Strategy and Creativity Assignment 1

Assessment Title Assignment 1

Unit Title Strategy and Creativity

Unit Code BSS040-3 Number of Credits 15

Unit Leader Eliot Lloyd

Assessment Weighting (%) 40%

Issue Date Unit week 1

Procedure for submission Electronic copy via BREO TurnItIn

Expected Return Date 3 working weeks after submission

Description of

Assessment Task This is an individual report.

You are allowed to work in groups to prepare your research but the
submission must be individual.

You should produce a report for the Chief Executive of an

organisation that will be given to you in the first week of the unit.

Your task is to produce a recommendation for the board about

which areas of the organisation should be focused on and
developed. Your recommendations must be justified by your
analysis. You do not need to show how it needs to be developed.

Throughout the unit the models and concepts that will allow you to
do this will be explored and we will develop understanding of
strategies of real companies that will help your understanding

You must:
 Critically review the strategy of the company making use of
the appropriate methods that will be covered in weeks 1
and 2 of the unit.

 You should outline the issues faced by the organisation. To

do this successfully you should consider the competitive
environment of the organisation. This requires you to
understand the nature of competition which will be
covered in the first 4 weeks of the unit.

 You should recommend which of the services run by the

organisation should be developed and focused upon. This
 should stem from the analysis. You must justify the choice.
Remember that this is a recommendation and there is no
one answer.

Further important information

 You must include a set of appendices that shows how your

ideas were developed (demonstrating use of tools and
frameworks). Failure to do this will result in potential
failure of the assessment
 You should be able to demonstrate research into the
market (in order to identify gaps), competition, and
customers.
 You must use relevant frameworks and tools from both
order to meet the criteria.
 You should consider options and make a decision about
which strategy the ‘company’ should develop.
 You must not waste words on explaining the tools or
writing lit review style descriptions. This will result in a very
poor grade.
 We will work on understanding the necessary strategy
concepts and using creativity tools during the sessions and
in the Guided Learning sections of BREO, as well as making
use of important reading. To succeed therefore you must
engage with the unit from the start. Students who attempt
to do this assignment in a short period of time will face
serious risk of failure.

Threshold standards:

Deliver a report in which you identify a range of plausible strategic

options supported by ideas and techniques drawn from academic
theory and analysis

Guidelines and Additional Information

 You may form your own study group to discuss the topic.
However, each student is required to submit an individual
report, comprising their own understanding, review, critical
analysis and recommendations regarding the issue that you
will be given

 Your report will be well presented and logically organized.

  Good clear presentation using an appropriate structure
demonstrating effort to communicate effectively will result
in higher grades.

 You are expected to use quality sources of evidence

 Use of the Harvard referencing style for citing references –

see http://lrweb.beds.ac.uk/guides/a-guide-to-
referencing/referencing. This not only applies to the
bibliography but also to in-text references.

Unit Learning Outcomes Knowledge and understanding

assessed:
 Demonstrate knowledge of a range of tools and
frameworks of strategy and creativity appropriate for the
evaluation of complex situations in organizations

Skills and abilities

 Select and use the appropriate tools with which to perform

meaningful analysis from which you will be able to generate
coherent strategic options and choice

Word Limit 2000 words

Format Word document

Resources/Support Available Weekly lecture and seminar workshops

Lecture material, case study, recommended texts, library resources

Assessment Criteria Please refer to the Assessment Criteria on the Excel Spreadsheet

Peer / Self Assessment NO

Required

Details of how feedback will Via BREO

be provided