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BUSM3125 Strategic Management (Melbourne) 1 BUSM3125 Strategic Management Detailed assignment guide Semester 2, 2018 Assignment 1 (Individual assessment): Strategic Analysis Weighting This assignment accounts for 35% of the assessment in this Course. Due Date Monday, Week 6 20 th August Due Time By 7.00pm Place via RMIT Canvas’s electronic submission Format Report Length 1500 words (max), 1.5 line spaced, 12 point Times New Roman. Note: The word count does not include references nor appendices You will work individually to conduct a strategic analysis, and write a report on a real-life business. Please note that this report will focus on business-level strategy. You are required to conduct strategic analyses for G8 Education, an Australia’s publicly listed company (https://g8education.edu.au/), for this assignment, focusing on its Australian early child learning business only. You are advised to conduct research such as Internet searching for industry and media reports, and browsing the website and annual reports of G8 Education (https://g8education.edu.au/investor- information/introduction/) and other relevant organisations. Write a 1500 word report, excluding references and appendix. In this report, you are required to perform the following tasks: 1. Describe briefly the background information (strategic context) of the organisation (G8 Education). This information should be brief and relevant to the discussion of your assignment and thus may include ownership, history, size, business scope, major products/services, and major markets, and financial performance of the organization selected. 2. Conduct a macro-environment analysis (focusing on Australia only in this assignment) for the entire industry within which the organisation operates. You should use the analytical framework provided in the textbook. Foci will be placed on the understanding of the purpose of this analysis, the identification of key factors and their implications in terms of key opportunities and threats, and the discussion of their overall impact on the industry growth in the future. Draw your conclusion based on your macro-environment analysis. 3. Undertake an industry (competitive) analysis using Porter’s 5-forces model. You are required to pay attention to the purpose of this analysis, the inter-connectedness of different aspects of the competitive forces, the links between the competitive forces and macro-environment, and their overall impact on the industry and the organization selected in terms of main driving forces in the competitive environment. Draw your conclusions based on your five-force analyses. https://g8education.edu.au/ https://g8education.edu.au/investor-information/introduction/ https://g8education.edu.au/investor-information/introduction/ 2 References should be utilised within this Report to validate the information presented, and should be drawn from academic sources and organisational information such as the website and annual reports. The business press may be used to identify relevant issues. Please note that no executive summary is required in this report. Learning outcome/s and capability development This assessment is deliberately designed not only to test what you know, but also to build your lifelong learning skills. The skills that you will be developing include: cognitive conceptualisation skills critical thinking and analysis skills creative application skills. All these are valuable skills you will need in future employment. How well you are able to demonstrate these skills and knowledges will impact not only on you and your group (in terms of a mark) but also has the potential to influence the future of the case study organisation. Your work matters. Specifically, completing this assignment can help you develop your capabilities in the following areas: Understanding of the key concepts, models, theories, and analytical concepts covered from the relevant Modules (1-3) in this Course; Developing your ability to apply strategic management concepts and theories to the organisation selected, particularly in analysing its strategic position; Enhancing your capability in critical think through evaluating existing strategic concepts, analytical frameworks, and theories; and Developing your generic skills for pursuing your professional career in the areas of communication and report writing. Advisory notes for this assignment • You should conduct an extensive information search on the organisation selected. • Company websites, annual reports, and media reports are important sources of such information, but their objectives, and thus credibility, should be carefully analysed and evaluated. • You should use appropriate concepts and analytical tools in your report. • The report should be written in prose; however limited use of dot points is acceptable. • This advice should be read in conjunction with RMIT assessment policy and the course guide. Guide for assignment presentation Written assignments must be presented in a professional format. Quality of presentation, especially literacy, will be considered in the marking criteria. Written communication skills are an essential component of RMIT University’s courses. In line with RMIT policy, all sources of information must be fully referenced using standard Harvard or APA referencing systems. You are encouraged to use referencing software such as Endnote for referencing and formatting. The assignment should be in report format and use Times New Roman font size 12, 1.5 line spacing. 