Analysis of the organisation’s business environment and of industry survival and success factors,. industry survival and success factors.
Theory
Analysis of the organisation’s strategy: 25%
You are expected to use concepts from the module, such as strategic
resources and capabilities, differentiation, business model canvas and the value chain to analyse the strategy being followed by the firm you are examining. As in the previous section, work that is descriptive or uses no theory will be given low grades, as will work whose conclusions are drawn entirely from secondary sources – your analysis should be your own.
value chain analysis.
Analysis of the organisation’s culture, structure, management systems and HR strategy: 20%
You are expected to use concepts and frameworks from the module, such as culture to analyse and appraise the culture, structure, management systems and HR strategy of the firm you are examining. As in the previous sections, work that is descriptive or uses no theory will be given low grades, as will work whose conclusions are drawn entirely from secondary sources – your analysis should be your own
Critical appraisal of the strategy: 20%
You are expected to bring the three previous elements together, to assess the sustainability of the firm’s competitive advantage in the future. You should compare the firm’s strategy with the industry key success factors, and draw suitable conclusions. You may also examine the internal consistency between the culture, structure, HR strategy and business strategy. You may find the “fit/distinctiveness/ sustainability” framework from Lecture 1 is helpful in structuring your argument here. The use of a framework, such as VRIN, to assess the firm’s resources and capabilities is strongly encouraged.