Report
Due date: 07-Jan-2016
Return date: 29-Jan-2016
Length: 2500 words
Submission method options
Alternative submission method
Task
You are required to select an organization of your choice and to undertake a strategic analysis of the organization, which aims to achieve an understanding of the key strategic issues, both externally and internally, that are likely to influence the performance of the company into the future.
This is an individual assignment. In this report, you are required to write a 2500-word report including 200 words of an executive summary, but excluding references and appendix. You should also perform the following tasks:
1. Describe briefly the background information of the firm (or SBU) assigned. This information should be brief and relevant to the discussion of your assignment and thus may include ownership, history, size, business scope, major products/services, and major markets of the firm (or SBU) selected.
2. Conduct external environment analysis including a macro-environment analysis and Porter's 5 forces analysis:
2.1 Conduct a macro-environment analysis for the entire industry within which the firm (or SBU) operates. You should use PESTEL model and focus on the understanding of the purpose of this analysis, the identification of key factors and their implications in terms of key opportunities and threats, and the discussion of their overall impact on the industry growth in the future. Draw your conclusion based on your macro-environment analysis.
2.2 Undertake a competitive analysis using Porter’s 5 forces model. You are required to pay attention to the purpose of this analysis, the inter-connectedness of different aspects of the competitive forces, and their overall impact on the industry and the organization selected in terms of main driving forces in the competitive environment. Draw your conclusions based on your five-force analysis.
3.Conduct internal environment analysis. You should identify key resources and competencies of the firm (or SBU) that are likely to provide sustainable competitive advantage.
4.Summarise your findings based on your external and internal environment analysis. Identify the key issues that the firm (or SBU) faces and give your recommendations.
5. Draw your conclusion.
You may select any organization (local or international) with enough publicly available information to enable you to address the assessment criteria. If you choose a large organization eg. Wesfarmers, make sure you select one of the companies/ divisions for your analysis such as Bunnings or Coles to make sure your organization only covers one industry.
While working on this task, assume that your report will be presented to senior management to inform the strategy team of the key strategic issues facing the company.

Marking criteria

Presentation
This is a third year subject and a high standard of presentation is expected for this assignment. The following factors will influence your assessment grade:
- Grammar and syntax;
- Clarity and coherence of arguments;
- Structure, organization, sentence and paragraph construction;
- In-text citations and end-text referencing (APA 6th)
Requirements
To complete your report for Senior Management you will need to include the following sections:
1. Executive Summary
2. Background - Give a brief account of the background of the company/organization
3. External Analysis – Conduct an analysis of the organization’s external environment and competitive landscape
4. Internal Analysis – Conduct an analysis of the organization’s internal environment including its resources/capabilities identify the company’s core competencies and resulting ability to outperform competitors
5. Identify and analyze the issues in the internal and external environments and prioritize them in the order you feel are most critical
6. Conclusion – Summaries your findings.
You are required to cite a minimum of 10 refereed journal articles.