This page provides a detailed brief
for you Part A assessment. Please read this brief carefully and get in contact
with your module tutor if you have any questions.
Introduction
In
Part A, we assess learning outcomes related to Units 1-5.
In this assessment,
you will identify a key player in the agricultural and food sector of any
country/region. After selecting a company of your choice, you will determine
the strategic position of the company and make strategic recommendations with a
focus on how to implement a sustainable strategy to decarbonise its activities.
Background
The agricultural and
food sector contributes to 25% of carbon emissions in the world. Governments,
NGOs and private organizations are investing significant sums of money to
develop alternate ways to produce sustainable crops. But there is still a long
way to go.
Scenario
Following the
successful completion of your Masters Degree course, you have secured a
strategy consultant job in a top-tier consultancy firm. You are attending the
first meeting with your team. Your line manager asks you to introduce yourself
to colleagues and share your passion for strategy and sustainability. You
explain with brio how future business winners need to implement today
sustainable strategies for tomorrow
Task
Enthused by what you
enthusiastically conveyed about sustainable strategy, your line manager is keen
to test your strategic planning skills. Your manager asks you to select an organization
of your choice in the agricultural and food sector.
Your task is:
To produce a strategic position
analysis for the company of your choice.
To make recommendations to adapt the
company’s strategy for a sustainable future.
You are expected to research
relevant information about the sector and the company of your choice, and to
use frameworks and models stemming from the lecture, textbook and academic
sources covered in the module. You should use diagrams and tables as much as
possible to illustrate your core ideas. Tables and diagrams are not included in
the word count. Chapters 3 (Macro-Environment Analysis), 4 (Industry and Sector
Analysis) and 5. (Resources and Capabilities Analysis) from Exploring Strategy:
Text and Cases might be useful to perform the strategic position analysis, as
well as content from the LAS.
Structure
Given that the report
is going to be shared with the senior management team, the line manager
suggests the following structure for your report:
1. Title
2. Executive summary
3. Table of contents
4. Introduction
5. Strategic Position
Analysis
External Analysis:
Macroenvironment and Industry Analysis
Internal Analysis: Analysis of
resources and capabilities
6.SWOT
resulting from the analysis
External (Opportunities and
Threats)
Internal (Strengths and
Weaknesses)
7. Recommendations for
sustainable strategy
8. Conclusion
9. Reference list
10. Appendix
Presentation:
Academic Writing, Genre, and Style
A good piece of work
is attractively styled and logically structured, with a high standard of
written English.The report should be written usingBritish
English spelling: avoid “z’s” such as “organization” and use the standard
British English spelling of “organisation”, “behaviour”, “centre”, etc.
Use the report format
and include appropriate headings. Be sure to include anintroduction,
descriptive headings for each section,andconclusion/recommendations.
Donotlabel the body of your report as “main body” and do not
use long questions as headings; instead, usedescriptive headingswhich
signpost the content of each section.Do notuse footnotes in
your reports.
Bullet points and
numbered listsshould not be usedin your report; instead,
write in full sentences and develop your arguments using evidence from the
academic literature.
Format your report
using the Times New Roman or Arial fonts, size 12;2.5 cm margins.“Justify”
alignment and double line spacing. Do not use single spacing.
Research
You are strongly
advised to support your statements with evidence, doing this via in-text
citations and adding a list of references. Ideally, you willciteat
least 15 sourceswithin the text, inclusive of books, academic
peer-reviewed and formal sources. All the works cited must be referenced
using theAPA Referencingsystem. Also,please refer
to theUniversity guidance notes on the avoidance of Plagiarism.
Do not cut and paste phrases
or paragraphs from published material without citing your sources. You should
seek to use your own words to explain concepts and theories while acknowledging
the work of other scholars through proper referencing, both in-text and
reference list.
The following databases may
be particularly useful in finding relevant literature sources to help you
develop your report:
ABI Inform Complete (ProQuest),
Corporate reports and websites
Word count
Thetotal word
countof your answers to both questions must be2,000 wordsand
it must comply with the guidelines provided here:
Introduction and background
section: 200 words
Strategic position analysis:
1100 words
SWOT: presented in a table
Recommendation: 500 words
The word limit for
Part A doesnotinclude the cover page, title page, executive
summary, table of contents, reference lists, tables and diagrams, and
appendix.
The word count is
subject to a ±10% allowance to the allocated word count. Where a submission
exceeds the stated word limit (allowing for the +10%), the maximum grade
awarded will be P1.
Appendices can be
useful to provide additional information from your analysis, but you must
incorporate the key analytical arguments into the main body of your answer.
File format and naming
Assessments MUST be
submitted as either a word file (.doc/.docx) or a PDF file (.pdf). We will not
be able to read any other file formats.
Please note that we
have to mark what you submit. If you submit the wrong version of your
coursework (for example, a incomplete version) this will have a negative impact
on your grade.
Please make sure that you clearly name the final
version of your coursework
and double check that you have uploaded
the correct version BEFORE submitting.
Useful Guidance Notes
Theintroductionshould
set the scene and explain the need to perform this strategic position analysis.
Relevant figures and data should be used to reinforce the background. The
introduction should present an overview of the report.
Part 1
Firstly this section
focuses on the external part of the strategic analysis. All elements from the
external environment influencing the organization’s strategy should be
considered and segmented into opportunities and threats. You are advised to
support your analysis using relevant frameworks and evidence stemming from your
own research.
Secondly, this section
focuses on the internal part of the strategic analysis. All elements associated
with the internal focus of the organization should be considered and segmented
into strengths and weaknesses. You are advised to support your analysis using
relevant frameworks and evidence stemming from your own research.
This section above
should culminate into the SWOT analysis
Part 2 Recommendations and Conclusion
Therecommendationsshould
be Specific Measurable Achievable Relevant and Time-bound (SMART)
andshould recommend a clear strategy for a sustainable future for this organization
in the agricultural and food sector.