3 Assignment submission You are required to submit your assignment online. It should be attached with a coversheet, which can be downloaded from the Course canvas and signed. Please submit it via the course canvas and note: • Submit your assignment into Turnitin first to check the authenticity of your report. Submit both your assignment and a copy of its Turnitin originality report through the Final Submission link provided in the Course Canvas. • Further submission instructions will be given in the lectures or announcements. 1: Introducing Strategy Copyright © 2017, 2014, 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Exploring Strategy 11th edition Text and Cases Chapter 1 Introducing strategy * Copyright © 2017, 2014, 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Learning outcomes Summarise the strategy of an organisation in a ‘strategy statement’. Distinguish between corporate, business and functional strategies. Identify key issues for an organisation’s strategy according to the Exploring Strategy Framework. Understand different people’s roles in strategy work. Appreciate the importance of different organisational contexts, academic disciplines and theoretical lenses to practical strategy analysis. * Copyright © 2017, 2014, 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Definitions of strategy Sources: A.D. Chandler, Strategy and Structure: Chapters in the History of American Enterprise, MIT Press, 1963, p. 13; M.E. Porter, ‘What is strategy?’, Harvard Business Review, November–December 1996, p. 60; P.F. Drucker, ‘The theory of business’, Harvard Business Review, September–October 1994, pp. 95–106; H. Mintzberg, Tracking Strategies: Towards a General Theory, Oxford University Press, 2007, p. 3. Figure 1.1 Definitions of strategy * Copyright © 2017, 2014, 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Slide 1.* Strategic decisions Source: From G. Johnson, K. Scholes and R. Whittington. Exploring Corporate Strategy, 8th edn, Pearson Education 2008. * Copyright © 2017, 2014, 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Three horizons for strategy (1 of 2) Horizon 1: Current core activities – extend and defend these activities. Horizon 2: Develop emerging activities – to generate new sources of growth and/or profit. Horizon 3: Create viable strategic options for the future – higher risk activities that may take years to generate growth/profits. * Copyright © 2017, 2014, 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Three horizons for strategy (2 of 2) Note: ‘profit’ on the vertical axis can be replaced by non-profit objectives; ‘business’ can refer to any set of activities; ‘time’ can refer to a varying number of years. Source: M. Baghai, S. Coley and D. White, The Alchemy of Growth, Texere Publishers, 2000. Figure 1.1, p. 5. Figure 1.2 Three horizons for strategy * Copyright © 2017, 2014, 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Stakeholders What is Strategy for? •To define and express the purpose of an organization to stakeholders. •Stakeholders are those individuals or groups that depend on an organisation to fulfil their own goals and on whom, in turn, the organisation depends. •Four ways to define an organisation’s purpose: Mission Statement Vision Statement Statement of Corporate Values Statement of Objectives * Copyright © 2017, 2014, 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Mission statements A mission statement aims to provide employees and stakeholders with clarity about what the organisation is fundamentally there to do. ‘What business are we in?’ ‘What would be lost if the organisation did not exist?’ ‘How do we make a difference?’ * Copyright © 2017, 2014, 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Vision statements A vision statement is concerned with the future the organisation seeks to create. ‘What do we want to achieve?’ ‘If we were here in twenty years what do we want to have created or achieved?’ * Copyright © 2017, 2014, 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Statement of values Statements of corporate values communicate the underlying and enduring core ‘principles’ that guide an organisation’s strategy and define the way that the organisation should operate. NB These values do NOT change with circumstances. * Copyright © 2017, 2014, 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Statement of objectives Objectives are statements of specific outcomes that are to be achieved. Often stated in financial terms (e.g. Profit). May also be market-based objectives (e.g. Market Share). May emphasise basis of competitive advantage. ‘Triple Bottom Line’ – economic, social and environmental objectives. * Copyright © 2017, 2014, 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Strategy statements Strategy statements should have three main themes: Fundamental goals that the organisation seeks, which reflect the stated mission, vision and objectives. The scope or domain of the organisation’s activities. The particular advantages or capabilities it has to deliver all of these. * Copyright © 2017, 2014, 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Levels of strategy (1 of 2) Functional strategies Business-level strategy Corporate- level strategy Diversifying from the organisation’s original activities into other activities (e.g. Tesla selling batteries for home use.) Marketing and product improvement strategies (e.g. Developing a lower cost, volume car for Tesla.) Tesla’s functional strategies are geared to meeting its investment needs and raising finance. * Copyright © 2017, 2014, 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.