Strategic Agility - Australia Assignments

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Assignment Brief Academic Year 2021-22

Module code and title:	BM633 Strategic Agility	Module leader:	Michael Taylor
Assignment No. and type:	CW1: Consultants strategic report and recommendations for Oak Tree Inn (case study).	Assessment weighting:	100%
Submission time and date:	Friday 11th November 2022before 2pm	Target feedback time and date:	3 weeks after submission deadline

Assignment task

You are a recent graduate who has just started work at McKinsey, a consultancy, as a junior
business management consultant. Your team leader has assigned you to a client engagement,
(consultant speak for ‘a project’), to assist an SME firm in the hospitality and leisure sector based in
Scotland to create some strategic options for the firm. McKinsey has already asked the client for
some key information in order to assess the situation and this material is being provided to you in
the separate notes provided.
The Directors of Oak Tree Inn have engaged you to write a management strategy report that
analyses and assess Oak Tree Inn’s business situation taking into consideration internal, external
and competitive factors. You are to produce two strategic options for the Directors and
management team to consider and select one as your preferred strategy for the firm to adopt. The
firm requires you to;
A. Provide a brief overview of the firm and its activities providing pertinent data and information
drawn from reputable sources. Areas to consider include competitors, financial data, their
values and most pressing issues. It is recommended that you write no more than 450 words in
this section.
B. Present a SWOT table as a summary of Oak Tree Inns’ internal and external environment.
To do this, external environment models such as PESTEL and Five Forces, should be applied
and presented in the appendices. The key issues from these models should be summarised
using coding, in the ‘O – Opportunities’ and ‘T – Threats’ section of the SWOT table in the main
body of the paper
Internal models such as VRIO, BCG, Value Chain, Business Canvas etc should then be applied
in the appendices and the key issues from these models should be summarised using coding in
the ‘S – Strengths’ and ‘W – Weaknesses’ section of the SWOT table in the main body of the
paper
An approx. 400 word summary of your analysis should follow the SWOT table

Internal approval: John Hathaway
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C. Following logically from your previous analysis and using your research as rationale, create and critically assess TWO potential strategic options from your SWOT analysis that will mitigate threats, exploit opportunities and strengths as well as play to the firm’s competitive advantage and strategic capabilities. These should be detailed strategic choices, and not just broad suggestions. To do this, provide specific information and detail such as how, where, costings etc with as much reference to research to support your strategic choices. It is recommended that you write no more than 750 words in this section. D. Critically evaluate the two strategic choices generated from the research and analysis through the application of theories one of which must be a SAFe analysis which should be included in the main body of the paper. From the two strategies generated you are to make one recommendation for your preferred strategy that will convince the Directors of Oak Tree Inn ensuring you refer to previous evidence, analysis and evaluation within your work as part of your rationale. It is recommended that you write no more than 400 words in this section following the presentation of the SAFe model.
This assignment has been designed to provide you with an opportunity to demonstrate your achievement of the following module learning outcomes:
LO 1	Analyse the external environment of an organisation and justify critical opportunities and threats appropriate to that organisation;
LO 2	Analyse the strategic capability of an organisation and justify critical strengths and weaknesses linked to competitive advantage;
LO 3	Develop suitable strategic choices for an organisation;
LO 4	Evaluate strategic choices for an organisation, referring back to previous analysis in 1 and 2.
LO 5	Recommend and justify an appropriate strategic choice for an organisation.
Task requirements
Further Support • This assessment takes the format of a 2,000-word, maximum of 16 pages from introduction to recommendation, professionally produced report that would be suitable for use in the boardroom of a FTSE100 company. You are to complete the task set. The report must apply models and theoretical concepts and be supported by evidence, with references, from reputable sources throughout. From your analysis and evaluation, you are to present TWO strategic options for consideration by the board of the chosen firm. You will analyse the two strategic options and build an evidence-based argument for both using the SAFe framework before making your recommendation for one of the two strategies proposed.

Your work will be assessed on the extent to which it demonstrates your achievement of the stated learning
outcomes for this assignment (see above) and against other key criteria as defined by your programme
team.
See marking criteria grid provided below for how each element/task of the assessment will be marked and
the corresponding weighting of marks for each element/task required.

How your work will be assessed

Please reference your work according to the Harvard style as defined in Cite Them Right Online
(http://www.citethemrightonline.com). This information is also available in book form: Pears, R. and
Shields, G. (2019) Cite them right: the essential reference guide. 11th edn. Basingstoke: Palgrave
Macmillan. Copies are available via the University library.

Referencing and research requirements

Wgt	A 70%+	B 60-69%	C 50-59%	D 40-49%	E and F <40%
Knowledge & Understanding: Introduction & Summary of firm’s position PART A	10%	Answer shows an excellent summary of an organisation’s strategic position (Internal and benchmark summary).	Answer shows a good summary of an organisation’s strategic position (Internal and External).	Answer shows a good summary of an organisation’s strategic position (Internal and External) but may contain some gaps or errors.	Answer shows a summary of an organisation’s strategic position (Internal and External) but contains significant gaps and errors or is hard to understand.	Answer shows no summary of an organisation’s strategic position (Internal and External).
Knowledge & Understanding: SWOT summary. PART B	25%	Answer shows excellent application of theory/models, including PESTEL, 5 Forces and strategic capabilities to	Answer shows good application of theory/models, including PESTEL, 5 Forces and strategic capabilities to develop	Answer shows some application of theory/models, including PESTEL, 5 Forces and strategic capabilities to develop	Answer shows limited application of theory/models, including PESTEL, 5 Forces and strategic capabilities to develop	Answer shows no application of theory and models. Key drivers are not identified nor highlighted in

