2500 words. See attachment for more details

Introduction
Strategic Management is concerned with the medium to long-term direction and survival of an organization. The activity of strategic management involves trying to match the organization’s resources to the external environment and is usually done at the top level of an organization. However, the environment is constantly changing, is difficult to predict and there is a vast amount of information and variables that might be considered. An important consideration for strategic managers is the “science & art” of correctly aligning their strategy within the concept of VVMOST (Values, Vision, Mission, Objectives, Strategy & Tactics) to achieve Sustainable Competitive Advantage (one of the holy grails for strategic managers).
Strategic managers make their decisions in a context of some uncertainty, ambiguity and complexity. We will be focusing on a “structured approach” to strategic management. We will be looking at a variety of strategic management frameworks, models and tools that can be used in an attempt to simplify the task of strategic decision making. We are taking a critical look at these models and questioning their usefulness. We should not assume that the models can do our thinking for us (see the story above) but they are a good starting point for exploring strategic issues. We will also look at the issue of subjectivity and how it influences strategic decision making. At the end of this module, you will need to know how to apply strategic management models, understand their weaknesses and appreciate the limitations of the data that you are working with.

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this module, you will be able, at threshold level to:

1. Explain and critically evaluate the key propositions underlying strategic management theory and practice in national and global contexts.
1. Analyse strategic issues at business and corporate levels using appropriate frameworks and data, and identify strategic options.
2. Recommend and justify appropriate strategies and the strategic change needed for their implementation.

The Teaching and Learning Process

Teaching Block Two ONLY

Weekly lectures and seminars

Lectures should be treated as the starting point for topics within this module. Much more detail can be found in the accompanying reading for each week. It is essential that the reading is done before the relevant seminar to optimize your learning and your contribution to seminars.
Seminars will be set around case studies and critical analysis of literature & Practice. It is expected that you will read the case studies and/or literature in advance and answer the questions set out each week. In some instances you will be required to search for further literature and information yourself.
Attending lectures and seminars is highly recommended. They enable students to understand material taught “first hand” and may / will save a good deal of time in revision and understanding.
A Moodle site has been set up to supplement your learning on this module. It contains important documents, references, links, videos and announcements. It is essential that you follow the Moodle site as much as the Module handbook on a weekly basis.

There will be two one-hour lectures & one, up to, two-hour seminar per week. The latter part of each lecture may be used for seminar preps or homework depending on the week.

Assessment
The module will be assessed by;

1. Open book on line timed exam (3.0 hours) based on the theoretical aspects of the module (worth up to 50% of overall mark). Answer two questions from a choice of five questions. Assesses Learning Outcome 1

i. Individual coursework based on secondary research of the strategic aspects of an organization (worth up to 50% of overall unit mark). Assesses Learning Outcomes 2 and 3

Second Attempt/deferral instructions
Deferral – resit exam and/or resubmit coursework.
Second attempt – if you have failed the unit overall, you have to retake the element(s) that caused the failure. You do not have to pass both elements to pass the unit overall. The pass mark is 40%.

Coursework instructions
The coursework will be a 2500 word report based on a strategic review of an organization (a list of organizations is provided below on page 5). Your individual report company MUST be your own work.

Coursework Submission date is Monday 26th April 2021 via Moodle (Turnitin) by 23:55 (11:55pm) UK time.

A suggested structure of the report is shown below:

Executive summary (300 words)
An overview of the whole strategic review contained within the report
Strategic review (2200 words)
A strategic analysis of the organization
Environmental analysis
Resources and competence analysis
Recommendations for future development
TOWS matrix and/or Ansoff matrix to generate strategic options.
Review two or more options against the criteria of suitability, feasibility and acceptability.
Recommendations
References (not included in word count)
Appendices of supporting material (not included in word count)

Important Note: The above structure is ONLY a suggestion. There are many ways of writing a report & you should use what suits your style best.

Coursework general guidance notes:

· You must not do any primary research. All research should be conducted using secondary sources only.
· Diagrams and charts can be in appendices or throughout the body of the report. This is a style issue and is therefore up to you.
· “In text” referencing is part of the word count, but the references list is not.
· Normal rules apply as regards plagiarism. Turnitin will be available for you to check your work.
· A contents page and page numbers are required.
· An executive summary should summarize the key points & findings in the report. It is not a plan of what you intend to do.
· You are not required to provide critique of tools and models in this report.
· Appendices are optional and must not exceed 5 pages (10 sides). They should support the main body of the report.
· Tables & diagrams in the body of the report count in the wordcount, but not if in the appendixes.

