INSTRUCTIONS:

The report must be properly referenced (APA style, the minimum being 6 ed) and supported by refereed journal articles and books. The material can be gained from your text book, journal articles and the recommended reading list in the library. Additional supporting material is available on the EBSCO and Emerald databases that are located via the library web page.

The answer must be typed 12 pt font, 1.5 spaced, Arial or T/N/Roman, bound and correctly referenced. Refer to Unitec guidelines on how to write assessment items, if in doubt. Plagiarism must be avoided and can result in a failing grade irrespective of work quality. Scholarly articles and resources

In addition to the prescribed textbook, students should read at least five scholarly peer-refereed articles related to the topic selected from international journals such as Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Review, Journal of Consumer Research, Management Science, Operations Research, MIS Quarterly, Marketing Science, Strategic Management Journal, etc. These journals can be found in electronic databases maintained by
Unitec’s Library.

In addition to these peer-reviewed articles, you can also use other sources such as company annual reports, newspaper articles, magazines and other internet sources. All the articles and other sources cited in the report must be shown in your reference list. Students will be rewarded appropriately for their research efforts, originality and depth of discussion.

GROUP ASSIGNMENT COMPLETED IN DESIGNATED GROUPS (50% of course mark)

PURPOSE

The purpose of this assignment is to gain in-depth understanding of the elements of strategic management theory and undertake strategic analysis of an organization in so far as corporate and business strategies are concerned. Students will also learn how to work in teams, undertake academic research, use of electronic databases and create a group report.

REQUIREMENT

This is a group assignment and students should write a report of 3000 words on a chosen company. Assume that you are a strategic management consultant and prepare a report for the board of directors of the company that you have chosen.

For this purpose, you are required to choose an established company (preferably a New Zealand company) and undertake the following tasks:

1. Conduct an analysis of external environment of the chosen company (PESTEL analysis and Industry analysis)
2. Conduct an analysis of internal environment of the company (Organisational analysis) and identify its core competences – you can also discuss value chain analysis, if appropriate
3. Evaluate the current strategy (focus on corporate and business strategies) of the company and discuss the findings
4. Identify and discuss at least two strategic options (if possible, consider more than two options) and recommend a strategic option that you believe that the company should pursue.
5. Identify and discuss two challenges that the board of directors might face in in implementing your recommendation/s.
   The report should be in the following format:

• Introduction
• Task one: Analysis of external environment
• Task two: Analysis of internal environment
• Task three: Evaluation of current corporate/business strategy
• Task four: Recommendation of strategic option
• Task five: Likely challenges in implementation
• Summary and conclusion
• Reference list

Choice of company
You can choose any company to undertake the strategic analysis. However, it would be
useful to keep in mind the following aspects when you choose a company:

• You should have adequate information (or access to information) about the company.
• The company should have been established at least for 5 years.
• Focus your analysis on a particular country (even if the company operates in different countries) as it would be difficult to undertake environmental scanning of different countries.
• Ensure that you can undertake a meaningful industry analysis by focusing on a single industry (multiple products of a company may belong to different industries).

GUIDELINES FOR ASSIGNMENT

Group process and expectations

Each group should consist of no more than SIX students. Prof Nel will allocate students to groups. Team members must meet as required in order completing this assignment. The cover page of the report must contain a declaration, signed and dated by each student. Students should give the name of the chosen case study company to the lecturer for approval. Teams should meet regularly for discussion and keep a record of meetings along with dates and
decisions taken.

Assessment and break-up of marks

The assignment is marked out of 100. Each team must maintain a record/minutes of their weekly meetings in the form attached

General Instructions

• Do not simply repeat large pieces of information or sentences from the case study or articles and/or other sources; rather make use of the information to illustrate your arguments and recommendations.
• The main sections of the report must be indexed and pages numbered.
• All assignments should have your own coversheet as well as a Unitec’s coversheet that is signed and attached.
• Plagiarism will not be tolerated. Students will not only be awarded zero (0) mark for the assignment but may be subjected to disciplinary proceedings.
• Include the grading sheet at the end of your assignment
• Include the meeting sheet at the end of your assignment