Write a report analysing and evaluating an organisation's competitive situation and identifying a list of strategic issues and priorities that need management attention.

Summary

Write a 2000-word report analysing and evaluating an organisation's competitive situation and identifying a list of strategic issues and priorities that need management attention.

Referencing is Australian Harvard (AGPS) and outlined in the AIB Style Guide. Note: Insert this summary description in Smarthinking. Submit your assessment for writing feedback from Smarthinking.

Subject learning outcomes

Task

For Assessment 1, take the role of an executive. Analyse and evaluate an organisation's competitive situation and identify a list of strategic issues and priorities that need attention.

1. Demonstrate advanced understanding of contemporary strategic management theory, concepts and principles (LO#1).
2. Demonstrate advanced knowledge of how strategy formulation and strategy implementation processes work in contemporary organisations (LO#2).
3. Demonstrate ability to synthesise a range of business and management concepts when undertaking strategic analysis (LO#5).
4. The assessment can be based on your current or previous workplace, or any other organisation from the service, not-for-profit, public, manufacturing, or any other industry or sector that you are familiar with. 
   • The required word length for this assessment is 2000 words (+10% tolerance)
   • In terms of structure, presentation and style you are required to use: 
     • AIB standard report format - 9001SMGT Assessment 1 template
     • AIB preferred Microsoft Word settings - see the AIB Style Guide
   • This assessment requires you to use a minimum of four (4) credible academic sources in addition to your textbook. You may also use current company, industry, government and media sources to support your statements, but these will NOT count toward the minimum required credible academic sources for your assessment. Most web-based sources are not sufficiently rigorous and credible for use in academic assessments and will NOT count toward the minimum required credible academic sources for your assessment. For further guidance, refer to Scholarly, academic & peer-reviewed journals.
   • You must appropriately acknowledge all sources of information in your assessment with the AIB Harvard author-date style of referencing – see the AIB Style Guide?and Assessment Policy.
   • The title page, executive summary, table of contents, reference list and appendix are not included in the word count.
5.  

   Procedure

    Your report needs to address the following requirements:

   1. Introduce the report (~100 words).
   2. Briefly describe your organisation and industry context (~100 words).
   3. Evaluate the alignment of the vision, mission and values statements against the existing strategic objectives of your organisation. Discuss the implications and make recommendations on how they can be improved (~400 words).

   Note: If your selected organisation does not presently have vision, mission and/or values statements, develop those statements for the organisation and discuss their appropriateness against relevant principles. Similarly, if the selected organisation does not have any strategic objectives, develop three strategic objectives that would be implied throughout the organisation's day-to-day business.

   1. Applying Porter's Five Forces framework, assess the organisation's industry and competitive environment (~400 words).
   2. Apply the VRIN (or VRIO) framework to assess the organisation's resources, capabilities, and competitiveness. Present your VRIN (or VRIO) analysis in a table and discuss the key points (~300 words).
   3. Perform a SWOT analysis to identify the organisation's strengths, business opportunities, threats and competitive deficiencies (weaknesses) (~300 words).
   4. Using the insights from your analysis, identify and explain the critical strategic issues that are priorities the organisation needs to address to be competitive (~300 words).
   5. Conclude the report (~100 words).

   Note: All written assessments should be submitted as Word files(.docx) (Word is available from your AIB Office 365 account).