MGT604 Strategic Management Assessment

Assessment Task

This is an individual assessment with a component of the work to be conducted in the same stakeholder teams allocated by the lecturer for Assessment 2.

In your stakeholder team, you are required to:

• Meet, discuss and agree on three new or revised strategy options in response to the specific disruption raised in the Disruption section of this brief
• Apply strategy concepts in your stakeholder meeting discussions to identify options.
• Produce a teamwork log

Individually, you are required to produce a white paper:

• Nominate the preferred strategy option relevant to the specific disruption raised in the Disruption section of this brief and apply a strategy framework/s
• Discuss the implications specifically relating to your part of the business
• Include the team log in your paper’s appendix

Please refer to the Task Instructions for details on how to complete this task.

Context

The assessment of this subject supports students in developing their skills and knowledge in topics that include environmental assessment, problem diagnosis, strategy development, and cultural and ethical contexts. Stakeholder meetings are a critical element in strategic management. This assessment task provides experience and immersive understanding of the complex interactions involved in the development of strategic choices, and the need to take an integrative approach to problem solving. The increasing pace of technological change and the increased impact of social media provides many challenges for businesses attempting to navigate towards growth and increased profitability. Rapid cycle times for new products can lead to decisions being made that are not always in the best interests of the long-term survival of the firm. Disruptions to the everyday course of business come from anywhere and need to be responded to often in short time frames.

Introduction

Assessment 3 continues from the scenario in Assessment 2. In Assessment 3, new information is provided and a disruption is introduced in the New information and Disruption sections which necessitates re-consideration of the white paper done in Assessment 2. Here is a recap of the scenario.

Scenario Recap

Skuta Pty Ltd is a privately-owned manufacturer of compact, high-quality electric scooters (escooters) based in Sunbury, Victoria. Founded in 2018 it has enjoyed continuous year-on-year growth until the last financial year. Skuta has a track record of innovation, and technology that provides excellent value for money commuting in a compact foldable design able to operate with rechargeable batteries for extended periods of time. The flagship ‘Skuta-way” models are marketed on the basis of their extreme ruggedness, low maintenance cost, and reliability.

Features include front and rear LED safety lights, disc brakes, LCD display and a rechargeable 56-volt lithium-ion battery. Much of the technology used in the product has been patented by Skuta and is not currently available to othermanufacturers.

The Skuta management team recognises that e-scooters are still being trialled in some states in Australia but believes that some or all of those states will legalise privately-owned e-scooters soon. Until then, the future of e-scooters in Australia is uncertain, so Skuta’s CEO has requested the executive team meet independently to develop a strategy to guide the company over the next five years.

New information

Issues relating to substandard workmanship on the flagship ‘Skuta-way” models, have been resolved and the company has implemented improvements to its design and manufacturing methods. Skuta’s reputation had suffered six months ago, however improved products have helped to rebuild trust in the company and the brand back to previous levels.

Disruption

The patents for the technology used in its e-scooters have expired and Skuta no longer has exclusive commercial rights to the inventions that made Skuta-way unique. This loss of monopoly will likely result in an increase in competition as competitors move to challenge Skuta's dominance in the market.

The Skuta management team has tasked the stakeholder team to meet and develop a modified set of strategies to respond to this disruption and articulate the way forward for the company.

Instructions

Re-convene the (emergency) stakeholder meetings to address the disruption scenario. The stakeholder meetings must discuss this disruption and develop a modified set of strategies. Please return to your stakeholder teams immediately to discuss these events and adjust your strategic approach accordingly.

Your 2,000 word, individual, White paper should be structured as follows:

• Title Page
• Executive Summary – Briefly summarise the entire report
• Table of Contents - Make it look good. Include page numbers and ensure the layout looks balanced on the page.
• Introduction - Provide background and context to the report. Tell the reader what has happened in the past that has led to this report being needed.
• Aim - State in a single sentence what this report is seeking to achieve.
• Discussion - Cover the content you wish to address in response to the disruption scenario. You must incorporate theory and application of strategy formulation methods. State any assumptions.
• Conclusion - Restate the aim and sum up the discussion to demonstrate to the reader that the aim has been satisfied. There should be no new content in the conclusion.
• Recommendations - What are the next steps? What is required to progress into the future? Evaluate/justify your recommendations?
• References - Please ensure you use the correct APA referencing style throughout. Remember EVERY factual statement requires a reference.
• Appendices - Additional material to substantiate or add greater depth to the material presented in the report, and your Teamwork log.

The white paper is to be completed individually by each member of the team reflecting the impact of the proposed strategy on their part of the business after the disruption and should be completed to the professional standard that would be required if the below scenario were real. The submission must be in Word document format.

Deliverables

The stakeholder meeting/s will discuss and agree on three new or revised strategy options for Skuta in response to this disruption. In doing so, the stakeholder meeting/s may consider strategy options that exist in adjacent markets or with related but different products or technologies. Remember to apply strategy concepts in your stakeholder meeting discussions to identify strategy options.

The deliverables required of each student are to produce a white paper covering the following:

1. Nominate a single preferred strategy option and apply a strategy framework(s) to analyse and justify why you believe it is the best strategy option for the company to address the disruption; and
2. Discuss the implications specifically relating to your part of the business, and what challenges these might represent. Separate the discussion into short-term and long-term issues.

Students are to address the assessment task from the perspective of their own functional area of responsibility, for example the SFM will be focussed on the finance department. You are to integrate theory in your white paper.

Ensure that the three new or revised strategy options do not become the focus of the white paper – no more than a brief paragraph in total should be devoted to the three options. The majority of the paper must be about the single preferred strategy option that addresses the disruption.

Teamwork Log

Students should also keep a log of how they have worked together as part of a team in the delivery of this project. This includes meeting dates and times, meeting minutes/notes, a detailed description of how tasks were allocated and completed (and by whom), copies of emails and/or written discussion regarding the project, and any other evidence of teamwork that students would like to include. All students involved in the project need to check the log before submission. It is assumed that the final submission has been agreed between students as being an accurate record of the work that has taken place for the project.

The appendix log must be submitted with the assessment but is not a part of the overall word count.

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