• The case study materials will be provided for you via the module VLE shell and these should be
used to aid you in the completion of your task. You should also refer to contemporary data sources
as well as market data insight from sources such as Mintel and other such reputable sources.
• Front cover, executive summary, contents page, reference pages and appendices are NOT
included in either the page count or the word count that have been allocated. Words used in
tables, charts, diagrams are also NOT included in the word count. Note we do not expect to see
any Wikipedia, Investopedia, Business Balls, Slide Share, and Essays4U, Term Papers or other
spurious non-academic non-reputable sources within your work or in the reference list. Font size
should be 11 with single line spacing. Reference list should be presented in the Harvard format
along with in text referencing and there is a maximum of 4 pages allocated to appendices should
you need them.
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develop appropriate key drivers which are highlighted in the SWOT analysis.	appropriate key drivers which are highlighted in the SWOT analysis.	appropriate key drivers which are highlighted in the SWOT analysis.	appropriate key drivers which may be highlighted in the SWOT analysis.	the SWOT analysis.
Evaluation: Identification of strategic options and critical assessment PART C	25%	Excellent evaluation criteria have been critically assessed and applied showing deep understanding of the organisation, environment and relevant theories. Sound recommendations, fully supported by evidence, analysis and evaluation.	Generally good critical assessment of evaluation criteria, showing a reasonable understanding of the organisation, environment and relevant theories. Generally sound recommendations, supported by reasonable evidence, analysis and evaluation.	Some critical assessment of evaluation criteria, but there are gaps or errors. There are gaps in understanding of the organisation, environment and how to select and apply relevant theories. Recommendations have gaps and weaknesses. Some gaps or errors in evidence, analysis and evaluation.	Limited critical assessment of evaluation criteria with significant gaps or errors. Significant weaknesses in understanding of the organisation and environment Relevant theories are missing or poorly applied. Limited recommendations, not really supported by sufficient evidence, analysis and evaluation.	There is no critical assessment of evaluation criteria.
Evaluation: Evaluation of Strategic choices, SAFe, Discussion & Recommendation PART D	30%	Excellent evaluation criteria have been applied, critical assessment and evaluation within the SAFe framework showing deep understanding of the organisation, environment and relevant theories. Excellent strategic choices, fully supported by evidence, analysis and evaluation.	Very good evaluation criteria have been applied, critical assessment and evaluation within the SAFe framework showing deep understanding of the organisation, environment and relevant theories. Sound strategic choices, fully supported by evidence, analysis and evaluation.	Good evaluation criteria have been applied, critical assessment and evaluation within the SAFe framework showing good understanding of the organisation, environment and relevant theories. Reasonably sound strategic choices not always fully supported by evidence, analysis and evaluation.	Acceptable evaluation criteria have been applied, critical assessment and evaluation within the SAFe framework showing some understanding of the organisation, environment and relevant theories. Weak strategic choices, not fully supported by evidence, analysis and evaluation.	Poor or no evaluation criteria have been applied, critical assessment and evaluation within SAFe framework is missing and weak/no understanding of the organization and environment is evident. Strategic choices are poorly argued and not supported by evidence, analysis and evaluation.
Assignment Parameters	10%	Clearly written and presented, fully and clearly referenced, and within +/-10% of the word limit Fully Harvard referenced.	In general, answer is clearly written and presented, fully and clearly referenced, and within +/- 10% of the word limit. Correct Harvard referencing.	Despite a small number of specific problems, answer is easy to follow with sound referencing.	Answer may suffer from weak communication and presentation but is understandable with reasonably sound referencing.	Weak communication and/or presentation limited effectiveness/ comprehension of argument. Poor or no referencing

Submission details

• This assignment should be submitted electronically. Please use the relevant Turnitin submission
point in the Submit your work area in your VLE module shell.
• Please ensure that your work has been saved in an appropriate file format. Turnitin will only accept
the following file types: Microsoft Word and PDF. Your file must also contain at least 20 words of
text, consist of fewer than 400 pages and be less than 20MB in size.
• You can submit your work as many times as you like before the submission date. If you do submit
your work more than once, your earlier submission will be replaced by the most recent version.
• Once you have submitted your work, you will receive a digital receipt as proof of submission, which
will be sent to your forwarded e-mail address (provided you have set this up). Please keep this
receipt for future reference, along with the original electronic copy of your assignment
• You are reminded of the University’s regulations on academic misconduct, which can be viewed on
the University website: https://bucks.ac.uk/ data/assets/pdf_file/0024/9546/Academic-Misconduct
Policy.pdf. In submitting your assignment, you are acknowledging that you have read and
understood these regulations
• Please also note that work that is submitted up to 10 working days beyond the submission date will
be considered a late submission. Late submissions will be marked and the actual mark recorded,
but will be capped at the pass mark (typically 40%), provided that the work is of a passing standard.
Work submitted after this period will not be marked and will be treated as a non-submission.

Before you submit

• Please use the provided checklist below to make sure you are ‘fit to submit’ your work
• We recommend you use this checklist as soon as you get this assignment brief to help you plan
your work

Fit to Submit: Assignment Checklist

This brief assignment checklist is designed to help you avoid some of the most common mistakes students
make in their coursework.
HAVE YOU READ THE ASSIGNMENT BRIEF?
IF NOT, DO IT NOW!
In it you will find details ofthe assessment task, word count, the assessment criteria your work is marked against,
and the learning outcomes – the basis for the assessment strategy in each module.
Students often lose marks by forgetting some of the more straightforward elements of their assignments.
We recommend that you “tick off” each of the points below as you prepare your work for submission. If

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TICK
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be failed if you have not.
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using relevant academic sources and you have offered discussion points which
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example, are font size, colour, style, line spacing and margins as the tutor specified?
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tutor.
Can you confirm that the work submitted is your own and not plagiarised?