Course work companies

You will investigate a company from the choices below. You are expected to agree & confirm your company with your seminar tutor by the 2nd week of teaching (Week Commencing 15.2.2021)

The list of companies is:

Tesco, British Airways (BA), Mc Donald’s, Philips Electronics, Daimler Benz, Toyota, Marks & Spencer, British Telecom (BT), Rio Tinto.

It may be possible & or necessary, for some of these companies, to choose one part of the company (eg. a business unit, brand or location / geography). This type of “scoping” will be covered & discussed in lectures & seminars.

M 20467 Strategic Management, 2020/2021, Individual Report (Coursework) Marking Sheet

(see also general grading criteria for level 6 on moodle)

Student id:
Seminar tutor:
Organization:

Mark

Final Mark %

Structure, writing style, referencing and presentation of report (10% weighting):

Poor (0-4 marks) – Disjointed, missing and/or poor references, lack of care in labeling diagrams etc.
Average (5 marks) – Clearly structured but may be some weaknesses in writing style and referencing and labeling diagrams etc.
Good (6 marks) – Clearly structured with only occasional lapses in writing style, referencing or labeling diagrams etc.
Excellent (7-10 marks) – Very clearly structured, excellent writing style, accurate referencing and labeling.

Tutor comments:

Strategic review – application, comprehensiveness, integration (60% weighting):

Very Poor (0-24 marks) – Little or no application of models.
Poor (25-29 marks) – Application of some models but lack of coherence and some inconsistencies. Poor explanations. Resources and/or environmental analysis is missing or incomplete.
Average (30-35 marks) – Application of some models with a few inconsistencies and lack of clarity in explanations in places. Resources and environmental analysis must be present.
Good (36-41 marks) – Integrated application of appropriate models with clear explanations.
Excellent (42-60 marks) – Very clear integrated and analytical application of broad range of appropriate models.

Tutor comments:

Strategic options/evaluation and recommendations – evaluation is justified by referring to the strategic review and recommendations are justified. (30% weighting):

Very Poor (0-11 marks) – Very brief and/or weak.
Poor (12-15 marks) – Basic attempt at evaluating options but lacks structure and/or justification.
Average (16-18 marks) – Evidence of option(s) with a basic and structured attempt at evaluation and recommendation.
Good (19-21 marks) – Structured evaluation of options justified by strategic review with clearly justified recommendation(s).
Excellent (22-30 marks) –Structured and comprehensive evaluation of options, very clearly justified by strategic review with clearly justified recommendation(s).

Tutor comments

Reading List

Core text

Johnson, G., Whittington R., Angwin, D., Scholes, K., & Regner, P. (2019). Exploring Strategy (12th ed.). Pearson.  

  (earlier editions are also ok but the chapter numbers and case studies will not be identical)

Additional books

Carter, C., Clegg, S., & Kornberger, M. (2008). A very short, fairly interesting and reasonably cheap book about studying strategy. Sage.
Carter, C. Clegg, S. Kornberger, M. & Scheitzer, J. (2011). Strategy Theory and Practice. Sage.
De Wit, B., & Meyer, R. (2010). Strategy: Process, Content, Context – An International Perspective. Fourth Edition. Thomson Learning.
Grant, R, M. (2011). Contemporary Strategy Analysis. Fifth Edition. Blackwell.
Grant, R., & Jordan, J. (2012). Foundations of Strategy. Wiley.
Haberberg, A., & Reiple, A. (2008). Strategic Management Theory and Application, Oxford University Press
Henry, A. (2011). Understanding Strategic Management. Second Edition. Oxford University Press.
Kim, C., & Mauborgne, R. (2005). Blue Ocean Strategy. Harvard School Press
McGee, J., Thomas, H.,& Wilson, D. (2010). Strategy Analysis and Practice. Second Edition. McGraw-Hill
Mintzberg, H., Ahlstrand, B. & Lampel, J. (1998). Strategy Safari. Prentice Hall Europe
Shimizu, K. (2012). The Cores of Strategic Management. Routledge.
Sutherland, J., & Canwell, D. (2004). Key Concepts in Strategic Management. Palgrave.
Witcher, B. & Chau, V. (2010). Strategic Management: Principles and Practice. Cengage.
Whittington, R. (2001). What is strategy and does it matter? Thomson

Journals and Press

Harvard Review is aimed at senior management. It highlights current thinking in all areas of management featuring well known academics and consultants.

