Assignment Brief
As part of the formal assessment for the programme you are required to submit a STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT assignment. Please refer to your Student Handbook for full details of the programme assessment scheme and general information on preparing and submitting assignments.
Learning Outcomes:
After completing the module, you should be able to:
1) Critically analyse and apply a number of theoretical models and their potentialfordevelopingstrategy andsupportingstrategicdecisions.
2) Analyse theoretical developments in strategy.
3) Support the development of organisational strategies and plans.
4) Critically assess the impact of strategy making in an increasingly volatile and turbulent environment.
5) Appreciate the significance of and the difficulties in formulating and implementing strategy.
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Arden University © reserves all rights of copyright and all other intellectual property rights in the learning materials and this publication. No part of any of the learning
materials or this publication may be reproduced, shared (including in private social media groups), stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or means, including without limitation electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written consent of Arden University. To find out more about the use and distribution of programme materials please see the Arden Student Terms and Conditions.
Guidance
Your assignment should include: a title page containing your student number, the module name, the submission deadline and the exact word count of your submitted document; the appendices if relevant; and a reference list in AU Harvard system(s). You should address all the elements of the assignment task listed below. Please note that tutors will use the assessment criteria set out below in assessing your work.
You must not include your name in your submission because Arden University operates anonymous marking, which means that markers should not be aware of the identity of the student. However, please do not forget to include your STU number.
Maximum word count: 4,000 words
Please refer to the full word count policy which can be found in the Student Policies
section here: Arden University | Regulatory Framework Please note the following:
Students are required to indicate the exact word count on the title page of the assessment.
The word count includes everything in the main body of the assessment (including in text citations and references). The word count excludes numerical data in tables, figures, diagrams, footnotes, reference list and appendices. ALL other printed words ARE included in the word count.
Please note that exceeding the word count by over 10% will result in a 10- percentage point deduction.
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Arden University © reserves all rights of copyright and all other intellectual property rights in the learning materials and this publication. No part of any of the learning
materials or this publication may be reproduced, shared (including in private social media groups), stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or means, including without limitation electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written consent of Arden University. To find out more about the use and distribution of programme materials please see the Arden Student Terms and Conditions.
Assignment Task
This assessment is weighted 100% of the total marks for the Module.
Case study Organisation: Aldi entitled:
The Aldi effect: How one discount supermarket transformed the way Britain shops. “When Aldi arrived in Britain, Tesco and Sainsbury’s were sure they had nothing to
worry about. Three decades later, they know better.” (Rice, 2019)
This assignment requires you to study the attached Case Study, research further and undertake critical analyses of the current business environment along with its strategic capabilities. Based on the outcome of your analyses, you are then required to propose and justify future strategic choice(s) for Aldi. Below are the links to both the text and podcast versions of the case study:
The Aldi Effect Case Study 2019 (Text Version)
The Aldi Effect Case Study 2019 (Podcast Version) (Rice, 2019) Reference:
Rice, X., 2019. The Aldi effect: How one discount supermarket transformed the way Britain shops. The Guardian. [online] Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/mar/05/long-read-aldi-discount- supermarket-changed-britain-shopping [Accessed 23 Sept. 2019].
Your brief includes a critical examination of the company’s current strategic plans and practices. In addition, you are required to suggest a comprehensive and justifiable strategic plan for adoption and implementation in the future. Your strategic plan must be informed by relevant referenced academic theories, Aldi Corporate information and any other appropriate sources. You are, therefore, required to undertake the following tasks and produce a Report for Aldi’s Chief Executive Officer addressing relevant strategic management issues:
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Arden University © reserves all rights of copyright and all other intellectual property rights in the learning materials and this publication. No part of any of the learning
materials or this publication may be reproduced, shared (including in private social media groups), stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or means, including without limitation electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written consent of Arden University. To find out more about the use and distribution of programme materials please see the Arden Student Terms and Conditions.
1. Critically analyse the balance of deliberate and emergent approaches to strategy formulation that has been adopted by Aldi in the past. Discuss the extent to which that balance has been appropriate and explain why? Recommend and justify how you believe that balance should be transformed for the future. What support is required to promote the development of the recommended balance of organisational strategies and plans?
(25 marks) (1000 words) (LO’s 2 & 3)
2. Critically assess the major macroenvironmental and industry issues that Aldi has faced in the past. Evaluate Aldi’s responses to the major macroenvironmental and industry issues. How effective have those responses been?
Identify and explain the impact of major macro- and competitive environmental issues currently facing Aldi that need to be reflected in the company’s future strategy?
(25 Marks) (1000 words) (LO’s 1 & 4)
3. Using Porter’s Value Chain framework, critically analyse Aldi’s strategic capability. What linkages in the Value Chain does Aldi manage particularly well?
With the aid of the VRIO framework, assess the sustainability of Aldi’s strategic capability.
(25 Marks) (1000 words) (LO’s 1, 4 & 5)
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Arden University © reserves all rights of copyright and all other intellectual property rights in the learning materials and this publication. No part of any of the learning
materials or this publication may be reproduced, shared (including in private social media groups), stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or means, including without limitation electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written consent of Arden University. To find out more about the use and distribution of programme materials please see the Arden Student Terms and Conditions.
4. Critically analyse Aldi’s previous strategies using Porter’s Generic Strategy framework, and the Ansoff Matrix. To what extent are these strategies appropriate for the future?
Analyse the approach to internationalisation that Aldi has adopted and assess the extent to which that approach has been appropriate, and explain why?
End of questions
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Arden University © reserves all rights of copyright and all other intellectual property rights in the learning materials and this publication. No part of any of the learning
materials or this publication may be reproduced, shared (including in private social media groups), stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or means, including without limitation electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written consent of Arden University. To find out more about the use and distribution of programme materials please see the Arden Student Terms and Conditions.
(25 Marks) (1,000 words) (LO’s1, 4 & 5)
(4,000 words) (100 marks) (LOs: 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5)
Formative Feedback
You have the opportunity to submit a draft report to receive formative feedback.
The feedback is designed to help you develop areas of your work and it helps you develop your skills as an independent learner.
If you are a distance learning student, you should submit your work, by email, to your tutor, no later than 2 weeks before the actual submission deadline. If you are a blended learning student, your tutor will give you a deadline for formative feedback and further details.
Formative feedback will not be given to work submitted after the above date or the date specified by your tutor - if a blended learning student
Referencing Guidance
You MUST underpin your analysis and evaluation of the key issues with appropriate and wide ranging academic research and ensure this is referenced using the AU Harvard system(s).
Follow this link to find the referencing guides for your subject: Arden Library Submission Guidance
Assignments submitted late will not be accepted and will be marked as a 0% fail.
Your assessment can be submitted as a single Word (MS Word) or PDF file, or, as multiple files.
If you chose to submit multiple files, you must name each document as the question/part you are answering along with your student number ie Q1 Section A STUXXXX. If you wish to overwrite your submission or one of your submissions, you must ensure that your new submission is named exactly the same as the previous in order for the system to overwrite it.
You must ensure that the submitted assignment is all your own work and that all sources used are correctly attributed. Penalties apply to assignments which show evidence of academic unfair practice. (See the Student Handbook which is avail