, Porter’s 5 forces, perhaps the near and far environment ( macro and micro environments) might be used. Students would be expected to discuss drivers for change these can be internal and/ or external. Stakeholders might be discussed and their expectations. Students might also be expected to consider the organisations responses to the challenges faced. Q2 Strategy approaches – it would be expected that students might use a model like the Ansoff matrix to discuss the strategies adopted (market penetration, market development, product development, diversification). Students might go on to discuss strategies such as alliances, joint ventures, mergers, acquisitions, etc. Students might discuss Porter’s generic strategies. The overall discussion might include patterns or trends re strategy, for example organisations that expand through acquisitions. Some students might look at Miles and Snow re their strategies. Excellent students will show signs of extra reading and also provide work that will be critical and reflective. Q3 Students should indicate the results of the strategy/strategies, they would also discuss the implementation of strategy/strategies and how the organisation coped. What worked and what did not work. What is written will be dependent on the information students have collected on their organisation. An organisation like M&S has plenty written about what it has been doing and the challenges. Q4 Students would be expected to discuss measures that they see as valid. Students should be able to consider performance in terms of revenue, profit, share price, dividends, strategy delivery, customer satisfaction, product development/launches, reputation, CSR, market share, staff, capabilities, etc. Excellent students will have researched the topic and provide good examples. Measures might be based around Efficiency, Effectiveness, Equity (ethics), Economy (sourcing scarce resources for the organisation), Efficacy – strategy delivered with style and implemented well (acknowledged by external stakeholders and industry). Q5 Students should be able to look at the organisation and based on what it has been doing consider what the future strategies might be. The Ansoff matrix is valid for strategy direction and methods. Good students would suggest actual strategies. Excellent students would justify strategy choices based on the organisations competences, capabilities, resources, past approaches to strategy. Excellent students might show that have read widely and use other models to justify strategies suggested. Poor students will provide weak answers, with strategies not really justified, in some cases weaker students will suggest simple marketing approaches such as promotion.