Long Range Planning is aimed at practitioners and academics. It is readable, topical and relevant.

Company information

L

exisNexis Executive is a newspaper search database

www.londonstockexchange.com

Source Premier
Company web sites
Mintel (available from www.port.ac.uk/library)

www.Bloomberg.com

Some key writers in strategy

Jay Barney Bala Chakravarthy James Champy Robert M. Grant Gary Hamel
Michael Hammer Chan Kim Renee Mauborgne Henry Mintzberg
Kenichi Ohmae Tom Peters Michael Porter C. K. Prahalad Robert Waterman George Yip

Moodle

A selection of relevant journal articles will be on the unit’s Moodle site. The site will also contain lecture notes, case studies, videos and links.

Referencing
We expect APA 7th.
For information on how to do it go to 

 

Turnitin

Use this to check for plagiarism. A Turnitin report is not a requirement for passing the unit but you must reference your work correctly.

Lecture/seminar programme: Teaching Block Two

Lectures

Week

Commencing.

Lecture Topic

Seminar Topic

One (1)
&
Two (2)

8.2.21
OS
Session (Teaching Week) 1

L1 – Introduction to Module & Critical Considerations.
L2 – What is strategy?

Introduction to the Module. Discussion of the flow & objectives of the Module. Ice Breaker.
Introduction to Strategy (if time permits)

Three (3)
&
Four (4)

15.2.21
OS
Session (Teaching Week) 2

L3 – Analysing the external environment: Part One
L4 – Analysing the external environment: Part Two

What is Strategy?
What does Strategy look like?
Overview of strategic issues.
Case study: London Heathrow (Moodle)

Five (5)
&
Six (6)

22.2.21
OS
Session (Teaching Week) 3

L5 – Analysing internal resources & competence: Part One
L6 – Analysing internal resources & competence: Part Two

Analysing external environment (parts 1 & 2)
Case study: Primark (Moodle)
Critical discussion of Frameworks, tools & methodologies
Student research

Seven (7)
&
Eight (8)

1.3.21
OS
Session (Teaching Week) 4

L7 – Corporate (Level) Strategy
L8 – (Level) Strategy

Analysing internal resources.
Case study: NOMA. (Moodle)
Student research incl. prior watching “How to Build a Jumbo Jet Engine” in your own time. Discussion of VC & RBV of Strategy
Full Discussion of Video “How to Build a Jumbo Jet Engine”. RR.
Student research

Nine (9)
&
Ten (10)

8.3.21
OS
Session (Teaching Week) 5

L9 – International Strategy
L10 – Generation of Strategy & Strategic Options (Ways of gaining Competitive Advantage)

Discussion about corporate level strategy.
Student research of parent companies.
Discussion about level strategy (Achieving Competitive Advantage)
Is there such a thing as a generic strategy?
Student research.

Eleven (11)
&
Twelve (12)

15.3.21
OS
Session (Teaching Week) 6

L11 – Recap Generation of Strategic Options followed by Evaluation & Recommendation
L12 – Revision & Review of Strategic Management & Coursework & Report Writing Q&A / Guidance

Critical discussion of globalization: what are the benefits and pitfalls of ‘going global’?
Student research?
Directions and methods of growth
Stakeholder analysis, ANSOFF and SAF
Case study: Glastonbury (Moodle)
Student research?

Thirteen (13)
&
Fourteen (14)

22.3.21
OS / SD
Session (Teaching Week) 7

L13 – Strategy from different perspectives & Strategy Lenses – “The Strategy Process”
L14 – Open Access Lecture. Questions & Answers Session (as needed) and Coursework & Report Writing Guidance

Work on Your Coursework & Catch Up
Work on Glastonbury Case Study
Evaluating Strategic Options: Case Study: Starbucks

No Lectures &
No Seminars

29.3.21
No sessions

Consolidation Week

Work on your coursework & catch up
Work on Glastonbury Case Study
Work on Evaluating Strategic Options: Case Study: Starbucks as needed.

