1. Strategic Management BUSM 3200
These guidelines are provided to help in your preparations for the group assignment. They do
NOT represent in any way “model answers” or a correct approach. Rather they provide
suggestions as to how to proceed with data collection and analysis leading to the completion of
your report. Make sure you read the guidelines provided by the RMIT course coordinator carefully.
BUSM 3200- Strategic Management (JAN 2013) GDS 1-1

2. Requirements
 You will work in pairs (a group of two (2)) to conduct a strategic
analysis and strategy evaluation, and write a report on a real-
life business. Please note that this report will focus on business-
level strategy. (DO NOT write on the whole organization
businesses!)
 You are required to select a real-life organization (or a strategic
business unit (SBU)) for this assignment. You are advised to
conduct a preliminary research (e.g., browse organization
websites and annual reports) prior to deciding which
organization (or its SBU) will be selected for your assignment so
as to make an informed choice.
 You should report the firm for your assignment to your local
lecturer by Week 4.
 Write a 2500 - 3000 word report, including 200 words of an
executive summary, but excluding references and appendix.
BUSM 3200- Strategic Management (July 2012) GDS 2

3. Selecting the organization
 Choose carefully and don’t change your mind half way- wasted time
and effort
 Must be FOR-PROFIT companies; no government bodies or charities
(not-for-profit)
 Avoid large global corporations such as Apple, Samsung, etc. I will
have the final decision on your choice so send in your form early!
 You must be able to get sufficient information sources to start your
research
 Published reports, GMID, Factiva, others
 The organization must have some key developments in strategy
 Entering new markets These developments
 Developing new products / services give you an
opportunity to relate
 Joint ventures, etc theory to actual
activities of the
selected firm
BUSM 3200- Strategic Management (July 2012) GDS 1-3

4. SBU or organization as a whole?
 If your organization is too large then you select an SBU
(strategic business unit) or division within that company
and just write about that SBU
 Remember the focus of the report is on “Business
Strategy’ and NOT Corporate Strategy
 Example within the Wearnes Group you could write just
about ‘Wearnes Automotive Division”
BUSM 3200- Strategic Management (July 2012) GDS 1-4

5. You are not writing a business plan!
 Get this clear from the start
 You are doing a strategic analysis first
 Then you will comment on the current business strategies
that it is pursuing (I will cover this in the next set of my
guidelines)
 You are NOT making recommendations; rather you are
doing (in Sections 5 and 6 of the report) a critical
assessment of the suitability of the chosen strategies
 So remember, you are NOT writing business plan and do
not follow formats that are irrelevant. Stick to what is
given.
BUSM 3200- Strategic Management (July 2012) GDS 1-5

6. How to approach the development and presentation of a report
1. Your report format should follow closely the requirements of the
assignment. Read EVERY section carefully and understand fully
what is needed. DO NOT insert additional information that is not
required or follow standard formats.
2. The length is 300o words max including 200 word executive
summary but not including appendices and bibliography
3. The marking criteria is clearly shown on pages 4-5 of the Assignment
Guide provided by RMIT. Understand clearly how we grade each
section of the report.
4. Assume each of the 6 sections carry equal weight and therefore your
content must be proportionate.
5. Read and follow all instructions regarding TURNITIN and online
submission. Ignorance is not an acceptable reason for non-
compliance. Marks will be deducted if you did not meet RMIT
requirements for TURNITIN and online submission.
BUSM 3200- Strategic Management (July 2012) GDS 1-6

7. Here are my comments on the first three sections of
our report
GET STARTED EARLY!
DEADLINE IS FAST APPROACHING-
WEEK 8 – BUT YOU NEED TO GET
THINGS READY BY WEEK 7 BECAUSE
OF TURNITIN!
BUSM 3200- Strategic Management (July 2012) GDS
7

8. Section 1:
Requirement:
Describe briefly the background
information (strategic context) of the firm
(or SBU) you have selected. 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.
BUSM 3200- Strategic Management (July 2012) GDS 1-8

