Strategic Management

Coursework:
Strategic Analysis of Organisation X
(subject to external moderator approval)

Gary Schwarz, PhD, MPA (Harvard)

Professor in Public Management and Strategy
 Coursework: Aims
To enable students to practice the strategic
management concepts that they have just
learned in the course in a safe environment.
This allows learning by doing and applying the
frameworks to a setting of their choice, for
example to their employer of choice or a
company they worked for in the past. Students
can road test: determine how the concepts can
be applied, and what they will need to refine,
adjust, discuss further, or return to in the
future.
 Coursework: Strategic analysis of
organisation X
• Students will write a 3,000-word essay (excluding references
and appendices; marks may be deducted if you exceed the
word limit by more than +10%) based on the material covered
in class. The objective is to perform a strategic analysis of an
organisation and to make recommendations how to improve
its positioning/performance.
• Use concepts, theories and frameworks from the course with
the support of relevant literature.
• While the essay should clearly be linked to materials discussed
in class, you can select any organisation (and industry) that you
are passionate about.
• In all cases, material used should be fully referenced and
sources acknowledged.
• Deadline: 23 December 2021, 15:00
 Components
• Describe and evaluate - Strategy frameworks to be used:
– Brief company introduction: Mission/Vision Statement plus
five-year revenue and profits (or proxy if not available)
– External analysis
• PESTEL
• Five Forces
– Internal analysis
• VRIO
• International strategy
• One more framework depending on company (e.g.,
competitive, corporate, platform strategy)
• Recommend - How can the organisation improve its
positioning and performance?
 Coursework marking criteria
• Clarity of presentation
• Research undertaken by the use of suitable
sources, data and references (minimum of ten)
• Knowledge of organisation and industry
• Use of concepts and models
• Analysis of COVID-19 impact
• Depth of discussion including unique arguments,
analytical critique and limitations
• Quality of recommendations
• Proper and consistent referencing in Harvard
format