Fifteen (15)
&
Sixteen (16)

19.4.21
GR
Session (Teaching Week) 8

L15 – Strategic Change Management 1 – Nature & Type of Strategic Change & Why Change?
L16 – Strategic Change Management 2 – Models & CSFs of Strategic Change.

Evaluating Strategic Options: Case Study: Starbucks (Contd. As needed)

Moodle & Reading List.

Coursework Q&A
Coursework surgery (commence if time permits)

Seventeen (17)
&
Eighteen (18)

26.4.21
GR
Session (Teaching Week) 9

L17 – Strategic Change Management 3 – Examples, Approaches & Methodologies of Change.
L18 – Strategic Change Management 4 – Culture, Cultural Web & Change Management

Practice & Student Research re Strategic Change 1 & 2 Questions from week 8 lectures.

Nineteen (19)
&
Twenty (20)

3.5.21
OS
Session (Teaching Week) 10

L19 & L20 are set out for: Module Review, Revision, Exam Preparations, Considerations & Guidance

Practice & Student Research re Strategic Change Questions 3 & 4 from week 9 lectures.
Review of video, discussion and questions re:
Gerry Johnson (the cultural web)
Review of video, discussion and questions re:
Can Jerry Robinson fix the NHS

Twenty One (21) &
Twenty Two
(22)

10.5.21
OS
Session (Teaching Week) 11

L21 & 22 are set out for further revision & exam consideration & guidance, Q&As and typical exam questions & approaches to answers.

Go over past exam questions and Revision with Tutors.

Seminar Instructions / reading guide (Teaching Block 2)

Week 1: Introduction / Ice-breaker.

Your seminar tutor will brief you on the structure of the unit, how it will be delivered and assessed and what is expected of you. In the seminar we will try to arrive at a definition of strategy by looking at company strategies on the internet.

You will also go through a short icebreaker.

After seminar 1, you will be required to prepare for seminars . You must also keep up with the required reading each week.

Unit Handbook, Introduction to Unit & Guidance Lecture Slides / Notes and What is Strategy?
Case Study: London Heathrow (Moodle) and Airports Commission Final Report (July 2015) Exec Summary.
JSW Chapter 1 including ‘The Strategy Lenses’ commentary – Prep for next week’s seminar.

Collis, D., & Rukstad, M. (2008). Can you say what your strategy is? Harvard Review, April 2008, 86(4), 82-90.
Markides, C. (2004). What is strategy and how do you know you have one? Strategy Review, Summer 2004, 15(2), 5-12.
Oliver, R. (2001). What is strategy anyway? Journal of Strategy, Oct 2001.

Week 2: What is Strategy? What does it look like? Overview & nature of Strategic Management
Introduction to strategy concepts

Case study: Heathrow Airport (Moodle)

This is an introductory case to give you a broad overview of the type of issues that are covered in strategic management and the nature of strategic decision making. Read the case and compile a SWOT analysis for Heathrow Airport. Answer the following question;

1. What is your solution to the problem of Heathrow’s overcapacity? Justify your answer.
2. In your answer you should consider which stakeholders are most powerful and how you would deal with them.
3. Discuss & explore the nature of strategic decision making using Heathrow as an example?

JSW Chapter 2 (The Environment) – Prep for next week’s seminar
Case Study: Primark (Moodle)
Bring a piece of literature which discusses any aspect of Porter’s Five Forces. You will discuss this literature in a small group and together you will compile your overall findings and present these to the rest of the class.

Porter, M. (2008). The five forces that shape strategy. Harvard Review, 86(1), 78-93.
Rutter, A. (2003). From measuring clouds to active listening. Management Learning, 34(4), 465-480
Ofek, E., & Wathieu, L. (2010). Are you ignoring trends that could shape your business? Harvard Review, 88(7-8), 124-31.

Week 3: Analysing the external environment (part one)

Case study: Primark.

You have probably noticed the rapid expansion of Primark over the years. They are now the market leader in budget fashion but what does the future hold for Primark? Read the extracts about Primark and prepare the following: PESTEL / Porter’s Five Forces
Note that the extracts contain only a sample of the possible issues affecting the fast fashion industry and Primark specifically. You can of course, consider issues outside of these extracts from your own knowledge and investigation.
In the seminar you will share your findings with a small group. Each group will then present their findings to the class.