9. Comments on Section 1
Don’t write more than 1 to 1.5 pages
Give a brief introduction to the company or SBU
Only highlight relevant information
Better still, the information you list should point
towards the new strategies that the firm is
embarking on such as new ventures, new
markets, new technologies, etc
Keep the information current – not dwell too
much on history
You can mention about corporate culture and
values.
BUSM 3200- Strategic Management (July 2012) GDS 1-9

10. Section 2:
Requirement:
Conduct a macro-environment analysis for the
entire industry within which the firm (or SBU)
operates. You should use the analytical
framework provided in the textbook. Foci will be
placed 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
BUSM 3200- Strategic Management (July 2012) GDS 1-10

11. Section 2: Environment and PESTEL
Research and write about RELEVANT PESTEL
factors (general broad-brush factors will get no
marks)
See my lecture notes on PESTEL
Not just listing PESTEL factors but more
importantly being able to discriminate which
factors carry greater implications for the company
in terms of opportunities and threats.
Explain the implications and focus on key drivers
(this part earns high credit if you do it well)
You can even do some brief scenarios for the
industry – what the future outlook might be
BUSM 3200- Strategic Management (July 2012) GDS 1-11

12. NOTE: it is important to do a PESTEL analysis with a specific
emphasis on the industry you are studying (see page 51)
Keep the
PESTEL
factors
specific to the
industry you
are studying;
avoid using
broad generic
factors that
have no
relevance to
your analysis.
Important to
note for your
Group
Assignment on
Strategic
Analysis!
BUSM 3200- Strategic Management (July 2012) GDS 2-12

13. What must be demonstrated
1. Relevance of factors. This comes from good secondary
research. You cant get such information from textbook
to answer specifically to YOUR SBU or company!
2. Only highlight key factors under each category of
PESTEL. Sweeping statements such as “the economy is
booming” or the “GDP has grown by 5%” will earn no
marks if it has no bearing to your case!
3. Link your PESTL factors to Opportunities and Threats
4. At the end of this section, write a summative paragraph
as to how you see the factors impacting on the growth of
the industry
BUSM 3200- Strategic Management (July 2012) GDS 1-13

14. Sometimes presenting in a table can be useful
Key PESTEL factors Identified Implications for Identified as a key
impacting on the ____ as: the industry factor
industry (just a brief
description)
OPP THR
Political/ Legal:
1. x
2. x
3.
Economic:
1. X
2. x
3.
Social
etc
At the end of PESTEL listing, insert a summative paragraph that explains
the overall impact of these forces on industry growth and future
opportunities (industry outlook)
BUSM 3200- Strategic Management (July 2012) GDS 1-14

15. Section 3:
Requirement:
Undertake an industry (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, the links between the
competitive forces and macro-environment, 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 analyses.
BUSM 3200- Strategic Management (July 2012) GDS 1-15

16. Comments on Section 3- Five Forces
I want the five forces factors listed in your report
to be specific to your industry; using factors listed
in a textbook would not be useful unless you can
show how they are relevant to your industry
After explaining all the five forces (and the
detailed factors under each force) you then need
to highlight WHICH key force/s would be of
particular concern to the firm and why.
Another term is the word ‘links’ – what is the link
between PESTEL factors and the five force?
Example: Technology  Threat of Substitutes
BUSM 3200- Strategic Management (July 2012) GDS 1-16

17. Applying Porter Model to a specific industry (airline)
Notice how each of the
factors listed in each
category are specific to
the airline industry. NOT
textbook points are used
BUSM 3200- Strategic Management (July 2012) GDS 1-17

18. Again using a table is useful:
Five Force Factors as Implications for the Link to selected
related to our ____ industry macro-environmental
industry factor
Threat of new entrants:
you don’t need to do a link for each
1.
Just provide selective examples;
2.
3.
five force factor
Rivalry in the industry:
1.
2.
3.
Power of Buyers:
Substitutes:
Power of Suppliers:
BUSM 3200- Strategic Management (July 2012) GDS 1-18