Strategic Management: Element 2, Individual Report (70%)

Module Leader: Dr. Selwyn Seymour

Key Details and Requirements

Submission deadline: 14th January 2022 no later than 1630

Learning Outcomes to be achieved:

1. To apply relevant secondary research to business problems

2. To link theory to practice and apply knowledge and understanding of
key strategy concepts and models
3. To demonstrate the ability to analyse and report information,
s u p p l e m e n t e d w i t h appropriate analytical tools
4. To demonstrate competency in researching and compiling a management report.
5. To draw relevant conclusions and make appropriate recommendations

Assessment details: Individual Report, (70%).

Referencing: Students are expected to write in the third person and use Harvard
Referencing throughout their assignments. Please follow the Harvard Referencing
Handbook for all your assignments at the ULBS.

Submission Method: Turnitin - Your work needs to be put through Turnitin. All
submissions will be electronically checked for plagiarism.

If you experience issues when uploading your work, please email it by the deadline to
Turnitin-submissions@law.ac.uk

Please note that you can deviate +- 10% from the word limit stated on each
assignment.

ASSESSMENT DETAILS

Assignment background
A company’s success is dependent on s u s t a i n in g t h e competitive
advantage it has over competitors. T h e r e a r e f a c t o r s , e x t e r n a l a n d
i n t e r n a l t h a t i n f l u e n c e a c ompany’s competitive advantage including
its resources, competences and capabilities which the company must
use in the best way possible.

Your task
Choose a F T S E 1 0 0 company to r e s e a r c h a n d write about, and
get it agreed by your tutor. Evaluate a r e c e n t s t r a t e g i c a c t i o n b y t h e
c o m p a n y a n d a ss e s s the strategies a p p l i e d , m a k i n g a p p r o p r i a t e
recommendations for possible further strategic actions. You will need to look at
the i m p l i c a t i o n s o f t h e company’s business environment, it provides consider
the company’s current strategic position, its resources, capabilities, and how
successful they have been, or could be, in establishing competitive advantage.
 Tasks:
1. Analyse the company’s internal and external environments, apply models
you deem appropriate and likely to provide you with relevant findings.
2. Identify which of the company’s resources and capabilities contribute to
competitive advantage and establish whether or not the competitive
advantage is likely to be sustainable.
3. Draw your conclusions and provide recommendations for further strategies
the company should adopt, to ensure sustainable competitive
advantage(s).

Please note:
Although the above brief identifies the main tasks, there may – and will be –
smaller tasks within those main tasks. Identifying and responding to those
will attract higher marks.

Structure (indicative):
o An introduction to the report and the chosen company.
o The results of your analyses, internal resource audit and external
environments.
o Your conclusions from your environmental analysis supplemented with
recommendations for how the company should move forward.
o References need to be included and in-text citations are essential.
o Use and include appendices as appropriate.

Module Assessment Criteria

Class Scale Attributes Marks

Exceptional The work displays exceptional breadth and depth of knowledge, 95-100%
1st understanding and application of research. Evidence of detailed
FIRST analysis / application deploying research in order to advance work
and/or direct arguments. Written in a fluent style with a clear
(Excellent)
focus and structure: excellent use of grammar, spelling and
language conventions. Performance deemed to be beyond that
which one would expect at this Level and aligned to learning
outcomes.
High 1st Excellent knowledge and understanding demonstrating a breadth 90-94%
and depth of substantive knowledge that is comprehensive
Mid 1st accurate and relevant to the learning outcomes. Evidence of 80-89%
reflective insight / application and ability to select a wide range of
Low 1st 70-79%
appropriate sources, theories, and principles from reading and
research. Consideration of opposing arguments. Excellent
demonstration of relevant skills; excellent communication, with
very good use of grammar, spelling and language conventions.
 UPPER High 2:1 Very good knowledge and understanding informed by accurate 68%
SECOND interpretation and awareness of related facts / concepts.
Mid 2:1 Demonstrates an ability to use a structured communication 65%
(Very Good) approach to sustain a relevant and coherent argument. Evidence
Low 2:1 of appropriate reading / research. The work is well structured and 62%
organised with good use of grammar, spelling and language
conventions.

LOWER High 2:2 Good insight and understanding of related information, such as 58%
SECOND principles, theories, evidence and techniques. Work
Mid 2:2 demonstrates descriptive application of knowledge. Limited 55%
(Good) evidence of ability to sustain a relevant and coherent argument.
Low 2:2 52%
Some evidence of appropriate reading / research to advance work
/ direct arguments. May not directly answer the question or fully
align to the learning outcomes. Reasonable use of grammar,
spelling and language conventions.

THIRD High 3rd Incomplete breadth and depth of substantive knowledge. 48%
(Sufficient) Sufficient display of theory to practice application using
Mid 3rd terminology, basic facts and concepts. Work is generally 45%
descriptive and lacking in theoretical and reflective insights or
Low 3rd application. Arguments may be weak or poorly constructed and 42%
are too simplistic. Limited attention paid to quality and
appropriateness of resources. Poorly structure work with no clear
sense of organisation of the material. The work may display
evidence of poor grammar and spelling.

FAIL Marginal Insufficient knowledge and understanding of the area of study; the 38%
(Insufficient) Fail answer may show some awareness of the area but misses many
important facts and concepts and makes major errors. Work is
Mid Fail descriptive with a limited use of sources to advance work. 35%
Arguments are weak or poorly constructed. Work that is limited in
Low Fail coherence, clarity and effective communication. 32%

FAIL Little relevant knowledge but with some level of awareness of the 20-29%
(Inadequate) subject area. Fails to show any analysis / application and does not
meet the learning outcomes. Fails to use data, citations or other
sources in the correct manner. The work is descriptive and any
arguments are partial and unsubstantiated. Poor communication
skills which hamper ability to demonstrate achievement of
outcomes.

FAIL Work is severely inadequate and demonstrates little or confused 10-19%

(Severely awareness of the subject area. Poorly informed descriptive
Inadequate) narrative with little evidence-based argument. Use of sources is
inappropriate and arguments are unsubstantiated and
unstructured. Very poor communication skills.

FAIL Virtually no attempt – the candidate may have written a few 0-9%
(Profoundly sentences but without addressing the question in any way.
Inadequate) Learning outcomes are not met. There is no real attention to any
presentation norms or structure to the narrative.