Critical discussion of Porter’s Five Forces.

Bring a piece of literature which discusses any aspect of Porter’s Five Forces. You will discuss this literature in a small group and together you will compile your overall findings and present these to the rest of the class. The literature should be from a ‘proper’ source i.e. recognized journals and business publications.

JSW Chapter 2 (recap) & Chapter 3 (Industry & Sector Analysis) – Prep for next week’s seminar.
Case Study: Primark Continued (Moodle)

Grant, R. (2010). Contemporary Strategy Analysis. (7th ed.). Wiley. (Chapter 11 – industry life cycle)
McGee, J., & Thomas, H. (1986). Strategic Groups: Theory, Research and Taxonomy. Strategic Management Journal, 7, 141-160.

Environmental analysis (part two)

Case Study: Primark

Prepare a strategic group analysis and industry life cycle of the fashion industry.
In order to do a strategic group analysis, you will need to think about the following issues;
· How widely do I define the industry – do I need to go broader than fast fashion?
· Who are Primark’s immediate competitors and who are more distant? How do I know that I’ve thought of all possible existing and future competitors? What variables should I use to define the industry?
For industry life cycle, consider these issues;
· How do I know what stage the industry is at? How do I know when the stage is going to change?
In the class we will integrate the findings of PESTEL, Porter’s Five Forces, strategic group analysis and industry life cycle. Based on these findings, what do you consider to be the key opportunities and threats for Primark?

JSW chapter 4 (Resources & Capabilities incl Strategic Capability) – Prep for next week’s seminar.
Read & Prep Case Study: NOMA (Moodle) and Start watching Video “How to Build a Jumbo Jet Engine”

Ahenkora, K. (2012). Qualitative value chain analysis and strategic choices. International Journal of Management and Economic Research, 3(1), 429-431.
Caescu, C., Popescu, A., & Ploeseanu, G. (2011). Internal environmental analysis techniques. Annals of the University of Oradea, Economic Science Series, 20(2). 731-736.

Week 4: Analysing resources and competences

Case study: NOMA (Moodle)

Compile a value chain analysis of NOMA and answer the following questions;
1. How would you be able to tell whether the different activities in NOMA’s value chain represents a strength or a weakness?
2. Which activities are underpinning competitive advantage?

JSW chapter 4 (continued) – Prep for next week’s seminar (see next week, below, for paper’s to read)
Complete watching Watch Video “How to Build a Jumbo Jet Engine” & prepare VC for RR for next week discussion.

Grant, R. (1991). The resource based theory of competitive advantage. California Management Review, Spring 1991, 114-135.
Hamel, G., & Prahalad, C. (1990). The core competence of the corporation. Harvard Review, May-June 1990, 79-91.
Mintzberg, H. (1996). The Honda Effect. California Management Review, 38(4), 78-91.
Wernerfelt, B. (1984). A Resource-based View of the Firm. Strategic Management Journal, 5, 171-180.

Discussion of the Value Chain and Resource Based View of strategy.

You are asked to prepare notes on one of the following articles with consideration of;
What type of paper is it (conceptual or empirical)? What is the argument of the paper?
a. Kraeijenbrink, J., Spender, C. & Groen, J. (2010). The resource based view: A review and assessment of its critiques. Journal of Management, 36, 349.
b. Sheehan, N. & Foss, N. (2007). Enhancing the prescriptiveness of the resource based view through Porterian activity analysis. Management Decision, 45(3). 450-461.
c. Priem, R. & Butler, J. (2001). Is the resource based view a useful perspective for strategic management research? Academy of Management Review, 26(1). 22-40.
d. Lockett, A., Thompson, A. & Morgenstern, U. (2009). The development of the resource based view of the firm. International Journal of Management Reviews, 11(1), 9-28.
Each group will summarize their article. From these findings consider the following questions;
1. To what extent does the RBV offer a more convincing theory of firm profitability than Porter’s positioning view of strategy?
2. Can you identify a fundamental flaw in the RBV argument?

Discuss the Video applying elements of it to a practical Value Chain of the RR of Building Engines. Compare VC & RBV views of the of Building a Jumbo Jet Engine.

