Assessment Brief Module Title: Strategic Management and Leadership Further information about general assessment criteria, ARNA regulations, referencing and plagiarism can be found on the module site on the e-Learning Portal (eLP). Students are advised to read and follow this information. Task: Choose one company from the list published on the eLP (see Assessment Folder). For this company, explain how successful you think it is and discuss the strategic reasons behind that success. Your explanation should include something about the contribution of leadership to the company. Go on to suggest strategies and/or actions for ensuring success in the future. (Selected the company is MTR) You should read the guidance on page 2 of this brief and the marking scheme at the end of this brief to understand how you should approach the assignment and how marks will be allocated. Further guidance, including examples of marker feedback (shown in Lecture L08) and Revision Audio-Visual Presentations will appear on the eLP. Notes: a. Word limit = 3,700 words. See page 3 of this brief for an explanation. (Min. 30 references) b. Tables with sentences (rather than data) WILL be included in the word count c. No appendices are permitted. d. The assignment contributes 100% of the module mark. Format for submission:  The assignment should be written in Arial, 11pt, left-justified, 1½ spacing.  DO NOT put Your Name, or any Tutor’s Name anywhere on your assignment.  Every page should be numbered (in header or footer) and show your student ID.  ESSENTIAL – You must leave at least 5cm of ‘white space’ at the end of each section. This is the space for your marker to write feedback comments on the preceding section. Please note that we may not use all of the 5cm – it depends what type of feedback we think is needed for each answer.  All academic and other sources must be cited and included in a reference list  We require you to use the Barney (1991) VRIN framework. The VRIN Summary Table is usually shown in journals and textbooks with ticks and crosses. We require you to use the letter “Y” for “Yes” and the letter “N” for “No” and the “?” symbol for “Uncertain or Maybe”. Guidance We want you to tell us how you think the company has been able to compete successfully and justify your answer with analysis based on topic areas taught as part of this module. “Success” could be evaluated in terms of measures such as growth, profitability, market share and so on. But how has the company achieved this position which may have taken several years? To tackle the question you need to carry out a full strategic analysis of the company and the business environment. But we only want to read the really important elements of that analysis and the conclusions you draw. You have to judge what is most important and present this to us in a clear, academically rigorous manner. You must present conclusions (your interpretation of the analysis) for each section below. Your assignment should contain the following sections (5cm spacing between each) numbered exactly as follows. Mark allocations are shown in the marking scheme at the end of this brief. 1. A brief (maximum 100 words) introduction to the company 2. Company data which can be used to evaluate its success concluding with your thoughts about whether or not the company can be described as “successful”. 3. An outline of 6 to10 business reasons behind the success stated in a simple, straightforward way with a brief (4/5 sentences) explanation of each reason. Avoid strategy “jargon”; no analysis is required – this is a test of your broad business knowledge and understanding. 4. A detailed analysis of the company’s strategic capabilities starting with a Value Chain and followed by a VRIN evaluation. Your interpretation of the analysis must clearly show how the company has been able to build competitive advantage. 5. An evaluation of the contribution of leadership to the company’s success, basing this on appropriate theory. A wide range of topics will be acceptable including: - Leadership (e.g. styles, attributes) - Management theories - Organisational culture - Decision-making 6. A detailed analysis and interpretation based on one further topic area from the following list: - Business (competitive) strategy consistent with strategic capabilities - International strategy (based on the framework in Exploring Strategy) MTR should not have international strategy - Innovation strategy - Collaboration (alliances, joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions) 7. An explanation of any external and/or internal factors that might make it difficult for the company to be successful in the future and suggestions (based upon your prior analysis) as to how the company can best deal with these.  ALL sections should cite sources of research data and theories/concepts on which your analysis is based. The only exception to this is the suggestions you make in Section 7; these should be YOUR original ideas and therefore citations are not expected.  All cited sources should be listed in APA format in the References section at the end of your assignment  Cutting and pasting material directly from sources without citation is plagiarism  Cutting and pasting material directly from sources with citation is poor scholarship  Short extracts from cited sources are permissible – use double quotation marks and citation including page number  Although citing others, the majority of your assignment should use your own words. Word Limits and Penalties for Assignments If the assignment is within +10% of the stated word limit no penalty will apply. The word count is to be declared on the front page of your assignment and the assignment cover sheet. The word count does not include:  Title and Contents page  Reference list  Appropriate tables, figures and illustrations (but see note (b) on p1)  Glossary  Bibliography  Cited Quotations Please note, in text citations [e.g. (Smith, 2011)] and direct secondary quotations [e.g. “dib-dab nonsense analysis” (Smith, 2011 p.123)] are INCLUDED in the word count. If this word count is falsified, students are reminded that under ARNA page 30 Section 3.4 this will be regarded as academic misconduct. If the word limit of the full assignment exceeds the +10% limit, 10% of the mark provisionally awarded to the assignment will be deducted. For example: if the assignment is worth 70 marks but is above the word limit by more than 10%, a penalty of 7 marks will be imposed, giving a final mark of 63. Mapping to Programme Goals and Objectives: This assessment will contribute directly to the following Undergraduate programme goals and objectives: 1. Knowledgeable about the theory and practice of international business and management Objectives: Students will be able to: x 1. Acquire knowledge of functional areas of business and management. 2. Acquire knowledge of specialist areas of business. x 3. Apply their knowledge to business and management contexts. x 4. Conduct contemporary research into business and management. 2. Skilful in the use of professional and managerial techniques and processes Objectives: Students will be able to: 1. Provide evidence of self reflection as a means of informing personal development planning. 2. Demonstrate effective interpersonal communication skills and the ability to work in a team. x 3. Demonstrate critical thinking skills x 4. Demonstrate problem solving skills. 3. Aware of ethical issues impacting on business and professional practice Objectives: Students will be able to: 1. Identify an ethical dilemma in a business situation 2. Suggest ethical solutions to this dilemma 4. Employable as graduates Objectives: Students will be able to: 1. In the context of securing graduate employment demonstrate the skills of self presentation. Achievement of Goal 1 Objective 4 and Goal 2 Objective 3 are measured throughout the assignment. The other Goals and Objectives are measured primarily in certain sections – these are shown on the feedback sheet below. Recommendations for purchase Johnson G, Whittington R, Scholes K, Angwin D, Regnér P (2014). Exploring Strategy, 10th ed. FT Prentice Hall [ES] Students purchasing this textbook will receive an access code for “MyStrategyLab” which contains useful resources. There is an electronic version of this text available from the Library. It is essential that you have access to all the cases used in the module. The 9th Edition of the textbook is an acceptable substitute – the cases are almost the same as those in the 10th Edition. Core text books Johnson G, Whittington R, Scholes K, Angwin D, Regnér P (2014). Exploring Strategy, 10th ed. FT Prentice Hall Gill R (2011). Theory and Practice of Leadership, 2nd ed. Sage Publications Supplementary text books Balogun J and Hope-Hailey V (2008). Exploring Strategic Change, 3rd ed. FT Prentice Hall Brooks I, Weatherston J and Wilkinson G (2011). The International Business Environment , 2nd ed. FT Prentice Hall De Wit B and Meyer, R (2010). Strategy: Process, Content, Context: an international perspective, 4th ed. Andover : South-Western Cengage Learning Jeffs C (2008). Strategic Management. London: Sage Mintzberg H, Lampel J and Ahlstrand B (2009). Strategy Safari: the complete guide through the wilds of strategic management, 2nd ed. FT Prentice Hall Stacey RD (2011). Strategic Management and Organisational Dynamics, 6th ed. FT Prentice Hall