Strategic Management
SIM 336 Strategic Management Assessment Question 2019 Canvas & JIRA Deadline:
Learning outcomes.
Upon successful completion of this module, students will have demonstrated:
Knowledge
K1. Understanding of the origins and various approaches to strategy
K2. Understanding of the complexity of the relationships between the organisation and its environment
K3. Understanding of international/global strategic thinking
K4. Understanding of the application of strategy ideas in practice
Skills:
S1. The ability to analyse the complexity of organisations and their environments
S2. The ability to synthesise earlier, diverse and possible piecemeal studies of the organisation, assimilate new theoretical models, and offer solutions relative to strategic issues
S3. The ability to evaluate existing models and methodologies against observations of the practices of real organisations
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Assessment
Assessment
Please read carefully the following instructions:
All students are required to submit their assignment via the module in Canvas and JIRA. The penalty for students that do not submit their assignments through the module in Canvas and JIRA is that they will fail the assignment.
Students may submit assignment drafts prior to the submission date to generate originality reports. The last submission of the assignment prior to the submission date will be deemed as the final submission for assessment purposes.
All work submitted must adhere to the University Policy on ‘Cheating, Collusion and Plagiarism’
You must not submit an assignment that analyses the mobile phone industry and or a mobile phone company.
Task:
You are required to submit an individual report of 3,000 words, which can be based on an organization or idea of your own choice. The strategic analysis must be related to a recognised aspect of business policy, strategic management or the philosophical underpinning of a particular methodology within the public or private sector strategic management domain.
If your analysis is, of an organisation then do not submit a functional analysis; for example do not submit a strategic marketing analysis or a strategic human resource analysis. You should be applying the concepts and models from the topics that are within the module to your chosen organisation.
The report must be written in a recognised style, i.e. table of contents, introduction, main analysis, conclusions, recommendations, references and bibliography. You must apply the Harvard system of referencing in your report. The word count must be stated on the front page of your assignment. The word count includes the introduction, main analysis, conclusions, recommendations, the word count does not include references, front page, executive summary and or abstract, contents page, diagrams, tables, figures and graphs; bibliography and appendices. A penalty will be applied for
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exceeding the word count. The penalties that will be applied for exceeding the word count can be found in Table 1.
Objectives
To analyse a business policy or strategic management topic, to carry out individual research or evaluation of an organization.
Requirements
Meet the learning outcomes listed above, identify and critically analyse fundamental issues related to strategic management. Undertake a study that shows clear evidence of synthesis and evaluation.
•Use a theoretical model to reflect upon the reality (practice) of a situation. Use theory to predict theoutcomes of practice. Use practice to reflect upon / modify theory.
There are a number of ways you might carry out this assignment. Here are a few ideas:
•Compare theory with theory: Using practical examples compare two theories from twodifferent schools of thought and examine success and / or failure. e.g. prescriptive and descriptive.
•Compare theory and practice: Does M.E. Porter’s (1985) model of competition support theexperience of practitioners? i.e. use a practical example /case / issue to reflect on Porter’s model(s)and examine success and / or failure.
•A case study approach: Is Satya Nadella, C.E.O. managing Microsoft as effectively as he might?i.e. do an analysis of Microsoft’s performance in relation to declared (or undeclared) strategy andthe efficacy of his strategy.
•A recovery plan: My advice to the Chief Executive Officer of the Toshiba Corporation is
i.e. suggest a way forward for the organization in light of their poor performance over recent years.
•A risk management strategy: My advice to Tesco’s Chief Executive Officer in light of their2014/5 £6.4 Billion trading loss.
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These are merely examples of approaches you might take; thinking up your own ideas might be more productive and fun. You are encouraged where practical to discuss your ideas with your tutor prior to commencing the assignment.
Assessment Criteria
Your seminar tutor on the basis of the following general criteria will assess the paper:
•The university generic assessment criteria
•Discretion – additional credit may be awarded to a student who tackles a difficult subject well.The “Presentation” element of the Generic Assessment Criteria will be used to assess thereport structure.
Table 1 Applied Penalties for exceeding the word count.
Word limit
Penalty
Actual Word Count
Exceeds limit by up to 10%
No penalty – tolerance band (see below)
3300
Exceeds limit by 10.1-20%
-5%
3301 – 3600
Exceeds limit by 20.1-30%
-10 %
3601 – 3900
Exceeds limit by 30.1-40%
-15 %
3901 – 4200
Exceeds limit by 40.1-50%
-20 %
4201 – 4500
Exceeds limit by more than 50%
Mark of zero
4501+
Assessment Regulations
For further information regarding Assessment Regulations, extenuating circumstances or extensions and academic integrity, please refer to your Programme Handbook on the University of Sunderland in London information page on Canvas.
Reading List
Please access your reading list from the library website. To access it, please go to https://moduleresources.sunderland.ac.uk/ and search for your module.
Submission guidelines
There are currently two steps that you need to follow to ensure that you successfully submit your work for marking. Your submission links will become available approximately 3 weeks prior to your
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submission deadline, along with detailed instructions on how to submit your assignment, but in the meantime please feel free to also watch this Assignment Submission Instructions video.
Grading
You will be marked in accordance to the University of Sunderland assessment criteria attached below. The assessment criteria covers; Relevance, Knowledge, Analysis, Argument and Structure, Critical Evaluation, Presentation, Reference to Literature.