JSW chapter 8 (Corporate Strategy & Diversification)
Prep for next week’s seminar (Research)

Cronshaw, M., Evans, D., & Kay, J. (1994). On being stuck in the middle: or good food costs less at Sainsbury’s. British Journal of Management, 5(1), 19-32.
Porter, M. (1996). What is strategy? Harvard Review, Nov-Dec 1996, 61-78.

Week 5: Discussion of Corporate level strategy

Find out who is the parent company of the following companies; Primark, Wetherspoons, Jaguar, Sees Candies (an American chocolate company) and answer the following questions:
1. Can you identify the corporate parenting ‘style’ (see JSW and above reading for guidanc )
2. How does the parent company add value to its firms?
3. How can a corporate parent tell whether it has the ‘right’ mix of firms under its ownership?

JSW Chapter 7 ( Strategy & Models) – Preps for next week’s seminar

Collis, D., & Montgomery, C. (1998). Creating Corporate Advantage. Harvard Review, May-June 1998, 71-83.
Campbell, A., Goold, A., & Alexander, M. (1995). The quest for parenting advantage. Harvard Review. March-April 1995, 120-132.

Level Strategy (Achieving competitive advantage)

Go back to your resources analysis of NOMA. From this analyses and answer the following questions;

1. Can you determine what ‘generic’ strategy NOMA appears to be following?
2. What is the risk of this strategy?
3. Can you think of a restaurant business that seems to be based on cost leadership? What is the risk of this strategy?

You are asked to bring to the seminar a piece of literature about generic strategies. Discuss your article in a small group. Each group will comment on the following question using their literature as evidence;
4. Is there really such a thing as a generic strategy?

JSW chapter 9 (International strategy) – Preps for next week’s seminar

Alexander, M., & Korine, H. (2008). Why you shouldn’t go global. Harvard Review. Dec-2008, 70-77.
Learner, E. (2007). A flat world, a level playing field, a small world after all, or none of the above? A review of Thomas L Friedman’s The World is Flat. Journal of Economic , 45(1), 83-126
or, any other source which discusses Friedman ‘The World is Flat’.

Week 6: Critical Discussion of Globalisation (Benefits & Pitfalls)

You will be asked to prepare one of the articles above; Alexander and Korine (2008) or Learner (2007). In small groups you will be asked to summarize the article and present to the rest of the class. We will try to reach a conclusion as a class as to whether the world really is getting smaller.

JSW chapter 5 (strategic Purpose Stakeholders & Governance) – Preps for next week’s seminar

Case Study: Glastonbury (Moodle)

Freeman, R., Martin, K., & Bidhan, P. (2007). Stakeholder capitalism. Journal of Ethics, 74(4), 303-314.
Fox, J. (2011). What is it that only I can do? Harvard Review, 89(1/2), 118-123.

Week 6 (contd): Stakeholder analysis (Generation & Evaluation of Strategies)

Case study: Glastonbury Festival (Moodle)

Glastonbury festival is now the size of a small city compared to its original village sized proportions. Considering how much rural residents value their rural environment, how was this possible? Read the article about Glastonbury on Moodle and compile a list of stakeholders. These can come from the case but you also might think of some more that need to be taken into account. Consider the following questions;
1. Who are the most powerful stakeholders of Glastonbury festival and how does Glastonbury manage them? Do a stakeholder analysis to help you answer this question.
2. What do you think could be a threat to Glastonbury’s future survival? Can Glastonbury use any of its stakeholders to help deal with this threat?

JSW Chapter 11 (Mergers, Acquisitions & Alliances) – Preps for next week’s seminar.
JSW Chapter 12 (Evaluating Strategies) – Preps for next week’s seminar.

Case Study: Starbucks

Weihrich, H. (1982). The TOWS matrix – a tool for situational analysis. Long Range Planning, April 1982, 54-66.
Kale, P., & Singh, H. (2009). Managing strategic alliances: what do we know and where do we go from here? Academy of Management Perspectives, 23(3), 45-62.
Drori, I., Wrzesniewski, A. & Ellis, S. (2011). Culture clashes in a ‘merger of equals’: the case of high-tech start-ups. Human Resource Management, 50(5), 625-649.

Week 7: Glastonbury Case Study (Stakeholder’s role & management in evaluating strategies)

Discuss the role of Stakeholders & their …